Continuing right where Free Fall left off... last night's installment thickened the stew a little more, but that's about it. Not the most exciting episode ever, but the different plot lines are moving along.
The episode opened as Aria told the Liars about Ezra's book. She confirmed that Ezra knew who she was before they met, he knew all the girls. The book was his attempt to figure out what had happened to Alison. His theory was that one of the girls was responsible for killing Alison. The girls wondered if he could still be A, but Aria insisted that he wasn't. He was just a writer who used them to make a name for himself. Emily wondered how he could sit back and let A walk all over the girls, and Aria concluded that he never really loved her. Later, she thought about the day she and Ezra met, prompting her to throw up.
Spencer's woke to find her parents in the kitchen, plus luggage. She asked who was going on a trip, and her parents told her that Dr. Grigg's suggested she check in to a rehab facility in Philly. Claiming that her resume couldn't take Radley AND Rehab, Spencer asked her parents for the chance to come off the pills on her own. Her parents agreed, saying it was straight to rehab if she didn't comply.
At school, Hanna apologized to Travis for her actions. He was in a hurry, headed to court for his father's hearing.
Emily confided in Spencer that Shana called her, asking her to deliver Alison's money to a PO Box that afternoon.
Aria stormed into school, determined to confront Mr. Fitz. The girls tried to stop her, but she barrelled into his classroom, only to find a substitute teacher. She demanded to know where Ezra was, and the sub informed her he had taken leave for a family emergency.
Later, Spencer went over to see Toby with a cronut peace offering. Toby wanted Spencer to be able to confide in him. He wanted to be able to take care of her. But most of all, he wanted her to be done with the pills. She promised him that she was.
Back at school, Emily ran into Paige, and the two made plans for that evening. Paige couldn't help but notice Em's no-so-well stashed cash and got suspicious, but Emily lied, saying the money was from her grandmother. Paige still seemed suspicious.
Since she didn't find Ezra at school, Aria tornadoed over to apartment 3B for answers. Fitzy wasn't home, so Aria simply used her key to get in. She found some boxes with files on her and her friends, photos of the Ravenswood timeline, Ezra's journal, even the reels from Ali's sessions with Grunwald. Disgusted, Aria TRASHED Ezra's apartment.
Hanna met with Detective Holbrook about Travis' father. She asked him to consider the attempt his dad made to stop the arrangement with Wilden, reminding him how difficult it could be to have a crooked cop against you.
Back at school, Spencer opened her locker to find pills from A. Emily asked if she should take them and flush them, but Spence said she would do it. Hanna joined the group and asked if any of them had heard from Aria. She wasn't at her house, and she wasn't answering her phone. Spencer knew exactly where they'd find her.
Team Liar found Aria morosely sitting on the floor of 3B, surrounded by debris. Em and Hanna helped her up, while Spencer went into investigator mode. She suggested they take some of his research with them, but the girls disagreed, suggesting it was nothing they hadn't seen before. Despite their refusal, Spencer took a few papers from the immediate area and stuffed them in her bag.
Travis exited the courtroom to find Hanna waiting for him. Detective Holbrook vouched for his dad, resulting in a more lenient sentence of probation and community service instead of jail time. Travis left to celebrate with his dad, but he thanked Hanna for being there for him.
At Chez Hastings, Spencer looked over the new evidence from Ezra's apartment. The combination of curiosity and withdrawal symptoms caused her to break down and take the pills A put in her locker.
Paige followed Emily to Speed Demon Express, where Emily was about to mail Ali's money. Paige mistakenly thought that Emily was doing A's bidding again. Tired of lying, Emily finally told Paige the truth, that Alison was very much alive.
The fireplace at Casa de Montgomery was getting quite the workout while Aria fed it pages from Ezra's journal. Hanna suggested they get something to eat, but Aria wasn't in the mood. Instead, Hanna went out for takeout, and ran into Detective Holbrook. She thanked him for helping Travis, giving him a hug, followed by an awkward kiss that he rebuffed. Embarassed, she apologized and quickly left.
In the evidence from Ezra's apartment, Spencer found a journal entry that documented Mrs. DiLaurentis paying CeCe Drake NOT to tell anyone about an altercation she saw the night of Alison's disappearance... a continuation of the fight between Alison and Spencer.
"CeCe told me she stopped by the DiLaurentis house to talk to Alison the night she went missing. When CeCe arrived, she witnissed a fight. CeCe didn't tell anyone what she saw because Mrs. DiLaurentis paid her not to. Mrs. DiLaurentis also witnessed the fight."
Spencer also found the card for a PI from earlier in the series. Her parens had told her they hired the investigator to follow Melissa, but it turned out that the PI was following Spencer. She confronted her father with the information, but he told her that she was supposed to be relaxing, not investigating. Toby showed up in the middle of their argument, and Mr. Hastings used his arrival to suggest a walk, ending the discussion. Spencer declined, storming out the door on her own. Toby exchanged a glance with Peter, and followed after her.
Emily insisted she drop off the envelope of money for Alison. She told Paige that she would never forgive herself or Paige if something happened to Alison because she didn't get the money. Paige agreed to let Emily drop off the envelope, but with a condition. That she wouldn't have any further contact with Alison. Emily agreed, realizing it was the only way to help Alison.
In Ezra's journal, Aria found a letter from Ezra's publishing company. She called to find out a publication date, and learned some surprising news. He was in New York at the exact moment, in a meeting with his agent about the book.
Toby returned to the Hastings Estate, asking Mr. Hastings if Spencer was there. She ditched him during their walk while he went into Rear View Brew to get coffee.
Meanwhile, Spencer headed over to Casa DiLaurentis to find out exactly what Mrs. DiLaurentis knew or saw. She asked her directly is she saw her hurt Alison, but Jessica just suggested she call the Hastings. Spencer insisted, grabbing her arm, begging to know the truth. Jessica told her she was hurting her and asked her to leave.
J: Spencer...
S: I need to talk to you...
J: Is everything alright?
S: Do you think that I hurt Ali?
J: What?
S: Do you and my father have some kind of agreement to keep it quiet?
J: I have no idea what you're talking about.
S: Don't lie to me! Please... Please... okay, I can't take any more lies.
J: You don't look well, Spencer. I'm calling your parents.
S: No, please. It's a simple question, okay? Did you or did you see me standing with a shovel that night, and if you did see me hurt Ali then why didn't you just call the cops?
J: You're hurting me. I want you to leave. Now!
Armed with the new info from Ezra's publishing company, Aria decided to tell Principal Hackett everything about her affair with Ezra. Hanna talked some sense into her, helping her to realize the full implications of telling. Aria decided not to talk to Hackett, but she didn't want Hanna's help or company. She wanted to be left alone.
Emily and Paige returned home, and Em was cold towards Paige's advances. She told her she didn't appreciate the ultimatum, but Paige claimed she didn't like it either. Paige was clearly worried about Emily, but Em needed to go and check on Aria.
At Chez Hastings, Toby, Peter, and Veronica were waiting for Spencer to get home. When she arrived, Toby told her, "You need help, Spencer." She nodded slightly, then walked past Toby and her parents to the stairs. Once inside her room, she broke down.
When Emily got to Chez Montgomery, Aria wanted nothing to do with her, either. She packed her bag while she explained to Emily that she wanted to be alone, and she needed to get away.
Paige walked by Rosewood High, where an empty police car was parked. She carried a note saying that Alison was alive, and included the PO Box Emily had sent the money to. She slipped it into the open window of the police car.
As the episode ended, our favorite Anon sat by a fire, reading the pages of Ezra's book before burning them.
My Thoughts
Spencer in that opening scene. She said what we were all thinking... all that surveillance equipment... for a book? It seems a little excessive. Could Ezra's novel revelation be the moment PLL jumped the shark? Eh. It really seems like the show is setting up Spencer as Ali's would-be killer. I mean, she certainly seems like she's starting to believe that's what happened. She's so focused on that particular moment from that evening, that she's overlooking the fact that the girls know she met with other people later that night... quite a few people, in quite a few different places.
Aria trashing Ezra's apartment was so wrong AND so right. Watching her deal with the realization of Ezra's betrayal... honestly, what he did was revolting. I would've thrown up too. There's just so much wrong with him being an over-eager predatory author. It's honestly a sad day when it would be better if Ezra would've been A. I know Ezra has said in interviews he doesn't know how he can come back from whatever happens in the finale, but I don't know how he could EVER be redeemed in Aria's eyes, or how Ezria could be endgame after this episode, let alone after anything more damning that we might learn about him!
And I'm hoping it isn't just me, but how could you not love the poignancy of Aria hulk-smashing Ezra's degree over his typewriter? Total inner mwahaha moment!
And in the same vein... when Aria was storming up to Principal Hackett's house? I appreciated the fact that the show actually addressed the issue of Ezra going to jail. I guess it's a good thing that Ezra was going to be published as a ghostwriter/pseudonym rather than under his real name. Because he would be admitting to quite a few crimes in that book of his.
Back to 3B... WHY was Spencer the only one who wanted to poke around? I mean, yes, Aria definitely needed help, but there's no reason they couldn't have carried a box or two of Ezra's files along with him. I'm surprised Spencer only stuffed a few papers into her bag...
Mrs. DiLaurentis didn't really answer any of Spencer's questions, but she certainly looked concerned after she left. Maybe she's not the only one who's tired of lies?
The night Alison disappeared was chock full of activity. She interacted with so many people, and each person has their own idea of what happened that night, and why they think that. For example, Jenna thought that Garrett killed Ali because of the fight she witnessed between them. But Mrs. D. and CeCe Drake might think Spencer would have more motive after seeing their altercation? Then there's the NAT videos and the fact that she went to meet Ian, making the girls believe that Ian killed her. It's soooo convoluted.
You would think that Alison planned all of it in order to confuse the authorities and be able to fake her own death, right? But the thing is... all that happened BEFORE she was hit with something, possibly two things, and buried alive. I know I said that it wasn't a lot of time to fake her own death, but I'm thinking that she HAD to have done it AFTER being pulled out of the ground by Mrs. G. It's the only way to explain her confusion, trauma, and fear.
Paige and that note at the end? Collective Paily hearts just broke in half. I cannot believe that she did that. I understand that she thinks she's ultimately protecting Emily, but that was really stupid. Paige and Emily have been derailing and unraveling for a while... I can't see them surviving when Emily finds out what Paige did.
I wonder if Alison will understand why Emily told Paige, or if she'll be furious? Then couple that with what happens when Rosewood PD finds that note? Eeesh. I wouldn't want to be Paige, put it that way.
The twin thing... I'm still not ruling it out. It would explain a lot. Still not sure if it applies to Alison or someone else, though.
The Spencer Thing... pretty sure it's just the newest diversion, BUT it did lead me to believe that Spencer probably has nothing to do with The Radley Thing and Toby's mom. Assuming her last incident happened the night Ali disappeared, and was an isolated event, I don’t think that she could have anything to do with the death of Toby’s mom. That was almost 2 years before the night of Alison’s disappearance…
I don't think the title for this episode could've been any more appropriate. SO many things came undone in this episode... Aria, Spencer, Emily and Paige's relationship, the truth about Alison.
Next week's episode is called Cover For Me... Personally, I can't wait to see where PLL goes from here... How about you?
-S
The episode opened as Aria told the Liars about Ezra's book. She confirmed that Ezra knew who she was before they met, he knew all the girls. The book was his attempt to figure out what had happened to Alison. His theory was that one of the girls was responsible for killing Alison. The girls wondered if he could still be A, but Aria insisted that he wasn't. He was just a writer who used them to make a name for himself. Emily wondered how he could sit back and let A walk all over the girls, and Aria concluded that he never really loved her. Later, she thought about the day she and Ezra met, prompting her to throw up.
Spencer's woke to find her parents in the kitchen, plus luggage. She asked who was going on a trip, and her parents told her that Dr. Grigg's suggested she check in to a rehab facility in Philly. Claiming that her resume couldn't take Radley AND Rehab, Spencer asked her parents for the chance to come off the pills on her own. Her parents agreed, saying it was straight to rehab if she didn't comply.
At school, Hanna apologized to Travis for her actions. He was in a hurry, headed to court for his father's hearing.
Emily confided in Spencer that Shana called her, asking her to deliver Alison's money to a PO Box that afternoon.
Aria stormed into school, determined to confront Mr. Fitz. The girls tried to stop her, but she barrelled into his classroom, only to find a substitute teacher. She demanded to know where Ezra was, and the sub informed her he had taken leave for a family emergency.
Later, Spencer went over to see Toby with a cronut peace offering. Toby wanted Spencer to be able to confide in him. He wanted to be able to take care of her. But most of all, he wanted her to be done with the pills. She promised him that she was.
Back at school, Emily ran into Paige, and the two made plans for that evening. Paige couldn't help but notice Em's no-so-well stashed cash and got suspicious, but Emily lied, saying the money was from her grandmother. Paige still seemed suspicious.
Since she didn't find Ezra at school, Aria tornadoed over to apartment 3B for answers. Fitzy wasn't home, so Aria simply used her key to get in. She found some boxes with files on her and her friends, photos of the Ravenswood timeline, Ezra's journal, even the reels from Ali's sessions with Grunwald. Disgusted, Aria TRASHED Ezra's apartment.
Hanna met with Detective Holbrook about Travis' father. She asked him to consider the attempt his dad made to stop the arrangement with Wilden, reminding him how difficult it could be to have a crooked cop against you.
Back at school, Spencer opened her locker to find pills from A. Emily asked if she should take them and flush them, but Spence said she would do it. Hanna joined the group and asked if any of them had heard from Aria. She wasn't at her house, and she wasn't answering her phone. Spencer knew exactly where they'd find her.
Team Liar found Aria morosely sitting on the floor of 3B, surrounded by debris. Em and Hanna helped her up, while Spencer went into investigator mode. She suggested they take some of his research with them, but the girls disagreed, suggesting it was nothing they hadn't seen before. Despite their refusal, Spencer took a few papers from the immediate area and stuffed them in her bag.
Travis exited the courtroom to find Hanna waiting for him. Detective Holbrook vouched for his dad, resulting in a more lenient sentence of probation and community service instead of jail time. Travis left to celebrate with his dad, but he thanked Hanna for being there for him.
At Chez Hastings, Spencer looked over the new evidence from Ezra's apartment. The combination of curiosity and withdrawal symptoms caused her to break down and take the pills A put in her locker.
Paige followed Emily to Speed Demon Express, where Emily was about to mail Ali's money. Paige mistakenly thought that Emily was doing A's bidding again. Tired of lying, Emily finally told Paige the truth, that Alison was very much alive.
The fireplace at Casa de Montgomery was getting quite the workout while Aria fed it pages from Ezra's journal. Hanna suggested they get something to eat, but Aria wasn't in the mood. Instead, Hanna went out for takeout, and ran into Detective Holbrook. She thanked him for helping Travis, giving him a hug, followed by an awkward kiss that he rebuffed. Embarassed, she apologized and quickly left.
In the evidence from Ezra's apartment, Spencer found a journal entry that documented Mrs. DiLaurentis paying CeCe Drake NOT to tell anyone about an altercation she saw the night of Alison's disappearance... a continuation of the fight between Alison and Spencer.
"CeCe told me she stopped by the DiLaurentis house to talk to Alison the night she went missing. When CeCe arrived, she witnissed a fight. CeCe didn't tell anyone what she saw because Mrs. DiLaurentis paid her not to. Mrs. DiLaurentis also witnessed the fight."
Spencer also found the card for a PI from earlier in the series. Her parens had told her they hired the investigator to follow Melissa, but it turned out that the PI was following Spencer. She confronted her father with the information, but he told her that she was supposed to be relaxing, not investigating. Toby showed up in the middle of their argument, and Mr. Hastings used his arrival to suggest a walk, ending the discussion. Spencer declined, storming out the door on her own. Toby exchanged a glance with Peter, and followed after her.
Emily insisted she drop off the envelope of money for Alison. She told Paige that she would never forgive herself or Paige if something happened to Alison because she didn't get the money. Paige agreed to let Emily drop off the envelope, but with a condition. That she wouldn't have any further contact with Alison. Emily agreed, realizing it was the only way to help Alison.
In Ezra's journal, Aria found a letter from Ezra's publishing company. She called to find out a publication date, and learned some surprising news. He was in New York at the exact moment, in a meeting with his agent about the book.
Toby returned to the Hastings Estate, asking Mr. Hastings if Spencer was there. She ditched him during their walk while he went into Rear View Brew to get coffee.
Meanwhile, Spencer headed over to Casa DiLaurentis to find out exactly what Mrs. DiLaurentis knew or saw. She asked her directly is she saw her hurt Alison, but Jessica just suggested she call the Hastings. Spencer insisted, grabbing her arm, begging to know the truth. Jessica told her she was hurting her and asked her to leave.
J: Spencer...
S: I need to talk to you...
J: Is everything alright?
S: Do you think that I hurt Ali?
J: What?
S: Do you and my father have some kind of agreement to keep it quiet?
J: I have no idea what you're talking about.
S: Don't lie to me! Please... Please... okay, I can't take any more lies.
J: You don't look well, Spencer. I'm calling your parents.
S: No, please. It's a simple question, okay? Did you or did you see me standing with a shovel that night, and if you did see me hurt Ali then why didn't you just call the cops?
J: You're hurting me. I want you to leave. Now!
Armed with the new info from Ezra's publishing company, Aria decided to tell Principal Hackett everything about her affair with Ezra. Hanna talked some sense into her, helping her to realize the full implications of telling. Aria decided not to talk to Hackett, but she didn't want Hanna's help or company. She wanted to be left alone.
Emily and Paige returned home, and Em was cold towards Paige's advances. She told her she didn't appreciate the ultimatum, but Paige claimed she didn't like it either. Paige was clearly worried about Emily, but Em needed to go and check on Aria.
At Chez Hastings, Toby, Peter, and Veronica were waiting for Spencer to get home. When she arrived, Toby told her, "You need help, Spencer." She nodded slightly, then walked past Toby and her parents to the stairs. Once inside her room, she broke down.
When Emily got to Chez Montgomery, Aria wanted nothing to do with her, either. She packed her bag while she explained to Emily that she wanted to be alone, and she needed to get away.
Paige walked by Rosewood High, where an empty police car was parked. She carried a note saying that Alison was alive, and included the PO Box Emily had sent the money to. She slipped it into the open window of the police car.
As the episode ended, our favorite Anon sat by a fire, reading the pages of Ezra's book before burning them.
My Thoughts
Spencer in that opening scene. She said what we were all thinking... all that surveillance equipment... for a book? It seems a little excessive. Could Ezra's novel revelation be the moment PLL jumped the shark? Eh. It really seems like the show is setting up Spencer as Ali's would-be killer. I mean, she certainly seems like she's starting to believe that's what happened. She's so focused on that particular moment from that evening, that she's overlooking the fact that the girls know she met with other people later that night... quite a few people, in quite a few different places.
Aria trashing Ezra's apartment was so wrong AND so right. Watching her deal with the realization of Ezra's betrayal... honestly, what he did was revolting. I would've thrown up too. There's just so much wrong with him being an over-eager predatory author. It's honestly a sad day when it would be better if Ezra would've been A. I know Ezra has said in interviews he doesn't know how he can come back from whatever happens in the finale, but I don't know how he could EVER be redeemed in Aria's eyes, or how Ezria could be endgame after this episode, let alone after anything more damning that we might learn about him!
And I'm hoping it isn't just me, but how could you not love the poignancy of Aria hulk-smashing Ezra's degree over his typewriter? Total inner mwahaha moment!
And in the same vein... when Aria was storming up to Principal Hackett's house? I appreciated the fact that the show actually addressed the issue of Ezra going to jail. I guess it's a good thing that Ezra was going to be published as a ghostwriter/pseudonym rather than under his real name. Because he would be admitting to quite a few crimes in that book of his.
Back to 3B... WHY was Spencer the only one who wanted to poke around? I mean, yes, Aria definitely needed help, but there's no reason they couldn't have carried a box or two of Ezra's files along with him. I'm surprised Spencer only stuffed a few papers into her bag...
Mrs. DiLaurentis didn't really answer any of Spencer's questions, but she certainly looked concerned after she left. Maybe she's not the only one who's tired of lies?
The night Alison disappeared was chock full of activity. She interacted with so many people, and each person has their own idea of what happened that night, and why they think that. For example, Jenna thought that Garrett killed Ali because of the fight she witnessed between them. But Mrs. D. and CeCe Drake might think Spencer would have more motive after seeing their altercation? Then there's the NAT videos and the fact that she went to meet Ian, making the girls believe that Ian killed her. It's soooo convoluted.
You would think that Alison planned all of it in order to confuse the authorities and be able to fake her own death, right? But the thing is... all that happened BEFORE she was hit with something, possibly two things, and buried alive. I know I said that it wasn't a lot of time to fake her own death, but I'm thinking that she HAD to have done it AFTER being pulled out of the ground by Mrs. G. It's the only way to explain her confusion, trauma, and fear.
Paige and that note at the end? Collective Paily hearts just broke in half. I cannot believe that she did that. I understand that she thinks she's ultimately protecting Emily, but that was really stupid. Paige and Emily have been derailing and unraveling for a while... I can't see them surviving when Emily finds out what Paige did.
I wonder if Alison will understand why Emily told Paige, or if she'll be furious? Then couple that with what happens when Rosewood PD finds that note? Eeesh. I wouldn't want to be Paige, put it that way.
The twin thing... I'm still not ruling it out. It would explain a lot. Still not sure if it applies to Alison or someone else, though.
The Spencer Thing... pretty sure it's just the newest diversion, BUT it did lead me to believe that Spencer probably has nothing to do with The Radley Thing and Toby's mom. Assuming her last incident happened the night Ali disappeared, and was an isolated event, I don’t think that she could have anything to do with the death of Toby’s mom. That was almost 2 years before the night of Alison’s disappearance…
I don't think the title for this episode could've been any more appropriate. SO many things came undone in this episode... Aria, Spencer, Emily and Paige's relationship, the truth about Alison.
Next week's episode is called Cover For Me... Personally, I can't wait to see where PLL goes from here... How about you?
-S
