Cruel Summer E01 & E02 Prove Solid Start to Twisty Mystery: Review Posted on Freeform's Cruel Summer episodes one and two are a solid start to a mystery story that doesn't seem as black and white as it seems. Freeform shows tend to swing from incredibly well-done shows and shows that miss so hard they are at risk of hitting themselves in the face. Two episodes into Cruel Summer, and it looks like they have a really good one in the works. This show focuses on two different points of view, Jeanette Turner and Kate Walis, and it alternates over each episode. The first episode is Jeanette and the second is Kate. The episodes also focus on the events of one day over the course of three different years [1993, 1994, 1995]. It makes for non-linear storytelling, but the show does a very good job of making sure that you always know which era you are in. The girls look and act differently depending on the year, and as time goes on, the show gets gloomier and gloomier. The scenes from 1993 look like they are shot in a bright and beautiful world where nothing terrible can happen, while 1995 is dark, gloomy, desaturated as the reality of what happened to these girls settles in.