Cruel Intentions – Season 1 Episode 3 “Gamma” Recap & Review

Gamma

Episode 3 of Cruel Intentions begins in the aftermath of the President Night disaster. The activists clean up the trash outside, while the newspaper is abuzz with what’s gone down at the party. The swing here, given Annie is in with the anti-Greek group, is that this movement may be getting some serious momentum now.

Caroline speaks to the group and reminds them that one night doesn’t define them and with an upcoming champagne mixer on the table, they need to work on improving their image and remaining proud.

Caroline speaks to Blaise next and believes Scott should be the next Alpha Gamma president. Eventually Blaise agrees, although this does cause drama amongst the students, especially Blandsman when he’s stripped of power. However, he’s not going down without a fight. Naturally, Blaise speaks to Caroline as she needs her help in exposing his “shortcomings”.

Cece is the one who ultimately seduces him that night, intending to get blackmail material, and snaps photos after a “snow job” so he drops out of the race.

Beatrice is abuzz on the back of the newspaper articles but Annie is not so sure this is really working. Online comments are not favourable to her, immediately painting her as a nepo baby and piggybacking off her parents’ success.

Lucien believes he’s got a serious chance with Annie, and continues to work toward getting into Annie’s pants. Caroline wants the lowdown over what his thinking is here, and there’s a genuinely good moment where the pair are seducing one another that actually feels like Cruel Intentions.

Lucien’s tactic shifts slightly after this, tightening the screw and deciding to question Annie’s moral compass. After all, her mother was in the Sorority and going after her mum’s principles certainly rattles her. Lucien uses this to show how her beliefs can be used against her (and with a cheeky dig of “not all men” surrounding painting everyone with the same brush).

Lucien convinces her to score some booze and break the rules, leaving the sight of Secret Service and heading to the swimming pool. The pair get along well, but when the alarms blare, they’re forced to leave.

Meanwhile, the New Political Society show up at the Sorority House to protest. However, Caroline welcomes them in with open arms and allows them to mix at the party. Beatrice isn’t exactly happy about it, and after talking about how toxic the sororities are, proceeds to act toxic all night.

In fact, Caroline makes it clear that Beatrice’s antics are actually directly tied to the fact she’s been trying to get into the sorority for three years in a row (rejected every time) and she’s super salty about it.

Beatrice eventually leaves after calling Caroline evil, but she’s the only one who does leave. The allure of champagne and nibbles too much I guess! Everyone else is happy to mingle and hang out.

As for Lucien, he speaks to Caroline that night in private, reminding her that things are looking up and he’ll make good on their bet. Looking out the window, she sees Lucien and Annie together and smirks.

The Episode Review

So this episode confirms that Cecille’s character has been absolutely butchered. She’s used as a tool to seduce Blandsman and given all this power and although she gets the nerdy part right for how her character should behave, not allowing her to be the embodiment of innocence that’s twisted and corrupted feels like a massive misfire from the creators. Don’t worry, I won’t keep bringing it up every recap but it’s definitely an important point to note.

There’s also the situation involving the different Sorority Houses and how the political movement just flips like a wrestler from bad to good in the blink of an eye. It’s annoying to watch because we’ve seen how Caroline is with everyone around her, along with the activist rally, and yet here we’re led to believe that everyone else at the sorority think she’s this ray of sunshine? Even though we’ve clearly seen her destroy that woman’s phone and snub numerous women at the mixer?

The only true stand-out moments in this show so far have been the thin slivers of promise between Lucien and Caroline flirting. But then these two look really awkward together so it’s more for “member berries” than genuine chemistry.

As we approach the midway point of this one, Cruel Intentions is definitely not improving.