E. Lockhart’s bestselling novel We Were Liars got the Hollywood treatment thanks to Prime Video — but the show didn’t stick to the source material.
The premiere episode, titled “Tell Me Sweet Little Lies,” introduced the Sinclair family’s Beechwood Island off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. Narrator Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind) acts as the show’s throughline for viewers, explaining who’s who and the promise of something sinister to come as she appears half-naked on the beach in an opening scene.
“Something terrible happened last summer and I have no memory of what or who hurt me,” Cadence says. “No one in my family will tell me, if they even speak to me at all. Maybe they’re afraid the truth will destroy me, or maybe it will destroy them first. When you’re left for dead, you want answers. I’m determined to get mine.”
The show truly begins with Cadence and her cousins Johnny (Joseph Zada) and Mirren (Esther McGregor) gearing up for a full family photo during Summer 16 and offers a major hint at the family dynamic. Basically, as the eldest boy and girl, Johnny and Cadence can do nothing wrong in the eyes of their grandparents Harris (David Morse) and Tipper (Wendy Crewson).
The Sinclair patriarch and matriarch built four houses on the island, each of which is inhabited by one of their three daughters and their respective families: Penny (Caitlin FitzGerald), who is Cadence’s mom, Bess (Candice King), who is Mirren’s mom and Carrie (Mamie Gummer), who is Johnny’s mom. Carrie also lives with her partner, Ed (Rahul Kohl), who brings his nephew Gat (Shubham Maheshwari) to the island each summer.
A flashback shows the moment Cadence and Gat first meet during Summer 8, planting the seed of their eventual love story. The scene also allows viewers to see how Cadence, Gat, Mirren and Johnny formed their crew: The Liars.
Back in Summer 16, there’s obvious tension forming between Cadence and Gat — especially after she notes that he’s “different” this year compared to others. Johnny, meanwhile, is hooking up with his tennis doubles partner and looking to party on what Carrie refers to as the “booze cruise” parked in the water just off the coast of Beechwood. (Both of which are changes from the book.)
While Johnny plans his big night out, Cadence invites Gat to watch a meteor shower with her on the beach. Johnny and Mirren, seemingly hinting at not wanting Cadence and Gat together, convince them to all hit up the party boat. After Johnny teases Cadence for putting on lipstick — and forces Gat to chime in — she goes back to Beechwood upset. Gat eventually swims back to shore, reveals his feelings for Cadence, and they kiss.
Throughout the episode, viewers also get an inside look at the lives of The Liars’ respective mothers — another major change from the novel. Penny is going through a divorce and making too many jokes about it, while Carrie seems to be fine — for now, at least. Bess, meanwhile, is spiraling because her husband still hasn’t arrived on the island. So, she cheats on him with Salty Dan (Tim Rozon), the boat repairman, and Mirren sees them having sex.
Interspersed between The Liars’ (and the adults’) respective outings, viewers also get flashes of the night Cadence was left on the beach, but no answers are offered just yet. However, it is revealed that whatever incident left Cadence stranded for dead occurs two months after the events from the We Were Liars premiere episode.
“For a long time, that night was the last thing I remembered from Summer 16. Gat and me, caught in the idyll of our own perfect fairy tale on Beechwood Island, where summers were sandcastles and lemonade,” Cadence says. “No one was a criminal, no one was an addict, no one was needy and no one was a failure. We were happy, we wanted for nothing. But it’s important to remember, we were liars.”
All episodes of We Were Liars season 1 are streaming now via Prime Video.
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