The first two episodes in this series both have quite a lot to unpack but everything was well-balanced and thankfully easy to understand.
Tuesday, April 20th, Freeform premiered the first two episodes of its original series known as "Cruel Summer", a new dramatic thriller starring Chiara Aurelia, and Olivia Holt that takes place over the span of three separate summers in the 1990s.
I've never cared much for Freeform or its original content. Quite frankly disliking what I have seen and having little to no interest in what I haven't, but admittedly the network did manage to deliver quite a compelling trailer for Cruel Summer, and I thought whether it would be for good or for bad, it might be something fun to talk about.
And don't worry, this review is completely spoiler-free so if you'd like to check it out for yourself, you can catch the show on Freeform or Hulu!
The Positive
Cruel Summer follows the life of Jeanette Turner, a seemingly innocent fifteen-year-old girl who appears to take the place of local popular girl, Kate Wallis after she mysteriously goes missing from their town of Skylin, Texas in the year 1993.
After her sudden disappearance, Jeanette finds herself gaining the popularity that once belonged to Kate by transforming from "geek to chic" and trading in her old friendships for Kate's former besties. Jeanette even manages to land Kate's old boyfriend, Jamie.
As I mentioned earlier, this series does consist of moments taking place on specific dates each episode in three separate summers, 1993, 1994, and 1995. Each year showing us a different version of Jeanette and a look into the aftermath of Kate's disappearance, and the impact the situation has had on those in their town.
From the producer of "The Sinner" Jessica Biel, this teen thriller has a long list of positives going for it at this moment in time. Cruel Summer features a ton of surprising twists and turns, loads of suspects, and of course, plenty of good ol' teen drama.
The first two episodes in this series both have quite a lot to unpack but everything was well-balanced and thankfully easy to understand, even with the three different timelines and shifts between them, which is quite the compliment coming from someone who doesn't always do the greatest job at paying attention to the little details in these stories.
The Negative
As of right now, my one issue with Cruel Summer is strictly, where do we go from here?
Each of these debut episodes really got the ball rolling for the show, but it also revealed a major plot point that I was not expecting to come to fruition so swiftly and it begs the question, did the writers play their hand too soon?
The series as of right now consists of ten episodes, which leaves plenty of time to further explore details and expand upon them, as well as plenty of time for us to find out if there's more to Kate and Jeanette's story than what meets the eye, which I certainly hope there is. However, if that doesn't turn out to be the case, it could be detrimental to the show's pacing.
Conclusion
Only time will tell whether or not Cruel Summer has more up its sleeve, will it turn out to be something that could have wrapped in a special, or will it continue with a consistent pace and deliver a few more shockers?
At the end of the day, this is a teen drama, something that I can't say I always enjoy, but I'm enjoying it for what it is and it's definitely killing some time and satisfying that part of me that is always desperate for a mystery.
I've decided to rate these first two episodes an 8/10. While I do think the show may have moved a bit too quickly and revealed too much too soon, I am curious to see how things play out over the next eight episodes thanks to its writing, characters, and impressive time shifts.
Is Cruel Summer worth the watch? As of right now, yes!
How many of you guys have watched Cruel Summer? I'd love to know what your thoughts were on the first two episodes of the series so please be sure to leave me a comment below, and don't forget to follow me over on Twitter @RR_Everything, where I talk about all of the shows and movies that I watch and also provide updates on future reviews!
