‘Cruel Summer’ Showrunner Explains That Devastating Final Moment

This weird year may be full on disappointments, but the Cruel Summer finale wasn’t one of them. In the final moments of this Freeform original, the thriller was able to find a comforting resolution to Kate (Olivia Holt) and Jeanette’s (Chiara Aurelia) legal battle, give Kate a happy ending… And then truly shock its audience with one final, gut-wrenching twist.

It’s a near perfect finale, and it’s all thanks to Cruel Summer showrunner Tia Napolitano.

“We were already shooting,” Napolitano told Decider, “and we came up with that final twist, which I think takes it to the next level.”

From the truth about Martin Harris (Blake Lee), to Kate’s changing relationship with Mallory (Harley Quinn Smith), every one of Cruel Summer’s gasp-worthy plot twists came about as a result of careful deliberation and this series’ openness toward collaboration. Read on to find out what went into Napolitano’s decisions to end the finale where we should. Oh, and spoilers on, naturally.

Decider: In the very final moments of Season 1’s finale, we learn that Jeanette’s been lying the whole time. She knew Kate Wallace was in Martin’s basement. When did you know that was going to be the twist?

Tia Napolitano: What’s interesting is, technically, Jeanette never lies. She says, “I did not see Kate Wallis.” She didn’t. She heard her. I think that’s a hilarious line within the weirdness that is Jeanette. She probably thinks she’s on the honest side of it — she never laid eyes on Kate Wallis in the basement.

We didn’t know about that for a long time. We laid out the season that we did from the beginning, from when I joined the project, that there was going to be some sort of misunderstanding between Kate and Jeanette about what went on in that house. We played around with what that was. Again, we just kept making it better and better. And we wrapped the Mallory twist into it. We were already shooting — we might have been shooting Episode 4 — and we came up with that final twist, which I think takes it to the next level.

I knew there was a twist coming because I spoke to Blake Lee last week. But I was screaming, I was so shocked.

We have this video that we might put out. We watched Episode 10 with a lot of the cast, and Michelle Purple from Iron Ocean (Productions) reacted to the video of the cast seeing the final moment. Some people like Sarah Drew had no idea what was going to happen. I, of course, knew what’s gonna happen, and they were screaming. If you see me in the video, I’m just so proud overall by the response that I’m literally crying.

That’s so lovely. I also wanted to talk about Kate’s big twist. In the episode we learn Martin wasn’t killed in the shootout like we were led to believe, but Kate shot him. Why did you go with that ending?

The idea of the police shooting him genuinely was never on the table. When I joined the project, it was always that he had died in some other way. We danced around with what that way was.

Giving it to Kate as opposed to suicide, I don’t personally love putting suicide on TV… Giving it to Kate gave her some power, some agency, and she’s not just a victim. I like that she saves herself. That’s just very appealing to me.

Another difference from what we typically see on TV is how Kate and Jeanette end things. Kate forgives Jeanette, and they come to a sort of understanding. Was that always going to be the finale?

Yeah, that idea was always there. Someone asked me what we could take away from the show overall, and there are many things. One of them is listen to women. We as a society and we in the show pit people, and especially women, against each other. This idea that if these two girls just got to talking, maybe they figure it out. So the essence of that was always a component of the show and of the finale. I love that, after that moment when Jeanette is on The Marsha Bailey Show, [Kate and Mallory] still see Jeanette as being very, very weird. They’re resolved but there’s an unsettling residue in Kate’s mind. She’s ready to walk away. It’s only for the best right now.

How does Jeanette knowing that Kate was in Martin’s basement the whole time change her story? What was Jeanette’s endgame?

The words that she says to Kate before they go into the basement, “It never felt like I was popular or pretty or enough.” I think Jeanette never felt like enough. She had a mother who pushed her to always try to be better. But again, like Cindy (Sarah Drew) says, she never showed her how. Jeanette had no blueprint, so I think that was internalized as beg, borrow, and steal or do whatever you have to. I don’t think Jeanette’s a bad person. I really don’t. I think she’s misguided. What will be next for that character in the world and in her mind is perhaps to be decided.

I also want to dive into Kate and Mallory’s relationship. Way back in the roller rink episode, I felt a couple of vibes from them. And then in Episode 10 they kiss. When did you guys decide they were going to be more than friends? Was it partially because of the chemistry between the two actors?

I wouldn’t call them a couple. What we saw was definitely their first kiss. So again, what happens next in the world as characters is to be decided. But Harley [Quinn Smith] has always felt that Mallory was queer. After shooting the pilot, that was Harley’s feeling. We knew that we were going to make Kate and Mallory friends. And then when we got together, it wasn’t written, they just brought it. They found that chemistry. It was there, and they started asking, “Is our future romantic?”

The more you watch them, the more in that roller rink, like you said, there’s chemistry, there’s heat there. So what we see there isn’t to suggest that they’ve been a couple behind the scenes this whole time and surprise! Here they are! I think we witnessed Kate’s happy ending, their first kiss.

I really adore about that kiss because the show does get into the homophobia of the era with Vince’s character. But for Kate and Mallory, it’s just a nice moment. Kate isn’t allowed many of those.

No, Kate isn’t allowed many at all. I think Mallory becomes Kate’s happy place, in a beautiful way. We wanted to honor the homophobia of the time and the place being the ’90s in Texas, but also we’re making TV for today. So to have this other Queer relationship that isn’t a coming out story, that isn’t sad on another level, but it’s just pure and honest and just lays it out there for you, is great.

It’s also cool because you really see the the depth of their relationship. Kate almost immediately forgives Mallory for doing the same thing that led to a court case with Jeanette.

It’s a different story when your best friend does something versus an enemy. Mallory’s almost saying, “Me telling my secret would be me telling yours.” She was not willing to expose Kate by coming clean herself, either.

Cruel Summer is getting a Season 2. I know it’s early stages, but what are you envisioning?

It is completely up in the air. I’m not even keeping secrets. We’re just very early stages of figuring that out.

Would it involve all the same characters or would you go with a more anthology approach?

That is still to be decided.

What do you want to tell fans who have been following this show so intensely?

Fan responses blow me away. It’s crazy. I’m on Twitter, checking all of the Reddit threads and reading the theories. It’s just the fact that the show’s resonating with so many people on a deep level. I’m just humbled and honored and really, really excited about it.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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