Summary
- Cruel Summer seasons 1 and 2 focus on main characters with dark secrets, delivering shocking twists that reveal their true natures.
- Both Jeanette and Isabella get away with their crimes, and this formula would feel predictable and potentially stale in Cruel Summer season 3.
- Cruel Summer season 3 should continue following two teenage girls through different timelines, but it needs to come up with something more surprising than having one of its leads be the guilty party.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Cruel Summer season 2, episode 10.
The finale of Cruel Summer season 2 delivers a shocking twist on par with season 1’s ending, but the show will need to make a major character change if it hopes to pursue season 3. Cruel Summer debuted back in 2021, weaving together the story of two girls — one held hostage in her teacher’s basement and another accused of knowingly leaving her there. The show’s sophomore season uses similar storytelling devices, following two friends wrapped up in the murder investigation of the boy they were involved with.
In Cruel Summer seasons 1 and 2, all the characters have secrets. This is one of the Freeform show’s main themes: the fact that it’s hard to really know a person. The series highlights the darker sides of its teenage leads, and that’s likely why it appeals to viewers. The characters’ actions can be quite shocking. However, Cruel Summer season 3 will need to change the formula if it hopes to succeed.
Cruel Summer Seasons 1 & 2 Already Focused On Main Characters With Dark Secrets
Cruel Summer seasons 1 and 2 feature last-minute twists, and while they apply to different mysteries, they’re similar in nature. The Cruel Summer season 1 finale sees Jeanette Turner freed from the legal charges Kate Wallis brings against her. Kate realizes Jeanette isn’t the person who saw her in the window on Christmas Eve, so she withdraws her accusations. Both girls forgive one another, and it seems like a happy ending. Then the final scene delivers a stunning gut punch: Jeanette didn’t see Kate on Christmas, but she did hear her in the basement another time. She’s a darker character than she’s let on, and she gets away with it.
Season 2 of Cruel Summer features similarities, starting with its focus on two teenage girls. Megan Landry and Isabella LaRue find themselves going from a love triangle to a murder investigation after Megan’s boyfriend, Luke, is found dead. Cruel Summer season 2’s ending initially paints Luke’s brother as the killer, revealing that he pushed him off a dock on New Year’s Day. However, its last scene delivers another twist: Isabella finds Luke after he nearly drowns. Instead of saving him, she finishes the job. Megan discovers this by hacking a video camera, but Isabella has already fled the country. Like Jeanette, she seemingly goes free.
Why Cruel Summer Season 3 Needs To Change Its Main Character Approach
Cruel Summer pulls off similar endings twice, presenting one twist only to rapidly deliver another. In both instances, one of the main characters has a cruel secret. The show throws viewers off of Jeanette’s and Isabella’s trails, only to reveal that they are as bad as they seem. To make matters worse, both Jeanette and Isabella get away with their crimes. The two characters are different in personality, but their stories are alike. It feels almost formulaic, and Cruel Summer season 3 risks being predictable if it follows the same trend again.
Season 3 can and should continue Cruel Summer‘s tradition of following two teenage girls through different timelines. Its ending can also embrace the double-twist of the past two seasons. However, for another outing of Cruel Summer to work, it can’t make one of its leads the guilty party. It needs to come up with something more surprising to avoid feeling stale.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
