Let's be honest: Mallory isn't the easiest character to love on Cruel Summer. She's kind of controlling, a little bit of a downer, and she was way, way harsh on Kate before becoming her ultimate BFF after Kate's rescue. In fact, plenty of people have suggested that Mallory may be Cruel Summer's second villain, right behind groomer and kidnapper Martin. One possibility we need to consider instead? That maybe Cruel Summer is setting her up to be a heroine — because Mallory is the one who rescued Kate.

Let's go over the facts. One thing that Cruel Summer hasn't yet shown us is the day that Kate was rescued. We know that a shoot out between Martin and the police occurred, but what we don't know is why they knew to go to Martin's house in the first place. As far as we know, Kate was locked in Martin's basement at the time of her rescue, because while she did have free roam of the house between June and December of 1993, by the following summer, Martin had made her his captive in his basement. So how did anyone know Kate was there, if they couldn't hear her scream?

Maybe the answer is super simple: Mallory told them Kate was in Martin's house. We know that Mallory filmed Martin during her sprinkler prank, on the first day of school. Martin got so angry with Mallory over the prank, he destroyed the tape, but it wasn't just because he was embarrassed: It was because Kate was seen in the window of the videotape.

So who is to say that Mallory only had one copy of the tape? It's very possible that Mallory never noticed Kate in the window...until she revisited a copy of that prank tape, months later. Maybe Mallory realized that Kate was in Martin's house, and knew she was in trouble (or perhaps even worse) and called the police. It would make sense if Mallory stayed anonymous during the phone call, because she was doing something not-exactly-legal by turning on Martin's sprinklers and pranking him.

This checks out with how Mallory behaves towards Kate in the 1994 timeline, after she's rescued. Maybe Mallory never thought that Kate was really kidnapped — she hated Kate so much, she could have convinced herself that Kate ran away to start a cooler life somewhere else. It was only when she saw that Kate had the potential to be a real victim, did she decide to change her mind about her declared "enemy" and humanize her.

If that's the case, it's possible that Mallory is Annabelle, the person Kate said she met on the day of her rescue. Maybe Mallory didn't just call the police after seeing Kate on the tape. Maybe she went to Martin's house to see if Kate was still there. When Kate saw her, perhaps through a window, she introduced herself as "Annabelle." If Mallory was wearing a disguise, and the window wasn't super clear, it's possible that Kate never put it together that Mallory was Annabelle.

Ultimately, this situation could really redeem Mallory for the haters out there. Maybe Mallory never wanted the glory of saving Kate — she just wanted the knowledge that she would be okay. Given that this show is all about who is lying and who is telling the truth, it would certainly be an interesting twist if Mallory was lying about who she was to Kate for only noble reasons.

Images: Freeform