Cruel Summer Season 1 Episode 4 Review: You Don't Hunt, You Don't Eat
Justin Carreiro
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Diving deep into Kate Wallis' mind will unravel many things she's kept dormant. She's willing to do anything, including reliving the nightmares, to win the lawsuit against Jeanette.
On Cruel Summer Season 1 Episode 4, Kate began the difficult process of remembering her time before and during the kidnapping by Martin.
Kate pulled back the mysterious layers to reveal just enough to keep us captivated. And, more questions were brought up in one of Cruel Summer's most shocking cliffhangers yet.
"You Don't Hunt, You Don't Eat" was a powerful chapter that only scratched the surface of what emotions and twists will undoubtedly come in the future.
Kate-centric episodes tend to have such strong weight to them. Whereas Jeanette's story plays like a roller coaster due to not knowing if we can fully trust her, Kate's storyline keeps us grounded because it's made clear she experienced something terrible at Martin's hands.
Kate is a victim in Cruel Summer, regardless of Jeanette's part in it.
It's interesting to find out which moments Cruel Summer reveals during Kate's pre-, current, and post-kidnapping phases. The inclusions seem to have specific meanings that will shed light on what Kate experienced and what Martin was thinking.
Martin went after Kate for a purpose.
The 1993 hunting party was the biggest inclination of why Martin targeted her.
Martin probably saw Kate as a naive teenager who needed somebody to talk to and felt alone. Granted, Kate felt that way due to her cold and distant family, but Martin's interest crossed some serious boundaries, especially as someone who's supposed to be her assistant vice principal.
Did anyone else feel like he was flirting with her during the stargazing?
The conversation became a little too deep for a night chat, and a warning sign was how Martin never corrected her to refer to him as Mr. Harris.
Even if he hadn't started the job yet, he's still her future educator. Boundaries needed to be set by everyone, including the parents.
I loved Kate's ghost story during the 1995 hunting trip with the adults.
Her chat hammered in the impact of what one decision can make in someone's life and how the actions of everyone around them (whether big or subtle) led to their current situation. Kate took a huge stand to say she wasn't going to be the only one suffering.
And everything Kate said during her story, albeit with a flair for the dramatic, was right on the money!
Kate: Secrets are scary because everybody has them.
[Kate gets up from the firepit]
Kate: Well, sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.
The parents brought Martin into her life. They invited him into their circle, they turned the other way whenever he talked to her, and they didn't notice what was going on around them. The parents inadvertently played their part, so they can't wash their hands clean of the situation.
Martin may have held Kate prisoner, but as Cruel Summer Season 1 has made clear, there's more to the story of what led to Kate being in that predicament.
Kate's therapy sessions with Sylvia will do a world of good for her. As anyone can attest, therapy isn't a quick solution; it takes a while to unravel the layers built over the years to process through them.
Going through the therapy recordings, on the other hand, could open up old wounds she hadn't fully processed.
Kate: Jeanette’s been preparing and building her case in secret for months.
Joy: Yeah, like a venomous snake!
Kate: She’s smart to do that. Sociopathic and no conscious or soul … but smart. Lucky for us, I’m smarter. And I don’t go hunting without arming up first. So, I am asking, how do I prepare?
The few memories "You Don't Hunt, You Don't Eat" revealed included some traumatic moments for Kate that will be hard to take in at first. Thankfully, the scenes weren't too long, and Kate cautioned in voiceover beforehand that these were in the earlier phase of the capture when they were figuring things out.
The moments selected worked in the overall story because they're gradually introducing us into Kate's world in the basement.
Martin's full horror hasn't been unleashed yet, and if it came right out the gate, it would be overwhelming. Kate warned that more evil is yet to come, so there's a good pace being set, easing us into the severity of her capture.
Could Joy have teased a red herring scenario involving Mallory?
The friendship that was built up between Kate and Mallory during the 1994-1995 timeframe was revealed. They're now best friends (and vegetarians) who hate Jeanette and smoke weed together. But it's what Joy said in 1995 that causes doubt surrounding this friendship.
Mallory: Can I confess something?
Kate: Sure.
Mallory: I used to really dislike you, like A LOT.
Kate: I don’t hear that very often.
Mallory: Yeah, I’m starting to get why.
I have a feeling that Mallory is manipulating Kate, and she did leave the "Liar" note on the door.
Her visible hatred during Cruel Summer Season 1 Episode 1 stemmed from somewhere. And, even with the sympathy she felt, she underplayed her feelings during their meeting in the 1994 therapist's lobby.
Joy could be right that Mallory is manipulating Kate and getting her to be dependent on her. Mallory was upset when Jeanette didn't comply, so it's not out of the realm of possibility it's happening here.
Kate's step-sister, Ashley, on the other hand, seems like a character we can trust. (What are the chances of jinxing this so that she becomes a villain soon?)
I liked the sharp change in their relationship from Ashley being cold to Kate rebuffing her sisterly support. It's a big role reversal that showed the growth in both sisters: Kate finding her voice to tell off Ashley for a decade of hurt, and Ashley learning from her mistakes to be the sister Kate needs.
Kate: Our parents have been basically married for a decade and we’re pretty much strangers.
Ashley: I want to change that! Talking might help. I can listen.
Kate: I have a therapist for that.
Ashley: A therapist is not a sister.
Kate: And neither are you.
Let's cross our fingers that Kate and Ashley can repair their bond.
The chatroom was a clever idea by Ashley to reach her sister and chat; Kate needs someone to talk to, even if it's "Berenice4." Though, if Kate ever finds out, there will be hell to pay, and she might lash out louder than before.
Now, onto the big cliffhanger: who was Annabelle?
Kate included the name during her fireside chat with the parents in 1995, and she mentioned to Mallory that the only other person who experienced her situation was dead. This could be a reference to her captor Martin, OR it could be a mysterious second victim we haven't met yet.
If it's the latter, that twist will open this story wide because it means another victim will be introduced. And based on Kate's session, Annabelle appeared a few days before her rescue.
Could the police hunt for Annabelle be what led to everyone finding Kate in Martin's basement? The pieces of the mystery might be falling into place.
Last Timely Thoughts:
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Ashley was "Claire from Physics Class." It wasn't the biggest mystery, but it was nice to see Derek connect with someone in a cute way.
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Kate and Mallory live in a small town and probably went to the same high school/classes. Weirdly, Kate introduced herself to Mallory like she never met her before.
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What was pre-1993 Ashley's problem? Her father and Joy had been married for a decade, and Kate had been a longstanding step-sister in her life. The coldness would've been gone after a year or so.
- Own up to your lies, Jamie. She knows you're lying!
Now, over to you, Cruel Summer fanatics!
What did you think of "You Don't Hunt, You Don't Eat"?
Who do you think left the message for Kate? Will Ashley ever reveal she's behind the anonymous online chatting? Who is Annabelle?
If you missed the latest episode of Cruel Summer, you can watch Cruel Summer online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and share your thoughts below.
Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
