So, we’ve made it halfway through Freeform’s Cruel Summer season two with episode five which takes place on July 25th, 1999, December 25th, 1999, and July 25th, 2000.
Summer of 1999
Isabella (Lexi Underwood) writes to her mysterious best friend Lisa about how she’s getting along in Washington. She ends her note which reveals she’s going to a Christmas in July thing by saying, “You’d make fun of it with me if you were here. I wish you were.”
Isabella fishes for information on Megan and Jeff, wondering if they’re a couple. Megan (Sadie Stanley) has fun with him but doesn’t really see much there. Isabella informs her that Luke doesn’t like seeing Megan and Jeff together. Isabella asks if Megan and Luke have feelings for each other, and Megan insists that no, they don’t. They’re just friends.
Megan and Isabella walk into the house to discover Isabella has a surprise visitor. His name is Trevor and he’s Lisa’s older brother! Megan invites him to Christmas in July, but it seems Isabella doesn’t want him to go.
Isabella and Trevor get a moment alone, and he admits he’s been searching for her for months. He’s curious if she was ever going to call him. She doesn’t answer because Megan interrupts and introduces Trevor to Luke (Griffin Gluck). After introductions and some alpha male display from both Trevor and Luke over Isabella, they sit to eat. Trevor calls out Isabella because she was a vegetarian, but apparently, she isn’t anymore.
Trevor points out how Isabella has changed. First, she’s altered what she eats, and second, she’s shifted her taste in music. Isabella claims it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind. He points out that hers just changes with the wind now.
Isabella makes a joke about spiking a drink, and Trevor seems shocked she would still drink “after what happened last winter.” (Ohhh, interesting!) When Megan asks what he’s talking about, Trevor’s in for another shock when he realizes they have no clue what happened. She got arrested for public intoxication and got kicked out of school.
Trevor wants to talk to Isabella in private and it turns out that’s not really what happened. But, of course, we (the audience) still don’t know the truth. Trevor says the police still have many questions, and she just up and left without any word. Isabella tells him she loves him and kisses him. And guess who sees them kissing…Megan.
Megan confronts Isabella about kissing Trevor, and Isabella lies and blames him. Isabella insists she and Trevor are done for good. Luke interrupts their conversation and invites Isabella to his cabin…but only her.
Luke loses his virginity to Isabella. Afterward, she leaves him to go hang out with Megan.
Megan’s on her computer when she receives an instant message from a man thanking her for extra mustard. It turns out he’s a computer hacker, too, and she asks him about hacking the FBI. Isabella interrupts her chat and Megan comes clean about liking Luke. But then Megan wants her to forget she even said that.
Isabella thinks Megan and Luke are soulmates and decides she and Luke shouldn’t be together.
Winter of 1999
It’s Christmas and Megan gives Isabella a photo album full of Polaroids of their time together. When it’s Megan’s turn to open her gift from Isabella, she’s surprised to see it’s a new computer screen. Isabella can tell Megan isn’t as pleased as she thought she would be, and Megan brings up that it’s too expensive. Before the conversation goes any further, Megan decides to go set it up.
Megan hacks the system at her high school and changes her C+ to an A. While doing so, Isabella comes into her room and Megan quickly turns off the monitor. They talk about Isabella gifting it to her and Megan admits she can’t compete with that; it’s so expensive.
Isabella spots a gift and asks if it’s for Luke. She wonders how the two of them are doing, but Megan only gives her short answers. Isabella asks if she wants to look at Christmas lights, but Megan says she has to work.
A short time later, Isabella sees Megan leave the house with Luke’s Christmas gift and decides to follow her.
Turns out the gift wasn’t for Luke after all; it was for the guy they call Captain Cray Crazy who lives near the Chambers’ cabin. (He’s the guy Megan gives extra mustard to at the restaurant.) He invites Megan in as Isabella watches from the trees.
Isabella invites Luke over when Megan’s out, and she gains his sympathy by claiming Megan’s been shutting her out and hiding things from her. She admits to sneaking out and following her. Luke seems shocked about where Megan went, and Isabella randomly points out that she thinks Megan is jealous of them.
Megan comes home to find them hanging out.
Debbie (KaDee Strickland) brings laundry to the camper trailer where Isabella’s been staying and finds unsent postcards to Isabella’s friend Lisa. Isabella walks in and when Debbie questions why she hasn’t sent them, Isabella has some excuse and then changes the subject to Megan and how she’s been pulling away.
Summer of 2000
The headline in the local papers is about Megan being a person of interest because she was pregnant. (That shocker was revealed at the end of episode four.) It turns out it was Isabella’s lawyer who gave that information to the newspaper. Her lawyer claims it was to strike back at the police for finding Isabella’s backpack full of money in the Chambers’ cabin.
Isabella insists that the backpack was put there, saying it was in the Airstream before they found Luke’s body. She claims that she’s being framed. “All the more reason for me to stay one step ahead of them. We both know you have a lot to hide,” her lawyer replies ominously.
Isabella apologizes to Megan for the article, and Megan wants to know how she found out. Isabella reveals she found the pregnancy test in the bathroom. Megan’s obviously not happy and replies, “Wow, I didn’t know ride or die meant digging through my trash.”
Isabella insists it was her lawyer who tipped off the newspaper. Megan calls BS, but Isabella reminds her she can hate her and blame her all she wants, but she and Megan are tied up in this together.
Isabella reminds Megan that the more they find out about Megan and Luke the night he died, the more they’ll find out about her. Isabella points out that she hasn’t given up on their friendship and Megan angrily responds that their friendship died a long time ago.
Megan wants her mom to ask Isabella to leave, insisting she doesn’t want Isabella at their house anymore. Her mom figures out it was Isabella who leaked the story to the newspaper, which means Megan really was pregnant. Debbie asks how Megan resolved the pregnancy and Megan doesn’t want to tell her.
Trevor and Isabella are kissing when Trevor stops and demands answers. Isabella plays the victim by saying he already made up his mind about her and tells him to leave.
Debbie has an uncomfortable chat with Isabella, suggesting she stay somewhere else. Isabella tells Debbie there’s something under her bed that Megan wanted to get rid of and tells her she should ask her why Megan needed it gone.
Isabella’s lawyer informs her that Sheriff Myer has been digging around. She believes that he’ll find out what happened in St. Barts soon. She feels she has successfully kept it under wraps for a year, but sooner or later, someone is going to talk.
Each episode of Cruel Summer ends on a cliffhanger and episode five is no different. Megan receives a letter from Trevor and inside the note is a newspaper clipping of a story on Lisa. It turns out she died in St. Barts by drowning!
- Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: “Welcome to Chatham”
- Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 2 Recap: “Ride or Die”
- Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 3 Recap: “Bloody Knuckles”
- Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: “Springing a Leak”
- Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 6 Recap: “The Plunge”
- Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 7 Recap: “It’s the End of the World”
- Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: “Confess Your Sins”
- Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 9 Recap: “The Miseducation of Luke Chambers”
- Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 10 Recap: “Endgame” Finale
