Get ready y’all because Prime Video’s new series Cruel Intentions, which was released on Nov. 21, is dripping with so much romance and sexuality that it’s almost hard to keep up. The show primarily revolves around the relationships between step siblings, Lucien and Caroline, and Manchester College freshman Annie Grover. Like the 1999 film it’s based on, the show follows Caroline and LuciEn, who plot to seduce Annie into joining Caroline’s sorority, Delta Phi Pi, to protect it against toxic hazing allegations. If Lucien seduces Annie and she joins Caroline’s sorority, Caroline will sleep with him. I know, it’s a lot so let me break down this love triangle. Spoiler warning: Spoilers for Prime Video’s Cruel Intentions follow.
As Lucien attempts to seduce Annie, he ends up genuinely falling for her. However, the pacing seemed a little odd as he appeared to go from not being authentic in his feelings to switching up by the end of the season. Annie represents the “Good Girl” trope as she’s sweet, innocent, and pretty trusting. The dynamic between her and Lucien seems soft and comforting with Lucien putting his best foot forward and presenting his kind, charming qualities.
However, Annie seems to lack a real depth that I believe a character like Lucien needs. After the two of them have sex in Episode 7, he tells Caroline he doesn’t want to go through with their deal, proving he’s really into Annie and potentially sees a future with her. It seems that this is the ship viewers should root for. But what about Caroline and Lucien?
Caroline’s character is the complete opposite of Annie’s. Caroline is sexual, ruthless, angry, confident, and hard-set. She’s a complete nightmare but is treated terribly by her mother who doesn’t seem to care about her. The only person who seems to stand up for her and care about how she’s feeling is Lucien. As step-siblings, Lucian and Caroline have insight into each other’s families. Lucien sees and disagrees with the way Caroline’s mother treats her, just as Caroline can see how Lucian’s father neglects him.
Knowing almost everything about each other’s past, trauma, and flaws, offers Caroline and Lucian’s relationship a unique form of intimacy because they both see the dynamics of each other’s personalities— the light and the dark side.
Throughout the show, you can cut Caroline and Lucien’s sexual tension with a knife. It’s obvious from Episode 1 that they’re attracted to each other. So, when Caroline offers Lucien the chance to sleep with her if he gets Annie to pledge Delta Phi Pi, he doesn’t take long to accept. As he attempts to get closer to Annie, Lucien has a few intimate moments with Caroline. But they don’t have sex. Instead, Lucien continues recording his sexual encounters with other women while Caroline watches the videos back.
So, when Lucien breaks their deal, Caroline reacts horribly. She lashes out and tries to hurt him by calling him out for not being capable of love. She even goes as far as to leak all of his sex tapes. The season ends on a cliffhanger of viewers not knowing what will happen next for Caroline and Lucien’s relationship.
I really hope that Season 1 is the last we’ll see of Annie, Lucien, and Caroline’s love triangle.