Warning: This review contains spoilers for the entire
second season of Cruel Summer. If you haven’t seen it yet, or watched
the season finale, stop reading here.
The season 2 finale of Cruel Summer did
reveal what was promised: we learned how Luke Chambers (Griffin Gluck) ended of
dying and who his killer (s) were. But as incredible watching the revelations
of the mystery were in the season finale, what I found just as fascinating was
why Luke Chambers ended up there in the first place.
Because with the entire series having finished,
it is clear that his death was an example of so much of what we learned about
him, particularly in the last two episodes. Luke ended up being killed because almost
everything happened to him, both in his life as a whole and the final months,
were the subject of his fate being manipulated by two people he loved, but who
could not have cared less for him as a person: his father Steve (Paul
Adelstein) and Isabella (Lexi Underwood).
My initial impression of Steve Chambers as a
decent man evaporated by the third episode. In hindsight, Steve is a variation
on so many of the antiheroes we have seen over the last several years, such as
Marty Byrde or Walter White: men who claim to be doing everything for their
family, but only see it as a reflection on themselves. This was clear when we
learned about the sex tapes that Brent had been filming for years of women
without their consent. When Luke gave them to the sheriff, who was clearly more
of a father figure than Steve was, Steve did everything in his power to use his
reputation to make sure Brent was not punished. He was angry at Brent for
making the tapes in private, but when he talked with Luke later on, it was
clear he was angrier with him for bringing them to the sheriff’s attention in
the first place. Exposure of dirty laundry was as bad as the existence of the
dirty laundry in the Chambers’ eyes. It is clear to Steve that the only thing
he cares about our his money and his image the community and that is far greater
than anything his sons might want.
This became clear in the penultimate episode
of the second season where we saw everything from Luke’s perspective. Luke has
spent his summer trying to prove that he is not the same kind of monster that
both his father and old brother are. And in a sense that is true – the devotion
he has for Megan was the one pure thing in his life, and he truly did love her
with all his heart. But Luke was also clearly capable of truly unseemly things –
he did steal Megan away from her boyfriend (though as we’ll see, he had help in
that regard), he did make a sex tape of Megan without her consent that led to
all of the repercussions of the season, and he did end up putting the sex tape
in at the Christmas party for the sole purpose of blowing up his life, without
regard to the repercussions it might have. Furthermore, he had no problems
taking the macho credit for it in private, and he did kiss Isabella the day
before the New Year’s Eve party.
But in a larger sense, Luke has never really
had either control – or indeed, real love in his life, particularly from Steve.
Throughout the penultimate episode, it was clear that Luke had no control of
his own destiny – he did not want to follow in his father’s footsteps, and he
wanted to join the Coast Guard. But his father mocked every dream he might have
as hobbies and made it very clear his wants didn’t matter. Prior to
putting in the sex tape, Steve assaulted his son and told him ‘Bryson is
happening! Get on the train.”
It’s also clear that Steve Chambers has
always been a destructive force in his family, never taking anyone else into
consideration. When he sees Brent sexually harass Isabella at the car wash, his
reaction is not to chide his son but to basically threaten her. We learn that Steve’s
wife died in an auto accident years ago as a result of drunk driving, in part
because Steve had constantly been neglecting her and the family. His cover for
this story was to blame Luke for what happened, and the image has become the
reality. Just before Luke went to the plunge and he try to confide his problems
with Megan, Steve’s attitude was fundamentally to say to move on. Perhaps Luke
ended up kissing Isabella afterwards because he thought his father had given
him some kind of tacit approval.
And in a real sense Brent is far more his
father’s son than Luke ever was. As we saw in one of the final scenes of the
series Brent went to pick up Luke at the dock after he had managed to escape
from being tied up by Isabella and Megan. He had no expected Brent to show up,
and in retrospect, it was the wrong decision to make. Brent had no sympathy for
what had happened to Luke or what he had done: “You can’t even blow up your
life right,” was his reaction to Luke’s using the tape. The two of them get
into a fight when Luke finally tells them that his mother was drinking. Brent
pushes Luke into the dock, he hits his head and goes under. (That didn’t kill
him, but we’ll get to that.)
In the final episode we learn that Steve has known
from the start that Brent killed Luke and decides that he will do everything in
his power to make sure his son doesn’t go to jail. He starts the rumor about
Luke running away – and Megan, who has no reason to suspect otherwise, goes
along with it to protect herself. When
Luke’s body does wash up on shore, Steve does everything in his power to make
sure the investigation focuses on anyone other than Brent and is more than
willing to throw Megan or Isabella under the bus even though both were living under
the roof of a woman he used to date – and who is currently recovering from
cancer. When Megan ends up being
arrested for the murder of Luke (we’ll get to why in a second) Brent is enraged
and Steve will not accept any responsibility for what has happened, or anything
having that might reflect poorly on the Chambers’ image. Brent makes the
decision to turn himself in, and Steve ends up going to jail because of his
role in the cover-up. It’s hard to feel any remorse for him.
But make no mistake, the real person who made
sure Luke ended up dead was Isabella – and I don’t just mean because in the
final moments we saw her kill a still gasping for air Luke as he washed up on
shore. Isabella is, without question, one of the most terrifying characters Cruel
Summer has yet produced because looking back on it, it is clear that she
has no moral center and will never accept responsibility for her actions.
Isabella has moments of sympathy – her parents
have in a sense abandoned her (when she is under suspicion for the murder and
calls her mother, the family attorney shows up instead) but at the end of the
day, the only truly selfless moment she has in the entire season is when she decides
to say that she was on the sex tape instead of Megan. Isabella has spent every
moment prior to that basically manipulating every person she meets so that she
can get what she wants. Megan’s growth as a character is, in retrospect, almost
entirely due to Isabella’s manipulation of her, something that Megan only
realizes after everything goes to hell.
We never learn the full truth of the
circumstances behind the previous triangle Isabella was involved in that led to
a friend’s death before she came to Chatham, but based on what we see of her it
was likely a carbon copy of what unfolded in Chatham this summer. Isabella is
only interested in what is good for her in the moment. After she and Luke have
sex (which she initiates) she returns to Megan’s house and begins the process
of manipulating things so that Megan and Luke get together. That this destroys
the budding relationship Megan had with Eric is incidental.
Throughout the penultimate episode we see that
in fact Isabella did want Megan all to herself: she would sometimes
subtly hint at it with Luke in private conversations, sometimes when she made sure
Megan was late for meetings with him. In a sense, perhaps deciding to take the
blame for being on the sex tape may have been a power move on her part –
perhaps she thought it was a way to move Megan closer to her instead of Luke.
And to be clear, even if she hadn’t been the
one to snuff Luke out at the end, it’s very clear she wanted Luke dead. When
Luke says near the end of the episode that he and Isabella had sex – something Isabella
never revealed to Megan – Isabella is clearly more upset at this than Megan
being humiliated. She chooses to take a shot at Luke because he has told the truth
– that Isabella has corrupted Megan and to her, she can’t have her image
spoiled. I have little doubt she was aiming to kill Luke and missed by
accident.
Isabella and Megan’s friendship implodes
because her true colors become clear. From the moment Luke disappears, she to
is only acting in her own interest: no doubt going along with Steve’s coverup
to help her. Looking back on it, her remarks to a visibly upset Megan that Luke
is probably fine – when she knows perfectly well he isn’t – is beyond cruel as
is her decision to effectively spit on his grave.
And watching the action in the summer of
2000, it is very clear that her only interest in keeping Megan on her side is
to make sure no one finds out the truth about her involvement. I have little
doubt her actions that she blames on her attorney are ones she carried out
herself in order to deflect blame. I don’t know what is more frightening in
Isabella and Megan’s last scene together: the fact that Isabella actually
thinks that this is a sign that they are becoming friends again, or that she
truly she thinks she has been loyal to Megan all this time. In truth I think
the reason that Isabella tries to frame Megan before she leaves town is as much
to shift blame off her but because Megan told her something she didn’t want to
here: “You have to take responsibility for the chaos you leave in your wake.”
And in the penultimate scene, it’s clear that
there is no sign Isabella will. The story she tells her seat mate on her flight
to Ibiza is basically just a variation on what she told Megan when the two of
them first met at the start of the summer of 1999. At this point, Isabella seems
to have taken on the tenure of a predator and a serial killer. You can see that
what she has done is part of her cycle of chaos and violence, which she is
about to begin again.
Except…I’m not sure that’s how it will work
out. The final minutes of the season offer a similar revelation to the one we
got at the end of the first season of Cruel Summer with a major difference.
In this case Megan is now aware of Isabella’s murder of Luke. The final moments
of the season show Megan in tears and then slowly growing angrier and
determined. The third installment of Cruel Summer will likely be a
different story but there’s far less ambiguity at the end of Season 2. Even
before learning this Megan had every reason to want to hunt down Isabella, who
basically destroyed her future, her relationship, and was fine to let her take
the fall alone. Now she knows that Isabella is guilty and she has the footage
to prove it. There are a lot of options for her: she could go to the cops and
show them this, she could try and hunt Isabella down herself…or she could use
her knowledge of coding and make sure that the world knows what Isabella did
and the monster she is. Somehow I have a feeling that Isabella isn’t going to
be partying in Ibiza for long.
The sophomore season of Cruel Summer, in
my opinion, establishes it firmly in the best new series of the decade so far,
alongside Yellowjackets, Abbott Elementary and (possibly) The Gilded
Age. It firmly establishes itself as one of the best anthology series in
recent years with its second installment, possibly since The Sinner was
cancelled in 2021. Perhaps having been elevated to the level of anthology
series, it will have a better chance at Emmy nominations then it did when it
debuted two years ago. Certainly the
performances of Strickland and Underwood are worthy and you could easily see Sadie
Stanley and Griffin Gluck contending themselves. On a purely technical level,
it is on par with some of the best contemporary dramas – one could not watch it
not be reminded of the hues and colors that one saw used in the work of Vince
Gilligan and the editing is worthy of nominations.
At some point the fourth installment of True
Detective is going to debut on HBO. Do yourself a favor. If you haven’t
watched Cruel Summer yet, see both installments as an apertif. This show
might be as much a period piece as True Detective and it might be as well directed and edited,
but there’s no question which series is more emotionally resonant and more
fulfilling. And for those viewers who justifiably complain about the lack of well-written
female characters – not just on True Detective but on Peak TV in general
- in Cruel Summer the women are
always front and center. That’s something rare enough to celebrate. I don’t
know if the series will be renewed for a third season (considering the critical
and popular response I suspect it will happen sooner rather than later) but
even if it were cancelled now, the two season alone would be enough to justify
it as a prime example of Peak TV.
My Score: 5 STARS.
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