A Smashing Good Time

**A Smashing Good Time** is the second episode of Season 1 of *Cruel Summer*. The episode aired on April 20, 2021, after the premiere of *Happy Birthday, Jeanette Turner*.

## Synopsis

It’s time for the annual Skylin Garden Club Party! Year after year after year, the residents of Skylin struggle with the truth around what happened to Kate, keeping their secrets buried and maintaining appearances.

## Plot

The events that are about to unfold take place on approximately June 26th, 1993, 1994, and 1995.

1993. Kate Wallis is greeted by her mother and they are dressed in workout clothing, with Joy remarking that Kate shines like a diamond no matter what she wears, telling her to meet her downstairs when she is done. Kate applies pink lip-gloss while sitting at her vanity.

1994. Kate sits at her vanity when Joy enters, telling her that Jamie, Renee, and Tennille are coming over. Kate doesn’t view them as her friends, and Joy tries to put earrings on her daughter but the force causes her ears to bleed as though closed while she was locked in a basement. Kate begins to hum to herself as Joy forcefully puts the earring in.

1995. Kate sings in front of a truck as she tells the driver to come dance with her, booing when the person refuses. She begins to sing softly when she sees the bright light.

1993. She is locked in a basement looking at the small windows which are covered with barbed wire and boards. She hears police sirens pass the house and begins to hum.

Kate is in a workout class with her mother, where across the room Jeanette and Cindy are also taking the class. Kate waves back to Cindy. Joy and Kate leave where Joy remarks on Billy Ray Cyrus, but she knows she has to work out or her husband will run off with a football client and they would be left poor. Cindy stops Joy and compliments her highlights but Joy gets her hair done at a salon. Kate compliments Jeanette’s necklace, with Jeanette excitedly mentioning she got it for her birthday and references the day they saw each other at the mall. Kate remembers the day. Cindy recommends that they all have a girl’s day for a splurge at the salon, with Joy trying to turn it down though Kate thinks it sounds fun. They walk off and Joy remarks that they aren’t going to call.

1994. Kate lays in the bottom of the tub fully clothed when Jamie comes to check on her. He rushes in and pulls her out, wondering what she was doing. She was thinking about the things she missed while she was away - her favorite sweater, warm baths, so she put it on and took a bath. She wants to know how he and Jeanette got together but he isn’t sure she wants to know. She feels replaceable and wants to understand. He says that one day he was putting up missing person flyers when Jeanette offered to help. She kept coming around. Kate heard that Jamie hit her, and is surprised that he hits people now. He says he’s the same person and offers to sit in the bed with her but she refuses. He assures Kate that Jeanette is an imposter who couldn’t steal her life. Kate’s here now and gets to reclaim it.

1995. Kate watches a piece on Martin Harris where the reporter remarks that the dead kidnapper is shocking people even from beyond the grave. Rod Wallis, Kate’s stepfather, enters and asks how her day was so she shows him her belly button ring. He is surprised but claims it’s her body and her choice though it looks painful. She references his shoulder dislocation but he would rather be tackled than pierced. She remarks she’s been through worse. He tells her that Joy will freak out when she sees it, but Kate hopes it happens. He asks about therapy which she skipped. She’s tired of talking about Martin Harris, Jeanette, and her feelings. She can’t wait for them both to burn in hell.

1994. Joy wants Kate to hold a press conference with her, but Kate is still upset with her over the last thing Joy said before she went missing. Kate snaps back that she had a long time to wonder if she did.

1993. She overhears her father talking to someone on the phone, Candace, about having sex with her.

1994. Renee and Tennille try to talk with Kate who is spaced out. Tennille remarks that someone told her that Jeanette did see Kate chained to a wall, but Kate snaps back that she was never chained up. Renee rebuttals that Jeanette told the girl right after it happened, but Kate doesn’t believe that. Jeanette would have too much to lose if Kate were found, like her best friends who suddenly became Jeanette’s best friends. Renee wants Kate to talk to the police with Joy, but Kate wants her statement to mean something.

1993. Kate and Joy prepare to leave for an event while Kate asks why her father isn’t joining them, to which Joy says Rod is practicing his ribbon-cutting but he won’t be late to the garden party. Kate asks how well she knows Candace Johnson and how she knows dad, learning that Candace is on the city council. Joy gossips that Candace chased after Rod when he arrived in town, even Cindy chased him, but Joy snatched him up as she was a widow with a daughter. Kate wonders if Rod is the reason her mother hates Cindy, but Joy is mainly unnerved by Cindy’s looks of wanting to be her. Kate thinks Jeanette is sweet but Joy warns that the weird apple won’t fall too far. Kate doesn’t trust Candace Johnson as she might have feelings for Rod, but Joy brushes it off as everyone having feelings for him.

They leave for the party but greet Scott Jones, their gardener, on the way out. Rod talks to his friends about the ‘86 game. They remark on Ben being a great quarterback before turning back to themselves. Martin Harris enters the party and watches Kate laughing with her friends until she is called over by Hank, where he meets Rod - who he has been a fan of since high school. Rod welcomes him to town.

Jeanette, Mallory, and Vince buy balloons for water balloons while Ben checks out. He sees the trio and greets them, learning that he’s a grade above them. He recommends they use shaving cream instead of water. The trio giggles happily over it.

1994. Ben holds punching targets as Jamie hits them, complaining over Kate’s weird behavior. Ben tells Jamie that Jeanette wants to talk with him, and even though Ben doesn’t know what’s going on, he thinks it’s a good idea since the pair has a history together. Jamie initially shoots it down as he’s with Kate, but eventually agrees to meet with her. Ben worries Jamie will hit her again, but Jamie promises that his words will hurt a lot more. He returns to punching the targets.

1995. Denise and Ben talk about Jeanette, but he’s confused over what is happening. Denise can’t discuss the case but they’re just talking for now. He used to think Kate was lying but after she was rescued he didn’t know who to believe. Denise asks if anyway he blames Jeanette for what happened to him. He does blame Jeanette partly for what happened.

1994. Greg finds it strange that Rod and Joy are going to a party after Kate was just rescued. He drops Derek off, who has just graduated high school, at the party. Everyone looks at him and begins to whisper about him being Jeanette’s brother. His friend, Tucker, pulls him aside to tell him about a rumor regarding Kate Wallis. She’s telling people that Jeanette knew where she was kidnapped and didn’t tell anyone. Derek finds it dumb and asks if Tucker if he believes that, but Tucker likes Jeanette and thinks there’s a simple explanation but until then he has to leave. Derek leaves abruptly.

1993. Kate talks with some ladies who are complimenting Jamie and they think the couple will be prom king and queen. Kate isn’t listening as she watches her father leave the party with Candace.

1994. Kate and Jamie talk on the bed while eating burgers about how much things have changed. She remembers thinking that her parents could keep her safe when they tuck her in at night. He promises to protect her but she finds it cute that he thinks that’s up to him. She asks him to get her water and he leaves. His pager buzzes and she reads that someone is planning to meet him tonight. When he comes back he asks if he has plans tonight, to which he claims to be hanging out with the guys after the garden party. She remarks that the only good thing to come out of being locked in a basement is that she got to skip those events.

1993. The women gush over how handsome Martin Harris is until Kate pulls her mother aside to tell her that she heard dad on the phone with Candace Johnson about having an affair. Joy laughs at the claim as it’s untrue, but Kate is sure she heard them correctly. She tries to get her mother to come with her to see for herself, but Joy refuses as Kate is making up stories and she won’t have it. Kate goes into the house herself and hears laughter and talking. She enters a studio where she finds Candace and Rod reading a brochure where he’s planning to take Joy on a romantic cruise next month. Kate is sure that her mom will love it. She goes back outside where she pulls her other aside to apologize. Joy tells her that making false allegations is unflattering and embarrassing for her. She tells her to run along as she doesn’t want to talk to her right now.

1994. Joy is introduced at the garden party where she gives a speech about Skylin being so welcoming after her husband died of cancer, and how they welcomed Rod after. She knows that people wonder how she could attend a party so soon after Kate was found, but if she could muster the strength to get out of bed while Kate was missing she could do this with Kate found. They had Evil among them but the Evil is rotting in Hell where he belongs, which makes the party goers cheer.

1995. Joy gives another speech about being tired but can feel that when they look at her they think of Martin. She is tired of thinking about Martin and the girl who could have helped Kate but didn’t. She makes an angry toast to them, the good guys.

1993. Joy tells everyone to shine a welcoming light on their new VP Martin Harris. Jeanette, Mallory, and Vince throw shaving cream-filled balloons at the crowd then flee. Jeanette sees Kate leaving the party but Mallory urges her to leave. The trio rode off on their bikes while the party goers sneered.

1994. Kate reads through a computer with support chats, finding an abduction victim chat. She reads the messages where people have trouble sleeping or trusting anyone.

1993. Kate drinks from a bottle as she drunkenly remembers her mother’s words. Scott approaches to ask what she’s doing, so she admits she’s drinking for the first time. She offers it to him but the bottle is empty. He won’t call the police as her mother wouldn’t like that. Kate thinks her mother hates her, Cindy Turner, rap music, fatty foods, and her. She thinks Scott should call the police as she’d be the prettiest girl there. She vomits and Scott helps her home.

1994. Jamie meets Jeanette in the park and she thanks him for coming. She tells him that she didn’t do the things Kate is accusing. Jamie snaps that he used to know Jeanette but not anymore. Jeanette knows that Kate’s been through a lot so maybe she isn’t in the right mind right now, only to find that her boyfriend is dating someone else. She thinks this is Kate’s trauma talking so it’s hard to know what is true and what isn’t. Especially after watching the man who kidnapped her being shot to death. Jamie asks Jeanette if she saw Kate, and she yells at him to look at her and tells him that she didn’t. He doesn’t know what to think. She says she would never lie to him and kisses him. From across the park, Kate watches them kiss.

1993. Joy puts Kate to bed and talks to Scott who listens to her vent about Kate not being just any other kid, but better. He asks where Rod is so she tells him that he’s at the lodge with Hank and the boys getting drunk. Scott calls her Joyce then kisses her. Kate comes downstairs and sees them making out. She hears Joy tell Scott they have to be careful as Kate is nosing around. Kate sneaks out of the house and runs down the street barefoot.

1995. Kate is on the computer asking for support from someone with the screen name Berenice4, asking what people would do if they found out. Berenice4 asks which part, to which Kate responds with her not being completely honest. She puts on headphones and listens to music as she runs down the street.

1994. Kate makes a statement to the police, Officer Kingsley and Detective Anderson, about the day in question. She says that Jeanette Turner saw her when she was held captive around December, but she can’t be sure as she didn’t have a calendar or clock. Jeanette wasn’t her friend as she barely knew her. Kingsley asks if she’s sure it was Jeanette Turner - Greg and Cindy’s little girl. Kate claims she has proof and presents a necklace with the “you go, girl” symbol on it.

1993. Kate collapses near garbage cans as she cries. A man approaches to ask if she’s okay and she tells him she’s not.

1994. Detective Anderson asks one last question about how well Kate knew Martin Harris before the abduction. Kate claims she didn’t know him well at all.

1993. The man asks to help but she doesn’t know him, so he introduces himself as Martin. They shake hands.

1995. Joy is shocked by Kate’s piercing to which Kate brings up what the pastor told her when she was rescued “*God only gives you what you can handle*. The news anchor states there has been a twist regarding Jeanette Turner. She is now suing Kate Wallis over defamation of character. Joy remarks that this is terrible, calling Jeanette a vindictive wolf and how Kate is the real victim. As Rod and Joy argue, Kate watches the television in disbelief.

1993. Kate bangs on the basement door screaming for her captor to open the door. She falls to her knees as she cries.

1995. Kate emotionally screams at the television.

## Cast

### Starring

* Olivia Holt as Kate Wallis
* Chiara Aurelia as Jeanette Turner
* Froy Gutierrez as Jamie Henson
* Harley Quinn Smith as Mallory Higgins
* Allius Barnes as Vince Fuller
* Blake Lee as Martin Harris
* Michael Landes as Greg Turner
* Brooklyn Sudano as Angela Prescott (credit only)

### Guest Starring

* Sarah Drew as Cindy Turner
* Andrea Anders as Joy Wallis
* Barrett Carnahan as Derek Turner
* Nicole Bilderback as Denise
* Nathaniel Ashton as Ben
* Benjamin J. Cain Jr as Rod Wallis
* Damon Carney as Hank Stevenson

### Co-Starring

* Shelby Surdam as Tennille Peterson
* Aaliyah Muhammad as Renee Talbot
* Joshua Colson as Scott Jones
* Lisa Lloyd as Candace Johnson
* Tonya Holloway as Detective Karin Anderson
* Ricco Faiardo as Officer William Kingsley
* Aaron Valentine as Tucker Stevenson
* Reynada Robinson as Babs Stevenson
* Stephanie Kay Carter as Myrna
* Sonya Van Sickle as Anchor Nancy Burton
* Joey Gonzalez as Aerobics Instructor

## Notes and Trivia

* *A Smashing Good Time* opened with a trigger warning for domestic violence and closed the episode by showing the National Domestic Violence hotline number.
* The episode aired with 218,000 viewers and a demographic of 0.8.
	+ It was also the 100th watched program for cable that night. Alternatively, it's 9:00 PM airing of Happy Birthday, Jeanette Turner, was the 77th most watched.
* *A Smashing Good Time* took place on approximately June 26th, 1993, 1994, and 1995.

## Gallery

### Images

Episode's trigger warningDomestic Violence hotline

### Videos

Cruel Summer Season 1, Episode 2 - "It's Like She Wants to Be Me" - FreeformCruel Summer Season 1, Episode 2 - Welcome to Skylin - FreeformCruel Summer Season 1, Episode 2 - The Moms Talk After Step Class - FreeformCruel Summer Season 1, Episode 2 - Kate Is In Trouble - FreeformCruel Summer Season 1, Episode 2 - "How Well Did You Know Martin Harris?" - FreeformCruel Summer Season 1, Episode 2 - Jeanette Plans to Sue Kate - Freeform
## Featured Music

* You & Me by Tiger Trap
* Zombie by The Cranberries
* Gonna Lasso Your Heart by Rick Thibodeau
* Drive Me Crazy by Craig Carothers
* Spoon-feed by Bullet Theory
* Inside My Radio by Steve Vaus
* Rebel Girl by Raelyn Nelson Band
* Zombie by Cole Marcus

## References

1. ↑ https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/cruel-summer-season-one-ratings/
2. ↑ http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-tuesday-cable-originals-network-finals-4-20-2021.html