Sometimes the villain wins

- The first time, Mona looks into the mirror in Ali’s house and says, “Ali’s as determined as she ever was, don’t you think?” Clearly this, at the very least, implies that if there’s something on the other side of the mirror, they know about Alison and her history. But to me, it goes even further than that. It seems like whoever she’s talking to actually knows Alison, and I have no idea who that would be if that’s the case.

- The second time, she says into her car’s rearview mirror, “I think I’m doing a good job, don’t you?” If this is Beacon Guard, what would be the purpose of having a camera in Mona’s car? Just for communication purposes? I assume there are better ways to get in contact with them. That’s also just kind of a strange thing to say to the people at the headquarters (which I’ll get to in a minute).

- And then of course, at the very end of the episode she barges into the bathroom, stares into the mirror, and demands to know what the hell just happened and if it was “our” fault. This falls more in line with the idea that she really is talking to someone else - although it’s not as if she hasn’t spoken about herself in the third person before.

- One thing I noticed was the girl that Mona shooed out of the bathroom. She was practically a dead ringer for Mona in her early “loser” high school days. That would be a huge coincidence, and as Ali said, there are no coincidences in Rosewood. That was one little detail that made me wonder if this really is all psychological, and a clue that the whole security screen thing is happening inside of her head.

- Also, another question I have is regarding two way communication. Mona could obviously hear the woman in the room with the monitors, as she visibly reacted to the “go to your safe place” line. Is she wearing an earpiece at all times? If so, why would she need to go to the mirror in the first place to communicate with Beacon Guard - just to come across as more confrontational?

You guys this isnt monas brain…its hotchkiss technologies. This company created beacon guard, they specialize in security and surveillance. thats why they are able to view everything that is happening on all of these screens. Mona is still working for them. Theyre comminicating with mona through mirrors.

“Go to your safe place.”

I thought that phrase sounded familiar, and now I remember where I remember it from.

Now back to The Perfectionists, take a close look at the girl who Mona kicks out of the bathroom right before freaking out at the mirror.

The glasses, the clothes…that doesn’t seem like it can be a coincidence. And then, right after Mona rushes in, in a state that’s agitated and just short of hysterical, we get this line from the woman behind the monitors:

(Blood on his hands? Could be some bloody good foreshadowing.) 

“At BHU we’ll do whatever it takes to stay on top. We thrive under pressure, and strive for perfection. But no one’s perfect, and the pressure is building to a breaking point. And someone is about to snap, and kill.”

Interestingly enough, if we interpret The Perfectionists’ introductory monologue in its purest sense, in terms of (academic) pressure pushing a student to eventually “snap and kill,” then of the main trio of suspects, Dylan best fits the profile.

Caitlin’s motive would be based on her mom’s political career and her own future ambitions, and being a fake girlfriend to Nolan. While Ava’s would seem to be centered around relationship woes, or possibly something to do with her internship/business. 

Sure there’s pressure, and they each have problems with Nolan. But where’s the urgency? I’m not sold on the idea that either of these two are really on the verge of snapping.

“You know, I feel bad about Dylan doing my work. We’re all under enough pressure as it is,” Ava says while lounging by the pool.

Dylan, on the other hand, is shouldering a triple workload at school, his relationship, music scholarship (and identity) are in jeopardy (“music… is everything that I am” / “everything [he’s] worked for”) and he faces possible expulsion. 

It’s all very understated, but if you put it together, it really does paint the picture of a student who could “snap” at any minute. 

He’s essentially facing death (in a psychological sense), and his back is against the wall. This threat and the drive to survive make him fairly compelling as a potential killer.

Dylan was introduced as the one who’s “always right,” but perhaps more significantly, Nolan called him “the smartest guy I know.“ 

Considering Mona’s allusion to the “dangerous,” potentially weaponized nature of Nolan’s own intelligence, I’m not sure that was a compliment. 

It could hint at some darkness within.

“You have no idea what I’m like when I’m angry,” he warns Nolan.

And I kind of believe him.

After all, this series is titled The Perfectionists for a reason. The truth is "nobody’s perfect,” so we can expect a major theme to be that of presentation versus reality. 

“Always said I was a good kid…”

This lyrical match up is a bit chilling, coming after Alison figured out that Dylan wrote the papers, based on repeated patterns throughout his work.

“It’s your gift for words that gave you away,” she tells him. 

Much like the blood on his finger, this could be a nice potential foreshadowing of him ultimately getting caught as Nolan’s killer. 

The word meticulous appears several times across the papers he wrote. While Dylan does seem to be a detail oriented guy, I don’t think this murder was a meticulous plan by any means. 

I’m not convinced it was planned at all. 

Perhaps the most important thing to take away from the meeting in the woods is that they part ways with no solutions and no plans moving forward. 

Which is okay for Caitlin and Ava. They can go home and go to bed and wake up no worse off than before. 

Dylan, however, still faces Alison’s 24-hour ultimatum regarding the plagiarized papers. He either gets expelled, or faces the wrath of Nolan. Neither choice will end well for Dylan. But he still has to make one. He’s got to do something. 

Unlike the others, there’s a real urgency and a call to action on Dylan’s part. So do we really believe he just went home with nothing solved? 

Up on the rooftop of Thorne Hall, Nolan makes a plea for help. He needs a recruit who’s savvy enough to help take down Beacon Guard, or whoever’s hijacked that system for their own nefarious purposes.   

Who better to ask than Dylan, the most dependable and “smartest guy” he knows? The one who always delivers the goods?

“Someone we can trust,” Nolan told Taylor. 

Of course trust would come easy when that “someone” is Dylan, who’s already firmly under Nolan’s thumb. Even more so if Dylan has lingering feelings for Nolan, which could be the motivation behind Nolan’s more humbled manner and the “I’m sorry I’ve been such an asshole” speech. 

But at this point it’s just salt on the wound. Dylan’s fed up with Nolan’s games, and he’s not about to be put in that position again. He’s on the verge of losing everything. The clock is ticking. The pressure’s on. He’s got the means and motive, and a need to take immediate action. 

Perhaps the opportunity presented itself, and the absolute nerve of Nolan wanting more from him after he’s already been stretched so thin is what caused Dylan to finally “snap and kill.”

How ironic would it be for the guy who writes everyone’s papers to turn around and plagiarize Caitlin’s fantasy of killing Nolan?

Remember, Dylan was the one who introduced the idea of murder, saying outright “we could kill him.” The whole time, he kept (jokingly) pushing the idea, almost as if he was feeling them out to see if they would (seriously) go for it. He called Caitlin’s vision “great,” said “murder can be justified,” and hey – Dylan’s always right – so maybe he actually believes it.

With Nolan the provocateur now dead, it’s likely that Alison will drop the plagiarism issue and give Dylan a second chance, considering that it won’t happen again, and the fact that she really wants to help these kids. 

Nolan’s death solves most of Dylan’s problems and pressures, while adding a new one.