Pretty Little Liars: "Bloody Hell" Review

Pretty Little Liars

Season 5.22

“Bloody Hell”

Previously on Pretty Little Liars…

A went on a rampage!!! Spencer, Ali, and Cyrus/Hank Mahoney took the biggest hits, while Aria’s nosiness may have saved her brother’s life.  It is official, Ashley and Ted are engaged. Unfortunately the madness that is Emily and Talia continues, and Hanna had a face-off with Ali. This episode was fast, furious, and filled with clues, so let’s get to it!!!

Aria, Emily and Spencer visited Ali in prison, giving her watered down apologies and the details on Mona’s plan to stage her death and bring A down.  Ali is very angry about Mona’s “failed” plan and tells Aria that she will have to tell her lawyers about Mike’s involvement in order to save herself.  Aria talks Alison into waiting on this in order for Aria to find Cyrus to get some information on A.

Mrs. Hastings tells Spencer to pack her bags for London because her plane leaves in a few hours.  Mrs. H finally swallowed her pride and asked Wren to get Spencer an interview at Oxford.  When the girls come over to say goodbye to Spencer, Aria hires Mrs. Hasting to be her attorney for $1.  What could have been a ridiculous scene was made cute due to the fact that Aria was dressed like an innocent little girl. 

After hearing Aria’s questions about a nameless person (Mike) who has withheld information from the police in a murder case, Aria’s new attorney tells her this is a very serious crime. No Kidding!?!?!

Emily rehearses for the Glass Slipper pageant and Miss Fields is very talented indeed. Talia, who has quit her job at the Brew and separated from her husband, gains Emily’s sympathy and is offered to stay with Em for a few days while her mom is out of town.  Emily please give yourself some time in between relationships!!! You are constantly choosing unavailable, closeted, unsure of who they are women.  Hmmm…that’s probably because you don’t have time to know who you are because A is constantly terrorizing you!!! However, I really really loved your dance routine this week.

Aria and Hanna visit Hank Mahoney (Cyrus) in a hospital burn unit.  Whoops, he had an A accident that has left him incapacitated! But when the girls ask him for his contact he writes this: 

Which reminds me of this: 

After the girls leave the burn unit, A does this:

Spencer’s interview at Oxford was going so well…until A showed up and all the blood oozed out of her handbag in front of the professor!!!!!

Finally Hanna goes to visit Ali in prison and to my surprise it is Ali who gives the apology! Now we know that Ali is the Master PLL, but I must admit that this most genuine apology I have ever seen or heard from Miss DiLaurentis. But I’ve still got my eye on you Ali!!!

Not much good news for the PLLs in this episode.  Well, at least  Andrew got a kiss. He is so suspicious though…

…and Ashley is officially engaged and happy for now.  

Next week will not be so happy for Mama Marin, because it looks like Hanna is going to jail! Until next time Liars, remember to keep your friends close and your secrets closer… and check out  my Tumblr blog, “A Liar’s Secrets” at cdjack11cdjack11.tumblr.com

Pretty Little Liars: "Pretty Isn't the Point" Review

Pretty Little Liars

Season 5.20

“Pretty Isn’t the Point”

Previously on Pretty Little Liars…

Aria continues to be tutored by Andrew and once again enlists his help in following Mike.  Spencer assists Jonny in retrieving what is rightfully his. Emily meets the third part of the triangle and helps Hanna prepare for a scholarship pageant.  This week’s highlight scene is definitely Mike’s big reveal! 

When Talia’s husband Eric stops by the New Brew, he tells Emily that he doesn’t mind if Talia experiments and has a one time thing with Emily. This makes Emily realize that Mrs. Mendoza has told her husband a different story from the one she told Em.  Thank goodness! Finally Emily comes to her senses and tells Talia she is not into girls to be trendy!!!

While tutoring Aria, Andrew witnesses Mike being very aggressive toward his sister.  Aria has already asked Andrew to follow Mike to find out if he is meeting someone at the gym.  What Andrew learns and later tells Aria is that Mike hid something in a tree in the woods behind Mona’s house.  

Spencer and Jonny are having coffee at Hollis when they see Toby.  Toby is still distant and very rigid with Spencer.  When she tries to suggest that they get together later, Toby says he can’t.  As Spence and Jonny walk home, Jonny spots his  rabbit vandalism artwork in the window of an art gallery.  This leads to the two of them breaking into the gallery that night to get Jonny’s paintings.  Officer Toby finds them at a nearby gas station and arrests Jonny.  However, Toby tells Spencer that Tanner is still watching her and trying to use their relationship to get information on Spencer.  He tells Spence to walk away and gives her a stay out of jail card. 

The episode’s title and most of its scenes are devoted to Hanna’s scholarship pageant dreams.  She hires a pageant coach who asks Hanna a few questions from last year’s pageant like, “how would you reverse the extinction of today’s endangered species”, and “what is your opinion about our countries current foreign policies?” I found it really interesting that Hanna has been admitted to some very prestigious colleges, but can’t think of a single response to these questions.  She finally tells her coach that she can dance for her pageant talent and enlists Emily to be her dance instructor for the weekend. So we get to watch her practice the dance that Em choreographed to “Bang Bang”.  When she finds out that her stepsister, Kate, is enrolled in the same pageant Hanna becomes very angry. Later on she shows her coach her routine and her anger morphs her dance moves into something I just don’t understand. 

Her coach was very blunt and may have come across as a Gargon, but she was right. Poor Hanna! A set you up again, because Kate wasn’t signed up for the pageant.

Aria goes to Mona’s backyard at night to find out what Mike stashed in the tree.  She finds a foiled packet that holds a tube of blood.  Mike catches her in the act and tells her that the blood belongs to MONA!!! (Congrats to all the bloggers who correctly nailed the fact that Mona was saving her blood to fake her death!) Mike confirms that he walked in on Mona and saw all the blood that she had harvested in the mini fridge in her bedroom.    A wanted Ali behind bars and Mona had to fake her death to prove her loyalty to A.  She planned to take A down and return to Rosewood and be a hero to all the Liars.  

Mike was suppose to meet Mona on several occasions, but Mona never showed up and he fears that A double-crossed her and killed her.  Mike only had one vial of Mona’s blood as her promise to return to him.  This scene really touched me.  Mike and Mona really loved each other! (I ship Mikona!!!)

When Aria shares what she’s learned with the girls, they realize that they are partly to blame for Alison being in jail and debate whether they should inform Ali about Mona’s plan. Meanwhile, in the closing A scene we see the black hooded one in Mike’s bedroom with a wrench heading toward Mike’s new exercise equipment. Let’s hope that Mike only works out at the gym for a while. Until next time Liars! Keep your friends close and your secrets closer!!!

Pretty Little Liars: "Out, Damned Spot" Review

Pretty Little Liars

Season 5.19

“Out, Damned Spot”

Previously on Pretty Little Liars.....

The Liars give blood!!! (OMG). Andrew tutors Aria and protects the girls. M&M meets Hank Mahoney (aka “Cyrus the Virus”). Hanna goes in search of financial aid for college and this leads the entire PLL Fandom to asks the question: Who is Hanna’s Daddy!!??!!

Ashley Marin is in charge of the blood drive, and she recruits the PLLs to donate.  Hanna (O negative), didn’t  you learn in season 2....never ever let someone have your blood! While waiting the girls see Mike crash into the blood cart and apparently steal a vial of blood.  Aria is still in denial that her little brother is involved in some big secrets in Rosewood. 

In fact, Aria is so upset that she can’t complete her math test.  So she copies from Andrew Campbell’s test as he conveniently holds his paper up for her to see. Now Andrew is the class Valedictorian, so I know he knows better.  This all seems like a set up to me.  Andrew later confronts Aria about cheating and suggests that he can be her tutor.

Emily and Talia.... such repeated characterization of Miss Fields.  Yes, she always goes for the closeted or unavailable (Paige)!!! This week she learns Talia’s full name.  Talia Sandoval  Mendoza. Talia is married to Eric, her best friend that she married after high school, who knows that she is attracted to women.  Emily please wake up!!! Your life is complicated enough!!!

Ashley says yes to Ted’s marriage proposal and then tells him about Jason.  Ted tells her he needs to think!  I really have my eye on these two.  It would not surprise me if either of them have a very big part to play in this season’s finale.  Stay tuned.

Spencer helps Jonny paint a mural at Hollis during the middle of the night.  The next day the mural is front page news with the Headline: Vandalism at Hollis College. Spencer, you are suppose to be the “smart one”. Stay away from Jonny. He is up to no good. Who paints murals in the middle of the night anyway?

Aria discovers that Mike has been getting phone messages from Hank Mahoney at the Chester Women’s Correctional Facility. *cough,  Ali, cough* When she confronts Mike he  tells her, “next time don’t answer my phone.”  He slams the door in her face and then goes to the mini fridge in his room and pulls a vial of blood from a Power Mass energy drink container.  The next day Emily sees Mike withdraw money from an ATM and retrieves the forgotten receipt.  He only withdraws $400.00, but the balance of $18,000.00 puts Emily on high alert.  She interrupts Aria’s tutoring session with Andrew to show Aria the receipt.  As they are talking they see Mike take off in the family car.  How convenient that Andrew is there and agrees to drive them to follow Mike since neither Aria nor Emily can drive a stick shift.  They follow Mike to Jonah’s diner. 

Aria thanks Andrew and tells him he can still make batting practice.  Mike  goes inside the diner and meets with Hank Mahoney, aka Cyrus Petrillo, aka Ali’s fake kidnapper. Mike gives Cyrus/Hank a small yellow envelope. (The Blood??? I think not...) Meanwhile Spencer arrives at Jonah’s to spy and provide transportation to follow Cyrus. But Cyrus confronts the girls in the parking lot on his motorcycle.  Luckily good old Andrew stuck around and is there to scare Cyrus away with his baseball bat! Question: whose team is Andrew playing for? A Team or B Team?

Poor Hanna misses out on the excitement because she had to visit her “father” to ask for financial assistance to pay for college.  Tom tells Hanna that her stepsister, Kate, is attending Dartmouth in the fall and he is paying for it, but he can’t afford to pay for two private school tuitions.  Apparently he and Ashley had an agreement for $10,000.00 per year for Hanna included in their divorce decree.  I believe that Ashley’s secrets will start to be revealed soon....and one of them is that Tom is not Hanna’s biological father!!! He even has her sit across the desk from him as if he is talking with a business associate! 

The episode ends with Mike stalking the girls at Spencer’s house.  Mike you are creepy, scary, and probably about to get into serious trouble in the upcoming episodes.  Did Mike give money, Hanna’s blood, or false blood to Cyrus?  

Until next time Liars! Keep your friends close and your secrets closer!!!

P.S. In addition to my reviews here on Picture Lock, I am starting a new PLL Theories Page. Follow me at cdjack11cdjack11.tumblr.com for “A Liar’s Secrets”.

Pretty Little Liars: "Oh, What Hard Luck..." Review

Pretty Little Liars

Season 5.18

“Oh, What Hard Luck Stories They All Hand Me"

Previously on Pretty Little Liars.....

Detective ShadyBrook is back and finally ready to admit that Ali got her hooks in him. We also meet Mona’s friend, Lesli, who leads Hanna to Mona Flashbacks and big clues hiding in the spine of Poe. We  also learn about Mike’s mysterious activities that may link him to Mona and Alison.  However, it is Hanna the Rebel, who gives the performance of the week!

Hanna and Caleb are called into the police station to be questioned about the storage unit.  While they are there they see ShadyBrook get fired.  He is irate as he storms to his desk to box up some of his belongings and yells, “This department has screwed up the investigation from the start, and now you’re trying to blame it on me? You have no idea what’s really going on here, do you?  Not a clue” Wow, I guess I can call him former Detective Holbrook now, because that is the first true statement I’ve heard from him in a while!

Aria is in disbelief when Spencer let’s her know that Mike has been visiting Ali in jail.  Oh Aria, you are living up to your name of “Suzy Clueless” this week. First, you don’t know that Ezra is in Harrisburg for the weekend and now you can’t seem to grasp or admit that your brother is not little Mike anymore.  Think Aria! Think!

Lesli is the girl that Mona spoke to the night before she was “murdered”. (I am still holding out that Mona faked her own death) She comes to town to visit Mrs. Vanderwaal and goes to find Hanna at the Brew.  Now this newcomer is one suspicious character! She tries to lift Mona’s copy of The Unabridged Works of Edgar Allan Poe. As Hanna talks with Lesli in Mona’s bedroom she has a flashback of the night Mona told her about her wish to have a stopwatch that could stop time and allow her to spy on people and control them. ​

Later at the New Brew, Mike notices Lesli walk in with Hanna.  He makes a beeline to Lesli, who is still carrying Mona’s book. (how weird) He commands Lesli to give him the book.  Hanna promises Mike that she will make sure the book is returned to Mona’s room.  But this interaction clues Hanna in on the importance of the book.  When she returns it, Hanna has another Mona flashback that causes her to check the book and find that Mona had hidden one of Bethany’s Radley tape recordings in the spine.  

Hanna leaves Mona’s with the Bethany tape and is pulled over by none other than from detective ShadyBrook, who still has not turned in his police car.  Hanna pulls out her crow bar before she exits the car. (Good for you Hanna! I always keep a baseball bat in the car with me for such a time as this.) In the most gripping scene of the night, Holbrook admits that Ali used him and that he lost his career because of her.  Yet he tells Hanna that he had been with internal affairs investigators for the last two weeks.  He told her two other important facts: 1. Tanner knows everything.  2.  There must be another fall guy who almost killed Caleb, Spencer, and Aria.  Hmmm….

When he grabs Hanna, she whacks him and says what we all have been thinking, “you’re the grownup police officer”  why are you messing around with a girl? *applause* Bethany’s tape does inform the girls that Bethany was very angry with someone (Ali?) and she is going to set a plan in motion.

Meanwhile, Aria follows Mike to a remote location and sees him leave a small plastic bag of candy.  Is this candy for Bethany, A, or Mona? Did Mike secretly help Mona fake her death or is he following A’s instructions in order to get clues about what happened to Mona? During Mike and Aria’s argument, he tells his sister that he is not taking orders from anyone anymore and warns her to be careful going through the woods. 

This really reminded me of Mona singing Teddy Bear Picnic in Season 3 as she is painting a puppet head before going to the Halloween Train.  One of the lines of the song is “Every Teddy Bear who’s been good is sure of a treat today” and it goes along with Mike leaving the candy. The part that talks about hide and seek…gives me hope that Mona may be alive!!! Let’s hope so.

Until next time Liars…keep your friends close and your secrets closer!!!

"Bin of Sin" Review

Pretty Little Liars

Season 5.17

“Bin of Sin"

This week’s episode of Pretty Little Liars put a great deal of added stress on many relationships. If it was A’s plan to divide and conquer, he/she/shim was successful with Ezria, Spoby, and Hannah/Spence. However, ain’t no mountain high enough, valley low enough, or jail cell wide enough to keep Caleb from Hanna! Awww Haleb!!! 

Aria finally tells Ezra about her letter to Jackie that described how she squandered her high school experience with an older guy.  After reading the letter Ezra tells her it was a brilliant move because it got her into Talmadge.  Later he recants and tells her she should consider leaving him and moving on to enjoy her college experience.  This is the best advice I’ve heard all season. Leave him Aria!  He’s probably hiding something else from you and sees this as a way to separate from you before you find out the truth! (This relationship just bugs me...I have no tolerance for older men dating high school girls!!!) Maybe Aria is starting to see the light through her yearbook.

Meanwhile, Talia finally lets Emily know she is interested in her. Nothing that we didn’t already know Talia!

But wait, the episode is called the Bin of Sin! So when Caleb, Spence, Emily, and Aria tell Hanna to leave the barrel alone, Hanna takes matters into her own hands.  She researches, purchases all the needed equipment, and recruits Caleb to help her break into the storage unit and remove all the evidence of Mona’s murder.  Surprise!!! A has already removed everything except the barrel.  As Haleb walks out to get the dolly to transport the barrel they run into Tanner and Toby who are coming to check out unit 1017 too. Busted!!! (good thing you returned everything to your blue bag Hanna!)

So what’s inside the barrel?!?! When Tanner and Toby open it, the smell is too much for Toby, and Tanner sends him out to call the HazMat team.  That’s when she finds the droplets of blood beside the barrel.  Hmmm....what did that note Alison found inside her orange jumpsuit say?  Oh yes, “your friends will be joining you soon”.  Well it looks like Hanna could be first in line.  Remember how easy it was for A to get Hanna’s O negative blood on the Ouji board?  

Meanwhile, Spencer, Aria, and Emily follow Mona’s Lo-Jacked computer.  It leads them to an old ice cream factory that is full of little clues.  The ice cream clown logo is very reminiscent of the clown A had in his/her/shim’s lair. The dead rat that Emily finds with the freeze dried nuts reminded me of the dead rat that was found in Paige’s locker. But the biggest find was the computer that was in the freezer playing a video of Hanna telling Caleb all about her plan to break into the storage unit. So the computer was A’s way of spying on Hanna through her own computer. Of course as soon as Sparia grabbed the computer to leave, the Black Hooded One locks them in the freezer and turns on the liquid nitrogen.  This was by far the scariest and most gut wrenching scene of the night.  Thank God for Emily’s quick thinking and physical strength that got them out just in time!!! But of course they leave the computer in the freezer.  Liars have you learned nothing in 5 seasons!!!???

Now let’s wrap this episode up with the rest of the relationship tension.  When Hanna and Caleb hear about their video on Mona’s/A’s computer Hanna tells Caleb he should stay away from her because A is trying to take her down.  But Caleb assures her that will never happen....even if they both go to jail.  HALEB = Solid as a rock!!!

Hanna confronts Spencer about the day’s events and asks her when Toby’s job became more important than his friends.  In an argument that resembles a Spencer/Alison clash of words, Spencer yells “you can’t blame this on Toby!” But Spencer and Toby may be the relationship destined to crack under A’s pressure.  Toby calls Spencer and lies to her about his whereabouts and refuses to tell her what they found in the barrel. Cue the final A scene please... Guess whose fingerprints Black Hoodie finds when he/she/shim returns to the factory? Now there is evidence that can be used against all four liars!

This episode did not answer many questions, but it sure did leave us with a lot of clues to investigate.  As always, until next time Liars keep your friends close and your secrets closer!

"Over A Barrel" Review

Pretty Little Liars
Season 5.16
“Over A Barrel"

Previously on Pretty Little Liars....Aria was afraid Ezra would find out that she had written a secret letter to his ex, Jackie, that gained her admission to Talmadge College. Emily was pining over Paige leaving and not communicating with her.  Spencer and Caleb were sleuthing around Rosewood to destroy A’s planted evidence from Mona’s murder. Hanna walked in on her mother’s hook-up with Jason.  This week, they pick up right where they left off.

Aria buys coffee at Ezra’s new Brew, and a copy of her letter to Jackie is printed on the receipt!!! Aria continues to worry about how she will break the news to Ezra as she follows mysterious messages to meet Holbrook all over town.  Of course she never meets the shady detective, but  thanks to A she does manage to have lunch with Jason and eventually deliver flowers from young Mr. Dilaurentis to Ashley’s house.

Emily decides to pack up the remnants of Paige’s belongings that were left in her car. She is still hurting over the break-up, but I don’t think she will be in pain for long.  Even though her work relationship with Talia has had a choppy start, in this episode, Talia seems to want to smooth the waters with our little barista.  Did anyone else think that her question to Em about Ezra’s buns was testing the waters to find out if Emily was into   guys or girls?  Personally, I hope Talia is just what Emily needs to get over Paige for good!!!

This week’s most intriguing moments belonged to Hanna, Caleb, and Spencer.  Hanna wasn’t the only one who surprised Ashley by coming home early.  Pastor Ted came back from his mission trip to Peru with the intention to build a family in Rosewood.  After gaining Hanna’s approval, he proposed to Ashley with a gorgeous ring inside a peanut butter cookie that was similar to the one they shared when they first met.  Ashley’s response, “ I need a minute to think”, was definitely not what Ted expected.  However, I loved, loved, loved the way Hanna was able to soothe his fears and give unconditional love and support to her mom as well.  Why do all the good ones fall for the liars and cheaters?  Hopefully Ashley will tell Ted the truth, wedding bells will still ring, and Hanna will finally get the decent father figure she deserves.

Detectives SpenCa were back in action following a LoJack alert from Mona’s computer that led them to a storage facility across town.  When Spencer and Caleb arrive they run into one of their teachers, Mrs. Horowitz, who alerts Spencer to the horrible smell coming from unit # 1017.  She told Spence that she once saw a blond girl hurrying away, but did not see her face.  Caleb makes a shim to break their teacher’s lock and they crawl through the air ducts to 1017. (I can see it now... Horowitz will be a witness for the prosecution when the Liars go on trial!) Once inside they find Mona’s bloody clothes in plastic bags, denatured alcohol, antacid tablets, and water beside a large barrel.  SpenCa deduces that Mona is either preserved or has turned to sludge inside the barrel.  After wiping the room clean of any fingerprints they return home and decide that Caleb should find out who rented the unit.  Of course it was rented to none other than Hanna Marin.  Looks like Ali won’t be the only PLL locked in a jail cell.  A has decided it is Hanna’s turn to be tortured.

In the final A scene, the black-hooded one enters Gabriel Holbrook’s office and logs on to his Rosewood PD account.  Who is that masked man/woman....ShadyBrook, Toby, Mike, Paige, or another A Team member? My guess is Holbrook because they have the key, the password and know where the caramels are stashed, along with some other interesting things in that desk! Whoever it is, they sure do love candy!

Hopefully, we will get the answers to these questions and more before the end of season 5.  Until next time Liars, remember to keep your friends close and your secrets closer!!!

"Fresh Meat" Review

Pretty Little Liars

Season 5.15

“Fresh Meat"

Last night’s episode of Pretty Little Liars was all about sleuthing and relationships. Old relationships, some interesting and surprising new ways of relating, as well as some  brand new relationships that will affect the future of our PLLs. Two new characters were introduced, Thalia Sandoval who will be working in the kitchen at Ezra’s bookstore and Jonny Raymond who will be moving into the Hasting’s backyard loft. Thalia and Ezra seemed mighty friendly while Spencer has had interesting relationships with every man who has lived in the loft so far.

Let’s jump right in with one of the old relationships,Toby and Alison. Toby conveniently drops off paperwork for Tanner at the Chester Women’s Correctional Facility. While there he sees Alison “Fresh Meat” Dilaurentis sporting her new to prison bruises. Ali may not be A, but I for one was so happy that she is finally getting some payback.  After she tries to guilt Toby about how he should have empathy for what she is going through, he reminds her that she was the one who lied to have him put behind bars. Score for Officer Toby!

But Toby has plenty of other things to worry about besides Alison.  After finding a bloody knife behind Mona’s house, he panics and covers up the evidence because it was from his parent’s cabin.  Spencer and Caleb want to destroy it, but Toby is struggling with his new commitment as an officer of the law.  By the end of the episode, it is clear that his new job will be a major stressor for Spoby.

It was great to see Spencer and Caleb (SpenCa) in so many scenes together. Being two of the wittiest liars on the show, it was good to see some depth to their relationship. Caleb confessed to Spencer that he had once been arrested on suspicion of murder! After recovering the bloody knife from Mona’s backyard they took it to the kiln at  Rosewood High to destroy it. Spencer should have known not to leave her buddy alone because  A is always lurking the schools halls at night.  Caleb gets locked inside the kiln to be destroyed along with the knife. Spencer pulls him to safety just in time, and makes sure to re-start the fire.

Aria and Emily were both spiraling out of control. Aria over her college rejection letters and Emily over Paige’s lack of communication since leaving for California. Emily get a grip...this seems too familiar! (identical response when Mya left you for California) She left you because she is hiding something! The hand writing from the note that Alison received at the end of the episode looked a lot like Paige’s handwritten note to the police when she found out Alison was alive.  

Aria on the other hand takes action and drives to meet her former nemesis and Ezra’s former fiancee, Jackie Molina, at Talmadge College.  Jackie works in admissions and received Aria’s ill-advised letter asking to be removed from the Talmadge’s wait list and confessing how she let her relationship with Ezra ruin her high school years. Jackie actually surprises Aria by siding with her and even getting her freshman acceptance in order. Aria, did you email that letter? You know that A has been hacking your email for years! Sure enough, she gets a book marker with a quote from her letter inside a book at Ezra’s bookstore event that night.  Spencer and Hannah should not leave Emily or Aria home alone ever again!

Hanna went on a week long visit to Ballard College. But when she learns about the bloody knife and that Detective ShadyBrook has taken a personal leave to be with his ailing father, she goes to find him at Poppa Holbrook’s home in the mobile park. Of course Poppa is healthy and has not seen his son in weeks. But he mistakes Hanna for Alison (or maybe CeCe) by saying he thought that if anyone would know where he was, he thought she would. He then asks her if she was out on bail. So was Ali hiding out with ShadyBrook and his Dad while she was missing? Who was that boy on the bike? Hanna then pays a visit to Alison in jail and listens to Alison claim that she was waiting for hours to meet Cyrus on the day Mona was killed....only to find out it was a trap set by A. Hanna wasn’t buying it, and basically told Ali she was done with her.

The most shocking part of the night was seeing Ashley “Cougar” Marin hooking up with Jason DiLaurentis.  Poor Pastor Ted! He loves Ashley and even posted her bail when she was falsely accused of Wilden’s murder and thrown in jail.  

Mama Marin got busted when Hannah came home early from her college tour and saw the remains of dinner for two in the kitchen, and Jason getting dressed as he came down the stairs. However, in the midst of Jashley’s reveal, the writers threw in a big clue.  Jason asked Ashley to look over a file that didn’t make sense to him. “We still have a tenant whose lease expired three years ago.” That would be the year that Alison went missing. So who is this tenant? Bethany, CeCe, or was it Alison? Can’t wait to find out who this tenant is!

Until next time liars, remember to keep your friends close and your secrets closer!!!

"Through A Glass, Darkly" Review

Pretty Little Liars

Season 5.14

“Through A Glass, Darkly"

It’s been three months since Mona Vanderwaal was viciously attacked in her home on Thanksgiving Day.  The Winter Premiere picks up right after Mona’s memorial service and starts with a boom, or shall I say “the slap heard round the world”, as Alison appears to offer her condolences to Mona’s mother.  If Ali wasn’t already crazy, Mrs. V slapped a few screws loose for sure before Hanna leads her away.  

Hanna has become close to Mrs. V and receives two important gifts that belonged to Mona. Bungee, the stuffed dog, and  the book Terminations by Henry James. I can’t wait to see what clues are held within each one! Finally, someone else (besides us) confirms that Hannah is playing dumb. Thanks to Mona in flashback, we know that Mona thought Hanna was “smarter than Spencer Hastings”. 

Hands down the best scenes for me, were those with Mrs Grundwald. She meets Hanna at Mona’s crypt to use her gift of insight to shed light on who Mona’s attacker was, and delivers lines almost as creepy as her eyes: “Each one hated the other because each one feared the other…each one knew something about the other.” Who is the other one Mrs. G? (My likely suspects Mike, Paige, CeCe, the girl at the zoo with the distorted face, or the girl who was with Mona behind the frosted glass at the hair salon.) 

Spencer learns why she was arrested for Bethany’s murder. Jessica DiLaurentis gave a statement to Detective Wilden that she saw Spencer in her backyard with a blond girl dressed in Ali’s clothes on the night Alison went missing. Wilden hid the statement in his files to no doubt continue his passion for extorting money for keeping secrets.  Good thing they found it, because Bethany’s parents went to a judge to have Spencer’s bail revoked in order to send her back to jail. This eventually sends Spencer and Emily to Jason DiLaurentis to persuade him to tell the truth that his father would not tell about Ali’s whereabouts on Thanksgiving Day.

Ezra has purchased The Brew and seems to be converting it into a coffee and book nook. It’s here that Ezra invites Mike to come assist him with his bookshelves so that he can ask him how he is dealing with Mona’s death.  Mike is not in a sharing mood, which prompts Ezra to share the most insightful statement of the evening…”You aren’t acting like you lost someone”. Hmmm…Mike what secrets did you and Mona really have? 

Meanwhile, Aria visits Caleb to get help with hacking into Oberlin College’s website to find out why her application was rejected.  She spies Mona’s computer and learns that Caleb’s attempts to break Mona’s codes have failed.  So why, why, why Caleb, would you give Mona’s computer to a technical amateur like Aria!?!?! Of course, it was to give the masked black-hooded-one a chance to “find” Mike’s phone, call Aria to meet him/her at the The Brew, in order to plastic wrap Aria against the wall and steal said computer!!! 

Aria later tells Emily that it was Ali who attacked her and swiped the computer, to which Emily asks, “Are you sure it was Ali?” Aria’s answer, “ Who else could it have been”, let’s us know for sure that Aria is not sure.

Speaking of Emily, let’s all do the happy dance, because Paige left for San Francisco!!! Or did she??? With no tears or I love you(s) at the airport, and Paige acting more sketchy than heartbroken, I wonder if she really got on that plane.  When I watched Jason DiLaurentis watch the hidden camera footage of Mona’s attacker, I immediately thought of Paige, not Ali!

However, Jason confesses that Ali was not with the family during the time that Mona was killed and that it could be his sister in the video. This confession sends Ali to jail for her orange jumpsuit fitting! The girls can move on with their lives now because A is finally behind bars!!!! Absolutely not, because A puts on a fireworks display to end the episode!!! Hanna was right again. You can’t send fireworks from jail!

In typical PLL style we are left with more questions than answers. 

UnAnswered questions of the week:

• How did traces of Mona’s DNA get in Ali’s car? (and when did Ali get a car?
• What kind of temporary assignment is Gabriel Holbrook on? (here-to-fore to be called Detective “ShadyBrook” because he is definitely shady, and more than likely Beach Hottie! [credit to Antuan Beard for the nickname])
• Who are Bethany Young’s parents?
• When will we see a photo of Bethany Young?

Hopefully, we will get answers to these and other questions next week. Until then...keep your friends close and your secrets closer!