Cruel Summer: Pretty Little Liars Done Right?
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- Опубліковано 19 тра 2024
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Pretty Cruel Liars... or something.
SONG: "Lisa Vicari" by Wayfloe
open.spotify.com/track/2kYIUO...
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Timecodes
0:00 Intro
2:50 Pretty Little Liars' Successor?
6:45 Synopsis
9:01 The Good Stuff
18:38 The Bad Stuff
29:58 The Ending
41:28 The Final Twist
46:49 Season 2
48:55 Conclusion
Freeform
Cruel Summer
Olivia Holt
Netflix
Pretty Little Liars
Spencer Hastings
Aria Montgomery
Hannah Marin
Emily Fields
Lucy Hale
Ezra Fitz
Troian Bellisario
Shay Mitchell
Alison DiLaurentis
Sasha Pieterse - Розваги
The show spent most of its budget on Olivia so it couldn't afford a better wig for Jeanette
LMAOOOO 😭😭😭
Girl this just took me out 🤣🤣
she's worth every penny i loved her in kickin it
Haha, so true! 😂 Olivia's hair looked great in all three timelines, since they mostly used extensions for her, and while Chiara's 1993 wig and 1994 real hair were decent, her 1995 messy short hair just looked shabby, and obviously fake.
LMAO
Also I loved how they didn't sexualise the teenagers. They dressed accordingly to their age for the most part and Kate wasn't dressed like a "mean girl" or with provocative clothing that "seduced" Martin Harris or something.
Yeah exactly Kate's outfits were so cute even when she was in her emo phase
I assume that's more of an era thing. That said, I don't remember the movie Clueless either.
@@brucenatelee It’s definitely an era thing. Now kids are dressing like corner street hookers. But hey it motivates them to stay thin. The horribly awkward fashions of the 00s made for chicks with wide abs, low hips and little butts pretty much made everyone else without that body type give up and just eat.
I don't care about the clothes cause there are teens that wear that kind of stuff in school. I'm mostly just glad they didn't have these kids in explicit scenes for no reason. Especially with Olivia's character and the teacher.
@@AB-sm1qf This response was so unnecessary. You feel too strongly about what other people are wearing and it's weird lmao.
Personally, the most unrealistic part was a media outlet in the 90's actually apologizing to a woman.
Well after that they completely switched on kate, even if technically she was still a victim
lol
certified white woman comment
I thought the actress who played Jeanette did a phenomenal job. She basically played three different personalities and I think she nailed them all.
She played the "teenager so desperately wanting to be liked she'd do anything" so damn well.
IKR I didn't know Sarah Z was such a good actress
I thought she was the best actress in the show.
Ya fr
She was amazing! Especially in that speech in episode 1 where she talks about how hated she is by the nation
This show actually addressed the creepy nature of Martin and it did so without blaming Kate in the end and I appreciate it
knowing the fact that Martin is going to "kidnap" Kate and watching the scene where they were sitting infront of the lake was really uncomfortable to me.
@@tunafish5462 que tu yey th ou à y guy i de toute manière buy a la yyy ☝️ you yppybokiujoopgy
Iuiioque vous y
@@tunafish5462 pipipiiii tupi ne uoou
One thing I loved about this show was the mature way they handled topics such as grooming, gaslighting and sexual assault. Therapy was also a welcome addition, since Kate didn't realise at the time that Martin was grooming her until her therapist informed her, and he made it seem that she was the only person she could trust.
This. I always thought that PLL romanticizing a student/teacher relationship was extremely weird, not to mention a terrible message to send to teenage girls who are the show's primary demographic. Cruel Summer did a great job of unpacking why these relationships are predatory and wrong.
It was great especially airing on Freeform, where young kids who watch Riverdale and PLL tend to gravitate towards. They needed to see this message after such toxic depictions of grooming throughout the years.
Same here
I honestly was wondering if perhaps Jeanette was also a victim of Mr. Harris, and had somehow blocked out seeing Kate being held hostage due to her own shame and trauma.
It would have explained quite a few things and genuinely sparked curiosity for the next season.
It would have absolutely been my first and most pressing thought if I were her mother when I found that key--had my daughter been abused too? As a matter of fact, her mother finding that key and not even considering that her daughter was a victim of a known grooming kidnapper sent me into an absolute rage. Her father at least questioned her somewhat sternly, but the mother was a colossal weakling--no one in that house trusted her to handle anything long before things went wrong, and there was no true evidence that she'd been gaslit into that demeanor--she was a useless, dumpster fire of a mother, with the backbone of a jellyfish and the demeanor of a child. I hated her more than anyone else in the story, tbh.
There is a fine line when relationships of this kind can be allowed on say television to move the plot along… but it is good to see a show make clear that in the real world… that’s not what should ever happen
The very ending where it is revealed that Jeanette didn’t SEE Kate but she did HEAR her begging for help and chose to just smile and do nothing and never tell anyone is so chilling. Jeanette truly scares me.
More than Mallory?
Nah Jeanette didn’t actually see Kate. Or even know for sure there was anyone actually there. It could’ve been Martin replaying his sick fantasy of Kate begging.
Mallory DID SEE KATE and 100000% blamed Jeanette to shift eyes onto her instead of Mallory.
It was a hook for season two.
@@lynnerose7891did you watch the end? She knew for sure Kate was there and did nothing.
@@livvioletta690yeah there's no denying it those were Jeanette's own memories she has lied
@@lynnerose7891it's the last minute of the show Jeanette's memories are revealed
Which was masterful by the way revealing it last second chef's kiss
oh my God I feel so vindicated hearing how other people didn't like Mallory and how she got off so easily in the end. I really didn't like her and even found Jeanette's criticisms of her being bossy / peer pressuring completely justified. man she sucked
Thank you!! Agree 100%!
SAMEE
Yes, Kate wanted to destroy Jeanette for what Mallory did and then she forgives her and dates her. That to me is pandering, it doesn’t make any sense. Also the dating theme I didn’t understand. I liked their friendship but also I felt that Kate and Mallorys friendship was mostly based on their mutual disdain for Jeanette.
@@babe8917 EXACTLY!
@@babe8917 honestly at that point i think kate was just fed up with everything and knew without mallory she wouldnt have any friends. she wanted to move on with her life and knew it wouldnt happen if the same jeannette situation happened again.
I disagree about the 'student/teacher relationship' trope in this case. Yes, in pretty little liars its super disgusting but HERE I really think its important because it shows the very subtle ways he groomed her and how easy it is for a teenage girl to find these things romantic. He groomed her to come to him for comfort and we see it from her perspective.
After she talks to the therapist, she STILL thinks that he initially didn't want to do something bad ...that he 'couldn't help himself'
She even defends him after another victim tries to speak out.
Grooming comes sneakily and in disguise - and that you think its just showing a 'romance' proofs that they did a good job showing how subtle groomers do it.
So true!!!
I think the show does an amazing job of showing who and what groomers are and that’s needed, especially after pretty little lairs tired to teach people it was okay.
@Tw0nk once she stayed a full night, even a few hours he would never let her go. By the time she stepped into the house, even before that it was too late.
its still disgusting.
YES, gosh her defending him when the other victim came out was such a sad moment to me, like she still doesn't understand that the time before he locked her in that basement and the time even before she stepped in his house asking for help were wrong, it could've "just" been after school tutoring but it could've been manipulative and wrong in so many ways, you don't need to be held against your will for your relationship to be grooming and wrong
The fact that this show takes place in 3 years simultaneously shows that the creators have a good hold and concept of the timeline of the show, which is good for a mystery
Wish I could say the same about Riverdale
I liked the part when they heard gunshot. At first I really believed it was fireworks and then they showed us that what Jeanette and Jamie heard was in fact Kate killing Harris
it was so so confusing going in blind and not knowing what was going on though lol I feel like I have to rewatch the show to fully understand it now
kind of like the Dark series
@@fatbitch7168 Nah dark was confusing af. Or maybe I am just really dumb.
okay but i would have totally played hide-in-seek in an empty house when I was 15 lol...i actually liked how goofy and childish those characters acted in 1993 bc it reminded me a lot of how my friends and I acted in late middle school/early high school. these characters are supposed to be nerdy, kinda sheltered unpopular kids, perhaps a little bit behind their peers in terms of maturity...and i thought the way they acted really helped to create that characterization. most teen dramas don't allow their characters to act like kids at all (and teens still are technically kids)...it was refreshing to see teen characters who aren't basically just adults roleplaying in a high school setting.
i agree!
I completely agree with this!!
Amen! I was surprised by the serie because it shows actual young teenagers. Sometimes I believe that, in fiction, you go from being a child to a sex addict, drug user, owner of a cabaret "a la Riverdale".
Yeah, I think kids were/are more innocent without internet and kids back then were less mature and more mature in different ways, they're more childlike because they're still riding bikes and have to make their own their own fun
Exactlyy
I think a lot of the “bad parts” of the show come from the writers trying to portray these high school kids as… well, KIDS. And I think the writers were very deliberate in this characterization. In particular, ep 9: A Secret of My Own, is very purposeful in the dialogue between Kate and Martin. When he’s speaking to her, he tells her it’s “bedtime,” asks her if she’s excited to get “presents from Santa,” and at one point makes a comparison between himself and her father. He talks to her like she’s a child, because she is a child. Kates therapist also points out that the relationship was never on equal footing, and Martin groomed Kate. The writers were trying very hard to show the complexities of Kates feelings toward Martin without romanticizing the relationship. They did this by consistently portraying Kate and the other characters her age as kids. They may go a little overboard at times, but honestly? I just find it refreshing that there’s finally a show with teenagers that lets them act like kids, instead of trying to force them all into adult roles.
The part that especially stood out to me was when Kate was talking about wanting to be older and Harris said she shouldn’t be in such a hurry to grow up.
Gotta give Cruel Summer its props, at least it told us where the hell Kate went to. I still had no idea why the hell Allison went to wherever she went to.
I deadass just realized they never told us where she went lol. They mentioned New York I think at some point but the houses there are crazy expensive, how the hell did she afford living there?
Alison went to plot hole purgatory.
@@tunafish5462 literal houses, in New York? Those are worth millions. A trashy one room studio apartment in a bad neighborhood... she might have swung it but only if she was working overtime and living off ramen.
@@tunafish5462)
alison should of stayed dead once they brought her back it all went down hill because the plot starting making no sense
Olivia Holt is so good honestly. She's been acting since she was a kid and you can tell.
She was also in Freeform’s ”Cloak & Dagger”
Precisely, Olivia has definitely grown up a lot since her Disney Channel roles, and I love how she's grown as an actress, and delving into darker material.
I hope she gets more acting roles after Cruel Summer. She's so talented.
I'm just glad another former Disney Channel actress managed to keep her sanity.
@@najhoant That show is genuinely incredible
I think the final twist totally aligns with Jeanette's character because it is really clear that her main goal in life was to have Kate's life and be as loved as Kate was initially. When Jeanette is proven innocent, she starts dressing all cute again and puts on that "popular girl" persona again, showing that all she really wanted was to be well-liked by society. Also, when Jeanette finds out that Kate is still alive, I don't think she fears she's gonna get caught, but she fears Kate will want to have her life back and Jeanette will be left aside by her "friends" and boyfriend. She then runs to her boyfriend's house to make sure he's okay, as a way to get a clue if he will want to get back with Kate or not. In the whole 1995 arc, I feel that Jeanette is grieving the life she lost. She is mad at Kate for ruining her life, but also scared of the power Kate holds against her because she is the original popular girl. So, I actually liked the final twist very much and thought it made the most sense.
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
The twist at the end makes total sense when you recall Jannette’s first reaction to hearing that Kate has been found was to say “did they find a body?” Like, that line told you everything from the very start. She knew Kate was in a situation of danger so she definitely knew where Kate was.
Not necessarily
Kate had been missing for two months, usually when a child is missing for even a few days they’re not likely to be found alive. i think a lot of people would have come to the conclusion that Kate probably wasn’t alive anymore by that point.
@@lithiumkid yeah I agree with you. Especially anyone who didn't know her so who is able to view the situation without emotions getting in the way. Most people who know the victim don't want to believe they're dead they want to hold out hope for as long as possible. But when you have no emotional connection you're able to think with logic and think a lot more rationally. I would assume someone missing for months is dead too
He literally said this in the video 🙄
@@lithiumkid yeah but when she heard she was alive she looked terrified and ran to Jamie.
Don't get me wrong, I definitely think Olivia Holt was the best actor in this show and deserves all the props, but I think people are neglecting the fact that Chiara Aurelia did a good job as Jeanette as well. I think she adequately showed the complexity of Jeanette's character and made an unlikeable character sympathetic
Exactly. Chiara was amazing and I know this is an unpopular opinion but I liked her character more than Kate. Like that scene where her lawyer is talking about her likability and she talks about how everyone hates her is incredible.
I completely agree! Also considering the fact that she was one of the youngest in the cast, and played such 3 distinct versions of herself in each year, that’s an incredibly demanding job especially for a young actor
Compared to Olivia Holt, Chiara literally played 3 different characters in each year, down to the way she talked and body language that she felt like 3 different people with the same name. But likeability, Kate took the cake because she was easy to sympathies with, and Jennette didn't give us the feeling of telling the whole truth.
i don't know, as far as i remember i never really found myself sympathizing with Jeanette. Honestly, it got to the point where i dreaded her episodes. I'd pretty much predicted the final twist because it didn't make sense to me that such an unlikeable character could have not been in the wrong
i never sympathized with jeanette, i hated her in all three years
I hope s2 is more like AHS, the same actors will come back for another summer mystery, maybe in another decade? Cruel Summer turning into an anthology series would be so much better than bringing the existing characters back.
I read somewhere that s2 is supposed to be an anthology.
Same if the writers tried to make a sequel to this story it will end up being really bad. Like I see no way they can bring back all the characters where it makes sense.
I just wish they made something totally different. This is a good series. Pushing more would be meh as hell. Plus the acting was fine but a lot of them weren’t and new blood would be good.
That's exactly what I was thinking. If they do end up doing that I'd love it if they gave the actors who play Vincent, Jenette's brother, and Ashley bigger roles.
What if they explore the 70s and why Jeanette's mom was popular and then not
If there was one message that I wish this movie highlighted more that wasn't very touched upon is how the very characteristics that made Kate beloved by her community and family was the same ones that left her more vulnerable to get advantaged of by guys like Martin. "Only Bones" is a movie that does this perfectly while in this series it was only acknowledged during that last conversation Kate had with her mother, of how she was praised for being obedient, kind, trusting and not questioning orders were the same things Martin used to manipulate/groom her, along with being made to always blindly trust adults and that they know best. This kind of thinking is specially dangerous to girls who are always taught that any kind of aggressiveness and politeness is something frowned upon when in reality those things are necessary to protect yourself and you have to trust your instincts when talking to adults, not every figure of authority is trustworthy.
This is such a good observation and such a horrible aspect of why gender roles are the way there are.
I'm a girl (for whatever reason, it's necessary to preface statements like this now), and I was an obedient, kind, and generally trusting child who respected authority figures. I was also taught that not every adult is a good person, told some warning signs, and that I not only could but *should* tell my parents if I noticed these things (or something else which felt off, even if it wasn't something they mentioned- and I have always had a stellar creep-o-meter). Here's an example: I NEVER would have willingly gone alone to the home of a teacher (or vice principle, or other adult authority figure), even if they were someone I otherwise trusted. While I was friendly with most teachers because I saw them as human beings with a tough job, and most of my teachers were decent human beings, there was still a distinct line between us. Honestly, I question whether a predatory teacher would have tried anything with me anyway. While I did have a widely known reputation as obedient and respectful, I also had a reputation as someone who cared about ethical standards and who was unfailingly honest (I'm on the spectrum, and having difficulty lying is a particular aspect of that for me). I would talk, and I would be listened to, because it was inconceivable to anyone who knew me that I would lie, especially given the extremely serious nature of the topic. This is also the reason why no one ever offered to sell me drugs in high school.
But I digress. Back to my folks: along with various warning signs, my parents also made sure to teach me and my siblings to be critical, ask questions, and look for answers. They made sure that they had good relationships with me and my siblings so that we talked with them about pretty much everything. There were a few incidents with teachers over the years- though thankfully not in the predatory way, they were just shady in other instances. I told my parents, they believed me, and they had my back if it was something we needed to take to the school. There are many reasons why I was never a rebellious kid, but one of the biggest is probably because I felt no need to.
I wish more people had that approach to parenting. I think it would protect a lot of kids from a lot of harm, and that it would save a lot of families a lot of grief. My parents were more protective than most in many respects, but I didn't suffer for it. They always explained their reasons for house rules and because they never intentionally told me anything that wasn't true (and still haven't), I trusted that they were more wise than I was (which they still are), though sometimes I begrudged the results of that wisdom. I'm 29 now and still speak a lot with my folks. I've since learned that some bad things happened to my mom while she was growing up, which was part of why she made sure that her kids were prepared to get out of bad situations (or, if we could help it, never get into those situations), and made me much more understanding of the limits I had as a teenager.
I'm single and childless as of now, but I do have a nephew and a gaggle of young nieces. My sister-in-law was home-schooled growing up, so while she isn't unaware of certain dangers, she is still naive to a number of things regarding warning signs of human behavior. She's also on the spectrum (as is my brother- their various quirks complement one another quite well) and has difficulty understanding people. After making sure I have permission from their parents, I have made it my task to see that the kiddos know enough to protect themselves if they have to. While they have a lot of adult family members around, they may get into a bad situation somehow, and I want them to be able to recognize it if they do. Even if (God forbid) that bad situation is brought about by one of those adult family members (again, God forbid). I'm most worried for my nephew because he's the most naively trusting, even though he's the oldest. I'm most confident in my oldest niece, who is fiercely protective of all her siblings (...possibly her older brother even more than her sisters, because he clearly needs the help- she's stopped him from absentmindedly wandering off in stores countless times), is a discerning child who takes note of details, and is by nature slightly suspicious of pretty much everyone.
I have no idea why I felt compelled to write a novel in response to a comment made 3 months ago (which may as well be years in internet time), but whatever. It's written, and I invested too much time in doing so to erase my words just because I've confused myself. Maybe I'm sleep deprived...I get more talkative (or type-ative) when sleep deprived.
Well, have a nice day in spite of the depressing topic :)
A similar thing happened to Steven Stayner. He was taught to be obedient toward adults and ended up being kidnapped at 7 years old and raised by his kidnapper until he escaped at 14. It's definitely an issue centered more around young girls, but children in general are easy targets for being told to "respect authority."
I really enjoyed reading your whole comment. And I am so happy that your parents were such good parents who were there for you emotionally, and who really guided you in a way that a lot of parents don’t guide children~ sadly.
I’m very happy that you learned these things specifically from your parents. I learned it from a cluster of people each with different lessons and such. Oh and I also tend to type really long comments too just because I usually have a lot to say, and I don’t like to do multiple comments or anything like that. So I completely relate!😅
So yeah I just wanted to thank you for sharing your experience, and I hope you have a very blessed day!
@@user-ub7bq4kn3h Well we're supposed to teach kids to respect authority AND look for red flags. You can't just skip the respect part all together. A video just went viral where a 15 year old boy brutally beat up a little nine year old girl because he knew the bus driver wouldn't do anything to stop him. Statistically, your kid is more likely to be harmed by another kid who wasn't taught to respect authority than to be harmed by a figure of authority.
The scenes where Kate is happy living with Martin are so disturbing, and when the Annabelle reveal happened, I cried nonstop. I was terrified Martin was going to try to kill her. Since they'd said he died in a shootout, I figured the police would show up before he could shoot her. I was so shocked when she killed him. I loved this show. It kept me on the edge of my seat. And that ending with Jeanette!!! It blew my freaking mind, and really cemented how creepy and messed up she is!
I honestly loved the final twist. The show would've been fine without it, but I thought it was still a good play on two truths to one story. She never saw her, and that was the truth. It lined up with Jeanette's character, and I kind of liked how they had such a vindictive person come out of a happy home life and fairly neutral experience at school because normally they'd give a much rougher upbringing to these types of characters.
Personally I was really disappointed with the ending. I wanted neither of the girls to be the culprit. It didn't really seem like a twist to me because I was expecting it and hoping it wouldn't happen. For too long nerdy, shy and awkward type girls like Jeannette have been mocked on tv shows and movies. And pretty, popular girls like Kate have been demonized. By making both Kate and Jeannette sympathetic the show was saying young girls are individuals like everyone else and shouldn't be put into boxes, regardless of whether they are popular or unpopular. But then the show ruined that by making Jeannette the ultimate villain. Martin was the true and only villain. Both Kate and Jeannette were victims of the media and society. They didn't need to hate each other and could actually have been friends if not for misunderstandings. But by making Jeannette the last minute bad guy they ruined an actually good message. And the director's defense of that was ridiculous too. Her claim that 90s society created Jeannette is nonsense. When you decide to leave a kidnap victim who's crying for help to suffer for months and then smile about it, you don't get to blame society.
@@janhavi1977 same.
How does that level of unconscionable cruelty make sense in retrospect? We saw more vicious dishonesty from Mallory, but the writers just brushed that off.
All we saw of Jeanette's "dark side" was typical teenage growing pains, and her desire to be popular and loved would have been absolutely immortalized if she'd been the one to rescue Kate--no psychopath with an ounce of sense would turn down such an opportunity. Writing like this that trips over dollars to make dimes just isn't worth it for me.
@@janhavi1977 I see how it was unnecessary, I really do. But Jeanette was always on her way to becoming a pretty girl (hence will be popular), but I personally just enjoy seeing a villainous female character that didn’t come from an abusive household. She’s just the way she is and it was very fun to watch.
@@tabithaprovan957 I actually wish they expounded on Mallory’s dishonesty and willingness to put the blame on Jeanette! She was such a horrible person from the get go and she practically got rewarded with Kate’s affection by the end.
@@corneliastreets YES. Mallory was a pushy, intimidating bully, absolutely threw someone under the bus that she not only KNEW was innocent, but also was the real witness herself, despised Kate for no reason until she decided Kate was malleable enough to befriend (gosh how odd that Kate the abuse survivor began copying Mallory's look and behavior when they became friends, what a healthy power balance), despised Jeanette who's only crime was standing up to her, and bullied Vince for not dropping his lifelong friendship with Jeanette purely to make herself more comfortable. Mallory was the one who showed evidence of vindictiveness, jealousy, control issues, manipulation, deception, and the desire to break rules.
But Jeanette who fought so hard to stand up for herself, encouraged and loved her friend when he was insecure about being different, chose to act kind when her ex friend tried hurting her, seemed to truly admire Kate at first, made her first real boyfriend undeniably happy, and loved her family enough to be giggly and thrilled they gave her a crummy framed photo as a birthday present--THAT girl was Snidely Whiplash the whole time, and Mallory the dumpster fire gets to be forgiven instantly and presented like some loving source of strength?
Wow. Hard cringe.
To me Jeanette screamed narcissist since the very beginning. Look at how she played the victim in every scenario, she almost loved it. Hiding those things and doing what she did wasn’t normal behavior. I think the ending was completely justified..
completely agree
Her character was really sealed for me when she did the interview and mimicked Kate down to her appearance.
I think the show could dive into Jeanette’s transition. Was she also breaking into Kate’s house while she was missing? I don’t think Martin’s house would have been enough of a dopamine release once it became predictable of when he was and wasn’t home.
It would benefit her more to get her ‘hit’ of breaking in while also gaining insight on how to be the person she admired/envied. There wasn’t much for her at Martin’s home beyond undermining his mildly powerful status.
I think the scenes of her mimicking tears and sadness so easily and immediately snapping back to blankness really cemented that
yes, well said. completely agree
I agree. The show made a point to show you that Jeanette really played up the innocent good girl victim thing, while enjoying the rush of doing bad things and lying, from the very beginning. She wanted people to love and admire her and think she was perfect, even under fake circumstances. She was very well written.
*Spoilers*
Yeah, the show was overall entertaining but I agree, Mallory was such an unlikeable character and became a borderline villain towards the end. The fact that there were no consequences for her actions and that she pretty much got a happy ending left me scratching my head. Like, Kate now knows that Mallory's the one who saw her in the window and could have helped her escape but didn't. Instead of hating her the same way she did Jeanette, she decides to get with her romantically...ok. Also did Jeanette's dad ever get monetary compensation for those two years of his life unravelling?
But Mallory seen the back of her head she didn’t know it was her that’s also proven by mallory’s reaction to Kate being rescued
@@viglor I know what you mean but I think the reason so many of us are angry about the twist is because it was so unneeded. Why even bring Mallory into to say “jk she saw her but didn’t know it was her”?? And how much Kate hated Jeanette without getting the full story but it was easy to start dating Mallory after that drama. A waste of air time for an annoying ass character and a bland twist.
But did Mallory actually know she was still in there? She passed by her and saw her not in the basement, but in the house's ground level. Even if she saw that she was visiting, it doesn't mean that she knew she was a captive. That was two months in, when she was still there by her own choice and not locked up in the basement.
@@TailsFanReally? She saw an UNDERAGE TEENAGER IN THE HOME OF A TEACHER. Wtaf.
@@lynnerose7891 Yes, but for all she knows it was just that one night. She didn't keep checking back to see if she was still there.
Was it messed up she was there? Yes. Did it mean she knew she was a captive after he locked her up later on? No.
honestly i actually liked the final twist. i think it makes a lot of sense for jeanette's character to actually know for a fact that kate was alive and being held captive, but just not in the way kate and the media claimed. jeanette seems to be the kind of character who operates off of technicalities. since she also doesn't mind lying, there is no conflict with her telling people she never saw kate. i would need to rewatch it to be sure, but i wouldn't be surprised if jeanette actually never straight up said she didn't know where kate was. it would be very interesting if she only ever verbally stated she never saw kate...
also, as much as mallory sucked as a person... i actually buy her character as believable. a lot of her lines (and others too) are really iffy, but mallory gives me those obnoxious "i'M Not LiKe OthEr GirLS" vibes.
I just watched the series, and I think you're absolutely right: Jeanette never says straight up that she didn't know where Kate was, and keeps repeating that she never SAW her. She never says "I didn't know she was there," she puts a lot of emphasis on the fact that she wasn't the one to SEE her.
Well the show portrayed grooming with nuance which is normally romanticized in other teen shows. They actually shed light upon an important issue which is noteworthy.
I agree. I like the way they handled it, despite the tricky job of telling a grooming story from the perspective of the person who was groomed. Kate feels very conflicted and guilty about her own victimhood because she thinks she invited it and even loved him- that's a very common feeling for grooming victims, but I don't see it explored a lot in media.
There is risk that people will interpret the show as going easy on Martin by refusing to make him some cartoon villain, but this is the way many real life abusers actually are. He's charming and controlling and seems to initially convince himself that he's not doing anything wrong. But if you look at the narrative as a whole it's clear he was grooming her from the day he met her.
@@kd8663 So True, couldn't agree more
literallyawerewolf he was very predatory with Jeanette as well. When he found her in his house, the way he acted and introduced himself as martin. Everything about him was weird. He singled Katie out because he knew she needed a confidant
The ending with Mallory makes a sick sense if you look at it in a way that Kate chooses toxic partners that control and manipulate her - but that isn't how the show really portrayed it. Mallory could have told the truth, knowing it could cause some difficulty in their relationship but also saving Kate from having to continuously endure her past trauma by going through with the legal battle. Kate could finally get closure, in that part of her story.
But Mallory didn't do that: 1) because she wanted to use Kate to hurt Jeanette and 2) because as long as Kate was hurting she could be the white knight to come and save her.
That is disgusting. Think about it - her belief that the person who saw her was Jeanette only caused Kate more and more suffering, isolating her from the people who had previously been in her life so she only had Mallory because of their previous relationship to Jeanette.
Kate only gained pain.
The only one who benefitted from the lie was Mallory.
Yes! I think nobody talks how terrible Mallory is! Is the only character that didn't pay for anything. I disliked her inmediatly because she was constantly pushing Jeanette to do bad and illegal things, not saying Jeanette was a saint but it was Mallory who pushed J to start lying. And I found creepy how she instantly decides to became friends with Kate after disliked her so much.
I hated her.
Tbh Mallory is kind of the Dr Frankenstein that created one of the monsters in the story.
I absolutely hate the fact she ends up with Mallory at the end.
@@Milk-mq6gl Same. She is bossy, rude, and manipulative. She absolutely hated Katie for no reason and suddenly flips to hatting Jeanette just because she didn't want to be friends anymore. I hated her so much, I wish she had consequences for twisting the situation
Up until the very end of the season I had so much trouble telling apart Jamie from Jeanette’s older brother. I think the writers knew this, too- it was always helpful when they would say lines like, “I’m just being a good brother” and I was like oh okay right that’s her brother not her boyfriend.
Omg i thought I was the only one
same for the first couple episodes i could not tell jamie, ben, and her brother apart 😭
I just didn't go through that bc I knew Jamie's actor since before thanks to Teen Wolf but it was so hard to me to tell when I was seeing Jenatte's brother and when Ben lmao.
Yes!! Jamie, Derek, and even Ben all looked very similar.
Same!
YES! The part about Jeanette's dad is exactly how I felt! He was a great character they I felt strongly about, aside from Kate.
Also agree about the no fall out for Mallory being messed up. I disliked Mallory from the jump, and they let us down with that. As for Jeanette... I knew she was off from the beginning when she was watching that video and mimicking how to be a sympathetic victim. Even if she didn't hear Kate, her behavior was WAY off. I wasn't mad at that final scene twist because for me, and how I watched it, it was a full circle come around to affirm that she will do anything to get what she wants. It was other scenes before it that seemed annoying and cheap to me.
I have hope that season 2 doesn't continue the same storyline. I'll wait to see what they choose to do before getting upset about it.
I actually liked Jennette’s character progression. It felt like a gradual unraveling of a psychopath. There is always something unnerving about her.
Agreed!!
Yeah, i catched since the beginning that this girl was going in the wrong path, and showing sociopathic tendencies... . Seriously she was clearly showing she was wrong in the head.
it definitely started because of Mallory trash personality, because of this summer list they did with Vince she started getting a liking to do bad things, invade people's privacy, lying and ultimately manipulating people for her own benefits. Because those things made her feel powerful and in control. She also thought those are what makes someone "cool". That's why when she took the fall for Vince at the mall, she was happy to brag to Jamie that she was often doing bad stuffs but was just not used getting caught. Like its something to be proud of🤦🏿♀️ also, why she was so proud to admit to her friends that she took the fall because she knew her dad would go easy on her. Basically just abusing her dad kindness, and THAT she did until the end without remorse. How messed up can you be??
I never could like her since the beginning. At the end I allowed myself to be fine with the fact she was innocent, but i knew she WAS NOT a good person. For that reason, even if an end where nobody is actually guilty would have been best...i just couldn't be surprised she actually did leave her to die. She is a lying spycho bitch.
Also, honestly Jennette's family have suffered enough because of her wrong doing. Even if she got away with her crime in the end, at least her dad, mom and brother can move on and be happy.
she had good character progress but i still hate her lmao
I liked her way more than Kate, and tbh I don't know why everybody loves Kate so much.
@@quizbangandedits1134 homestly, shes been gaslight so much for so long by so Many people that i cant blame her for shit
this show is surprisingly good and i wasn’t expecting the plot twist at the end
I was going to give this show an 9/10 until the final plot twist, that ruined all the mistery to me. It was so much out of nowhere and refuted all points previously established in the story about if she was inocent or not.
yEes
Me too, I thought that there was something fishy about Jeanette, since she was vocal about not SEEING Kate, but didn't say a thing about HEARING her, or not knowing that she was in the basement.
I'm surprised how people's standards are so low sometimes. If this is "good" and "9/10", I'm not sure what is a bad lvl
@@enzojose4001 I'm not saying this is a bad show but if you say this is a 9/10 it makes me wonder what you give showd like riverdale that are terrible
What I hated most about Mallory was that while she got called out as a massive bully once, she never really has to take that seriously and suddenly is a super supportive friend to Kate (but still likes to bully other people). Also, thanks for pointing out Harley's acting, I've never seen someone overact their mouth movement while speaking this much and it drove me nuts
I’ve never seen someone do that either lol but if you want to see someone underact with their mouth go watch the first two seasons of Westworld. Tessa Thompson was miscast as the “bad guy” and is trying WAY too hard to be “bad”
If my math is correct: Since Kate was locked in the basement during Christmas time (December) and was in there for 6 months, we can only assume since Jeanette is wearing a light dress and sneakers that its around april to june. If Kate was rescued in June then it's safe to say that Jeanette knew of Kate's situation for at most a couple months and at least a few weeks.
I would actually argue that Olivia's character is a good character on her own. She's a good subversion of the most popular girl in school trope. It's clearly shown that she's trapped by expectations of people around her to uphold her status quo. I really loved how they executed this concept. It's like she's Alison from pll only on a surface level.
Exactly how I see it
the sass and sarcasm in these videos are what fuel me to go on every week
Seriously!
The final twist was good, cuz it reinforced a theme of the show that I don't see discussed often, the monsters that live among us. A scary part of Martin Harris's character was that on the surface he was the sweetest guy ever, nobody knew he was twisted. And as somebody said in another comment, its refreshing because Jeannette had a very good life up to that point, no rough childhood and stereotypical bad stuff happened to her. Maybe yea, u can go down the route of society making her so desperate for that kind of life she had with kate gone, but in reality, she is simply screwed in the head.
My only bone to pick with this is that Mallory didn't know that it was Kate until Kate was rescued. She saw blonde woman on the phone in the living room. Hardly seemed suspect at the time. She finally realizes it was Kate on the rescue day. Mallory puts together what that means for Kate's story (that Kate was lying about being kidnapped from day one), she keeps quiet to protect them both. I think that's why Kate forgives her. Mallory didn't know it was Kate until it was too late to speak up, as Kate was already rescued by the time she put the pieces together. I also think it shows some growth for Kate's character, with her moving on from the past, realizing there was no malice in Mallory's inaction.
The fact that Mallory didn't tell anything publicly is understandable, but not telling Kate in private? While claiming to be her best friend? While knowing and literally SEEING for a whole year how Kate lives every day in a lie? Now that seems disturbing to me, Mallory didn't deserve her good ending
also talking about being in line with characters, she was like 18. Speaking up to even just Kate would have been terryfing. How do you bring someting this big up? And it was not like Mallory singled out Kate. They met randomly and then slowly fell in love which why I also think Kate forgive her
@@billie7745Mallory still encouraged Kate to go after Jeanette in court and destroy her family.
One thing I really love about the show is that Kate is never presented or written as being a “mean girl”. As in, she was popular, loved, smart, and she is genuinely kind, even to Jeanette when they first met. Her friends were not even “mean girls” until the first accusation came out. It was refreshing. Sadly her kindness and naivety is why she got groomed and taken advantage.
However we never truly see HOW Jeanette actually becomes popular. Like, she has one conversation with Jamie in the principal’s office and BOOM he likes her enough to date her? When? How? Where was their first date? How did she actually befriend Kate’s 2 girlfriends? It’s like an entire episode is missing in a way. Jeanette is SUCH an awkward weirdo. I believe she could achieve popularity, yes - that part is easy if you’re a little bit socially aware. But Jeanette…her personality makes me wonder how on earth she could possibly MAINTAIN social popularity by herself.
Regarding your point about knowing which characters are good and bad: this might sound “woke”, but I think the only characters who weren’t outright shady/sketchy were the PoC chatacters (Vincent, Ashley, Kate’s dad, Angela, and Denise). Other than the lawyer they were all victims of something! 😂
While she is an awkward weirdo, she is very manipulative. She manipulated everyone, her friends, family, boyfriend, and even kate herself.
I felt she was getting very close to fitting the profile of a psychopath or serial killer, but she dis not kill anyone so it goes to the first one.
@@gabrielleduplessis7388 I could see that. She did show an ability to put on the charm when she needed to for court.
I think I just wanted to see the transformation rather than be told about it with exposition
I think what Angela did, talking to Kate without her knowing it was actually bad, even though she had good intentions… but it’s nowhere near what some other characters did.
angela was definitely shady towards kate with the whole pretending to be a stranger online to talk even if she ultimately had good intentions. also she was kind of a bitch towards kate before she went missing.
YES i was waiting for the transformation and was disappointed
To be fair, Mallory said she saw “someone” in Martin Harris’s house. She thought it might have been a relative or girlfriend of Martin’s. She couldn’t have imagined that it was Kate and didn’t think much of it until after Kate was rescued. It’s like she said, what would a kidnapped victim be doing living freely around the house near a phone?
Yeah but she still gaslit Kate into going after Jeanette knowing that SHE was the one who saw her
@@dylomilo3235 Aren’t those two different issues? I know Mallory felt guilty for not realizing the woman in the house was Kate, but I don’t remember her realizing that Kate mistook her for Jeanette.
I agree, once Kate was rescued, Mallory realized the person she saw was Kate and that Kate wasn’t telling the whole truth since she didn’t appeared to be someone held against their will so Mallory saying something would likely get Kate into trouble so she decided to stay quiet
@@xmcampos1 She could've still told Kate the truth and stopped Kate going after Jeannette.
@@interregnum_ yeah i think she thought jeanette saw kate on another day
I absolutely love this show! The one huge weakness was MALLORY (as you stated in the video). She was definitely a nepotism hire who was trying to channel Janice Ian (and failed). I really liked the twist at the very end, because I love when shows end in a dark way. That being said, I'm super disappointed that it's being renewed for another season...as you said, the story is over. Anything else is going to feel contrived and overdone.
Thankfully it's an anthology it seems. So not the same characters.
I loved Jennette's father and brother. They both cared about her truth so much. She didnt appreciate them, but I did.
I appreciate that Cruel Summer didn't drag out the plot endlessly the way PLL did; the first few seasons of PLL were good, but the plot became unnecessarily convoluted and the writers introduced so many plot holes and mysteries that made no sense and never got properly resolved. With Cruel Summer, everything was (more or less) wrapped up neatly in 10 episodes, but the final ending leaves the door open to a possible season 2.
I hope they keep that door closed. Even though Cruel Summer wasn't a perfect ending it still was a decent ending. Freeform will inevitably kill this story if they carry on
I heard there is supposed to be a season 2. But it could be about totally different people.
Can anybody recommend me similar channel talks about tv shows
comparing one season of cruel summer (ten episodes) to seven season of PLL (around 20 episodes per season) is not a fair comparison at all tbh
They need to leave the door closed and move on to something new. Making another season on Jeanette seeing Kate would be such a yawn.
Am I the only one who wasn't surprised Jeanette heard Kate? Throughout the show they didn't try to hide how creepy and off she was. Girl was obsessed with Kate. She literally dressed like her and copied her outfit in the comeback interview. Like Mallory said she's a weirdo
Everyone suspected her, but seeing mallory turn out to be the character that was in the house was such a shock that it brought viewers gaurds down and that made it even more shocking when the writers throw you back onto jeanette’s trail
then there's the attempts to portray empathy i mean c'mon she's clearly a psychopath
@@Kmkmkms Mallory wasn't in the house, she watched Jeanette break in
Two things I absolutely loved in this show. #1 was how the teenagers actually looked and dressed their age for once! I always felt so insecure and ugly as a teenager just because I thought tv was accurate because I was homeschooled. This show really made sure they all looked their age and it made the teenage me cry a little.
#2 is the ending. That end scene was amazing. I literally said out loud “she didn’t see her…she heard her” and I got CHILLS. I thought it was well done and I actually felt it was totally in line with her character! The entire show she was portrayed as lying about something and when we find out she’s innocent I was like “well then why was she so upset and seemed like she was guilty” and then BOOM that end scene I was like oooohhhh shit! She wasn’t lying but she WAS . I fucking loved it.
my favorite part about costuming was Kate's hair. In 1993, Kate's hair is fully blonde. In 1994, Kate's hair is partially blonde. In 1995, it's almost completely brown
I think the final twist about how Jeanette knew about Kate's captivity the whole time would have worked better than it did if there was no season 2 coming. Like ending the series as a whole at that point would have worked, and I would have even overlooked the fact that the whole commentary on media thing was ruined, but knowing that there's a season 2, I couldn't agree more with what you said about the twist being there just for the sake of it.
The ending was the perfect one off series ending. I really hope they don’t make more of this. It doesn’t need to exist like come on. Get the people who made it to make something else so it’s a great team making good shit
It'll still work If the show turns out to be an anthology series
Sometimes I like shows like this getting a season 2 bu creating a new cast and new mysteries. Secrets and lies did that but got cancelled after season 2. The mysteries were intriguing and kept you on your feet, but explored new characters each season.
Cruel summer could be this way too and they could add cameos from the original cast.
@@sophiescherk9279 I really hope that’s what they end up doing. A new summer mystery jumping around the timeline would be great.
@@sophiescherk9279 yeah, like The Sinner. I don't think they'd ruin this show by stretching its story.
I didn’t expect to find so many people who hate the final twist here. I actually really enjoyed the final twist because rather than undermining the messages of the show, I think it made us realize we were interpreting the wrong message the whole time. The commentary about media and mob mentality ruining a (potentially innocent) person’s life is brilliant, but it’s secondary.
The true message of this show (in my opinion) is that evil people are just as nuanced as the rest of us. They are not solely defined by their unforgivable acts, at least not in their own heads-and not in their lives before they get caught.
Early on I assumed that Jeanette was meant to be guilty, because she’s a freaking creep. She’s not just your average awkward teenager-she’s literally obsessed with Kate Wallis. I don’t think that scene in the mall was bad acting turning her into a caricature. I think we were supposed to walk away from that scene thinking “This girl’s frickin weird.” She’s obsessed with Kate when she’s around, and then steals Kate’s life when she disappears (and I really wish we had gotten an episode showing how she pulled off that transition). Then as soon as Kate returns, she stole it again. Kate shows up on TV with short hair; Jeanette immediately chops her hair off. Kate tries to press charges; Jeanette sues her. Jeanette gets to go on the show after dropping the lawsuit, she wears an outfit identical to Kate’s (and looks terrible in it). She even steals some of her dialogue for the “To the girl” bit. Jeanette was never a normal teenager. She has been an escalating creep from day 1 and the show gives us multiple hints at that.
So while I didn’t see the final twist coming, I did love it because I thought it was a powerful message on how truly messed up people can look and act like the rest of us so convincingly that they believe their own lies (think how loved Martin Harris was in 1993). And the show did a fantastic job “grooming” us for one reality before revealing the other. I think it’s brilliant.
I do, however, wonder what the point of continuing into season 2 is. Not really behind that idea. And I don’t really like the idea of the anthology style either. Because what’s the point of that? Just make a new, similar show if that’s the route you’re gonna take.
i completely agree with this! especially the fact that she continuously got off on sneaking into martin harris' house like
I agree with everything you just said. I loved the ending because it got a lot of us rooting for Jeanette and how sad she is but the show kept reminding how manipulative she can be.
@@nataline172 agreed
Yeeees, Jeanette was so creepy the whole time! I felt the ending suited her perfectly.
I was kind of on the fence, but this comment convinced me. Yes, it all makes sense when you frame it like that.
And it also ties to Martin - he wasn't a cartoonishly evil monster killing girls for fun, but a person who drove himself into the corner with his gradually worse and worse choices. He was grooming Kate, but he wasn't planning to have her trapped in the basement from the beginning. He thought he is a good, innocent person, right up to the ending in which he started feeling guilt.
Have you considered talking about the show "You"? I'd love to see your perspective on how easy is for the audience to find Joe attractive and actually kind of care about him when we're not supposed to.
Yesssss totally
Omg yes yes
this video made me think this too! I know he has mentioned he gets a lot of recommendations but I wonder if he will talk about YOU i would love to hear his perspective
Agree. It is weird how the audience loves Joe. He is actually 10x worse in the books, so is Beck for that matter. But he saved her freaking bloody tampon! C'mon. If I was dating a guy and discovered that, I'd be like WTF! yet everyone watching the show loves him!
@@BarbaraAnnB-yi5ew If you had a gay man stalking straight man the way Joe does no one would care abt him.
also Jamie being a gaslightet and a violent asshole was like a lot of red flags for nothing; I thought he was going to be more villainous than that (which is worrisome already). Kinda insane that he ended up with Jeanette after all, but she was blinded by the prospect of having him. I'm very sorry for her entire family since the mom was kinda right and both his father and his brother defended her when she didn't deserve it, not to mention Vincent
Yes, Jamie having a gun in his car and acting all sus it was for nothing?? I don't understand in which moment he suddenly decided to be a good guy, because they show him being all dangerous in front of her house in 1995, but then they also show him trying to apologize to Jeannette back in 1994? It doesn't make sense
I wish that Jeanette’s dad and brother and the writers took Jamie punching her WAY more seriously. Why was that his first instinct? To hit a woman??? They never explained it properly. It felt like it was just there for shock value but all it did was make me uncomfortable and really disgusted by everyone. The fact that Kate was with him after that, I can’t even!!!!
Friendly Space Ninja is really blue balling us with all the stabs at 13 Reasons Why. Probably the next “Riverdale” video.
i thought he confirmed it was going to be the vampire diaries and it’s gonna take like 2 months or something
@@whatamidoing4079 You don't really have to wait for his TVD video. Jenny Nicholson made a 2 hour commentary video about it and it's glorious. I highly recommend checking it out.
Yea really can't wait for that one
@@saloosh777 She ate that shit up!
@@saloosh777
I don't even watch The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. Legacies is decent, tho. But I never thought I'd be so hooked on a video of a show I don't care about
It’s odd that you say that was how they marketed - I had a totally different experience. Cruel Summer was all over my Hulu ads and I had no idea of Jessica Beal (or however you spell it). The ads for me were very obvious that Jeannette stole Kate’s identity and set it up as a mystery. There were other ads I saw that set it up as a basic drama. It’s intriguing how ads are conveyed differently to each consumer
Me too, I saw ads for this show all over Hulu and UA-cam, it was basically the only ad I saw for like a month. I ended up watching it because I saw so many ads I got kinda curious lol
Same
For me I did what anyone does when they see a ad on UA-cam… refresh and/or skip
I didn't even know that show excited until alex myers made a video about it so I watched it.
i had the same experience as you and i was genuinely interested in the plot from watching the ads. i did think it was weird that none of the actors did press for it or anything like those Google question things that everyone does or interviews or anything
I appreciated the realistic take on grooming. I think young people believe predators will be obvious to them, creepy, overly sexual, etc. It’s nice to show that sometimes they can be people that appear to be very normal and that you may even feel chemistry with-and it’s STILL wrong…pretty little liars could NEVER
I know that this wasn't released until recently, but Cruel Summer is going to be an anthology! So season 2 is going to be a whole new cast with a new plot and everything just still a mystery, which I think is the best way they could've gone because a season 2 of the same plot really didn't make sense
Although, I didn’t see the twist coming. I felt that Jannette had the propensity to do something that cruel. She continuously shows a lack of empathy and is a shell of a person. She doesn’t care that her friends are concerned for Kate in the mall scene in 1994. She is shown practicing crying in 1995. She plays the perfect daughter in 1993 because all she does is mimic how she believes she is suppose to be. I feel like this behavior of mimicking is also shown with the news anchor. She dress just like Kate did when Kate called out Jannette on the same show. I personally was going to be a little disappointed if they ended it with Jannette on the talk show.
Edited for grammar.
When did she practice crying?
@@someoneirrelevant1518 the first or 2nd episode I think.
Jeannette was the awkward daughter of a "perfect" mother, who wanted her to be like Kate. When she finally cracked that code, by copying Kate, she experienced popularity, she was finally "good enough". She practiced crying because her lawyer told her she needed to portray the victim. At the time she was so anger fuelled that it could have lost her the case and she was not about to let that happen. She was definitely not mentally healthy, but probably more of an "I've worked too hard for this, to not deserve it"-type of insanity.
I, too, felt somehow vindicated when they revealed the final twist. Jeanette gave off a creepy vibe to me on several occasions and it somehow felt good to have that feeling proven right :D
@@tiner8414 I agree with this part about her mom when she stopped being perfect her mom abandoned her .
Personally, I wish Jeanette had been guilty of something, but not guilty of that. I really like the idea that both girls were lying about things but neither was the villain. In the beginning, I wondered if Jeanette had known about Kate and Martin's "relationship", which Jeanette believed was romantic, and therefore "kept Kate's secret. Then she used Kate's departure to her advantage to slip into her life.
Like you, I appreciated the scene, but I found it kind of contradicted some of the themes. Cruel Summer could have shown how the media can take someone who isn't perfect and is just a normal level of flawed and ignore facts and hone in on unproven allegations to push their narrative. Instead, although Jeanette is innocent of Kate's exact accusation, she was still pretty bad as a person.
I got the feeling that the show decided halfway through they didn't want either girl to be the villain and started portraying both more sympathetically only to realize they'd already filmed/written a few scenes of Jeanette being sketchy and awful and had to bring everything full circle.
They do start to paint Jeannette more sympathetically, but only really because people start believing/backing her. I think the fact that she was still actually guilty but by the end is an wronged angel in America’s eyes proves Jeannette’s point that she just has to play the part.
Jeannette is a bad person and I honestly thought that even if she was innocent she probably would have done it anyway, which is the route the show ended up going in. If Jeannette had been totally innocent, then I think she would’ve too innocent honestly since leaving Kate and lying about it fit her character (at least the way I saw it). The ending did kind of feel slightly like a cop-out though, since it didn’t commit to one story and the media still loved everyone, which was the only reason I was conflicted.
Absolutely! If she *had* seen her on Christmas Eve, and convinced her not to say anything that would have been way more complicated for both of them.
@@niyamitchell6818 Yeah, I don’t think she was a good person-I just wish they’d been a little more grey. I feel like either both girls should’ve been fairly decent people who made mistakes or relatively conniving. I don’t like the idea that either girl was actually THE villain. I would’ve preferred something more nuanced, but maybe I’m asking too much of Freeform. At least Cruel Summer was handled better than PLL, and it’s leagues better than what the CW has been doing.
@@samkathryn4825 Lol yeah the CW doesn’t even come close. I see what you mean by one girl being THE villain in the end, but in a way I still don’t think that’s true. The show does end up painting Jeannette to be more villainous, but Kate still ruined her life for a time based on a false assumption. A false assumption that ended up being what she deserved, which I think was meant to make them grey. It was just a little heavy handed on Jeannette’s part I think
@@niyamitchell6818 lol, definitely too heavy handed.
Season 1 twist with Janette actually knowing Kate was being held captive is awesome! I agree with you on most things - but not that one. That was a brilliant twist. The concept of Kate not remembering killing her captive is on par. It’s called selective amnesia related to trauma. A lot of therapists believe in allowing or easing the person into remembering. Just telling them “hey, you killed somebody” could backfire. There’s really no timeline. Hope that helps.
XOXO,
Psychnurse 👩🏿⚕️
I don’t think the twist took it back. In fact, Jeanette wearing the same outfit as Kate in her interview kind of lines up to me. It was interesting to hear your take though. Also, I assume she knew for a while. Like early on into her descent into Kate’s life. She had just gotten what she wanted and it was close to being taken away
I absolutely adore the idea of the show having a second season, only if the show becomes an anthology. So a second season with the same actors portraying different characters with a different story that has nothing to do with the first season. Honestly, if it isn't like that, I'll just pretend that there is no second season, because a continuation will ruin everything good about the first season.
Yesssss. I’ve been saying this. The only way a second season works in my opinion.
Yep, should be pretty obvious, but this dude also totally misunderstood the Mallory twist and decided to rant about it for 10 minutes, so he clearly doesn't make many rational thoughts before putting it on tape. He seems to think Mallory saw Kate even though it's spelled out for us visually and verbally that she didn't know it was Kate because she only saw a blonde woman in the house.
Lol, I clocked Jeanette’s shadiness from jump. I was NOT surprised. There were WAY too many red flags throughout, I was honestly relieved by the final twist because I was so afraid they were going to try and prove her innocence in spite of all the really glaring warning signs.
What red flags? Gimme some examples I totally didn’t suspect anything
@@jacksonmcnuggets7488 I particulary remember the scene when Mrs Wallis left the school after reporting Kate missing to Mr. Harris. Jeanette followed her and told her "I am here to help if you need me!" (or something similar). Mrs. Wallis told her she didn't need her help and Jeanette just watched her leave with a really creepy grin on her face. Also, the entire breaking in thing, her obsession with Kate, her keeping the drugs after lecturing Mallory about them...
@@jacksonmcnuggets7488 she literally asked if Kate was dead. Why would she think Kate was dead when everyone believed she ran away? She mimicked Kate's behavior like a creep, she is a pathological liar, and highly manipulative. It's very easy to see.
Same, tbh I was surprised with how many people were talking about how they didn't expect what happened to happen, I do think it was a good mystery but they showed that Jeanette was constantly lying, that Kate's memory wasn't 100% and Mallory had something up with her that wasn't quite right, so the twists while surprising weren't completely unexpected
the "you didn't start kicking it with us until after she went missing" actually feels like realistic dialogue to me personally as a teenager in today's world...since I feel like people would say that...could just be me though
yeah i agree!! im a teen myself and like. i would say something like that. mayb this youtuber is just old
@@endlessgendervoid I don’t think it was that the sentence itself didn’t sound realistic, but more the delivery and the context, what would actually prompt you to say that word for word in real life to two people who know that fact themselves already?
Yeah it’s not how they said it, but the fact that they had to go: “oh, well don’t you remember best friend how we met and became best friends, and don’t you know the timeline of our best friendship” which obviously all three of them are already aware of
In Mallory's defense, she didn't know it was Kate in Martin Harris' house until after Kate was rescued (she just knew someone else was there). I still would've expected a bigger consequence for that though
Yeah but...that wouldn't have done anything, there shouldn't be a consequence for seeing a woman walking around freely around a house, what would speaking up have done? Jeanette is guilty nonetheless
this is what I'm still so confused about. the whole season Kate kept saying she made eye contact with the person who saw her, she thought it was Jeanette but it was actually Mallory, but if they made eye contact then how come Mallory didn't recognize her ??
@@serendestiny7574 kate says that she lied about the eye contact thing
@@serendestiny7574 It is shown in the last episode. Mallory saw Kate from the back (didnt know it was Kate at that time), then Kate tunred the light off, ran to the window, broke a vase and looked out. Mallory turned to the house with her hood up and for a brief second we see mallory's perspective. She sees the house with dark windows and the street mirroring in the windows. Kate saw Mallory looking towards her but Mallory just saw a dark window. Not Kate in it
Surprised that they didn’t market it as the Olivia holt show seeing that she’s a legend for everyone who watched Disney channel like 8 years ago(and are teenagers now)
was she in disney movies or something? i remember her being in “i didnt do it” but that wasn’t that great or iconic a show
@@mimigigihere she was in a lot of Disney movies but mostly she was on kickin it(Disney xd) and she was even on another freeform show lol
@@mimigigihere girl vs. monster. I guess not really that “iconic” either but I love that movie. I feel like she’s also done cameos on other Disney shows not sure tho
@@mimigigihere Yeah, I knew her as that girl from the show "kickin it" and the movie "girl vs monster" so I recognized her immediately when I saw the trailer for the show.
I didn't even know her from Disney Channel but she was still the hook for me having loved her in Cloak and Dagger!
I thought the final twist was actually really obvious, Jeanette mentioned that she'd broken into Martin's house countless times, it would've been almost impossible that she didn't hear Kate. It also kind of affirmed that she really was a sociopath, cause she considered herself the victim since she never saw Kate, but no one asked if she heard Kate. And I'm pretty sure that she wore the same dress in the first episode that she did at the final scene, which could make you assume that Jeanette called the cops on Martin because she wanted Kate dead, but I don't think the timeline of that scene matters more so than for showing off Jeanette's true colors
I don’t think Jeannette would have called the cops tbh. As calculating and manipulative as she had been thus far (she literally used semantics to convince everyone she didn’t know where Kate was), it wouldn’t make sense for her to call the police because there was definitely a chance Kate would be freed and her world would come to and which it did. I think her smile at the end was her hoping that Kate would just be locked up for the remainder of her life or however long because at least she was a contained threat to Jeannette taking over her life.
Just finished the show and went onto Reddit. Saw a post where one of the show runners (I think) stated that Jeanette had known about Kate being in the basement for MONTHS. That means the final sequence took place around march/April/may (somewhere around that time).
@@mkwhite5054 I don't think she would've either, but throughout the season there is a little humanity given to Jeanette, so maybe she did call cops? I would prefer if they never addressed that part the next season, so that we'd all have to figure out if Jeanette did call the cops and if she did so just to alert Martin or to actually free Kate based on how much of her character is shown.
@@Murasaki_137 It's very possible, Jeanette having done that earlier into the kidnapping means she would've been more careful around the house, thus why Kate wouldn't've realized someone actually did break into the place countless time
Kate mentions that she called the cops herself after a day
The second season isn't going to be about this story it's going to be about something completely different with a different cast
the irony of season 2 being a completely different story 😭
This show is a good example of a great concept, and good planning. The dialogue and acting was pretty hit or miss but it's easy to forgive with how well thought out it all was. Tbh I don't think Mallory was really culpable because she was only a teenager, and even said she didn't realize it was Kate, and not Mr. Harris' girlfriend or something. Though I agree that Kate should be wayyyy more hurt.
Can anybody recommend me similar channel talks about tv shows
Someone said that Kate was actually mainly angry at Jeanette because she stole her life so she told the police that Jeanette saw her from Martin's window even tho she wasn't planning on doing so until she saw her kissing Jamie, her ex which she stole. So when she found out it isn't Jeanette that saw her, it didn't matter to her anymore because she was only targeting Jeanette. I think it makes sense but I would have liked if Kate was more angry and it didn't end with them dancing and kissing ngl. Mallory didn't suffer the consequences at all.
@@deepakjangid98 Alex myers and Amanda the jedi. Dylan is in trouble too but he does videos about movies more that tv shows. There is also Kennie J.D and Elvis the alien but they do videos about movies only.
Kate just wants someone to trust tho, initially I was also disappointed that she wasn’t more angry but she didn’t have anyone else around her supporting her. While I hate Mallory and she is terrible and there are obvious red flags in their relationship, all highlighted by that confusing kiss at the end, showing just how much unresolved tension and unaddressed aspects of their relationship there have been that have been slipping under the radar. Kate has a tendency to be easily manipulated by toxic partners and she also is probably tired of being angry at everyone around her. My heart broke when she found out what Mallory knew, it was another time Kate’s trust was broken but she was so exhausted at being (very rightfully) angry with everyone around her that should be helping her that she probably pushed down all of her anger with Mallory in order to preserve just one connection, even if she knows deep down it’s not healthy.
By far this is the best teen drama mystery that I have seen. And yes, one can argue that this is Pretty Little Liars done right.
Also, it should be noted that the color scheme change for each year was perfect for reflecting the emotional change for for characters. We start with the bright and innocent year of 1993 slowly transform into the near colorless shades of 1995. This drew me in as much as anything else.
As for the second season, I read a rumor online claiming that it would be something akin to American Horror Story. It will have the same actors but a different story. That can work.
I usually don't like the dark blue filter cuz I can't shit but I really liked it here. I heard that it's gonna be an analogy too and I really hope it's true cuz if not then it's most likely gonna flop, which is a shame cuz I loved the show.
@@tunafish5462 It's hard to imagine a second season with these same characters. Attempting to force another story out of this group wouldn't work to well.
@@Wkumar07 Well at least i hope they'll make it intresting, i honestly have high expectations.
i cried when kate killed martin it shows how complex her emotions are towards him. she goes from not wanting to kill him bc she was in love to anger at him. it reminds me of my own feeling towards predators when i was in a similar situation. being groomed into a relationship doesnt make those feelings any less real especially from a young age when feeling like love are new and unfiltered.
The reason why Kate didnt get mad at Mallory is very simple to me. She wasnt mad at Jantte for knowing she was captive and not telling anyone. She was mad at Jenette for stealing her life.
The problem I have with this, is that Mallory letting Kate go ahead with the trial could have bankrupted her family and destroy her name or Jeanettes.
And rhe only reason Malloy went along with it is because the beniftted from it.
I did not expect a Sarah Z reference but I love it
SAME
She's great.😁🍷
I’m conflicted about the ending as well, I feel like we saw enough hints that Jeannette can be quite sneaky and manipulative that the final reveal didn’t feel entirely off base. But it also felt like it undermined everything the show had been pushing the audience towards in relation to rooting for Jeannette and feeling sympathetic for her.
I was conflicted for a few days, but ultimately I decided that the twist ending was the way for the show to prove that Kate was telling the truth and Jeannette was “innocent” but that she still totally would have done it (and did). Having Kate lie would, I think, let Jeannette off the hook too easily (and vilify Kate an insane amount). If we knew that Jeannette saw Kate and was just lying the whole time, I think that takes more of the punch out of the mystery, since no one can prove Kate’s statement other than Jeannette, who obviously wouldn’t. The whole time I was watching I was like I don’t think Jeannette is this good of a liar. That said after the reveal but before the final twist I was like yeah she probably would have done it tho. And then I was right lol. Still a little conflicted at the time, but also validated.
Honestly I think you’re supposed to feel sympathy for everyone, even Jeannette post-twist. Some more than others obviously. I think without the twist Jeannette is too innocent and warrants too much sympathy. Obviously what she did to Kate was horrible, but her home life still crumbled. Really in this show I felt bad for Kate and Jeannette’s dad. If anything the unilaterally happy ending proved Jeannette’s point that it’s all a facade anyway.
I mean, Mallory DOES make a valid point. She didn't even see Kate's face, just a blonde girl on the phone not looking in distress or in need at all. Why WOULD she assume it's Kate?
also it raises such an interesting question of what we consider kidnapping to be. the fact that Kate felt she couldn’t tell anyone she willingly went to Martin’s house freely because that would put her at “fault”, because society still often sees kidnapping as white vans and drugging and being tied up bc that’s how it’s portrayed in the media. while it can be all of those things, a lot of kidnappers don’t need to take their victims by force bc they’ve gained their trust and have essentially brainwashed them. seeing kate blame herself for her own abduction was so incredibly sad bc you know that’s so real
Mallory staying silent while the lawsuit went on means she let Kate ruin her name by being proven wrong and she let Jeanettes family get destroyed over something she knew wasn't true .
No matter how you slice it, Mallory still benefitted because Kate would be more dependent on her.
I kind of like the final twist. I didn't think Jeanette was an especially likeable character and at times throughout the season I was even convinced that she DID know, even though it wouldn't have made sense, because for the premise to work out she kind of needed to be innocent. So the way they did it actually completely validated my thoughts. Maybe that's why I liked it haha.
That final twist would have made more sense if they had shown it as the point where Janette turns into Kate 2.0. Like she now knows/feels that Kate will never come back so she can finally properly take her place
Yes!
Yes, it'd have been much better if she had straightened her hair right after that.
Fr
as much as i love kate, i 100% agree on the final plot twist. i genuinely believe it undermines so much of jeanette’s character and the payoff her character receives, like you say, of having been innocent & unfairly condemned, by suddenly making her a moustache twirling villain, smirking as she walks off screen in the final scene. it truly does feel like the writers just wanted to have another plot twist for the sake of having another plot twist at the end, to cap it all off and provide the basis for a second season. i just think it takes away from the parallels and relationship between kate & jeanette as our lead characters and flawed protagonists as well, by doubling down on jeanette having been straight up evil and playing fake for the majority of the show. it could’ve been the start of something beautiful between them and really enhance the experience of having had their joint pov’s throughout the show but no... they just had to ruin it at the end there.
I think that the twist makes sense. Jeannette wants to be Kate and have everything she has. She cannot do that if Kate is back, so she has a vested interest in not helping her get rescued. Jeanette has broken into her principals house dozens of times, wouldn't you find it weird if she never once saw something suspicious? It makes complete sense that she would discover his secret eventually and she didn't help because it would incriminate her considering the fact that she was illegally entering the property in the first place
But Mallory didn't see Kate. She saw SOMEONE and assumed it was Martins gf or something. She didnt realise it was Kate until after she was rescued, and kept her mouth shut because it would contradict Kate's kidnap story. I know this because Mallory litterally tells you, it's not subtle. It's a bit odd that you'd miss that after watching the show twice lol.
I think you may have zoned out at the ending, which is understandable. When kate confronts Malloy, she pretty clearly explains that while she saw a figure in the window that night, she was not able to see her cleaerly enough to determine who they were and had no idea it was kate.
The Pretty Little Liars BOOKS (the original ending was book 8) is a MYSTERY done right. I wish more fans of the show would read them.
Was the teacher/student relationship imported from the books?
@@Scarleto I read that it was treated as grooming in the books, unlike the series. I haven't gotten that far yet though.
@@Scarleto the teacher goes to jail in the books and the "relationship" definitely doesn't even last long
@@nyxldx How to defenestrate people in show who made the executive decision to make that romantic
@@Scarleto I honestly cannot believe that not only they got away from criticism at the time, but a bunch of people were supporting it! 🥴 Both young and older!
Hoping season 2 is a whole other story with different characters.
i was just thinking that i don’t want to see these characters come back and do anything tbh
I hope so too
Honestly, if I were in Kate's situation, I'd throw down with Malary so hard. It's a shame they took the forgiveness route, I love dramatic conflict.
I think Olivia Holt and the Dad were by far the best actors in this show. The only way I can think of this show not shooting it self in the foot with another season is if it becomes Anthology. I think that will allow for more diversity and better writing for characters.
I think this is the first time I’ve heard of Cruel Summer. I think you did a better job marketing this show than Freeform.
Did anyone else notice Kate is an anagram for Take and Turner is an anagram for Return? Just something to think about…
Could you please elaborate? I’m confused
@@ih8u295 the name Kate has the same letters as the word "take" and the name Turner (Jeanette's surname) has the same letters as the word "return".
@@corneliastreets ok but what does that mean?
@@tunafish5462 it’s just their observation. Their names are anagrams for words that relate to the other character. Kate returns, Jeanette takes.
The good news is it’s an anthology!!
This is late but Season 2 is a whole new story.
personally, there’s two big things i didn’t like about the show:
1. ben and vince. i liked their relationship because they were cute and it gave more insight into their characters but it just felt too secondary to the story. you could take out all their scenes together or about the relationship and it wouldn’t make a difference to the show. i felt like it was missed opportunity to make their relationship relevant to the main plot by either bringing a new conflict to the table or being directly involved in kate’s story or in the lawsuit (like jeanettes’s brother and kate’s sister relationship made a HUGE difference in the story). all other relationships in the show have a purpose and i feel like this was just a way to develop characters that in the end weren’t too important in the story or just a wat to fill the time. it bothers me because this is NOT a character driven story (like s*x education). it is a well crafted and calculated story, where all things have a relevance to the story, even if you don’t see it at first. and they had building up that relationship so much that i expected it to further or evelate the story, but it didn’t
2. WTF WAS JAMIE’S CHARACTER??? if i could even call him that, because it feels like an insult to all the other well written and developed characters. he was merely a plot device for the girls to “fight” over or to see what we needed to see (jeanettes “innocence”, the phone call, ben’s accident, etc). but he had no reason to do anything that he was doing! he had no motivations or needs , he was just there to be “the boyfriend”. i honestly didnt care the first time i watched the show, but during the second time it was just soooo noticeable and annoying. i think that this was a poor writing choice, considering that they could’ve used the time they spent in vince and ben’s relationship developing this character so that his actions made sense, considering that the things he did affected the story greatly.
and this is it, other than that, i think that this show is AMAZING and sooo interesting to watch. i heard that there was gonna be a second season, but i don’t think it needs one. that ending was brilliant and the perfect conclusion to the story.
I would add a third one: Mallory.
@@MelissaIvette26 i actually didn’t hate her, i know, surprising
True, towards the end, most of the side characters, namely Cindy, Angela, Ashley or Derek, ceased to become plot relevant, and scarcely appeared. I know that they wanted to focus on other characters, and resolve these subplots in Season 2, but it just felt a little anticlimactic. At least they left things open ended with Vince and Ben, with Ben explaining why he publicly rejected Vince after Vince tried to comfort him after the car accident, implying that maybe they could get back together next season.
Olivia really put her all in this role. She did so well
I’m like 98% sure the wig was literally the result of whoever was in charge of costume or whatever putting on a normal wig, and then hacking at it to give it the look of someone doing an at home cut when their mind isn’t in the best place.
I loved how they actually felt like they were teens. It’s rare for these shows to have teens that seems like teens.
(Spoilers) One of the best things about this show was that it wasn't about who had done the kidnapping (because we already knew that) it was about which of the two girls was lying and I was so happy in the finale when it seemed like the answer was going to be neither of them. Yes, there was Kate hiding the manner in which she entered captivity and there was Jeanette trying to cover up the fact that she kept on breaking into the house when no one was home, but they were both telling the truth (to the best of their knowledge) about whether Jeanette could have gotten help. I even understood why Kate forgave the girl who actually saw her when she was so ready to crucify Jeanette. It had a lot to do with her explanation of her side of things and how she reacted when confronted with what she had actually done vs how Jeanette had reacted when confronted with her supposed guilt. The point wasn't guilt it was admitting that they had done wrong. This is where I say that I HATED the final twist. It ruined what was great about the twist before it. Because, before this, no one was really guilty of anything needlessly malicious. Kate was looking for justice for what she was sure was an evil done to her. Jeanette was trying to regain her own and her father's good standing and reputation. Even girl who actually did it mostly didn't understand what she had seen and felt trapped and guilty when she figured it out. The final twist took that twist that made this feel like something actually sort of original and just told the audience "well you knew we weren't going to let that happen".
Right. I hated that so much. Their character archs was done and fine. Why couldn't they just leave it at that?
If you hate the final twist, you probably should watch shows with happy endings and innocent protagonists.
Agreed. I hated the final twist mostly because I was rooting for Jeanette. I certainly wasn't against Kate who is victim of circumstance, but I was sure that it was misunderstanding. I genuinely thought she hadn't seen Kate and felt bad after seeing how her family crumbled due to this whole mistaken identity deal. Yeah she was a little weirdo who obviously wasn't the completely innocent person that she seemed in the first year but who is that innocent? No one is a perfect angel and everyone has a secret which is made obvious in this show. I just thought it wasn't that secret.
THIS. This is why I hated the last plot twist so much. It doesn't make sense with the rest of the story
I genuinely really enjoyed this show. Something I also think made the show work was that it came out week by week. There were sooo many theories going around and it was genuinely... fun to join in on them. And, being 28, I hadn't felt that much excitement about teen drama show theories in a while, lol.
i had no idea it came out week by week, I watched the whole thing at once on amazon prime 😅 i cant imagine the anticipation yall must have felt for each episode, sounds fun!
oh my god the way the reddit sub would LIGHT UP after every episode it was so fun
PLL destroyed my trust so badly that I don't ever expect to have the mystery solved in teen shows anymore. While this show wasn't my favorite, it built back some of that trust and excitement. I hope one day someone will be able to duplicate the energy of PLL and be able to follow through on the mystery.
It's not like it is impossible to do both, I read hundreds of compelling fan theories all pushed to the wayside just to be able to say, "nobody saw this coming". As if that was an accomplishment and not a complete failure in the writing.
@@mariaelenamattone5221 it was honestly so fun! One of my closest friends and I would watch it at the same time and text each other with theories/our thoughts etc, and it was such a fun time.
@@quicksilverchaos4122 yessss! I spent probably wayyyy too much time on the subreddit during the show running 😂 it was so fun to see so many people posting their theories
I saw someone say that making Jeanette the final villain or antagonist of the show, drastically reduces the impact of Martin Harris and I agree. Jeanette before the plot twist was kinda weird, but by the final twist she was too creepy and it erased Martin's impact on Kate's story
agreed. people in the comments are arguing about Jeannette or Mallory's 'innocence' and completely forget Harris the paedophile,
@@ruaoneill9050 yea he was so scary
I think Kate reacting differently to Mallory being the one to see her makes, sense since Mallory didn't "profit" from her disappearance whereas Jeaneatte did.
Jeanette kind of took over Kate's life, so if she was the one to not say anything it would have very dark implications.
Kate also got to know Mallory and sees/believes Mallory didn't remain silent out of malice. Jeanette on the other hand never really seems to want to clear things up earlier, presumably because she was afraid that either Kate knew Jeanette heard her in the basement one day or that it would come out that Jeanette knew about Kate being locked in the basement. Only when Jeanette realizes that Kate doesn't know about Jeanette hearing her in the basement does she capitalizes on Kates lack of knowledge by making herself out to be a victim in this, further cementing the "sociopathic" /narcisstic tendencies that can be seen earlier in the season.
EDIT: The viewer actually gets a lot of insight into Jeanette and that she isn't the good person she and others are initially making her out to be. In that sense it works really well, because it first makes you believe you were wrong about her and she actually might be innocent, but then you see her TV interview and know you have to have been right, there is something off about her and in the end being both vindicated by the finale scene confirming her as a bad person while simultaneously making you realize how fucked up it is that she got off scott-free.
Mallory does profit.
Because she get to be white knight that saves the outcast girl.
Their relationship is codependent and Kate now needs Mallory since her reputation and family name has been utterly ruined.
They hyped Jessica because she's really made a name for herself in the true crime / murder mystery genre. She won an Emmy for her show The Sinner, critical acclaim for Limetown and Tall Man. Now I agree the show should have had the space to speak for itself, but I think that's why they led with Jessica
THANK YOU! i was gonna say that.
The Sinner S1 was literally one of the best mysteries i've seen in a while.
I read somewhere that they might make it into an anthology series so the show might not continue the season 1 story. I truly hope that’s the case. Keeping the format of telling a story throughout multiple years but having a different story every season.
I bet that’s what they’ll do. Jessica Biel has another show called The Sinner and it’s a new story every season. There’s only one character that’s in each season. If you liked Cruel Summer you’d probably like The Sinner too. It’s a more adult mystery. Like there’s more violence and language.
I hate Freeform for cancelling shows before they actually conclude their storylines. So they might as well do an anthology series
Having a completely different cast and story for season 2 was a great idea. Luke you said, it was a very final finale
As a late comer, good news season two is a totally different story. Like the title will be more of an anthology of limited series rather than a long story
Some people hope that they would turn Cruel Summer into an anthology series like AHS and I wouldn't mind that too. I hope they don't bring back the story and characters from season 1. I like to personally think that they did the final twist ending to leave a lasting shocking impression on us to give the viewers something we wouldn't forget.
I like how I wasn't the only one thinking this. I think that could totally work.
You could say that the "teacher/student relationship" trope is predictable... but you could also look at how prevalent sexual abuse is in public schools (~ 1/10 American students were pursued by teachers from 1991-2000)... This really needs to be investigated
Given this turned out to be an anthology series, any chance you want to come back and do season 2?
i doubt he will, in his worst shows of 2023 video, the footage he used in the intro included s2 of cruel summer so i don't think he liked it even if it didn't make the worst list lmao
48:00 I would love to see another video where you address season 2! Very good choice to make it an anthology style series.