Warning: This article includes MAJOR SPOILERS for We Were Liars season 1!
Prime Video’sWe Were Liarsweaves together a compelling mystery with an ending that reveals what truly happened the night of Cadence’s accident.Based on the book by E. Lockhart,We Were Liarstells the story of a wealthy teen girl named Cadence (Cady for short) who comes back to her family’s island, Beechwood, the summer after she has an accident. Because of her traumatic brain injury, she cannot remember anything from that night.
Pretty much every member of the Sinclair family is a suspect in thecast ofWe Were Liars, going to great lengths to hide their secrets. It doesn’t help that Cady’s mom won’t let anyone tell her the truth, claiming it will cause Cadence to go through an “episode.” With the help of Johnny, Mirren, and Gat – the group of teens dubbed “the Liars” – she pieces together the truth about what really happened, leading to a shocking revelation about her family and the other Liars.
What Really Happened The Night Of Cadence’s Accident (& Why The Liars Died)
The Liars Died In A House Fire That They Caused
Cadence spends the entirety of We Were Liars season 1 trying to piece together the night of her accident, and she finally remembers in episode 8. The big twist at the end ofWe Were Liarsis thatMirren, Gat, and Johnny are all dead, appearing to Cady as ghosts. The night of Cadence’s accident, the Liars are left alone on Beechwood Island.
They all came to the conclusion that the older generation of Sinclairs was metaphorically burning down the family system, and they decided to turn that into a reality. They divide and conquer, using fuel from the boathouse and the Boston Sentinal papers as kindling to light fires. Unfortunately,they didn’t have any idea how fast and hot the fires would burn.
The Liars didn’t cause the tumultuous environment, but they were the ones who had to pay the price for change.
Johnny and Mirren both got caught in the house because there was too much smoke and fire to get out. Cady set the fire and then went to get her grandmother’s black pearls. When she didn’t come out immediately, Gat ran into the house to save her. Unfortunately, Cadence was the only one who escaped the flames.
This gives a very literal example of the phrase, “Revolution is bloody, and too often it’s the innocent who fall.” The Liars didn’t cause the tumultuous environment, but they were the ones who had to pay the price for change. Moreover,the only person who survives the fire, Cadence, is the only guilty partywho falls for the allure of wealth and status.
How Cadence Ended Up In The Water
The Fire Caused An Explosion That Blasted Her Into The Water
At the start ofWe Were Liars, Cady is found unconscious in the water, wearing just her bra and underwear and holding a strand of black pearls. Because of her post-traumatic amnesia, she cannot remember the incident, and nobody will tell her the truth. By the end of the season, it is revealed that she was thrown into the water by the force of the fire explosion.
She’d already run out to the edge of the beach because the bottom of her dress was on fire, so the explosion didn’t throw her very far. However, it was strong enough to blow off her wrap dress as make her hit her head on the rocks. During the explosion, she kept a tight grasp on Tipper’s black pearls, which she had taken because they were a status symbol that everyone in her family wanted.
Ultimately, the black pearls were symbolic of the fact thatholding onto the Sinclair family would destroy everything and everyone Cady loves. If she hadn’t gotten caught up in the vanity and prestige of her Tipper’s pearls, she wouldn’t have lost Gat, the boy she loved more than anything.
Why Cadence Rejected The Sinclair Name
Cadence Wouldn’t Comply With Her Family’s Desire For Perfection
At the end ofWe Were Liarsseason 1, Harris basically threatened Cadence. He would protect her and cover up the fire if she fell in line with the Sinclair family. Alternatively, he would blame her for manslaughter, animal cruelty, and destruction of property if she rejects the Sinclair name. With such a massive threat, one would expect Cady to take the easy way out. Instead, she refuses to speak to the reporter about how great of a person Harris is.
This proves that Gat’s influence on Cadence wasn’t fleeting. Instead, he was the spark that led her to introspect and grow as a person. The signs were there when she was reading about social justice and standing up to her grandfather about racist language. However, her walking away from the family and rejecting the Sinclair name really defines her character path. Unfortunately, it could also have long-term impacts on Cadence’s story, if her grandfather follows through on his threat.
We Were Liarsseason 2 has not been confirmed and will likely be contingent on the first season finding success.
The Real Reason Carrie Broke Up With Ed
Harris Manipulated Carrie Into Leaving Ed
One of the saddest aspects ofWe Were Liarsseason 1 is the fact that Carrie breaks up with Ed when he tries to propose to her. The pair are clearly deeply in love with one another Eventually, the show reveals that Carrie traded money for love. When Carrie asks for Harris’ help handling the Johnny situation, he gives her an ultimatum. He will pay everyone off if she breaks things off with Ed.
Although he boasts that he’s a Democrat,Harris is virulently racist, using his political label as a shield from any kind of real accountability or self-reflection. Harris doesn’t want “impurities” in their Aryan bloodline, which is a disgustingly horrific thing to have to write. It’s the reason why he gets so upset about the idea of Carrie and Ed having kids, the motivation for giving Gat a scholarship, and the explanation for his vitriolic reaction to Cadence’s hair dye.
At the end ofWe Were Liarsseason 1, Ed comes back to Beechwood Island. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Harris’ perspective has changed. More likely, Carrie might have changed her mind about Ed after the loss of Johnny. This would force Harris to, once again, tolerate him.
What Secret Is Johnny Hiding In We Were Liars
Johnny Nearly Killed A Kid
Johnny is the first suspect thatWe Were Liarsseason 1 introduces, and he is acting undeniably sketchy. However, his secret ends up being unrelated to Cadence’s accident. Because of a tennis rivalry, he decided to prank the other school. He and his teammates flooded the indoor gym and left the doors open so that it would freeze. Alone, that would have been a relatively harmless prank. However, one of the teammates caught him. Johnny decided the best way to handle the situation was the beat him almost to death and leave him in the cold to freeze.
The Significance Of Mirren’s Haircut & Cadence’s Hair Dye
Their Hair Changes Symbolized Them Breaking Away From The Family
Hair is a significant symbol withinWe Were Liars, with all the members of the Sinclair family having blond hair and conventional haircuts. Both Mirren and Cadence get comments on their hair from their parents and grandparents in Summer 15, while the boys in the family aren’t held to the same standards. As women in the Sinclair family, their perfectly styled blond hair is a status symbol.
Consequently, Merrin hacking her hair off with her grandmother’s scissors is not just rebellion but an act of defiance. She doesn’t want to conform to her family’s demands for perfection. Similarly, Cadence dying her hair black isn’t about being different. It’s a physical sign of her subconscious grief about losing the Liars and her very conscious anger at everything her family represents. She doesn’t want to bury everything deep down, preferring to face her trauma head first.
How Prime Video’s We Were Liars Sets Up Season 2
We Were Liars Season 1 Left Questions Unanswered
AlthoughWe Were Liarswraps up the story’s central mystery, it does leave questions open-ended, setting up a possible season 2. Early in season 1, the Sinclairs discuss Rosemary, the daughter who died at 11 years old. They never actually explain what happened. Additionally, Bess mentions to Carrie that she thought losing Mirren and Johnny could be punishment for “what we did the summer I was 16.” However, she mentions that Penny wouldn’t have been spared. Both of these mysteries are explored in the second book, Family of Liars, which could be the focus ofWe Were Liarsseason 2.
Family of Liars(2022)
We Fell Apart(2025)
On top of that, the end ofWe Were Liarsseason 1 reveals that the Liars weren’t just Cadence’s hallucinations but ghosts. It’s unclear whether Mirren and Gat’s ghosts moved on, but the final moment of the show reveals that Johnny didn’t move on – a twist thatWe Were Liarsreviewsthought was unnecessary. He confronts his mom when she takes a Percocet pill. Despite the criticism from critics, this twist could be a good thing. Johnny’s lingering and haunting Carrie could be explored further inWe Were Liarsseason 2. Finally, the second season could show Cady going up against Harris as he follows through on his promise to ruin her.
