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by Melissa Parkin
With the realization that Alison was framed for Mona’s
murder, the Liars (minus Hanna) do the unthinkable. The three confront the
Queen Bee herself in prison and . . . ask for forgiveness? Apparently in
Rosewood, borderline sociopaths deserve an apology after false accusations are
made, even if everything else that has ever come out of their mouths has been a
lie. After all the emotional torment they suffered at Alison’s hands, are the
Liars forgiving or what? Thankfully, Aria stands as the voice of reason, pointing
out the absurdity of the situation. Alison’s been about as loving and caring to
the girls as a wolverine.
To only make matters worse, the Liars throw Mike under the
bus by confessing to Alison of Mona’s plan before she was murdered. This new
knowledge not only sets up Mike to become a hostile witness for Ali’s defense, but
it also puts a massive bull’s-eye on his back in the fight against “A.” Aria
turns to Mrs. Hastings for legal advice, and she comes to the horrifying
conclusion that charges could be brought against her brother, if he’s forced to
confess on the witness stand at Ali’s trial.
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| ERIC MCCANDLESS/ABC FAMILY |
Things thankfully aren't nearly as devastating for Emily,
but it’s still eventful to say the least. After Emily reconciles with Talia,
her on-again/off-again beau quits her job at the Brew, separates from her
husband, and subsequently crashes at Emily’s place. Geez, hasty much? That girl
would be dangerous at a bidding auction. With her impulsiveness, she’d walk
away with every item, and an empty bank account.
The talented Ms. Fields continues to show off her killer
dance moves as she practices for the Glass Slipper pageant. Talia crashes the
rehearsal and the two share an intimate moment that soon gets interrupted by
Clare, a pageant coordinator. Clare tells Emily that her connection to Alison
jeopardizes the pageant. Talia doesn't take kindly to Clare’s “suggestion” that
Emily should drop out of the competition, and she implies ramifications for
Emily’s mistreatment. Break out the cat claws.
Aria seeks out Hanna’s help in confronting Cyrus Petrillo.
As it just so happens, Mr. Petrillo was recently hospitalized after an
“accident” occurred while working as a mechanic. The girls go to visit him,
discovering he was severely burned. Aria pleads with the bound and bloodied
A-team member for any information on what happened to him. He only manages to
scribble a single word on a gauze package--“Varjack.” Here, the plot only thickens. Considering Alison’s
adoration for Breakfast at Tiffany’s,
it only seems fitting that “A”’s new alias would be inspired by the character Paul
Varjak. Cyrus’s spelling also lends another helpful hint. He clearly hasn't seen the name written out to know how to spell it correctly. This implies that
he’s conducted business with “A” face to face. A very determined nurse forces
Aria and Hanna out of the burn unit before they can get anything else out of
Cyrus, leaving him alone to recuperate…or not. After the room empties, a
fellow burn unit patient (who’s conveniently concealed by bandages) rises from
a hospital bed and stands foreboding over Cyrus.
At the worst moment possible, Spencer gets whisked away to
London for her interview at Oxford. Everything goes swimmingly, until “A”’s
handiwork bites her in the butt. A mysterious vial of blood, planted by “A,”
breaks in her purse, and leaks all over the chair in front of Spencer’s
interviewing professor. She flees from the interview and freaks out, only to
receive a text from “A” threatening to tamper with Spencer’s carry-on luggage
on her flight back home.
Aria does a little detective work in Mike’s room, and
something stuck to his dartboard catches her eye. She climbs on top of Mike’s
gym equipment, to reach the note, but the whole setup collapses. Crashing to
the floor, Aria’s met with a concerned Andrew charging upstairs to her rescue. As
he makes sure she’s alright, he takes a look at the contraption and something particularly
alarming draws his attention. Apparently, the nuts and bolts on Mike’s
weightlifting equipment don’t match up with one another. If the youngest
Montgomery had used the device, the weights would have unquestionably crushed
his skull. And now we understand the purpose of “A”’s visit to his bedroom in
the previous episode. Aria’s emotions get the best of her, at the heart
wrenching revelation. Andrew goes into full-on Prince Charming mode, bandaging
her beaten foot before planting a kiss on her. Awww. I still don’t trust him. Can
you really overlook his “All the President’s Men” plot reference: receiving
messages, an all-knowing shadowy figure? Be smarter than that Aria.
“A” truly has eyes everywhere. Alison receives two threats
from the notorious evildoer, from prison! How exactly does this evil mastermind
pull off all these elaborate scenarios? When you can’t even give an inmate a
magazine, how do you get a creepy doll inside? Even in the midst of all the
drama, Hanna finally surrenders into visiting Ali; Alison actually apologizes
to her! Hell may have just frozen over. The show closes with something in the
DeLaurentis file catching Mrs. Hastings’s attention. This warrants a call to
her youngest daughter, with a plea for Spencer to cancel her flight back home.
Uh-oh. Whatever this development may bring, it’s certainly going to give
Spencer some alone time together with Wren’s charming flat-mate, Colin.
Ooh-la-la.
“Bloody Hell” certainly raises the stakes for the upcoming
reveal, but with the exclusion of Alison’s scenes, the episode does meander a
bit with the relationship portion of the run-time. With the exception of Andrew,
where are the rest of Rosewood’s familiar male faces? Caleb’s M.I.A., Ezra’s
been conveniently out of town or off of work (despite running The Brew), Toby
won’t show up unless someone’s being arrested, and newbie Jonny apparently is
too busy finding more holy shirts to wear. There are so many potential love
interests for Spencer that she’s not just having her cake and eating it. She’s
practically inhaling several others.
Slow down there, honey. You’ll get a tummy ache. Alison’s confession to Hanna,
however, hits every high note. Alison finally discovers just how uncomfortable
it is walking in someone else’s shoes, and finally hearing the Queen Bee admit
to her previous wrongdoings is the moment fans have been waiting for. Is there
redemption for Ali after all?
Pretty
Little Liars: “Bloody Hell” Rating: B
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