Are you addicted yet? Two episodes in, and "The Lying Game" is giving sister series "Pretty Little Liars" stiff competition in the secrets department. And we love it.
With Sutton's laptop mysteriously stolen at the end of last week's episode, Emma was left with little guidance as she continued to impersonate her twin sister. The latest wrinkle? The annual father-daughter dance (because every teen series must have its fill of hokey town events). While Emma is a pro on the tennis court, she clearly has two left feet in the ballroom. After an awkward turn around the kitchen with Sutton's dad, frustrated Emma fled to her room to pack and run away. Until Ethan emerged from the window (not weird at all) and convinced her to stay.
But Emma wasn't the only one not wanting to cut a rug—Sutton's sister, Laurel, decided she didn't want to go either. As she and Emma drove to school, Laurel divulged our first tease of the titular "Lying Games," as she surmised that Sutton's laptop was probably stolen so someone could gain access to them. Emma tracked down Ethan at school for an explanation of the "Lying Games," which he said were pranks and tricks Sutton and her posse used to pull. Emphasis on "used to." Ethan told Emma to meet him at the country club later that evening—a conversation conveniently overheard by Laurel. Whoops.
As it turns out, Ethan isn't so much a member of the club as he is an employee, but no matter. He can use the ballroom whenever he wants, apparently. He dashingly took Emma by the hand, telling her to feel the music as she bumbled and stepped all over his feet. By the end of the lesson (one filled with plenty of sexual chemistry despite its awkwardness), Emma was comfortable enough to let Ethan dip her. But where did Ethan learn all these smooth moves? From Sutton, of course! All together now: Awwww!
Of course, plenty of intrigue surrounded the other families of Phoenix last night. We caught up with Char and Mads at their ballet lesson, where Char's moves were nearly as clumsy as Emma's. Hottie instructor Eduardo (played by "Step Up 3D" actor Rick Malambri) asked Char to stay after class and broke the news that she'd been cut from the recital. Char contemplated lying to her mom about it, but in the end, she took Emma's advice and spilled the news to her high-strung parental unit. Which, as you could probably have guessed, didn't go well. Emma defended Char to her mom, which also didn't go well. Except, Emma's loyalty impressed Mads, who told her to never change.
While Char struggled with her mom, Mads took on her dad, sending his money to brother Thayer in L.A.—an action that had plenty of consequences. At the father-daughter dance (which Emma aced, albeit a bit woodenly, and Laurel begrudgingly attended), Mads' dad (and Sutton's godfather) Alec made quite the scene yelling at his daughter and accusing his goddaughter of convincing Thayer to leave Arizona. As tensions rose, Ethan stepped into diffuse the situation, which ended in blows.
Thankfully, Alec decided not to press charges, but Ethan was carted down to the police station anyhow. Emma met him there, where she decided she must confess who she really was so the authorities could search for still MIA Sutton. Except, Ethan's brother, Officer Dan, didn't believe her. And good thing, because at that very moment Emma finally received a text from Sutton. Emma and Ethan raced back to Sutton's house to get on video chat, but Emma was stopped in her tracks when Sutton's mom confronted her about the cell phone she found in Sutton's room. Emma tried to play off the whole thing, but I think mom has a few lingering suspicions, especially after Laurel squealed that Sutton and Ethan are an item.
Speaking of Sutton, with nary an excuse as to why she had been incommunicado for three whole days, she begged for just a couple more to find their birth parents. And, surprise, surprise! She's getting a little help from Thayer. (No wonder he was so confused when Mads put "Sutton" on the phone to talk with him.) The big reveal of the night, however, was that Alec arranged the break-in at Sutton's house to secure her laptop. What does he want with it?
What did you think of last night's "The Lying Game"? Do you think Laurel suspects Emma isn't who she says she is? How will Thayer play into this story? And what does Alec want with Sutton's laptop? Spill all in the comments and on Twitter!
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