by Melissa Parkin
Secrets are
unearthed as relationships unravel. After Mr. Marin refuses to help Hanna with
her college tuition--since he’s paying for her stepsister’s in full--Hanna
takes the only route she can. With her
eyes on the $20,000 prize, Hanna recruits Emily to help her with her dance
routine for the Glass Slipper Beauty Pageant. The two rock out to Jessie J’s
hit “Bang, Bang” during their training, but Hanna’s bubble gets burst when
Caleb informs her that Kate (yep, that same evil stepsister) joined the
competition as well. Refusing to let the revelation derail her, she dedicates
herself to the routine until she’s reached perfection.
An assigned
beauty pageant coach arrives to ascertain her talent, but during the
run-through, Hanna’s anger finally gets the better of her and she snaps. The
coach bluntly informs Hanna that she lacks the allure required for the pageant,
but hints that Emily may have a shot. Hanna only later discovers that “A” is
the one who put Kate’s name on the pageant roster, to psych Hanna out. Being
the best friend that every girl wishes she had, Emily selflessly steps up to
the plate and agrees to enter the pageant to win the prize money on Hanna’s
behalf. Unfortunately, that kindness isn't met with equal benevolence. Talia’s husband makes an unexpected stop by the café, catching Emily off guard. She
finds relief in Eric telling her that he’s aware of the girls’ arrangement. That
liberation quickly goes up in smoke as he refers to Emily as a part of Talia’s
onetime experimentation. Ouch.
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Eric McCandless/ABC Family |
The pair goes out
on the least covert break-in in history as they stroll up to the front entrance
of the closed gallery and pick the lock. Sure, ski masks scream foul play in
the eyes of casual observers, but you guys couldn't do anything to help conceal your identities? Two words, folks: baseball
caps. And would wearing gloves be asking too much? Given Spencer’s recent brush
with the law, littering the crime scene with fingertips is just begging for
trouble.
Surprise,
surprise. Someone reports the incident to the police. This clumsy Bonnie and
Clyde duo make their getaway in Jonny’s van, but 5-O catches up to them. Can
you guess who their confronting officer is? Toby, of course. How convenient. Spencer pleads with him to cut Jonny a
break, but he refuses. The cuffs are slapped on Jonny, and Toby demands that
Spencer walk away. Apparently, Detective Tanner is hoping to use Toby’s
relationship with her as an advantage in catching the Liars in whatever way she
can, explaining Toby’s recent cold-shoulder. Mrs. Hastings bails Jonny from
jail, before kicking him out of the barn. He breaks the news to Spencer, and
Jonny even steals a kiss. Uh-oh. Is a new “ship” in the air? “Sponny,” perhaps?
Things only get
more complicated at the Montgomery residence. Given Mike’s new Mr. Hyde
mentality, the Liars decide to take a look through his bedroom. As they scour
the place, Aria finds a woman’s necklace in her brother’s gym bag. Spencer
recognizes the design, pointing out that its pattern is actually Morse code
with the words, “I’m With You” on it. Andrew
does recon for Aria as Mike continues to act weird, following him out to a tree
near the Vanderwaal property. He stores something inside it, but Andrew can’t
get to it without being noticed. Aria checks it out later, finding a vial of
blood inside the stashed bag. Mike confronts her, demanding she hand over Mona’s blood. Aria refuses, and the vial
breaks as she flees from the property. Hysterically screaming for her father as
she races inside the Montgomery house, Aria comes to the horrifying discovery
that she’s alone. Mike is right on her heels and ends up cornering his sister.
As it turns
out, those Liar theorists who
suspected that Mona was storing away her own blood before she was “murdered”
were right. The late Ms. Vanderwaal was planning on framing Ali for her
faux-death in an attempt to draw “A” out of hiding. Mike suspects the tables
turned on her though, as he truly believes Mona was killed by the infamous
blackmailer. All his weird late night ventures were actually scheduled meetings
Mona had arranged for the two; she hasn't shown for any of them. “A” closes out
the show by prowling through Mike’s bedroom with a bloody wrench in hand. Seems
someone else has made their way on this baddie's naughty list.
The chemistry
this week finally takes the show back on the right track. Emily’s distrust in
Talia is well deserved, and hopefully this insight will open her eyes to the
possibility that Talia could be working for the “A”-team. Honestly, is anyone
really sold on her? A beautiful new face that seems too good to be true, only
for her to reveal a web of deceit…yeah, there’s nothing suspicious there,
right? The newly paired Spencer and Jonny definitely show more promise than the
previously mentioned lovebirds. Sure, Jonny may not own a shirt that isn't riddled with holes, but the guy does make illegal activity look fun. He
actually seems to inspire the artistic, more carefree side of Spencer. It suits
her. Seriously, this girl’s wound up tighter than a boa constrictor with the
Hastings’s academic demands bearing down on her. With only four episodes left
until the #BigAReveal, things are definitely shaping up for one explosive
discovery.
Pretty
Little Liars: “Pretty Isn’t the Point” Rating: A
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