One of Us Is Lying Season 1 Episode 8 Recap – One of Us Is Dead

Addy recalls Jake’s actions in the past that might reveal his involvement in Simon’s death as she walks the school’s hallways. Her thoughts get interrupted when she sees Jake and Cooper. Jake asks Cooper about the couple costumes they are planning to wear for Halloween. Addy wants them to be Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, but Jake wants them to be a magician and bunny. Addy’s idea gets brushed off again. Jake says he woke up with Addy gone, and Cooper asks her what her deleted message was because he received one from her but could not read it before Addy deleted it. Jake swears when he sees Nate walking the hallway. Cooper and Addy get shocked as well.

Nate sees Bronwyn and says: “F*cking Rojas.” Bronwyn explains what she did when Nate’s parole officer calls and checks if he’s actually in school. He tells her he worries about paying her back and asks Bronwyn how Yale would like a student who bails out murderers. She tells him she’ll still go to Yale because they will catch whoever did it to Simon. Bronwyn divulges to Nate that Simon didn’t kill himself and the cops know it because he brought extra EpiPens to the nurse’s office on the first day of school, the same ones found on Nate’s bike. They deduce he wanted himself to be saved, but he could have put the peanut oil in his cup to set them up. Bronwyn says Simon had an accomplice who stole the pens, so he’ll die. She shows Nate a screenshot of the message Addy sent to their group the previous night, which she managed to save before Addy deletes it. It clearly shows Jake’s chat history with Anarchi$K.

Bronwyn sees Addy and Jake kissing. After Jake leaves, she confronts Addy about the screenshot. She asks her if she had asked Jake about it, and Addy tells her confessing to her boyfriend about spying on his chat log isn’t the best way to rebuild a relationship. Addy tells her whenever they play detective, things get worse, and she’ll not lose Jake over it too.

Bronwyn rants to Maeve that Addy has left the group chat. Cooper wants to move on, and Nate will not forgive her for bailing him out. Maeve tells her she’s still with Bronwyn and badmouths Jake. Bronwyn says she also barely knows Jake because she only has one class with him, and then she realizes something.

Brownyn comes to Cooper and explains she only has one class with Jake — Ms. Avery’s. She explains Simon wasn’t close enough to her that day to plant a phone in her bag, but Jake was. She asks Cooper if Jake was around when his phone went missing. Cooper tells him Jake is his friend, so he was always around. Bronwyn tells him Jake was also always around Addy, so he may have set the alarm. Cooper seems to believe her but asks what Jake has to do with Nate.

Nate tells Bronwyn anybody could have jammed his locker. He asks her to just drop her theory, but Bronwyn tells him it makes sense because, at Simon’s wake, the only thing Jake took from his room is Simon’s Xbox — the one they were using to chat. Bronwyn comes up with a theory where Simon and Jake planned the whole thing, and Jake taking the Xbox was him covering his tracks. When they come to Cooper with this, Cooper says Jake would have hammered the Xbox into pieces if it was true. Nate tells him doing it would make Jake look suspicious, so he thinks Jake still has the Xbox. He suggests they get their hands on the Xbox and check the chats themselves. Cooper bursts their bubble and tells them they don’t have the password. They go to Janae, who says she doesn’t have the password, but she can guess it as she did in AboutThat.

They then go to Addy to get themselves invited to Jake’s Halloween party so that they can get access to his room and the Xbox. Addy tells them Jake couldn’t have been the killer, but Bronwyn reminds her about what Janae said: Simon hated her, Bronwyn, and Cooper, but he does not hate Addy. So whoever was working with Simon brought Addy into the mix, and it can only be Jake. Janae suggests Jake might have hated Addy so much that he framed her with the EpiPen, but he framed Nate when it didn’t work because he’s the most likely suspect. Addy asks them why Jake would hate her before he found out about TJ. Janae tells her it’s possible Jake knew about Addy and TJ before the post went live. This enrages Addy, but Cooper reminds her she must have had her own doubts because she sent them the picture, deleted it, and lied about it. Addy refuses to cooperate and starts walking away. But before she can leave the room, Janae tells her Jake is a controlling sociopath who likes to manipulate people. She says Jake doesn’t love her; he just loves having a puppet and reveals Simon was that to him before Simon saw him for who he really is.

Jake hears a part of this and walks into the room. He asks them what they are doing to his girlfriend. Janae comes at him and asks him why he is talking to Simon on Xbox and discloses Addy told them she saw the whole chat history between him and Anarchi$K. Jake tells them Anarchi$K was some random Fortnite kid asking him many questions unless it was Simon catfishing him. He tells them he didn’t give him anything if it was what they’re thinking. Janae tells him Simon would never do it. Addy tries to explain they are not accusing him of anything, but Jake walks out.

Addy goes after him and explains she saw the chat history by accident, and he believes him. Jake makes her choose between him and the Murder Club. Flashback: Jake asks Simon why he badgered Addy. Simon does not tell Jake what he learned, but then a girl comes and tells Simon something has happened to Janae. Simon tries to leave, but Simon does not let him, so he has no choice but to tell Jake that Addy cheated on him with TJ.

Addy goes with Jake. Janae tells them she doesn’t believe Jake’s story. Bronwyn tells them they need costumes because they will crash Jake’s party. They ask Kris’ help with their costumes. He says their plan is crazy, and Cooper says it is insane. Bronwyn then tells them it is their only chance, and they need Cooper because he has an invitation. Cooper says he’s screwed no matter what happens because it’s either he finds out his best friend is guilty or Jake finds out what he’s done, and he’ll lose him either way. “I don’t have that many people,” he worries. Nate tells him he has them.

Flashback: Jake asks Simon to write a post about Addy because he wants her to suffer. Simon suggests he just break up with her, but Jake wants revenge because Addy knew he hates cheaters because his dad was gone, yet she still cheated. He says Simon should help him because they go way back, but Simon reminds him he stopped talking to him after he grew abs and started hanging out with jocks and tells him Jake is the biggest fake he knows. He declares that Jake needs to find someone else to help with his revenge plot because they’re no longer friends.

Jake dares him like he apparently used to back when they were 12. They recall how Jake dared Simon to change the desktop wallpapers in the library and how he also dared him to take peanut oil in gym class to make it look like someone poisoned him. Jake tells him maybe the idea was too ahead of its time because no one would have believed that anybody wanted to kill Simon at that time, but he says it will work now because lots of people hate him. He tells Simon he’s sure there are people he hates too, and they’re old and smart enough to pull it off already. “You’re sick,” Simon tells him.

Jake is about to destroy Simon’s Xbox when Addy shows up, riding her bike. Jake is not so happy and tells her that people will think he’s a jerk if people see Addy riding the bike. Addy tells Jake he looks good in his magician costume and suggests she can be Mrs. Houdini instead of a bunny like Jake has planned. But Jake isn’t pleased with the idea and tells Addy they’ll look like a couple of penguins. He wants their first party back together to look picture perfect. Addy dresses up as a bunny as Jake told her to.

Cooper arrives at the party. Vanessa confronts Jake for taking Addy back, saying Ms. Avery will be homeless and she is grounded all because of her. Jake sees Cooper and tells him he’s not welcome there because he doesn’t know who he is anymore. Cooper tells Jake he’s gay; the rumors are true to avoid being thrown out of the party. He tells him it has been hard for him not to talk to his best friend about the truth. This convinces Jake, who finally gives in. Cooper sees Zach harassing Keely. Keely manages to get away from him, and when Cooper asks her about it, she says it’s not Cooper’s problem anymore.

Cooper proceeds as planned and opens the side door for the rest of the gang. Janae gets into Jake’s room. Nate takes the opportunity to ask Bronwyn why she’s risking her future for him. Bronwyn admits she likes to be with Nate, and she can’t go more than a few minutes without wanting to kiss him. They kiss, but they get interrupted when Janae barges out of Jake’s room. She says she didn’t find the Xbox there. They decide to look in other places. Cooper keeps Jake occupied while the rest does according to plan.

Flashback: Simon and Jake talk through Xbox. Simon asks Jake if he’s going to be outside detention just in case something goes wrong. Jake tells him he won’t be there because there should be nothing to tie him to what they’re planning to do and reminds him it is why they are planning over Xbox and not over cookies. Simon then reveals he has been recording all their conversations so far. When Jake could not speak, Simon tells him he was just kidding. Jake doesn’t seem to believe him but does not say a thing about it. Instead, he tells Simon he’ll be there if Simon makes it worth it. He dares Simon not to have an EpiPen in his bag so that they have to run to the nurse’s office and get back in time to save him. He says they would look like true murderers, giving them a lesson they’ll never forget.

Back at the party, Bronwyn and Nate hide in a room when they hear a drunk Vanessa getting near. But Vanessa goes into the same room they were in, so they hide behind the bed. Luckily, Vanessa passes out before she can even see them. They see a locked drawer and try to open it. Outside, Cooper sees Zach harassing Keely yet again. He excuses himself from Jake and follows Keely.

Jake sees someone suspicious and decides to follow her. It‘s Janae wearing a mask. Janae ends up in a room where Addy tries on the magician costume she talked about earlier. Jake comes in and sees Addy with the girl. He asks the girl to reveal herself, and Janae takes off her mask. She says she came because she heard reviews about his parties but realized it was not really her scene. She tries to go past Jake, but he does not let her. Instead, he asks her to tell him the truth. Addy lies and tells him she invited Janae, but she didn’t know she would come.

Jake is more concerned about seeing Addy wearing a magician costume rather than the fact Janae is there. Addy tells him she was just trying it on, but Jake tells her she was trying to humiliate him in public. She says it was just a costume, but Jake moves away and tells her to enjoy with her new friend. Janae tries to make her realize Jake is controlling her again, but instead of siding with Janae, Addy tells Jake that Janae is not her friend. She then tells Janae to leave the room.

Cooper finds Zach trying to kiss Keely, but before he can come to her rescue, Keely punches Zach hard on the face. Keely says her ex was a pitcher and that he was right — she does not need him. They smile.

Nate struggles to open the drawer. Cooper sees Janae unmasked, talking to Addy, while Jake observes from a distance. Cooper receives a message from Bronwyn saying they think they found it, but they can’t open the lock. Janae leaves when Addy yells at her.

Addy approaches Jake and apologizes. She says Jake is right, the bunny costume is much cuter, so she’ll change. She goes to the room where Bronwyn and Nate are. They stop when they see her, thinking she will tell on them. To their surprise, she hands them the key to the drawer, which she managed to get from Jake. They get the Xbox and leave the room.

Addy texts Janae who was waiting in the parking lot, and says they got the Xbox and she should meet them in Jake’s room. She was about to walk toward the house when Jake sees her and tackles her. He pins her against a car and gets her phone just as it buzzes. He reads Addy’s text and hurries to go to his bedroom. Janae texts Addy about what happened.

Outside Jake’s room, Cooper tells Nate he lost Jake. Nate tells him he did not because Jake is right behind him. Jake wields a gun and tells them to get out of his way. He goes inside his room and finds Addy and Bronwyn by the balcony. The girls jump, but only Addy lands nicely. Bronwyn gets her ankle twisted, so she tells Addy to go alone. Addy gets on her bike while Jake gets in his car. He trails her closely, so Addy decides to go offroad. She falls off her bike and starts running deeper into the woods.

The rest of the gang follows and sees Jake’s abandoned car. They run into the woods except for Nate, who stays behind to help Bronwyn walk. Addy hides behind a tree, but Jake finds her. Jake shows her his gun and tells her he knows how to use it. Jake tells her Simon would still be alive, and none of it would have ever happened if Addy had been loyal to him. He points the gun at her and asks her to hand over the Xbox. Cooper gets behind Jake with a bat, but he catches him and points the gun at him while asking him to drop the bat. He drops it and goes near Addy. Cooper reminds Jake he is a friend. Jake tells him what he did was nothing against him. He admits all he wanted was to get rid of Simon, who thinks he can play him, and frame Addy, his lying, cheating girlfriend. He says it’s a shame no one believed Addy could have pulled it off, so he had to go to Plan B: framing the most obvious suspect.

Flashback: Jake goes into the clinic and steals the EpiPens Simon brought. He signs Addy’s name into the log.

Jake points the gun at Addy again and yells at her to hand him the Xbox. Janae picks up the bat without Jake knowing, while Addy pretends to give in to Jake. She drops the backpack to the ground for Jake to pick up, and when he leans down, Addy signals Janae to hit him. Jake sees it and tries to avoid being hit, but it is too late. Janae hits him, and he drops his gun. They all scramble to get the gun. From a distance, Bronwyn and Nate hear a gunshot. They get to the spot where the others are just as Jake falls to the ground, bleeding.

Flashback: Jake gives Simon the capsule with peanut oil and tells him it dissolves as soon as it hits the water. Simon tells him he cannot believe he let Jake talk him into faking his assassination and blackmailing the only teacher he liked. Jake tells him he can just go home to his boring life and keep wondering what if he had the guts to actually do it. He says he dares him for the last time. Simon hands him his EpiPen. “I’ll see you on the other side,” says Simon as he heads to the door. “Simon?” Jake calls out to him. “See you on the other side,” he adds.

Back to the present, the Murder Club weeps as they realize what just happened.

After two weeks, Vanessa goes live and says the police want everyone to believe that he just decides to leave and disappear during Jake’s Halloween party after Addy confronts him about having Simon’s username on his Xbox. She says the police are considering dropping the charges against Nate because Jake leaves Simon’s Xbox in his room for the police to find. She adds the police get access and find the chats Simon recorded. She says it looks like a Murder Club setup because Jake is not a murderer and definitely not a quitter.

Detective Wheeler talks to Addy and says the exact thing. Nate gets questioned too, but he denies being at the party. The detective then talks to Cooper, who says he didn’t even know that Jake was into video games. Bronwyn also tells the detective everything about Jake is news to her.

Back in school, the members of the Murder Club go back to their normal lives. They even sit separately in the cafeteria. But they look at each other when they all receive a Simon Says message: “Do as I tell you, or everyone will know what you did.”

Our Thoughts

That season was such a rollercoaster ride, and it still shocks us to know how evil Jake is. His plan was so elaborate. Seriously, it looks like he had all the time in the world to plan it. Whatever happened to studying and getting busy with school activities? It pains us he had to die, not that he didn’t deserve it, but because his death made the members of the Murder Club truly murderers. It will be something they’ll carry with them all their lives, and they’re just what, students? That is just horrible because no one can ever come back from that. We just wish there was a better ending. He should have just gone to jail, right?