Justine Yeung/Freeform
Cruel Summer’s first season was a hit for Freeform, the Disney-owned cable channel known for its teen-centric fare. And its record-setting viewership was well-deserved: The show’s central mystery, about several high school friendships gone wayward and leading to one girl’s kidnapping, was thrilling. Season 1 also boasted strong performances that anchored its high-concept storytelling—which followed the same set of characters at three different points of a mystery, slowly revealing key pieces of information—which could have easily flown off the rails.
Unfortunately, Season 2 was a runaway train car almost from the start, one that ultimately careened right off a cliff. Its tenth and final episode aired Monday night, wrapping up a mind-numbingly dull storyline with a disappointingly obvious “twist ending.” Season 2’s failure to capitalize on the show’s early goodwill—bolstered by Season 1’s own finale, which was legitimately shocking—wasn’t just disappointing. It was, at worst, embarrassing.
[Spoilers for Cruel Summer Season 2 follow.]