'Cruel Summer' undermined itself again, and this time it didn't even do it in a way that makes sense for its story.
Resting at the center of all the drama and mystery of Cruel Summer Season 1 was a thoughtful analysis of the pressures put on teenage girls in our heavily media-influenced culture — until its final scene undercut those themes with a shock twist ending. Now, Season 2 has followed in its footsteps, ending with an egregious reveal that does a disservice to the material the show was working with.
The Shock Endings Undercut the Show's Themes The central idea that ties both seasons of Cruel Summer together is an interrogation of the societal pressure that teenage girls face. Season 1 pitted Kate and Jeanette against each other in a legal battle that transcended the courts into the media cycle. From the moment that Kate accused Jeanette in a TV interview, everyone in the nation had an opinion about what both did and why.
But Season 2 didn't just examine the pressures on Megan and Isabella, it also interrogated how the pressures and expectations placed on Luke hurt him and everyone around him. As the season progressed it became clear that Luke's father Steve was more obsessed with their family's image than he was with raising his sons to be good people. Steve covered up Brent's collection of secretly recorded sex tapes.
But the final reveal messes all this up. Everyone was right to suspect Isabella, and Megan was wrong to trust the only real female friend she's ever had.
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