by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Young adult novels are creeping more and more into the streaming world. It’s not uncommon for them to become series instead of movies, since it gives the story more time to breathe. Take a look at what happened with Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The movie was perfectly fine, but the show had more time to tell the story, and included plot points that had to be cut out of the movie. Amazon has been frequently using this strategy as a way to capitalize on selling more copies of the book, as well as get eyeballs on their streaming service. They had a great deal of success with The Summer I Turned Pretty, and although it only lasted one season, My Lady Jane was outstanding. Their latest adaptation of a young adult novel is We Were Liars.
I didn’t know anything about the book, but I read the premise and was intrigued. The series revolves around a group of friends called the Liars, following their adventures on the almost mystical island they spend each summer at. They’re the three oldest grandchild of Harris Sinclair (David Morse), a wealthy patriarch and owner of the island called Beechwood. Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind), Johnny (Joseph Zada), and Mirren (Esther McGregor) are the grandchildren, and their friend Gat (Shubham Maheshwari) is the final member of the Liars. Together, they enjoy the traditions and glamor of a summer home. During their 15th summer together, Cadence has a mysterious accident that causes her to block out what happened that summer. She spends the season trying to figure out what happened to her.
As someone who hasn’t read the book yet, I’d recommend go into the series blind. Don’t watch trailers, don’t read any premises, and just let the story take hold of you. You’ll be handsomely rewarded when you discover what’s happening (more on that later).
At first glance, I was a little miffed because this had the hallmarks of a typical summer love story gone awry. Cadence is growing up and has noticed something in Gat that she hadn’t seen initially. He appears more confident and sure of himself, and cares more about other things. Gat is the outlier of the group, as he is not directly related to any of the other Liars. What ultimately develops from here is much bigger than I realized.
Thematically, We Were Liars dives into some heavy topics for a young adult novel series. For example, the concept of privilege and what one does with it once they realize what they have. The Sinclair family is incredibly wealthy, but Gat doesn’t come from the same wealth. He’s different, and it shows in the way certain members of the Sinclair family act. The Liars’ parents, dubbed the Moms, come from a similar generation as Harris, and thus are subject to the same rules and governance that Harris provides. He’s cold, manipulative, and calculating in the way he treats his daughters. The Moms don’t have the same level of influence on their kids. Since they are born into a different generation that acknowledges privilege, especially when it comes to wealth, the Liars have a different relationship with their legacy, and so do the Moms. Before Cadence’s incident, the Liars had honest conversations about the impact their wealth has on the world and what they do with that influence. It’s not always good, but they’re young and still trying to find their way.
The other theme is the consequences of your mistakes. Decisions constitute a significant part of We Were Liars. Making the decision is one thing; dealing with the consequences is the other. The Moms all have to deal with the fallout of their choices, especially when it comes to their trust funds. They also deal with the fallout of their choices when it comes to the way they raise their children. Each decision makes ripples into more decisions having to be made to contain the fallout. Consequences are not something the wealthy have to endure very often, but We Were Liars explores this in a facilitating way. Whether it’s one of the Moms marrying the wrong partner, or one not bringing herself to move forward with her partner, or one who lied to their kids about what happened with their dad, each of the consequences leads to the ending we get.
Regarding the characters, I enjoyed the dynamic between all the various groups. Tradition defines each one, with so many activities based on events from their childhood. Events like a sand castle competition, Fourth of July festivities, and a lemon hunt are in both the Moms’ and Liars’ DNA. Even the next generation, dubbed the Littles, has their lives turned upside down by these traditions. The Liars’ traditions include playing tag, jumping off the pier, and playing games. It sometimes feels like some of them are outgrowing these traditions, but they still maintain them because it’s what they know. The Moms are the same way, even after a tragedy befalls them during the 15th summer.
Each of the Liars can be frustratingly naive individually, but they all share a charm that makes them compelling to watch. It’s a delicate summer for them (it would be for any teenager), so the group’s dynamic changes as their priorities during the summer shift. Partying, alcohol, and love take over, and it can be clarifying as well as mystifying priorities. Cadence, for example, is singularly focused on Gat, while he’s focused on reconciling how different the place has become now that he’s aware of how he doesn’t quite fit in with everyone. Johnny is focused on events that happened during the last school year that threaten the Sinclair name, while Mirren struggles to be recognized and acknowledged the way she wants to be.
This ultimately leads to the ending, which I did not see coming, nor did I see any signs that indicated this was the route they had planned to take. It’s a gut punch, and all the Liars have to come to terms with what happened. I’m tempted to do a rewatch to see if there were more warning signs, but I suspect it was just well crafted, and I was just not expecting it to end the way that it did.
I’m not going to lie, I enjoyed We Were Liars. Calibrate your expectations at the door and just enjoy the show. There is something magical about the ride, because Beechwood often feels like a fairy tale land. The Liars are an incredible group to follow around, and I’m curious to see what Amazon does with this moving forward. For now, just enjoy a great summer series that will keep you guessing until the last frame.
Rating: Liked It
We Were Liars is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video
You can read more from Mike Hilty, and follow him on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Serializd