By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell
In Summer 17, Mirren (Esther McGregor) and Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind) are lying on the beach and Cadence tells Mirren she’s worried that Penny (Caitlin FitzGerald) is right about her. She thinks she might be crazy and is afraid that she can’t trust her own mind. With that said, she asks her cousin to confirm or deny a few memories. Cadence remembers talking with Harris on the beach, Mirren filling up the boat with gas, and the four liars hugging on the beach. After Gat (Leandro Vigueras) left for the interview, she might never see him again, but he came back.
Gat, Mirren says, will always come back for Cadence, but Mirren says she thinks she should leave Gat alone. Mirren heard them at Cuddledown the other night and thinks Cadence is making things harder on him. But Cadence says she loves Gat, and she’s always loved him. Right now, Cadence’s life revolves around pills and doctors, but Mirren says she can’t feel sorry for her. She has money and a doctor, she has a head injury, but as the first Sinclair grandchild, everything is still possible for her.
The talk is interrupted by Bonnie (Emerson MacNeil), who wants Cadence to tell her a ghost story. Cadence says she’s fresh out and suggests she ask Mirren, to which she says, “ha-ha.” Mirren explains she tried telling Bonnie a ghost story last night, but she kept messing it up. So Cadence tells Bonnie a story about a King with three beautiful princesses, but Bonnie says she doesn’t want to hear a fairytale, but Cadence says the story will get scary. Before she can continue, Harris (David Morse) comes up to the girls and says he’s going into town and wants Cadence to join him.
In town, a lot of people are happy to see Cadence and Harris. There’s a stand selling licorice to benefit migrants. Since Cadence can’t resist a charitable moment, Harris buys her lemon cream taffy. They reach the doctor’s office, and Cadence gets upset because she worries she’s being ambushed with an impromptu doctor’s visit. Harris, however, points out she’s already been to every doctor in New England and promises he’s just there to say hello to Dr. Moriarty because they’re friends. He tells Cadence to wait at the bookstore, but she reminds him that she isn’t supposed to be left alone since her last episode.
But Harris says he made a mistake with his daughters. He let them squander opportunities, choose unworthy partners, and dig themselves into holes with their silver spoons. As the first Sinclair grandchild, Harris says, Cadence is a fresh start and of sound mind. He tells her he expects her to act accordingly. Cadence replies that you can’t outclass PTSD, but Harris disagrees and says that combat veterans have PTSD, whereas he believes Cadence just lacks guff and gall. He gives her the candy and heads inside.
During Summer 16, the Sinclair sisters are preparing for battle and have recruited their children to help. That’s why Penny got Cadence a new dress for dinner, but Cadence says she doesn’t need any more dresses. Penny tells Cadence that she’s a Sinclair and Sinclairs don’t despair over boys because it’s pitiful and they’re not pitied. Cadence thinks that since Gat is gone, she deserves a little time to feel sad before putting her shoulders back and chin up. However, Penny says she should be happy for Gat because Harris offered him a great opportunity even after the liars disrespected Tipper’s favorite tradition. Yet, Cadence thinks that Harris ruined things by making the prizes houses instead of gift cards and candy. Harris, Penny explains, is a capitalist and believes that competition causes the best people to rise to the top, which is why Cadence needs to be at her best tonight. Harris is revising his wil,l and Penny believes he is going to leave everything to his favorite grandchild and daughter, so tonight, they need to be the favorites.
Cadence wonders if Penny ever gets sick of being a Sinclair, but Penny says they don’t have a choice. The choice Cadence has, according to her mother, is whether she wants to be a poor little rich girl who people pity or if she wants to be a Sinclair with potential. If Cadence wants to make a difference in the world, Penny says she should go for it, but building orphanages and toppling evil systems requires a lot of money. With that said, she should be her lovely self and remind him that she misses Tipper. Cadence says she does miss Tipper, and lemons make her think of her grandmother, and Penny wants her to tell Harris that. Cadence says she is making real feelings feel cheap, but Penny says nothing is cheap on Beechwood.
Bess (Candice King) is fooling around with Salty Dan (Tim Rozon) on the Tennis court, and Carrie (Mamie Gummer) is barely holding it together on the beach. She tells Johnny (Joseph Zada) that this dinner is their last shot at getting back into Harris’s good graces. Also, she says that when Johnny was born, Harris said he was his heir who was crafted in his image. Johnny tries to tell Carrie that he isn’t, and he isn’t sure that Harris would approve of the kind of Sinclair boy he is, but before he can likely come out to her, Carrie says whatever Johnny wants to tell her should wait until tomorrow. For today, she has too much on her mind.
Johnny is upset, and Will (Brady Droulis) overheard the conversation and tells Johnny he can talk to him about it. He tells Johnny that he thinks he’s a good Sinclair boy, and Johnny tries not to tear up. He tells Will that everything is fine and gives his brother a big hug. In Cuddledown, we learn that the littles are all headed to camp for the weekend. Bess wants Mirren to take the twins’ their bags, but she doesn’t want to see her father. She also notices that Bess has stains on her skirts, and she assumes it’s from a fall and not her earlier rendezvous with Salty Dan. Mirren promises to get ready for dinner, and Bess tells her, her hair looks nice.
Cadence, Mirren and Johnny agree that this dinner feels more like a tribunal. And Cadence knows that he’s gone, but she can’t help but keep looking for Gat. She blames all the fairytales Tipper told them growing up. Cadence thinks of the first summer, it was the four of them, and Johnny and Mirren tell her that there were summers before Gat and there will be summers after Gat as they head inside.
Dinner is heavy on tension and lemons. Harris talks about how great it is to have the island to themselves, which the liars don’t love. He wonders where the littles are, and Bess and Carrie explain that Brody took them to horse camp in Boston. Harris doesn’t understand why she entrusted her children to “that man,” but Bess reminds him that he’s their father. Mirren says Brody made a mistake, but he wouldn’t hurt the twins or Will. Harris says mistakes are one-offs, but Brody stole and lied about it over and over again. Patterns establish character, Harris says, therefore Brody is a criminal. He asks Bess to agree, and she hesitates before saying that there’s no need to worry about Mirren because she knows right from wrong thanks to her parenting. Bess adds that she really learned from watching Carrie’s struggles.
Bess promises she’s not criticizing Carrie, she’s just saying she’s impressed that Johnny is turning out so well despite what a mess she was when he was little. Except for the recent vandalism and assault. Blake’s mother gave her a call about a video she found on his phone, and Harris says not to mention the incident again because it will be handled. Bess isn’t surprised he called in Thatcher because he’s good at making problems go away. Which is why she says it’s great that Penny has him helping with her divorce, much to Cadence’s surprise. Penny decides to go give the dogs their thunder pills so they don’t panic during the storm, and Carrie points out the scratches on her back. Carrie says she wasn’t going to bring it up, but since they’re saying things now, she tells the table about her affair with Salty Dan.
Lydia comes in and interrupts the worst dinner ever to tell the Sinclairs the second course is ready. The dogs are barking, and Penny gets up to go tend to them, and Cadence follows her. Cadence asks what happened, and Penny says her strategy was to let Carrie and Bess tear each other apart while she looks stable and perfect in comparison. But Cadence points out that she wasn’t anticipating that her secrets would make it to the dinner table. Penny just promises Cadence that they’re winning and they just need to stay the course and deflect. Cadence says Beechwood isn’t supposed to be like this, and summers there are meant to be perfect. Penny says Cadence only thinks that because when things got tense growing up, she and her cousins would be hustled off to horse camp to protect their innocence, but Cadence isn’t little anymore. The way everyone’s been behaving is the real family tradition, Penny says. Then she takes the dog’s thunder pill and tells Cadence that dog benzos and real benzos are the same. She leaves and tells Cadence to close the door when she leaves the laundry room because Franklin and Eleanor feel safe there.
The dinner confuses and the liars, who are fed up with Harris and their mothers, decide to go scorched earth. Harris makes a show of making Penny eat when she doesn’t want to. Cadence says that lemons are a symbol of colonization and Johnny and Mirren back her and say maybe they should have an apple hunt next summer. When Harris points out that it’s Tipper’s favorite tradition, Johnny brings up Ed and Carrie’s frozen embryos and tells Harris that Carrie said, “Fuck tradition.” Bess and Penny needle Carrie about not wanting more children, but Carrie insists she wanted a baby with Ed more than anything. Bess, Penny and the rest of the table realize that Harris made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
The conversation gets more tense when Harris talks about making Bess and Penny trade houses. Penny promises that Cadence loves Windemere and wants to raise her kids there, but Cadence can’t imagine another summer, let alone a lifetime, there if this is how they’re all going to behave. She says she’d rather be traveling with Gat, and Harris doesn’t get why she keeps bringing up “that boy” at his dinner table. Cadence observes that Harris never uses Gat’s name; he’s always “kid” or “that boy,” and Johnny pipes in that he only ever called Ed “young man.” Johnny is also upset to realize Harris made Carrie trade Ed for an inheritance. Carrie mumbles, but Mirren tells Harris that he’s making them crazy. Harris says if they’re crazy, it’s their own choice, and the inheritance is a non-factor now. He says he already spoke to Thatcher about the will, and they will all get exactly what they earned because he can’t leave his estate to crazy people.
Cadence follows Harris and demands an explanation about the Gat and Ed of it all. She draws the conclusion that Harris threatened to cut Carrie off, but Harris insists that he doesn’t make people do things, he just gave Carrie a choice. Cadence says that Harris never liked the Patils, but Harris says it’s the other way around. Harris says he has high standards, and Cadence questions if he really just had white standards. Harris is offended at that, but Cadence puts the puzzle pieces together. Harris tolerated Ed and Carrie’s relationship for years because he had certain ideas about himself, but he panicked when they made it clear they’d have children. Harris says he is only protecting who the Sinclairs have been for centuries, but Cadence says he’s afraid of having Indian grandchildren as opposed to more blonde-haired, blue-eyed Sinclairs. Harris won’t admit it and says he’s even a Democrat, but before the conversation can go further, he loses his foot, falls down the stairs, and hits his head.
Outside of the doctor’s office, Harris doesn’t seem to recognize Harris at first. He says it’s the hair dye, but remembering his fall last year, Cadence wonders if it’s deeper than that. She asks what Dr. Moriarity said, and Harris insists it was just a social call, but the prescription he’s holding tells a different story.
During summer 16, Cadence feels horrible. Harris is being taken to the hospital by helicopter, and only one of the moms can go with him. Cadence is apologizing to Penny for what happened, but Penny just tells her that while she’s gone, she needs to search for Harris’s will. If it doesn’t favor them, Penny instructs her to burn it.
Bess and Mirren are packing a bag for Harris, and Mirren reprimands her for how cruel she was to Carrie. Bess says they’re sisters, so they don’t always have to be nice, and she wishes Mirren would stand up for her. Bess says none of this should be happening right now and blames Brody. Mirren says she knows her father screwed up, but she wonders if Bess’s affair pre-dates knowing about what Brody did. Bess is angry that Mirren is throwing that in her face because she’s the good one. She rants about how she has never done what she wanted because, after Rosemary died, she was the baby, and everyone was supposed to love her the most. Bess and Carrie left, so she stayed in case her parents needed her. She didn’t starve herself, or take pills, or cause problems. Not for nothing, she hates Boston and wanted to go somewhere warm because she loves desert roses. But she never had desert roses or anything else, and doesn’t understand how this became her life.
In the kitchen, Johnny and Carrie have an almost equally unpleasant. Carrie is looking for something, but stops when Johnny comes into the kitchen. Johnny asks if Harris will be okay, and Carrie is sure he’ll be fine. But does Carrie want him to be fine, Johnny wonders. Carrie says she doesn’t hate her father and wants him to be okay. Johnny says he hates Harris a little because he ran off Gat and made Ed leave. He comes to the conclusion that Harris paid to make the incident at school go away under the condition that Carrie not marry Ed. Carrie says yes, and Johnny wonders why she isn’t as furious as he is. He points out how calm she is as she continues looking around and pulls out the pills he thinks she’s searching for. Johnny’s entire life, Carrie’s been zen, but lately she’s been on edge. The only other time Johnny can remember her being like this was when he was little, still with his father, and still using. Johnny remembers his father would see red and go into rages, and Carrie would be very still; she’s been still ever since Ed left. Carrie takes the pills, tells Johnny they’ll talk about it tomorrow, and leaves. Johnny takes a bottle of wine and goes outside.
The cousins share the bottle and agree that the dinner was a nightmare. They’re all afraid that they’re going to end up like Bess, Carrie, and Penny. But, they’re given a pleasant surprise when Gat arrives. Cadence kisses him, the liars share a group hug, and Gat’s just relieved because the ambulance wouldn’t tell him who on the island was hurt. Inside they explain how awful the night was and Cadence explains she sent the staff home because Lydia scrubbing blood off the ground bummed her out. The liars are in awe because usually even when the adults leave, they’re never without staff. With the island to themselves they can do whatever they want.
The liars start by playing music and doing the dishes badly, have a food fight, drink more alcohol, and then Cadence gets Harris’s will. Mirren finds her Gran’s good scissors and at first Johnny doesn’t understand why she has them. She doesn’t entirely elaborate but Mirren explains she’s done people pleasing and doesn’t want to be crying over desert roses when she’s old. Johnny doesn’t totally get what the scissors have to do with desert roses but tells Mirren she is his favorite person so he’s on board for whatever comes next.
Mirren cuts her hair and is pleased with herself because Bess would hate it. Gat and Cadence check out the view and pretend to be the king and queen of the magical land where it’s always summer. Cadence doesn’t understand why he came back after he was free of Beechwood, but Gat says although he’s not wild about the way people are banished he loved the island because he met Cadence here. They talk a little about their first meeting in the boathouse and he explains that after his father’s death he’d get overwhelmed and hide. Cadence, he says, was a pleasant surprise. Cadence, Mirren and Johnny were an escape from the real world and his grief at the time. Cadence writes, “always do what you’re afraid to do,” on his hands. She says to remember that the next time he feels like hiding. Cadence promises that despite their rocky start, she can see him now, but her family never will. She doesn’t know what to do. In response Gat writes, “Never surrender to the devil you know best.”
The talk is interrupted by Johnny reenacting the dance scene from Risky Business in the dining room. He starts using the ivory elephant as a microphone to sing along to “Old Time Rock and Roll” and he drops it. Gat and Cadence are sort of amused, but also point out that the moms are going to be furious as they loved the statue and it was $100,000. Mirren is past the point of caring and shows off that she cut her hair and breaks another elephant statue on purpose. She says none of the stuff in the house matters, but the liars compliment her hair. Mirren says it’s symbolic, but Johnny points out no one but them might ever see it since they’re going to be grounded until graduation.
The phone rings and at first Mirren’s worried that Harris could be dead. Cadence talks to Penny and although Harris hit the trifecta being elderly, having been drinking, and banging his head, he’s going to be alright. But, his CT came back with non-fall related abnormalities and he’sg going to be transferred to a different hospital. Unfortunately he’s not listening to the doctor’s orders and has left his room, so Penny and Bess have to go look for him. They probably won’t be home until the morning.
On an unrelated note, the kitchen is filling up with foam because the liars, save Gat, are really bad at doing chores. Gat wonders how much detergent Mirren put in the dishwasher and Mirren just says she’s going to suck at being poor. Gat and Cadence cuddle on the coach and Gat wonders if it’s wrong that they’re happy when Harris could be sick. Cadence tells him that Harris already thinks they’re sick for feeling the way they do about each other. Gat didn’t think she’d ever really see it, but Cadence just apologizing for not being able to see it sooner.
Mirren and Johnny join them and they reminisce about the sleepover they had during Summer 9. Harris was actually kind during the sleepover. Mirren remembers he made them s’mores and told them about how their great-grandfather started the family’s first newspaper. Cadence is struggling to reconcile the Harris of their childhood with the cruel man they had dinner with. Mirren wonders if the grandfather that loves him is locked in his mind. She wonders if talking to him would help, but Gat points out that Harris has known him since he was a kid and hates him. He wants to believe people can change, but he thinks Harris is set in his ways. Gat apologizes for being so hard on Harris because he’s their grandfather. But, Cadence says he’s their grandfather and he’s a racist who loathes Gat and Ed because he can’t handle the idea of Brown Sinclairs. She decides that it’s time to finally read Harris’s will.
Long story short, Harris was playing head games. Bess gets the Boston house, which Harris knows she hates. Carrie and Penny get very generous living stipends, on the condition that they never marry. Mirren wonders if Penny has a secret Black boyfriend they don’t know about, but Cadence only knows she has secrets. In the morning Cadence says that they’ll all leave and the moms will go back to fighting over rugs and statues. She says the Sinclair way is to refuse to talk about important things and spiral over trivial things. She throws the will into the fire and as it burns we can see that he left Beechwood to Cadence.
The liars joke about trashing the island to make a point, but Cadence points out that whatever they did Harris would cover it up. Cadence suggests that they make a mess so big only Sinclair could clean it up. Claremont, she says, is built on hate and she thinks their family would be better off if all the material things they’ve been fighting about for years were gone.
In summer 17, we see Cadence getting flashes of fire and her time in the hospital. Johnny and Mirren find her and she tells them that she remembers they burnt this place to the ground.