The second season of Surviving Summer introduces Baxter Radic, Summer’s secondary love interest. Josh Macqueen plays the role of Baxter.
Summer returns to Shorehaven and gets selected for the state team. Apart from her old friends, her new teammates include Wren Radic, the team captain and Ari’s girlfriend, as well as her brother Baxter.
While Wren becomes Summer’s worst enemy, Baxter becomes a friend who is there for her when all her friends turn against her. Summer likes Ari, but the more time she spends with Baxter, the more she starts liking him.
Baxter’s past
Last year, Baxter and Wren were on Team Queensland, which was coached by their elder sister, Elo. The talented siblings led their team to victory at Nationals. Later, Baxter was dared to set fire to a rival team’s banner, and Baxter did exactly that.
After that incident, Queensland dropped Baxter, and the three siblings had to move to Shorehaven. Due to this, Baxter has been living with the guilt of uprooting his sisters. However, this is the story that Baxter has been told.
The truth is that Baxter was never dropped. Queensland dropped Elo for toxic coaching and Wren for bullying her teammates. Elo and Wren lied to Baxter and led him to believe that they had to move to another state because of him. By lying to him, they could use Baxter’s guilt to make him do their bidding.
Baxter and Summer’s relationship
In the beginning, Baxter gives the impression of being a troublemaker and a lone wolf. When he hears Summer requesting Ari to distract the selectors and Ari refuses, Baxter offers to help Summer break the rules, not caring about his own selection.
It becomes evident that Baxter is attracted to Summer. Everyone knows that they are both rulebreakers; at Summer’s party, they accidentally start a fire. When Summer is accused of trashing a photographer’s hotel room, the two of them grow close.
None of Summer’s friends believe her when she claims that she is innocent, but Baxter knows his sister, so he believes Summer. Baxter does not have any friends, and his sisters keep reminding him of his past mistakes, so Summer is the only one who allows him to be himself.
Baxter is a surfboard shaper, and he takes Summer to his workplace. The two of them work on a surfboard together, which he later gifts to Summer. Baxter keeps flirting with Summer, who starts liking him back.
Summer and Baxter finally kiss at Wren’s birthday party. Baxter realizes that he needs to be honest with Summer before dating her, so he tells her that Wren made him loosen her surfboard fins at the talent search comp.
The revelation upsets and angers Summer. Baxter apologizes to Summer, but she refuses to forgive him when he has not even forgiven himself for a silly prank and keeps doing whatever his sisters tell him.
Summer soon finds out that the Radic siblings had to move to Shorehaven because of Elo and Wren, not Baxter. Summer does not tell the truth to anyone, as Elo will bench her if she does that.
However, when Elo yells at Ari for not performing well, Summer reveals the truth to everyone. This makes Baxter realize that Summer will risk anything for Ari because she loves him. Due to this, he stops pursuing Summer.
Baxter also realizes that his sisters took advantage of him and decides to drop out of the team at Nationals. Later, Summer runs into him at the beach, and he tells her that, unlike his sister, he is going to stay in Shorehaven for the summer.
Also Read: Wren Radic: Surviving Summer season 2 character explained