Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for the finale of 2024’s Cruel Intentions.
1999 brought about the cult classic, Cruel Intentions, which made everyone writhe uncomfortably about its taboo topics but had an indelible impact with every deeply satisfying narrative beat. It wasn’t until 2024 that we got an adaptation of the same name via Prime Video, taking us back down memory lane while instilling its own values into the popular narrative. The finale winds down to an open-ended conclusion that deftly sets up a potential second season. Some storylines do find a resolution, scored by the iconic Verge song “Bittersweet Symphony,” as our elite group of diabolical college-aged adults meet the devastating consequences of their own devious plans.
What Is ‘Cruel Intentions’ About?
Cruel Intentions introduces us to stepsiblings Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook), the influential president of the Delta Phi sorority, and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess), the sexually-driven treasurer of the Alpha Gamma fraternity. A deal is struck between them over the Vice President of the United States’ daughter, Annie Grover (Savannah Lee Smith) — if Lucien cannot seduce her into pledging Delta Phi, Caroline wins his beloved car. If he succeeds, he gets Caroline for up to an hour, the one woman he could never have otherwise. However, during this process, Lucien ends up falling in love with Annie, and subsequently, in a very familiar scene, he calls the deal off with Caroline.
The egregiously powerful Caroline is outraged by Lucien’s bold move and exploits one of his habits as a punishment. Whenever Lucien is intimate with someone, he has a compulsion to film the encounter, which he saves in a shared album with his sister. Initially, this was to give Caroline ammunition against people, but it also signifies the deep trust and intimacy between them, as we also witness Caroline pleasuring herself to the videos. As such, their bond is severed when she releases a link to his sex tapes, painting him to be the immoral distributor and also driving a wedge of distrust between him and Annie, since they had also made a video together.
Does Annie Pledge Delta Phi in the ‘Cruel Intentions’ Finale?
Annie’s faith in Lucien disintegrates after his tapes are released, especially after Caroline needles her way into her head. In the Cruel Intentions finale, the three of them confront each other, but Annie ends up taking Caroline’s side, even though a tiny morsel of instinct believes something else is going on with Lucien. He gives up on convincing Annie to come around and instead warns her about his stepsister’s ulterior motives. He walks away, speaking to Annie for the last time, who in turn is closer to Caroline than ever before, unwilling to believe she would mean harm.
In the end, Caroline gets exactly what she wants: Annie officially pledges to Delta Phi. As such, Caroline would now have easier access to the Vice President’s daughter and her ear by invoking the tenets of sisterhood. This not only makes Caroline’s position in the college more powerful but may put her in better standing with her own mother, Claudia (Claire Forlani), who constantly disapproves of Caroline even when she manages to get her a tea with Annie’s mother, Ellen (Nikki Crawford). However, soon after the ceremony, Annie finds out that Caroline lied to everyone by stealing CeCe Carroway’s (Sara Silva) traumatic first-time story. So, despite pledging herself to Delta Phi, and thus Caroline, Annie now has more concrete reservations against her.
The ‘Cruel Intentions’ Finale Ends CeCe’s Romance With Her Professor
CeCe goes through her own misadventures with Caroline’s behind-the-scenes meddling in Cruel Intentions, as she falls for a professor, but they agree to wait until she graduates to engage in anything physical to keep their romance above board. CeCe ignores all of Caroline’s warnings about all men being the same, persistently believing that Professor Hank Chadwick (Sean Patrick Thomas) is a good man. However, she finds out that sexual abuse allegations have been anonymously made against him, tarnishing his reputation in her eyes and believing he was simply grooming her while sleeping with other students.
What CeCe doesn’t realize is that Caroline had tricked and seduced Hank behind her back and made the anonymous allegations herself. Caroline views Hank as a threat to CeCe’s obsession with her, and thus finds a way to eliminate him from CeCe’s heart so she can retain her undying servant. Feeling beyond rejected, CeCe deftly falls into Caroline’s power-hungry trap and vows to never let her attention stray from the sisterhood again. However, after her conversation with Annie about Caroline stealing her story, doubts begin to rise in CeCe’s mind, causing a hairline fracture in their relationship that may devolve further in a potential Cruel Intentions Season 2.
Blaise Loses Everything in the ‘Cruel Intentions’ Finale
Meanwhile, at Alpha Gamma, social chair Blaise Powell (John Kim) is panicking about losing his status and future due to the consequences of his actions catching up with him. After Lucien’s birthday party gets shut down, the college processes an audit against the participating Greek houses, which includes going over the finances. Blaise has been embezzling money from the house due to his financial burdens and only Lucien, the treasurer, knew about this, though he didn’t really care. When Scott Russell (Khobe Clarke), the new Alpha Gamma president and Blaise’s love interest, discovers the crime, he confronts Blaise and how he had manipulated Scott into signing off on so many faux reimbursements.
As a last-ditch effort to save his standing, Blaise approaches Scott’s father, Congressman Russell (Jon Tenney), who had promised him a position in his administration once he graduated. Blaise tries to blackmail Scott’s father into adjusting the accounts since he is in a powerful position, and threatens to expose the fact that Scott is gay. Unbeknownst to Blaise, Scott has already come out to his father and revealed that he loved Blaise. After a telling conversation with Lucien, Scott decides to plead with his father to help Blaise absolve his crimes, which he does. As such, Blaise’s blackmail backfires and is a huge slap in the face — he walks out of the house with no criminal record, no career, no romance, and no integrity.
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Lucien Gets Revenge on Caroline at the End of ‘Cruel Intentions’
When Lucien discovers Caroline’s betrayal, he doesn’t bow out and instead enacts his own delicious form of revenge. Throughout Cruel Intentions, we get glimpses into Caroline’s abrasive relationship with her mother. Caroline constantly tries to surpass her mother’s expectations, but is always met with disapproval, which drives her to become meaner and nastier with everyone else. Lucien’s close bond with her mother amplifies this, reminding her that he is the golden child while she suffocates under pressure despite being the more proactive one.
Just as Caroline uses personal information on Lucien to push his buttons, he uses her contentious feelings against her mother to hurt her. Another taboo sexual relationship is formed in this series as Lucien sleeps with his stepmother and films it, as per usual. He maliciously places it in the stepsiblings’ shared album, knowing that Caroline will see it – and she does. When he receives her call while on the road, a grin curls across his lips, content with the internal mayhem he has caused as he drives away into the credits. It may not take down Caroline, but it was satisfying enough to be warranted.
How Does ‘Cruel Intentions’ Set Up a Season 2?
Unlike the end of the original film, Prime Video’s Cruel Intentions keeps the door ajar for potential future seasons. One storyline in particular is left completely unresolved, likely to be addressed in Season 2. Annie’s conversation with CeCe in the latter half of the finale is a turning point for both of their characters, as she finds out that Caroline stole CeCe’s story to manipulate everyone into sympathizing with her, indicative of her generally deceptive behavior. But Annie also finds out about the sexual assault allegations against Professor Hank and about CeCe’s relationship with him.
We see Annie approach Beatrice Worth (Brooke Lena Johnson), who works in the college’s administration and can determine who the anonymous whistleblower is. Naturally, this appeals to Beatrice’s crusade against the sororities and fraternities, and she is on board. In the closing scenes of the finale, we see Annie calling Lucien, suggesting she may be trying to update him on her suspicions about Caroline or that she has unveiled something she needs to tell him about. It is clear that the fight to dethrone Caroline from her position of power has not yet reached its peak, as the characters are only now beginning to uncover the depth of her deception.
Cruel Intentions is available to stream on Prime Video.
Two ambitious step-siblings at a prestigious Washington, D.C. college will stop at nothing to keep their social standing. After a hazing scandal threatens their control, they resort to extreme tactics, including seducing the vice president’s daughter, to safeguard their reputation and influence.
- Release Date
- November 21, 2024
- Cast
- Sarah Catherine Hook , Zac Burgess , Sara Silva , Khobe Clarke , John Harlan Kim , Brooke Lena Johnson , Sean Patrick Thomas , Savannah Lee Smith
- Seasons
- 1
- Network
- Prime Video
- Producers
- Pavun Shetty , Neal H. Moritz , Roger Kumble , Sara Goodman
WATCH ON PRIME VIDEO
