Yahoo News Liar episode 3: 8 HUGE questions and theories
"I'm not upset that you lied to me. I'm upset that, from now, I can't believe you."
The truth is out. As ITV's Liar reached the midpoint of its 6-part run, it answered the big question hanging over the opening episodes, revealing that charming surgeon Andrew Earlham (Ioan Gruffudd) did in fact rape teacher Laura Nielson (Joanne Froggatt).
It's a relief that this tense thriller from the Williams brothers (The Missing, Rellik) isn't spinning a damaging story about a woman 'crying rape' – but with three episodes left to go, where on Earth can Liar go from here?
We've got a few theories, and some lingering questions.
1. Did Andrew definitely rape Laura?
At this stage, it definitely appears that he did - at the very least, we see in flashback that he definitely drugged her wine the night of their date.
But with three episodes left, is there another twist to come? Maybe Andrew planned to force himself on Laura, then thought better of it or was disturbed, only for someone else to find her unconscious and take advantage? A grim thought, but maybe there was more than one rapist?
Or maybe not. Maybe the remaining episodes will be absent of the mystery element, and will consist simply of Laura teaming with DI Harmon (Shelley Conn) to take Andrew down? Maybe all that speculation about another attacker ("It's the taxi driver from episode one!") was misplaced?
2. Was Laura really just looking for her phone charger?
There's an odd scene - another flashback to Laura and Andrew's date - in which she disappears into her bedroom. She doesn't respond to Andrew calling out her name and, when he enters the room, she insists she got distracted looking for a charger for his dead phone.
But why didn't Laura answer Andrew when he called out? Was she looking for something else in the bedroom? Or disposing of something?
Or maybe the whole thing was just a misdirect? Andrew says he thought Laura had fallen asleep -perhaps we were supposed to think the same, and that we'd see him attack her at this point?
3. Have we seen the last of Dennis Walters?
Dennis (Peter Davison) first reared his ugly head last week, promising to be Andrew's salvation - this week, he's revealed as a school headmaster who Laura once accused of sexual harassment.
At first, he insists that her claims were baseless, that he was cleared "after the damage was done" and that Laura was forced to leave St. Casper's, the school where they both worked.
Later though, Dennis admits to touching Laura inappropriately - and after she'd come to him in a distressed state, the creep. She only withdrew the complaint against him because the stress of pursuing it was proving to be too much to handle.
But her decision damages her credibility when it comes to accusing Andrew of rape ("It's the boy who cried wolf!") - so will Dennis be back? Despite Andrew's apparent distaste for the man, it's possible he might call on his 'ally' to denigrate Laura's character now that he's suing her for defamation of character.
4. What happened with Laura's mother?
Laura says she dropped the complaint against Dennis Walters because of "all the stress, everything that happened with Mum" while Dennis claims that Laura had originally come to his office seeking comfort, "crying about her Mum".
So what exactly happened to Laura and Katy's mother? Is there a reason the incident seemed to hit Laura harder than her sister (Zoë Tapper)?
5. What happened to Andrew's wife?
After Laura's copper ex-boyfriend Tom (Warren Brown) says a police pal in Edinburgh thought the incident was suspicious, DI Harmon investigates the death of Andrew's wife , but finds "no evidence it was anything other than suicide".
But once the CPS refuse to prosecute, Harmon makes it quite clear that she believes Andrew is a rapist - she tells him to his face when he makes the baffling decision to ask her out for a drink, and tells Laura that she believes Earlham is "a very dangerous man".
Surely, then, the fate of his wife will come up again in future episodes?
6. Will Liam discover Katy and Tom's affair?
In a rather huge coincidence, Liam (Richie Campbell) just happens to overhear a woman talking to a friend about her suspicions that her partner is cheating on her - mostly because he's frequently absent and has started showering her with gifts.
This conveniently happens just after Katy has bought Liam some sold-out gig tickets that would've been stupidly difficult to get a hold of, igniting his own suspicions about his wife's honesty.
He even breaks into her e-mails, but can't bring himself to read them, instead asking Katy flat out if she's cheating. She denies it - but there's a problem...
Andrew knows about Katy and Tom's affair, having spotted them together outside the hospital where he and Katy both work, and delights in letting Tom know the fact after the copper tries to threaten him.
Will Andrew expose the affair?
7. Will Andrew's lie about Makeda be his undoing?
In another of Liar's MAHOOSIVE coincidences, Laura stumbles upon pregnant schoolgirl Makeda (Tsion Habte) just after she's taken pills to abort the child - and of course Luke Earlham, Andrew's son, is the baby's father.
Makeda's father is super intense and controlling, so Laura ends up having to beg Andrew to lie to him about the pregnancy, to protect both Makeda and Luke.
Though he initially refuses, calling her suggestion "unethical" and "bloody irresponsible", Andrew eventually does what Laura asks - telling Makeda's father that his daughter was just dehydrated.
He tells the lie to make himself look good - Andrew's desperate to convince Laura, and perhaps himself, that he's a "nice guy" - but could it come back to haunt him? Since he's got away with rape, could he end up facing a charge of medical malpractice or similar?
8. Will all these break-ins end up having consequences?
First, Laura broke into Andrew's home in the hopes of finding evidence to use against him - he'd revealed on their date where he keeps his spare house key - but came up empty-handed.
During her search, she lost an earring - which Andrew later discovered on the floor of his bedroom. Then, at the close of this week's episode, Laura finds the earring - returned to her flat and attached to her giant stuffed rabbit (see above).
So Andrew at some point broke into her house? Will Laura report this to the police? Or will he tell them about her breaking into his home, to further damage her credibility? Possibilities, so many possibilities...
Liar continues next Monday at 9pm on ITV.
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