TV
FROY GUTIERREZ as Jamie and OLIVIA HOLT as Kate in Freeform's 'Cruel Summer'

Kate & Jeanette Are Switching Roles In This Cruel Summer Episode 7 Promo

Happy birthday, Kate Wallis.

by Rachel Varina
Freeform/Bill Matlock

If you’ve been devouring Freeform's Cruel Summer each week, you probably have some major theories and at least a few fanny packs in your Amazon cart. The YA series is all about the twists and turns (with plenty of retro ‘90s throwbacks mixed in), and now that Season 1 is more than halfway over, viewers are really starting to wonder if any of the characters are actually who they seem to be. And the Cruel Summer Season 1, Episode 7 promo makes things all the more mixed up.

Warning: Spoilers for Cruel Summer Season 1, Episode 6 follow. By now, you know that popular-girl Kate (Olivia Holt) went missing during the early '90s when she was held hostage by her school’s vice principal, Martin Harris (Blake Lee). While Kate was MIA, outsider Jeanette (Chiara Aurelia) somehow took over her role as HBIC of the teens in their town.

When Kate escaped from captivity, however, she told the world Jeanette had known where she was being held and did nothing to help her since, you know, Jeanette was basically the new Kate. Naturally, Kate's accusation caused newly popular Jeanette to become "the most hated person in America."

While Episode 6 focused on Jeanette’s family life and her history of lying, Episode 7 will instead focus on Kate. The episode is titled “Happy Birthday, Kate Wallis,” and will give fans who caught the first episode of the series major déjà vu. If you recall, Episode 1 was titled “Happy Birthday, Jeanette Turner” and showed Jeanette’s birthday “celebrations” in 1993, 1994, and 1995. From the promo, it looks like Episode 7 will be a parallel showing Kate’s birthday over the course of those three summers.

It appears Kate wakes up excited about her birthday in 1993 (just like Jeanette did in Episode 1), but in 1994, she mentions her birthday “sucked” when her mom tries to convince her to go on The Marsha Bailey Show. Fans know between those two birthdays, Kate was held hostage by Mr. Harris (which she blames her mother for in the promo by saying, “You raised me to be trusting. And he took that.”), but what, exactly, went down in 1993?

It’s unclear, but from the promo, it looks like Kate packed an overnight bag after her mom called her a “brat” on her birthday in 1993. Could this mean Kate runs away from home and heads to Mr. Harris’ house? Fans will have to wait and see as Cruel Summer continues Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Freeform (and the following day on Hulu).