Yahoo Finance Cruel Summer showrunner Tia Napolitano responds to season 1 finale twists
Cruel Summer season one finale spoilers follow.
Cruel Summer finally wrapped up its debut season, answering a number of mysteries after weeks of huge twists.
The series follows the disappearance of Kate Wallis in the mid-1990s and the high school outcast Jeanette Turner, who essentially takes over her life.
However, when Kate returns alive a year later, Jeanette becomes one of the most hated people in America as Kate accuses her of witnessing her abduction but not reporting it.
In Tuesday's (June 15) finale, it was revealed that it wasn't Jeanette but Mallory who witnessed Kate at Martin's house – though didn't realise it was Kate and only kept it secret when she returned to protect her.
Opening up about the big twist, showrunner Tia Napolitano explained to TVLine that the final moment was "something that [they] worked towards in the development process".
She added: "We wanted when the truth was fully revealed in the finale for it to be the most interesting ending possible, and we worked on a bunch of pitches, and that was the one that made everyone scream when they heard it. So we thought that was the sweet spot, that's it."
Once Kate realises the truth, she is quick to forgive Mallory, and even plants a kiss – suggesting romance could be on the cards when the newly-confirmed season 2 comes around.
"I think we're seeing the beginning of something," Napolitano further teased. "They have this indescribable chemistry and connection.
"You meet a few people in your life, and when you meet them, you think, 'Oh, I'm going to be in this person's life forever,' and I think they are that to each other. We're seeing a first kiss and a little exploration into, 'Is this romance?'"
Related: Cruel Summer UK release date announced by Amazon Prime Video
One of the other big moments was the revelation that 'Annabelle' was the name of Martin's gun, which Kate uses to shoot Martin, staying with him until she calls the police the next day.
"That scene is so much," the showrunner further reflected. "I wanted to see Kate save herself, I wanted to see Kate get a little bit of power.
Related: Cruel Summer star debunks major fan theory ahead of season 1 finale
"Also, the heartbreak that he made her like him and then made her fall in what she thinks is love with him, and all of that was inappropriate, and now she's in a position where in order to escape, possibly she has to kill someone… It's just a journey, and that scene is designed to make you feel all of it.
"And Martin, not to empathize with him, to see him vulnerable… That scream that Blake Lee lets out, it's a scream that one human should never hear another human make. It’s primal, and it just punches you in the stomach. It's just very human and deep."
Cruel Summer airs on Freeform in the US, and will stream on Amazon Prime Video in the UK from August 6.
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