The PLL Reviewer

Over the course of 7 seasons, Pretty Little Liars presented us with turns, twists, and revelations galore; all resulting in the form of 3 major A reveals throughout the shows juncture. While there’s been a myriad of differing opinions on each A and their motivations and overall storylines, each one provided a completely unique contribution to the show and a different kind of twist each and every time.

I’m going to break down each A reveal, and go into the depths of their particular strengths and weaknesses; what worked and what didn’t work; and my overall stance of each one. Mona, Charlotte, and Alex each had their own individual reasons for tormenting the girls and ‘playing the A game.’ If there is one commonality among the three, is that the game was an addiction that none of them were able to resist once the opportunity presented itself. So alas, let’s explore!

Original ‘A’: Mona Vanderwaal                        

There is no doubt that Mona stole our hearts as the original ‘A’ of Pretty Little Liars. It was her genius and motivation that propelled so much of what was to come on the series, all stemming from her motive to punish the Liars for the torment she endured under the PLLs queen bee, Alison, as the rest stood by and watched it happen. Not only did they watch, but ultimately they let it happen. By the time ‘Alisons’ body was discovered and the Liars were reconnecting, Mona picked her ‘A’ persona back up in order to break the girls apart, in fear of Hanna being taken away from her.

What worked: one of my favorite parts of Mona’s storyline of being the shows first A was the genuine feeling of a betrayal to both the audience and the Liars, something that was severely lacking in the following A reveals. We felt the betrayal just from the look on Hanna’s face as she discovered her best friend was the masked villain under the black hoodie who had been stalking and tormenting them throughout their junior year. You feel the emotions as the girls all huddle together in tears after Mona has just fallen off the cliff, in an attempt to recruit Spencer on the A Team goes awry. All in all, we FELT this reveal. Mona was a character who had been established from the shows pilot, and was someone’s journey we cared about. We were able to form a connection to her, and held stock in where the story took her, thus we felt just as betrayed as the Liars.

What didn’t work: while it’s liked in some ways, it most be noted that while Mona’s reveal succeeded in The Who and the why, it lacked on backstory and exploring the history of how she became A in the first place. We weren’t given flashbacks into the moments Mona had enough of Ali’s torture, and decided to take matters into her own hands. She didn’t have the intricate back stories of Charlotte, nor the long awaited twin shock that Alex Drake gave us. Mona wasn’t rooted in the deeper mythology of the show, nor connected to the Dilaurentis or Hastings family, where the true heart of all the drama began.

Alas, Mona will always be known as the instigator of the ‘A’ saga, and was first to wear the famous black hoodie. And let’s be honest, she rocked it quite well. Without her introduction as ‘A,’ there would have been no one for Charlotte to steal the game from, and then no death of Charlotte to then lead into A.D avenging her. It all began with Mona, so even without all of the intricate plot points that the other reveals had that she lacked, Mona made up for it with the simplicity of being the classic who of it all.

2) ‘Big A’ : CeCe/Charles/Charlotte

The triple name in itself shows the dynamic complexity of this character, and all of the depth that comes along with understanding the backstory, motives, and mythology of this person. When I think of CeCe, an enigma is what comes to mind. She had this allure from the first moment that she appeared on our screens. Sasha had it right when explaining in an interview before 6x10 premiered that this ‘A’ was someone who we had seen enough, but they weren’t around all the time either. They achieved the perfect balance with her scheduling, and the timing of her appearances and mentions on the show. This furthered the enigma quality of this person being so seemingly omnipresent.  

What worked: Charlotte came into the show knowing everyone, and everything about them. She somehow seemed to connect into all these people, situations, and places, yet we were just now meeting her. Her Alison like persona, and striking energy made it hard to figure her out. Looking back on it, it was obvious what she was doing, but you didn’t know why she was doing it and how. Those answers were to come later, and that always only gave us enough to wanna know more about her. Her backstory was intricate and full of depth, emotion, and tragedy.

What didn’t work: the very thing that made Charlotte’s story work is also what made it not work all at the same time. Big catch 22 there. The trans twist, as shocking as it was, didn’t receive the proper care that it deserved. The death of Charlotte the very next episode only proved this point even more. As well, while her connections to everything and everyone were so important, it also created many holes and gaps in the story that needed to be properly filled in. Because the story went on for 3 1/2 seasons, and connected back to the first two seasons before her arrival, there was lots of tracks to be covered. While I commend the writers for filling in most of it with care, there were still many plot points that were left blurry or completely unattended to altogether. Many timeline and continuity errors ensued as a result. Emotionally connecting to Charlotte was also difficult to do by the time the reveal rolled around, as we weren’t made to connect with her previously on that level. They always kept her on the sidelines to keep that enigma persona up, and while that worked on one hand, it backfired upon the big reveal.

All in all, CeCe was the most dynamic reveal of all, and credit must be given where it’s do in the sense that the writers really did pull that one off. The moment CeCe turned around in that black hoodie, my jaw dropped in disbelief as it came to light she was trans, and had orchestrated all of this madness. The dollhouse was a huge milestone, and this genius of a villain pulled that off. Only in the end, we came to see what led to this damaged soul becoming villain, which made her much more human in my eyes. Even in Charlotte’s death, we continued to delve deeper into her complexity, coming to find she had a secret history with the Drakes, Jenna, Noel, and Archer. Just when you think you know her, we come to realize there’s so much more to her. Sara hit the head on the nail when saying in 6x15: “no one ever really knew all of her - Charlotte. But maybe if we put our pieces together when we can understand things a little better.”

3) ‘A.D’: Alex Drake

A.D, the third and final A of the saga, took us out with a bang, and truly landed somewhere in the middle of the spectrum; thus striking a balance needed for this type of reveal. In choosing Alex, Spencer’s secret twin, the writers gave us a reveal of someone we sort of knew with them being a twin, but not someone who was too close either. The twin twist payed homage to the book series, and thus created an even more dynamic backstory into the history of the Drakes. We learned so much more about the history of these three crazily interconnected families, and tied in loose ends that had been hanging for quite some time. The reveal was shocking, yet to the point. It was connected to the deeper mythology unlike Mona’s reveal, but it wasn’t so rooted like Charlotte’s to the point that you get lost in all the details, thus eliminating continuity errors and gaps in the story.

What worked: Unlike most, I was happy for Alex not to be connected to the pilot or beginning of the show. They tied her back just far enough to intertwine with Charlotte’s story, but not so far back that it confused the plot even more. That night was done and dusted. Much of the fan base was unhappy with the answers they were given, therefore wanted the show to create new answers to already closed cases. This would have been counter productive, and I for one am glad that they steered clear of this. Wrens involvement with this plot, and tying him into the mythology made me so happy. There were so many lingering questions surrounding him, and they really did a job well done at plugging him right into it. It was a completely organic fit.

What didn’t work: I would have preferred to have seen Alex on our screens from at least 6B on. I was pleased that we got flashbacks dating back to 4B-5A, but if we had actually met Alex initially in 6B that would’ve been ideal. We have 5 instances specifically in Season 7 that we can look back on and go “wow, that was Spencer’s twin!”  - and while those were so well done, I wanted more of that! Especially since A.D took over the game right after Charlotte’s death. You can tell the writers were scrambling around in 6B with what to do story wise because the network didn’t green light Alex Drake until 6x20.

I want to preface this by saying that this is not the direction I wanted/want the show to take, but going off of what we know about A.D and how the clues are panning out, I believe it’s going to be revealed in the end that Charlotte is very much so alive, and faked her death. 

So that leads us to this: how did she do it? why did she do it? and what does she have up her sleeve now? 

To kick this off, we have to go back to the 6x10, Big A Reveal episode. Considering how CeCe was able to keep her true identity of Charlotte/Charles and really being a DiLaurentis hidden for so long, why would she voluntarily give herself up all of a sudden? To quote Mona, “Charlotte was a master at playing the game, even better than me. I want to know her intentions.” Couldn’t have said it better myself. I call bullshit on her pity fest, as she wanted everyone to believe she was about to jump off the roof at Radley, only to jump down and proclaim “game over.” It was too easy. Almost as if to say the whole thing was an elaborate set up. Well, guess what? It was an elaborate set up. This was a reveal that Marlene and the writers were waiting to give us till the end of the series. They figured out a way to give us A’s identity and much of her backstory as to what led her to being A, but still left out much of the truth. Hence the many dreaded plot holes. Much of that truth won’t be coming till the true reveal that Charlotte is indeed alive. 

As Mona said, Charlotte was a master at playing the game. She was an expert at strategy, and plotted every single one of her moves deliberately, and all with specific intentions. Let’s take a look at just a few of her past schemes and you’ll know what I mean:

The Saw Mill: 4x12

It’s very important to look back at the subtle clues as to what was going on in Charlotte’s world at any given time that she strikes. She ALWAYS had a motive, one that was ever-changing depending on the situation. In this instance, it was coming to light that Alison was alive, and the PLL’s were hot on CeCe’s trail not only for Wilden’s murder, but also for being A. To come across as being on the “good side” to Alison, she whipped into a Red Coat to make Ali think she was helping her. When in reality, she’s the one who put Emily in the saw mill to begin with. See that black hoodie sleeve underneath the ripped coat sleeve to the right? Well done, Charlotte. 

Leaving for Paris: 5x01

Sure, CeCe had recently killed Wilden and needed an escape and fast, but she was sly enough to also get off the A hook with this move. Before Shana even died, Charlotte knew that she was onto the liars and Alison as revenge for Jenna. Which ultimately led to Shana’s death. Being exposed in the black hoodie attire, the girls really believed Shana was A. Now with her dead, Charlotte could peacefully leave the country and no one would suspect it was ever her. Until she comes back to finish what she started that is...

Kidnapping Mona: 5x12

Charlotte was anything but stupid. She’s always been 5 steps ahead of everyone. Mona had a plan to double cross A, therefore Charlotte double crossed her first. Among being a threat to Alison (if part of kidnapping Mona and dollhousing her was even done at all for this motive,) there’s also the obvious fact that Mona crossed a line when she helped Spencer dig up information in Radley about Bethany. They could have easily found files in there that would have exposed Charlotte’s identity. Yet again, she’s proven that she always has a plan and acts accordingly. She had no problem getting rid of Mona from being in her way. 

Alas, these are just three examples out of countless times where Charlotte has shown us just how capable and smart her A moves really are. So are we really supposed to believe she willingly gave herself up in 6x10, only to be killed in 6x11? I don’t buy it for a second, not anymore. And either should you. Here’s why...

6x10: The Big Reveal

...more like half of the big reveal. Yes, we found out that CeCe was the mastermind behind the A game; Her true identity of Charlotte, a transgender Charles DiLaurentis all came to light. She was framed for Marion’s murder by Bethany Young (supposedly,) and is the one who hit Alison with the rock the night she went missing. While I believe most of this to be true, along with much of her backstory, I’m pretty sure a lot of the fill in plot points along the way are not. There’s much that was left out of her story on purpose. As well, much of what she said were fabricated versions of the truth in order to gain sympathy from Alison. There’s a reason she had the girls locked in the Carissimi Group room, only to be watching behind a lame screen. She didn’t want anyone messing with Alison’s head, so as not to try and discredit any of her story. Much of Charlotte’s fate from here on depended on if Alison bought her sob story or not. 

The Carissimi Group: 

The liars end up at the Carissimi group shortly before Charlotte’s reveal, and arrive to people, late at night have you, shuffling bags of who knows what into a big van. This instantly raised a red flag, and I know this can’t be coincidence. We know this is where Charlotte funded her A game, and it was started by Jessica. Later in Season 6, we come to find that Rollins and Mary Drake schemed to get the money and company back from Alison and Jason. Their scheming reminded me much of our beloved Charlotte. Almost as if was planned by her beforehand. Oh wait, it was.

And what do we have here? Mary Drake, with the same exact van that was in front of the Carissimi group, now in her possession. It’s right around this time that her and Rollins were in the process of stealing it back. For Charlotte perhaps? 

If this isn’t enough to prove that Charlotte exposed herself on purpose, I don’t know what will be. She planned to get sent to Welby instead of jail, which she would have ended up in otherwise. She explained the parts of her story that would gain the most sympathy, lied about many of the details and her true motivations, and went on her marry way to Welby. Now the liars could live happily ever after with no problems whatsoever. They were A free, right? Charlotte declared game over after all. WRONG! It was only just beginning; set to resume 5 years later with even more game players and the stakes higher than ever. 

Clues Post-Time Jump:

It’s interesting to note that pre-time jump, Charlotte called Wren of all people to inform him that Melissa had buried Bethany. Here she was, years later in Welby, and pulling the strings all over again. Only this time from inside. Imagine what she could blow up once out of that place? She sat in that institution ticking away like a time bomb, awaiting her release to continue on with the game she started. That’s where Dr. Rollins comes into play...aka Archer Dunhill. It’s my belief the two were originally introduced via Wren Kingston. Hense the British accent. It’s just too obvious. So how did Archer make his way into Welby?

Jenna Marshall! It was always speculated that these two were in cahoots (Charlotte and Jenna,) but to what extent exactly? Jenna was able to get Archer into Welby to be Charlotte’s fake doctor so she could get out. They were able to get Archer a fake passport and I.D from Noel more than likely. As usual, Charlotte was using people. She got what she needed from Jenna. I’m not buying the whole they were besties B.S. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jenna wanted to help get Charlotte out of Welby just so she could have her killed. Charlotte had dirt on everyone, and given Melissa’s situation with Bethany, we know she’s more than capable of exposing people with said dirt whenever she pleases. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had dirt on Jenna too. We also can’t forget that she did blow up her house and leave her for dead in a lake after knocking her unconscious. I’m sure Jenna wanted her own revenge. Whatever the case, they both had their own motives. My guess is Charlotte was one step a head of Jenna, though. 

Then there’s Archer Dunhill. From what I can gather, Charlotte and Archer really were in love. It was a win-win getting to have your get out of Welby card also be your lover, huh Charlotte? The liars found TWO passports and fake I.D’s in Archer’s burner apartment, which leads me to believe the two were going to escape together after getting out of Welby. Or at least that was the initial plan.

Alison and “Elliot” were becoming a thing even before Charlotte’s “death.” I do think it was apart of the plan for Elliot to seduce Alison, leading to her approval of Charlotte eventually getting released from Welby. Archer and Charlotte needed Ali’s acceptance for this to happen. Once out, the plan was for the two to run away together, given the two passports the liars found in Archer’s burner apartment. The plan worked perfectly and was set in full motion. That is until the night Charlotte was released from Welby. Her and Alison were talking, and she came to learn that it seemed Archer had actually started to fall for Alison. She was pissed, and felt more betrayed than ever. Which then led to the bell tower...

Charlotte escaped to the bell tower, where Alison then followed her. She knew that there would probably be witnesses who would see Ali enter the church. After arguing, Alison leaves the church, and Charlotte remains in the tower overlooking Rosewood, with an awfully suspicious look on her face. This was when it all clicked for her. She decided to take the game to a whole other level by faking her death. Alison had it coming, she still viewed the liars as her dolls, and she hadn’t gotten any better. Clearly evident by the dolls that mimicked the liars that she gave to Eliza at the Amish Farm, revealed in 7x03. 

Faking her death was quite the simple task. She used the same paralyzing quality drug that she used on Mona, Kenneth, and Jason. As far as medical records, my guess is Doctor Wren was able to assist on this one. We all know he’s been helping Charlotte since Season 3, and will be a part of the big twist in the series finale according to the writers. 

Charlotte is then declared dead, the funeral was a success thanks to her dead-looking drug, and she’s in the clear. What better way to finish her game than to be able to hide behind her own fake death? She was still able to pull strings with Jenna and Noel, making them think they were trying to find her killer, when she’s in fact alive. Same with Sara Harvey. My guess is Sara found out she was alive, and she had her killed to keep it from getting out. 

I’m positive that Mary and Charlotte are in this together now, finally taking back what was supposed to be theirs as Mary phrased it. Their whole lives were ruined because of the DiLaurentis family. Now, being the true Drakes that they are, have teamed up together to take back their lives and make everyone else’s a living hell. Why else would Mary show up now of all times? Along with Charlotte, she does have other interests too, which include being Spencer’s mother. I’m convinced it was Charlotte who shot Spencer in the 7x10 finale out of jealousy that Mary was wanting to find her too, as well as for having the life she was cheated from. 

The death of Archer is a big motivator for Charlotte as well. She was already fueled, but now that the liars have killed her one true love she is furious, and is determined to make them pay. I don’t think Archer knew she faked her death at first, as she was pissed when finding out he had developed feelings for Ali when just fake seducing her. Upon Charlotte’s “death,” Archer turned again and was avenging his love’s death, hence putting Alison through the torture he did at Welby. Somehow, I think Archer discovered that Charlotte was indeed alive by the time 7x03 rolled around, and that’s why he was taking Alison to the woods; he was going to tell her the truth, but then Hanna ran him over and ruined that one. Alas, now Charlotte’s really got a reason to hate the girls. 

This is her game and she’s never giving it up, at least not willingly. I won’t be surprised at all in the end when it’s exposed that her and Wren are working together, alongside Melissa. We’re going to get all of the explanations we were supposed to get upon the initial reveal in 6x10, but didn’t because of the timing. The true endgame is right around the corner, and Charlotte’s still around and more alive than ever to finish off what she started. 

You guys, I’m already up to 2x13 on my PLL re-watch! For those of you who haven’t seen my previous post, I am reviewing the entire series, season by season, up until 7B premieres. I lumped Season 1 into one post instead of splitting it up between the two halves it aired in (A and B.) I’m going to split season 2 up between it’s A and B halves. So much happened, so this will allow me more room to focus on each half!

Season 2 kicks off right where the previous ended, with the liars dealing with the aftermath of the bell tower. Considering Ian’s body is nowhere to be found, the girls are made out to be fools. That is until Ian’s body is discovered, where he has killed himself, yet A staged the note claiming he killed Alison. Many were confused by this one, I found it quite simple. Original A (Mona,) thought she hit Alison ‘that night,’ and after sending her packing to leave town as we discover later in the series, Mona didn’t want it coming back to her as being the one who committed the crime; whether Ali was dead or not, bashing someone in the head with a shovel is attempted murder nonetheless. 

As the Ian drama is laid to rest, as is he, more arises as Jason becomes the new target of suspicion for the Liars. Poor guy just wants answers like everyone else, yet everyone seems out to get him. Except Aria, who takes a liking to him this season. Jaria rise!  There was undeniable chemistry between Jason and Aria, and this half season it was fun to shake it up a bit and explore that for a hot second, even if nothing lasting or substantial came from it. It is PLL after all, they can only shake the boat so much for the forbidden lovers that is Ezria.

The N.A.T Club! “We See All.” Creepy, right? This was the beginning of one of many subplots that interwove into the story that was not dependent on the A storyline, which seemed to confuse a lot of people. Like half the town of Rosewood, all of the NAT club members were there the night of Ali’s disappearance, and Garret/Jenna had the fine idea to mess with Jason’s head; since he was in a drunken stopper the whole summer, making him believe he killed Alison. This is where it gets helpful to take notes and figure out which team everyone is on, ‘cause there seems to be quite a few in this crazy town!

After the torment from A is becoming too much, Emily starts to crack and is ready to talk to Dr. Sullivan. It was a realistic spin to have the girls attending therapy this half-season, they’ve been through some shit! However, the plan backfires when Dr. Sullivan figures out for herself just exactly who A is. Even A gets sloppy apparently.  This all leads to a culmination of events in the mid-season finale when A makes the girls believe she has kidnapped Dr Sullivan and buried her alive. The peak of it all? The girls get caught with Alison’s “murder” weapon, obviously planted by A. 

So what worked best in 2A?

This was a satisfying half-season for me, with plenty of the elements that make this show worth watching prevalent. 

Melissa Hastings continued to be the enigma that she’s always been. It’s wild, because she makes you want to know more because she’s so shady and you just never know quite what’s going on with her. At the same time you enjoy the ambiguity that comes along with her. Is she really trying to protect Spencer, or is Ian her main goal? Or is she in all of this for her own self protection? 

An honorable mention has to be given to Hanna’s arc for much of this season, with the return of her Dad, and her parent’s brief rekindling of sorts. This is a very real thing that happens in families, when divorced parents get back together, and getting to be apart of Hanna’s mixed emotions that came along with it was a journey worth following.

Jason DiLaurentis. Enough said. I light up whenever he is on my screen. He brings such a dark shadow to the show, and is clearly so wounded. You can’t help but feel for the guy. Speaking of the feels, my heart went out to Mike in 2A! Depression storylines are pretty tricky since it is such a sensitive topic, and I was proud of the show for going there. I do wish they had explored it a bit further than they did, but kudos to them at all for even doing what they did. 

What I enjoyed most was the stakes were rising this season, but in the midst of that the family stories and character arcs didn’t take a back seat to it. When a story and show start to stray from that and replace it with convoluted and contrived stories, you loose touch with the connection to what your watching. Look at Emily’s story line with getting an ulcer because of the steroids A was putting in her creme for example; sure, it was creepy as hell, and provided the intense A factor, but it also showcased Emily’s struggle to tell her father the truth, and brought us back to her family dynamic. A’s actions often served as catalysts for the girls bigger struggles and internal conflicts. These exploits, which were dramatic in affect, still served a larger purpose for the character’s growth. This is what I loved most in 2A. They may have been at an all-time high at this point in the show. 

Favorite episode of 2A: 2x11 “I Must Confess”

Season’s Top Character: Hanna Marin!

I know I can’t be the only PLL fan out there who needs something to tie me over during this extra long hiatus till 7B. Who thought it would be a good idea to make crazed fans such as ourselves wait an entire 7-8 months for new episodes?! 

To make the best of it and fill the time, I’ve decided to go back and review each season of the show as a whole as I’m doing my re-watch of the whole show. I’m going to give my overall summary (basically word vomit of my thoughts on each season,) as well as what I feel worked and didn’t work, favorite/least favorite episodes, and each season’s strongest character. Let’s begin, shall we! 

It’s hard not to get wrapped up in nostalgia when talking about the first season of the show, as it’s what captured us and made us fall in love with Rosewood. Considering all of the craziness that is this show, dead ends that make you want to pull your hair out, and twists that make you want to throw a brick at your TV, a person in passing might wonder why someone would love it, but we do. The beginning of the series has all of those elements that has made it the show we’ve all come to love. 

The first season had the mystery factor, which is one of the driving forces of the show, but what I loved in the beginning was that it didn’t over-ride the character stories. The show’s creators took the time to develop the liars and introduce us to who they are as people. We had time to emphasize with their struggles, as well as engage with their triumphs. The meat of the story hadn’t quite arrived yet. I love those moments such as Alex and Spencer dancing in the kitchen at the country club, or Emily doing karaoke with Paige at the diner in the middle of the woods, and I can’t not mention one of my all-time favorite episodes where the Liars and some of the parents are all stuck at the school during the storm. Even with the drama and hype that was present in the show’s first year, it all had an organic feeling that was easy to relate to. 

One of the season’s strongest plot points was Ian, and his involvement with Alison. There was an instant intrigue with the introduction of his character, and his rushed engagement to Melissa. Although Toby was really Ali’s first suspected killer, it went deeper with Ian. I was pretty convinced myself it was going to be him. It always seemed pretty obvious that Toby was just being framed, and had nothing but good intentions who was one of the good guys. Ian, on the other hand, was a little too good at being the bad boy, who was trying to play it good. Who could forget the bell tower when he tries to kill Spencer? The was the episode that reallyyyy good me hooked on PLL that gave me the feeling of having to see the next episode!

This was the season that gave us the shadiest of characters like Wren, Jenna, Lucas, and Wilden. And the list goes on. Anytime their characters have returned later down the line, it was always special because of the relevance from the start. There’s something about being able to go back to the beginning, connect the dots, and link things back to those original shady mofo’s. 

So what worked best? 

An honorable mention has to be made to Emily’s coming out storyline. The show really pulled it off in a realistic way that has stuck with everyone. Showing her family’s reactions, Emily’s struggle, and Maya’s encouragement to be who she is were hours well spent of television. Why? Because it impacted the viewer. Speaking of Maya, whose always been one of my favorites, pulled off that mysterious girl around the corner role so well. Marching to the beat of her own drum, Maya never conformed, and she encouraged Emily not to either. However, she didn’t force anything or anyway of being on Emily. I loved every minute of this well executed story. 

The Jenna Thing! Getting more and more pieces to the unfolding enigma that is Jenna Marshall was a highlight of the season. She’s that character that you just never really know the whole story. Just when you think she’s going to take it easy on the liars and that all is forgiven, she pulls a 180. I remember watching the episode where the girls have a memorial for Ali at the school, and Jenna steps up to the podium. Not only were the liars worried that she was going to completely bash Ali’s memory and make a mockery of the whole service, but I and most other viewers did as well! I was there with the liars through the whole season feeling their anxiety. 

As the show’s now coming to a close, I’ve lost much interest in the Ezria pairing, but believe you me, I was one of the biggest Aria and Ezra shippers in the beginning. Season 1 was by far the best year for these two. Everything about them was so wrong, yet so right. Ultimately, that’s what pulled so many in about them; they weren’t supposed to be together by the restrictions and limitations of society, but they loved each other. Not going to lie, the revelations in Season 4 about Ezra, Ali, and the book make it hard to watch these two in the first season and appreciate them as much, but that’s another topic for another review post. Moving on!

Camp Mona, anyone? Bringing about classic moments such as “I see you” - Noel’s classic moment of catching Ezra and Aria in the act, or A running down Hanna with a car! I still get chills thinking about those first big moments of the show. It was this that showed us A wasn’t playing around, and the writers were willing to go there. This is when A went from being a threat to full on dangerous; the stakes were being raised!

What didn’t work?

Call me a kiss ass reviewer, but I can’t find a flaw within this season that the writers didn’t course correct themselves. There’s no doubt that the original Jason, Mrs. D, and Ian all sucked, but were thankfully recast. Casting aside, the over all mystery was slower moving in it’s build up, but it was simply doing that - building up! In order to get running, you’ve got to first get your feet on the ground. That’s exactly what season 1 did. 

So what did you all think of the beginning of our favorite show? 

Favorite episode: “For Whom The Bell Tolls” 

Least favorite episode: None!

Hello, PLL fans! I’m long overdue, but here is my review of the back half of Season 7A. I reviewed 7x01-7x04 already, which you can find here if interested! So let’s jump right in, shall we?

I just have to start with saying I am incredibly proud this season to be able to say I am a Pretty Little Liars fan. I know I’m not the only one of us out there who, while still supporting the show, didn’t tell many people I was a fan the last few seasons. This season, however, the PLL crew got their shiz together and truly delivered. As a writer myself, I can attest to how important the execution of a story is; the follow through and actions of the story that connect the dots and make it a journey worth following. When the followers start to question the validity of the very journey they’re on, that’s when there is a problem. You can have the most beautifully intricate and well-crafted story that ever was, but if the execution of that story is lacking, then how will viewers be able to emotionally connect and care? I believe PLL has always had a well-thought out story, but 5B-Season 6 really struggled with the follow through of that story. 

This season, however, the journey of that story has been reinforced. If 7x01-7x04 didn’t already sell that, then 7x05-7x10 defiantly did. Let’s break this one down episode by episode, followed by what worked and what didn’t work so well. Brace yourselves for a lengthy one, peeps!

7x05: “Along Comes Mary”

The episode title got it right, making this one of my favorites of the season right off the bat. The previous two episodes were seriously lacking in the amazing enigma that is Mary Drake, so this one was much appreciated. We got a lot of insight from Mary in this one. Instead of of it taking away from her mystery (which is such a big part of her character,) it actually raises even more questions, therefore making one unsure of where he true motives lie. This is Jessica’s twin after all, is she really to be trusted? 

Having just killed and buried Rollins in the previous episode, this one finds the liars scrambling to cover their tracks and learn more about who we have now come to know as Archer Dunhill. 

7x05 gives us the beginning glimpses of what teams there are, and who is on those teams. Mary seems to be avenging Charlotte and comes clean to Alison about working with Archer, but her true allegiance has yet to be discovered. On the other end of Rosewood, we have Jenna Marshall who clearly has connections to Archer, and is even now recruiting Sara Harvey. Jenna’s actions of bringing Sara on board seem to have a motive here. Keeping up appearances much, Ms. Marshall? Then by the end of the episode, we’ve got Noel Kahn back in town stirring up trouble with none other than...Jenna! So between Archer (R.I.P,) Sara, and Noel, Jenna’s got herself an ensemble gathered. The question here is...why? What’s our favorite blind girl up to? To be continued...

The fifth episode of this season’s game delivered up well on showcasing the game players. The liars scramble around doing what they best, and make things a mess as always. The show would have ended long ago had they been able to do anything right, yeah? Honorable mention to Sasha for portraying Alison’s struggle so well in this episode! The Ali we all know is back and better than ever. She’s surely a central piece to the story this season. 

Oh, I suppose mentioning Aria and Ezra getting engaged would be a good thing. I love me some Ezria, but not much of a shock there. We all knew it was coming. 

This for sure was an A+ episode for me! How would you rate it?

7x06: “Wanted: Dead or Alive”

Tensions are high in Rosewood, as for once the girls have betrayed Alison, and not the other way around. What’s it like to have the shoe on the other foot, eh? I was glad to not have the whole episode focused on this, though. It was addressed, and then everyone was able to move on. 

I’d say this was an episode of clarity, for sure. We may not have gotten huge, catastrophic answers, but we surely got resolution on some key player’s and what their deals were. Even in that, you have to be able to detect where the lies are in these supposed truths. It called Pretty Little LIARS for a reason, right? 

Jenna is the first one that comes to mind when thinking of clarity, even if she did make things more confusing. Leave it to PLL to create ten more questions out of one answer. We come to find, via Emily’s snooping in her hotel room of course, that Jenna is trying to hunt down Archer, as well as having some type of connection with Charlotte. According to Jenna’s spin on things, she knew someone who was able to make fake passports and ID’s (we’re led to believe this is Noel,) and had said person make one for Archer (aka fake Rollins,) so he could come to Rosewood and be with Charlotte as her fake doctor in Welby. It seems this was an elaborate scheme to get Charlotte out of Welby, with no intention of her getting well for real. Considering we had no indication in past season’s that Charlotte and Jenna were friends, this seemed to come out of nowhere. They defiantly knew of each other, but to what extent? It must be pointed out that the same purple flowers that were in Charlotte’s hands after being thrown from the bell tower were in her flashback scene with Jenna. Possible connection? Only time will tell. Either way, as far we are led to believe, it seems that Charlotte and Jenna were allies of some sorts. This seemed further backed up by the fact Jenna was supposedly helping Charlotte find Mary. *takes a deep breath.* I’m still hella confused by all of that, but my suggestion is to take it all with a grain of salt. 

Speaking more on gaining clarity in this episode, we come to find that Sara is trying to help the girls, and that’s why she’s teamed up with Jenna. In a near moment of almost exposing someone to Emily, Jenna snaps at her to shut up basically and come back to being her bitch. What is it with Jenna and doing this to so many people? Sara, Shana, Garret, Sydney? Three of which whom have all ended up six feet under. Interesting. Oh yeah, Sara finally gets the ax at the end of the episode, believed to be for almost snitching to Emily. We’re led to believe Noel was the name she was about to give up, considering the trio’s meeting at the end of the prior episode, but it could have also been A.D. Who the hell knows with this show? I have my theories, but this season’s game players are scattered every which direction, doing God knows what. I’m just going to let it play out. 

Mary dishes out some clarity as well. Alison finally gets down to business, and asks the million dollar question: if Mary and Charlotte never met, then why did Charlotte go by the alias CeCe DRAKE when Alison met her? We know why Charlotte needed the alias, but she clearly didn’t choose Drake out of thin air. She knew about Mary. She had to of. Mary denies any claims of having known Charlotte, but suggests maybe Charlotte found out about her somehow. This evokes an emotional reaction and a walk down memory lane to Mary’s scar from the c-section of Charlotte’s birth. Yet another answer that poses more questions. 

The character-driven stories were welcomed in this one too, for sure. A memorable scene of the season for me was featured in this episode, between Aria and Hanna on the steps of the police station. Chatting about real life stuff, such as Aria’s apprehension to accept Ezra’s proposal, or Hanna finally exposing that she called off her engagement to Jordan. Okay, sure, maybe Aria’s reasoning for being anxious to accept the proposal wasn’t normal life stuff most of us can relate to (that is unless lots of you out there have accidentally killed someone,) but it was the organic flow of the scene that I loved so much. This one, along with Hanna and Spencer’s scene on the swings at the park about Caleb, were memorable liar friendship moments. 

We can’t forget someone being dressed up as a fake cop and bashing Alison’s head into her mirror, can we?! It’s an obvious hunch that this was A.D, and this person, whoever they are, are now avenging Archer’s death as much as they are Charlotte’s. Damn. Poor Alison just can’t seem to catch a break this season. 

An A+ of an episode for me, what did you all think of it?

7x07:  “Original G'A'ngsters”

Following Sara Harvey’s death, the liars aren’t all that phased by it. Considering she was Charlotte’s accomplice in making their lives miserable (willing or unwilling, who knows?) I can see why there weren’t any tears being shed. I would have enjoyed getting some type of emotional reaction out of Emily, considering her history with Sara. Alas, crispy hands who sometimes likes to rock a Red Coat is dead! Moving on.

Emily may not have shed any tears, but that sure didn’t stop Jenna from doing so. My guess is that this was an act. She had to have reported to either Noel or A.D (indirectly at least, b/c I don’t suspect she knows their identity even if working for/with them,) that Sara almost slipped about something she wasn’t supposed to be sharing with the Liars. And that’s not Jenna’s only shady move in this episode. We take a flashback down memory lane with Toby to discover that Jenna kissed him a few years back at a family reunion at their lake house. Season 1 much, Jenna? 

Speaking of shady, what’s up with Noel Kahn? While the episode didn’t address much concerning him (would have liked more screen time for Mr. Kahn,) we still got enough info to know he’s got some shade up them sleeves of his. While snooping in Sara’s room at The Radley, the liars catch Noel in the act in the last place they would suspect to see him. He’s seen returning Mary Drake’s Radley files to a secret briefcase of sorts, and making calls to a Dr. Cochran with very little patience and anger. Should we expect anything less of Noel Kahn?

The highlight of this one for me defiantly has to be return of Jason DiLaurentis, and the awkward family dinner from hell between him, Mary, Alison, and Aria. I love me some protective big brother vibes from Jase, and it made for some good family tension and drama. The best part was the revelation that it was Mary who was in Aunt Carol’s house making noise from Jason’s flashback last season. We get a better idea of the sibling issues that are so dynamic between Jessica and Mary. Jessica basically let Mary believe Charles (who had transitioned to Charlotte,) was really dead, and rubbed in Mary’s face that Charles was her son, regardless of Mary giving birth. Raise your hand if you think Mary killed Jessica! And apparently with good reason, too.

Via Mary, we come to find that Jessica had a lair of her own in a hidden storm cellar at Aunt Carol’s house. Everyone’s always talking about how all roads lead back to Radley, but I say screw that - more like all roads lead back to Aunt Carol’s! Can we meet this supposed Aunt Carol already? Anyhoo...

The Liars and Alison go to find the storm cellar for themselves, and discover Jessica was tracking Alison the entire time she was on the run when she was missing. “She never stopped searching for me.” says Alison, taking in the fact that her mother did want to make things right for what went down. They also find files on all of the girls, and Mary. Jessica was over her care at Radley, and went as far as to order her shock therapy! Mrs. D was twisted, you guys! Even more than I already thought. The big bombshell though is revealed in the file that Mary has a second child! 

Some good stuff this episode gave us. All things Mary and DiLaurentis /Drake related were golden. Noel’s shady ass self is always welcome too. Everything else was a little slow, and as per PLL’s dealing of character deaths not being handled well, that was no exception with Sara Harvey. I wish we would have gotten more emphasis put on that. Guess we can’t have our cake and eat it too?!

Gonna give this one an 9/10 - B+!

7x08: “Exes and OMGs”

Homecomings galore in this episode! Paige, Mrs. Grunwald, and...Nicole? Well possibly Nicole, but still. Rosewood is like a magnet bringing everyone back in 7x08. Some with a purpose, and others, not so much. I was personally very welcome to the idea of Paige’s return. Intrigued to see what the post-time jump did for her life, it was nice to see where she ended up. With out any interest in her or Emily reconnecting romantically (team Emison,) it’s cool to have back yet another familiar face from the old days. 

When I saw in the promo that the Grunwald would be making a cameo I was pretty stoked, as I liked her last one in 5x14 (Through a Glass Darkly,) but this one didn’t live up to the expectation. Her presence was overdone with the invasive creepy factor this time, as if they were trying way too hard to force it. She didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. We get it, Noel’s a creep who’s just one step a head of the liars in trying to find out who Mary’s other child is.

While we’re talking about Noel, it’s very worth mentioning what Ali meant way back when, alluding to “Noel has secrets too.” The big secret turns out to be that Noel was the one who pushed the girl down the stairs at the frat party back in Season 1. About time, right? I initially thought it may be something more relevant to the current story and mystery, but I’m hella happy to be able to cross that one off my long list of unanswered questions! Good job, writers. 

In other 7x08 news, Aria & Spencer track down the doctor who delivered Mary’s children while in Radley. We learn basically nothing at all from this interaction, and I’m led to believe that there’s a possibility A.D may have gotten to him first. #anticlimatic

There were some nice Emison moments in this one, as well as a freshly back to school and teaching Alison. While nothing huge and exciting, at least they tended to a more realistic part of the storyline. 

While the episode wasn’t completely filler, it was slower compared to the episodes that preceded it. It served the purpose of establishing the story of Nicole’s come back to shake things up with Aria and Ezra, Paige’s return into Emily’s life, and the furthering of this Mary’s second child story. Then there’s Noel’s shady ass, but with minimal screen time. 

It could have been better, but it could have been worse. Let’s say a 7/10. C-.

7x09: “The Wrath of Kahn”

The second to last episode of 7A, and we got some nice goodies thrown in this one! I will say, the Liars and whole group in general were all pretty segregated in 7x09, but it was cool to take a break from the group dynamic and have them all in their own subplots. 

Going to go a head and make my big complaint of the episode: NO ALISON! I didn’t understand why they weren’t able to fit Ali in somewhere. I would have loved to have seen more interaction between Alison and Jason considering we don’t have Jason around for long. Some Mary Drake was noticeably lacking as well, but I get it since so much of the mystery was surrounding the mysterious second child of hers.  

Onto brighter highlights, we get a huge reveal when Spencer and Emily go to Noel Khan’s old cabin from the high school days. There, they find a flash drive that contains tons of footage from the dollhouse. It’s revealed that Noel was there, clearly helping Charlotte, and was the one responsible for putting the fake blood all over her and in her room. This opens a whole new can of worms on Noel’s involvement with Charlotte. We already knew she attended the Kahn parties at his cabin, had a history with Noel’s older brother Eric, and Noel was the one who got Charlotte the passport and plane ticket to help her escape after killing Wilden. So now we get to add the dollhouse to his resume!

Hanna starts going totally rouge, as she plans out her plot to kidnap Noel and take matters into her own hands, as the other liars don’t want to jump to conclusions concerning Noel. After attempted drugging him doesn’t work at the bar, she then knocks him out at the end of the episode. “It’s over, bitch.” Oh Hanna. 

Apparently Emily’s new love bubble with Sabrina gets busted when she realizes that she can’t open up to her new boo about the current A.D drama. Who does that leave? You guessed it: PAIGE! Old habits die hard, after all. There was no romantic twist, so I was okay with it. Where shall it go from here?

Can we talk about Jason and Aria, though?! Jaria rise! These two were always a guilty pleasure of mine back in the early days, so to have finally gotten them together (at least in flashbacks,) made this episode for me. It was cool to see the two team up in present day to track down Mary’s second child. Interesting find that it was Noel’s dad who signed off on the adoption, but that may be a minor detail that ends up going nowhere.

Overall, I felt that 7x09 had some very nice revelations that kept me on my toes and satisfied my thirst for answers. The pacing was much better than the previous episode, and the subplots all served a purpose, even if there’s further steps to take in getting those answers we really want. The journey of the episode was entertaining and worth while.

Gonna rate this one with an 8/10! B. What did you think of it?

7x10: “The DArkest Knight”

We have got a loaded finale with this one, PLL Army! Where to even begin?! Let’s start with a rouge Hanna who has Noel, on tape have you, slicing open his leg to get a blood sample to prove he’s Mary’s other child and A.D. To her it makes all the sense in the world, but as viewers who have only watched this show for seven years, we know better. As it turns out, Noel is neither Mary’s other child or A.D. Shocker there, right? Either way, it was cool to see how it all panned out. 

Can I get an amen for bringing Mona back into the mix with this finale? These girls are absolutely clueless without her. Her spunk and genius was highly appreciated here. The scene with her and Jenna in the elevator was priceless. Even Caleb was warming up to her in this episode, just in time for Sydney to make a 5 second comeback. I’m still not sure how I feel about that one. I don’t see her having a huge purpose other than being one of Jenna’s minions.

It was a finale of couple reunions...well, sort of. For Haleb at least. My little Haleb heart was more than ready for this moment. Spaleb was a breath of fresh air, but the air went out fast. EMISON! Not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get a full on make out session considering how long we’ve waited for this, but I’ll take what I can get. I wasn’t expecting the Spoby kiss at all. Honestly, it felt a bit out of place for me. Even as much as I love that ship. I’m gonna go all theory mode here and say that I believe Spencer may have a twin, and if so, she could have been the one who kissed Toby. On a side note, what was up with Paige being all stalker ex girlfriend this episode? Cringe worthy, yo.

Alison’s pregnant, y’all! And with Archer’s kid (GAGS!) and also with what I believe to be Emily’s eggs. A.D wheeled Alison out of Welby at the end of 7x02 and she was unconscious for this. We know A.D took Emily’s eggs last season, and my best guess is they implanted them in Alison. Sinister stuff. It’s weird as hell, but will make for a really interesting storyline in 7B.

In order to give back the footage of Hanna kidnapping and slicing open Noel like a piece of meat, him and Jenna lure the liars to the School of the Blind in a swap out for the flash drive with the footage of Noel in the dollhouse. That’s not all they have planned, though. Mary’s seen lurking in the shadows, and there’s no explanation given to her reasons for being there...as per usual. Jenna’s walking around with a gun, and Noel is going after the liars because “they know too much.” - I’m thinking this is in reference to the Liars knowing he was helping Charlotte torture them in the dollhouse, knowing he was the one who pushed the girl down the stairs at the frat party from way back when, and that he had a hand in Sara’s death (be it directly or indirectly.) He needed them gone. And Jenna was ready to off these bitches once and for all after several attempts gone wrong, all too avenge her going blind because of them. And to avenge Charlotte...I think.

Amidst all of the madness that goes down, there’s a line that Noel says to Hanna and Emily while they’re hiding in the house: “I taught Jenna a lot, and one thing she taught Charlotte and me, was how to smell fear.” - this really stuck out to me. It confirmed that Charlotte, Noel, and Jenna have ALWAYS been a team. You can look back to 3x09 “The Kahn Game,” and it confirms this perfectly. It’s these subtle lines in the show that I’m always looking out for. They’re easy to miss, but they are there. From here, Noel gets his head chopped off in a pretty gory way. It is Freeform now, y’all. 

Meanwhile, Jenna is still walking around like the maniac that she is with her gun, almost tripping over Noel’s decapitated head (lol,) and then fires her gun. It turns out she didn’t shoot anyone, but missed, and another gun shot went off, which was later revealed to be A.D when they kidnapped and dragged Jenna away from the scene, after she’s knocked out by Mary Drake.

So this means A.D shot Spencer and left her for dead, and then Mary comes out of hiding and is applying pressure to the wound, while wearing black gloves. Why Mary? She then busts into song (for the second time this season,) and as the girls all gather around as if it’s a fire circle, she reveals that she is indeed Spencer’s mother. 

...and then Jenna’s wacky ass self wakes up from being knocked out in the back of A.D’s van. She clearly knows there’s an A.D. Was she indirectly working for this person? Since she was team Charlotte, it seems highly likely. But why would A.D take her? Your guess is as good as mine. 

That was one hell of a finale! It sort of reminded me of the Thornhill Lodge Fire from the Season 3 finale in the sense that there were so many different people there that night, and trying to piece together what everyone’s intentions and reasons for being there was. Although a bit more intense in this case. It certainly set the tone and pace for where the story will be headed in 7B.

I give this finale a 10/10 rating - A+! What were your thoughts?

I’ll be back for 7B, and in the mean time may go back and review older seasons and throw some of my theories out there for the current mystery!

Why hello there, fellow PLL lovers! Going to just lump sum my thoughts on the four episodes we’ve got so far! Here we go, crew.

Plot, Pacing, & Progression:

It’s no unheard of thing to anyone in the tumblr world that PLL really lost it’s footing the past few seasons in terms of how the plot has been executed and paced out in general. I’ve continued to love the story and all the twists and turns that is this wild ride of a show, but ever since 5B they started delaying certain reveals due to the double season renewal they got with seasons 6 and 7, shipping off important characters, and stunting the overall progression of the series. This has been the first four episodes in a row that have continued to deliver consistently in a while. Even 7x02, which was a bit slower on the mystery front of things, still got the plot moving with getting the dreadful break ups of Aria/Liam and Hanna/Jordan out of the way, which needed to happen early on in the season for the advancing of other stories. 

Although we all knew Hanna was going to alive and well (we have only been watching this show for 7 years now, ya know, writers,) it was still a great way to open the season with #SaveHanna. It picked things up right off the bat in a way that gets you interested in how the girls are going to get her back, and keeps the pace active. I love how it brought the entire crew together (including Mona and the bed buddies,) and gave us those good ‘ol Season 1 feels. 

The enigma that is Mary Drake is propelling this show straight forward right now, and I can’t get enough of it! That was lacking a bit in these last 2 episodes, but was pretty forefront in the first 2. Given that they just revealed Mary to us in the 6x20 finale, I wasn’t sure how much we were going to get of her in the beginning of this season. Much to my *unexpected* satisfaction, they jump started us straight into Mary’s story in the premiere! Job well done, Marlene and crew. They’ve done a good job of being upfront on certain things about her (especially in her interactions with Spencer,) but they are also balancing that out with a big dose of mystery that you still just don’t know with her. We know she’s Charlotte’s biological mother, we know she hated Jessica, and we know she was working with Dr. Rollins to gain Charlotte’s fortune via the Carissimi Group. But what are her true motivations? Does she carry Jessica’s mentality that “you’re always better off with a really good lie?” Only time will tell. Either way, I’m super happy with her progression and how they’re pacing it. I would love some more Mary on my screen in coming episodes, though. 

I’m just as happy that Rollins is dead as the next, but I do feel they may have killed him off an episode or two too early. There’s still so much about the guy we don’t know. Sure, much of that back story can come via flashbacks and through the liars research, but still. That aside, this was a brilliant plot move for how it drives the story forward. This is a story that serves actual purpose. Unlike 5B which served the purpose of solving Mona’s murder which never even happened in the first place. The pure example of a plot used to delay and stall the true story at hand, which was the Charles/CeCe reveal. Kudos to Huw Collins for slaying Elliot’s role on the show. He really sold it. Now just explain that British accent, his hopeful connection to Wren, his backstory with Charlotte, and I’ll be good to go. 

The red jacket mystery has been answered! As far as timing and pacing, Aria had that flashback in 6x12, and we didn’t get that full answer till 7x04. However, it only got brought to our attention in 7x01 that they thought it may have been Alison who went into the church, which then prompts Ali’s flashback in 7x04 about her following Charlotte up the bell tower and fighting. This scene opens up all kinds of new scenarios as to what went down that night. Charlotte was staring out the window at the end like she had a plan up her sleeve. It even poses the possibility that someone may have mistakenly killed Charlotte in the church thinking she was Alison. There’s so many ways this could go. In typical PLL fashion, once one question is answered, 50 more questions present themselves. 

Where did they go?

Have the liars forgotten that they thought they were after Sara Harvey in the 6B finale? All of a sudden it’s like she’s vanished. I thought that’s what I wanted, but it’s so inconsistent. They haven’t raised the first question about where crispy hands creeped off too. Who knows, maybe she’s hiding down in the tunnels of The Radley eating fried chicken with her gloves in a red coat. Either way, this girl still has some answers to dish out. My suspicions are she’s thinking Charlotte might still be alive or knows about Mary and wants to get to the bottom of it all. I’m thinking they’re gonna take the easy route and say she really was kidnapped, locked in the dollhouse, and developed Stockholm Syndrome. Anti-climatic, but that is Shower Harvey in a nutshell, right? Onto the next...

What about Melissa? The presumed murder weapon for Charlotte was from Melissa’s suitcase, she was freaking out about her confession tape getting released, and now she’s gone...again. I know Peter said last season she’d gone back to London, but I’m gonna need that bad bitch to swing back through Rosewood. I love me some shady Melissa. I’m also gonna need some more explanation on her and CeCe’s mythology. 

Lucas! He’s been weaving in and out, and I just can’t tell where he stands. He’s lending Hanna his car, apartment, and basically giving her land or a business or whatever it was she signed in those papers a few episodes ago. To be continued? 

Where the story goes from here:

From next weeks preview, Alison is clearly out of Welby, and seems to be chatting it up with Mary. Jenna’s back in town, and with an ax to grind. Rollins is dead, and the girls are doing all the wrong things. Mona’s the only one who knows how to cover the tracks and keep things normal. Oh, and then there’s the Haleb vs. Spaleb love triangle that needs to end. It was hot for a literal hot second, but let’s stick to what really matters. 

We’ve clearly still got a lotttt to learn. Between Mary, Rollins history, more of CeCe’s history, all these old characters coming back and how they tie into the bigger picture. Ah! It’s making my head spin, but in the best way possible. Now it’s theory time. 

Why hello there, fellow PLL lovers! A bit late with this one, but better late than never, eh? 

That basically sums up how I feel about many of the reveals in this episode, but alas, let’s tackle this finale! 

First and foremost, I think it’s important to note that as much as I loved the reveals (yes, even the predictable, but not so predictable at the same time reveal of Rollins being bad,) it’s very obvious the ~big~ reveal of this finale had been very delayed. I believe it’s safe to say we can all agree that Mary ties in to Jessica D’s death in some way, shape, or form, and she was killed off in the 4x24 finale. I don’t think it was the plan to wait two seasons later to reveal this one had a twin! Had it been a season later the shock factor would have been a bit higher, but this late in the game it almost seemed out of nowhere. Alas, I loved it and know it will answer many of our questions and propell the story forward for the last season of PLL “as we know it.” Or whatever it is Marlene likes to say.

So we enter this romance filled finale with Hanna turning herself over to emoji. This is the girls plan to get ‘Uber A’ out in the open. Only they don’t realize emoji is only used as a bridge between the girls and Uber A. The girls finally get their first Uber A text of the season in the finale once Hanna has been taken. “You’re free to go now.”  - A.D. Well doesn’t that open a whole new can of worms! Clearly the plan backfired, which we all knew it would. Where would the hype have been had Hanna been okay? To make the dramatic ending with her being taken all the more amplified, her and Caleb took us down flashback central to show us what really happened the night they broke up. From the premiere when Hanna was on the plane and had the baby sitting next to her, I really thought maybe it had been the decision to have an abortion that split them up, but what we got sufficed. Can we get a hell yeah for that Haleb kiss, though? Clearly Caleb’s got some figuring out to do with Spencer now! I’m not a big fan of love triangles and liked that PLL had managed to stray away from this up until now, but if they write carefully, this storyline could turn out alright. 

I’m a sucker for Ezria as much as everyone else, but we all knew those two couldn’t stay out of each other’s pants for long. Although not surprising in the slightest, I still loved the angst and build up to the scene. If anything, I loved that they brought them back together through co-writing this book. It was a new spin for these two. What do I think is next, though? Nicole is going to turn up alive and show up right as Ezra is about to say “I do.” I’m calling it now, yall!

Now for the big reveals of them all: Mary fucking Drake and Dr. Rollins teaming up to avenge Charlotte’s death! I could totally go into theory mod right now, but I’ll save that for another post. It’s been clear for a while that there was more to CeCe’s story than she was leading on in 6x10. This answers a HUGE chunk of that with now having the knowledge that not only did Jessica have a twin Mary Drake, but that she’s Charlotte’s biological mother. This changes everything we thought we knew. Did Charlotte know about Mary? To what extent? Have her and Mary been working together this whole time, or part of the time, or never at all? There’s so many different ways they can go with this. Whichever way they decide to direct he story, I’m stoked. I love CeCe, so going further into her story makes my little Drake heart super happy. Now if we can get some flashbacks with her this season that will be the cherry on top! 

Dr. Elliot Rollins...I knew this mofo was a shady ass bitch from the moment he entered the show. It’s one thing we only had 10 episodes this half season, so I do wish the writers had utilized more of that developing his character and giving him more screen time. That, to me, would have made the reveal that much more shocking. Either way, I knew it was coming and the way they went about it was pretty cool. Sure, they may have gone all scobby doo on us, but it worked. Clearly Mary blames what Charlotte went through with killing Wilden to bring Alison back home safely on Ali, and this set up was used as a way to bring out her own guilt about it. Had Rollins been working solo this wouldn’t have played out so smooth, but being teamed up with Mary adds some nice layers. I’m pretty excited to see the history of Rollins and Charlotte! 

All in all, these reveals are coming later than they should have, but I’m just glad we’re finally here! This gives PLL the opportunity to really go out with a bang. Here’s to them utilizing this foundation to execute a great story!

In typical Rosewood fashion, these titles actually do hone in to what the episodes are about. Between Melissa’s actual baggage being the show’s current top suspect, we’ve also got everyone else’s manic behavior continuing to unfold as our old Rosewood friends continue to make more messy and get less answers as the season progresses. But hey, this is why we love the PLL’s after all, right? 

Oh, Melissa Hastings. You sly bitch, I can just never get enough of you. In the words of Veronica, “Yes, Melissa’s back, and all she brought with her is attitude.” She’s just that character you love to hate. Well, one things for certain, she confirmed what the whole fandom has known for a while; her and Wren both play a bigger factor in this whole game. I always believed CeCe was A, but knew these two had their hands where they shouldn’t have. Also, I believe Melissa could be a grade A alcoholic. Please stick around Melissa. It’s always a wild time having you on my screen.

I know what you’re up to Dr. Rollins. It’s more than obvious this fool is up to something. We’ve only watched this show and studied it’s tricks for oh, well...SIX SEASONS! Come on, we’re professionals now. The ‘good doctor’ is defiantly using Ali and they’re rushed marriage as an alibi. The questions remains as this; an alibi for what? I feel it’s still too early in to tell which team he’s on: #TeamTakeCharlotteTheFuckDown or #TeamAvengeCharlotte. I could see it going either way. We now know Charlotte was upset to hear that Ali was developing feelings for her precious doctor. Why you ask? My guess is that Charlotte had her own thing going on with him. Did he dispose of her for this reason so he and Ali could be together? Or is he avenging her death because he was in love with her too? Maybe he’s not in charge on either team, but is taking orders from someone else. Either way, the good doctor isn’t so good after all.

Ella & Byron: Yes! If we’re going to have filler type stuff, let it be for things like this with the characters we know about and love. Be it this, or Ezra looking shady for a few episodes, questioning what’s going on with Melissa, this is how it should be. Keep it coming writers, keep it coming.

Murder weapon chase down with a monster truck: So apparently Uber A likes to drive monster trucks now and chase down a girl who already just had her eggs stolen! I swear, Emily always gets the brunt of A’s shit list. It seems Charlotte was defiantly killed with Melissa’s broken suitcase poll (who would’ve thought?) but I highly doubt Melissa is the one who did it. My guess is now that Emily’s prints are on it, Uber A will turn it out and pin the murder on the liars. 

Over all: The pace has picked back up! About time, yo. I really am intrigued with where they are taking the story. They’ve got a solid thing going on here. My thoughts are that Melissa was team Charlotte and there’s lots to come to light about her and Wren’s involvements. It’s seeming more and more likely that Charlotte defiantly has a twin. I wouldn’t be surprised if said twin was the one who killed Mrs. D. 

Hanna deciding it’s okay to call the parents of Rosewood by their first names, team Sparia reunited, and Emily’s procedure from hell, what a dozy!

*Emily/Alison/The Procedure: Can we all get an Aww for the Emison fans out there? Please and thank you. It was beyond cute worthy to see Emily all hormoned up and freaking out about Ali’s texts. By the end of it all, it was sweet to see Ali there for Emily for a change. It’s nice when they switch it up and show us a different dynamic. However, something is NOT right about Emily’s procedure. Whether or not that was really Sara, I believe someone got in there and got Emily’s eggs. Something is confusing there. We’ll see what comes of it. Poor Em, always taking the hard hits for everybody. 

*Dr. Rollins: Something’s up with this guy. He seems to be in and out so far since the 6B premiere. All we know is that he was Charlotte’s doctor, but not a whole lot else. I think he may be getting closer and closer to Alison as an alibi, but I’ll make a separate post on this later. 

*Spencer and Yvonne: Oh this clearly has got Uber A’s name written all over it (I’m sorry, can’t stand this whole “Big Bad” name nonsense.) Then again, Mona did look awfully shady here too. As per usual, we never know what’s up with that goon. I’ve got my own thoughts about Mona, but I’ll save that for another post. As for Spence and Yvonne, that line Yvonne said about “There’s nothing wrong with an iron lady, in fact their my favorite kind,”  - Did that strike anyone else as extremely sexual and flirtatious? It’s like damn Spencer, you’ve already won over Caleb, now will Toby’s girlfriend be your next seductive influence? 

*Sara Harvey: I’m more prone to calling her Crispy Harvey these days, but whateves. It’s about time we got SOMETHING out of that girls mouth other than bitchy remarks for a change. Clearly this girl who knows how to rock out a Red Coat and Black Veil from time to time was more smitten with Charlotte than she had let on till now. I still want to know how the two met and why Sara got involved, but hey, their going to milk this one till the end of the season at least if they can. To suffice, I really liked the scene between her and Alison. Even if only for the sake of getting answers, hopefully Ali will go there with her and get us the info we need to know on this loony. Another pick up from their scene when Sara said “We never really knew all of her.” - I’m pretty big on the theory of Charlotte having a twin, and I think this could have been a major foreshadow to that! Did anyone laugh their ass off when Sara lied about not knowing Alison worked at the school, only to then say otherwise, and not know why she lied? Says a lot about you, Crispy Harvey. 

*Team Sparia: Good to see our favorite duo unite! I’m thinking the escape route they found in Sara’s/Charlotte’s old room was there when Charlotte was in Radley, and was one of her many ways to get the hell out of that place. My guess is Sara discovered it, and now Sparia is on her lead!

*Ella and Byron: Ya know, I had sneaky suspicion from the flashback of these two in last weeks episode that they would wind up back together. This is such a throwback to the early days when Byron was with Ella ‘all night’ but secretly went and met with Alison. Something tells me that history is repeating itself and Byron went to see Charlotte ‘That Night 2.0.’ Ezra clearly saw it and it covering for him. Sure, a bit redundant from seasons past, but I’d rather them stall on giving us the real answers with stories like these that at least involve the core characters instead of wasting our time with random newbies that aren’t even progressing the plot in anyway...5B, anyone? I rest my case.

*Hanna jazzing it up with Jordan was cutesy, but we all know this isn’t going to last. My guess is Uber will somehow out her at the wedding and she’ll then realize she’s nowhere near being over Caleb. It’ll be here before we know it, peeps. 

Between red coat’s who eat fried chicken with gloves on, a Hanna who helps herself to throwing away trash in Aria’s room gone wrong, and Spencer and Caleb’s ‘moment’ in the barn, I don’t even know where to start!

The gloves truly are back on in this twister of a storm that Hanna seemed to be creating in this episode. Her attack on Ezra (home girl was way out of line in how she spoke to him in his apartment...any wonder the guy yelled back,) lying to her mom about deleting the security footage, and using Lucas as an alibi?! For someone who keeps saying “I’m not in high school anymore!” she sure seems to be doing a good job of proving the opposite.

Alas, we get old school style in Rosewood with the return of both Melissa and Lucas! I think the way Lucas was utilized was perfect. Same situation, just 5 years later. Gotta love it. However, with a bit of an upgraded Lucas I must say. All those houses and a jag? Now just add Hanna falling into his arms on that list and he’ll be golden.

Melissa, Melissa, Melissa....you snarky bitch, oh how I’ve missed you. For me, two scenes of this fabulous Hastings was just not enough, but hey, I’ll take what I can get. Anyone else getting the feeling that they may bring back up the tape Melissa made for Spencer about burying Bethany Young having thought it was Alison? I thought it was interesting they brought that back up. Will Bethany have more purpose or was she really just a bitch who caused Charlotte hell and got buried alive for the show to have someone to put in Ali’s place in the grave? Who knows at this juncture. Either way, gimme some more Melissa!

Oh Ezra. Still the biggest brooder there ever was. Only now with a dose of manic depression. I really feel for the dude in what he’s going through. To go from being the wise teacher with all the answers to the now broken doll practically, is a new spin for this guy. I’m calling it now, though, that Ezra totally walked over to that church after Aria got in the cab ‘that night 2.0′ and had a confrontation with CeCe/Charlotte (I still get confused on who to call this girl with god knows how many names.) Obviously he didn’t kill her, but to even admit he went over to where the victim was murdered at and having met with her...shit don’t look good. Watch it be just like with Alison the night she went missing; by the time we get the reveals we need, we’ll find out the whole city of Rosewood met with Charlotte the night she was killed. The once upon a time A was probably making her rounds all over Rosewood that night just like Ali did. She is a DiLaurentis after all. 

About time you spilled the beans Emily, or rather your eggs in this case. Not gonna lie, I didn’t see that one coming. I was sold on her being on heroin or something like that. Kudos to her for making a good choice and wanting to help a family out. Can I also just say how realistic it is to have one character on here who didn’t go and become instantly successful? While I love the arc’s being given to the other liars, I’m still finding Emily’s to be the most easy to connect with right now. You find your way girl. 

Sara Harvey, Red Coat, The Black Widow, Shower Harvey, and now Crispy Harvey...? It just never stops. I figured as much that something happened to her hands. But does this loon really think these girls should feel guilty about that? 10 seconds prior she was ready to blow the roof off that building. Karma is only a fried hand away, peeps. Lesson learned: don’t put on Red Coat’s and parade around helping a tormentor torture their victims. I still can’t quite figure this girl out, and something tells me they’re going to milk this for a little bit before giving us what we want to know. How did Sara know CeCe? Why was she helping torture these girls? What’s her true involvement? If they can really tie her into the story in a way that’s satisfying, there can be some redemption here. 

We all knew it from the premiere; Spaleb! Totally digging it. Not gonna be endgame of course, but let’s enjoy the ride while we can. Spices things up and raises the stakes higher. I don’t think Caleb and Spencer slept together while they were in Europe, but defiantly think they had to have kissed or told each other of their feelings, because they both seemed well aware of wanting each other, and that this fire had been stoking long enough!

All in all, well done yet again PLL! I’d give this episode a 9/10. Apparently our new Big Bad is in town, and revamping the game to their own tune and flavor with their own uniform. Out with the old, in with the new!

My top suspects of who wants revenge for Charlotte’s death?

A) Alison/Dr. Rollins (would follow the story of the books)

B) Noel (he helped CeCe get to Europe, with the help of Ali. He clearly knew her and helped her in the past.)

C) Jason

D) Sara Harvey (although I’d like to think the writers know better)

As the 6B title suggests, I’ve been thinking of Rosewood lately myself, and am so glad to be back to theorizing now about our PLL’s and this new yet familiar world they’re in.

So to jump right in, I feel the episode was mostly about establishing the tone for the rest of the series. The girls may have grown up and that needed to be showcased with where they are at in their lives, but apparently they’ve come back with quite a few secrets.

The episode, to me, really mirrored the Pilot in many ways. One, we have the girls reuniting after having been a part for a while, and yet again, for something involving Alison. As well, they each have their own set of baggage's they are bringing along with them. Much like with the Jenna thing when the show started, we now apparently have the ‘Sara thing.’ Not too sure how I feel about that one. Sure, I’m as curious as everyone else about what really happened with her in the dollhouse and why she was helping Charlotte, but this I feel could have been done without. On the other hand, it does provide good mystery, and considering it’s the basis of this show, watcha gonna do?

I’m gonna go a head and break down the secrets each liar is returning with (or so I think..)

Hanna: I’m 99.9% positive that she got pregnant while living in New York with Caleb, but lost the baby. Something tells me she had a hard time coping. Her scene playing with the baby on the plane, and then downing her drink afterwards really got me to thinking about this one. It also explains some of the awkwardness between her and Caleb. 

Spencer: Obviously, as the premiere started painting for us, she’s seeing Caleb.

Emily: She’s defiantly lying about being in college. Then there’s the whole pill popping thing, but could she be taking a step further with shooting up drugs? My guess is probably not, and that maybe the syringes are for some sort of illness she may have.

Aria: She’s the only one I still can’t get a feel for. We’ll see, though.

Back onto the episode, the big shabang ended up being Charlotte’s death. I feel being that we just found out she was ‘A’ in the previous episode and what a big deal that was, more attention could have been devoted to it in this episode. I get they had a lot to cover in this premiere. For that reason I wish it had been a 2 hour show, but oh well., 

It’s very obvious that someone wanted Charlotte dead. Whoever this Uber A is going to be will not be the same person who killed her, I’m almost certain of that. If what Marlene says is true, the new Big Bad is formed because of Charlotte’s death and wanting to know why it happened and who did it. Therefore, we’ve got two mysteries and people to unmask here; Uber A in the making, and whoever actually killed Charlotte. 

My biggest guess on who killed her? MONA. She made it quite clear to Spencer that she wasn’t over what happened, and then the way she flipped like a coin gone wrong at the hearing about gave me whiplash. We all know how clever Mona is. She knew by giving a statement that could get her out would ensure her safety. Why? Because she wanted her out so she could kill her, making sure Charlotte could never hurt her again. Some could say it’s revenge on her for stealing Mona’s ‘A’ game and playing it like a real boss, or what she did to by attacking her and putting her in the dollhouse for months. Mona defiantly got it worse than the girls when it came to that. All I know is that after the funeral, Mona darted out of that church and past the girls at lightening speed, so much that I missed it on the first watch. So with out a doubt, Mona defiantly had motive to want her dead. Let’s see where they take this one.

Although a little disappointed at first, I was actually happy that the girls didn’t receive an ‘A’ text at the end of the episode. Someone was watching them from the limo, which I think we can all assume was this Uber A to come. We know it’s brewing, but this does give us and the liars a little breathing room after having just revealed A in the episode prior. 

Over all, 5 Years Forward is off to a great start! It seems the pace is picking up, things are a bit edgier, and the mystery factor (which has always been the heart of this show,) is very much so still intact. I’m looking forward to where they take this.

My predictions are that one, like I said, Mona will be the one killed Charlotte. Two, I think Charlotte is the one with the twin. Three, we’ve still got a hell of a lot to learn about Sara Harvey. Excited for all that’s to come!

Aloha fellow PLL lovers. It’s my intention here to go trail through some of the shows mind twists that once didn’t make sense and connect the dots. I made this post once, but my computer crashed before being able to post it, and I can promise you, all of the answers from the finale and other big events on the show really do line up. It’s been super fun to go back from Season 3 onward and to tie it all together. Ready to take the voyage with me? Here we go!

“It Happened That Night” 3x01

I just want to point out how influential this episode was to showcasing the motives of this A. CeCe was starting out her taking over of the game by screwing with the liars and getting Emily to the grave while Mona dug up “Ali’s” body under the direction of ‘Red Coat,’ - one of CeCe’s disguises. It hasn’t been made totally clear if this was Sara or Charlotte, but either way, it was under CeCe’s orders. 

The reasons CeCe needed the body dug up were quite simple.made totally 

1) She began seeing “a blonde in a red coat, watching over the girls.” She was beginning to wonder if Ali was alive. Knowing Bethany was also out that night, CeCe needed to know if Ali was really the one in that grave. She was desperate to find out the truth about her sister who she thought she killed.

2) She needed money to do a lot of what she did. She held the body for ransom, and later in the season got $50,000 from Jason for it.

3) It was her first chance to fuck with the liars in a pretty huge way.

*It’s interesting to note that Jenna, Noel, and Lucas were all apart of the fiasco that night, although having nothing to do with CeCe. This was quite symbolic of the real ‘that night,’ where everyone seemed to be in Ali’s backyard that night who shouldn’t have been there.

“The Khan Game” - 3x09

We find CeCe in this one connecting with Aria and Spencer both, seemingly doing Spencer a favor to get into UPenn (which she lied about,) and later come to find in Season 4 that she thought the liars were responsible for her getting kicked out of UPenn. Finally getting her revenge, much?

When tempting Aria and Spencer to drink, she comments that “she’d seen cops do way worse in this room.” A very big first clue of her involvement in the tangled web that was Wilden.

“Single Fright Female” - 3x11

Some of the more obvious clues here was CeCe bringing up Ali’s fued with Paige ans how she was secretly afraid of her, thus putting the ear rings Aria put in Ali’s casket into Paige’s purse to put “A” suspicion onto her.  Oh, how clever Charlotte.

What stood out to me most, however, was the chance she got to have doing what she loved most, and right out in the open: dressing up her dolls and controlling them.

“The Lady Killer” 3x12

As much as I wanted Maya to be alive like many others, there weren’t any clues pointing to it. When asked by Emily why he had the videos of Maya, Lyndon replies with “I think you know the answer.” Dude killed her cause he can’t handle being turned down and was going to do the same to Emily. End of story.

*Right before Lyndon goes bat shit crazy on Emily, CeCe actually gave her fair warning about him! She calls her while she’s sleeping on the couch, and with a voice changer over the phone says, “You have one minute, GET OUT!” See, home girl did care about her dolls after all.

*Important clue and convo:

“Emily, I owe you one.” - A to Emily on the phone, right as Garret has been released.

Garret being released was good news for CeCe! He knew that Wilden was a dirty cop and about his shady cover ups. Garret could potentially be in CeCe’s corner and help her with the Wilden mess. Never noticed this before! I also am assuming that he may have known there was a possiblity of Alison being alive. 

“This Is A Dark Ride” - 3x13 aka The Halloween Train

**Just to give a run down of this once super confusing episode, so as to know who was who, what was what, and how it all tied in**

Basically, everyone at this point knew Alison was alive. In the webisodes, it’s when Shana first got sent to town by Ali to keep tabs, Noel and Jenna knew, Garret was newly released from prison and potentially knew, and Mona was on the train in the first appearance of the Ali mask under orders from CeCe.

Garret was baby face, and came to let Spencer and the others know about what he witnessed that night, and I think he was going to tell the girls that Alison was still alive and some of Wilden’s involvement in the cover up when Spencer went to get the girls and Aria. Too bad Wilden got to him first and killed him. Why? Because Wilden’s ass was on the line for his insane cover ups.  Melissa was on the train too as the other Queen of Hearts, as well keeping tabs, but didn’t know how far things were going to go. She was blackmailed by Wilden to be there. Wilden put Aria in the box with Garret. 

Jason was attempting to save Aria, and he’s the one she stabbed with the screw driver.

Ezra was trailing the train to find out Ali’s whereabouts as well, all for his murder mystery novel.

“What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” 3x19

CeCe sent Jason down the elevator shaft, as he and Emily just found a photo of Ali, CeCe, and Wilden in Cape May. They were getting way too close for comfort for her liking. This could all too easily lead to what really happened that night, which was her accidental ‘murder’ of Alison. She couldn’t let this happen. Also, how convenient that she lies to Aria on the phone about her car being towed. I suppose she was a little tied up testing Jason’s flying skills.

Also, look at these clues in the form of wine! Apparently CeCe and A liked the same brand of wine, huh?

^^The above wine bottle was from 4x09. 

“Hot Water” 3x20

“If there was anything Ali could do, was tell a really good lie.”  - CeCe, when explaining to Emily her being there ‘that night,’ when Jason claimed to have seen her. Him being in a drunken, drugged up state, we can’t really trust his testimony anyway. CeCe, however, thinking he potentially did see her, spins a really good lie to get Emily and anyone else off her tracks. We know she was a major liar after all. It runs in the DiLaurentis blood. 

“I’m Your Puppet” 3x23

A really interesting scene between Ali and Spencer in the Children’s Ward stood out to me. Yet another link to CeCe’s time spent in the child’s ward there as a kid, but also her relation to what Spencer is asking Ali about.

Spencer: “Is Toby the one who gave you that bloody lip?”

Alison: “Toby? Oh sweetie, girls fight much dirtier than boys. I’m lucky she didn’t leave a scar.”

Spencer: “She?”

They’re referring to a flashback from earlier in the episode where Ali comes over late at night to Spencer’s, and Veronica is questioning Ali’s bloody lip, and Ali doesn’t want to go into where she got it. Ali’s mom didn’t want her hanging out with CeCe, for reasons we now know! We also know that CeCe has a violent streak. If she told Mrs. Hastings, she feared that she would tell her mother.

“A is for A-L-I-V-E” 4x01

Jenna seeks out Emily, with a burnt hand, showing her obvious appearance at the lodge fire. She confirmed Wilden had seen Ali that night, which Garret knew. Duh! He was there ‘that night,’ having covered it up for CeCe and Jessica. It’s also convenient that Jessica returns to Rosewood in this episode, right after her daughter kills Wilden. Interesting stuff.

“The Mirror Has Three Faces” - 4x10

In a scene with Mona and Wren, she now knows that he was authorizing CeCe to visit her. Not totally sure of her being the one who stole the game yet, she was still upset as now knowing she killed Wilden, and has a lot of dirt on Mona too. Wren’s defending himself, and also knows Mona stopped taking her medication. This isn’t good news for him, as that was encouragement from CeCe to her, which is why he thought he was allowing CeCe to visit her in the first place. Knowing now what she was capable of, Wren was scared as things could come back to get him. THIS IS WHY HIM AND MELISSA BOTH LEFT FOR LONDON, AND WHY SHANA SHIPPED HIS STUFF TO HIM. SIMPLE! Considering how they left some of it with him open ended, sure, they could go back later and say it means something more. but for now, he’s not shady other than permitting CeCe to visit Mona. Since she was a patient there, that’s why she was given a visitor pass under her alias name of CeCe Drake. 

*Never noticed this when watching the episode the first time. Charles being cut out of the picture early on was being planted. It was right in front of us.

**When Spencer and Toby go to visit Dr. Palmer, they ask if the blonde that Marion was supposed to stay clear of was CeCe Drake? He doesn’t answer, but then asks the curroir to see Mrs. DiLaurentis out. BIG clue that CeCe was always a DiLaurentis! We never questioned it because of her “dating” Jason. Wow the writers knew how to track their steps.

“Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” - 4x12

CeCe got pretty kick ass in this one. EVERYONE was on to her now. News broke that she killed Wilden, and the girls were also so close to finding Alison. CeCe wanted to get to Ali first and let her know her story, not to be revealed by the liars and have her painted in a bad light.

She concocted a plan to kidnap Emily in Ravenswood at ‘The Great Charlemagne,’ put on the Red Coat, and make it look like to Alison that she was helping to save Emily’s life. It was all working out till Aria knocked her mask off. Once her red coat sleeve was torn off, you could also see her black hoodie underneath. Nice try, CeCe.

Afterwards, you throws everyone off by landing them in Ezra’s lair, who she falsely leading along to Ali info for money. Sure enough, it worked just like she wanted it too. Ali led them to the lair, which CeCe had already gotten Alison to see. 

“Unbridled” 4x23

Some awfully interesting behavior going on in this one with Jessica. She’s buying clothes and keeping them in Ali’s room, handing a brief case with that shirt in it to CeCe in the woods...

Then we later see a black hoodie in the forest that Spencer witnesses..

THIS WAS SHANA! She then finds the hotel CeCe is staying at and turns her in, getting her arrested in the next episode. You can’t make this stuff up! We now know Shana had a black hoodie and gear from 4x24 and 5x01. 

*In the finale, CeCe then makes a deal with Holbroke. She lets him know Alison is alive, which for her is good, so she can get her sister home and out of hiding. She also gives Spencer over as being the one who murdered Bethany. That’s why Holbroke then searches Spencer’s house.

In 5x05, “Miss Me X 100 

CeCe comes back from Europe, and blows up Jenna’s house. Why? Jenna just returned to Rosewood after Ali, and CeCe saw Jenna as a threat to Alison. She wasn’t going to have anyone messing with her sister or plans anymore!

And all of that leads us to.......

Aloha everyone! Here is my humble opinion on PLL’s summer finale that aired back in August. I wanted to wait for all the hype to die down as there was lots of mixed emotions and opinions circulating around the long-awaited episode of reveals. It’s not my intention to get you on board with my thoughts surrounding, what I thought to be, one of the best episodes of the series, but rather to simply share my thoughts on it and highlight it’s important key points that some may have missed upon first viewings and all the noise surrounding it. So let’s get to it shall we...

We open with the PLL’s right where they left off at prom; clueless on Ali’s whereabouts, but determined to find out. This takes’s us right back to the pilot, which is where it all started. Sure, this show has evolved around these 4 girls, but it’s always come down to them and they’re quest to find out the truth about Alison and what REALLY happened to her that night. Everyone in the PLL fandom has their own ideas as to what they should or shouldn’t have been, who should have been involved and who shouldn’t have, but what was essential to the story truly did get delivered I feel.

Anywhooo...the liars led to the Carissimi Group (Mrs. D’s foundation set up to basically fund Charles - it wasn’t just the stocks that got Cece all that money. Makes sense now why Mrs. D had all those fundraisers, eh?) and from there they are led into A’s lair. I thought this was perfect, as the liars (including Mona, who’s been such a huge piece to this puzzle,) all were together and witnessed everything they needed to know. Charlotte was never going to reveal herself with the liars physically present, and appreciated the set up here. She wanted this to be an intimate experience with her sister. She’s NEVER seen these girls as true friends to Alison (lord help the mister, who comes between me and my sister, much?)  So she did what she needed to do. Good ol’ Sara Harvey of course would be the one to lead the girls into the lair and entrap them, only confirming the suspicion I had of her since we first heard about her in Season 4. 

Cece jumps straight into her story, letting Ali know she had no ill intent against her a as a child. She’s ALWAYS had an issue distinguishing dolls from real life people, and blends the two concepts together. “When my dolly was sad, so was I.” I feel the show did a good job of showcasing Charles’ mental illness from a young child, way before the sex change ever came along. This child, already mentally ill and feeling alienated, is then disposed of as if he was nothing by his own father, and further along with Mrs. D. Jessica taught young Charles how to be A, wit Kenneth as the catalyst for the forming of A. As seen in the scene where Charlotte is studying in her Radley room, we’re shown just how smart she truly was. Is it any wonder she was able to be so seemingly omnipresent. 

The clues were truly there all along; the yellow dresses from the Christmas episode finally made sense. We all once believed the other to have been for Bethany, but nope. Mrs. D still was caring for Charles in her own way. Speaking of Bethany Young; what a crazy bitch! I felt upon first being introduced to the idea of her back in Season 4 that this would be a tragic death we would feel sorry for, but not at all! Framing Charles for Marion’s death - yet another hurtle pushing Charles down the slope of becoming A. 

The concept of how Charlotte was only trying to get Alison to come home! Of course mentally ill, thus explaining much of the erratic behavior, but the silver lining of the story is really quite beautiful and heartbreaking. Before ‘that night.’ Charlotte was coming around as Cece only to get close to her family, something she’d missed out on her whole life due to Mr. D and then propelled by Mrs. D’s lies. 

...then we come to the tragic night that Cece hits Ali, mistaking her for Bethany, whom she thought was going to hurt her family. It’s quite wild to look at the dynamic of how the two A’s of the show hit two girls that night, both mistaking the one for the other. When Mona turns to the girls, tears streaming down her face, you see the realness of her character and how far she is coming. It’s revealed in this fleeting moment that it was in fact MONA who hit Bethany with the shovel. Wow, much?! This explains so much of Mona’s behavior in the past with trying to frame the girls for “Ali’s” murder in 2x12, why she didn’t want Ali coming back (among other reasons,) and where so much of that self-preservation steamed from; she really thought she was the one who hit Alison that night. So we have Cece hitting Ali, who own sister, thinking she’s Bethany, and then Mona bashing Bethany’s skull in thinking it was Alison. The parallels of the two A personas here is quite wild and, story wise, gratifying. 

So much surrounding Cape May, Wilden’s wacky ass self, and Mrs.D’s weird connection with Cece finally got conclusion. Wilden was running around like a triathlon, sealing deals left and right, all the while getting paid for these absurd cover ups! Is it any wonder he didn’t want Ali coming home to tel her story...his ass was on the line! Charlotte was determined to bring her sister home, as she was in hiding thinking that who hit her had the intention of killing her. Wilden got in the way of this (remember that scene in 3B where Wilden was shoving Cece in the cop car?) She had to get rid of him. Via the Lodge Fire, Cece was given proof that Alison was indeed alive, and proceeded to kill Wilden right afterwards. Mona’s kidnapping and fake death make sense now too, doesn’t it? Mona was NOT team Ali and was causing all sorts of trouble upon her return. The Liars were all forming against Alison at this time too, which furthered Charlotte’s hate for them. Getting rid of Mona and framing the girls for her “death” was doing Ali a favor in her mind. This was the whole point of the dollhouse. She just wanted all of these distractions out of the way so she could finally get Ali where she wanted her and tell her story. Hense this whole finale...

Red Coat and Black Widow reveal! Let’s keep in mind Sara Harvey wasn’t ‘the’ Red Coat, just only when Cece “needed her to b I always assumed whoever this was would end up being behind the Black Widow costume as well. Sara’s character concept was introduced in Season 4, and even her posse was introduced to confirm what a horrible person she was basically. In 5x13 at the Ice Ball, Claire (one of Sara’s friends) is seen on the dance floor and the Varjak number spells out Sara Harvey. The clues were defiantly there. Sure, like many I believed there was potential for Melissa to be the Black Widow, but her shadiness was revealed in 5x11 as burying Bethany. There was no further explanation to be had there. Black Widow first appeared at Wilden’s funeral, so it makes sense this person had to be someone connected to who killed Wilden. As well, Sara’s identity had to be preserved as she was still pronounced “missing” at the time. I thought this was all brilliant. Her serving as the decoy at the Lodge Fire made perfect sense. 

Charlotte had plenty of those “listen to me” moments. One of which brings me back to 4x12 as it was just coming to light that Alison was alive. The girls were coming very close to discovering A’s identity at this time. She concocted the plan of kidnapping Emily, putting her in the saw mill, and pretending to put on the Red Coat to make Ali think she was helping. She wanted to reveal HERSELF TO ALI, like in this finale, not for the girls to figure it out and try to make her look bad to Alison. She knew the liars would put a terrible spin on it and had her way of wanting this all to pan out. 

The motives are clear as night and day! Cece NEVER thought these girls were true and genuine. She clearly thought they were responsible for Bethany’s death (although Charlotte didn’t care about her, she thought they were trying to pin her murder on Alison and that they killed her thinking it was Ali.) She wanted to bring her sister home and genuinely believed these girls were responsible for that not happening. Seeing the way they treated her upon coming home, Charlotte had it up to here with the liars. To tie this all in with what she went through growing up and her obsession with dolls and associating them as people, all the answers and motives lined up for me. This was a lot more convincing to me than Mona’s motives of being bullied. 

 The finale was really this poetic tapestry of all weaving together in one coherent way. The dots connected and lined up with the points needing bridging. I find that if one is confused on the answers, perhaps the wrong questions are being asked. Follow the bread crumbs and it will all lead to this final destination. 

Aloha everybody! So after seeing the finale, I’ve got a lot of ideas floating around in my head as to why Cece/A really kidnapped and tortured Mona. In this post I am going to explain that, why the girls were framed, and a few other things.

So let’s back track to the beginning, when Mona first went on A’s hit list. After the lodge fire in 3x24 it was clear that Mona had changed sides. This did not make Cece very happy. As we now know, Cece did not think the liars were true friends to Ali, so Mona siding with them wasn’t okay with her.

As of 4x01, it was clear as ever that the game had changed and Mona no longer had any associations with it, as she was now just as much of a target as the girls. 

The season opens with Wilden’s murder being the big deal that is was, and we now know Cece killed him because he wasn’t going to let Ali come home and tell her story. Cece was now getting to the point of letting nothing and no one get in her way; Mona became a big threat to this. Cece had framed Ashley for Wilden’s murder, and it seemed perfectly believable given the circumstances surrounding the two. When Mona came along and confessed to the crime, this was not good news for Cece. It was more than obvious that Mona didn’t do it. Yet again, she was helping the girls, further pissing off A/Cece, but she was also helping herself. By this point, Mona knew she was a target for A, and by confessing to the crime it landed her SAFELY in no where other than....

RADLEY! Here she finally figured out that Wren was enabling whoever stole her A game visitation rights when she was a patient before. Further more than already, this took A’s anger to another level where Mona was concerned. She was basically trying to out smart Cece, without knowing Cece was the one behind all of this yet. 

Proceeding a text from A that said: “Hanna won, so Mona loses. Find her before the cops, of they’ll think you killed her. -A” If this wasn’t a foreshadow of what was to come a season later, I don’t know what is! Cece was planning this “murder” of Mona for a long time, and apparently was giving the girls fair warning that they would be framed for it. Cece knows how smart and resourceful Mona is....she’s the one that came up with the game after all. This was her warning of saying stop using Mona to get in the way of my plans and digging for information. 

Come the beginning of Season 5, Ali was OFFICIALLY out of hiding and back in the lime light. Everyone now knew she was alive and was coming home. This changed everything, and in different ways for everyone involved. As we came to find, Cece wanted Ali out of hiding, where as Mona wanted her gone and nowhere near Rosewood. In 5A, Mona did everything in her power to make life hell for Alison with threats, forming an army to go against her, and staging the set up at the church, all because she wanted one thing...

In the words of Mona: “I want you gone. I don’t care where you go or how you get there, just as long as you leave.” We all know Mona wanted to keep the queen bee status in tact, and with Ali back, this was a challenge for her. So we have the old A trying to get Ali out of town...

...and then Big A/Cece trying to keep Ali in town from leaving again. Ultimately, Cece didn’t want to lose Ali again. So yet again, we have Mona getting in A’s way from getting what they want. 

So this is where it gets interesting...A contracts a plan to get rid of Mona, while also using her to their advantage, which in turn (in Cece’s mind) keeps Ali safe, and then takes down the girls. Cece knows that Mona hated Ali and was doing everything in her power to make her life miserable for Ali upon her return to Rosewood. Cece contacted Mona (indirectly,) with a plan to lure Mona in. This plan consisted of faking her death, and becoming A’s helper again. Cece told Mona the plan was to make ALISON  look guilty for murdering her, but this was just a set up to get Mona to go along with it. Any plan to make Alison look guilty would suck Mona right in, and Cece knew this, hitting her right in her weak spot. The plan would have Mona taking her own blood daily, eventually splattering it all over her house on Thanksgiving after her mom left, staging the crime scene, and then disappearing to go and be with A. Mona had it in her mind she would be going willingly to meet up with A...

Obviously she was storing viles of her own blood, thus causing her to faint in 5x10. Mona was committing to this 100%. Oh naive little Mona, then coming up with a plan to try and out smart A by going off, finding they’re identity, and coming back to reveal who they are and becoming the hero. Poor little Mona...haven’t you learned yet that you don’t outsmart A? 

Right before the plan goes through, Mona is helping the girls YET again. The fact that Mona was oh so willing to plot and set up Ali per Cece’s request was proof to A that Mona was going to continue to hurt her sister. See, A/Cece was testing Mona to see where her loyalties were, and to add on to that, by helping the liars uncover information on Bethany, this was the FINAL straw. Bethany was linked to Cece, as they knew each other in Radley. Finding out everything they did about Bethany was just another step closer to revealing Cece’s identity as A. Cece now had all the proof she needed that Mona was not only going to continue trying to ruin Ali’s life (who Cece really just cared for in her own crazy way as revealed in 6x10,) but she could see Mona was defiantly against her, and she had to shut her up.

After this moment, Mona was going to finish up with her plan and plant the blood all over the house, then going to disappear and hide out with A as they’re helper until she had won their trust enough to figure out who they were. Little did she know...

Her ass got attacked, drugged, and then taken to the dollhouse, and turned into A’s “Ali doll.” Cece finally had it up to here with Mona and double crossed her. Mona was not expecting A to be coming and paying her a visit that day. There was obviously a struggle as Mona was not going to willingly go with A. She had the shit beaten out of her so she could be drugged and kidnapped. This worked PERFECTLY for Cece, as it’s so clearly her hair in the scene where A enters Mona’s room. It’s my belief that given the two different blondes in the house, Cece had Sara Harvery’s help in kidnapping Mona.

 She now has Mona out of her way locked up in a dollhouse so she can’t fuck up her plans anymore, she can’t hurt her sister any longer, AND she gets to frame the liars for Mona’s supposed “murder.” So get that...it’s the liars she wants to frame, NOT Alison. That was just a ploy to get Mona to go along with her, and it worked, as Mona hooked on like easy bait. 

“It’s all your fault. -A” 

Just as Cece/A warned them in season 4, here she was again, only this time with the plan fully in action. Cece had the liars exactly where she wanted them. By this point, the liars had all turned on Alison and were throwing her tons of shade. This pissed Cece off, and she was going to make them pay for it. She was testing the girls to see if they would be a true friend to Ali, and sure enough, they failed the test. Emily and Spencer went as far as to break into Mona’s house in 5x14 and try to plant Ali’s hair from her brush so that it would prove Ali as guilty. Instead, they find a video camera Mona had set up (probably in case her plan backfired and something like this happened,) and the videos are taken to the police of Mona’s attack.

It was Spencer basically convincing Jason to speak against Ali, which he did when the police showed him this video, along with the girls not letting her escape, that got Ali thrown in jail. The girls were turning on they’re own supposed friend and leader. This PISSED Cece off even more. Just like with Mona, they were failing the test. 

“Mona can’t hurt you anymore; you know that.” Further proof that Cece, in part, did what she did to protect Ali from Mona. 

So we then have the storage unit with the barrel, and Mona’s bloody clothes, rented in HANNA’S name, the day before thanksgiving. If Cece had ORIGINALLY wanted to frame Ali for Mona’s murder, the easiest way to have made sure she instantly went to jail was putting that unit in Ali’s name, but no, it was put in Hanna’s, who’s also a blonde. This was Cece’s plan all along. However, once Ali was already arrested and in jail, and the liars kept making things worse, Cece then started adding more and more onto the already cluttered mess. Cece wanted Ali to see the girls weren’t loyal, and in 5x21 when she so easily forgave them once they came to know Ali wasn’t A and didn’t murder Mona, Cece didn’t like this. Hence trying to get Ali to take the plea so that Hanna would get taken to prison.

Eventually it all panned out how Cece wanted, which was getting the liars ALL in jail. Sure, some mishaps along the way with Ali getting there, but she got what she ultimately wanted, and that was the liars punished, brutally, for something they didn’t do. 

This was Cece’s way of of showing the liars the dominance that she had over them. She could do whatever she wanted to them, whenever she wanted, and however she wanted. There’s no more powerful way of proving that than to frame them all for Mona’s murder, and she did it successfully. 

This ended all the way Cece wanted it to, which was where she had taken Mona; the dollhouse. The final destination for these girls (or so she thought,) to have her dolls exactly where she wanted them. She was the puppet master and was going to show them all that she was in control, and they had no say so. 

And yet again, for the 100th time, Mona fucked up by helping the liars again. By trying to help them escape, this led Cece to the ending point where Mona was concerned. Had they all not escaped, I really think Cece was going to let Mona die in that hole this time and be like bitch, you fucked up.

So this is my taking on this whole crazy plot! After finding out Mona was alive, many thought the whole storyline was pointless, but after breaking it down like this, it’s brilliant! The point all along was to frame the liars and get rid of Mona, testing the liars loyalty to Ali, which they stabbed in the back. The whole thing backfired and got Ali put in jail which was not Cece’s original plan. But eventually, it turned into one of those “I only got mad when YOU wouldn’t listen!” Well Cece, I guess Ali wasn’t listening in this case.