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Unpacking the crazy twist ending of ‘We Were Liars': What really happened?
We Were Liars dropped on Prime Video June 18, and while it features gorgeous beach houses, family drama and romantic tension à la The Summer I Turned Pretty, it's the jaw-dropping twist ending that is the buzziest thing about the series. As the Season 1 ending revealed, something horrible happened to 'Liars' Gat (Shubham Maheshwari), Mirren (Esther McGregor) and Johnny (Joseph Zada) — which is why Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind), the show's narrator, had to suppress it. (Warning: Obviously, major spoilers for We Were Liars follow!)
The ending won't come as a surprise to anyone who read E. Lockhart's novel of the same name, which follows the wealthy Sinclair family as they spend yet another summer on the fictional Beechwood Island. But even if you've read the novel, the story is still as heartbreaking as ever: What starts out as a summer of fun turns into the ultimate tragedy … with a supernatural twist.
When the series begins, Cadence, the eldest grandchild of the Sinclair family, is crushing on family friend Gat — a relationship that finally blooms during her 16th summer on Beechwood. She, Gat and her cousins Johnny and Mirren — nicknamed the 'Liars' by their family — initially enjoy weeks of summer fun. However, when Cadence's grandmother Tipper (Wendy Crewson) dies, things shift, and tensions over inheritance emerge between the parents and the powerful, wealthy grandfather Harris (David Morse).
The following year, which the show toggles back and forth between, reveals that something mysterious and terrible happened to the family in the final weeks of the previous summer. Cadence was in a some sort of accident at the end of her 16th summer that she can't remember, and none of the other Liars, nor her other family members, will tell her what happened. In fact, they didn't even visit her in the hospital — something they apologize for when she comes to spend the summer on Beechwood again.
Cadence is desperate to learn what happened to her, despite everyone warning her that she doesn't want to know. Even Cadence's own mind seems to be hiding the truth: Every time Cadence gets close to finding out what happened, she's hit with a migraine or worse, which is why her mother Penny (Caitlin FitzGerald) forbids her from seeking answers.
But as the summer progresses, memories surface, and Cadence starts to recall events from the previously forgotten summer. After a season of red herrings and wrong turns, Cadence's memories finally patch together, revealing what happened to her — and why.
Over the course of her 16th summer, Cadence saw her mother, Penny, as well as her aunts Bess (Candice King) and Carrie (Mamie Gummer) fight for their father's affection — and, ultimately, money, as each woman had squandered their trust fund over the years and needed financial help.
Seeing how the women fought over the heirlooms Harris dangled over their heads, the Liars decided to do something to end the squabbling. Cadence, who spent the season checking her privilege after deepening her relationship with Gat, came up with a plan.
One night, while the Liars were alone on the island, they decided to burn down Harris's mansion, Clairmont. Their hope was that destroying Clairmont would force their mothers to see that family — not things —is what's most important. And since it was only the Liars on the island, they thought they could get away with arson without anyone getting hurt.
Cadence led the charge to burn down Clairmont. While the Liars had a plan, they didn't foresee the things that would keep them tied up in the house — like getting distracted by the very same objects that their mothers were fighting over. Cadence, for example, went back for her deceased grandmother's pearls — something she feels terribly guilty about and struggles to even explain.
While Cadence was able to get out of the house in time after the fire started, she didn't realize that the family's golden retrievers were stuck in the laundry room. Cadence desperately tried to get the dogs out, burning her hand in the process — but it was too late. Cadence ran out onto the beach towards the ocean. Then, an explosion: Clairmont's gas line caught fire, destroying the house in one boom. Tragically, Gat, Mirren and Johnny — as well as the dogs — were still inside.
In the season finale, Cadence realizes that Gat, Mirren and Johnny are dead. While she was having conversations with them over the summer, no one else in the family could see them, and via flashbacks, it's shown that they never truly interacted with anyone other than Cadence over the course of the summer.
Cadence gets to say goodbye to each of the Liars, who are regretful over the choice they made to destroy Clairmont — even as her grandfather used his power and privilege to ensure that she and the other Liars would never be blamed for the fire.
But while Cadence is sorry for the way she went about dismantling the toxic family structure, it's clear that burning down Clairmont achieve some of what the Liars hoped for: Their mothers are now on the same team again, and Cadence is able to stand up to her powerful grandfather for the first time ever.
The season finale initially leaves it open to interpretation if the Liars are ghosts or just figments of Cadence's mind until the last moments of the season, when Johnny appears in the kitchen with his mother, Carrie. Carrie, who isn't surprised to see Johnny, asks her son why he's still in the house, and Johnny admits that he's unable to leave — hinting that the Liars, or at the very least Johnny, are still haunting Beechwood Island.
We don't know yet if We Were Liars will be renewed. But if the source material is any indication, a Season 2 would likely follow Cadence's story in yet another direction: into the past.
Lockhart's 2022 novel, Family of Liars, is a prequel that explores the moms' backstory. Co-creator Julie Plec previously told Deadline that the Season 1 finale could 'set the stage for Season 2, which theoretically is going to take us deeper into the moms' lives as well and add another generation to the story.'
Season 1 already hinted at a well of secrets for the Sinclair women, including the fact that there was a fourth sister who died during their childhood. In the finale, Bess muses that what happened to Mirren and Johnny could be punishment for what happened all those years ago. It's entirely possible that this mystery will unfold next on We Were Liars — as the ghosts of the past, literal and figurative, come back to haunt Beechwood.
