"Happy Birthday, Kate Wallis" is the seventh episode of Season 1 of Cruel Summer. It aired on May 25th, 2021.
Synopsis[]
Kate struggles with a family secret she’s been holding on to. Joy tries to convince Kate to go on The Marsha Bailey Show. Mallory has a birthday surprise.
Plot[]
- * Please note that the flashbacks to Kate's time in captivity are purposefully ambiguous in time. For the purpose of this article and better readability, those times have been recorded as happening in 1993. If or when this time frame becomes clearer the article will be updated.
The events that are about to unfold take place on approximately August 29th, 1993, 1994, and 1995.
1993. Kate rolls over and wakes up, smiling at the pink bunny on her nightstand. She wishes herself a happy birthday.
1994. Kate sits at her desktop chatting with Berenice4. She admits that she can’t eat after Martin used food to control her. Rod and Joy burst in singing happy birthday. Joy remarks she has the best birthday present - The Marsha Bailey Show wants her to be a guest. Rod clarifies it’s only if Kate wants it. Kate refuses but Joy thinks Marsha Bailey might spread the truth. Kate promptly returns to bed as Rod and Joy leave. She flops back down on her bed.
1995. Kate rolls over and Mallory taps her on the shoulder to wake her up. Kate’s mouth is dry and her eyes hurt, which Mallory knows is from the weed. She urges Kate out of bed and wishes her a happy birthday and happy friend-versary of their friendship.
1993. Kate refuses to let Martin inside the basement. He won’t force himself in though, she points out that he’s forcing her to live down here. He brought her chicken but she doesn’t want it, though he worries that she can’t survive on protein bars and juice, she needs someone to talk to. She just wants to get out so she can tell everyone who he is. He admits that he didn’t want to tell her this, but people have given up looking for her. She begins to cry as he pushes that her friends, family, police, and even Jamie have given up. He’s dating Jeanette Turner now and Skylin has moved on from Kate Wallis. He tells her to get comfortable as this is her world.
1993. Rod talks to Jamie about space though the teen doesn’t know much about it. Jamie redirects the conversation to him wanting to get Kate a promise ring for her birthday, which Rod skeptically warns is a big commitment for someone their age. Jamie knows and admits that at home it’s just him and his mom, but he wants to build a big family one day. He sees his future with Kate.
Upstairs, Kate does her makeup when Joy joins her to tell her that Jamie is waiting with Rod, who is boring him with NASA trivia. Kate notices her mother’s fancy outfit despite dinner not being until seven, which Joy presses punctuality over. The doorbell rings and Joy assumes it’s Scott with the flowers. Kate remarks that to the casual observer it seems like Joy is trying to impress someone. Joy reminds her of the accusations she made about Rod at The Garden Party. She tells her to finish getting ready instead of ruining her birthday by picking a fight. She kisses the top of her head and wishes her a happy sweet sixteen.
1994. Mallory rings the bell and Joy answers the door. Joy tells her they aren’t interested in what she’s selling, as Kate pops around the door happily. She pulls Mallory into the house which deeply confuses Joy. Once upstairs, Mallory is in shock over the lace bed skirts. Rod walks in to ask what Kate wants for a birthday snack. Rod introduces himself to Mallory but she knows who he is already. He leaves to whip up a surprise. Mallory is surprised it’s Kate’s birthday and that she chose to invite her of all people over. Kate admits she doesn’t have much of an appetite so Mallory notes she has a remedy for that.
1995. Kate listens to the Annabelle tapes and tells Mallory that she found more about her. She asks Mallory to sit with her so she does. Kate plays the tape and listens to the doctor ask if she wants to talk about her again.
1994. Kate doesn’t remember anything about Annabelle. She tells the doctor that she doesn’t want to remember. She grips the armchair as her breath quickens. The doctor tells her to breathe and Kate proclaims she wants to stop.
1995. Kate can’t believe that entire memory is gone and worries about what else she can’t remember. Mallory suggests that she give herself a break but Kate doesn’t want to. She knows Jeanette’s lawyers won’t stop. Mallory tells her that today is her day to escape the crappiness of the world. She has a surprise.
Mallory and Kate reach the bottom of the steps where Joy ambushes them by talking about lawyers and Tanya Peterson. Mallory steps forward and calmly states that Kate has employed her as the keeper of her birthday. As her keeper, she’s informing Joy that Kate won’t discuss anything legal or unpleasant. Joy tries to talk again about the trial so Mallory interrupts her and pulls Kate away.
1993. At the food court in the mall, Jamie, Kate, Renee, Tennille, and Ben are gathered. Jamie asks Kate if she’s ready for her present and she nervously says yes. He pulls out the ring which surprises her. He assures her that it’s just a promise ring and his way of saying that he’s all-in with their relationship.
1994. Kate is so happy with the nachos alongside Mallory. She hasn’t loved food that much or eaten this much in a long time. Ashley walks in to wish Kate a happy birthday and remarks on them eating. She notices that they’re high but won’t nark as she dabbled before too. Mallory invites her to watch a movie, though Ashley is reluctant. Kate presses that it’s just a movie so Ashley happily accepts.
The trio goes to Rent 2 Nite, where Vince greets them before realizing that it’s Mallory and Kate. He and Mallory talk as he asks what she’s doing with Kate, as that’s pure Twilight Zone. She reminds him that he's still friends with Jeanette but he’s always been friends with her so it isn’t the same thing. Ashley and Kate look through movies where they agree on one. They return to their house to watch the movie. Mallory remarks that she’s a fan of all the Wallis girls. Kate reveals that her mother wants her to go on TV, which Ashley states is very insensitive. Kate thinks Ashley was right about her mom all along, but Ashley carefully says that they each might have unrealistic expectations in their heads. As Kate watches the movie she wonders why the girl didn’t run faster. She begins to panic as she yells at the girl to run and hurry as he’ll get her.
1993. Kate races up the basement stairs as she struggles to breathe. She bangs on the locked basement door as she looks over her shoulder. She screams for help as Martin races up behind her.
1994. Mallory asks if Kate wants water or anything, but she doesn’t. Ashley tells her that paranoia and PTSD are real. Joy walks in to ask if everything is okay, but Ashley brushes it off as just a movie. Mallory hesitantly says she has to leave as she’s starting a new job at the roller rink. She wishes Kate a happy birthday before leaving. Joy wants to talk about the Marsha Bailey Show but Kate is adamant that she said no. Ashley gives her a strong smile then leaves to check her email. Joy presses the issue more as it’s an opportunity and an honor. Kate laughs as she remembers Marsha Bailey’s interview with Miss. Piggy. The laughter makes Joy realize that Kate is high. She snaps that this isn’t a good look to everyone who matters. Kate snaps for her mom to leave her alone so it doesn’t suck as much as it did last year.
1993. Tennille proclaims a happy birthday biatch to Kate, extending a pink bedazzled flask. Kate doesn’t want to take it, so Jamie accepts for her and takes a swig since they’re celebrating.
1994. Rod brings Kate more food as he started cooking after she went missing. It helped him cope. He baked a lot so Joy gave the muffins away at church. Kate doesn’t want to go on the Marsha Bailey Show, which Rod thinks might be the right move. Kate scoffs that he always takes Joy’s side. He admits that he did before, especially last year. He thought that Joy should call the shots with her daughter, but she’s always his daughter since the day they met. He won't forgive himself for not making that clear last year. He becomes emotional and she asks how he managed to forgive Joy. Losing Kate was an Earthquake so everything else was a speed bump. She wants his opinion on the Marsha Bailey Show to which he doesn’t want her to discredit the idea because it was Joy’s idea. Joy enters and tells them to turn the TV on. Molly Green reports that Kate wasn’t the first minor Martin had his eye on. An unnamed teen from Widow Falls is saying that she had a near-miss with Martin before he moved to Skylin.
1993. Kate, Tennille, and Renee happily shop until Jamie and Ben barrel into them. Tennille warns that she will take the flask away but he refuses to give it up. He wants to see Kate’s ring and she realizes he’s drunk and Ben knocks into him. He spills the drink over Kate’s dress which annoys her as she needs to get home. He hurries off to get a napkin as the girls fret over the dress.
1994. The Wallis’s turn off the TV as Rod wonders how many lives Martin hurt. Kate finds it unfair that the teen is trying to equate what happened with her to what happened with Kate. She thinks it’s a wild exaggeration which prompts Joy to ask how she knows that. Kate reveals that Martin told her about the girl, but it wasn’t anything special just him helping the girl after class. He was just her tutor and the girl shouldn’t come out of the woodwork as it’s wrong. Joy jumps in to say that she should go on Marsha Bailey to air the truth.
1993. Jamie and Kate walk out of the mall as he drunkenly sings happy birthday to her. She tries to hurry him along as she’s already late. He falls over on the ground so she helps him up. He asks what her favorite present was so she says it was an original print of The Talented Mr. Ripley. He’s hurt it wasn’t the ring so she quickly explains that she thought he meant her second favorite after the ring. He’s happy over that and asks what the book is about. She asks what he wants in the future. He wants to buy a big house and have a big family with her. She reluctantly agrees that it is the dream.
1995. Kate and Mallory walk to the roller rink as Mallory blindfolds her. When she removes the blindfold Mallory worries that she thinks it’s lame, but Kate assures her that it’s not. After the disaster of her last two birthdays, she gave up on having a good one ever again. She doesn’t know how she’d be standing without Mallory. She eagerly asks how Mallory managed to have an empty rink. Mallory is the new assistant manager as the only perk is an extra set of keys and the ability to close for maintenance. They take out boa’s and dig through the accessory box while laughing happily. Mallory convinces Kate to dance on the countertops. They lace their skates and take off onto the rink. Kate urges Mallory to follow her out on the rink and they take hands. Mallory gives her a matching lollipop ring as they skate. Mallory admits that she isn’t great at skating so Kate helps her along. They happily exclaim that it’s the best birthday ever.
1993. Kate tells Jamie to hurry up as Martin is coming. He exits his house quickly and asks if Jamie is okay. He stumbles over and falls, to which Martin worriedly asks if he’s okay. He offers to let them come inside to call her parents but she refuses as she’s already late. He then offers to give her a ride.
As they drive, she thanks him but worries that her mom is going to be mad that she broke the rules. She notes that Joy has high expectations even though she breaks them herself. They pull up at the house and Kate asks if he remembers her telling him about the family secret. He asks if it’s gotten any better, but it hasn’t. She feels like she’s going to explode if she doesn’t say something. He tells her to shine some light on it. She touches his hand and says that is exactly what she needed to hear. She gets her things together and leaves the car. She goes inside to find the house empty. Joy remarks from the couch that Kate finally decided to shop up while smelling of cheap booze. Everyone was here at seven while Kate was off doing something so she lied that Kate had food poisoning. Kate assures her that she wasn’t the one drinking as she doesn’t have an honesty problem. Rod enters the living room to ask if everything is okay. Kate states that the night after The Garden Club Party she came down for water and saw Joy. Joy wants them to stop before they say things they don’t mean. Rod wants to know what Kate saw but Joy refuses to answer. Kate admits that she saw Joy kissing Scott Jones. Joy feigns surprise and blurts out that Kate is lying for attention again.
Martin sits on his couch as he watches TV, flipping through the channels as he thinks about Kate and their encounters. He takes a drink of liquor.
1994. Joy leans against Rod as she is glad that Kate isn’t dismissing the Marsha Bailey Show because it was her idea. Rod encourages her to say what is on her mind. Joy states that she’s her mother and Rod rebuttals that he’s Kate’s father. He loves Joy and brings up her affair, then fighting tooth and nail to survive it, but if she implies that he isn’t Kate’s father because they don’t share blood they will not survive.
1993. Joy reveals that Kate thought he was having an affair a few weeks ago, which offends him though she apologizes as she misunderstood something. Joy and Rod will discuss her punishment. Kate tells Rod that she’s sorry but she can’t hold in this secret anymore. Joy spins her around to tell her that she doesn’t recognize her anymore as she’s being a brat. Kate screams back that she’s being a bitch, so Joy smacks her across the face. Rod shouts at Joy but she retorts that she is Kate’s mother and will discipline her how she sees fit. Kate looks at Rod who stays quiet, so she walks away.
1995. Kate remarks that she’s starving and tired. Mallory sees a printer in the donation box and asks if she can have it, so Kate says yet. Mallory pulls out a jammed piece of paper and solemnly admits that she found something unpleasant. Kate crouches down to see it and Mallory shows her what was jamming the printer.
Kate approaches her mother in the kitchen. She asks Joy if she hates her and puts the paper that says Liar on the counter. She asks if Joy wrote it and concocted a story. Joy tries to explain but Kate emotionally asks how she could do that to her.
1994. Mallory and Derek lay in bed together and he remarks that the sheets are so soft in her dorm room. His are the equivalent of sandpaper. She leaves to take a shower before he gets mushy which surprises him. He asks her if he can check his email but she doesn’t hear him. He gets dressed and sits at the desk where the chat room is open to her conversation with Traumarama79. He begins to read the messages and finds something that makes him print it.
1995. Joy and Kate argue over the paper. Kate tells her that the therapist thinks that Martin groomed her from the beginning and she kept thinking about why her. But the answer is obviously - it’s because Joy has been toting her around. She believed everything she said and did everything she asked. The moment she questioned Joy she slandered her. She was raised to be trusting, obedient, and open. Martin took that from her. She brings up the Marsha Bailey Show which got her sued. Joy retorts that only happened because Kate went off script, so Kate screams back that she’s not a puppet. She doesn’t understand why Rod gets that but not Joy. Joy asks if she knows how hard it is to watch her and Rod get to spend time together. She doesn’t understand why Kate forgave Rod but not her. Kate asks why she sent the letter. Joy thought she needed a bad guy since that’s what motivates her, and she needed her to take the lawsuit seriously. She approaches Kate and apologizes for not protecting her from Martin Harris, but she will die trying to protect her from everything else even if Kate hates her for it. Kate whispers that she misses her mom too.
1993. Kate yanks clothes from the closet down and stuffs them in a bag. Joy calls the move tacky. The women argue as Joy calls Kate naïve, simple, and boring. Kae walks down the street. Joy calls her predictable and tells her to run away and go to Renee or Tenielle’s until she comes crawling back with her tail between her legs. Kate storms out and goes to Martin’s house.
1993. Kate eats the food in the basement hurriedly as Martin watches. He was thinking about what she said earlier about him being sick. He doesn’t understand as he’s the one who prepares her food, keeps her clothed, and comfortable. She stops eating and he tells her that before she starts calling her names, she should remember how she ended up here.
1995. Jeanette sits on her bed reading when Derek walks in. He remarks that he’s here to be a good brother and drops the transcripts on her lap. He tells her to read the chat. As she reads she becomes surprised.
1993. A distraught Kate walks to Martin’s front door and rings the doorbell. He answers the door to ask her what’s wrong. She did what he said and unloaded the secret. He asks her what happened and she admits her mom hit her. He apologizes as he only meant to help. She just doesn’t know where to go as she doesn’t want to stay there, or at her friends as her mom will find her. She’s scared so he invites her inside for tea.
1995. Derek returns and gives Jeanette a paper showing Kate's messages to her stepsister Ashley, and she realizes that Kate went to Martin’s willingly, and that such a revelation changes everything.
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 (Credit only)
- Brooklyn Sudano as Angela Prescott (Credit only)
Guest Starring[]
- Andrea Anders as Joy Wallis
- Barrett Carnahan as Derek Turner
- Nathaniel Ashton as Ben
- Benjamin J. Cain Jr as Rod Wallis
- Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Ashley Wallis
Co-Starring[]
- Shelby Surdam as Tennille Peterson
- Aaliyah Muhammad as Renee Talbot
- Lee Eddy as Sylvia Parks
- Sonya Van Sickle as Nancy Burton
Notes and Trivia[]
- This is the second episode to include a character's name, Kate Wallis, following the premiere episode "Happy Birthday, Jeanette Turner"
- Greg and Cindy Turner are absent.
- Both episodes also celebrated a character, and the episode episodes namesakes, birthday.
- This episode opened with a trigger warning for grooming and ended with the RAINN's hotline for sexual assault.
Gallery[]
Promotional[]
Videos[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Soundtrack[]
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