Cruel Summer – It’s the End of the World

By starrymag | July 17, 2023

By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell

 

 

The events in this episode take place on July 31, 1999, December 31, 1999 and July 2000.

 

It’s the day after Luke’s (Griffin Gluck)  seventeenth birthday party and Isabella (Sadie Stanley) and Megan (Lexi Underwood) wake up with Megan feeling hungover and embarrassed. She begs Isabella to tell her yesterday didn’t really happen. Isabella says it wasn’t that bad, but Megan reminds her that Luke nearly threw up on her. Isabella tries to be positive and says maybe one day she and Luke will use that story as a funny part of their love story. And if not one day, when the time is right, Isabella says that the universe will give them a do-over.

 

We go to the last day of the 20th century and things are awkward. Reminder, Luke told Megan that Isabella made a pass at him (not true), but Megan believed him. However, she hasn’t confronted Isabella about what Luke said. So, when Isabella tries to talk to Megan about the New Year she doesn’t understand Megan’s lack of enthusiasm. At any rate, Isabella wants to put 1999 behind her and be less messy. Megan says that Isabella probably likes the mess.

 

Later, Luke and Megan go Y2K party shopping. They don’t think the world’s going to end. Worst case scenario, Megan belives that a few computers are gonna crash. Then, she changes the subject to Isabella. She asks Luke what he thinks Isabella was after by kissing him. She was such a big supporter of their relationship, Megan points out. So, she wonders why would she hit on Luke? Luke says Isabella just wants Megan all to herself and likes it when she and Luke are on the outs so that she can be BFF of the year. Megan doesn’t seem totally convinced.

 

Elsewhere circa 2000, Steve (Paul Adelstein) says his P.I. got results. Long story short, Megan has been working as a hacker for hire to make money with Ned. Steve tells Brent (Braeden De La Garza) that he thinks that Ned (Ben Cotton), who’s had an axe to grind with him for years, killed Luke to get to him. Also, there was some sort of fight between Ned and Luke over Megan around the time Luke disappeared.

 

The same day Megan’s lawyer Tom (David James Lewis) comes over and unceremoniously tells her that they’ve gotta go to the police station because she’s being charged. Megan figures she’s being charged with something related to Luke’s death, but actually it’s about the fake IDs she and Jeff made back in 1999.  They found the files when they searched her computer. The good news is that Megan was a minor at the time so there won’t be any jail time and a felony won’t go on her record. The bad news is that the University of Washington has an honor code, so if they find out that she got arrested she can kiss her scholarship goodbye. The possibility is terrifying for Megan because it’s the only way she can pay for college. Unfortunately, Tom says that he can’t undo it.

 

Flashing back to the last day of 1999 we see Megan and Luke are leaving the store when she bumps into Ned. He freaks out when he sees the Y2K tiara that Megan is wearing. He says that Y2K is a crisis not a party and he thought she knew that. She says she does, but Ned starts ranting and grabs Megan by the shoulders. Luke comes over and tells Ned to back off and that them doing computer stuff together doesn’t mean he owns Megan. This leads to a physical fight between Luke and Ned that Megan tries to stop. It ends with Ned telling Megan that she deserves better and that Luke will be every bit as controlling and selfish as his father before storming off.

 

In the year 2000 Megan bumps into Jeff (Nile Bullock) who is packing for a pre-USC family trip. He’s excited about it and asks Megan if she’s ready for the University of Washington. She says it might not be happening after all because she got busted. Jeff looks guilty and then admits that he got caught trying to buy beer with his fake ID. According to Jeff the sheriff offered him a deal if he gave them the name of the person who made it. He tried, but they knew he didn’t make the watermark himself. Megan is angry that Jeff gave him up, but Jeff says he had no choice and apologizes. Megan storms off and tells him to have fun at college.

 

Once they return to Megan’s house Megan and Luke fight about Ned. Luke says he was protecting Megan, but Megan says that Ned’s her friend. Reluctantly, Luke apologizes and says he doesn’t want to cause trouble for Megan but he thinks Ned is unstable. Then, he gets a message from Tim and says there’s a wrench in the party plans because his parents came back early. Megan says she guesses the party’s off, which might be for the best since she’s not feeling well. However, Luke wants to find a new location. He wants the last day of 1999 to be special.

 

Later he gets reamed out by his father for the scuffle with Ned. Steve says their family has enough problems with Ned and Luke shouldn’t hit people. Plus, Ned has been suing him over intellectual property for years and now they’ve gotten into it over Ned’s property line. Steve doesn’t want someone as litigious as Ned to have another reason to file a lawsuit.

 

Going back to the summer of 1999 Luke and Megan close up the cabin and reminisce when they find an old pair of walkie-talkies. They used to spend a lot of time together at Luke’s cabin when they were kids. And the walkie-talkies still work. Feeling nostalgic, they decide to finish their mission of exploring the property from back when they were in elementary school.

 

In 2000 Megan talks to Brent about the P.I. She can’t believe that Steve hired someone to spy on him. Brent wonders what she was doing with Ned and Megan says it’s none of his business. Megan thinks that Ned would never have hurt Luke, but Brent says he attacked his last boss and stole millions of dollars worth of intellectual property. Brent tells Megan that he knows she didn’t kill Luke, but Ned is going down and if Megan doesn’t keep her distance he’ll drag her down with him.

 

After Luke leaves Steve’s office he bumps into Brent and warns him that their father is angry. This leads to the brothers comparing notes on being disappointments. When Luke tells Brent about the aborted NYE party, Brent takes pity on him and gives him the keys to the cannery so they can have the party there. But he warns Luke not to get caught or he’ll deny giving him the keys.

 

Back in 1999 Luke and Megan are running through the woods with the walkie-talkies and reliving simpler times. In the winter of 1999, things are decidedly less simple for Megan. She goes into the bathroom and picks up a positive pregnancy test and looks horrified. But she still goes to the NYE party with Luke and tells him that she’s feeling better. They talk about the possibility of the world ending and Megan says worst case scenario the banks will be out of commission for a few days and the sheriff’s radio frequency will go haywire.

 

When we flashback to the summer of 1999 we see Megan and Luke talk about how the woods seemed bigger and scarier when they were kids. They come to the conclusion that when you’re little, the world just feels bigger. Then, they have a race going back to the docks.

 

At the NYE party Megan and Isabella finally talk about why they haven’t been talking. Megan asks Isabella why she kissed Luke and if hitting on her boyfriend was included in their “ride or die” promise. Isabella says she didn’t make a play for Luke, but that Luke kissed her. Megan wonders if that happened then why didn’t Isabella tell her. Isabella says she figured Luke just made a mistake, so she let it go. Megan says that wasn’t doing her any favors, but Isabella argues that she always takes Luke’s side. If they’re such good friends Isabella is curious as to why couldn’t Megan have given her the benefit of the doubt.

 

In 2000, Megan has gone to Ned’s place to ask for help. She wonders if he can’t erase her misdeamer from the system. Ned says he can’t because there’s already a virtual paper trail. But Megan states that he’s her only hope because she’ll lose her scholarship. Ned tries to tell her that a diploma is just a piece of paper and that a lot of famous coders drop out or don’t even go to college. Megan counters that she can’t count on being one in a million as she needs an education. Also, she tells him that Steve is having him watched and asks about the IP. Although, Ned says you can’t steal what was already yours.

 

At the party Luke is talking to the guys about Megan and Isabella. He says Megan has been cool after the sex tape. When he starts getting teased about being on training wheels as far as dating is concerned, he says he can handle both Isabella and Megan just fine. In fact, he brags about the play he made for Isabella and says he’s got both girls wrapped around his finger. Megan overhears the whole thing from around the corner and looks pretty angry. His saying that he’s got to get “practice” in before college doesn’t help.

 

When we come back to the 21st century things heat up. Ned tells Megan if Steve wants to look into his past, he’ll look into Steve. Also, Ned has a lot of surveillance cameras around the property, which feels like it’ll come into play again  But the camera conversation is interrupted by Steve showing up at Ned’s house. When she hears Steve’s voice she says that Steve can’t know she’s here and Ned tells her to slip out the back.

 

Ned grabs his shotgun and goes to confront Steve. Steve shows up with Brent and yells at Ned saying he had no right to drag a teenage girl into whatever he’s involved in. He demands to know what Ned did to Luke. Steve’s theory is that Luke found out that Ned was doing illegal things and killed him to keep him quiet. He says he knows he has something to do with his son’s death and will prove it. Ned tells him to take Brent and get off his property. Brent tries to tell Steve they should leave but Steve says Ned won’t do anything. Then, Steve says he’s going to be watching Ned and when he makes a mistake he’ll be right there to catch him. Then, Steve and Brent leave.

 

In 1999, Luke and Megan continued exploring and talking on the walkie-talkies. Megan shares that Jeff broke up with her, minus the reasons. And before Luke can react he bumps into Ned who isn’t too happy to see him. He doesn’t flip out, he just says that he values his privacy and doesn’t appreciate trespassing. Luke apologizes and says he didn’t mean to trespass, he just got turned around. Still, Ned fixes the walkie-talkie for Luke and then tells Luke to stay on his side of the line before leaving.

 

The NYE is still happening and it’s only a few minutes until the new millennium. Jeff is walking around and filming and asking people about their New Year’s Resolutions. He bumps into Megan and she says she’s going to be the master of her own destiny and stop being played. Jeff asks if he missed something, but Megan just says sometimes you don’t know people as well as you thought. She then finds Isabella and says they have to talk ASAP. Isabella is still a little miffed, but she says it’s important. Megan says that she overheard Luke and Isabella was right about everything. She doesn’t understand how Luke could do this to her. Isabella suggests they leave because Luke is not worth it. Megan doesn’t want to let him off the hook and wants revenge. “Let’s make him regret he ever met us,” Megan says.

 

We cut away and Megan finds Luke and five minutes before midnight she convinces Luke to go to the cabin for a private party.

 

In 2000, Megan gets a call from Principal Bower (Wonita Joy) who says that Sherrif Myer told her about the misdemeanor. She tells Megan she had to inform the University of Washington due to the school’s policy. The university is rescinding her scholarship which causes Megan to break down and cry.

 

During the summer of 1999, Luke and Megan sit on the docks and reminisce about caving their initials into them as kids. According to Luke, those were some of the best times of his life because Megan was always there. Then he tries to talk about their drunken almost kiss and Megan says it’s no big deal. Luke says he’s really missed her this summer and kisses Megan.