Cruel Summer Premiere Recap: Season 1
It’s still spring, but Freeform will look forward to a brutal summer with a two-hour premiere of Tuesday’s Twisty psychological thriller.
Cruel Summer Premiere Recap
The series takes the optimistic approach of time to tell its story: Episode 1 is told on June 21, 1993 (and ’94 and ’95) from Gene’s point of view, while Episode 2 airs on June 26 during Kate’s P.V. Years. Now that we’ve established the show’s timelines, let’s get back to chronology:
1993 :
Janet is a naughty, bracket-play-loving teenager who celebrates her birthday with her best friends Mall Lori (Supergirl’s Harley Quinn Smith) and Vince (Penn 15 ‘s Elias Barnes), who calls her “You Go Girl!” Bought! Necklace as a last minute gift. Janet’s mom (Granny Anatomy’s Sarah Drew) comments that it sounds cheap — but it proves to be very important. (More on that later.
Cruel Summer RecapGenet spots her beautiful, popular schoolmate Kate (Cloak and Dagger’s Olivia Holt) at the mall kiosk and makes a supernatural pose for shopping at the same stand. When Jeanette shouts that it’s her birthday, Kate is surprisingly sweet and wishes her a happy birthday before working with her hot boyfriend Jamie (Teen Wolf Frey Gutierrez). After that, Janet, Mallory and Vince decide to cross something off their summer to-do list, which is like a combination of courage. So they move into a house where Janet’s dad (Lois and Clark’s Michael Lands) sells the school’s new vice principal, Martin Harris (Black Lee of Parks and Recreation), which almost catches them in the act. The rush to break the rules seems to be going into the head of a good girl.
In the second episode, we find out that same year, Kate is dealing with the revelation that she is having an affair with her caring mother (Andrea Anders of Better TF Ted). The information sends Kate into a drunken tailspin, thus ending it on the sidewalk in front of Martin’s house.
Cruel Summer Recap 1994 |
Janet — a game of braces and now shiny, straight hair — she is awakened by Jamie on her birthday, who is now her boyfriend. Kate was missing for a while, and Janet has largely taken over the blonde’s life, becoming best with Kate’s friends after parting ways with Mallory and Vince. But when Kate was miraculously rescued — Martin was holding her! — Janet’s new life begins to separate. In the shocking moment, Jamie hits Janet, thinking she has something to do with Kate’s disappearance. Then at the end of the first episode, we found out that Kate went on to announce on national TV that Janet saw her when she was captured, but she did nothing to help her. “Janet Turner, I hope you’ll break into hell,” says Kate directly to Mera as Kate plays the “stupid girl” of trash. It’s a “gasp!” Twist — but it may not be true?
In Episode 2, rumors are circulating around town about Janet, but Kate has not yet gone on TV with her accusation. (I think. #Timejumpproblems) Genty tells Jamie — back with Kate — that she didn’t see the other girl and suggests that maybe Kate’s trauma is responsible for the misunderstanding. Kate secretly spies on the meeting and the couple kisses. When Kate finally talks to the police, she hears Janet’s “You Go Girl!” A necklace to prove that Janet was really there. Hmmm, the police then ask how well she knew Martin before the abduction. “Not right,” she answers wrong.
Cruel Summer Preview 1995 |
Jeanette is now the most hated person in the country, and to get along with her she has to cut her angry, unruly hair. He is forced to re-engage in VHS news footage about Kate’s disappearance, while Jamie sits in his car like a dog wandering outside his house. Her father — whose happy marriage seems to have been separated for the past two years — wonders if her daughter is a sociopath, and Jeanette’s lawyer gives her more appropriate advice.
Meanwhile, Kate is now about grunge-y plaid and piercings and The Cranberries Reese “Zombie” and she’s filtered. He asks the kidnapping victim in the chat room to ask if people knew he was not completely honest. That question can be answered because Janet is suing Kate. As Kate watches the announcement on the news, Martin sits at the door in the basement and begs her to open it, in a beautiful red dress, the episode flashes back at her. In 1995, Kate screamed repeatedly.
Cruel Summer Premiere Recap
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