This Is What’s Not Working About ‘Cruel Summer’ Season 2

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Cruel Summer Season 2.Freeform’s anthology series Cruel Summer follows the stories of two girls whose lives are woven together by tragic circumstances. In the first season, we met Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia) and Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt), whose lives were forever changed after the latter was kidnapped by their school’s new assistant principal. In Cruel Summer Season 2, in the small coastal town of Chatham, the arrival of Isabella LaRue (Lexi Underwood) — daughter of diplomats — in the summer of 1999 puts the life of good girl Megan Landry (Sadie Stanley) on a new path, ultimately leading to the death of her boyfriend Luke (Griffin Gluck) in the winter, and the subsequent murder investigation that calls both girls into question when his body is discovered in the summer of 2000. While the story is interesting, it is nowhere on par with the intrigue of the first season because the relationship between Megan and Isabella isn’t believable or enjoyable in the slightest.

The Timeline of ‘Cruel Summer’ Season 2

There are several reasons the relationship between Megan and Isabella isn’t working, but the timeline and distance between the three narrative arcs is the biggest one. Isabella arrives in the summer of ‘99, and it takes a bit of time for Megan to even be nice to Isabella. Yet, five or six short months later, in December of ‘99, their friendship is so intense that they feel like they are missing pieces in each other’s family — sisters, in fact. But, by the summer of 2000, their relationship has completely deteriorated and they hardly speak, despite the fact that Isabella is still living with the Landrys. It’s too fast-paced, too rushed, to be believable. More time was needed for the girls’ to flesh out their friendship, as we’re not even seeing much of that in the summer of ‘99 arc. Once Megan would hold a conversation with Isabella, they suddenly became best friends, as we see them in the winter.

Like the first season, the story should have been broken up to take place over three summers. This would have given more time for us to see their friendship blossom, while making it more believable that they could feel such an intensity toward one another. If, perhaps, something enormous had happened in the summer of ‘99 that brought them together suddenly, it would work better. But, that isn’t the case. Likewise, because their friendship is so rushed, their falling out ultimately doesn’t mean much. It’s clearly tied to whatever happened on New Year’s with Luke, plus the wedge between them caused by the sex tape of Megan and Luke that Isabella took the fall for, but it simply doesn’t matter. There’s not enough weight behind the relationship to make the audience care about what was lost. Plus, the series’ treatment of Isabella doesn’t help either.

Isabella Doesn’t Entirely Feel Like One of the Leading Characters

With how the story of Cruel Summer Season 2 has been presented thus far, the relationship being the focal point also doesn’t work because Isabella doesn’t always feel like the co-lead of the season. Their friendship and the story is incredibly imbalanced, leaning toward Megan at every opportunity. Chatham is her hometown, while Isabella is just a visitor, supposed to stay for no longer than one year. Practically every character on the show revolves around Megan, so their relationships with Isabella aren’t as impactful when, again, it all falls back to Megan. We’ve only seen a glimpse of one relationship with someone in town that truly matters for Isabella’s growth, which is her friendship with Parker (Lisa Yamada) after her falling out with Megan. (At least, one can presume they’re friends from what we’ve seen.)

Similarly, every part of the story impacts Megan more than Isabella. Megan is the prime suspect in Luke’s murder, as she was the one actively dating him at the time of his disappearance. Isabella’s relationship with Luke in the summer of ‘99 is just building to Luke and Megan getting together, which also doesn’t do anything except screw Isabella over. Not enough of the focus on the sex tape being released, and Isabella taking the fall, is devoted to how it impacts Isabella and her life in Chatham. Sure, there’s a little bit of story told there, but it’s again primarily about Megan and how it puts her future and reputation at risk.

Megan Doesn’t Deserve Isabella’s Friendship

Additionally, it’s hard to buy into this relationship because Megan has little regard for Isabella as a human being, much less a friend. More often than not, Megan is treating Isabella terribly. She didn’t speak to her much at first, while Isabella devoted too much of her time to making Megan like her and let her in. Once they do become friends, the friendship is all about Megan. Isabella sacrifices everything — a relationship with Luke, her reputation, her own feelings — to make Megan’s life easier, while the same cannot be said on a single occasion for Megan. So, while Isabella’s treatment of Megan enters the “ride or die” territory that the series claims, the why of the situation doesn’t make sense for her. Why is she fighting so hard for Megan?

It Falls Flat Compared to Jeanette and Kate’s Rivalry

What made the story of co-protagonists Jeanette and Kate so enticing was that their lives did not entirely overlap throughout the years — 1993, 1994, and 1995 — we followed. Their lives impacted one another’s, which made the mystery about whether Jeanette actually saw Kate while she was imprisoned far more intriguing. And, when their lives did cross over, it made the story and episodes more entertaining. But, as a whole, the characters had their own lives, their own relationships, and it allowed the mystery and the characters to breathe. We got to know the girls on such a deep level that the reveals were worth the journey in the end. Having Isabella be yet another person caught up in Megan’s life takes away from that experience and hurts the dual perspective the show uses for its narrative, which is what Cruel Summer should be all about.

Cruel Summer continues Mondays on Freeform.