We're hurt, Laurel. You didn't just lie to your parents. You lied to us too. For a minute there, we thought you actually hadn't slept with cutie pie Justin. But, boy, were we wrong. Because as last night's "Never Have I Ever" proved, you are pretty skilled at this lying game business.
Though Laurel continued the ruse with her parents, she finally revealed to Emma (and us!) that she had indeed done the deed with her homeless boyfriend (which we hope was sexier than it sounds...). And because her parents continued to think Justin was such an upstanding gentleman, Dr. Mercer helped him secure new digs above the country club. Little did he know he was creating the perfect love nest for his daughter and her BF...
Emma's on-again-off-again relationship with Ethan hit another snag when she refused to tell him what was bothering her (and by extension, refused his help with the situation). As you'll recall, faux-bro Travis turned up at the Mercer's home last week with plans to extort money from Emma. But instead of handing over Sutton's good gems, Emma convinced Char to "donate" her costume jewelry to charity, which Emma gave to Travis with instructions not to pawn in town because someone might become suspicious. Someone like Travis...
Ethan's suspicions only grew when he stumbled upon Travis kissing Emma to "seal" their deal—suspicions he let known during a round of the episode's titular "Never Have I Ever" game.
You see, with the Mercers riding high on the trust wagon (for no discernible reason), they decided to leave their children home alone while they went on a romantic conference getaway. (Way to woo the wife, Ted!) Which gave Laurel the perfect opportunity to "blow the roof off of" Casa Mercer. Except, it really was quite a restrained party, with only the usual suspects (and plenty of booze) on hand.
When it was Ethan's "Never Have I Ever" turn, his statement was a simple (yet telling) one: "Never have I ever kissed someone in the last 24 hours." Not wanting to lie, Emma planted one on Ethan so she could take a swig with a clear conscience. Still suspicious and hurt, Ethan refused to sleep with Emma later that night, even though she was coming on hard in her drunken state. See, Ethan is a good guy at heart!
With a mean right hook! Travis came back to the Mercers to confront Emma about the cheapo jewelry, but wasn't able to get much in edgewise as Ethan seemingly materialized out of nowhere and punched him out. When Ethan asked Emma why she didn't tell him about the faux-bro problem, she demurred, saying she didn't want to ruin his "fantasy" of her. "You know I live in a trailer park, right?" he retorted. Boy makes a good point.
While the usual drama went down in Phoenix, Sutton was stuck in juvie in Las Vegas, unable to reach anyone with her single phone call. Someone finally (mysteriously) posted bail for her, and of course, it was no-good Alec who waited outside of the detention facility for her to emerge. Except, before he could do whatever he'd planned on doing, a clunky car whizzed up carrying Emma's BFF Lexie, who was there to pick her up (god bless those security-working cousins with all the dirt!)
But it looks like Sutton wasn't the only one to escape incarceration. After making a phone call to Alec, pleading to know why he'd lied to her about Emma dying, Annie disappeared from her psychiatric facility. Who wants to bet she bought a one-way ticket to Phoenix?
What did you think of last night's "Lying Game" episode? Will Sutton be able to fool Emma's best friend Lexie? What is Justin hiding in that box of his (besides a picture of the Mercers)? And are you happy Emma and Ethan seem to be on the right romantic foot again? Sound off in the comments and on Twitter!
