Summers on Beechwood Island are marked by familiar events like Father’s Day and the Fourth of July, but the Sinclairs also celebrate unique traditions. As shown in We Were Liars episode 6, one such annual extravaganza is Tipper’s Lemon Hunt, which goes ahead even after her untimely death. However, Harris (David Morse) ups the stakes, making his daughters more competitive than ever.
In the present, Gat (Shubham Maheshwari) and Cady (Emily Alyn Lind) spend the day together on Martha’s Vineyard as Cady defies her mother, Penny’s (Caitlin FitzGerald), orders to stay in her room. But the perfect date is not what it seems, and Cady is concerned about her mental health.
Cady also remembers more from Summer 16, including that Gat left the island. What made him return?
In Summer 17, Gat and Cady are basking in their post-coital glow, but Cady’s questions about the previous year are a reality check. She wants to know if Harris scared Gat away: is this why he didn’t visit? Before discussing this further, a furious Penny orders Cady to return to Clairmont. Penny grounds Cady as one of Penny’s friends saw Cady jump off Sunset Bluff, which is incredibly dangerous.
Cady explains she was trying to trigger memories because Penny won’t tell her what happened. However, Penny told Cady the truth in the hospital. Every time, Cady would have “an episode” and not remember when she woke up again. “It is your own broken brain you’re raging against,” Penny tells her daughter.
Rather than listen to her mom, Cady decides to take the boat to Martha’s Vineyard to use the internet there because Google won’t gaslight her; Gat agrees to go with her.
In Summer 16, tension simmers between the different generations. Harris requests to see Gat, asking what his intentions are with Cady, with the motive to get Gat away from his oldest grandchild, Cady. Harris has another surprise for Gat: his mother, Maya (Karen David), is there.
Harris hasn’t managed his goal, as Gat and Cady are going strong in Summer 17. But when Cady looks for more about her accident online, she sees flashes of the past, and another migraine is coming on. Gat catches her, saying they should look this up when she feels better. For now, ice cream and kisses are an antidote as they enjoy their first real date. Cady wonders if her mother is right that she is losing her mind, but Gat thinks she just needs more time to heal.
They return to talking about Summer 16, with Gat saying his mother’s arrival meant seeing Beechwood through her eyes. Maya can’t quite believe the pomp and circumstance on display. Gat says this isn’t a regular Tuesday, but what follows surprises the entire family.
The Lemon Hunt is similar to an egg hunt at Easter. In the past, the person with the most lemons (of 200 hidden) won a bookstore gift card, and the one who found the single lime was given fudge as the prize. Harris has changed Tipper’s rules, and the lemon champion will win the deed to the Boston house. The person who finds the lime will be named the sole recipient of Beechwood when Harris dies. Not a regular Tuesday.
Each of the moms desperately wants to win the prizes on offer. Gat is one of the only people not running around the island. He tells his mother he found the lime in Summer 8, but Harris said there must have been cheating and split the fudge with Johnny. On Beechwood, Gat cannot win. Maya calls Beechwood “Knives Out meets Get Out,” and is disturbed by Gat’s code-switching. However, Gat doesn’t care because Cady is here.
Meanwhile, the Sinclairs do what they can to win. Penny brings up Salty Dan (Tim Rozon) in front of Carrie, who didn’t know about this dalliance. They all turn on each other, with Carrie’s addiction getting made fun of. Bess and Penny claim they are happy and know exactly who they are before it descends into teary and shouting chaos, with Gat witnessing the embarrassing mess.
Gat then sees Harris locking the lime in his desk drawer; the Sinclair patriarch had zero intention of bequeathing the island to anyone. The rest of The Liars argue about lemons and secrets, with Gat coming upon this scene and telling them they are like their moms. This comparison snaps the trio back to reality, and they say sorry to each other. Gat reveals he has the lime but knows he can’t win.
The Liars are the last to return to have their lemons counted. Cady, Johnny (Joseph Zada) and Mirren (Esther McGregor) have empty baskets because they gave all their lemons to Gat (who still has the lime). Harris says their collusion means the prizes are void.
However, Harris offers Gat a chance to win a spot on Tipper’s scholarship program. Gat will have to go to New York immediately, and the internship will keep him away next summer. It all feels very convenient. Gat accepts this opportunity, leading to Cady’s confusion in the present timeline because Gat should be abroad as part of the scholarship and not at Beechwood.
The neurological incident while going online was worse than Cady knew, as she is not sitting on the dock of Martha’s Vineyard like she thought she was, but is in bed. There was no ice cream or first date as Penny had to collect Cady after she took a turn after she went on the internet.
Something happened before Gat could attend the interview, explaining why he is still there. Back in Summer 16, Gat and Maya meet Ed on Martha’s Vineyard, and Gat is disturbed to hear that Harris sent the private jet to collect his mom. Gat asks Ed if it is too late for The Liars not to become like their mothers, and Ed thinks they are different; they have all the time in the world to do things.
Gat realizes he needs to return to the island, but is told only emergency boats are running as an incident has occurred on Beechwood.
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