don't look now

This episode was a little better, not much. We find out more about Charles and what happened to Aria and Spencer in the dollhouse, but nothing really happens.

Ali’s dad finally spills the beans about Charles.  He is her brother, 15 months older than Jason. He, for political correctness, had issues and after an incident where he almost burned/drown baby Ali he was sent to Radley. He lived there the rest of his life till he committed suicide and his ashes scattered at the lake, or at least that’s what they are told, most of the liars believe he is still alive. They also sneak into a warehouse and get his Radley file which does not have much info but lead them to Ali’s aunt who is dead. It reminds Jason of when he went up to said aunt’s house and his mom kept making excuses for him to leave and he thinks he heard someone else there; could it have been Charles or was his mom just having an affair? They go check out the house and find an old headstone labeled Charles, this is enough to convince Ali and Jason that Charles is dead, but Hanna still believed he is alive.

Speaking of Hanna, she is feeling smothered by Caleb. He is around her 24/7 and even places a GPS tracker on her car. He just wants to protect her but she needs her space. Although he does not freak out as much as Aria’s dad. Hanna also is seeing Dr. Sullivan though we don’t see the sessions.

Now that Andrew is out Tanner wants to talk to the Liars. Aria’s dad tells her that they need some more time first. He is very worried about Aria and wants to be with her all the time and know where she is when he cannot. Aria just wants to move on and forget about the dollhouse. She finally goes to develop the pictures she has been taking for the last 3 episodes. She gets locked in the darkroom by A, there is note and all. While there she has flashbacks where Charles/A made her his doll and cut her hair and forced her to dye it herself. She is let out by a nice young man who is in the running for new boyfriend since we are not sure what’s going on wither and Ezra. In the end she finally opens up a little to her dad about the dollhouse.

Emily’s mom has her go to therapy with Dr. Sullivan which we do not see. She seems more concerned about Sara then herself. Sara runs away but comes back, her mom seems like the worst. Emily and Sara are bonding and Emily takes her swimming and she can finally forget about her troubles. It looks like there will be a romance between the two of them.

Spencer is having the most trouble readjusting. She keeps having flashbacks of her waking up covered in blood but not knowing where it is from or how it got there. This is preventing her from sleeping and her mom got rid of her prescribed drugs. She first tries to get the pills that Aria threw out but they are mixed in with too much trash. So plan B is to score some weed from the new baker at the Brew, which is successful, but results in Ezra telling her it won’t fix the underlying issues. I just don’t get why she does not have a doctor get her more pills. FYI they mention medicinal marijuana but as of now it does not exist in Pennsylvania, there is currently a bill in the works but I doubt it would help Spencer even if it does get passed because it is very restrictive.  Also does she not know anyone at school that could hook her up, she has to ask a stranger? Odd.

Side notes

·         The whole, brother with disabilities put into an institution because of almost burning/ drowning baby sibling and then not speaking of said brother is the plot of “Rainman” starring Dustin Hoffman and Thomas Cruise

·         Caleb mentions Hanna’s mom a couple times but we don’t see her, maybe she is busy with her wedding plans

·         What’s with Aria’s parents? Do they have joint custody of the house? Where do they live when the other is using the house and do they use the same bed or have separate ones?

·         Charles/A has trackers on all the liars

·         What’s Andrew up to?

·         Where is Mona?

·         How about Toby?

·         The cops have a whole underground bunker and still can’t find out who did it, how ridiculous

 

 

Well that is all I have to say about that

songs of experience

I would first like to thank my sister for filling in last week while I was in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Now I was still a little jet lagged and falling asleep while watching this episode so I may have missed some stuff, but not much seemed to happen. It was very similar to last week where they are all still readjusting to life outside the dollhouse.

Sara Harvey is still at Emily’s house and does not believe that Andrew is Charles/A, which we knew. She also has a horrible relationship with her mom and helps Emily get a new perspective on her own situation.

Hanna is still redoing her room and wants all the Liars to go to group therapy with their old therapist Dr. Sullivan. They all go there but they get a video call of A going to kill Sara if they do it so they all leave and see that Sara is fine.

Spencer is still pushing to see who Charles is. In the end we find out that Ali’s dad made Jason get rid of Charlie, his imaginary friend. Obviously, Charlie was not imaginary but when he was gone Jason’s dad convinced him that he was imaginary to cover whatever up. But there was still a photo in a jar of buttons.

Aria is still on this photo kick and will not write about her experience no matter how much Ezra pushes her. However the two of them work together and find out that Andrew is adopted, which they believe means that he could have been born Charles. Andrew is released from jail and the charges are dropped.

Lorenzo, Toby’s new partner is still after Ali. This time he wants her to coach girls’ soccer after seeing her do one kick in platform shoes. Ali does not think that parents want her coaching their kids and she is probably right.

Side notes

·         Did Hanna’s mom get married while they were in the dollhouse or is that latter this season?

·         I think that Emily and Sara may hookup

·         Are Aria and Ezra back together?

·         The Liars graduate in a few weeks, with honors, what happens after that?

 

Well that is all I have to say about that

Songs of innocence

This week Michael was in Jordan so I (his sister, Traci) took it upon myself to fill his shoes. Well let's just say that this episode was terrible (and not just because there was no mention of Harrisburg). I had really been impressed lately with PLL. The episodes during the kidnapping were exciting and fast paced. I guess those girls should have stayed in that house forever just to keep the show more interesting but oh well.

The girls are all back safe with their families and struggling with their readjustment to regular life. Noticeably missing is Mona. One might think after they all went through that together it wouldn't be so easy to forget her, but apparently it was. 

The girls agree not to tell the police about Charles and to just let them go after Andrew (who they believe is Charles/A) and figure it out on their own. This makes it obvious that Andrew isn't actually guilty (probably framed) and Charles is still out there because they need two more seasons of material. 

All of the girls are struggling in their own way. Hannah feels the need to change her room, Aria wants it to be over so badly that she's willing to lie to the police, Emily takes out her frustrations at the shooting range against the wishes of her mother, and Spencer steals pills after her mother won't allow her to get the anxiety meds from the hospital.

Also noticeable was the fact that the girls' mothers were the only parents present in this episode. You would think after their daughters had been kidnapped the fathers would want to see them too. Only Emily's dad had a real excuse and they used that as an opportunity to show Emily's longing for her father which seemed like foreshadowing when Emily might join the Army. 

Lastly, now Alli is back in town as a free woman so she obviously needs a man too. Welcome Lorenzo, Toby's new partner! They meet in an awkward interaction between Alli and Toby and then see each other again at Church because obviously no one can be single in this show for an entire episode. 

Anyway, I hope Mona is okay! 

gAme on, chArles

I will be keeping this short cause I am on my way to my sisters wedding. Also the next two weeks the post will probably be a little late, deal with it.
We are finally back and start  right where we left off, with the liars trapped in Charles' "dollhouse". After leaving them outside for days they break and are forced to start setting up for Ali's arrival. They also don't see Mona who is put at the bottom of a well, maybe an homage to "silence of the lambs" ("it put the lotion on the skin, or else it gets the hose again")
In the three weeks that the liars have been held in the "dollhouse" Ali has had her sentence overturned since they know that Mona is alive, therefore she could not of killed her. Also Andrew is missing so the cops think that he is the one who kidnaped the liars. So Ali, with the help of Caleb, Ezra, and even Toby hatch a plan to lose the cops and find A/Andrew themselves. It entails a classic, "the call is coming from inside the house!" and a "psycho"esque rocking chair scene.
As Charles gets Ali close to the "dollhouse" the liars have had enough and start to burn down the place. Ali and the boyfriends see the smoke and the liars escape. But so does Charles, but they also find out that there was someone else down there, Sarah, the girl that went missing the same day that Ali did.
well I have to go so that is it for now