Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for We Were Liars Season 1.E. Lockhart’s 2014 YAnovel,We Were Liars, is best known forits wildly shocking plot twist and its picturesque yet sinister private islandwhere the wealthy Sinclair family spends their summers. The novel’stelevisionadaptation, also titledWe Were Liars, has officially been released, and it is somehow even more emotionally gutting than the book.We Were Liarsfollows Cadence “Cady” Sinclair Eastman (Emily Alyn Lind), over the course of a dual timeline focused on two summers.
In the past, Cady was excited to spend the summer with her three best friends and fellow “Liars”: her cousins, Johnny (Joseph Zada) and Mirren (Esther McGregor), and her best friend and love interest, Gat (Shubham Maheshwari). That summer, though, things felt different, and the stakes heightened in ways that Cady had never expected. In the present day, one year later, Cady tries to uncover her memories of that summer, which have disappeared aftera mysterious incident that left her alone in the ocean.Each episode ofWe Were Liarsslowly unravels a number of truths to Cady about the past and the present. This is every episode ofWe Were LiarsSeason 1, ranked.
We Were Liars
8"Tell Me Sweet Little Lies"
We Were Liarsreally gains momentum about halfway through its first season, when the tension starts to boil over in the past timeline, and Cady regains more of her memories in the present. Still, though, the pilot episode ofWe Were Liarsis a strong introduction to the series. It starts with a glimpse of Cady in the water, beforeshe then gives a voiceover explaining that she doesn’t remember how she ended up there, or most of what happened that summer.
…The pilot episode ofWe Were Liarsis a strong introduction to the series.
The rest of the first episode is much calmer and seemingly more low-stakes than the rest of the season. It primarily takes place in the past, in which Cady returns to Beechwood for the summer and reunites with the other Liars.Something is different about Gat this summer, and the two try to start up a romance throughout the episode, before finally kissing at the end. Without the flash-forwards, the episode would just feel likea classic teen drama,but Cady’s voiceovers add this sense of dread.
7"Wrap Her Up in a Package of Lies"
We Were Liarsreally picks up as it goes along, and its second episode is a stronger installment than its first. This is primarily because the episode escalates the central conflicts in both the past and present timelines. In the past,Cady feels a distance between her and Gat after their kiss, only to learn that he has a girlfriend. Additionally, Gat and Johnny clash, as Gat sees the Sinclairs in a new light after his transformative year.
It is revealed that the Liars kept their distance from her all year…
One year later, Cady finally returns to Beechwood for the summer, settingthe present-day storylines in motion. It is revealed that the Liars kept their distance from her all year, and that she didn’t hear from any of them even once while she was in the hospital. Cady’s return to Beechwood gives a compellingcontrast between how the Sinclair family acts in both timelines,hinting at what might have occurred during the incident that brought Cady to the ocean.
6"The Ties Were Black, The Lies Were White"
The main inciting incident during the past timeline is the death of Tipper (Wendy Crewson), the Sinclair family’s matriarch. This is amajor change from the book, in which Tipper died during the year, before the summer even began. The show’s twist is an excellent one that heightens the stakes early on in the season.The third episode focuses on Tipper’s funeral, in which her family both grieve her loss and worry about what they will inherit.
The main inciting incident during the past timeline is the death of Tipper…
This episode gives more insight into each ofWe Were Liars' main characters,revealing hints of Johnny’s anger issues and Mirren’s insecurities related to her love life. It also sets up the main conflict in the past storyline, which is the issue of what Tipper and Harris' (David Morse) children and grandchildren will inherit from their vast wealth, and the sacrifices that they have to make in order to obtain these inheritances.
5"Lying Together in a Silver Lining"
The fifth episode ofWe Were Liarsisframed by a bad storm in the past timeline, with the added twist that Johnny’s little brother, Will (Brady Droulis), is out on the water in a boat by himself. This comes at an especially tense time, as Penny (Caitlin Fitzgerald), Bess (Candice King), and Carrie (Mamie Gummer) are all at risk of losing their inheritances. To combat this, they put added pressure on their children to get in Harris' good graces.
In the past, the growing conflict related to the inheritance threatens Cady and Gat’s happiness…
Cady and Gat finally make it past their back-and-forth, and they both take a step forward in the past, as well as reunite as a couple in the present. It’s a beautiful but tragic shift in their relationship, asit is clear that Cady and Gat’s romance is doomedin both of the show’s timelines. In the past, the growing conflict related to the inheritance threatens Cady and Gat’s happiness, and in the present, it’s clear that Gat isn’t telling her the whole truth.
4"The Fourth of You Lie"
We Were Liars' fourth episode marks the halfway point of its first season, and it is an explosive one. The Sinclairs celebrate the Fourth of July shortly after Tipper’s death, and they try their best to adhere to her traditions for the holiday. This episode is a major turning point for the past timeline, asCarrie rejects Ed’s (Rahul Kohli) marriage proposal even though she loves him, and it becomes clear that Harris is using her inheritance to keep the two apart.
The Sinclairs celebrate the Fourth of July shortly after Tipper’s death, and they try their best to adhere to her traditions for the holiday.
In the present,Cady watches the horrifying video that Johnny tried to bury last summer, and Carrie ends up watching as well. It is a heartbreaking and intense scene, as well as one of the biggest hints in the present day of themajor twist that is to come. This episode feels like a distinct shift forWe Were Liars’first season, as it becomes clear that, from here on out, things will no longer be the way that they used to be in the past timeline.
3"Everybody Knows That the Captain Lied"
The final two episodes ofWe Were Liars' first seasonchronicle the build-up to the incident that led to Cady winding up alone in the ocean, and it is absolutely brutal. The penultimate episode of Season 1 picks up right afterHarris has offered Gat the chance to interview for an elite internship. Harris' motives are obvious, and when Gat leaves, the rest of the Liars finally reach their breaking points.
…It’s revealed to the viewers that Harris was going to leave Beechwood to Cady.
Cady, Johnny, and Mirren finally stand up to their mothers during the dinner, and then they tidy up at Clairmont while finally talking about everything. Afterward, the Liars burn Harris' will together, and it’s revealed to the viewers that Harris was going to leave Beechwood to Cady. The Liars then think about their next steps to finally make a statement about Harris' poor treatment of Gat and Ed, as well as how he has used his wealth to manipulate everyone in the family and turn them against each other.They ultimately decide to burn Clairmont down, and the episode ends with that cliffhanger.
2"When Lies Give You Lemons"
We Were Liars' sixth episode, “When Lies Give You Lemons,” is a truly fantastic installment that also gives new context to the show’s previous episodes. For Cady, everything on Beechwood was perfect until “Summer 16,” when it all started to fall apart. For Gat, though, his time there has always been bittersweet, andHarris has never passed up on the opportunity to remind Gat that he doesn’t belong there.
The entire lemon hunt shows how horrifyingly strategic and manipulative Harris is about his family’s futures…
This episode shows the Sinclairs participating in their family’s annual lemon hunt in the past, but the prizes that year were Beechwood and Harris' Boston house. Another change to the lemon hunt is that Gat’s mother, Maya (Karen David), is present on Beechwood for the first time after an invite from Harris. The entire lemon hunt shows how horrifyingly strategic and manipulative Harris is about his family’s futures, andit makes it clear that he will never accept Cady and Gat’s relationship.
1"My Friends Are Lying in the Sun"
Season 1, Episode 8
We Were Liars' Season 1 finale, “My Friends Are Lying in the Sun,” is an explosive and emotionally devastating episode. Cady finally gets her memories back in the present, and she and the other Liars burn down Clairmont in the past. It is then revealed ina truly shocking plot twistthatGat, Johnny, and Mirren all died in the fire, along with the Sinclairs' two family dogs, who were locked in the kitchen of Clairmont at the time.
It’s a gutting moment when the past Cady realizes that the three people she loves the most are trapped inside a burning building, andthe present Cady is forced to process that they are all dead. Cady has touching final moments with each of the Liars' ghosts, then she lets go of the Sinclair legacy and decides to finally move forward from Beechwood. The end of the episode also sets up a second season ofWe Were Liars, which, if the series is renewed, seems that it will focus on the events of its prequel novel,Family of Liars.
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