Liar, episode six

Andrew gets home and drinks. He’s freaking out. His pacing wakes up Luke so he tells him that the detective is accusing him too. Luke suggests going to her boss but Andrew tells him that the police will stick together. He asks Luke to give an alibi because he’s scared. He cries and Luke tells him that he will do whatever his father needs.

Laura and Harmon talk. The latter tells her that she’s got this and she’ll be in touch. Laura says okay. Andrew gets to work. There are cops there. Laura goes out and meets with a man for drinks. Katy drops the boys off with Liam. She tells him that it doesn’t have to be like this but he says that she made this situation.

During her drink, Laura is enjoying herself until she sees Andrew out the window with a woman. Her mood takes a turn and she talks about how his life was turn upside down but nothing was found. They get back to hers and she goes inside, without inviting him in.

Meanwhile Andrew is getting pushy for more drinks with his date. She stands her ground though and sends him on his way. Once inside, Laura stalks Andrew on social media. She reaches out to the new girlfriend who says that Andrew warned her about Laura. Laura just gives her facts and tells her to make her own decision.

Harmon is getting close to her due date. She is walking with her partner. Apparently she never told her about the rape but her partner knows that she has a secret. She presses and Harmon breaks down. Andrew goes to chat with Luke but he wants nothing to do with his dad. Andrew tries to confront him but gets a call from his girlfriend Charlotte (Laura Aikman). She looked up what Laura said.

Because it’s his way, Andrew then calls Laura to intimidate her. It works. Soon she is in tears. The next morning she calls Harmon. Laura thinks Andrew recorded it and says as much but Harmon doesn’t think so. There was no record of it. She agrees to pass it on to the other investigators though.

Turns out the other investigator is Charlotte. She’s undercover dating Andrew and he has no idea. Katy breaks into his work locker and swipes his phone. She gives it to Laura. They talk about trust. Laura still doesn’t trust Katy.

Charlotte turns up for dinner. Andrew notes that she seems tense but she attributes it to a long day. She looks around the house while he pours them some wine. He brings it in to her and she asks for water. He goes to get it and she fills a syringe with the wine. She gets caught though and they exchange words before she leaves.

He had the drugs in his pocket. Laura brings Andrew’s phone to Tom. She wants to check it for the recordings. He’s willing to help. Harmon hears that the op went bad and is upset. Her partner is too. Tom finds a message from Mia to Andrew about collecting his things. She calls Harmon with the information but gets no answer.

Laura goes to Andrew’s mother’s house. She poses as his friend and gets access to the shed. She goes through his things while his mother’s aide calls Andrew. Laura finds the memory cards, packs them up and makes a break for it. Once in the car and away from the house, she loads the memory card in her laptop and sees the video of herself.

She brings it to the station. Police find 17 women and the cards are admissible. There is a warrant and they are going to arrest him. Cops get to the house but Luke answers the door. He’s not there. On the news, reports are in that no one has seen Andrew in three weeks. Everyone is looking for him. He’s dead though, in the marsh. Someone slit his throat.

I’m glad that everyone believes Laura now. I feel bad for Harmon and for Luke but I’m glad that Laura stuck with it. A lot of people would have just rolled over on that. I saw that there was a second season set for 2019.

Liar, episode five

Laura is plotting to plant the GHB in Andrew’s locker at work. Tom wants to help. He’s already been suspended. He wants to see this through. She relents and lets him. As she gets out, she sees Katy’s umbrella in the car. She questions him. He makes up a story.

Harmon heads to the clinic where they plan to do an internal probe to check on the baby. She complains of some pain and the doctor notes some abrasions. The baby is okay and the cuts should heal. It’s something that can happen with intercourse and…. lightbulb moment. She asks for a GHB test.

Katy is home with the kids when Laura turns up. She heads to the kitchen for coffee and swipes her sister’s pass card for work. She returns the umbrella and asks about it. Their stories don’t match up. Laura calls her on it.

She doesn’t want to admit it but Laura keeps pushing until she does. Laura storms out. Harmon gets a call from the doctor. No GHB but that leaves the system quick. The cuts are far from usual and she’s concerned. Harmon tells her not to worry about it.

Tom calls Laura to move on Andrew’s locker. She blows him off after telling him she knows about him and Katy. At work, Harmon is spaced out. She asks her partner about GHB effects but won’t admit to why.

Apparently Katy told Liam about Tom because now she’s trying to get through to him and can’t. Laura is ignoring her calls as well. She’s in a pub getting drunk. She walks home thinking about the night with Andrew and is still thinking about it the next morning.

Andrew visits his mother. He has some things he wants to store in the back with the rest of his stuff. Laura goes to therapy. She’s mad and she feels dirty. The therapist tells her its normal but she doesn’t care. Andrew has videos and memory cards stored in the shed at his mother’s.

Life goes on for Harmon. She has to testify in a case. The kid doesn’t want to testify anymore but she gives him a pep talk and she realizes it applies to her too. She has nothing to be ashamed of.

She calls someone because she needs to talk in person. Liam is out. He’s going to his mother’s until Katy can find someplace else to live. Laura is still mad. She breaks a mirror and then has an idea.

Laura meets Andrew at a pub under the guise of discussing the defamation suit. He gets frustrated because she won’t talk and walks out. She follows, stumbling, and they argue until she tells him she will back off. Then he goes to leave and she scratches him, drugging him in the process. She kidnaps him.

They end up in an abandoned warehouse. She drags him inside. Harmon tells her partner what happened. She wants to file a report but she wants to wait because she wants to research it first. His phone rings. It’s his daughter’s birthday. She tells him to go home to his family.

Andrew wakes up and talks about having no power. Laura says that that’s the point. Harmon starts tracking Andrew’s car. He’s near the marsh. He’s been there for a while. Laura is going full villain and talking up a storm. She brings up cutting off his dick and then Catherine.

He plays his part well and starts talking about his wife’s death and the chase with Catherine. He knows Laura is different though. She tells him that she’s got him now. She’s going to go to the police and lie, say it happened again. She has the whole thing set, the GHB and her injuries. Only problem is, he’s escaped the ropes.

She tries to hide in the marina but he comes looking. He grabs her but Harmon pulls up in the nick of time. She’s going to take him down. She can’t arrest him though. He still has the GHB in her system. Harmon has to let him walk away.

I was so worried about Harmon’s baby. I’m relieved that it is okay. I get that Laura is upset. It’s completely valid and then the Katy and Tom stuff is insult to injury but she is ruining everything. If Harmon tracks his car, she’ll get the memory cards right?

Liar, episode four

Laura calls Katy and tells her that Andrew had been in her home. Katy wants to go to the police but Laura points out that they’ve been no help so far so she wants to take matters into her own hands. She goes to Edinburgh to talk to Andrew’s former mother-in-law, Felicity Cassidy (Clare Higgins).

Felicity is chatty at first but once Laura brings up what happened to her daughter, Felicity gets defensive. She says that police dragged Andrew in and out but found nothing. Then she kicks Laura out. Andrew talks to Luke about his lawsuit and how things will all be over soon. Harmon has asked for a transfer. She can’t deal with the Andrew Earlhams of the world. Her partner tells her to think on it.

Out in Edinburgh, Laura has tracked down the first wife’s best friend Catherine (Dawn Steele). It’s more of the same. She doesn’t know anything, or at least that’s what she says. Laura doesn’t buy it but walks away. Her flight home ends up being canceled. She has to stay the night.

Harmon video chats with her girlfriend in Iraq about her job and her baby. Because she’s pregnant. Laura chats with a man named Ian (Kieran Bew) in the hotel bar. He gets a little pushy but she shuts him down real quick. Catherine has reached out. She wants to talk. She slept with Andrew right before his wife died but in retrospect she thinks that he drugged her. She’s willing to go with Laura to talk to police.

Tom gets brought in and told about the fact that Andrew wants him investigated. He wants to fight it. Andrew goes to his boss. He’s ready to come back to work. He has a clear head now. Montage of Andrew snooping around Harmon’s place. Laura gets flowers from Ian. She brings them back to him.

Katy is trying to call her sister. Laura isn’t answering. Someone knocks on the door. It’s Tom. He’s been suspended. He threatens to tell Liam about their affair. Speaking of, Liam is back with the kids. Awkward conversation ensues before Tom ducks out.

It’s time to head back and Laura goes to get Catherine. She’s backing out though. She doubts herself and just wants to move on with her life. It was Felicity. She stopped by and talked to Catherine. Laura tells Catherine not to bury her head in the sand.

Harmon tells her partner that she thought about it. She’s going to go through with the transfer. She goes home, drinks her juice and watches tv. The juice was drugged. In comes Andrew Earlham. He follows the same pattern as with Laura. Cleans the evidence and then moves in to rape her.

Laura is at the bar at the airport. Ian turns up. They talk about changing worldviews. She flies home, sorts her mail and finds a letter from Andrew’s lawyer. She confronts him and he says that the letter is very clear. She makes a public apology or he’ll sue. She brings up Catherine and then he gets nasty.

Much later, Harmon wakes up. She drinks some water and then goes to the bathroom. She sees blood in the toilet. Laura tells Liam and Katy about Andrew’s letter. Katy recommends that Laura walk away.

Tom and Laura meet near the water. She wants something from him. He gives it to her and asks why she needs it. She tells him that it might be best he doesn’t know. He points out that he just bought GHB so it’s a little late for that.

This show is absolutely awful. Why am I watching it? Harmon was raped and is going to lose the baby and doesn’t even know it! I feel so bad for her. I can’t even handle it. They better get Andrew for this. I want Laura to be vindicated but I am more invested in Harmon.

Liar, episode three

Laura is in bed when she hears a racket. She goes to investigate and finds Andrew strangling her. She startles away. It was just a nightmare. She gets up and does laundry. She tells Katy that she appreciates staying there but she doesn’t feel any better so she should go home and get on with her life. She mentions her missing earring.

She goes home and remembers her night with Andrew, when they were chatting and drinking wine. Andrew has a visitor, Denis Walters (Peter Davison). He knew Laura at her last job. She accused him of sexual harassment and though he eventually prevailed he still suffered damages.

A girl named Makeda (Tsion Habte) waits to swipe a package from the post before heading to school. She gets there and pops five pills before heading to class. Laura gets to work and finds a boy being bullied in the bathroom. It’s Luke. He tells her this is her fault. This is what happens when people think your father is a rapist.

Denis goes to see the detectives. As they walk him out, Andrew turns up. He says that he feels sorry for Laura. He thinks she needs help. She’s breaking down. She can’t find the earring and Denis is texting her. She tells Tom as much and he tries to calm her down but it doesn’t really work.

Liam is out with the kids eavesdropping on other people. Laura argues on the phone with Denis. She dropped the charges against him. Why won’t he just leave her alone? He does some victim-blaming. Laura hangs up on him and looks out the window. She sees Makeda hobbling alone and goes to talk to her. Turns out the pills were an at-home abortion. Laura takes her to see a doctor.

Andrew and Denis chat in a pub and the story of what happened with Denis and Laura. He did take advantage and Andrew sees that now. He blames Denis and then leaves. At the hospital, Makeda wants Luke. He is the father of her baby. She doesn’t want to tell her parents. She just wants Luke. She asks Laura to go to the house.

Laura gets a call. It’s one of the detectives. The prosecutor isn’t going to take the case. She goes to get Luke and lies about needing the bathroom snoop in Andrew’s room for her earring. No sign of it. Tom runs into the detectives. He finds out that Edinburgh was a dead end and that the case is being dropped.

Tom is on patrol and he sees Andrew. He makes his partner stop the car and gets out to threaten Andrew. He turns it around and tells him he knows about Tom and Katy. Laura brings Luke to see Makeda. Her father is on his way. The school told him. She says that now he is going to send her back to Ethiopia.

Later, Tom tells Katy that Andrew knows. Laura has another flashback of chatting with Andrew over wine. He gets to the hospital and she explains that Makeda wants him, as a doctor, to talk to her father. Tell him it’s nothing serious and that she will be fine. Andrew says no and they argue about human decency.

Liam is at home looking through e-mail. Katy gets home. He’s put the pieces together and asks her point blank if she is seeing someone else. She says no. He tells her that she has been different. She says it’s just stress.

Makeda is being discharged as her father approaches. Laura tries to cover but it isn’t working. Andrew walks over and says that it was dehydration. Her father accepts that answer. Detective Harmon (Shelley Conn) tells Andrew that his case will not be prosecuted. She also gives him literature on consent. He laughs about the situation being all over and invites her for a drink. She tells him that she is on duty and he suggests after. Then she tells him that she doesn’t drink with men that rape women.

Laura is at work when her phone rings. It’s Harmon. She’s at the school and wants to talk to Laura. There is no change to the case. She just wanted to warn Laura that if Andrew had anything to do with his wife’s death that would make him very dangerous and that Laura should be aware and not to hesitate to call if there is a problem. She also apologizes for not being able to do more.

Andrew talks to Luke. He says that it’s over but Luke points out the accusations will be out there forever. Andrew says that it’ll all work out. Laura tells Katy what Harmon said. She doesn’t want to back down but Katy tells her to take care of herself. Flashback to Andrew pouring wine. HE SLIPS SOMETHING IN HER DRINK.

He talks to a lawyer about suing for defamation of character. Laura gets home to find her earring in plain sight. Andrew has been inside and left it there.

Wait so he’s a murderer? And his son got a girl pregnant at 16 and there was no comment on that? We knew he was guilty. He had to be but this whole show just took a turn. I’m glad Harmon is on team Laura.

Liar, episode two

Andrew wraps up surgery. His buddy invites him out for a pint but he declines. On his way out of the hospital, his phone rings. It’s Luke. He tells his father about what Laura wrote online. Andrew tells him to stop reading it, claims its a lie.

Laura is standing outside when her phone rings. It’s Andrew and he’s pissed that she posted about him online. They argue about what happened. She insists she said no. She breaks a glass. Flashback to dinner. Andrew breaks a glass. They discuss being paranoid about locking up the house.

Katy leaves a message for Tom before spending time with Liam and the kids. Tom returns the call. Laura comes down and Katy tells her that her post is basically viral. Katy is concerned about how this will impact the case and Laura’s privacy.

Luke is on his way out the door when Andrew stops him. He wants to make sure that his son knows the truth. He tells him his side of the story. Luke wants to know why Laura would accuse Andrew of such things. Andrew doesn’t know.

Laura gets a message about her post. It’s anonymous. She demands to know who the sender is but doesn’t get a response. Katy invites Laura to the park but she declines. She wants some time alone. She kayaks and then heads to the police station.

She wants an update on the case but there is nothing more. They gently explain that they need more evidence anad that her post did nothing to help her cause. They recommend she talk to a professional. She is upset. Andrew reads the comments on the post before going into work. It seems as though people there are staring at him. Laura reads the comments too. Katy suggests she take time off but she says that she isn’t the one that should be hiding.

Tom talks to the detectives on Laura’s case. They aren’t all that interested in what he has to say but he tells them that things were a big fishy with his wife’s suicide. The investigators there got some weird vibes from Andrew. They tell him to buzz off.

At work, Andrew does a surgery that doesn’t go as smoothly as usual. He says that he feels like he’s going out of his mind. Katy comments that guilt will do that to someone. Laura goes to work. People look at her too. Birav tells her that the post took a lot of courage but she has a fairly defeatist attitude. She tries to hold a lesson but some of the kids are looking at stories about her online. She has a breakdown and leaves.

After a visit to the higher ups, Andrew takes some leave as well. The detectives chat about the case and pregnancy. Laura breaks into Andrew’s house, with a key, and snoops around. She finds a clear, unmarked liquid in a medical bottle stashed under his bed. She puts it back and flees as he comes home.

Laura tells Tom about what she did and about the bottle. He yells at her and then approaches the detective about it. He tells him that there is GHB and that it’s worth it to stick his neck out. The detective goes with it. Police head to the house. Andrew calls his lawyer.

Katy, Liam and Laura are sitting in the kitchen when there’s a knock on the door. It’s the detectives. They want to know if Laura staged the anonymous tip that led to the raid of Andrew’s place. She plays dumb. They tell her to stop interfering. They also mention that there was some insulin found in the house.

That night, Laura cries to Katy. She feels like she’s losing her mind. A man calls Andrew. He wants to meet to talk about Laura. He claims that she has done this before and that he wants to make sure she doesn’t ruin another man’s life. Andrew gives him his address. Laura can’t find her earring. She looks around the room but there is no sign of it. Turns out she lost it elsewhere because Andrew finds it in his room.

Basically this show is great if he’s guilty and supremely fucked up if he’s not. Providing more support for women to come forward in such circumstances is great. If this is just going to create drama and show that women “lie” about rape and are not to be believed then it is awful. I mostly feel bad for the son.

Liar, episode one

Laura Nielson spends her early morning hours kayaking. She finds it perfect. She gets home just as her longtime boyfriend officially becomes her ex and moves out “for good this time.”

Andrew Earlham (Ioan Gruffudd) drops his son off at school. He runs into Laura and asks how she’s doing. He’s heard about the breakup from her sister who has been gossiping at the hospital. He asks her to get drinks sometime and she agrees. She tells Birav (Akbar Kurtha) about it and he tells her to lock it down with the widower surgeon.

Later, Laura talks to her sister Katy (Zoë Tapper) about Andrew. She says that he’s liked Laura for ages and supports the pairing. Laura hangs up and texts him to make plans. He is trying to meditate but gives up and sees it. They make plans for that night as Katy approaches. He asks her for advice.

While getting ready, Laura gets a pep talk from Katy. Then another from the cab driver on the way to her date. She gets there and says hello to Andrew.

Laura wakes up on a rainy morning with a text from Andrew thanking her for a great night. She freaks out and rushes to shower. Andrew is in a coffee shop looking pleased as punch. Laura walks to her sister’s house in the rain. She admits that she invited Andrew back after the date but she doesn’t remember anything else. She doesn’t know what she did.

Katy and Laura sit in the car and go over the course of events. Laura has flashes. She drank, probably too much, and she knows that they kissed and remembers being on the bed. She thinks thats when she told him to stop. She didn’t want to sleep with him. Katy asks her if she pushed him off, if he really got the picture because she knows Andrew and if he knew she didn’t want to…

Andrew’s friend asks him how the night ended. He says that he liked her a lot. Laura explains that when she woke up that morning she felt like it had all happened to someone else. The night before, Laura and Andrew walk out of the restuarant chatting about themselves when they were in school.

Katy takes Laura to a clinic where she gets a rape kit done and will file a police report after. Andrew walked Laura home, kissed her goodnight outside and went to call a cab but his phone had died. She invites him in to call a cab.

The nurse at the clinic gets the police. Laura wants to tell them and be done with it. She tells Katy to go to work but Katy says no. She would’ve been working with Andrew anyway. The detectives come to the clinic to talk to Laura.

Andrew is wrapping up a surgery. He asks if anyone has heard from Katy. No one has. Someone comes in and asks Andrew to step outside and he asks someone else to close up the incision. Waiting for him are the detectives. They are arresting him for rape. He’s confused.

The ladies head back to Katy’s house. Laura hears a song and it reminds her of the night before. She remembers calling the cab for Andrew. It would take 40 minutes so while they waited, Andrew opened and poured it for her. Katy startles her when she comes to tell her that she will go back to her place to get her clothes.

Back at the police station, Andrew gives his account of the evening. She let him charge his phone. They started kissing and it led to consentual sex. He is released on bail.

The next day, everyone tries to go about their normal routines. Liam (Richie Campbell) asks what’s up with Laura. Katy tells him. Andrew is still frazzled when he takes his son Luke (Jamie Flatters) to school. Birav asks about the date. She tells him she doesn’t want to talk about it. She gets to her classroom and Luke is messing about. She yells at him and sends him to see the headmaster.

Flashback to the date. They chat about Katy and how close the sisters are. Andrew comes by the classroom to talk to Laura. She tells him to get out and that she said no. He tells her she didn’t say no. She yells and he leaves. She calls her ex Tom (Warren Browne) and meets up with him. She tells him what happened, including the encounter at the school. He tells her the law is on her side.

Katy goes to the pier and meets with Tom. Apparently they were having an affair and Tom is willing to wait for her. He understands that she has to be there for her sister. He asks if she’s sure that Laura is right. Katy says she is and asks him to look into Andrew. He says he will. She calls their relationship a mistake.

The detectives talk to Laura again. They relay his version of events and question her on the finer points. They mention that there are no physical signs of rape. She is adamant that though she doesn’t remember everything she knows she told him to stop. She asks the police to leave.

Tom is researching Andrew’s wife’s death. It was a suicide. Laura remembers details about the wine glasses. He swapped the glasses at one point and before he left put them in the dishwasher. Laura tells Katy this and then says her medical history will come up in the case and people will think she is a crazy woman. She wants to make sure everyone knows what he did. Katy tells her not to jeopardize the case but it’s too late. She took to social media.

I feel like this show could be very good. I just don’t like that it already casts so much doubt on Laura’s legitimacy. That’s a very real problem that rape victims face all the time and shouldn’t be used to dramatize a show. And she has a history of mental illness so that will make her less honest? That’s kind of fucked up too. It’s a short series and the acting is good so I’ll watch it but I’m annoyed.