School Is Back In Session In This Cruel Summer Episode 8 Promo
Back-to-school jitters have never been so real.
As Cruel Summer barrels toward its big finale, fans are finally getting answers about the questions they’ve been asking all season. Episode 7 ended on a huge bombshell, and with only three episodes left in the YA series, more shocking reveals are bound to keep coming. Just look at the Cruel Summer Season 1, Episode 8 promo, which raises the stakes even further for our heroines.
Warning: Major spoilers for Cruel Summer Episode 7 follow. You know the drill by now: In the early ‘90s, popular teen Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt) was kidnapped by her school’s vice principal, Martin Harris (Blake Lee), while her awkward classmate Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia) became their town’s new it-girl. When Kate escaped and claimed Jeanette knew she was being held captive but did nothing, a fierce legal battle between them ensued as Jeanette’s defense set out to prove Kate’s trauma-filled memories were unreliable.
At the end of Episode 7, Jeanette gained major leverage over Kate when she learned her rival originally went to Martin’s house willingly. Kate told the police she hardly knew her kidnapper at all before he imprisoned her, and as the Episode 8 promo shows, this lie could have major consequences in her and Jeanette’s face-off.
The preview opens as Jeanette’s lawyer Denise (Nicole Bilderback) assures her, “This could help demonstrate that Kate bent the truth.” Meanwhile, in the 1993 and 1994 timelines, the first day of school seems absolutely brutal. Jeanette is a social pariah in 1994, and when her dad asks if she wants to become a high school dropout, she replies, “Maybe!”
Meanwhile, in 1993, Martin’s dark plans for Kate are nearly discovered when Joy Wallis (Andrea Anders) arrives at the school asking about her daughter’s whereabouts. “Maybe it’s time to involve the police,” she says as a very guilty-looking Martin stares her down. The promo also reveals how Jeanette learned Kate was missing before anyone else did: She was eavesdropping on their whole conversation, and told Jamie (Froy Gutierrez) about it immediately afterward. The plot thickens!
The promo also poses even more questions: How did Martin get away with imprisoning Kate for almost a year if Joy was seemingly suspicious so quickly? Will Jeanette successfully use Kate’s secret against her to win this lawsuit? Everyone will have to wait and see, but fans can look forward to getting even more answers when Cruel Summer continues Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Freeform (and the following day on Hulu).
