Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 3 Review: Bloody Knuckles

Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 3, “Bloody Knuckles,” builds out Megan and Isabella’s friendship as the evidence mounts in the case of Luke’s murder.

This episode slows down the events of July 1999, December 1999, and July 2000 to benefit the characters that struggle to emerge from the weight of exposition on Cruel Summer Season 2 Episodes 1 and 2, “Welcome to Chatham / Ride or Die.”

With less emphasis on how everyone is connected, “Bloody Knuckles” finds a more intriguing angle in exploring why these characters come together and pull apart.

Where “Bloody Knuckles” falls behind in making sense of Luke and Isabella’s romantic connection, it makes imperative progress with Megan and Isabella’s friendship. Cruel Summer leans into the delicate shift within their friend group to underscore Megan and Isabella’s growing pains.

During that flux, the episode finds an avenue to introduce Jeff and Megan’s dynamic, which helps establish the foundation for why Isabella would suspect Jeff of releasing the tape.

However, because of Jeff’s limited presence so far, the stark juxtaposition of their dynamic across mere months is more jarring than intriguing.

It’s ominous that “Bloody Knuckles” jumps from a place of a naive crush to the threat of “mutual destruction,” but with it being so early, Cruel Summer has plenty of time to fill in those gaps during the season.

For example, the characters’ time at the cabin is the perfect point for Cruel Summer to spin the story out across Summer 1999, Winter 1999, and Summer 2000 — primarily because “Bloody Knuckles” reveals that it’s the scene of Luke’s murder.

That literal common ground amongst the ensemble makes it impossible to rule out anyone as a suspect, even though Isabella and Megan are the ones who experience repeated questioning.

After all, “Bloody Knuckles” expands the volatile dynamic between Luke, Brent, and Steve to demonstrate how isolated Luke is in his family and the lengths Steve will go to to protect the Chambers name.

Paul Adelstein’s performance makes Steve’s desire for control unnerving as the character twists kind gestures for Sheriff Myer into cannon fodder. Cruel Summer acknowledges how sinister it is that Steve cares more about his good standing within a town than he does the criminal acts his son repeatedly commits.

With Brent, “Bloody Knuckles” continues a story about accountability and privilege. The inappropriate and illegal tapes Brent possesses remain inexcusable. Even so, his family’s status allows him to exist outside of a system that could provide justice.

The inherent frustration baked into that story reaches a fever pitch when Steve commends Luke for being a good person, only to knock him down for not considering the optics for their family by turning Brent in to the police.

That scene, in which Adelstein and Griffin Gluck are great, exhibits that the reach of Steve’s manipulative tactics extends to even his sons.

Cruel Summer‘s dedication to positioning Luke as the morally superior member of his family fosters a sympathetic view of his character that Brent and Steve don’t receive.

There is a genuine kindness expressed towards Luke, like from Sheriff Myer at the record store, that others don’t authentically extend to his father or brother.

Unfortunately, that perspective posits that Luke’s death could be a response to that moral high ground.

Again, because it’s early in a far less twisty season than its debut (for now!), Cruel Summer still holds plenty of its cards close to its chest with “Bloody Knuckles.”

Thankfully, one it shows is how the contention fades — if only for a moment — so that Isabella and Megan can connect on a deeper level. This reprieve is especially necessary after the two-episode premiere doesn’t include many scenes from July 1999 that support how close the two characters were in December 1999.

Using Two Truths and a Lie to get to that point is clever — any of that information can be a clue in the show’s larger mystery.

Regardless, Isabella and Megan utilizing the game built on honesty and deceit as a turning point in their dynamic is the more gripping angle. For the first time, they — notably with Megan — see any benefit of being on the same side.

That unity over a shared secret breaks the ice so the characters can discuss their relationships with their parents. With vulnerable performances by Sadie Stanley and Lexi Underwood, it’s one of many scenes on “Bloody Knuckles” that highlights how Cruel Summer (mostly) knows how to do a teen drama right.

One aspect of that subgenre is the rate at which formative relationships can change, especially when a murder is involved in Cruel Summer‘s context. So, it’s complementary that the hues throughout the timeline depict the chilling nature of how secrets bind Isabella and Megan — and make their friendship rot.

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

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