We Were Liars episode 4 recap: what is Johnny’s secret?

Like most American families, fireworks are a Fourth of July tradition that the Sinclairs enjoy. However, this celebration turns ugly in both the present and past when Johnny’s (Joseph Zada) secrets bubble to the surface in We Were Liars episode 4

Now that Cady (Emily Alyn Lind) knows what happened on the day of her grandmother Tipper’s (Wendy Crewson) funeral, she is more determined than ever to find out if there is a connection between Johnny’s lies and her accident. In the past, the three moms, Penny (Caitlin FitzGerald), Carrie (Mamie Gummer) and Bess (Candice King), keep up their competitive dynamic as they vie for their dad’s approval.

Pie and parties

In Summer 16, Gat (Shubham Maheshwari) thinks it’s odd that Harris (David Morse) is pretending he didn’t just lose his wife, but that’s the Sinclair way. Meanwhile, Carrie accuses Penny of wanting to keep up their mother’s Fourth of July pie-baking tradition as a power move to get back in their father’s good graces. It turns petty again when Bess reminds her two sisters that she hasn’t touched a cent of her trust fund.

Meanwhile, The Liars throw a teens-only party at the Windemere house with plenty of booze and a slip & slide. The moms are aware of this “secret” rager, finding it amusing that their kids are following in their footsteps.

Mirren (Esther McGregor) didn’t want Salty Dan (Tim Rozon) to deliver the supplies for their bash. Still, she is unhappy with his replacement, Ebon (Dempsey Bryk) — especially when Ebon mentions he knows about her mom’s affair.

Johnny runs into Ed (Rahul Koli), who is grabbing something from the house and wants to run his proposal plans by his future stepson. Johnny is thrilled but distracted. Ed asks if he has something else on his mind; Johnny lies, saying he is fine.

Baking and blackmail

Back in the Clairmont kitchen, the pie baking becomes a bonding session as the sisters start singing “Linger” by The Cranberries. But when Carrie ends up covered in flour thanks to a blender blunder, it leads to tears because she is furious she didn’t make time to learn how to make a pie with Tipper. Penny launches into the “chin up” directive, immediately killing the mood.

Carrie then puts her foot in it when Cady and Gat come in to grab a few things, as she mentions that she ran into Gat’s girlfriend earlier. Cady has told Gat that everything is fine between them and says Gat should invite Raquel. Of course, Cady doesn’t want him to do this.

Penny’s pie comes out of the oven looking perfect, but the other two are burned. Bess thinks Penny purposefully sabotaged them, destroying the only edible one. Penny has a panic attack, which Bess thinks she is faking. “You have no idea what it feels like to be a failure in Dad’s eyes,” Carrie says.

At the teen party, Johnny is furious when he sees that Mirren has invited the guys on his tennis team. This angry outburst is something that Cady is focused on in Summer 17. Gat says he has never paid attention to Johnny’s rich kid drama, and when Cady pushes him further, he points out that maybe her mind is trying to protect her.

Gat gives her nothing, so Cady searches Johnny’s bedroom and finds Johnny’s phone. She sees a threatening text from Blake with an attached video; Blake’s message says that keeping him quiet will cost a lot.

Heartbreak and hooking up

In Summer 16. Harris continues to be disappointed by his daughters. He tells Carrie that Penny is spending twice her budget, Bess has nothing (despite what she said about her trust) and he knows Carrie needs something. Carrie explains she did have savings with Ed, but an incident at Johnny’s school has drained their accounts. Carrie took care of it, and Ed doesn’t know. Carrie needs her dad because whatever Johnny did could smear the Sinclair name.

On the beach, Johnny finds Ed setting up the proposal picnic. Ed knows something is up with Johnny, but before he can find out what, a teary Carrie asks Johnny to leave so they can have one-on-one time. Carrie tells Ed she can’t marry him. Ed doesn’t understand why, and Carrie can’t explain. Ed says Johnny’s problems are his problems, yet that isn’t enough. It appears that Harris made Carrie a deal that led to this breakup.

At The Liars' party, Mirren is having more romantic success as her annoyance at Ebon turns into flirtation. She has also collected rich people's secrets and feels as invisible as Ebon. This common ground leads to kisses and more.

Apologizing and angry attacks

Cady spends the whole party drinking too much and trying to make Gat jealous. When she sobers up, she apologizes for her behavior. Gat didn’t even bring Raquel to the party; he went to Martha’s Vineyard to break up with her in person. The fireworks begin, and their reconciliation is interrupted by Johnny standing on the cliff's edge, throwing bottles and crying.

In the present, Cady connects Johnny’s phone to the Wi-Fi so she can play the video that shows Johnny beating someone to a pulp. In the previous episode, Blake said Johnny nearly killed someone. Carrie walks in on Cady watching this and gets upset when she sees what Cady has found. Johnny begs his mother to return his phone, but the damage is done. Carrie knows what Johnny did, but this might be her first time seeing it.

Cady runs outside, where the fireworks are going off. Johnny yells at her for going through his phone; he is sick of her playing the victim card. There is a lot of shouting as Cady collapses and starts having a seizure. The doctor said screens are triggering, and the stress of the argument with Johnny hasn’t helped. Did Johnny have something to do with her accident?

All episodes of We Were Liars are streaming exclusively on Prime Video.