Cruel Summer: Each Character, Sorted Into Their Hogwarts House
One of the most interesting ways to break down, analyze, and categorize a character from any television show, film, comic, or video game is to split them up into their respective Hogwarts houses from Harry Potter. Much like other personality tests -- zodiac, MBTI®, Enneagram, etc. -- sorting protagonists, antagonists, and supporting cast is a fun, enlightening, and easy way to get a firmer grasp on the characters we know and love (and love to hate and hate to love as well).
Freeform's Cruel Summer has given audiences a lot to work with when it comes to divvying up its cast of characters into the famous Hogwarts houses of the Harry Potter universe: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.
10 Joy Wallis - Slytherin
Kate Wallis' mom, Joy, is, in many ways, a stereotypical southern mom and she's also uppity, image-obsessed, and condescending to those she doesn't much care for (like when she calls Derek a loser and accuses Mallory of sending the 'Liar' letter). On the other hand, she's also ambitious and cunning, willing to do whatever it takes to maintain her lifestyle, protect her family, and seek justice for her daughter, who was kidnapped.
All these traits considered, then, Joy's Sorting Hat would place her in Slytherin, the Hogwarts house known for these traits and more, like resourcefulness and leadership -- two of Joy Wallis' more positive attributes.
9 Cindy Turner - Hufflepuff
Wife and mother Cindy Turner has all the makings of a Hufflepuff: she is warm, sensitive, inviting, and attentive. She is also protective and a mothers' mother, choosing to stay home and give up a career to raise her children. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, knowing Jeanette lied to the police and to her face when she asked her about her knowledge in Kate's kidnapping.
Hufflepuff's have a strong moral code and not only know right from wrong, but actually practice it. Cindy is also accepting, even when she has a mother's intuition that Jeanette is more involved than she says, but promising that they will face it together, another Hufflepuff trait.
8 Greg Turner - Gryffindor
Husband to Cindy and dad to Jeanette and son Derek, Greg Turner can best be summed up as an ally to his children: he bails Jeanette out of mall prison and confronts -- calmly, but firmly -- Jamie when he learns from his son that he hit Jeanette (as opposed to her sustaining a volleyball injury).
In giving up his career, reputation, even his other family, and potentially their house to get Jeanette the best lawyer for her defense case, this also makes him daring, brave, and loyal, like a true Gryffindor.
7 Derek Turner - Ravenclaw
Brother to Jeanette and Greg and Cindy Turner's son, Derek can best be described just like his dad: brave, loyal, and determined to say and do the right thing. But he possesses some other characteristics as well.
He encourages his sister to answer their mom's calls and advises her when she pursues Kate at the fair, as well as Jamie. He is always giving her advice, guidance, and support, even during his busy time in college. As such, he is a distinguishable Ravenclaw through and through, demonstrating wisdom, intelligence, and hard work.
6 Vince Fuller - Hufflepuff
Jeanette's longtime neighbor and friend, Vince, is also loyal, true, and there for his friends to the end, even when they have grown apart and go their somewhat separate ways. He defends his friends to others and encourages peace, trustworthiness, kindness, and more within the friend group, as well as to other folks.
Because of all these things and more, Vince definitely belongs in House Hufflepuff, wherein he shows other attributes, like his warmth and being an inviting person to those in need.
5 Mallory Higgins - Slytherin
As much as fans want to like Mallory - Jeanette and Vince's former friend and new BFF to Kate -- there is something off -- something missing for fans when it comes to her allegiance to her friends.
Mallory is -- as far as viewers know, anyway - seemingly unnecessarily hostile towards Jeanette to her face and when speaking about her to others. There seems to be a hint of toxic jealousy here and Jeanette alludes to Mallory's reliability to Vince when they are in her room, cleaning out some of Jeanette's old clothing. She also isn't afraid to be disrespectful and unpleasant to her elders. For these reasons combined, Mallory unquestionably belongs in Slytherin. Even with her better qualities -- some of which also double as her weaknesses, interestingly enough -- she fits best in this house.
4 Martin Harris - Slytherin
Martin Harris -- Cruel Summer's antagonist -- is an unsurprising Slytherin. Among his charming, cunning, conniving, and meticulous nature, he is also a calculated predator disguised as a harmless, almost too-friendly, mentor Vice Principal to high school students, especially those of the female sex.
That is not to say that Slytherins are predators, but they can be predatory in their quest for controlling the desires of their hearts, anyone else be dammed. And he has no problem being coldly cruel when he speaks to Kate, as well as gaslighting her in the process, which only alludes to the aforementioned character traits.
3 Jamie Henson - Slytherin
Yet another Slytherin makes the cut of Cruel Summer's Hogwarts House list, Jamie, by all appearances, seems like a good guy. He is fun, well-liked, devoted to his single mom, and there for Kate when she is rescued. Only he isn't a good guy, and he wasn't there for Kate. The house symbol for Slytherin is a snake and Jamie is one under the facade of his "good-guy" demeanor. He is, as the saying goes, a snake in the grass. He hits Jeanette outside the house when Kate reappears, but then turns around and kisses her at the park, days later when they meet to talk.
On top of this, he lies to Kate about it time and time again, even after she gives him ample opportunity to come clean and be honest with her. At the carnival in '94, he even gaslights her and uses her trauma in such a way to manipulate her mind and make her doubt what she saw. In the '95 timeline, we also see him stalking Jeanette outside her home. In short, Jamie will do what he must to get what he wants. He is sneaky, for better or worse, and scheming. And while this is not the case for all Slytherins, it is for Jamie, and there's no question the Sorting Hat would place him in the green-and-silver house.
2 Kate Wallis - Gryffindor
Cruel Summer's Kate Wallis is honest (even if it takes her some time), trusts others (to a fault), and strong, resolute, and courageous when she is faced with her kidnapper, Martin Harris.
She is also strong against the puppetry of her mom in the '95 timeline and goes off-script during a television interview when she claims her truth that Jeanette saw her. She is also gutsy in '95 when she takes revenge on Harris' grave, dunks Jamie in the pool at the carnival, and sticks up for herself to him in both the '94 and '95 timelines. There can be no question, then, that Kate is a tried-and-true Gryffindor.
1 Jeanette Turner - Gryffindor
The show's main protagonist has all the makings of House Gryffindor. Jeanette is, as far as the audience knows, loyal to herself, Jamie, her family and, in her own way, to her friends, past and present. For better or worse, she is brave when she does certain tasks on the list, like flushing Mallory's mom's marijuana, taking the fall for Vince when he stole a CD, and breaking into Martin Harris' house.
She is also quick on her feet, like other Gryffindors, and unafraid to defend herself (going so far as to blackmail former-friend Tennille's mom) and continue to try and exist, despite being spat on, gossiped about, and hated.