‘Annabelle on Cruel Summer’: Every Theory Heading Into Episode 9
The new Freeform 2021 TV series, Cruel Summer, is getting closer to the ending but are viewers any closer to finding out who Annabelle is? In Cruel Summer Episode 4, the mysterious person was brought up several times by Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt). However, going into episode 9, there are numerous theories about the mystery character.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Cruel Summer through episode 8.]
‘Cruel Summer’ Episode 4 Annabelle
Kate told her therapist, Dr. Sylvia Parks (Lee Eddy), that she met Annabelle in Cruel Summer the night Martin Harris (Blake Lee) died. Kate explained that Martin began acting strange the same day she met Annabelle. However, whenever Kate tries to remember anything else about Annabelle, she can’t.
The only other time Kate talked specifically about Annabelle was in Cruel Summer Episode 4 on their family hunting trip in 1995. Kate told a story around the campfire about a girl named Annabelle, but it was precisely the same as Kate’s story about Martin.
“It’s about a girl called Annabelle,” Kate began. “Found herself in the woods one dark night, all alone and vulnerable. They were on a hunting trip, pretending they could love their pets at home while they shoot animals on vacation and pretending that their marriages are perfect. Hypocrites, basically. Secrets, wild accusations, a desperate thirst for gossip. But back to little Annabelle all alone, till she wasn’t.”
Annabelle is Mallory in ‘Cruel Summer’
One of the main Cruel Summer Annabelle theories is that Mallory Higgins (Harley Quinn Smith) could be Annabelle.
Mallory hated Kate in 1993 but then became best friends with her by 1995. When Vince (Allius Barnes) stole a CD, Mallory left him to get caught, although she pressured him to do it. Viewers know very little about Mallory’s family or history.
“Maybe Mallory has a tie to Martin when he was younger,” one fan guessed on Reddit. “She could even be related to him somehow. It might not be a coincidence that it was Mallory’s idea to go into Martin’s house, and in fact, it was HER who picked the key of the house that they should break into.”
Was Mallory there the day Kate got rescued? Could that be why Mallory doesn’t think Kate should listen to her therapy tapes? Maybe Mallory doesn’t want Kate to remember what happened.
Annabelle is Martin’s ex-girlfriend or prior victim
Several viewers believe that Annabelle could be a previous victim of Martin’s from the last school he worked at before Skylin High.
“Annabelle is Martin’s ex-girlfriend/ victim that somehow finds Martin in Skylin,” one viewer wrote on Reddit. “[That’s] why Martin is acting strange the last day, and [she is] also who saves Kate, which is why Kate meets Annabelle that last day. Maybe this is the tie-in with the yearbook. Maybe there is a message in the yearbook?”
‘Cruel Summer’ Annabelle baby theory
Numerous fans wonder if Annabelle is Kate’s baby in Cruel Summer. Either Kate realized she was pregnant while living at Martin’s house, or the baby is Martin’s.
“Could Annabelle be Kate and Martin’s baby?” one fan asked on Reddit. “Maybe Kate was cooperative in the beginning but got pregnant, so Martin panicked and held her captive to keep people from finding out. She was missing from the end of summer 1993 until the beginning of summer 1994, so about nine months, right? Kate didn’t meet Annabelle until the day of her rescue because that’s when she was born, and her going into labor/giving birth is what caused Martin to act ‘weird’ that day. The baby could have died, or Kate’s mom may have made Kate give the baby up for adoption.”
There are a few other clues that led viewers to believe that Annabelle might be Kate’s baby. When Kate revisited her therapy tapes, she says, “the other person didn’t make it out alive.” Could she be talking about her baby? Additionally, while Kate is in the basement, Martin says, “This part won’t last long.” Is that when she had the baby?
Annabelle is a gun
Since the hunting trip occurred during the same Cruel Summer episode, when viewers found out about Annabelle, they thought they were related.
“My first thought was that Annabelle isn’t a who, but a what,” one Redditor wrote. “Totally off the wall theory that Annabelle is a gun. Specifically, it’s the gun that Martin’s dad killed himself with. So the gunshot that Jeanette, Jamie, and Vince heard was from Annabelle being fired.”
Other fans see the connection between the reference of Annabelle and the many guns in episode 4. Maybe she isn’t part of the Cruel Summer cast at all, but an inanimate object with a name.
‘Cruel Summer’ theory debunked
Many Cruel Summer Reddit theories brought up by fans suggested that Annabelle could be an alternate personality of either Martin or Kate. However, Allius Barnes, who plays Jeanette’s best friend, Vince, explained that the theory isn’t true. The Cruel Summer cast member reported that neither Kate nor Martin have a dissociative identity disorder.
“A funny one [is] that Annabelle is Kate or Martin’s alter-ego,” Barnes told Elite Daily. “And that Martin has passed on this different personality to Kate and trained her to become another person. That was pretty crazy. It sounds like a really good show. Unfortunately, it’s not ours.”
The Cruel Summer Annabelle theories continue to run rampant. Hopefully, all of the viewers’ questions get answered in the next two episodes. Cruel Summer airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on Freeform.
