Who really killed Luke in ‘Cruel Summer’ season 2? The shocking finale, explained

After a unique season 1 with particularly strong storytelling, Cruel Summer was renewed as an anthology series and season 2 aired in the summer of 2023. Each season features toxic friendships, three different timelines, and ’90s/2000s nostalgia, and thanks to the epic twist featuring Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia) and Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt) in the season 1 finale, it was clear that the season 2 ending would also deliver a big reveal. So, who really killed Luke in Cruel Summer, and did the ending live up to its promise?

What happened at the end of Cruel Summer season 2?

Season 2, episode 10 of Cruel Summer, “Endgame,” revealed what the previous episodes had hinted all along: Isabella LaRue (Lexi Underwood) killed Luke Chambers. While the sheriff and everyone in the small town of Chatham were convinced that Isabella and her BFF Megan Landry (Sadie Stanley) killed Luke, we were definitely shocked that one of them actually turned out to be the killer. Creepy computer hacker Ned and Luke’s verbally abusive father Steve (Paul Adelstein in a much less likable role than Cooper on Private Practice) seemed like much more likely suspects.

The Cruel Summer season 2 finale made us think that Luke’s mean-spirited older brother Brent killed him. After Megan and Isabella tied Luke to a bed in the cabin to teach him a lesson about being unfaithful, Isabella accidentally shot Luke, who ran away to the dock to think about the awful person he’d become. Luke paged Brent (Braeden De La Garza), who pushed Luke into the water after an intense fight.

In the final moments of “Endgame,” we learn that Isabella found Luke lying on the shore after he didn’t drown. She then did the unthinkable and pushed his head down into the water, cutting off his air supply and killing him. Megan is the one who makes this brutal discovery via a camera that saw the whole thing unfold, which proved how betrayed she felt by her alleged best friend. After she is falsely accused, Megan gets a coding job and Isabella flies to Ibiza, making a new pal whose life she is likely going to ruin next.

Did the Cruel Summer season 2 finale live up to expectations?

After nine nail-biting episodes, the reveal that Isabella killed Luke was surprising and heartbreaking, not to mention complex. Cruel Summer season 2 did a fine job of exploring the smothering feeling of small-town life. Filmed in British Columbia, season 2 showed Chatham as a gorgeous and peaceful-looking place that teens can’t wait to leave. While we empathized with Luke’s plight, it was hard not to hate him for cheating on Megan and being a toxic partner. While showrunner Elle Friedman told AwardsRadar that “We had a lot of different potential killers on the board,” it ultimately made the most sense for Isabella to have ended Luke’s life.

But did Cruel Summer‘s shocking season 2 finale live up to the expectations fans had after a truly impressive season 1? While it wasn’t quite as unique, the reveal that Isabella killed Luke was still a surprising twist. It was tough to top the last season 1 scene, which revealed that Jeanette wasn’t who we thought she was. Still, the ending works well and hints that Isabella was likely responsible for her friend Lisa’s mysterious death prior to her arrival in Chatham. It wasn’t enough to get the show renewed for a third season, but as both seasons of Cruel Summer prove, friendship can be dark, deadly, and devastating, which is why you should always choose your friends wisely.