Either you didn’t understand the ending of Prime Video‘s We Were Liars — the brand new mystery thriller series starring Emily Alyn Lind — or you’re too impatient to wait and find out what happened to Cadence Sinclair Eastman (Lind) during Summer 16. Whatever brings you here, we don’t judge, we only help to fill in the blanks!
**Spoiler warning: this article contains details pertaining to the entire first season of We Were Liars**
If you’re in the latter group and just cannot wait through eight roughly hour-long episodes to find out what caused Cadence’s amnesia and why the three other members of “The Liars” — the group made up of Cadence’s friend Gat (Shubahm Maheshwari) and her cousins Mirren (Esther McGregor) and Johnny (Joseph Zada) — refused to visit her in the hospital or tell her what happened last summer. We cannot blame you for wanting to know the tea on what happened and skip the middle parts along the way.
If you’re a member of the former group and just need help putting together the puzzle pieces of the finale, that is also understandable! The story may have been entertaining and thrilling from episode to episode, but it also took some rapid turns that could leave some scratching their heads. No matter the reason, we are here to help.
Keep reading to find out what happened to Cadence in We Were Liars and how she finally found out about the truth about Summer 16…
At the end of Episode 7, “Everyone Knows That the Captain Lied,” Cadence finally remembered that she and the other “Liars” decided to set Clairmont — the largest home on Beechwood and the property of their grandfather — on fire to make a statement. Earlier in the episode, Cadence fought with Harris (David Morse) about his racism towards Ed (Rahul Kohli) and Gat (Shubahm Maheshwari) and, in the heat of the argument, Harris fell down a small flight of stairs made out of rock just outside of the mansion.
As the rest of the family took off to the mainland to stay with the patriarch at the hospital, the four liars were left behind with the mess from the annual lemon dinner and an endless well of alcohol and resentment towards the family. After cleaning up the dirty dishes and the table setting — which, in retrospect, was wasted time as they would just strike a match and burn it to the ground in a matter of hours — the group decided that the only way that they would be able to break free of their parents and their grandfather continuously trying to maintain the image of perfection is if they gave the world a story so messy that their imperfection could not be questioned. In this case, that means setting Clairmont on fire out of rage and starting fresh.
Why would these four 16-year-olds do something so reckless and ignorant? Well, because they’re four 16-year-olds who have lived privileged lives — yes, even Gat to some extent –and they believe that the only way to start fresh is to burn it all down. Symbolically, fire purifies when used as a narrative device, so it’s obvious to these kids that a blaze would only serve to cleanse the Sinclairs of their long list of sins. That is about the end of where their critical thinking skills are put to use, however, because rather than just set a curtain or a few pieces of furniture on fire and exit the house, they decide to douse the rooms with alcohol and set little fires upstairs and on the first floor.
In the end, it is finally revealed that while Cadence initially believed all four of The Liars made it out, she was the only one to get out of the house before the gasline caused a massive explosion. Gat, believing Cadence was still inside, ran back into Clairmont trying to rescue her while Johnny and Mirren both became trapped upstairs as the fire on the first floor cut off access to the stairs and smoke clouded their way to the exits. Ultimately, they were still inside when the house exploded, with the blast sending Cadence flying through the air and into the water. The force also caused Cadence to hit her head, which left her with a traumatic brain injury that caused her amnesia and seizures.
Having finally remembered what happened to Johnny, Gat, and Mirren, Cadence begins to think back on her memories of Summer 17, talking to thin air where she was imagining them and upsetting her other family members as she referenced the other Liars being at Beechwood. Her realization that they all perished in the fire led to a confrontation with her grandfather, who wanted to sweep the whole situation under the rug and still try to present them as the perfect family, one that has persevered in spite of loss. Rather than give him what he wants, Cadence decides to forego the interview he set up with a reporter about the “family’s strength of character,” telling the journalist that she “can’t help with that” as she’s “just not really that into fairy tales anymore.” She then takes off on a boat and leaves her family in the rearview.
So, to answer the question of “What happened to Cadence” succinctly: Cadence’s own actions caused her amnesia and the fire claimed the lives of her friends a.k.a. the other Liars. Yep, they were ghosts all along! How Sixth Sense of this YA drama.
You can watch the entire first season of We Were Liars on Prime Video right now.