Prime Video’sCruel IntentionsTV show introduces a new generation of wealthy and ruthless students, and it now has a confirmed major connection to the 1999 movie, but this actually hurts the TV show. Directed by Roger Kumble and based on Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 novelLes Liaisons dangereuses,Cruel Intentionsintroduces the audience to wealthy step-siblings Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe), who make a bet for their entertainment: Sebastian has to seduce the new headmaster’s daughter, Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon), and sleep with her.
If Sebastian achieves this, Kathryn will finally sleep with him, but if he fails, Kathryn will get his beloved vintage car. TheCruel IntentionsTV show borrowed the same premise as the movie but with some important changes to the characters and their plans. The TV show follows step-siblings Caroline (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien (Zac Burgess), who also make a bet, but their target is the Vice President’s daughter, Annie Grover (Savannah Lee Smith). Aside from one actor, theCruel IntentionsTV show and movie have one important connection, and it’s not good for the show.
The Cruel Intentions TV Show & The 1999 Movie Live In The Same Universe
A Universe Of Ruthless, Wealthy, & Shameless Teenagers
Prime Video’sCruel IntentionsTV show isn’t a direct remake of the movie, despite having the same premise and overall concept, nor is it a sequel, but it does have a strong connection to the TV show. Speaking toEW,Cruel Intentions’ showrunners Phoebe Fisher and Sara Goodman revealed thatthe TV show and the movie exist in the same universe, so the TV show is a new chapter in this twisted world where step-siblings use sex to manipulate others… and who lust after each other.
While in the movie the bet between Kathryn and Sebastian is for their own entertainment, Caroline has a goal in mind when dragging Lucien into her plans. An anti-Greek movement at school threatens to end all fraternities and sororities, but if Caroline gets Annie to join Delta Phi, of which she’s President, then the sorority will be safe, as they wouldn’t dare take down the sorority the Vice President’s daughter is in. Parallel to this isBlaise’s plans inCruel Intentions, as he uses his lover, Scott (Khobe Clarke), to embezzle fraternity funds.
Caroline’s Full Plan & Bet In Cruel Intentions TV Show Explained
Caroline’s plan in Prime Video’s Cruel Intentions TV show is very different from Kathryn’s plan in the movie, as well as her bet with Lucien.
In the movie, Sebastian is bored as he can easily seduce anyone he wants, so he is looking for a challenge. Kathryn chooses Annette Hargrove as his challenge as she’s against sex without love, and Sebastian is determined to change that. Kathryn doesn’t want anything from Annette, just to see Sebastian suffer. Times have changed in the world ofCruel Intentionsbut not the selfishness of those in it, but this connection between the TV show and the movie creates a big problem for their lead female characters.
The Cruel Intentions TV Show Creates A Merteuil Family Problem
The Merteuil Family Doesn’t Learn From Its Mistakes
TheCruel IntentionsTV show made various changes to the movie’s characters, including their names, but it left one thing about their lead female characters intact: their last name.Kathryn’s last name is Merteuil and so is Caroline’s, and if the TV show and movie live in the same universe, then they are related. Fisher confirmed toEWthat the Merteuils are “in the world somewhere” before joking that Kathryn could be Caroline’s “great-aunt or something.” While the age difference isn’t that big,Kathryn and Caroline are definitely related somehow, and that’s a problem.
10 Biggest Differences Between Prime Video’s Cruel Intentions Show & The 1999 Movie
Prime Video’s Cruel Intentions TV show borrowed the premise of the 1999 movie of the same name, but it also made some big changes to it.
At the end of theCruel Intentionsmovie, Sebastian dies after being run over, but by then, Annette already has his journal, where all the secrets and details about Kathryn, him, his sex partners, and his and Kathryn’s bet are revealed. Annette prints copies of Sebastian’s journal and, with Cecile’s (Selma Blair) help, they hand them out during Sebastian’s funeral. This leads to Kathryn’s downfall as everyone, including her parents, learns about the bet, her relationship with Sebastian, her substance use, and more – andif Caroline is a Merteuil, then she would definitely know about all this.
It’s hard to believe that Caroline wouldn’t know what happened to Kathryn and, even worse, that she went on to do the same.
And yet, Caroline is repeating Kathryn’s story – from the sneaky substance use (through a necklace that looks almost, if not exactly, the same) to the sexual tension with her step-brother and the bet. It’s hard to believe that Caroline wouldn’t know what happened to Kathryn and, even worse, that she went on to do the same. Connecting the Merteuils in theCruel Intentionsmovie and TV show wasn’t the best idea, and if the show gets a second season, it will now have to address this.
Cruel Intentions TV Show Wasted Its Best Connection To The Movie
Cruel Intentions TV Show & Movie Have 1 Actor In Common
TheCruel IntentionsTV show and movie living in the same universe isn’t something explicitly said in the former, but it does have one direct link to the movie – and the TV show wasted it.Sean Patrick Thomas played Ronald Clifford in theCruel Intentionsmovie, Cecile’s young music teacher with whom she falls in love, and the feeling is mutual. Ronald is separated from Cecile by Kathryn, who later seduces him and provokes the fight with Sebastian that leads to the latter’s death.
In theCruel IntentionsTV show, Thomas also plays a teacher, but he’s not Ronald Clifford. Thomas plays history professor Hank Chadwick, who bonds with CeCe when she becomes his assistant. Although they agree not to try anything until after CeCe graduates, Caroline gets tired of CeCe getting distracted and seduces Chadwick to later accuse him of sexual misconduct. The TV show could have had Thomas as Ronald Clifford, now a teacher at a big college, who ends up involved in a web similar to the one he was dragged into over 20 years ago.
Instead, theCruel IntentionsTV show made a new character for Thomas, who goes through the same as Clifford but with a couple of changes to fit the other characters, the setting, and more. The fate of Chadwick was left unknown atthe end ofCruel Intentionsseason 1, just like Clifford’s after Sebastian’s death in the movie, and if a second season brought back any characters from the movie, Thomas’ presence would make it a bit complicated and confusing.
Source:EW.
Cruel Intentions
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.
