‘Cruel Summer’ Recap: ‘All I Want for Christmas’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Lexi Underwood and Olly Sholotan as Isabella and Trevor in Episode 205 of ‘Cruel Summer’ – ‘All I Want for Christmas’. (Photo Courtesy of Ricardo Hubbs/Freeform.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 205 of ‘Cruel Summer’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Each and every one of us in this life, search for quite the important person in our travels. Specifically… the person that completes us and fundamentally understands us. Because it isn’t enough to have a family around, we need validation from the universe that there is someone out there who truly sees us in a valuable light and wants nothing more than to see us succeed and will stand with us to make that happen. And that gives us a real sense of security in this life and does indeed lift us up and propels us to new heights and what’s interesting, is that we don’t necessarily find that person through the traditional channel of love and romance. Sometimes… we find it through an absolute best friend. That person we connect with on a deep level and feel complete around.    
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Which is why we encounter so many people that speak to the wonder of their best friend for life and why they rave about them nonstop. Because the BFFL is someone of value and truly helps a person navigate life and while there is much to celebrate about finding our BFFL… there is caution that needs to be exercised when it comes to the search. Because sadly, sometimes loneliness propels us to search for filler over substance and when we meet someone in that vein or someone toxic in nature and also in need of that other half… trouble can come into lives. The kind that can leads to sorrow and heartbreak, or worse, all because we think the connection, we initially share is the one we’ve been looking for. When in fact, it is nothing more than a lesson designed to teach us what we should be searching for instead. If anything, this troubling truth about best friends is top of mind today, because it was put on full display in the next episode of Cruel Summer on Freeform.

For ‘All I Want for Christmas’ took the time to explore the best friend dynamic between Megan and Isabella, which we thought was healthy in nature. Only to learn… it was not. For Megan is someone who has often felt akin to an outlier in this world, despite having friends and people that love her and Isabella… is desperate to be liked and loved and desperate to connect with someone, all because… she has no real connection to reality or her own identity. And that means this duo have connected via a poor foundation. One designed to fulfill immediate needs in a toxic manner, and that brought about some genuinely concerning moments in this tale. The kind that saw Isabella cheat on Luke when an old flame arrived in town and then expect forgiveness and quiet for her actions… under the guise of the power of the best friend.

Not to mention, Megan was so desperate to have the connection she shared with Isabella in her life, that she was the enabler here and let bad stuff slide to keep Isabella around. Giving rise to a toxic best friendship. One designed to offer style over substance and well, seeing what each of them did in this tale to each other under the guise of friendship… does leave one to wonder… if they are as innocent as we initially believed. Because clearly, under the right circumstances, they could cause harm to each other and they are teetering on the brink of doing just that in the Summer of 2000, and well… that level of darkness suddenly raises questions as to whether or not… they harmed Luke together. All in the name of love and loyalty to each other and that really does change the game for this show, especially after that powerhouse reveal at the end.

Wherein we came to learn that Lisa, dear Lisa, the BFFL that Isabella speaks of often, stopped being a bestie for life when her life ended, via an accidental drowning. And of course, since Luke was found in the water… suddenly this duo are not what we thought them to be. They’re capable of some darkness and some ugliness, the kind inspired by their toxic relationship. One they straight up use for absolution when needed and well… all this episode does, is leave us desperate for more of this tale. Because the questions being raised now have us deeply concerned and curious about that fateful day and what led to it and well… all we can do now is impatiently wait for next week’s episode. To see it further expand on a topic we don’t discuss enough, superficially toxic friendships, and to see where that big reveal takes us as we barrel toward the reveal of what happened to poor Luke. Until next time. 

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