SPOILERS AHEAD (obviously…)
Released in late June of 2025, We Were Liars, directed by Nzingha Stewart and Erica Dunton, is a television thriller series adapted from the novel of the same name by E. Lockhart. It quickly became one of the biggest hit series of the summer. Despite its bright colors, beautifully cinematic beach landscape, and theme of fairytales, the series has a dark twist leading to a tragic ending, and, for viewers that have not read the book, it can be jarring. The series covers themes of wealth and greed, classism and racism, tumultuous family dynamics, trauma, and courage.
Although the series takes a sharp turn in its narrative, there are several moments that gesture toward the devastating We Were Liars ending. Several storylines are woven together, spoken cues are delivered, and visuals can be identified that lead to this one story’s ultimate ending. Upon a second viewing, the result of this story actually seems entirely inevitable. The intricacies scattered across the narrative’s plotline play a critical role in strategically foreshadowing the fate of the characters. Many moments, including monologues and dialogues amongst the liars and the rest of the Sinclair family, glimpses into bits and pieces of memory, and subtle details culminate resulting in catastrophe.
Getaway Driver
From the first episode, it is made clear that Gat does not drive the boat. Despite Cadence’s pleas for him to try, he pushes back and justifies his answer by telling her he does not have the money to fix it if he were to crash. However, it seems more likely that he simply knows Harris would disapprove of it. In the fifth episode, Gat and Johnny take the boat out to save William who has been shipwrecked with his canoe during a storm. The propeller gets caught and Johnny jumps from the boat, swimming to William. Gat ends up jumping in after them and saving them both, but he still never drives the boat.
Gat was supposed to be the getaway driver when the liars burned down Old Clairmont. Cadence delegates this role to him and, although he hesitates at first, he decides he wants to help. However, he never ends up driving the boat as he runs back into the burning mansion to find the other liars. During summer seventeen, Cadence leaves the island and invites Gat along, asking him once again to drive the boat, to which he replies the answer will always be “no.” He says this playfully but it rings differently once the entire story is known.
Tragically Ever After
There are several visuals the audience can see through Cadence’s fragments of memory. She remembers being in the water, and the liars signature cannonball holds a strong consistency throughout the story. The audience can also see the words “never surrender to the devil you know best” written on Cadence’s hands. Later, in the seventh episode, it is revealed that Gat wrote this on her hands not long before they construct their plan. Another key visual is Cadence holding black pearls in her hand.
In fairytales, black pearls are often representative of sorrow hidden behind the crowns of royalty. We Were Liars references fairytales quite often, which makes the black pearls a perfect symbol of the story itself. The Sinclairs’ lifestyle is described only through fairytale descriptives, masking the sorrow that looms over the entire family. The black pearls also reflect the cinematic style of the series. It begins with bright colors and beauty and descends into a dark tragedy, shocking its viewers.
Throughout the series, the black pearls remain prominent. They are first mentioned verbally during the second episode, when Tipper announces them as a prize for which Penny, Carrie, and Bess will compete. After Tipper’s death, Penny tells Cadence that Harris wants Tipper to wear them as she is buried. However, Penny later accidentally reveals to Carrie that she is wearing the pearls during the funeral, and word spreads to Bess almost instantly, causing an explosive argument between the sisters over inheritance. In the context of the series, the black pearls are a powerful symbol of greed and power, which run rampant among the Sinclairs and cause a great deal of the conflict that occurs.
After the liars set Old Clairmont ablaze, Cadence, upon exiting the house, is compelled to run back specifically for the black pearls. Despite her claiming to never have cared about these materialistic items that meant so much to the Sinclair mothers, she feels she must risk everything for them in a moment that changes her life forever.
Unroyal Treatment
Ed and Gat are treated differently from the Sinclair bloodline, which says a lot about their family and ultimately results in disastrous consequences. During summer eight, Gat is brought to Beechwood Island for the first time after his father passes away. It can be noted that the adults are silently judging him upon his arrival. This is revealed in the first episode, as well as Harris’s relationship with Ed. During summer sixteen, the Sinclairs notice a large party boat on the water and Harris complains that it obstructs the view from the property. He orders Ed to do something about it, despite this not being Ed’s job or anything close to it.
This disrespectful and condescending attitude spans across the Sinclair family, as Brody, in the second episode, tells Ed he can help him invest his funds as we works in this field, but later rescinds the offer when he feels Ed does not have enough money to keep his interest. During this same episode, Ed asks Harris for Carrie’s hand in marriage and Harris repeatedly gives him a hard time throughout the conversation. Further, he plays fetch with the dogs while talking to him and tells Ed that it is important not to let a dog “forget its place” and “think it’s human.” This is clearly a slight at Ed and the color of his skin, insinuating that they are not equal as people.
Gat is also disrespected in this way, which becomes especially obvious when Harris catches him and Cadence in a romantic moment which they play off as looking at books together. Harris hands Gat a copy of Wuthering Heights, telling him to “watch himself” or he will get hurt, referencing the beam of the ceiling directly above him but clearly insinuating something else. He also refers to Gat as “young man” which is brought up by the liars later when they tell Harris it is wrong that he never calls Ed or Gat by name.
This conversation of disrespect is brought up again when Johnny suggests pulling a prank and Gat points out the consequences, telling him that they will get the staff in trouble with their stunts as they have previously. This causes an argument between them and continues to cause tension that ultimately erupts. The topic is brought up again when Cadence confronts Gat after finding out he was cheating on his girlfriend with her. He tells Cadence that he has always had feelings for her but she never noticed and they simply do not share the same values, prompting Cadence to educate herself and try to become a better person.
During the following episode, an attendee of Tipper’s funeral mistakes Ed for a butler and after Gat compliments Harris on his eulogy, asking if he can help with anything at the funeral, Harris tells him to let the dogs out and clean up after them. The liars eventually begin to see this behavior which causes ripples amongst the family. This is a big source of tension in the story that plays a large part in the liars’ decision to burn down Old Clairmont, along with other family tension such as Johnny’s incident of beating up a tennis rival in the cold, prompting Harris to use it as bait for Carrie where he will only allow her to stay in his good graces and where he will take care of Johnny’s situation financially under the condition she does not marry Ed.
Foreboding Monologues
Cadence’s monologues narrate bits and pieces of the story. These monologues are spoken in fairytale format but have dark undertones as the narrative progresses. There are two in particular that foreshadow the tragic ending of the series. Tipper dies at the end of the second episode. During this scene, Cadence narrates over the chaos of the family panicking and calling for help. She says, “some stories have no hero at all. Sometimes all the king’s horses and all the king’s men never do put the broken pieces together again. Sometimes the castle crumbles.” Knowing the ending of the story, this narration definitely hits harder hearing it a second time.
Toward the beginning of the following episode, Cadence delivers another monologue on Tipper, referring to her as a “fairy queen.” She tells a fairytale with Tipper at the center of the narrative. However, the warmth of the story is shattered when she punctuates the narration with the fact that she was merely a mortal, and “mortals die.” Although she is referencing Tipper in this moment, it, again, upon a second watch, becomes apparent that this is a foreshadow of what is to come, as the other liars are mere mortals as well.
Touching Grass
During the second episode in summer seventeen, Cadence tells the liars that screens worsen her migraines and that is why her parents took her phone from her. While there is technically truth to this statement, it seems at first that the blue light from screens would worsen a migraine and that any typical parent would recommend their child be out in nature to heal their mind instead. However, this is not the real reason why Cadence cannot have access to screens.
This is explored further in the sixth episode when Cadence takes the boat to go to the bookstore in search for answers to her questions on the internet. Gat joins her for moral support on this excursion. While in the bookstore, Cadence searches her name on her computer. She appears shocked and then immediately falls into an episode, losing her balance in her chair but being caught by Gat. He then suggests taking a break and they go for ice cream together.
While getting ice cream with Cadence, Gat mentions that this is basically their first date. Later in their conversation, Cadence talks about Penny potentially being right about her losing her mind. Gat assures her that she just needs time to heal but he will be with her while she does. Cadence replies that Gat will be missed by his family if he stays with her. However, he says that his mother is “highly adaptable,” changing the subject to her visit in summer sixteen. This is an odd response but upon reviewing after knowing Gat’s fate, it is clear that it does not matter how long Gat stays with Cadence, as his family will miss him no matter what.
After reminiscing on Gat’s mother visiting in summer sixteen, Gat begins to show signs of guilt. Cadence believes it is because he is romantically invested in her and as she now remembers, Harris disapproved of this. However, he is really referencing the role he played in what happened at the end of summer sixteen as well as the fact that he is entertaining Cadence’s delusions from her amnesia, making her believe that they can actually be together.
This is when the audience finds out that the date after the bookstore was entirely a figment of Cadence’s imagination. Gat explains to her that she had an episode at the bookstore and he did not know how to help so the people at the store called Penny to pick her up. Cadence then recalls the scholarship that Harris offered Gat as a way to keep him away from Beechwood Island. Gat tells her he never made it to the interview, as they were “supposed to leave the next night but something happened.”
This scene gives a lot of information while only giving a little. The date is clearly a mix of Cadence’s brain making up ideas to protect her from trauma, as well as the late Gat who is also trying to protect Cadence from the past. The real reason Cadence cannot have access to screens is because there is too much easily accessible information that reveals what happened to the liars. Cadence searches herself online and finds the news stories of what happened in summer sixteen. It is too much for her brain, causing an episode, as has happened several times in the past.
Sinclair Behavior
Summer seventeen obviously displays a bold contrast to summer sixteen. The Sinclair family demonstrates many of these differences in their behavior throughout the series and hint at what happened to the liars. Cadence arrives at Beechwood Island at the start of the second episode. She is immediately unsettled by seeing New Clairmont, as she remarks that it is nothing like it used to be. Penny and Carrie react to this, knowing that Old Clairmont burned down but also knowing that Cadence has forgotten that completely. Later in the episode, Penny interrupts Cadence’s first conversation with the liars. She ignores Johnny, Mirren, and Gat entirely. Knowing the story’s ending, it is apparent that she does not see the liars in summer seventeen, only Cadence does.
The third episode begins with Cadence confronting Harris in summer seventeen. This interaction turns sour when she presses him for answers regarding Tipper’s funeral. They begin to argue and Cadence then yells at Harris for not letting any of the family say goodbye to Old Clairmont. Harris becomes very angry at this before Bess intervenes and reminds him that Cadence has amnesia.
Cadence discovers the incriminating video of Johnny on his phone in the fourth episode, during summer seventeen. When Carrie catches her with the phone, she takes it and becomes very distressed looking at the video. She sobs heavily and Johnny tries to tell her not to watch the video but she does not even acknowledge him being there. Similarly, in the sixth episode, Penny tells Cadence to stop hanging around Cuddledown and spend time with the family but does not mention the liars, who have been squatting there in summer seventeen and made this known to Cadence earlier in the series.
During the same episode but in summer sixteen, Ed and Gat have a conversation that tees up a heartbreaking monologue from Ed. Gat asks if he thinks it’s too late for the liars to grow up differently than the rest of the Sinclairs. Ed replies with, “it feels like you’ve lived your entire life, but you’re only sixteen. The four of you are gonna do great things, and stupid things, and then greater things. You aren’t even an ounce of the person you’re gonna grow into, any of you.” He goes on to say that he has all the time in the world. This is especially gut-wrenching to listen to once it is known that Gat and the liars perish in a fire that same night.
In the seventh episode, Cadence and Mirren sunbathe on a towel together before Bonnie approaches them. Mirren annoyedly tells her that she is blocking the sun. She does not acknowledge this but instead looks at Cadence and says “you’re turning red.” She then asks Cadence to tell her a ghost story to which she replies “I’m fresh out. Ask Mirren.” Bonnie replies, “hilarious.” Mirren then tells Cadence that she already tried telling Bonnie a story but was too tired and could not put one together. However, the truth is that Bonnie cannot see or hear Mirren at all because she is not alive, which is why she replied the way she did. This scene turns sickly when it is found out that Cadence is talking about this young girl’s dead older sister like she is sitting there with them, because, in a way, she is.
Throughout all of summer seventeen, the dogs are never present. Instead, Harris is struggling with his own memory issues, and the rest of the Sinclairs are battling with the grief of losing the three liars and helping Cadence through her trauma. The dogs are always around during the previous summers, and this is a sign that they also fell victim to the fire in summer sixteen.
Liars’ Paradise
Johnny, Mirren, and Gat themselves provide several vocal and visual cues that hint at their fate during the series. From the very beginning in summer eight during the first episode, the liars run into the house and Johnny holds the door open for the dogs, signifying their importance in the family. The liars in summer seventeen also reveal a lot about the story. Cadence has her first interaction with them during the second episode. Mirren compliments Cadence’s hair, recognizing that she darkened and cut it. Cadence returns the compliment, noticing that Mirren’s hair was shorter as well, to which Mirren replies, “thank you. It’s symbolic.” In the seventh episode, it is revealed that Mirren cut her hair with Tipper’s forbidden scissors in summer sixteen not long before they decided to set fire to Old Clairmont. She revealed her new look to the liars who express that they love it, to which she also replies, “thank you. It’s symbolic.”
The liars are skipping meals with the family during summer seventeen, which quickly becomes apparent in the second episode. They tell Cadence this is because they refuse to spend time around New Clairmont. In this same conversation, Cadence points out that none of the liars called her or reached out all year long since the incident. They all react to this, but while Johnny and Mirren come up with outrageous lies as to why they never called, Gat actually doesn’t say anything and just appears guilty. The liars then tell Cadence that she is better off not knowing what happened. She asks them why she ended up in the water alone and they tell her none of them were there. Gat replies, “none of us know why you were in the water” and his inflection saying this hints that they know everything that happened up until that point.
Later on in the same episode Gat and Cadence argue about summer sixteen. Gat says that he isn’t allowed to talk about it and that the night affected him as well, which is primarily why he can’t say anything to her. This angers her more and he tells her that nothing else matters besides her fond memories from the beginning of summer sixteen. The liars repeatedly tell her that she is better off not knowing and that all that matters are her happy memories of them together, which frustrates Cadence but they really just want to spend as much time with her as they can and don’t want to see her in agony.
During the third episode in summer seventeen, the liars sit out on rafts in the water. Mirren applies sunscreen and tries passing the bottle to Johnny who refuses. Cadence says, “aren’t you afraid you’re gonna burn?” He refuses again and goes on to ask for baby oil. Cadence tells him that his skin will bubble to which he replies, “I’m surprisingly resilient.” This moment is chilling knowing that Johnny literally did burn already.
In the fourth episode Mirren appears to be teaching the littles how to braid but they never acknowledge her because she is not really there with them. She later tells Cadence that the littles always asked to teach them but she never gave them the time of day. Later in the fourth episode, Cadence presses Gat for answers about the Fourth of July party in summer sixteen, but he once again offers the notion that her brain is trying to protect her and that he is too. Cadence responds with her same qualm that he never reached out to her throughout the year.
At the end of the fourth episode, Cadence searches Johnny’s room and finds his phone unattended in a drawer. Johnny is a sixteen year old boy and it is highly unrealistic that he would leave his phone in a drawer voluntarily for any reason. However, knowing that he is no longer alive, him not having access to his phone makes sense within the rules of the We Were Liars universe. After Carrie catches Cadence watching an incriminating video of Johnny on his phone, she asks why she has that and begins sobbing uncontrollably. Johnny angrily confronts Cadence after this and says his mother is crying so hard she won’t even yell at him. He also says he’s “sick of the victim card” in this same argument, referencing the fact that he and the other liars are the victims, having died in the fire, while Cadence is still alive.
After Cadence has an episode during her argument with Johnny, she comes to and asks him what she missed while she was “out of it.” He tells her that “Mirren’s art has been considered for a gallery.” He does not say that she submitted it herself, because she didn’t. It is later revealed that Bess submitted it, the painting that Mirren saved from the fire. Johnny also tells her that the liars jumped “sunset bluffs” which, naturally, makes her want to do it as well. The liars argue with her and tell her that she shouldn’t with her brain injury, but she is insistent. There is no real danger for the other liars in jumping, whereas Cadence could sustain injuries. While at sunset bluffs, Cadence asks Mirren about Ebon and why he no longer drives the water taxi. Mirren claims to be seeing someone new but then says thinking about it is making her queasy. Cadence notes that Mirren becomes nauseous when she has a secret, hinting that she is lying. These events all take place during the fifth episode.
In the seventh episode, Cadence and Mirren lay on the beach together and Mirren tells her that she heard her and Gat at Cuddledown together. She then tells Cadence that she should leave him alone, just as she and Johnny did at the beginning of summer sixteen, but she is much more somber this time. She goes on to say that she doesn’t want to see either of them get hurt. Cadence tells Mirren that Gat is her only escape from her new reality of pill popping and migraines, to which Mirren responds that she can’t feel badly for her, as she has money and doctors and education. She says, “it’s not like you’re dying of cancer or anything so, everything’s possible for you.” Knowing that Mirren is no longer alive and does not hold these same resources changes the tone of this conversation from the viewer’s perspective.
Trigger Trauma Scrabble
As Cadence comes close to piecing together the night of the incident, the liars worry about what will happen next. They decide to be with Cadence while she taps into her memories and she convinces them to engage in a game of Scrabble to help her remember the night, as her brain does better handling memories if she is distracted from the pain. The liars traditionally play “dirty word Scrabble,” but for this game, they create words that trigger Cadence’s memories of the incident.
Gat begins by making the word, “cheers,” triggering a memory of Cadence and Gat in the kitchen of Old Clairmont making Molotov cocktails before saying to each other, “see you in a better world.” This is the last time the two saw each other alive. Johnny then makes the word, “irony,” which triggers a flashback to him mentioning to Gat how it is ironic that the newspaper which started the Sinclair empire is what will be used to burn it down. Mirren makes the word, “revenge,” leading to a flashback where Mirren pours gasoline all over the guest bedroom where her mother slept. Cadence creates the word, “believe,” triggering how she felt that night. She says she felt powerful and like a revolutionary while pouring gasoline all over the downstairs area of Old Clairmont. Gat then makes the word “twelve,” triggering Cadence’s memory of the dogs being locked inside the house and her being unable to save them.
Once Cadence remembers the dogs dying in the fire, she narrates and says, “revolution is bloody, and too often, it’s the innocent who fall.” She then finds Harris and apologizes to him before suggesting that she and the other liars, including Gat, join Harris for dinner. He seems bothered by this and ignores it, changing the subject to Cadence’s approaching eighteenth birthday. He gifts her Tipper’s black pearls which trigger her final memory of the liars dying in the fire that night and being blown into the water by the explosion of Old Clairmont.
Although We Were Liars holds fairytale elements throughout the series, its dark undertones that lurk throughout the plotline hint at what the story truly is, not a fairytale, but a tragedy. There is no true hero, and no real happy ending. Three children with potential and bright futures had their lives taken viciously, leaving their regretful family behind to mourn and Cadence carrying a heavy, bleeding feeling of grief, remorse, and guilt for the rest of her life. The contrast of the fairytale themes in We Were Liars to its troubling subliminal messages throughout the series foreshadow the story’s end and give the audience a lot to consider upon rewatching.
