Cruel Summer: Pretty Little Liars Done Right?

The show spent most of its budget on Olivia so it couldn't afford a better wig for Jeanette

This show actually addressed the creepy nature of Martin and it did so without blaming Kate in the end and I appreciate it

Personally, the most unrealistic part was a media outlet in the 90's actually apologizing to a woman.

I thought the actress who played Jeanette did a phenomenal job. She basically played three different personalities and I think she nailed them all.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

Olivia Holt is so good honestly. She's been acting since she was a kid and you can tell.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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!

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.