Cruel Summer Review: Off With A Bang (Season 1 Episode 3)

Throughout Cruel Summer Season 1 Episode 3, “Off With A Bang,” I simultaneously want to hug Jeanette in 1993 and slap sense into her.

Cindy Turner must be a difficult mother to have. Awkward, lovable Jeanette in 1993 wants to please her so much. But Cindy’s priorities are distorted, to say the least.

Popularity and beauty matter more to her than genuine relationships. This attitude carries over into 1994 and has probably always prevented Jeanette from developing a genuine connection to her mom.

Putting the fact that Cruel Summer needs to keep us in the dark aside, the motherly thing to do when one hears their daughter lie to the police is to ask her to explain herself in private, right? It’s not to instantly accuse her of lying behind her back when you get home. 

The necklace being in Martin’s house only proves Jeanette was there, anyway. It cannot prove Jeanette saw Kate and failed to tell the police. 

Sarah Drew blurs the line between a purely toxic mother and a damaged one who is doing her best very well. Cindy does care about Jeanette. But there are hints of issues from her past that make it very difficult for her to present herself and her family as anything but perfect, popular and status quo. 

Cindy is on the verge of a panic attack in the 1994 scene at the fireworks when Jeanette walks away. She hears whispers and can’t seem to ignore the people she thinks are staring at her. It’s a telling clue as to where she is in the future, though all we know for now is that she is not at the morgue. 

Speaking of panic attacks, 1995 Jeanette needs to treat her mental health issues. 

Her reaction to seeing Kate at the traffic light slightly parallels Cindy’s while she is alone at the fireworks. I cannot see Jeanette as “absolute trash” at that moment — she is just a girl who needs help. 

Cruel Summer is pushing Jeanette’s “villain” narrative in 1995 too hard to believe right now.

Somehow, her newfound addiction to breaking into Martin’s house is easier to understand. No matter what her mother says, she wants Mallory to know she cares about their friendship and is devoted to The List. 

But her desire to be popular is also genuine, even though Cindy’s influence is there.

It’s not exactly shocking that Jeanette would crave the rush of going into Martin’s house again. She may not want to smoke pot, but she craves another high (it adds points to her “cool” factor to be honest). 

Her actions match up to her desires. But we know things about the future that 1993 Jeanette does not — hence my desire to slap sense into her. 

Jeanette in the future has so many walls up. I don’t even care about the things people say that make her look suspicious, like the fact that she is apparently the person who told Jamie Kate was missing before anyone else did. I just want to hug her and tell her I believe her truth. 

I don’t know what happened, but as invested as I am in finding out, Cruel Summer‘s structure is becoming exhausting already. There is no denying it’s innovative, but sometimes the structure is at fault for why it’s confusing, not a deliberate plot hole. 

It can be difficult to tell the difference between 1994 and 1995 when Jeanette and her hair aren’t in the scene to tip us off. 

When Vincent and Ben are dancing at the bar, it’s 1994. We need to talk about it because it’s one of the sweetest LBGTQIA+ scenes ever. 

It is just so simple and lovely. Two guys who are figuring themselves out are dancing at a bar and they are safe. Ben is too overwhelmed to say anything cheesy but he really doesn’t need to. The silence makes the scene beautiful. 

In 1995, Vincent still believes in Jeanette at least a little bit, even though both of them are out of their minds to go back to Martin’s basement. 

There is something reassuring about the fact that they find each other there. Perhaps this is because poor Jeanette is apparently just trying to right the wrongs she thinks she set into motion in the same place in 1993.

But because we now know that Cindy Turner is at least alive in 1995  — ( what does she look like?) — my latest burning questions are these: why is Martin’s house still standing in 1995 for Vincent and Jeanette to find each other in?

And, why can’t I stop looking at the mirror whenever we are down there? 

Crime Scene Observations 

• In 1994, Jeanette is wearing a jacket made out of Cindy’s dress from 1993. 
• I love that Jamie speaks Spanish at home and that there are no captions to translate. 
• I was young in 1995 but I have never heard the term “slam pig.” It also seems long to be slang for “slut.” 
• Cruel Summer tends to coordinate Jeanette and Cindy’s outfits in 1993 and 1994 and it is helpful for tracking time. 
• It is a very responsible show where representation and warnings are concerned. But I wish there was one for depression. 
• Who else doesn’t trust Mallory? 

What did you think of this episode of Cruel Summer? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Cruel Summer airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on Freeform.

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