Freeform's newest show Cruel Summer is a thriller set in the '90s that follows teenagers Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt), Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia) and their friends, family, and community as they grapple with the aftermath of Kate's rescue from being abducted and the accusation against Jeanette Turner that she saw her and failed to report it to law enforcement.
It is a dark, twisted, suspenseful narrative that leaves viewers with more questions than answers with every passing episode.
Will Mr. Wallis Find Out About Mrs. Wallis’s Affair?
In episode 2, when Kate returns home drunk from the park after a fight with her mom at the garden party regarding Mr. Wallis's question of fidelity, Kate sneaks down from upstairs and sees her mom, Joy (Andrea Anders) and the gardener, Scott (Joshua Colson), making out.
She whispers to him that they need to be careful because Kate is starting to poke her nose into business and ask questions. In the following episode, Kate, in a scathing critique, mocks the so-called happy and perfect marriages of the adults around her at the camping trip around the fire in the 1995 timeline, calling them hypocrites and bringing the tension to a boil between the couples. Rod Wallis is still in the dark about his wife's cheating, but perhaps, not for much longer.
What Happened To Ben – And With Vince?
Also in the 3 episode, in the 1994 timeline, Vince (Allius Barnes) and Ben (Nathaniel Ashton) are a secret couple, going to a sort of 'underground' safe space for other LGBTQ+ couples and people. Vince was Jeanette's former friend, and Ben is Jamie's (Froy Gutierrez), creating an, albeit fun and cute, uneasy relationship dynamic.
When fans switch to '95, Vince calls Ben to tell him he is going to be deposed the next day. Ben is exasperated that Vince called, implying that if he had caller ID, he wouldn't have answered. He also pleads with Vince he needs to stop calling him, and with some anguish, tells Vince that when he does, it causes him pain. What happened between these two?
Not to mention, in episode 2 when Ben is deposed, Jeanette's lawyer asks him if he blames Jeanette for what happened to him. Is she responsible for whatever that is, too?
What Was The Fallout Between Jeanette, Mallory, And Vince?
In 1993, Jeanette, Vince, and Mallory (Harley Quinn Smith) are inseparable, wholesome friends. They share experiences, interests, angst for life, and confidences with one another, making fans think nothing could come between them.
Then something does, but what? Mallory seems unnecessarily hostile towards Jeanette in '94, and while Vince seems to still have some sympathetic loyalties to her, it's all at a distance. When Mallory verbally accosts Jeanette at the mall (with Vince quietly in tow), Jeanette acknowledges that although she drifted away from them, they did from her, as well. In the '95 timeline of episode 4, Mallory calls Jeanette awful names and appears to loathe her very existence. What happened between these 3 once-close friends?
What Is Ashley Wallis’s Role In All This?
In episode 4, a new character is introduced: Rod Wallis's daughter from a previous marriage, Ashley Wallis (Ashlei Sharp Chestnut). While she is warm to her dad, she is cold towards Kate and Joy. Why, though? She refuses any kind of meaningful relationship with Kate until after she is rescued in 1994, and is borderline disrespectful to Joy.
In the '95 timeline, she recruits an old friend (turned boyfriend) and Jeanette's older brother Derek Turner (Barrett Carnahan) for some advice on how to get close to and establish a rapport with Kate when it seems like it's too little, too late.
By the conclusion of this episode, audiences see that she is the person on the other side of the computer screen chat room for abduction survivors talking to Kate knowing the full truth. We find this out as she is describing Cleopatra's sister to Derek, a cunning woman who was eventually beheaded. A foreshadow, maybe?
Why Is Jamie Stalking Jeanette?
Fans have only seen it a couple of times since the first episode, but the question remains: why is Jamie stalking Jeanette in the '95 timeline?
He, like many of the others, have undergone a transformation, and Jamie seems rebellious, hardened and angry. What is he doing sitting outside Jeanette's house in his car? Why does he keep doing it, and why won't his mother or the police do anything about it? Why does Jeanette seem unconcerned with his actions? Perhaps he has something to do with either Kate or Jeanette's defense, or he still 'loves' Jeanette.
Who Is Annabelle?
In the newest episode, Kate tells the same adults around the campfire on the hunting trip about Annabelle. When Kate and Mallory approach, the adults are sharing ghost stories, and she decides she has one that will be the most frightening. It mirrors her time with Mr. Harris in the woods in '93, her time in his basement in '94, and the fallout from her captivity in '95, and it certainly does raise some eyebrows in the group.
Annabelle's story ends much differently, however: she has her story and the facts straight, and so should everyone else, especially the adults that were complicit and culpable for trusting Mr. Harris and, indirectly, being responsible for Kate's abduction.
Is Annabelle an alternate personality of Kate's as a defense mechanism for when she was being held hostage from Mr. Martin in his basement? Was she another kidnap victim? Or an accomplice to Mr. Harris and his dastardly deeds?
What Happened To Jeanette’s Mom?
In the 1995 timeline of all the episodes thus far, Jeanette's mom Cindy (Sarah Drew) is noticeably absent; so much so, in fact, that Greg Turner (Michael Landes) is seeing Angela (Brooklyn Sudano), a local bartender, who also tells a condescending Jeanette that she isn't trying to be her mother.
Derek is also absent, but fans learn that he is away at college, only sporadically visiting home from time to time. When he does, he mentions to Jeanette that she should answer mom's phone calls. Where is she? And more importantly: why did she leave, especially when her daughter needs her most?
What Is Mr. Harris’s Backstory?
Fans know that Mr. Harris is a new member of the Skylin community, taking over as Assistant Principal at Skylin High School, and that he came from Widow Falls. Is he in Skylin because he fled from another crime he committed? Is he divorced, or have any children of his own somewhere?
Fans know from the most recent episode his family has their own dark secrets, his father having took his own life, and advises Kate to pick and choose her own family battles. Is his past finally catching up with him — and what else is there?
Is Kate Lying About Jeanette Seeing Her?
One of the biggest questions right now is whether or not Kate actually saw Jeanette, see her, or if she is a liar. The mirrored walls of Mr. Harris's basement has led to some interesting theories claiming that both Kate and Jeanette are right because of the angle, and this could end up being a big piece of evidence moving forward.
Kate's chat history has also made fans question whether she is fabricating the accusation or not, typing that she hasn't been completely honest and transparent about that (or any prior 'relationship' she had with Mr. Harris), wondering what will happen if people find out it isn't true. She's also unnecessarily aggressive about making people know she isn't a liar in the '95 timeline, and when she saw Jamie and Jeanette kiss, she walked away looking like she was out for revenge: Jeanette even alluded to this to the police: Kate is lying because she's angry and jealous.
How Did Jeanette Move So Seamlessly Into Kate's Life?
How did she end up romantically-involved with Jamie? How did she end up friends with Kate's? If the mirrors made it so Jeanette did, in fact, see Kate, why did she fail to report it to any adult, police officer, or someone else? Jeanette told Vince — and, by extension, fans — in the latest episode that she had been in Mr. Harris's house a lot; that she got 'addicted' to the rush. Time will tell.