Abhiroop Das
In episodes 5 and 6 of ‘We Were Liars,‘ titled ‘Lying Together in a Silver Lining’ and ‘When Lies Give You Lemons,’ the Sinclairs face an array of new challenges. As the tension between the characters continues to simmer, both the island and Harris plan to test the strength of the family’s bonds. Meanwhile, in Summer 17, Cadence’s journey of retracing her steps takes a bolder turn, showing how far she is willing to uncover the truth. This follows the events of the fourth episode, in which the family gradually starts to fall apart, culminating in Carrie’s rejection of Ed’s marriage proposal to stay in her father’s good graces. Meanwhile, in Summer 17, Cadence realizes that Johnny is hiding something from her. This ending reveals multiple frays in the family, which serve as a springboard for the next episode. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Cadence and Johnny Navigate Through Complicated Family Dynamics
Episode 5 begins in Summer 17, with Cadence tossing and turning on her bed in distress, narrating a fairy tale like her grandmother would. The narration transitions into a dream, with the protagonist swimming in jet-black waters, telling the story of a wicked, cruel prince, which stops abruptly as Johnny manifests and attempts to drown her. This sequence sets the stage for all the major themes and motifs of the episode, which puts its characters through a great many ordeals to come closer to the truth. Back in the real world of Summer 16, a storm approaches the island. Cadence meets Gat by the shore, who still feels sad about Ed having to break things off with Carrie and leaving the island. At the same time, Mirren finds Ebon near the lighthouse and invites him in.
Elsewhere, Johnny confronts Carrie, demanding the true reason why Ed is gone. After speculating that it might be because of their financial troubles, he suggests telling the truth to his grandfather and asking for help but is promptly shut down. Instead, Carrie asserts that his highest priority should be to get into the patriarch’s good books, which could earn them a significant portion of his will and provide them with financial security. The next time the family gathers together to eat, everyone attempts to impress Harris, while their family lawyer brings up the idea of selling Beechwood Island. As the conversation shifts to an ivory statue that Tipper loved, the sisters begin to bicker, using their mother’s love as an instrument to gauge their worthiness.
Having evolved through her conversations with Gat, Cadence shows more sensitivity towards her attendants by thanking them. However, it is quickly contrasted by Harris’s words and bearing. As the conversation about the statue continues, he casually refers to the seller as a Chinese girl or an oriental who only cares about money. This alarms Cadence, who quickly points out that he should not use the term and suggests auctioning the statue and using that money for a good cause. This irks Harris, who mocks her for being so eager to be upset. He is backed by Johnny, who mocks her words by calling them the result of an outrage epidemic amongst the youth. Later, Cadence confronts him for not backing her up; before he can explain his reasons, however, he and Gat are asked to ensure that all the boats are docked in.
Bess and Mirren’s Different Trajectories Collide
The story continues with Bess requesting her father to save her and her husband from their IRS troubles, only to receive Harris’s disappointment and Penny using it to her advantage. A frustrated Bess decides to go on the offensive, and upon listening to her father express his reservations about Cadence, adds fuel to the fire by referencing the teenager’s growing intimacy with Gat. Meanwhile, Mirren introduces Ebon to her makeshift studio inside the lighthouse, where she stores a series of oil paintings, all marked by their sense of realism in capturing the island. Here, she vents about how her mother demands perfection from her in every aspect and how it has taken a toll on her over time. In a fit of frustration, she smudges her own work, only to find the smudges take a life of their own, revealing a new, artistic quality to her work.
While Mirren finds new inspiration with her heart and gets intimate with Ebon, Carrie hits her lowest point yet, with the loss of her mother and partner in quick succession. She rejoins her support group, where the audience learns that she is a former addict. However, her hopes to find stability are cut short when the storm finally hits the island. While putting the boats back, Gat brings up Johnny’s behavior, who finally snaps and announces that their proximity is the only reason they are friends in the first place, with their present selves lying too far apart. Before Gat can react to that, however, the two realize that one boat is missing, and William, who earlier wanted to head out into the waters, is likely on it. Chaos ensues as the two head into torrential waters by themselves.
The Sinclair Family is Thrown Into Panic
Back on the island, the family is still unaware of the trouble Will, Johnny and Gat are in. Cadence is perplexed when her mother rebukes her for the way she talks to Harris and disapproves of her budding relationship with Gat, citing the importance of discretion in the lives of Sinclair women. Cadence retaliates by revealing the truth about Bess’s infidelity, which only serves as ammunition for Penne, as she threatens her sister with this information. Upon finding Mirren with Ebon, Penne wrings out all of her anger at her, expressing that she is burdened by the responsibilities of being a mother and seeks to escape. The fight between mother and daughter ends on a dramatic note, with Bess aggressively destroying many of Mirren’s paintings, leaving her daughter in tears.
Back in the sea, the boys manage to find Will but are unable to reach him due to a malfunction. Without hesitation, Johnny dives into the water and reaches his brother, giving him a life jacket. On his way back, however, Johnny tires out and starts to drown. Gat dives in, saving both of their lives, with the group eventually being located by Ed, who brings all of them home safely. After a tearful reunion, Harris praises Johnny for the daring rescue, but Johnny instead gives the credit back to Gat and Ed. Back in Summer 17, Johnny refuses to tell Cadence what his big mistake was, but it is revealed in his conversation with Gat during their heartfelt reunion. He had participated in a revenge plan against the opposing tennis team, which quickly went south and ended with him brutally beating one of them. Carrie paid off everyone involved in the fight, but one of them still had a video they used as blackmail.
The aftermath of the storm includes a series of reconciliations. Johnny and Gat have a heart-to-heart, where the former finally acknowledges his privilege. Back in Summer 17, Cadence, annoyed that the liars jumped from Sunset Bluff without her, decides to jump on her own. While she is rescued, Gat is angry about her recklessness, particularly when he hears of her true reasons for jumping, triggering the memories of the fateful night last year. The two begin arguing, with Gat hesitating to tell her the truth and Cadence expressing her uncertainty about the nature of their relationship. He desperately tries to reassure her as the scene cuts to Summer 16, where a relieved Cadence reunites with Gat, and the two grow intimate. The scene is also juxtaposed with Summer 17, with their passion converging across time.
Cadence and Gat’s Relationship Faces Many Hurdles
Following a romantic experience with Cadence, it’s Gat’s turn to narrate a fairy tale, this time of a mouse who finds companionship in royalty and falls in love with the prince. This leads to Cadence’s favorite day of the summer, the Annual Sinclair Family Lemon Hunt. In a flashback to the liars’ childhood, Tipper introduces the game – a modified easter egg hunt – where two hundred lemons and one lime are hidden all across the island, and those in possession of the most lemons are given a special reward and those who manage to find the lime gifted, typically, fudge. However, the rules for Summer 16 have slightly changed. Following Tipper’s death, the rules for safety are discarded, and Harris announces that the prize for the largest lemon collection is the Boston house, whereas finding the lime will make one the sole owner of Beechbrook Island.
In Summer 17, Cadence, now aware of her romantic escapades with Gat, believes that she was caught by her grandfather, who injures her and sends him away. Penne, who is still furious because of her daughter’s stunt by the cliff, refuses to entertain these theories and grounds her daughter instead. When pressed further about the truth, she finally bursts into tears, exclaiming that she has told Cadence what happened that night numerous times and that each time, the trauma triggers an episode, which then erases her memory of the knowledge as a coping mechanism. Cadence refuses to believe her and instead sets out for the nearby town of Edgartown with Gat, hoping to find her answers online.
Back in Summer 16, Gat meets Harris to apologize for his conduct, but is surprised when the patriarch asks him about his career plans. Gat seeks to be a journalist, working as an international correspondent to give voice to the downtrodden. Harris shows his appreciation before revealing their new guest, Gat’s mother, Maya. As the duo heads onto the lawn, they are met with a dazzling display of luxury and exuberance in the form of the lemon hunt festivities. In Summer 17, Cadence finds a search engine and starts searching but is hit by a migraine episode. Gat comes to her rescue, bringing her back to her senses and deciding to take her out on a date instead.
A Celebration of Childhood Wonder Morphs Into Something Crueler
The Lemon Hunt begins with tension between family members as they race against each other to reach the top. Each character displays different tactics; while Johnny chooses to bargain with his younger siblings, Bess decides to follow her elder sister and steal her spoils. When the three sisters find themselves at the same spot, they begin bickering, which quickly turns into a splurge of hateful comments, with all of them attacking the others’ facades. They eventually come to a halt, realizing how they have strayed from the fun origins of this game before Carrie bursts into tears, unable to cope with the onslaught of problems in her life. Meanwhile, Gat happens to see Harris’s chambers through the window and discovers that the lime is hidden in a locked drawer, with its key discreetly hidden behind a photo frame.
Much like the sisters, the liars also engage in petty fights, hurling insults at each other over a single lemon. They are stopped by Gat, who reveals that he has retrieved the lime but can’t claim it, as only members of the Sinclair family can win. He points out Harris’s plan to use this innocent game to breed toxicity and distrust among the family members, as he derives pleasure from control, as indicated by his hiding the lime in an unretrievable place. Coming to their senses, the liars realize that they cherish their friendship over wealth and property, coming up with an ingenious plan to rebel. When the hunt ends, they all come carrying empty baskets, having given all of their lemons to Gat. Coupled with the lime, it makes him the undisputed winner. Realizing that he has been outplayed, Harris declares the game and its rewards void.
However, the patriarch suggests that he has a more valuable present: a recommendation for enrolling in the Tipper Scholarship, which enables ambitious students to pursue higher education and devote their services to refugee camps. Harris informs Gat of an upcoming interview in New York, urging him to take his shot. Now in a dilemma, Gat resigns to his room but is ultimately convinced by Cadence, as this scholarship will enable him to carve out his future. He informs her that the course ends with an internship, rendering him unable to come to the island next summer. The two ultimately come to terms with this, and Gat prepares to leave. While everyone says their goodbyes, Penne compliments her father’s clever plan to have him out of their lives, to which he responds harshly, stating that he refuses to let Cadence repeat her mother’s mistakes.
Gat is Forced to Choose Between His Present and Future
In Summer 17, Gat and Cadence sit down to chat after spending a joyous day together. He recounts reading Wuthering Heights and compares himself to its protagonist, another dark-skinned man treated as an outcast by a wealthy family. Cadence reassures him of his importance by confessing her love before having another episode, from which she wakes up at home, more unsure than ever about her mental state. In Summer 16, Gat is now off the island and realizes that the scholarship and the invite to his mother were all ploys against him. Here, he meets Ed, and the two have a conversation; united in being Sinclair rejects, Gat asks if his uncle regrets his relationship with Carrie, to which he responds that his only regret is his egotistical wish to raise a Sinclair.
Urged by his uncle to live freely and use his youth to make mistakes and learn from them, Gat decides to return to the Island and fight for his love. Rushing to board the boat back to Beechwood with renewed motivation, he is stopped by The Police, who say that the island is now off-limits. He is further alarmed when he sees an emergency chopper making its way there, along with a host of medical personnel, realizing something terrible has happened on the Island.
Read More: Why are the Group Called “Liars”, Explained
