Cruel Summer Review: You Don’t Hunt, You Don’t Eat (Season 1 Episode 4)
On Cruel Summer Season 1 Episode 4, “You Don’t Hunt, You Don’t Eat,” we learn explicitly through dialogue that Martin Harris does not abduct Kate Wallis after the garden party.
In fact, he goes on the 1993 hunting trip as a way for Joy Wallis to say thank you for bringing Kate home safely.
So, on Cruel Summer Season 1 Episode 2, “A Smashing Good Time,” Kate is having a flashback to her 1993 abduction in 1994 when she screams to be let out of the basement. She’s also wearing a red dress in the flashback, not the white printed one from the 1993 garden party.
This is an easy detail to miss if you only watch Cruel Summer episodes once before reviewing them — a mistake I’ll never make again.
“You Don’t Hunt, You Don’t Eat,” is the best example so far of why Cruel Summer is so brilliant.
There is an abduction at its center, but it’s also giving us ships worthy of rooting for, complex family dynamics, and friendships that make sense whether we want them to or not.
Something I predicted correctly is Mallory and Kate’s friendship in 1994/1995.
I will always want to protect 1993 Jeanette. So, my heart is on her side, meaning my first instinct is to scream about this friendship for Jeanette because Mallory is a hypocrite. But Joy is definitely correct about Mallory on the hunting trip in 1995 — she’s not a nice young lady.
Kate is a trauma victim. I want to protect her from Mallory. I don’t quite view them as a mean girls duo.
Distrust in Mallory could be a common denominator for Jeanette and Kate — but young Tonya and Nancy are in too deep, they’re not going to meet to compare notes any time soon.
Perhaps Kate’s trauma is the reason she’s lying. But that does not excuse her from her apparent fibs.
She has alluded to being alone in the basement before, but now we have a mysterious Annabelle to contend with.
Is she a second victim Martin brings in shortly before Kate is rescued? Is this a Room situation — does Kate have a child? Or is she actually a figment of Kate’s imagination?
I could type questions for hours and be no closer to the truth, so let’s talk about why Ash’s introduction adds so many layers to Cruel Summer.
From a purely narrative perspective, Ash and Kate’s relationship (or lack thereof) is fascinating.
It’s understandable why Ash would be resentful of the perfect little white stepsister who seems to spend more time with her daddy than she does. Ash hates Joy and is not afraid to let it be known (who can blame her, really?)
She definitely did not gain a mama in this deal and tells Kate as much.
It must be hard to hear Kate call Rod “daddy” so freely. And in 1994, no wonder Ash feels guilty and logs in to Kate’s abduction survivors chatroom undercover. I would be desperate to help, too.
At least I hope her intentions are to help. I know I can’t trust Cruel Summer.
Ash is now also half of a ship that embodies Romeo & Juliet perfectly. A Wallis and a Turner who enjoy each other’s company meeting secretly by the swings? The scandal!
I’m so intrigued I want some sour watermelon and popcorn so I can get comfortable and watch that plotline turn into the epic romance it deserves to be.
Ash will not be swooning and fawning all over Derek until her death, though. She’s not afraid to speak her mind.
Who cares if it’s the ’90s? Cruel Summer is bringing in some responsible social justice conversations to the table when Ash tells Kate that she and her dad would suffer the most from a scandal like an affair. She actually uses the word privilege.
Cruel Summer is proof so far that there is such thing as an entertaining show that is also very responsible with sensitive topics.
It’s difficult to watch Martin Harris grooming Kate, but there is a warning at the front of the episode. And it’s most disturbing that Martin brings up his dad’s suicide. The instinctual reaction is to be mad and wonder if it’s being mentioned so that we feel sympathy for him.
Of course, the truth is, sometimes we need to know disturbing details, and Martin has mostly been portrayed as the monster you least suspect so far, not a monster to feel sorry for.
Crime Scene Notes
- All of these characters are so complex so far. Even the ones I hate are integral to the story and I want them to stick around.
- I’m really confused by the promo picture of Jeanette being used for this episode — she’s definitely not in it. Especially not in 1995 in a van. Unless I blinked and missed something both times I watched?
- How are Rod and Joy still together in 1995? Like…seriously?
- I still wish there was info to help with depression and anxiety at the end of the episodes. But, it’s not exactly an oversight not to put them, I guess.
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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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Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.