Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 6 The Plunge Review And Recap- All The Critical Details As A Killer Takes Shape

Cruel Summer should be called the Year of Poor Choices. Almost no one makes decisions that are in their best interest. Even Megan, in July of 1999, is flirting with disaster. The controlled, good girl has started down a path that ends in Luke’s death, the loss of her college dreams, and personal disaster. It’s hard to hope for the best for any of them because they all seem so shifty. Between two young women who may or may not have killed Luke to the dead boy and his ability to skew the truth to fit his narrative, a picture is coming into focus that isn’t pretty. Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 6 is a Genie in a bottle waiting to burst out and leave chaos in its wake. Here are all the details to pay attention to.

July 30th, 1999

Megan is preparing for Luke’s birthday party. For once, Brent is being a reasonable human being and even being helpful. That doesn’t last the entire day as he hires a stripper to give Luke a special lap dance later in the day, but at least he keeps his promise to get Luke naked wasted. The citizen of Douchebag Island appears to have little use for women beyond what they can do for him. At this point, Isabella looks like the best friend a girl could have. She broke up with a boy she liked for her best friend and is dealing with it shockingly maturely. We don’t know yet if this unselfish girl is the real Isabella or if there is something meaner lurking beneath her perfect facade.

Throughout the party, Megan and Luke flirt, and poor Jeff notices. Everything from the delicious birthday cake she made to her dancing is designed to make Luke notice her. Megan likes to be perfect in all things all the time. I know she likes Luke, but I wonder if she likes Luke as much as she doesn’t want to fail. He gets sick before they can seal the deal with a kiss, and Megan has to face Jeff. He is hurt and angry and breaks up with her. Jeff accuses her of using him as a practice run, and there is some truth to that, but I don’t think she did it intentionally. The only thing she did wrong was string Jeff along after knowing she didn’t have romantic feelings for him.

We also see the beginnings of Debbie and Steve’s relationship. They become more than employees and employers by Christmas of 1999, which either started the night of Luke’s birthday or shortly before. They are pretty cozy and comfortable with one another when they return from dinner and a movie. Understandably, in July of 2000, things were very strained between them. Debbie knows about Brent’s illegal filming project that Steve made disappear, and he suspects that Megan or Isabella was involved in Luke’s death.

December 30th, 1999

Megan’s interest in Ned takes the next step when she ditches her friends to help him with a project at his house. She had never missed the Chatham Plunge before, but when he messaged her that he could use her help, she dropped her plans and immediately went over. It bears mentioning that she didn’t tell anyone about where she was going or who she was helping. Likely she knows something hinky about the situation, but it’s the Year Of Poor Choices, so what is one more?

Ned’s place is a computer nerds’ paradise in 1999. He has fiber which was not common back then, and a seriously paranoid layout of locks and security systems. Ned also has a shrine for all the devices he invented before being fired. He has plenty of money, so either he was given a considerable severance package, or his illegal work pays well. I wonder what he got fired for. Did he go rogue and become a liability for the company that no longer felt they could control him?

He invited Megan to help him test his Y2K preparedness, but the test went very smoothly. Either Megan is a genius, or this was a carefully designed ruse to get her to his house. I’m not convinced Ned isn’t completely nutty. The one thing I agree with, though, is his assessment of Luke, Brent, and Steve. Ned points out that Steve is a titan in this town, and those with so much power don’t like to yield to anyone. He also says Brent and Luke will probably become just like him. Megan says Luke isn’t like that, but as we see later, he has no problem throwing Isabella under the bus to protect himself.

Luke and the Sherrif have a good relationship that seems healthier than the one with his father. He gives Luke advice on dealing with bullies and forging his own path in life. This seemingly insignificant conversation could be much more critical. If Luke wanted to stand up to bullies and something happened with Ned or Brent, who both could be aggressive and hot-tempered, it might be what got him killed. Ned could be the real killer, and Megan could not know what Ned did all this time. Ned is brilliant and obsessive. I wouldn’t be surprised if Luke stood up to Ned after discovering Megan’s involvement with him, which escalated into a dangerous fight. We don’t know what the bloody clothes are from, so there could be several different encounters resulting in wounds.

While Megan is with Ned, Luke and Isabella bond at the Plunge. Isabella tells Luke that she broke up with him because she could see how he was destined to be with Megan. She gives every appearance of being a devoted friend. Despite everything with Trevor and Lisa and the series clearly signposting that she is bad news, I think she might be the only innocent one in this mess. She is a young girl looking for a family because her parents don’t provide love and support. She doesn’t always make the best choices but is a true friend. Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 6 has changed my thinking about Isabella.

Luke talks with Isabella about how much she has done for Megan and his concerns that Megan isn’t into him anymore. Everything he says feels like he is manipulating her to make her more pliable to his advances later. When he kisses her, she pushes him away, and he apologizes for misinterpreting their conversation. All of that would be fine if he didn’t immediately head over to Megans, sleep with her, and lie about the kiss with Isabella. He told Megan about the kiss but claimed Isabella did it, and he pushed her away.

Maybe Ned is right, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. In this web of lies, Luke has altered the events to deflect away from him, while Megan is lying by omission of her time with Ned. Nothing she has done for him has been illegal so far. Everyone knew about her fake ID work. His message to her looks like it is early in their work, and we know that was the first time she was at his house, so why is she hiding it? Does she have a crush on Ned?

July 30, 2000

Megan is mourning Luke’s death in Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 6. Brent has a heart inside that slimy chest of his, and they share a tear and a laugh about the good old days. He and Steve genuinely seem troubled by his death. I doubt either of them were involved. Steve is tired of waiting for answers from the Sherrif, so he hires an investigator and tries questioning Megan and Isabella about what they know. He is convinced Isabella did it but thinks Megan knows more than she has said. Debbie won’t betray her daughter, though, and refuses to let him see her saying she isn’t home. Debbie has a lot to worry about this week as all kinds of secrets come out.

She found the bloody clothes that Isabella told her to look for, and when she asked Megan about them, Megan told her she might not want to know. Debbie says she would do anything for Megan, but she must know the truth. The irony that Debbie was holding a dress covered with potentially Luke’s blood while standing directly in front of Steve wasn’t lost on me. Nor did I miss the comparison between Steve protecting Brent in December from punishment for his sex tapes and Debbie promising to protect Megan from punishment for a potential murder.

Megan used her hacking skills to get Lisa’s police report. Trevor pointed her in the right direction by sending her the letter and newspaper clipping. The report makes it sound like Isabella encouraged Lisa to go swimming after a nasty fight despite being intoxicated. Megan and Debbie worry that it sounds suspiciously like what happened to Luke, but it’s the obvious answer is rarely the right one. Trevor isn’t returning her calls right now, so she can’t verify anything. Why isn’t he responding to her calls? Is he another casualty of this weird situation? Maybe Trevor is the killer?

Megan and Isabella finally talk about what happened with Lisa. Isabella says he tried to stop Lisa from swimming, but she wouldn’t listen. She also claims to have gone in after her, but we cannot verify that right now. Isabella could be an obsessed girl, a liar, or a completely innocent, loyal friend. She could be elements of all three. Regardless, Parker heard them arguing and immediately told the Sherrif that Megan thinks Isabella killed Luke. Hearsay from a kid is not officially actionable, but it doesn’t do Isabella any favors.

The list of suspects is getting smaller. Debbie, Steve, and Parker can all be ruled out. Brent is also probably not the killer. This leaves, of course, still Megan, Isabella, Ned, and Jeff. Was Luke’s death probably a terrible accident caused by a fight with Steve or a confrontation with Ned? Almost certainly. It won’t be as straightforward as Isabella killed him, and Megan helped her clean it up. Something happened in that cabin that both of the girls knew about. Did Luke get shot accidentally in the cabin and later killed by someone else?

There are still a lot of questions that need answers. What happened to Megan’s baby? Was it even Luke’s? Why isn’t Trevor returning Megan’s calls? Whose blood is on Megan’s dress? What was Luke so afraid of he was leaving town before he died? Is Ned as unhinged as he seems? Is Megan still going to college? Why does everyone in town think she is a freak? Who killed Luke, and what was Megan cleaning up at the cabin? Cruel Summer Season 2 Episode 6 left a lot of balls still in the air, and time is running out to wrap it all up. Hopefully, we will get a nice tidy explanation when the series wraps. Find all our Cruel Summer coverage here.