Cruel Summer – The Plunge

By starrymag | July 10, 2023

By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell

 

 

This episode’s events take place on July 30, 1999, December 30, 1999, and July 30, 2000.

 

We start with the day of Luke’s (Griffin Gluck) seventeenth birthday in 1999. Megan (Sadie Stanley) is getting uncharacteristically glam at the Landry residence before Luke’s party when Isabella enters her room and announces she dumped Luke. Megan is shocked that she broke up with him on his birthday, but Isabella (Lexi Underwood) says it wasn’t serious and after all. It’s Megan and Luke who are soulmates. Flash forward to the winter of 1999 when Megan and Isabella are supposed to go to The Plunge, an event where people jump into the lake in the winter, but Megan pulls out at the last minute after she gets some mysterious IMs.

 

In the somber new millennium Debbie (KaDee Strickland) checks on Megan. It would’ve been Luke’s eighteenth birthday, but instead there’s a memorial being planned in his honor so she’s feeling more than a little down. Debbie then asks where she got the laptop and Megan says it’s from a friend. When Debbie asks who the friend is Megan puts her headphones on and doesn’t answer.

 

Later she goes to the outside of the Chambers’ house where the town’s residents have left photos, flowers and cards expressing their condolences. Brent (Braeden De La Garza) comes outside and the two share memories of Luke, how much he would’ve liked the attention, and Brent admits he was a lousy brother. Megan agrees he wasn’t a good brother, but Brent treats everyone badly so he wasn’t just awful to Luke. Still, Brent says he deserved better.

 

Back in the summer of 1999 Megan and Brent are setting up for the party. They’ve got the Landry house to themselves parent-free. Megan says she wants this to be the best birthday ever to take his mind off things. Brent thinks the best way to do that is by exiling Isabella. Megan brushes the idea off, likely because Isabella dumped Luke for her.

 

We learn that Luke worked out with Sheriff Myer (Sean Blakemore) at the gym sometimes. Then, we cut away to the party and Jeff (Nile Bullock) is filming and there are jello shots galore. When Luke walks in he’s impressed. He even admits that Brent is trying to be nice to him in his own screwed up way. When he asks Megan says she’s laying low, but Luke thinks it’s fine for her to come. Once that’s settled Luke compliments Megan for wearing her hair down for the first time in a while.

 

In the year 2000 Megan has been looking into Isabella’s past with Lisa. In St. Bart’s, according to some police files at a party, someone said they heard Isabella convince Lisa to go swimming even though she was drunk. She drowned and the same night Isabella was flown out of St. Bart’s by helicopter. Technically, Isabella isn’t a fugitive because the police closed the case due to insufficient evidence. Debbie thinks that Isabella’s parents probably used their connections to kill the investigation. Megan thinks someone drowning the same night you fall out with your best friend sounds familiar.

 

At Luke’s seventeenth birthday party things are in full swing. Jeff is trying to invite Megan on a family vacation with him, but she’s focused on Luke. Jeff tries not to take it personally and chalks it up to her being a good hostess. Then, Isabella comes and Brent gives her grief for dumping Luke, but Luke says it’s fine. Flash forward and at The Plunge where Isabella and Luke are commiserating over the shared feeling that Megan’s been dodging them. Luke says ever since the tape it’s like she’ll do anything to avoid being alone with him. We see Luke defend Isabella when she gets some rude comments about the sex tape.

 

In 2000, with Isabella’s voice in her head, Debbie looks under the bed in the trailer and finds what appear to be bloody sheets. We cut away and Steve (Paul Adelstein) and Brent are reading Sheriff Myer the riot act. They think Isabella’s guilty and are angry that there’s been no arrest. Sheriff Myer says he understands that today must be hard for them, but the investigation needs to be thorough. He can’t make arrests based on half-baked theories. Steve gets angry and says he’s hiring a private investigator who can get Luke some real justice.

 

At the party things are still going well. The gang decides to play beer pong and Jeff can’t help but notice how friendly Megan’s being towards Luke. Flash forward to 2000 and Steve goes to the Landry house as Debbie is leaving the trailer with the bloody sheets. He says he needs to talk to Megan, Steve’s been hearing all the rumors about Megan’s pregnancy and Isabella’s money, and he says he knows the girls are hiding something. Whatever it is, he needs to hear the truth from Megan. Debbie reminds him that they’ve all been advised to keep their distance while the investigation is ongoing. Plus, she says Megan’s not home. However, Steve notes that her car is still there. Debbie just says Megan’s not home. In response Steve leaves, but not before saying Debbie can’t hide her forever.

 

Back in the winter of 1999 we learn that Megan went to Ned’s (Ben Cotton) house. She’s been talking to him for months about computer stuff. Ned is a computer genius and he seems a little paranoid. He shows Megan his elaborate security system that’s designed to put his house on lockdown for Y2K. Megan thanks him for trusting her and asking for her help with his security system.

 

Elsewhere during the winter Luke and Isabella roast marshmallows and talk about Megan. Luke wonders if there’s something wrong with him. He states that Megan is avoiding him and last summer Isabella dumped him. Isabella says it wasn’t because he did anything wrong, she did it for Megan. According to Isabella, Megan and Luke are destined to be together.  Speaking the summer of 1999 Luke’s party continues. A game of beer pong is in full swing when the police show up. Except it’s not really the police. It seems Brent hired a stripper who calls herself “Officer Bunny.” She (Shenandoah McSporran) takes Luke inside for a private dance.

 

When we go to the summer of 2000 Megan is trying to contact Trevor. However, it seems that after writing the letter it’s been radio silence. Going back to last summer Megan watches Luke get a lapdance in the trailer. Flashing forward Luke and Isabella talk more and Luke says Isabella has taken a lot of hits for Megan. Isabella replies that Megan is her sister and she’d do the same for her. Isabella asserts that maybe she gives too much, but loyalty is everything to her. She doesn’t regret it. But maybe Luke does, because he kisses her. He says he thought Isabella was into it, but she pushes him off and tells him to go.

 

At the birthday party the girls dance to “Genie in a Bottle” by Christina Aguilera. It gets the boys’ attention, Luke’s in particular. And it gets Jeff’s attention that Megan asks Luke and not him to dance to such a sultry song. Flashing forward to the 2000 in lieu of more answers from Trevor it seems Megan decides to go to Parker’s house to confront Isabella. She says she knows about Lisa and St. Bart’s. Isabella wonders how she found out and says she started to tell her a million different times. But Megan says she still kept it a secret. She accuses Isabella of lying about her past, their friendship and pretty much everything. Then, Megan adds that everything Isabella says is to make herself look good.

 

According to the police report Isabella convinced Lisa to go swimming when she was drunk. Although, Isabella says that Lisa jumped in on her own. She explains that she was drunk and upset and that what happened was the worst night of her life.

 

When it’s still Luke’s birthday Luke and Megan talk inside. She shows him the birthday cake she baked herself and feeds him some. Luke says it’s been a nearly perfect day and he and Megan almost kiss, but then he gets nauseous and runs off. In the winter Luke surprises her with a souvenir from The Plunge. Luke says he missed Megan and she was the only thing he could think about. This leads to Megan and Luke sharing a kiss and sleeping together.

 

Back at the party Megan and Jeff have an uncomfortable conversation. Megan says he’s been quiet today. Jeff explains he’s just been enjoying the show and it’s been educational. Megan states she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Jeff says he knew she had a thing for Luke, but he thought she’d moved on and they had something good. Jeff believes that every time he tried to spend time with her today that she’s been with Luke or talking about Luke. Megan explains it’s just because it’s his birthday and he just got dumped. Jeff thinks that it is lucky for Megan, which she thinks is unfair. What Jeff finds unfair; however, is that Megan’s been using him so he says they’re done and leaves.

 

On what would’ve been Luke’s eighteenth birthday Megan and Isabella continue arguing.  Isabella says she really tried to be a better friend to Megan than she was to Lisa. It’s why she took the wrap for the sex tape. Even after whatever happened on New Years she kept trying to have Megan’s back. Although, Megan says she was probably trying to protect herself. She thinks after Megan left the cabin Isabella went back and killed Luke like she killed Lisa. Parker overhears this.

 

The night of Luke’s seventeenth birthday Steve and Debbie come home from what looks like a date. They went to see American Pie and Isabella and Megan seem amused. In the winter Megan and Luke lay in bed together and Megan says she’s glad they’re getting time together. She apologizes for being distant and Luke says it’s okay. Then, she adds that he and Isabella come from a different planet when it comes to money and it’s weird for her sometimes. She thanks Luke for letting her be herself even when it’s hard. She then kisses him. Afterwards he tells her about the kiss at The Plunge, but explains that Isabella kissed him and he was the one who rejected her. Megan believes his story and is instantly angry with Isabella.

 

Parker (Lisa Yamada) runs to Sheriff Myer’s office and says she heard something and she thinks he needs to know. When Megan gets home Debbie is waiting for her with the bloody sheets and says they need to talk. Debbie wants to know if the blood on the sheets is Luke’s. Megan asks her mother if she thinks she killed Luke. Debbie just says she loves her and would do anything for her, but she needs to know what happened. Megan asks what happens if she doesn’t like what she hears.