At first glance, We Were Liars might seem like just another moody, coming-of-age mystery draped in wealth, trauma, and seaside tragedy. But beneath the glossy, windswept exterior of the Sinclair family’s private island, the show offers a searing critique of something far more sinister: modern racism – the kind that doesn’t shout, but whispers. The kind that smiles politely while quietly reinforcing systems of exclusion. The kind that doesn’t need slurs to hurt. We Were Liars racism
Enter the Patils: Gat, played by Shubham Maheshwari, and his uncle Ed, played by Rahul Kohli. They are outsiders, not just because they aren’t rich or born into the Sinclair name, but because their skin is darker, their culture different, and their presence a reminder that the Sinclair bubble is fragile and delusional.
Harris Sinclair, the patriarch played with icy restraint by David Morse, is the embodiment of this modern racism. He doesn’t yell. He doesn’t spit. He simply ensures, time and time again, that the Patils never feel truly welcome. Whether it’s the cold glares, the patronising tone, or the snide comments cloaked in concern for “family legacy,” his discomfort with their presence is palpable. When his granddaughter Cadence, played by Emily Alyn Lind, confronts him, “Sinclairs are blond and square-chinned, we freckle in the sun… you don’t want Indian grandchildren,” the mask slips.
And there it is. That single line cuts deeper than any hate crime headline. It encapsulates the everyday racism so many people of colour know all too well. The kind that isn’t always in the words, but in the silences. Not always in the actions, but in the absence of inclusion.
Gat Patil’s character, in particular, shoulders this tension beautifully. He’s smart, curious, and outspoken, the kind of person who should be embraced by a family that claims to value integrity and intellect. But he’s never enough. Never ‘white’ enough. Never Sinclair enough. And it shows in the way he’s spoken to, in the way he’s watched. Even when he challenges the family’s colonial attitudes with the way they casually mistreat staff, ignore their abhorrent privilege, or refuse to acknowledge uncomfortable truths – he’s met with silence, a change of subject or worse, a hurtful comment about how he is not a part of the discussion. We Were Liars racism
One of the most jarring moments in We Were Liars comes when Harris Sinclair casually refers to South-East Asian people as “Orientals” – a deeply outdated and offensive term that instantly reveals the depth of his racial bias. It’s a moment that doesn’t just sit in the script; it lands heavily on Gat’s character, visibly shifting his posture, his comfort, and his sense of belonging. While Gat is not Harris’s biological grandchild, the difference in treatment between him and the Sinclair grandchildren becomes increasingly stark and it’s not just about blood. At first, one might write it off as familial boundaries, but as the series progresses, the pattern of exclusion becomes too deliberate to ignore. It becomes racially motivated behaviour.
The show doesn’t just show racism in dialogue; it shows it in atmosphere. The stares, the discomfort, the tension – it’s all too familiar to people of colour living in predominantly white spaces. And that’s what makes We Were Liars different. It simply holds up a mirror to the kind of quiet discrimination that’s still all around us.
Yes, the blatant racism of being called “curry munchers” or “call centre workers” still exists and resurfaces at times of tragedy, as seen in the backlash and insensitivity following the Air India crash. But what We Were Liars reveals is a more insidious form. It’s the belief that people of colour are genetically inferior, unsuitable matches, bad for the bloodline.
This is racism with a clean face and an Ivy League education. Racism that says “we’re not racist, we just want to keep the family name pure.” Racism that clings to the illusion of decorum while perpetuating generational trauma. We Were Liars racism
READ ALSO: The James Ruse incident: The racism behind the stereotype
