Warning: The following article contains spoilers from Cruel Summer season 2, episode 3. Cruel Summer season 2 gets more confusing (in the best possible way) with every episode, and episode 3 contains numerous developments that will likely make more sense as the show continues. The mystery at the forefront of the Freeform series is Luke Chambers' death, and every character has something to hide. Everyone is a suspect in Luke's murder in Cruel Summer, but episode 3 sure does a lot to convince viewers that Megan Landry and Isabella LaRue are guilty in some aspect.
However, knowing this show, there is still key information that the audience isn't privy to (yet). The second season will continue to have big reveals, but viewers learn a lot of information in episode 3. From new physical evidence to absentee fathers, Cruel Summer season 2, episode 3 features plenty of jaw-dropping moments.
10 Megan & Isabella's Fingerprints Are On The Gun In Cruel Summer
At the beginning of Cruel Summer season 2, episode 3, Sheriff Myer visits the Landry house in the summer of 2000 and informs Debbie that the gun that shot Luke belonged to his father, Steve Chambers. The gun is one of many at the family's cabin in the woods, where the murder occurred. Unfortunately for Megan and Isabella, their fingerprints, along with Luke's, were pulled from the weapon.
The good news for the two girls is that they have a reasonable explanation — Megan and Isabella used the gun during their friend group's camping trip in the summer of 1999, as viewers saw during the hour. However, Megan and Isabella's shocked faces when they learned about the new evidence suggest there's more to the story than just using the weapon for target practice. It's unlikely that the last time they touched the gun was on July 19, 1999, especially since their excuse means that the only other person who could have shot Luke in Cruel Summer season 2 was Luke himself, which doesn't make any sense.
9 Megan Is A Good Shot (& Isabella Is An Awful One)
Cruel Summer season 2, episode 3 proves that Megan and Isabella aren't lying about touching the gun in the summer of 1999. But given the above information and what transpires during the scene, the hour only makes them look more guilty. Viewers first see Isabella handling the weapon, and she's the farthest thing from a natural, to say the least. Whereas Megan is an excellent shot and easily hits her target.
Of course, Isabella might have been pretending to be awful at shooting a gun (it wouldn't be the first time she has lied). If she actually is a terrible shot, this could explain why Luke was only nicked in the ear. If Megan was the one who shot him, she probably wouldn't have missed so badly. But if Isabella held the weapon in Cruel Summer season 2, it would make sense why the bullet only grazed Luke's ear.
8 Isabella Betrayed Megan
At the end of the Cruel Summer season 2 premiere, Isabella approached Debbie in the winter of 1999 and claimed she needed to tell her something. Episode 3 reveals that Isabella confessed to Debbie that she wasn't the one in the sex tape with Luke — it was Megan. Megan is obviously furious that Isabella betrayed her and went behind her back without coming to her first, and she has every right to be.
Isabella just wanted to get back at Megan for calling Luke her "ride or die." She didn't come clean because Debbie is like a second mother to her; she did so because she wanted revenge. Megan and Isabella clearly have an unhealthy codependent relationship in Cruel Summer season 2. Isabella wants Megan all to herself, which is why she's currently the number one suspect in Luke's murder, but that could all change as the season progresses.
7 Megan Picked Luke Over Jeff
Cruel Summer season 2, episode 3 clears up some confusion regarding Megan and Jeff Pope's relationship. They are friends, but Jeff had a massive crush on her in the summer of 1999. Of course, fans know that Megan and Luke are dating by the winter, and it turns out that Megan rejected Jeff and chose Luke over him. Jeff is evidently bitter about the situation, explaining why Isabella believes he might have something to do with the sex tape (and perhaps Luke's murder later on).
6 Jeff Knows It Was Megan On The Sex Tape In Cruel Summer Season 2
"Nice Guy" Jeff and one of his friends confront Megan and Isabella in Cruel Summer season 2, episode 3, and when Megan pulls him away, he reveals that he knows that Megan is the girl in the sex tape, not Isabella. Jeff tells her, "You chose the wrong guy. I never would have done that to you." At first, viewers are led to believe that he's referring to Luke cheating on Megan, but then Jeff shares that he could identify Megan's laugh in the video.
Perhaps Jeff believes Luke is the one who leaked the sex tape, therefore betraying Megan. Whatever the case, Jeff has a motive to want Luke dead. In his mind, Luke stole his girl and possibly aired their sex tape at the Chambers' holiday party. So even though Jeff has yet to appear in the summer of 2000 timeline in Cruel Summer season 2, he should be high on every viewer's suspect list.
5 Steve Blackmailed Sheriff Myer After Luke Turned In Brent's Tapes
It's unlikely (though not impossible) that Steve murdered his son, but Cruel Summer season 2, episode 3 reveals that he won't be winning a "Father of the Year" award anytime soon. After Luke turns in Brent's sex tapes to Sheriff Myer, Steve proves he's willing to do whatever it takes to protect his family's image. He blackmails the sheriff into not pursuing a case against Brent and then, in the car, grabs Brent by the neck and tells him, "Your mother would be horrified."
Later, Steve chastises Luke for handing over the tapes to the police. He says that their business is private while also badmouthing Brent. Steve has obviously pitted the two brothers against one another their whole life, and the fact that he has the ability to blackmail the sheriff doesn't paint Steve in the best light in Cruel Summer.
4 Megan & Isabella Blackmailed Jeff In Cruel Summer Season 2
After Jeff tells Megan he knows the truth behind the scandalous sex tape, she and Isabella confront him in Cruel Summer season 2, episode 3. In exchange for him keeping quiet, Megan promises not to reveal how Jeff gets the funds for his camera equipment, which he shared with her during their summer together. He calls it blackmail, while Megan claims it's "mutual destruction" or "choose your own adventure." Whatever anyone names it, it proves that the people of Chatham have plenty of secrets that have yet to be disclosed in Cruel Summer season 2.
3 Megan's Father Returned In The Summer Of 1999
No one spoke a word about Megan and Lily's father, Keith, during the first two hours of Cruel Summer season 2, but he surprisingly appears in the third episode. After Megan and Isabella ditch the boys at the cabin in the summer of 1999, they return to the Landry home, where they see Debbie and Keith making out in the driveway. Megan storms away, Isabella follows her, and Megan spills the details about her father and their turbulent history.
Keith is a guitarist in a band, so he's always on the road. Debbie and Keith never got married, but he would constantly come and go in their lives, and after Lily was born, he never returned. So it's unclear why Keith is back now, but viewers know he's gone again by the winter since Debbie began dating Steve around that time. Keith is mentioned in the summer of 2000 timeline, though, when he pays for an expensive lawyer for Megan (which she isn't happy about). But only time will tell what his motivations are in Cruel Summer season 2.
2 Megan Lied About Dropping Luke Off At Home On New Year's Eve
Toward the end of Cruel Summer season 2, episode 3, Megan and her fancy new lawyer, Tom Galvin, are in an interrogation room with Sheriff Myer. Megan recounts her story from the night that Luke went missing, and she claims that they left the New Year's Eve party after midnight, went to the beach for a couple of hours, and then she dropped him off at home. However, Sheriff Myer has security footage from the Chambers' driveway from that night, and Megan's car never shows up.
Megan lied about her whereabouts, further proving that she's involved in Luke's disappearance and murder in some capacity. It's unclear what her role in it was, but with every passing episode, Megan looks more and more guilty. It's only a matter of time before the truth catches up to Megan in Cruel Summer.
1 Isabella Stashed A Bag Of Money At The Cabin In Cruel Summer
Fans know from the Cruel Summer season 2 premiere that Megan visited the Chambers' cabin in the summer of 2000 to clean up blood on the floor. But after episode 3, they now know that Isabella has also been to the house recently. When the police searched the cabin, they found a bag with a massive amount of money belonging to Isabella in a crawl space. Sheriff Myer confronts Isabella about the discovery at the police station, but the episode ends before she can offer an explanation.
Isabella's mysterious past, her too-close relationship with Megan, the fingerprint evidence, and now her bag at the cabin make her a very viable suspect after episode 3. She, like Megan, clearly played a role in Luke's death, and now money is involved. So going into Cruel Summer season 2, episode 4, the number one question that needs to be addressed is why Isabella stashed a bag full of cash at the cabin.