Diksha Sundriyal
In Prime Video’s ‘Cruel Intentions,’ a game of power and seduction ensues when step-siblings Caroline and Lucien make an arrangement amongst themselves. The target is a girl named Annie Grover, and Lucien’s task is to seduce her and get her to join Caroline’s sorority at Manchester College. If he succeeds, Caroline will let Lucien have what he wants most in the world: herself. As Lucien enthusiastically embarks on this task, Caroline refuses to leave anything to chance and comes up with her own ways to get under Annie’s skin and befriend her with whatever means possible. At one point, she even kisses Annie, which might raise some questions about her sexual preferences. SPOILERS AHEAD
Caroline and Annie’s Kiss Recalls the Kiss from Cruel Intentions Movie
The TV show ‘Cruel Intentions’ is inspired by the 1999 film of the same name. In recreating the story, the show changes a lot of things, but as a throwback to the film and the characters, it also keeps certain aspects of the story. One of those things is the kiss that Sarah Michelle Geller’s Kathryn has with Selma Blair’s Cecile. In the movie, the scene takes place in a park where Cecile talks about her inexperience, and Kathryn decides to help her by teaching her how to French kiss. The show recreates this scene with Caroline and Annie.
It happens at the sorority house during a sleepover party where all the girls with the potential to pledge for the sorority are invited. Caroline explains that the party is an opportunity for the girls to bond with each other and encourages them to share their deepest, darkest secrets, assuring them that not a word spoken among them would go out. To gain their trust, Caroline tells them about the first time she lost her virginity. The story speaks of her insecurity and the complicated relationship with her mother. And sure enough, it breaks down the girls’ defenses, and they feel like they can tell Caroline their own secrets, shame, and desires.
Later, it turns out that the story Caroline told them didn’t belong to her. The incident had happened to Cece, but Caroline spun it as her own to gain the sympathy and trust of the girls, especially Annie, whom she desperately wants to join the sorority. Because Annie doesn’t know the truth, she feels connected enough to Caroline and the girls to tell them about her own insecurities. While things are mostly great in her life, she feels highly inexperienced when it comes to sex. She reveals that she hasn’t even been kissed yet, and she worries that when she kisses the guy she likes, she will be bad at it, and the guy will know that she has never kissed before.
To quell Annie’s nervousness and to boost her confidence, Caroline kisses her. It is a very unexpected thing that no one in the room could have predicted, but it goes to show just how unpredictable Caroline can be. The kiss isn’t just a peck on the lips but is a proper kiss that Annie leans into. When it’s done, Caroline says that now that she’s had her first kiss, she can get it out of her mind when she kisses the guy she likes. As intended, it does the trick and gives Annie some confidence, even though it was yet another manipulation on Caroline’s part.
Caroline’s Sexual Identity May be More Fluid
Because Caroline kisses Annie with such ease, it might make one wonder if Caroline has kissed a girl before, and if so, does it mean that she likes girls? In ‘Cruel Intentions’ movie, Kathryn’s sexuality is not explicitly stated. Though she kisses Cecile, it is more of a class than something done out of sexual attraction. Still, it shows that Kathryn is not averse to kissing girls. We see the same equation with Caroline and Annie, and sure enough, the first season of the show doesn’t delve any further into Caroline’s sexuality. The kiss, at the time, doesn’t seem much more than that.
While it could be just a kiss, it doesn’t mean that Caroline’s sexuality is limited to being straight. While the movie barely touches on the idea of homosexuality, the show leans into it with a major plot line surrounding two queer people. Considering this, it wouldn’t be a surprise if, in the next season, Caroline is revealed to be bisexual and may even court a girl. The film couldn’t dive into the details of its protagonist’s sexuality for several reasons, but the Prime Video show doesn’t have any of those restraints, and exploring that side of Caroline’s story could give us new insights into her character while making the story spicier.
Read More: Does Lucien Die in Cruel Intentions TV Show?
