Cruel Summer is one hell of a mind-bending mystery. We know that popular teenager Kate was kidnapped, and we even know who is responsible — the school's new assistant principal Martin. However, what we don't know is whether Jeanette, the once-dorky girl who found herself at the top of the social pyramid following Kate's disappearance, was to blame for not rescuing her, or if Kate is lying on Cruel Summer.
According to Kate, Jeanette saw her in the basement of Martin's home, where she was held captive for months on end. Instead of telling the police, or finding a way to rescue Kate herself, Jeanette kept quiet, and allowed her neighbor's suffering to continue.
Cruel Summer switches points of view from Jeanette to Kate and back again, all while telling the story across three summers, where things are vastly different for each girl. The point, of course, is for the audience to switch allegiances with each episode and each tease of new information that comes our way.
With just two episodes down, we don't know if Kate is lying about Jeanette's involvement — but if you're keeping track, there's plenty of reason to believe she is. Here are just some reasons why we may not want to trust Kate's story.
Kate Is Jealous of Jeanette
This piece of evidence could work for or against Kate, depending on how you look at it. When Kate returns, she finds that Jeanette is dating Jamie, her old boyfriend, and hanging out with her former friends. It's possible that Kate saw how easily Jeanette slid into her life and was full of rage and resentment — after all, Kate was experiencing a living nightmare, while Jeanette was living it up in her life. Is it possible that this made Kate angry enough to make up a story about Jeanette? That's certainly what Jeanette wants people to believe, but then there's the other side of the coin: If Jeanette saw Kate, she may not have wanted Kate to be rescued lest Jeanette lose her hard-won social status.
Kate May Have Hallucinated Jeanette
Technically, Kate wouldn't have to be "lying" about seeing Jeanette in order for Jeanette to be innocent. We know that Kate experienced some serious trauma while in the basement, and that given all that she's lived through, it's possible what she thought she experienced wasn't accurate. If Kate was already angry at Jeanette for taking her life, her traumatized mind could have possibly convinced Kate that Jeanette did see her in the basement, and didn't help her. (I'm not a psychiatrist here, but it wouldn't be the first time that something like this happened on TV. I mean, Riverdale had Cheryl hallucinating her dead brother.)
Kate Isn't Telling the Whole Truth, At Minimum
Like many '90s kids before her, Kate turned to an internet chat room when she couldn't talk to her parents about everything she experienced. However, in doing so, she also let it slip that she hadn't been "completely honest" about...well, something. Could this mean what she said about Jeanette? Hmm...
Jeanette Is Suing Kate
Let's say Kate did imagine seeing Jeanette, or realized, for some other reason, that what she thought she saw, isn't the reality of the situation. She might be keen to double down on the narrative that Jeanette kept her in captivity now that, in the present timeline, Jeanette is suing Kate for defamation. Kate's family has money, and her mom made a big deal to her about needing to keep their family together in part because of the financial security that comes with being married to Kate's stepfather. Perhaps Kate wouldn't want to risk her family's livelihood in order to tell the truth. It doesn't mean she is lying, but it certainly gives her more reason to.
Images: Freeform