We Were Liars Season 1, Episode 6 Review: ‘When Lies Give You Lemons’

Tradition. It’s built on stories—passed down, repeated, and relived. Some traditions, you inherit. Others, you create. But not all traditions deserve to live on.

In We Were Liars Episode 6, one such tradition resurfaces: the lemon hunt, a game Tipper once started—200 lemons scattered across Beechwood with a prize for the most found. But Tipper is gone, and Harris isn’t letting go. Instead, he raises the stakes. Whoever finds the most lemons wins the Boston House. The one who finds the single hidden lime? They get Beechwood.

It’s classic Harris: taking something simple and warping it into a high-stakes mind game. I don’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth—but that doesn’t mean the Sinclair sisters won’t take him seriously. Or push their kids to do the same.

So… is tradition sacred? Or just a trap?

TELL ME A STORY

Cadence and Gat still aren’t my favorite duo, but I respect their role in this story. Their love is a throughline—but to me, it’s the secrets Gat keeps that define him. He’s infuriating.

Telling someone you love them is one thing. Showing it is another. Gat thinks he’s honest—but he’s not. He’s more Sinclair than he admits, living in denial, clinging to delusions. The summers on the island have shaped him.

When Cadence asks him to tell her a story, he spins a fairy tale version of their summers from his view. It’s heartbreaking in its way: the feeling of never being enough.

And while Gat claims he’s not a storyteller, he does just that. The story convinces Cadence that Harris scared him off. But before she can press for answers, Penny interrupts.

PARENTAL DYNAMICS

Penny needs to relax—but she can’t. When Cadence follows her back to the house, she tries to confront her Mom about the missing pieces of Summer 16. Why won’t her mom tell her the truth?

Instead, Penny scolds her for cliff diving—something she only knows about because her friend saw it from a chartered flight. Fair enough—parents worry. But it’s not just about danger. There’s something deeper.

Cadence is trying to trigger her memories.

Cadence lowers her defenses and tells Penny she wouldn’t have jumped if her mom had just told her what happened. Penny snaps, insisting she has told her—every time, Cadence got sicker.

For a brief moment, Penny breaks. We see that she’s human. Flawed, frustrated, and maybe even a little scared. Who knew she had that much range?

TO TOWN WE GO

Cadence is done with her family’s silence. She heads into town—off the island, and into the Vineyard—where there’s unmonitored internet.

Gat tags along, reluctantly. He knows she’s not ready for what she might find.

And he’s right.

As Cadence begins to dig online, she has a seizure. Gat’s there for her, comforting her, reminding her she can look when she’s ready.

Now, I might sound harsh, but what exactly was Cadence diagnosed with? The amnesia alone doesn’t explain everything. Whatever it is, it’s layered, and Emily Alyn Lind is fabulous in this role. I don’t always care this much about a character’s internal struggles, but with Cadence, I need to know.

Later, she and Gat share a rare, peaceful day: long walks, ice cream, sunsets. And I’ll admit—my usual dislike of Gat softened. Just a little. It’s only towards the end that we get to know that anything past the bookstore didn’t happen anywhere but Cadence’s mind.

But this show has taught us one thing: nothing is what it seems. Everything is a lie.

LEMONS AND LIMES

Summer 16. Tipper is gone, but Harris is clinging to her traditions like a lifeline. Only now, he’s twisting them into something darker. It’s as if he thinks that he is avenging the way that his daughters treated his wife. He just seems to forget that part of that is his fault.

Harris is a puppet master. He watches everything. People willingly throw others under the bus to stay in his favor, and he loves that power. It doesn’t matter that it’s his own children and grandchildren he’s manipulating.

The man has no shame.

No heart.

He’s cold as ice.

When lemon hunt day arrives, the prize reveal sends the Sinclair moms into a frenzy. The pressure they put on their kids? Disgusting, but unsurprising.

Gat’s mom is there too, laughing at the absurdity of this event and how the Sinclairs are. She sees right through the Sinclair spectacle, even as she recognizes that her son seems happy there.

But is he? Or is Cadence the only reason he stays?

No one on Beechwood seems happy. Especially the Sinclair sisters. Even their lemon hunt turns into a showdown—and if you didn’t already suspect Bess was the worst, this seals it. The coldness between these sisters is chilling.

THE LIARS

Friendship fractures are forming. In Summer 16, The Liars—Cadence, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat—are struggling to stay connected.

As Cadence, Johnny, and Mirren fight over a lemon, Gat interrupts. And surprisingly, he delivers one of the best moments of the episode: reminding them that they used to be best friends. Maybe they can be again.

It’s a rare, tender moment. Do they spend too much time apologizing instead of growing? Definitely. But at least they see each other for a second.

They plan to give all the lemons to Gat? It’s symbolic. They know Harris won’t honor the win. They know he’ll twist the rules. It’s their way of calling him out—and standing by each other.

The Liars don’t seem to get the importance of their friendship. I am just lost to a point, because if they are finding this newfound friendship, why is it that they weren’t there for Cadence for the year in between summer 16 and summer 17?

MIRREN

Someone—anyone—needs to protect Mirren.

She’s treated like a spare part, and we see exactly where that comes from: her mother, Bess. When Harris disqualifies the lemon hunt (predictably), Bess turns on Mirren, blaming her for everything.

It’s cruel. Unwarranted. And deeply painful to watch.

Candice King, as Bess, nails the performance—you hate her, but that’s the point. And Esther McGregor’s portrayal of Mirren? Incredible. She brings so much vulnerability to the role. I just want to protect Mirren, because Mirren doesn’t deserve not to be seen.

I don’t think what she’s going through or being subjected to is right. Mirren deserves better, and the pressure that Bess is putting on her makes Bess no better than Harris.

PUPPETMASTER

Of course, Harris disqualifies the lemon hunt when Gat wins. Of course he does. He’s a racist, manipulative jerk, and I can’t stand him.

But then he offers Gat a “consolation prize”—a scholarship interview that could change his life. One catch: it’s in New York. Gat doesn’t want to owe Harris anything, but Cadence urges him to go. He deserves the chance.

As he prepares to leave, he talks with Ed. Gat decides he has to return to Beechwood. For Cadence.

But before he can? A medivac is called to the island. Something’s happened. All boats to the island are banned.

We don’t know what is happening. But we do know somewhere on that island, someone’s lying.

We Were Liars is streaming now on Prime Video.