Redeemed deceiver Kate Wallis
Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt) is one of the main protagonists and a redeemed villainess from Season One of Cruel Summer. She is the daughter of Joy Wallis, and the stepdaughter of Joy's second husband, Rod Wallis.
Introduction[]
The first season took place throughout the mid-1990s, with each episode taking place during the same date in 1993, 1994, and 1995. Kate Wallis was introduced as the most popular girl at Skylin High School in the series' pilot, "Happy Birthday, Jeanette Turner," with Jeanette spotting Kate at the mall and being greeted by her on June 21, 1993--Jeanette's 15th birthday. A year later (Jeanette's 16th birthday), it is revealed that Kate had been missing for a while, though the episode showed Kate being rescued from her capture at the hands of the school's assistant principal, Martin Harris, during a shootout at his home.
As revealed in the end of the pilot episode, which took place on June 21, 1995 (Jeanette's 17th birthday), Kate had appeared on The Marsha Bailey Show and was interviewed about her ordeal just months after her freedom, with Kate being shown condemning Jeanette, stating that Jeanette had seen her in Martin's house and had done nothing to save her. The season's progression showed Kate's statements leading to Jeanette becoming an outcast, though she was shown in an online chat informing another user (later revealed as Kate's stepsister, Ashley Wallis) that she wasn't being entirely truthful.
Reveal[]
Kate on The Marsha Bailey Show in 1994
The final scenes of episode 1.07, "Happy Birthday, Kate Wallis," revealed that after getting into a fight with Joy, Kate ran off and went to Martin's house willingly, as Martin had been befriending Kate throughout the season's progression. The penultimate episode, "A Secret of My Own," revealed the true details of Kate's time with Martin, beginning with Kate being left at Martin's home instead of going to school. Kate ended up officially declared as a missing person, and after three weeks together, Kate and Martin began a romantic relationship in September of 1993, with both parties agreeing that Kate would not leave the house.
Kate and Martin spent Halloween and Thanksgiving together, though by Christmas Eve, she grew depressed and missed the outside world. It was on that day that Jeanette broke into Martin's house while he was away and took a snow globe, with Kate seeing Jeanette in the house, though Jeanette never saw her. Kate saw Jeanette's necklace and pocketed it, and while Martin slept, Kate snuck out to her parents house and was dismayed over seeing Rod and Joy celebrating, feeling that they had forgotten about her already. In actuality, Rod and Joy were heartbroken over Kate's disappearance.
On the following day (Christmas Day), Martin admonished Kate for sneaking out, reminding her that he could be in big trouble if word got out that Kate was at Martin's home the entire time. The episode ended with Kate being lured to the basement by Martin, who later locked her inside to cover his tracks.
Redemption[]
Kate testifying in 1995
Kate continued to lash out at Jeanette after condemning her on TV, and used the necklace to prove her earlier claim. She ended up sued by Jeanette for defamation of character, and the trial took place on October 3, 1995--shown in the season finale, "Hostile Witness." Entering the episode, Kate's conversation had been discovered by Jeanette, and it was used as evidence to prove that Kate was lying about being abducted. Later in the episode, Kate met with Jeanette at Martin's old house, where the deceptive villainess continued to lash out at Jeanette and accuse her of stealing her life.
Jeanette admitted to being at the house on Christmas Eve 1993, but denied seeing her that night. Kate repeated her accusation and brought up Jeanette's bicycle, which had a playing card on the back wheel. Jeanette informed Kate that it wasn't her bike that she saw; rather, the bike actually belonged to Mallory Higgins, who had befriended Kate after her friendship with Jeanette ended. Kate, realizing that Jeanette was telling the truth, apologized to Jeanette and publicly admitted that Jeanette never saw her in the house. Kate also revealed that Martin wasn't killed in a shootout; in actuality, Kate shot Martin to death with his gun (which he named "Annabelle") after Martin couldn't bring himself to commit suicide with the weapon.
As for Mallory, Kate confronted her as she was about to pack up and leave, with Mallory admitting that she saw Kate but didn't know it was her, but after realizing that it was Kate, she kept quiet and masked her secret as they became friends. The epilogue showed Kate and Mallory watching Jeanette's interview on The Marsha Bailey Show, and later showed them kissing each other as they drove out of the house.
Trivia[]
- This was Olivia Holt's first villainous role.