Freeform/Bill Matlock
- Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Cruel Summer" season 1, episode 6, "An Ocean Inside Me."
- The May 18 episode of Freeform's buzzy new series finally reveals where Cindy Turner is in 1995.
- Sarah Drew, who plays Cindy, broke down her character's big developments for Insider.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Tonight's episode of Freeform's hit drama "Cruel Summer" finally answered one of the biggest questions on viewers' minds throughout the first half of the season – where is Cindy Turner in 1995?
On the surface, it's not surprising to find her at a bar. But as her portrayer Sarah Drew told Insider, the Cindy Turner of 1995 is not the woman we may have predicted she would become.
"So many people have been so curious trying to figure out what happened to her. Where is she? Is she alive? Is she in jail?" she said. "You do not expect her to come in [to Angela's bar] with all of the confidence in the world as a new career woman."
The reveal comes within the last 10 minutes of "An Ocean Inside Me," an episode that focuses on the last day that Greg (Michael Landes) and Cindy live together in 1994. Of course, their marriage has been strained ever since Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt) accused their daughter Jeanette (Chiara Aurelia) of failing to report her kidnapping.
But Cindy has an awakening on August 15, 1994 – which happens to be the Turners' wedding anniversary.
"What she realizes really in 1994 on this particular day is that her whole life up until this moment she's been treated as someone 'less than,'" said Drew.
This revelation is compounded by the fact that Greg and Jeanette hide things from Cindy, fearing she'll overreact. Greg's tendency to dismiss his wife's legitimate reactions and his unwillingness to see his daughter's flaws ultimately costs him his marriage.
In the episode's 1994 portion, Cindy can't shake the intuition that Jeanette is lying about her involvement in Kate's situation and finds the key to Martin Harris' house hidden underneath her jewelry box. She presents it to Greg, who refuses to believe the truth.
"It's that [moment] that sends her into a spiral of, 'I am alone in this relationship. I'm alone here. I'm alone here and the relationship that I had with my daughter that I thought was an identity building kind of thing for me is in shambles,'" Drew said.
'Cruel Summer' is many things, but it's in part a story about the complexity of growing up
Freeform/Bill Matlock
The former "Grey's Anatomy" star was particularly excited to explore the complex relationship between a mother and her teenage daughter when she joined "Cruel Summer."
"I remember how beautiful and complicated and mysterious it all was. This moment in your growth as a human when you start to separate from your parents a bit and kind of come into your own and have your own thoughts," she said. "And how that can kind of rock the world of a parent, and especially a mother."
Contrary to what "Cruel Summer" has led us to believe up until this point, "An Ocean Inside Me" finally shows us that Cindy is a rational parent who has caught her daughter in a lie and desperately wants to help her out of it. So, why doesn't she confront Jeanette with the key?
"I think she wanted to give her daughter the chance to come clean without accusing her," said Drew. "Like, 'is there any connection between us anymore? Is there any trust here? If I give you the opportunity to actually say the thing that you're scared to say, will you say it?' And the answer was no, she did not say it."
It's one of the many sad moments where we see Cindy honoring her truth while desperately trying to connect with a family that is determined to ignore reality. She has given up her dream of becoming a flight attendant to raise her family and does not deserve to be gaslit on all sides. So, it's actually easy to be happy for her when she walks into Angela's bar as a full-blown flight attendant ready to have a Cosmo and ask her ex-husband's girlfriend about life.
"These women are not gathering at the bar to talk about the man," Drew said, laughing as she discussed the scene. "They're gathering at the bar to talk about what it is to be a woman, and what it is to be someone who fights for their dreams, and what it is to try to be a mother and be a mother the best way that they can."
Do Cindy and Jeanette see each other again in 1995?
Now that we know where Cindy is, the next natural question is: Will she reunite with Jeanette in 1995?
Drew can't answer that because it's a spoiler (we tried!). She loves collaborating on Cindy's development with "Cruel Summer" showrunner Tia Napolitano, so it makes sense that she doesn't want to spill its secrets.
But "Cruel Summer" is so much more than just a teen psychological thriller, and Drew is happy to be part of a story that represents marginalized communities and difficult issues with respect.
"It makes me so proud to be a part of this show," she said, noting that all of the representation feels "organic and authentic."
"I hope that I always get to be a part of shows that handle [representation] as well as 'Cruel Summer' has," she added.
"Cruel Summer" is currently airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on Freeform.