As another mystery is added to the overall layer that is Pretty Little Liars, the show is now chock full of juicy bits that will make you crave it like a wino needs a bottle of Black Irish Rose… If you don’t know what that is then don’t worry about it and forget I said anything. But the show is getting greater by each episode and it’s become appointment TV for the rest of this summer my schedule and DVR. Now we have a new suspect in the form of Toby Cavanaugh, the creepy brother of the equally weird Jenna, whose blind stick is becoming an unintentional run on gag here in my house. More on that later, but now let’s get down to business.
Contradictions Don’t Look Well On Most Pretty Little Girls…
Just when Aria thinks she has found common ground with Byron, Meredith Gates (Amber Borycki), the blonde slut he cheated with, decides to approach the two of them out in public. Ella isn’t too far from this faux pas taking place mind you. Aria questions her dad’s promises, but Byron reiterates that with Meredith now being a colleague instead of a student, he can’t just ignore her. Just like Aria can’t ignore the fact that Ezra Fitz is her teacher and that their relationship is just as wrong as Byron’s infidelity, but I digress. Aria tries to invite Ezra to Ella’s art gallery opening, but he suggests that Aria go to a class party instead so she won’t look suspect with her friends by being more mature all of a sudden. Or something.
When Aria stops by Ella’s gallery, Meredith is there conversing with about the art as if she is interested. After Ella leaves, Aria calls Meredith out by revealing that she knows about the affair and tells her not to return, but Meredith plays dumb on the subject better than Jessica Simpson does in real life. Later that night at the opening, Meredith makes yet ANOTHER impromptu appearance which quickly confirms that this girl cannot take a hint and will be a problem later on down the line. Again, Aria serves the tramp her walking papers, but Meredith tells her to let grown folks do their business and for Aria to stay in her place. Yep, she will be trouble.
Later, Aria runs her ass to Ezra Fitz’s bachelor’s pad to sob in his arms about how life is not fair and all that, but I think it’s about to get even worse. Hold on tight to Mr. Fitz’s elbow, little girl, because Hell has come in the form of a blonde bombshell in stiletto heels.
Pretty Little Girls Cut Corners To Make A Miserable Life A Bearable Life
While Mrs. Hastings and Melissa moan over Melissa’s now defunct wedding, Spencer tries to apologize for the millionth time for what WREN did and not her, but Melissa, being the insufferable brat she is, is not going to let this insubordination go silently. Then to add insult to injury, the parental units also think of Spencer as the Little Slut That Could and give her equal grief, which totals a crap load of animosity towards Spencer in the Hastings household. Plus, Spencer has a killer paper to do. What is an overachiever to do in this time of crisis?
Spencer tries to do the right thing and takes a train to see Wren in the city to get him to come clean on his actions. Wren apologizes for all the hell Spencer is going through and says that the only mistake he made was falling for the wrong sister. This sends Spencer running back to work on that paper, but in reality Wren tapped something that Spencer doesn’t want to own up to yet. When Spencer does get home, she gets writers block on her paper, but instead of taking a shot of something (like tequila, adderall, etc) to get the creative juices flowing, she steals one of Melissa’s papers and makes it her own. Stupidity leak!
When Melissa gets home a few moments later, she tells Spencer that Wren called and told her that it was he who made the first move and not the other way around. But she doesn’t believe it and spews to Spencer that they deserve each other. With folks like The Hastings, Spencer could have her own spinoff called “Everybody Hates Spencer” it seems. Or “The Hastings Are A Bunch Of Ignorant …..”, rather.
Pretty Little Girls Sometimes Have Moments of Pure Desperation…
Hanna starts her day to the horror of Det. Wilden in her kitchen in nothing but a bath towel. Before she can balk herself to death, Ashley shows up and sends Det. Wilden on his way. Hanna then demands to know the truth about why Det. Wilden is just about ready to put his name on the mailbox outside and Ashley replies that until Hanna’s shoplifting case is dropped, Det. Wilden is not going anywhere. Is it that serious?!
When she gets to school, Hanna finds out that Sean is throwing a party while his parents are away and half the school will be there. This prompts Mona to get all nosy and ask if Hanna and Sean did it yet, which immediately lets me know that Mona has to be bringing all the boys to the yard at the drop of a hat. Anyway, this bothers Hanna as she feels that she might be the only person at school who hasn’t gotten any yet. Womp, womp, womp.
Later that day, Hanna is pulled into the office by none other than Det. Wilden who again starts asking stupid ass questions about Hanna’s weight loss and if Alison had anything to do with it. This prompts a flashback of a pudgy Hanna asking Sean out for the first time with Alison’s help. It is clear that Sean is more interested in Alison than Hanna, but I am still reserved about that scenario. In the present, Hanna then flips the script on Det. Wilden by grilling him on his past life as a party boy that she dug up herself. Next, Hanna berates him on his techniques for building a case, which she (and I) think are highly unorthodox.
Before leaving for the party, Hanna is offered a ride in the squad car by Wilden, which wigs Hanna and Ashley out. After Hanna leaves, the latest wig out moment prompts Ashley to ask her new ‘beau’ when are the charges going to be dropped on the shoplifting case, because Darren Wilden is becoming a bit much. When Ashley isn’t looking, Det. Wilden goes in Hanna’s bag and picks up the bracelet Alison gave Hanna. Ashley sees this and wants to know what is the real deal, but Det. Wilden doesn’t give her the answer she wants (or deserves). So Ashley tells Det. Wilden that he needs a warrant to go through Hanna’s stuff and then sends him home for going after her cub. Laura Leighton is the business, people. The Business.
At the party, Hanna watches as Sean has fun playing foosball most of the night. After Mona gets in her ear again about their sex life, Hanna decides to pull Sean from his toys and finally make him a man. But he doesn’t want to do it. She pouts and demands to know what is his deal, but he just explains that Hanna is acting like a desperate groupie, which is turning him off. Hm.
Hanna is too pissed to be touched and leaves the room, but when she gets downstairs she gets a text from “A” that says, “Heads up, hon. Hefty Hanna never gets the guy.” Wow. Hanna is disturbed by this message and decides to play crazy. So what does one do when they are disturbed? They cry for attention. Hanna takes Sean’s car, speeds off with it into the night and crashes it into some rocks. WOW!!! Is it REALLY that serious?!? She walks away from it crying, but I don’t know if they were tears of triumph or tears of joy. Either way, Ashley might will have to hump Det. Wilden some more to clear up that mess.
Pretty Little Girls Shouldn’t Be Careless With Relationships of Any Kind…
After a mini Maya/Emily flirtation gets rolling, Ben slides in to stake his prize, but Emily shies away from him and invites Maya to come to the party with them. Maya accepts, but Ben isn’t too happy about the arrangement. What happened with all that talk of threesomes from last week, Ben?
Later, Emily leaves the shower at school and hears a noise in the locker room. Before she can find out the culprit, Emily is surprised by Ben, who wants to take things to the next level. In the locker room of all places. Perfect timing, kid. Emily says no, but Ben is from the old school where “no means yes” is still playing in is head. When Emily finally gets Ben off of her, he is attacked by Toby Cavanaugh, Jenna’s step-brother, who kicks Ben’s ass. Emily then lets Ben know that they are over and to kick rocks.
At the party, Emily shows up with Maya. Ben clearly looks like an idiot and Maya looks kinda triumphant. Later, Maya and Emily take pictures in a photo booth set up at the party and in the midst of their fun, they share a passionate kiss. Of course, the camera snaps the lip lock and, of course, someone takes their photos from the booth after they are developed. Maya isn’t worried, but Emily is. Who the hell took the photos?
Later when she gets home, Emily sees Toby working on a car part on his porch. She tells him thanks for earlier and for taking the fall. He doesn’t say anything, but smirks. After Emily walks off, Jenna, who had been sitting in the dark out of Emily’s view asks toby what was that all about and what did Emily mean. Toby blows her off. What the hell?!!?
Pretty Little Liars Might Have An Ally or A Sinister Enemy
Emily takes her mother’s advice and invites the girls to get over their grief of Alison’s death once and for all by visiting a childhood area that the girls used to frequent in their younger days. The problem is that the secret shed is in the middle of the woods where Spencer correctly advices will make them look suspicious as hell with Deputy Dewey aka Det. Wilden. But Spencer makes herself look suspicious by knowing the way to the spot while everyone else hasn’t visited the place since Alison’s disappearance. Mmhmm… Hanna voices that she doesn’t think Alli’s dead and that they might’ve greatly exxagerrated their friends death, but while bickering the girls hear someone stalking them. As they turn to bolt, they all receive a text from “A” that says “it’s opening season on liars and I’m on the hunt.”
Later at school, the girls spot Toby Cavanaugh and Jenna and wonder when did Toby come back to school. Moments later, Emily, Aria, and Spencer freak out when Det. Wilden pulls Hanna into the principal office only. When Hanna returns, she doesn’t reveal anything, which further freaks the girls out.
At the party, Emily reveals what happened to her in the locker room with Toby and how she thinks that he was trying to save her. The others think that’s not the case and that Toby was being a perve again. Then Spencer starts to look suspect as if she knows something, which forces a flashback on us. Turns out that the night of the incident, Alison talked Toby into taking the fall, because she had something on him. What that was we don’t know. After the girls disperse, Spencer spots Toby spying on them. He gives her a creepy smirk that are skid mark inducing, but he disappears afterwards.
The next day, Spencer reveals that Ali had something on Toby, but doesn’t know what it was to the other girls as they try to reattempt their task from the beginning of the episode. They talk about how they should go about setting up Ali’s memorial when they hear someone else in the woods again. This time they run after the intruder, but lose them. What they did find is Ali’s bracelet laying on the dirt as if someone just placed it there. Wow…
Meanwhile, a gloved figure photocopies numerous sizes and copies of Emily and Maya’s juicy kiss for the world to see…
I’ll take an 8×10, please?
With Love, From “A”
– So is Toby a sweet dream or beautiful nightmare for Emily?
– Det. Wilden was the only person to know about the bracelets and that Hanna used to be known as Hefty Hanna. I mean both of these tidbits were revealed to him in this episode and they just so happen to be used later as “A” tactics? How much do you want to bet that Det. Wilden is the older guy that Ali was seeing the summer she died? A jilted lover would make a great suspect for the murder and the harassment of the Liars.
-How cool (and HOT!) is Laura Leighton as Ashley?
– Meredith seems to be channeling her inner Glenn Close. Do we see a rabbit cooking incident in the future for the Montgomerys’
– How much did everyone want to smack the crap out of ALL of Spencer’s family members? What did that poor girl do to deserve the crap that they give her?
– Let’s talk about Sean for a minute. I think that something else is up with this kid. I really want to buy that he is a good natured kid, but his actions contradict his words. I think either four things are going on with him: 1) He’s gay, 2) he’s truly saving himself for marriage, 3) he knows something on Hanna, or 4) he slept with Alison and began to harbor feelings for her. Even though those are my four explanations for the kid, I had to agree with him on the whole ‘Desperate Hanna’ spin. I mean, come on!!! Hanna was being pressured by Mona, who was a nobody over a year ago and is either a virgin herself or she’s “going hard” and I am mostly leaning towards the latter of the two. Whatever the reason, Sean did not deserve to have his car totaled. Not at all…
What did you guys think? I love reading your comments, but try out our forums as well after leaving comments to see what other people are talking about. The show is getting better and better, and I am falling more in love with it every week. How about you?
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***HOLY. CRAP. That one never even occured to me.***Me neither until a second viewing. The guy's creep out factor compounds continuously for me and I just get sick every time I see him on screen. But Bryce Johnson kicked ass when he played on Ryan Murphy's 'Popular" which was a precursor to "Glee" in my book. There he played Josh Ford, which was a prototype for Finn from "Glee".
I have read the books and the detective isn't the older guy. just saying. =) I know the outcome of every situation and what Ali has on Toby but it's fun to see it acted out.
and watch out for meredith. what happens is sad.