Warning: SPOILERS ahead for the Cruel Summer season 1 finale!
Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia) wasn't innocent in Cruel Summer season 1, but her lie surrounding Kate Wallis' (Oliva Holt) was more complicated than initially believed. For much of the Freeform show's debut season, there was a mystery involving the legitimacy behind Kate's accusation that Jeanette saw her in Martin Harris' (Blake Lee) house. The statement alluded Jeanette witnessed the kidnapping victim but failed to alert anyone, allowing her classmate to remain in danger. While the truth eventually came out, the finale proved how much thought Jeanette put into her actions.
Whereas Kate served as the real victim, considering she was truly locked in Martin's basement for a period of time, Jeanette suffered after being outed to the media as a secondary villain. When Kate claimed Jeanette saw her in Martin's house, presumably held hostage, the public shamed Jeanette for not doing anything. On the other hand, Jeanette attempted to clear her name, countering that she never saw Kate despite a history of breaking into Martin's house. She even went as far as to sue the Wallis family for defamation after learning Kate originally went to Martin's house willingly, but that was just the beginning of complicated revelations.
In reality, it was Mallory Higgins (Harley Quinn Smith) who unknowingly saw Kate on Christmas Eve night in Martin's house, not Jeanette. Aurelia's character broke in and heard someone, but she never saw Kate because it was Mallory who saw a figure through the window. That said, the final sequence in "Hostile Witness" revealed that Jeanette broke into Martin's house at a later date. However, this time, Kate was locked in the basement, screaming for help, but Jeanette failed to act. So when Jeanette constantly claimed, "I did not see Kate Wallis," she wasn't technically lying because she never directly saw Kate; she only heard her.
While the legal case and the futures of both Kate and Jeanette hinged on the truth, the latter was still able to spin her argument to protect herself. Kate may have had her own secrets surrounding her relationship with Martin, but Jeanette knew about the situation well before the rescue. So even though she was correct in saying she never saw Kate, she still deserved the title of a villain based on her negligence and calculated decisions in taking over Kate's social status as a queen bee. If Jeanette told someone about Kate's pleas for help, Kate would have been saved sooner, and the accusations claiming Jeanette's involvement would have never occurred. But in Jeanette's mind, that meant giving up her newfound popularity and boyfriend, Jamie Henson (Froy Gutierrez).
While Jeanette was repairing her image after dropping the legal case, Kate decided to move on with her life. Considering Kate is still harboring secrets, there are plenty more details to explore for Cruel Summer season 2. Unfortunately for Kate, Jeanette still has the leverage by knowing the truth regarding the teen's romantic relationship with Martin. Unless someone clues in Kate about the incident at the basement door, she has no more ammo to use against Jeanette. That said, the truth usually comes out eventually, and Jeanette will likely slip up when her confidence gets the best of her.