Cadence Sinclair Eastman, the first granddaughter of the wealthy Sinclair family, spends her summers on the family's private island, Beechwood, with her cousins Mirren and Johnny, and their friend Gat. They are collectively known as the Liars. The family is steeped in generational wealth and secrets, but emotional repression and moral decay run deep. The story begins with Cadence returning to the island after a year-long absence caused by a mysterious accident that left her with a concussion and memory loss.

During the summer before her accident, tensions rise within the Sinclair family. Harris Sinclair, the patriarch, has rewritten his will after the previous summer, Summer Fifteen, creating a fierce competition among his daughters--Penny, Carrie, and Bess--to secure their inheritance. The Liars, aware of the family's obsession with wealth and power, grow increasingly disillusioned and rebellious. They plan to make a statement against the family legacy by burning down Clairmont, the family's central mansion, as a symbolic act of defiance.

The Liars prepare for the arson by soaking the wooden floors with gasoline and crafting Molotov cocktails. Each member takes a position in the mansion: Gat at the boat station, Mirren in her mother's bedroom, Johnny in the attic, and Cadence downstairs. At midnight, they light their matches to set the fire. However, distractions occur--Johnny is caught looking at a picture of Harris, and Mirren is drawn to a painting in her mother's bedroom. The fire quickly spreads, and thick smoke fills the rooms, trapping Johnny and Mirren inside.

Cadence manages to escape the burning mansion but hears the family's golden retrievers whining from inside. Unbeknownst to her, the dogs were locked in Clairmont by her mother to keep them calm during planned fireworks. Driven by concern, Cadence rushes back into the house. As she tries to reach the dogs, a falling wooden beam strikes her head, causing the injury that leads to her memory loss. She is unable to save the dogs, who succumb to the smoke.

In the aftermath, Johnny and Mirren die in the fire, while Gat's fate is also sealed though less explicitly detailed. Cadence, overwhelmed by guilt, subconsciously constructs an elaborate hallucination in which the Liars are still alive, recreating idyllic beach picnics, swimming, and shared secrets throughout the following summer. This alternate reality protects her from the trauma of the truth.

As the season progresses, Cadence's memories begin to resurface. She recalls that she was the one who suggested using gasoline and that she went upstairs before lighting the match, mistakenly believing the others followed her. The truth emerges that the others were trapped and perished in the fire, while Cadence survived with a concussion and amnesia.

Cadence eventually confesses the truth to her mother, Penny, who had already known but chose silence. Harris Sinclair is devastated by the loss of his grandchildren but remains fixated on preserving the family estate and image. The family fractures further under the weight of grief and betrayal.

The series concludes with Cadence visiting the ruins of Clairmont, now a charred shell symbolizing the destruction of the Sinclair legacy. In a haunting final scene, she imagines the Liars one last time--happy, free, and untethered--before finally letting go of the illusion and accepting reality. The inheritance battle continues, but the family's obsession with wealth is irrevocably shattered by the tragedy.

The ending of We Were Liars (2025 TV series) reveals that Cadence Sinclair Eastman, after suffering a traumatic accident, finally remembers that she accidentally caused a fire that killed her three closest friends and cousins--Johnny, Mirren, and Gat--during a planned arson meant to destroy the family mansion. The other Liars had died in the fire, and Cadence had been interacting with their ghosts or her own trauma-induced hallucinations throughout the summer. After confronting the truth and rejecting her grandfather Harris's manipulative attempts to control the narrative, Cadence leaves the island, embracing her identity as a Liar rather than a Sinclair.

The ending unfolds in a series of emotionally charged scenes:

1. Cadence's 18th Birthday and the Black Pearl Necklace
   On her 18th birthday, Cadence receives a black pearl necklace from her grandfather Harris. This gift triggers a flood of flashbacks, forcing her to confront memories she had suppressed about the previous summer's events.

2. The Liars' Return and the Truth Revealed
   The Liars--Johnny, Mirren, and Gat--appear to comfort Cadence during her flashbacks. However, Cadence confronts them about abandoning her after the accident. They reveal the painful truth: during their conspiracy to commit a multimillion-dollar felony arson on the family mansion, Cadence lit the fire prematurely. This act caused the deaths of Johnny, Mirren, and Gat. Cadence has been speaking to their ghosts or imagining them as a trauma response.

3. The Fire and Its Aftermath
   The Liars had planned to set different floors of the mansion on fire and escape to the dock where Gat would wait with the boat. Cadence set the ground floor ablaze and escaped outside but heard the family dogs trapped inside. She ran back to save them but was forced to abandon the rescue as the fire grew too intense. When she reached the beach, none of the other Liars were there. A gas main exploded, knocking her unconscious and throwing her into the water. The other Liars were trapped inside and perished in the fire.

4. Confrontation with Harris Sinclair
   Cadence tries to return the black pearl necklace to Harris, who calls her entitled and admits he lied about the fire's cause to protect the family's reputation. He pressures her to participate in a public relations story to maintain the family's image. Cadence refuses to comply with his manipulations.

5. Cadence's Departure from the Island
   Rejecting both the family's toxic legacy and Harris's control, Cadence leaves Beechwood Island. She declares that while she was once a Sinclair by name, she will always be a Liar by identity, embracing the truth of her experiences and the loss of her friends.

Fates of the Main Characters at the End:

• Cadence Sinclair Eastman: Survives the fire but is deeply traumatized. She gains clarity about the past and leaves the island to forge her own path.
• Johnny, Mirren, and Gat: All perish in the fire caused by the premature arson. They appear as ghosts or hallucinations to Cadence throughout the story.
• Harris Sinclair: Remains on the island, attempting to control the family narrative and protect the family's wealth and reputation, but ultimately rejected by Cadence.

This ending reveals the devastating consequences of the family's dysfunction and the tragic cost of their attempts to control appearances, with Cadence's journey culminating in painful self-awareness and a break from her family's toxic legacy.

Yes, several characters die in the 2025 TV show We Were Liars.

1. Rosemary Sinclair: She is the youngest Sinclair sister who died at age 10. Her death occurred at the end of August while swimming at the beach near Goose Cottage (called the Tiny Beach). She was with the family's au pair, Agata, at the time. Rosemary wore a green bathing suit with little denim pockets, which was her favorite. No family members were present during the incident.

2. Johnny, Mirren, and Gat: These three characters die in a fire at the Sinclair family mansion. During the fire, Johnny and Mirren get trapped on the higher floors, and Gat runs back inside after not seeing Cadence (Cady). Cady tries to save trapped dogs but is thrown back by a gas explosion and suffers a head injury. The explosion engulfs the house, killing Johnny, Mirren, and Gat inside. Cady survives but suffers post-traumatic amnesia and has been interacting with their ghosts throughout the season without initially realizing it.

No other character deaths are detailed in the available information. The deaths of Rosemary and the three Liars are central to the show's plot and mystery.

Yes, the TV show We Were Liars (2025) includes a post-credit scene. This scene features Aunt Carrie returning to the burning Clairmont house, taking some pills, and then seeing the ghost of her son Johnny in the kitchen. This moment strongly hints at future storylines and sets up the prequel series Family of Liars, connecting to earlier conversations about the family's dark past and the consequences of their actions during a fateful summer.

The main finale ends with the Liars--Cadence, Gat, Mirren, and Johnny--setting fire to Clairmont to destroy their toxic family legacy. Tragically, Gat, Mirren, and Johnny die in the fire, while Cadence survives but suffers a head injury that causes memory loss. Throughout the season, Cadence interacts with the ghosts of the other Liars, only realizing the truth after the fire. The post-credit scene adds a supernatural and narrative bridge to future developments beyond the first season.

During Summer Fifteen, the Liars--Cadence, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat--planned to burn down Clairmont as a symbolic act against their family's obsession with inheritance and power. Cadence suggested using gasoline and went upstairs before lighting the match, believing the others followed. However, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat were trapped inside the burning mansion and died, while Cadence escaped but suffered a head injury causing memory loss. The fire was an accident resulting from their reckless plan, with Cadence carrying the guilt of their deaths throughout the story.

Cadence's memory loss is central to the narrative, as she struggles to recall the events leading to the fire and the deaths of her friends. This amnesia causes a rift between her and the other Liars, who withhold the truth to protect her. The adults also keep secrets, believing it is best for Cadence to remember on her own. Her fragmented memories and hallucinations of the Liars throughout the following summer create a haunting and unreliable perspective, driving the psychological drama and emotional tension in the story.

Harris Sinclair, the family patriarch, rewrote his will after Summer Fifteen, creating tension among his daughters who compete to secure their inheritance. This struggle over the estate fuels much of the family conflict and underpins the Liars' desire to break free from the generational curse of wealth and power. The planned arson of Clairmont is partly a symbolic rejection of this toxic legacy, highlighting the family's obsession with property and control.

The Liars' decision to burn Clairmont is a deliberate, symbolic act meant to reject and disrupt their family's toxic obsession with inheritance, status, and control. They hope that by destroying the mansion, the family will be forced to rebuild from the ground up, breaking the cycle of greed and dysfunction. This act reflects their rebellion against the Sinclair legacy and their desire for freedom, though it tragically results in unintended consequences and loss.

After the fire, the Sinclair family is deeply fractured by grief and guilt. Harris is broken by the loss of his grandchildren but clings to his estate and image. Cadence confesses the truth to her mother, who had known but remained silent. The mansion is left in ruins, symbolizing the irreparable damage to the family. Cadence's personal journey culminates in a quiet reckoning where she finally accepts the truth, imagines the Liars happy and free one last time, and then lets go of her hallucinations, marking a painful but necessary step toward healing.

The 2025 TV show We Were Liars is not fully family friendly and is best suited for mature teens (16+) and adults due to its emotionally intense and complex themes. It carries a TV-14 rating, indicating some content may be inappropriate for younger viewers.

Potentially objectionable or upsetting aspects include:

• Emotional distress and trauma: The story deals with grief, psychological shock, and post-trauma effects, which can be intense and upsetting.
• Mild violence: Includes a scene where a teen beats up a rival, and two kids nearly drown during a storm.
• Sexual content: Mild sexual scenes and suggestive teen romance, including underage characters in sexual situations, teen kissing (including male-on-male), and partial depiction of loss of virginity.
• Substance use: Moderate depiction of drug addiction (main character's drug use after an accident), alcoholism, and smoking.
• Family dysfunction: Emotional abuse, parental manipulation, blackmail, and secrets within a wealthy family setting.
• Sensitive social issues: Racism, extramarital affairs, financial corruption, and secrecy.
• Frightening/intense scenes: Moderate intensity scenes that may be disturbing for sensitive viewers.

There is no graphic violence or explicit sexual content, but the mature emotional themes, family conflict, and psychological tension make it unsuitable for children and sensitive viewers without adult guidance. Parents are advised to preview the show and consider the maturity of their teens before viewing.