The Lying Game - Season 2 Episode 4 - Recap and Review - A Kiss Before Lying

Sometimes while watching The Lying Game, when the right mix of characters are squashed into a scene, I find myself feeling as though I’m watching a bunch of actors reading lines from different plays. That is, of course, the point! Everyone has an agenda, and everyone lies. Except for Laurel (Allie Gonino), she’s perfect. Mostly, this was the case in “A Kiss Before Lying”, where “evil” twin Sutton (Alexandra Chando) found herself wondering if her heart does indeed exist.

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Episode 4 opened with Alec (Adrian Pasdar) and Rebecca (Charisma Carpenter) planning their previously postponed honeymoon to Hell. Alec had some twisted “surprise” planned for his devious new bride. It was about time Rebecca “got what she deserved.” How about a legal name change? Funny thing; I believe the point is that we’re not sure which of these villains we’re intended to support. Neither, I guess? Where is Char?

Anyway, back in the realm of characters who at least try to live like decent human beings, Emma and Thayer (Christian Alexander) caught up via a quick phone chat. Emma then phoned in her required daily chitchat with her curly doppelganger, Sutton, if only to make sure the two were still set to switch back once Sutton finished her regional tennis tournament. Question; why does Sutton want to play in the tournament? Isn’t Emma better?

Downstairs, Phony Father of the Year announced that he was receiving the award for Humanitarian of the Year down at the country club. All of that pro bono work finally paid off. Laurel was thrilled, while Sutton’s applause was muted at best. Kristin (Helen Slater) had been expected to speak some words on behalf of Ted (Andy Buckley), but homie don’t play that game no more. Pass to Laurel and Sutton! We knew as soon as Sutton volunteered to write something that she was about to ruin everyone’s day.

Mads (Alice Greczyn) decided to visit her freshly returned father, only to run into the bro-est of step-bros, Jordan (Ryan Rottman), at the front door. Yes, they danced the same old dance. Mads claimed she wasn’t interested and pretended to be appropriately turned off by Jordan. Alec arrived just on time to make things even more awkward. Once Rebecca stepped into the room, the “party” really started. A distracted Sutton strutted in through the back door without knocking, and Rebecca did her best to pretend she was mortified by Sutton’s lack of respect for their screwed up home. Outside, Sutton and Rebecca talked about Sutton’s looming speech, and Rebecca’s twisted brain started storming.

At the cabin, Emma and Whitehorse (Blair Redford) continued their tutoring sessions. Ethan seemed adequately enthused by Emma’s presence. Emma, on the other hand, seemed pretty burnt.

My Viewing Partner (requested web alias: Chad Michael Murray): "Joe, don't you have her tank top?"

When Rebecca and Alec arrived to kick-start their honeymoon adventure, the two were forced to hide in the back room while the couple settled in. Rebecca, of course, locked eyes with Emma through a cracked door but kept quiet. Once the exes escaped, the real fun began.

Alec brought a super expensive bottle of vino for a very “special” occasion. How bizarre was that dinner? Rebecca dramatically recanted her “irrational” fear that Alec had suspected her to be in on his framing.

Alec: “I’d be outside burying you in the woods.”

Rebecca: “Not if I buried you first!”

Seriously, there was no audience, but the two had to put on a show just for one another. Had this been some kind of crazy “Adams Family”- type situation, this would be the best honeymoon ever! They’d each plot to kill one another, thwart each other’s schemes, and boink to celebrate!

That night, Rebecca found herself in the pitch black after the lights cut out during her shower. I was more concerned with the concept of having to use actual tiled steps to get out of a bathtub. Now that’s dangerous! In the living room, a dripping Rebecca called out for a missing Alec, only to find herself spooked and falling down when he popped up out of the shadows. When Rebecca awoke from her crash, she gave up the ghost, admitting to still feeling like Alec didn’t trust her. She can’t crack! That’s no fun!

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Poor Emma was forced to hightail it to the same motel Sutton used after her car ended up at the bottom of the lake. Upon checking in, the desk clerk, assuming that she was Sutton, asked for the money he was owed. Confused, Emma played up the situation to dig for information. Assuming she’d clunked her head and forgotten what went down, the clerk reminded Emma that she’d met with two women over the course of her stay, and that she offered to pay him to lie. Emma had only known about Annie’s visit.

Sutton barged in on Emma and Ethan’s tutoring session, hoping to brush up on some schoolwork herself. Emma questioned her about her meetings, only to get quite obviously shrugged off. After getting in her car to leave, the clerk popped up in her driver’s seat window with actual sketches he’d drawn up to help her remember the faces of the women she’d met with; Annie and Rebecca. Wow, so he was strange after all.

Laurel: “Have fun kissing your step-sister, creep!”

Laurel had had enough of Jordan playing her. Sutton delivered some of her signature brand of “tough love” that morning, informing Laurel that Jordan was out of her league and that she should try searching in the back of the yearbook for a boyfriend. I mean, come on. You would think Laurel, like, lived under a bridge and ate billy goats. Still, it was enough to convince her to tell off Jordan for making her look like a fool.

ABC Family "The Lying Game"

Afterwards, Laurel actually ended up thanking Sutton for her advice. Although, she refused to agree that the tool was out of her league. Emma listened in from the closet, as Laurel attempted to have a conversation with her sister, Sutton, about boys. More so, she wondered why they always choose the wrong ones. Laurel insisted that Thayer being kind and loyal, “like a puppy,” was a good thing and that Sutton should appreciate that. A newly inspired Emma all the while eavesdropped. My favorite moment was when Laurel complimented Sutton for “finally doing her hair,” while Emma lurked in the shadows with her normal non-villainous hairdo.

Family counseling ended up going surprisingly well. At fist, Sutton was on the inconsiderate attack, as usual, leaving Laurel to defend her parents’ marriage. Sutton advised them to call it quits. That is, until Kristin attempted to relate to her, drumming up an old story of her initial days of post-adoption. At this point, Sutton looked, dare I say, touched? Kristin’s tale of how baby Sutton never cried in her arms did the trick. How could the evil twin possibly write a speech to ruin her family after that?

Considering the therapy session to be a total bust, Rebecca insisted that Sutton up her game when it came to the public speech at the awards ceremony. Instead of merely spilling family secrets, Rebecca pressured Sutton to blow the lid off of the whole ordeal, revealing the truth behind…  The Lying Game! Please, these people would self-destruct without a sociopathic game to play.

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Mads had been busy cleaning out her stuff. Now that her father is moved in with Rebecca, she figured it only made sense to move over there as well. Right, because living with Jordan, in any case, is a great idea! First, she’d have to make things right with Laurel, who was still upset surrounding the fact that she’d caught Mads making out with her supposed dude, Jordan. After a nice apology, ray-of-sunshine Laurel gave Mads the go-ahead to bang her step-bro all she wanted.

ABC Family "The Lying Game"

Over at Rebecca’s pool, Jordan swam laps as though he’d been anticipating Mads’s arrival. Seriously, I think she gets off on these types of situations. It was as though she called him and asked him to be waiting for her, only to have her show up with a faux sense of hesitance. Of course they kissed again! That night, Rebecca and Alec arrived home, both alive. Alec went out back to check on Mads, only to find Jordan still swimming solo. After questioning Mads’s whereabouts, only to receive a bold faced lie from Jordan, clever Alec only needed to glace over to the right to find a series of wet Mads-sized footprints leading off to the side. Ugh, Mads!

With the Humanitarian of the Year ceremony beginning, Sutton found herself between a rock and a hard place. No, more like between a really nice lady with questionable conservative style and a super-sexy succubus. Emma had offered Sutton a pre-written speech, but she declined, of course. Ethan urged Sutton to prove Emma wrong and to impress everyone for once. Laurel gave a decent speech, but Sutton pulled a classic “I have a speech, but I’m tossing it dramatically” move and spoke off the cuff. Just when we thought she’d throw Ted and Kristin under the bus, she gave a speech praising Kristin as the rock behind Ted. Outside of the ceremony, an impressed Ethan planted one on Sutton’s lips. Volunteering does pay off, evil twin!

Meanwhile, Emma had let Laurel’s words about Thayer fester long enough to inspire her to make an impromptu trip out to Los Angeles for a visit. After hauling ass over to Thayer’s place, she was shocked to find him answering the door with a blond in a towel. For shame, Thayer. It’s been two days! Emma stormed off before Thayer could explain, although, he didn’t seem to have much of an explanation at all. To add salt to the wound, Emma had skipped a tutoring session with Ethan to visit him.

Back at the Mercer household, Mads spoke to a disgruntled Emma over the phone as she waited for the next bus home after having to spend the night in the terminal. Assuming she was speaking to Sutton, Laurel grabbed the phone to wish her luck at her tennis tournament.  Emma played dumb, as the situation seemed harmless enough. When Laurel stepped into the kitchen, however, she was dumbfounded to find Sutton still at home! Speechless, she watched Sutton snatch a yogurt.

Back in L.A. Emma found herself surprised to see Thayer just prior to boarding her bus. Finally, he explained that the girl was nothing more than a surf buddy, and that he was too prideful to fight to explain on the spot. Make-up kiss!

The episode closed with Rebecca confronting Sutton about her heartfelt speech. Sutton, speaking honestly for once, admitted that destroying Kristin didn’t come quite as easily to her as it does for Rebecca. In a last ditch attempt to coerce Sutton, Rebecca handed her a journal Kristin allegedly kept during the early days of baby Sutton’s life with the Mercers. Allegedly, Kristin had initially wanted to give her away… again.

What did you all think of The Lying Game Season 2 Episode 4, “A Kiss Before Lying”? Do you think Sutton will come around to team human or remain on team demoness? Can Rebecca ever truly hope to seduce Ted? What does Alec know? Who will Emma reveal her true identity to next week?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of The Lying Game Season 2 Episode 4, “A Kiss Before Lying”!