S05.E05: Miss Me x 100

[Sakura12]

You know you live in Rosewood when you can casually mention another classmate is dead. Then go enjoy a Frozen sing-a-long from the future. 

Edited July 9, 2014 by Sakura12

[FAU]

The weird part is that Sydney showed up immediately after the PLLs returned to school after coming back from NY.  That means that Jenna would have already set in motion the plans to have Sydney transfer to Rosewood High before Shana was killed (because you just can't show up one day and go 'Here I am, new at school, all ready to join the swim team').

 

You can if you're in PLL and barely anything makes much sense.  Sydney was probably next in line after Shana.

[kat165]

This ep was a big improvement over the last 2. I don't even like Jenna, but the show has been so dull I was actually excited to see her back.

 

Don't like Caleb's new haircut, but it's a sligh improvement over the old one.

 

I'm tired of Ali already. I think I liked her better when she was dead. :)

 

The explosion was great & so also the return of A. Not that this is stellar writing or anything, but the last 2 eps were so boring I could barely stay awake.

 

Glad they revealed what shady swimmer was up to. We knew she was there for a reason. Good to see Ashley too. Relieved that the Ezra/Aria and the Ali/Emily scenes were short.

 

The actor who plays Travis was so cute in Bones, with longer hair. He should grow it out. He's way cuter than Caleb. But Caleb and Hanna are really the only couple I like.

 

I too thought Ali was talking to someone in her bedroom. I'm sure it was done like that on purpose.

[emma675]

I have so many thoughts!

 

1. This stupid show has one great episode and it totally pulls me back in.

 

2. I'm so over Aria and her constant whining about killing Shana (dude, she had a gun on you and your friends and was about to pull the trigger, it was self defense, deal with it!) that I don't even care that she's back with Ezra. A man who lied, stalked, spied on and harrassed not only Aria but her friends. If Spencer, Hanna, and Emily are fine with it, then I guess I am, too.

 

3. I love how Alison has us all guessing about whether she's evil or good. Sasha is doing a great job.

 

4. I've been out of high school for more years than I care to admit, but I can still tell you where the guidance counselor's office is. Granted, I wasn't "kidnapped", faking my own death and on the run for a while during high school, so maybe that makes it harder to remember?

 

5. CALEB!! My cyber teen wolf is back and cranky as hell. I love it. Hanna + Caleb 4ever. (Ditch the sad facial hair, though, dude.)

 

6. Jenna still freaks me out and I love that Toby still has enough Stockholm Syndrome left in him to go running into a blown up, burning house to make sure she's okay.

[RedInk]

So I always looked forward to the occasional Alison appearance, but now I think the character is best used sparingly.  Before the Mona confrontation, I was half-hoping someone would actually kill her...or at least kidnap her again.

[apgold]

Apparently Aria thinks that Ezra flashing his scar is the sexiest thing ever.  EW.  Sorry, IMK, Ezria is still creepy and boring.  Well at least she shut up about Shana long enough to f* him.

 

Why is Donna LaDonna (Sydney) Jenna's new doppelganger?  

 

Poor Spencer - her mother comes to school to tell her that she's leaving her dad and doesn't really explain why?  She really is the worst mother on this show.  

 

I wish we had more of Ashley Marin, who is the best mom.  Drunk!Hanna was funny and sad at the same time.  Will we ever meet Lucas' girlfriend?  Glad to see Caleb back.

 

There is way too much lesbian psychodrama going on for me to keep track of.  

[mjgchick]

I have so many thoughts!

 

1. This stupid show has one great episode and it totally pulls me back in.

 

 

6. Jenna still freaks me out and I love that Toby still has enough Stockholm Syndrome left in him to go running into a blown up, burning house to make sure she's okay.

That's another thing I forgot, how does Jenna convince all these people to do her bidding and have her rape victim still want to save her? Haha.

And yeah this episode kind of woke me up and pulled me back in. This show is my abusive boyfriend I can't let go.

[bettername2come]

That's another thing I forgot, how does Jenna convince all these people to do her bidding and have her rape victim still want to save her? Haha.

 

This reminded me of one of my favorite parts of the episode: "It's okay to close the door on someone if they're toxic." (Phone call from Jenna, takes off running.)

[Sakura12]

That's another thing I forgot, how does Jenna convince all these people to do her bidding and have her rape victim still want to save her? Haha.

 

I think Jenna's got a magic vagina, anyone that sleeps with her is her loyal minion until death. I've been saying that Jenna's the most powerful being on Earth, even her former rape victim is like "Must save and protect Jenna". 

[superman1204]

Emily is a very beautiful woman so it is hardly unusual that Maya, bisexual women, or Paige, a lesbian, would be attracted to her.  She is also primary character.  So of course there is, as with the other primary characters, going to be a focus on her love life.  Maya, Paige, Allison, and Samira receive attention because they are all a part of Emily's life.  That women, who find women sexually attractive, would desire Emily and that Emily would have women even fighting over her is not surprising.  It would be surprising if she was not having women falling for her. 

 

As for Jenna and Shana, they have had opponents of the main 4 that were straight so why not two women that appear to have been romantically involved.   

I think the issue is less the number of lesbian relationships on the show and more how interconnected they are.  Emily and Jenna are both very attractive and it makes sense that both girls would be able to find other women to date.  The thing is you would expect the women they date to be unrelated to the A/Alison mystery, at least initially, but they're not.  I know this is because the writers are trying to tie everyone into the mystery to increase the number of "shocking" reveals, but its really starting to get ridiculous.  

 

Basically the problem is the show revolves around Alison, who is bisexual.  Her childhood best friend, Shana, and one of her high school best friends, Emily, are both lesbians.  Out of her three female rivals, Mona, Paige, and Jenna, one is a lesbian and one is bisexual.  Lastly, after she disappeared, the new girl, Maya, who moved into her house was bisexual.  In fact the only gay or bisexual character who isn't related to Alison is Samira  There's nothing wrong with having that many lesbian and bisexual characters in one show, but the odds of all of these girls falling into Alison's orbit and then just happening to be gay or bisexual is really slim.  That or in the PLL universe like one in three woman is a lesbian or bisexual.

[M1977G]

I have to say, the comments on here are as or more entertaining than the episode, which I thought was pretty fun, even though I am so skeeved out by Ezria I can hardly stand it.  I, like everyone else above a certain age it seems, loved that they chose "Every Breath You Take" for the reunion scenes with Ezria and Emison.  Definitely seems an acknowledgement by the show that both of these relationships have seriously unhealthy dynamics.  I was a little surprised that they showed Aria topless from the back on this show.  It had seemed to me that much of the sex stuff on the show is restricted visually because of the family channel situation.  I think it was a couple seasons before they even showed active tongues in kissing scenes.  I find this a ridiculous contradiction, since the content of this show is hardly family values oriented or appropriate for many adolescents or tweens.  As someone else put it,

 

 

That town is practically nothing but murderers, psychopaths and pedophiles.

Let's add blackmailers and cheaters to that list.

 

I did not think the Mona and Jenna team-up was new, though mouthy Sydney does appear to be a newer addition.  I agree with others that the visual resemblance between Jenna and Sydney in that scene was very striking, and probably not coincidental.  Maybe J and S are related (or Sydney had an initial connection to Shana), as I can't think of another good reason Sydney would be willing to get drafted into the Rosewood espionage.  But I recall that someone (Caleb? Toby?) spied on Mona visiting with Shana in hiding a few seasons ago, and we knew then that something was between Shana and Jenna, so I think someone has taken the A game from both Mona and Jenna.  Otherwise, why might A be after Jenna (I'm assuming--though always dangerous with this show--that Jenna may have been inside the house when the bomb went off)?  A appears to be operating still in teams or tiers, and I don't think they are all in concert with each other.  Is this part of some kind of A power struggle for top A dog?  Mona is her usual awesomely creepy self, but I do detest the sugary and scared innocent act she puts on for others (safety whistles for the whole school, her edited video and quavering lip when confronting Ali about the bitch slap).  Everyone knows she went off her rocker and got all kinds of sinister with her classmates, so why they believe her now is beyond me.  The whole school should be as suspicious of Mona as of Ali, I'm thinking.

 

I still think Mrs. Hastings did and/or knows something very bad, and that she's setting it up to throw suspicion of guilt onto her unfaithful husband.

 

I believe that was Emily's house where they were watching the news before the explosion.  This explosion was definitely a step up for A, but in my mind, not a really big one.  I mean, A already crashed into Emily's house with a car with Em and her mom inside, probably put Emily in that box in the saw mill headed straight for the blade, set a fire in the woods that the girls barely escaped from, and might have had something to do with the dead girl in Ali's grave (though I still think Mrs. Hastings is involved in that last one).  A also implied that s/he put Caleb's mom in the hospital with that car wreck in California, might have sewed bones into Spencer's wedding dress for a charity fashion show, has forced the liars into all kinds of unhealthy activities, and might have been in on shooting Ezra.  So what's a little explosion on top of all that?  Pretty awesome, that's what.  Cannot wait to find out what the group text says after that.

Also, more questions:  does anyone remember the name of the girl that Hanna tracked down in her detective phase, thinking she might have been the mystery girl in the grave?  The girl had four friends she emailed, etc.  Did that girl have a different name than the one reported on the news in this last episode?  Could this Radley runaway have been another love child of Mrs. D?  It could explain why she wanted to protect someone so badly who had tried to kill her daughter.  Could this girl be another of Peter Hastings's offspring as well?  Or maybe Professor Montgomery's love child with Mrs. D, since we know he's a cheater too?

[Cranberry]

Every breath you take....I can't think of a better song. I just can't. But somehow, someway Tweens are going to find the stalker song romantic.

 

Oh, they are. They definitely are. That was probably the first Ezria scene I've ever really enjoyed, solely because of that song choice. A+, PLL! A+.

[Mabinogia]

That song choice made me soooo happy. I love show runners with a sense of humor. I mean, that had to be a nod to those of us who realize how truly fucked up that relationship is. It makes me wonder if the showrunners who made that choice were subversively saying they agree but those who sign their paycheck are forcing them to keep this ship afloat. True or not, that thought makes me happy, so I'm going with it.

 

Just remember Aria, "every step you take, every move you make, I'll be watching you." Come on, that shit is funny!

[Crim]

Not only the song choice, but the way they framed everything about Ali/Emily was A+. We didn't get to see much, but they were established as one of the main couples with the Ezria sex montage and in everyone's positioning in the couples scene. We even got Caleb taking Hanna's hand, like Ali took Emily's. Hanna's "Are they together now?" was very in character: she would be the most perceptive of them, and Spencer's "Have you been drinking again?" was hilarious as a follow-up.

 

Well, TPTB didn't lie about this episode being the bomb. It had everything. Jenna. Mona. Development with the Hastings. Caleb. Ali/Emily. Ezria (barf!). A tags being back. And, ya know, the actual bomb.

 

I was expecting Ali/Emily developments based on the hand-holding spoiler photo, but that it happened after they slept together blew my mind. Way to go, show! I respect that nothing was leaked about that even though it would have caused quite a stir.

 

Also, PLL, thank you for revealing that Ali is faking it. I was waiting for this and thank you for at least hinting at it so soon!

 

Re: Ali not saying anything about Mona slapping her first, I don't see how that would have helped much in that the main issue was her words and, for the Liars, her outright lying about her reaction to Mona. Those things are The Old Ali, slap or no slap, provocation or not.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I think Jenna's got a magic vagina, anyone that sleeps with her is her loyal minion until death. I've been saying that Jenna's the most powerful being on Earth, even her former rape victim is like "Must save and protect Jenna".

 

Jenna is the PLL version of the Dohlman of Elas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaan_of_Troyius) -- one touch of the magic vag and men/women are hers for life.

[cuddlingcrowley]

I actually thought Ali was relatively nice to Mona, given the circumstances. And honestly, I'd say they are even in terms of treating each other badly to this point anyway. Mona might literally be the only person in that town who should not have a grudge against Ali.

 

 

This. The Mona/Ali showdown was wonderful, but I have zero sympathy for Mona. She has done far worst than Ali has ever done and as far as each other is concerned I agree they're even and that's being very generous. Ali offered a cease fire more than once I don't have a problem with anything she said (although I understand why other people did). There's being repetent and there's being a doormat.

 

ETA: 

 

Which brings me to: Paige, who I've never had a big problem with but she was nicknamed after a penalty, pushed EMILY's head under water after no provocation AND gave Ali a bruise the size of a fist once, so as much as I try to feel bad for her, she strikes me as one of those who dish but can't take.

 

The girls sure jumped at the chance to turn their back on Ali but they don't exactly owe her much of anything, still it was sad to see. There's also a part of me that is relieved for them (especially Hanna). BTW, have I gone insane or has Hanna been talking with the Hefty!Hanna pitch?

 

I also would be sadder if the drama wasn't so damn good! I'm forever appreciative at how they've been reintroducing Ali in the show since last season and this episode was simply masterful as far as she's concerned. I believe Alison has made the decision to change and she genuinely wants to but this episode made me wonder if she'd have the proper motivation if things started to go too easy for her. For that, i'm grateful for Mona's stunt. I think it will end up doing more good than harm for Alison.

 

Another twin thing: Jenna and Sydney (who I've been calling Swimfan) looked damn near identical when they were going over to Mona.

 

 

For a moment there I seriously wondered if they weren't sisters. I would much prefer if the show keeps making nods to the twin thing like that or through Alison/Cece. An actual twin would be the worst!

 

Weird how A's first new act was to recreate "the Jenna thing" at an extreme level.

 

 

Did you mean awesome?

 

 

As for the Emily and Allison kissing, I believe they are intimating they had sex.  The sequence has them in bed together and it is crosscut with Aria and Ezra having sex.

 

 

I'm 112 % sure they had sex and no, that enthusiasm you hear isn't the Emison shipper in me squeeing!

 

I don't actually want Emily/Ali to be endgame (though obviously I don't want Paily to be endgame either, considering how much I can't stand Paige) - I want Emily to eventually leave Ali because Ali's a lying liar who lies, and they do stay friends (I'm complicated like that), but Ali always regrets losing Emily as her girlfriend. To me that's fitting in a number of ways.

 

 

I feel you, girl! I actually would be happy if Emison was endgame but I would be happier with the scenario above + Hannily endgame! I honestly believe Hanna is the blonde Emily deserves. And Emily is a much prettier lesbian than Caleb!

 

Not only the song choice, but the way they framed everything about Ali/Emily was A+. We didn't get to see much, but they were established as one of the main couples with the Ezria sex montage and in everyone's positioning in the couples scene. We even got Caleb taking Hanna's hand, like Ali took Emily's. Hanna's "Are they together now?" was very in character: she would be the most perceptive of them, and Spencer's "Have you been drinking again?" was hilarious as a follow-up.

 

 

Yes!!!!!! I loved the whole episode, but that scene with all the main characters (and couples!) was golden! And the Hannily fan in me squeed at Hanna noticing Emison.

 

I think this is a perfect episode to introduce the show to people because you get to see how intricate all the relationships are and how perfectly insane everything is. It was almost kinda like a really incredible pilot.

 

 

Aria and Ezra should have screwed to another Police song..."Don"t Stand So Close".

 

 

That would have made me love Ezria and no one wants that!

 

I love when the "previously on" segment reminds me of something from the last episode. When Aria was freaking out about killing Shana and Ezra said she would just have to find a way to forgive herself, I totally laughed because OF COURSE Ezra has no problem forgiving himself for befriending aa teenager as research for his book, having sex with her, and installing camera all over town to spy on her and her friends. Water under the bridge!

That's what makes the Ezra nice guy retcon even more annoying. "I wish I could fix this for you." Ugh, really, Ezra? I wish I could fix some perv who was spying on high school girls!

 

 

All I keep thinking during the Ezria scenes is how Aria is taking lessons on how to become a sociopath. And how utter and completely ridiculous they are. I could hear the Ezria shippers going insane every time they did that fake touchy thing. These idiots, they belong together, they just do. I can't even muster indignation on Aria's behalf, I just don't care about her at all anymore. Seriously, if they killed Aria halfway through the episode I wouldn't have had any reaction whatsoever. My brain completely shuts down when she's on screen.

 

 

This reminded me of one of my favorite parts of the episode: "It's okay to close the door on someone if they're toxic." (Phone call from Jenna, takes off running.)

 

That was great. Also didn't Toby's actions drive Spencer to a mental institution that one time which he never really apologized about? I guess he'd know about toxic.

 

My world is back to normal: Caleb has returned to PLL. Travis seems a nice guy and all but for me I'm Team Caleb/Hanna.

 

 

Speaking of boyfriends I don't care about, I've been 50/50 about Travis and Caleb but the way Travis dealt with an utterly adorable drunk Hanna actually made me root for Caleb for a second there. What's with Hanna being attracked to guys who act like her Dad? Uhg.

Edited July 9, 2014 by cuddlingcrowley

[Chaos Theory]

Every time I think I am done with this show they blow up a house, have creepy Ezra/Aria and hot lesbian sex to a police song, Have a blind girl scare the shit out of everyone, and have a slap fight ... Plus hair porn. Ok show I am back. Don't even care who A is at this point. I come for the crazy ass shit.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Chaos Theory

[FAU]

Every time I think I am done with this show they blow up a house, have creepy Ezra/Aria and hot lesbian sex to a police song, Have a blind girl scare the shit out of everyone, and have a slap fight ... Plus hair porn. Ok show I am back. Don't even care who A is at this point. I come for the crazy ass shit.

 

I'm just glad A is back because watching Ali being a scared victim and the Liars constantly saying A is gone was so annoying and boring to watch.

[lorikauai]

I have to say, the comments on here are as or more entertaining than the episode, which I thought was pretty fun, even though I am so skeeved out by Ezria I can hardly stand it. I, like everyone else above a certain age it seems, loved that they chose "Every Breath You Take" for the reunion scenes with Ezria and Emison. Definitely seems an acknowledgement by the show that both of these relationships have seriously unhealthy dynamics. I was a little surprised that they showed Aria topless from the back on this show. It had seemed to me that much of the sex stuff on the show is restricted visually because of the family channel situation. I think it was a couple seasons before they even showed active tongues in kissing scenes. I find this a ridiculous contradiction, since the content of this show is hardly family values oriented or appropriate for many adolescents or tweens. As someone else put it,

Let's add blackmailers and cheaters to that list.

I did not think the Mona and Jenna team-up was new, though mouthy Sydney does appear to be a newer addition. I agree with others that the visual resemblance between Jenna and Sydney in that scene was very striking, and probably not coincidental. Maybe J and S are related (or Sydney had an initial connection to Shana), as I can't think of another good reason Sydney would be willing to get drafted into the Rosewood espionage. But I recall that someone (Caleb? Toby?) spied on Mona visiting with Shana in hiding a few seasons ago, and we knew then that something was between Shana and Jenna, so I think someone has taken the A game from both Mona and Jenna. Otherwise, why might A be after Jenna (I'm assuming--though always dangerous with this show--that Jenna may have been inside the house when the bomb went off)? A appears to be operating still in teams or tiers, and I don't think they are all in concert with each other. Is this part of some kind of A power struggle for top A dog? Mona is her usual awesomely creepy self, but I do detest the sugary and scared innocent act she puts on for others (safety whistles for the whole school, her edited video and quavering lip when confronting Ali about the bitch slap). Everyone knows she went off her rocker and got all kinds of sinister with her classmates, so why they believe her now is beyond me. The whole school should be as suspicious of Mona as of Ali, I'm thinking.

I still think Mrs. Hastings did and/or knows something very bad, and that she's setting it up to throw suspicion of guilt onto her unfaithful husband.

I believe that was Emily's house where they were watching the news before the explosion. This explosion was definitely a step up for A, but in my mind, not a really big one. I mean, A already crashed into Emily's house with a car with Em and her mom inside, probably put Emily in that box in the saw mill headed straight for the blade, set a fire in the woods that the girls barely escaped from, and might have had something to do with the dead girl in Ali's grave (though I still think Mrs. Hastings is involved in that last one). A also implied that s/he put Caleb's mom in the hospital with that car wreck in California, might have sewed bones into Spencer's wedding dress for a charity fashion show, has forced the liars into all kinds of unhealthy activities, and might have been in on shooting Ezra. So what's a little explosion on top of all that? Pretty awesome, that's what. Cannot wait to find out what the group text says after that.

Also, more questions: does anyone remember the name of the girl that Hanna tracked down in her detective phase, thinking she might have been the mystery girl in the grave? The girl had four friends she emailed, etc. Did that girl have a different name than the one reported on the news in this last episode? Could this Radley runaway have been another love child of Mrs. D? It could explain why she wanted to protect someone so badly who had tried to kill her daughter. Could this girl be another of Peter Hastings's offspring as well? Or maybe Professor Montgomery's love child with Mrs. D, since we know he's a cheater too?

I always found it telling that Mona basically told her classmates, "I went crazy because Ali" and they reacted like "That makes perfect sense."

The missing girl they investigated was Sara Harvey. I wonder if she'll turn up eventually. Someone put that body in the yard. It doesn't make sense that it would be Mrs. D or whoever hit Ali (if it even happened that way since i find Ali unreliable). I still wouldn't rule out Ali or an accomplice, intending for it to be mistaken for Ali.

ETA: We've seen Melissa/Jenna/Shana teamed up and I believe Mona was with Jenna when the girls were in Ravenswood? And she bought Jenna's car? What happened at the Lodge still doesn't make sense to me. Why would Shana try to kill Mona with the Liars if Mona/Jenna were a team?

Edited July 9, 2014 by lorikauai

[Shangrilala]

My theory?  Ali is A+.  The reason why?  Because she is batshit crazy, that's why.  Nothing more, nothing less.  No twin, no family secret.  Ali is A because she is a nutjob. 

 

Did I hear 7 phones go off at the end of the show?  Is A tormenting all of them now, not just the core 4/5 girls?

 

I kind of loved the Mona/Ali showdown because we got to see classic Ali.  This Ali-victim making amends to those she hurt is annoying.  Not to mention, I always got the impression that Ali was loved and hated.  Right now all we are seeing is the hate.  Where are all of the people who were her friends?  Certainly they extended past 4 girls.  Otherwise, she never would have been at the top of the high school stratosphere.  I'd love to see the high school class warfare, but only if we get it with Ali as ALI. 

 

I kind of miss the days when A made people eat cupcakes or sent anonymous letters to parents.  This car bomb stuff is a bit of a stretch, IMO.  This is supposed to be about high school.  Not the deparment of homeland security.

[Black Knight]

That was great. Also didn't Toby's actions drive Spencer to a mental institution that one time which he never really apologized about? I guess he'd know about toxic.

He did manage to preface his "it's ok to close the door on a toxic person" comment with something about how he and Spencer wouldn't be together if not for second chances, but...yeah. Which is another reason I don't have a problem with Emily seeing Ali for a little while - what Ali did to Emily doesn't come close to the levels of what Toby and Ezra put Spencer and Aria through. Caleb did shady shit in the beginning too, but with him the writers actually did the work to redeem him so that Haleb could be viable. They haven't done the same work with Ali yet, but she's only been back in Emily's life for a little bit and yet has already had more apologetic conversations with Emily about how she treated her than Ezra or Toby have had with Aria or Spencer despite having had much more opportunity/screentime to do so. So I'm fine with Emison for a time, although my personal preferred endgame is Emily/Ashley. (Yeah, I can't help it. Inappropriate, sure, but this is Rosewood. And they've never done anything terrible to each other!)

[ban1o]

 

That was great. Also didn't Toby's actions drive Spencer to a mental institution that one time which he never really apologized about? I guess he'd know about toxic.

 

Yeah that always bugged me how he never apologized for indirectly landing her in a mental institution. And Spencer forgave him so easily. To be fair, he did say that he didn't know about the dead decoy body or whatever, but everything about his whole "A" stint was weird. In my mind I just assume he apologized profusely off screen? The writers of this show are just really dumb and really like to present toxic relationships. 

 

ETA: Ezra/Aria and Toby/Jenna are the worst by far though. Ezra and Aria is some serious stalking and statuary rape stuff and Toby and Jenna is like a manifestation of the stockholm syndrome. 

Edited July 9, 2014 by ban1o

[cuddlingcrowley]

I kind of miss the days when A made people eat cupcakes or sent anonymous letters to parents. 

 

 

I miss that stuff too, not only was most of it entertaining as hell but the writers had an easier time integrating it to the show so the A stuff rarely took over, which made it more character driven than plot driven.

 

Black Knight, I completely agree. I'd probably have more reservations about shipping Emison if it weren't for all the other love interests on the show (save for Caleb who just annoys me sometimes, but is a good guy ).

 

 

In my mind I just assume he apologized profusely off screen? The writers of this show are just really dumb and really like to present toxic relationships.

 

 

I wish I could do that because the whole thing made me lose a lot of the respect and affection I had for Spencer, let alone Toby. There's a part of me that believes these writers aren't as oblivious as they seem and that they're aware these relationships can only fuction under the crazy reign of A. Once the girls are free of A, they'll probably dump all their boyfriends and girlfriends and start fresh.

Edited July 9, 2014 by cuddlingcrowley

[Chaos Theory]

One more thing and then I am done thinking about this show. I really really really want to see an Aria/Ezra fan vid to "Every Breath You take." Someone make it happen.

[ban1o]

I miss that stuff too, not only was most of it entertaining as hell but the writers had an easier time integrating it to the show so the A stuff rarely took over, which made it more character driven than plot driven.

 

Black Knight, I completely agree. I'd probably have more reservations about shipping Emison if it weren't for all the other love interests on the show (save for Caleb who just annoys me sometimes, but is a good guy ).

 

 

 

I wish I could do that because the whole thing made me lose a lot of the respect and affection I had for Spencer, let alone Toby. There's a part of me that believes these writers aren't as oblivious as they seem and that they're aware these relationships can only fuction under the crazy reign of A. Once the girls are free of A, they'll probably dump all their boyfriends and girlfriends and start fresh.

I wish they would have broken them up for a while before getting back together, at least for a few episodes to build up the relationship again. I get the "Spoby" is a popular couple on the show but the way it was handled was pretty bad. It seems like they wanted to forget it. I really don't like Toby that much anymore. I still like Spencer though. Apparently they are doing a time jump after this season so maybe they will be single then. 

 

I still think Ezra/Aria is way worse though. Toby did something stupid but according to the show, he just did it to "protect" Spencer. And he was only on the A-team for like half a season. (Whenever he left the show in 3A). Ezra has been stalking and playing everyone since he first appeared and he even attacked Spencer and didn't care that they were all in danger. Uggh this show and relationships though. I feel this is sending bad messages to the 12 year old that watch this show.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I still whoo'hoo'd when she soap-opera-slapped Ali. It was no Krystle vs Alexis from Dynasty's heyday but I'll take it. :-)

When I saw the preview last week I was really hoping for an Alexis vs. Krystle face slapping hair pulling tumble in the fountain while wearing sequined dresses kind I scenario. Embrace the camp, PLL!

As for all the lesbians but Samira being connected to Ali, I can handwave some of it. After all, neither she nor Jenna plotted to have Jenna's family live in Rosewood as part of an elaborate scheme. Someone mentioned earlier that Ali and Shana were childhood BFFs (I must have blocked out that detail) so again, I don't see anything deliberate or premeditated in that (although I guess it depends on what they mean by childhood - if they were friends when they were 5 years old, then I find it difficult to believe that Ali was such an evil child that she befriended Shana at that age for nefarious/lesbian purposes, but if they mean like 10-12 then I'd be more willing to believe that Ali was being manipulative with Shana).

This brings up a side question for me: how long have any of the main characters lived in Rosewood? If Ali had a childhood BFF that no one knew about, did she live somewhere else at the time? Have Ali and Spencer always loved next door to each other? It's what I assumed since the proximity explains Jason being the DiLaurentis/Hastings love child (and it would be a lot creepier if they weren't neighbors, Jason was born, and then one of the families bought the house next to the other family).

I know it's not 1940 or anything but coming to terms with your sexuality can still be difficult so part of me can understand the few lesbians in a small place like Rosewood gravitating towards each other. Alternate explanation: Ali has the magical ability to turn certain girls bisexual/lesbian! She causes a biological activation on a cellular level! It's a phenomenon related to Jenna's magical and magnetic hypnotizing vagina.

Edited July 9, 2014 by ElectricBoogaloo

[dohe]

I think the issue is less the number of lesbian relationships on the show and more how interconnected they are.  Emily and Jenna are both very attractive and it makes sense that both girls would be able to find other women to date.  The thing is you would expect the women they date to be unrelated to the A/Alison mystery, at least initially, but they're not.  I know this is because the writers are trying to tie everyone into the mystery to increase the number of "shocking" reveals, but its really starting to get ridiculous.  

 

Basically the problem is the show revolves around Alison, who is bisexual.  Her childhood best friend, Shana, and one of her high school best friends, Emily, are both lesbians.  Out of her three female rivals, Mona, Paige, and Jenna, one is a lesbian and one is bisexual.  Lastly, after she disappeared, the new girl, Maya, who moved into her house was bisexual.  In fact the only gay or bisexual character who isn't related to Alison is Samira  There's nothing wrong with having that many lesbian and bisexual characters in one show, but the odds of all of these girls falling into Alison's orbit and then just happening to be gay or bisexual is really slim.  That or in the PLL universe like one in three woman is a lesbian or bisexual.

As a gay male, when I was in high school I had multiple boyfriends including 3 men that I went to school with.  I had plenty of LGBT friends who also had multiple boyfriends or girlfriends.  Emily is a main character.  She is a lesbian.  She is beautiful.  So bisexual women and lesbians are interested in her. 

 

It is one thing to question why are the lovers of these 4 characters always connected to Ali somehow.  I can see that.  But to specifiy the lesbian character seems odd to me. Lesbians are not a rare, exotic creature who are never seen in more than a group of two per 5 mile radius  Emily is a main character.  Her love life is depicted just as the straight girls.  That is the way it should be.  It is one of the freshest parts of the show.

Edited July 9, 2014 by dohe

[Featherhat]

Loads of people were drawn to Ali, whether they were straight men, lesbians or bisexual girls, even some straight girls (rest of the Liars) were half in love with her. And she was a deliberate master manipulator at using this to do her bidding, as Jenna seems to be.

 

In the earlier seasons it was relatively straight forward. Her sexuality was Emily's big secret that supposedly only Ali knew. She then got one love interest then another when the first left, two very different characters one newly arrived with very liberal Out of Town parents, one deeply small town closeted until she couldn't bare it any longer and a random guest star LI who had no connection to anything and was at college I think. Roughly the same number of potential love interests that the other 3 main girls got. Her obsession with Ali was a long running theme and was always going to come to ahead again if/when they resurrected Ali. Jenna/Shanna makes everything seem more "seriously?" but whatever those two are/were up to was more about manipulation than anything else. I think they only gave Shanna the Ali stuff because they'd already offed everyone else it was likely she could have been close to like that. And at first I think it was going to be the twist that Shanna was connected to Paige and/or Jenna and not A or Ali related.

 

In general I think there is just as much interconnected WTF? ness with a lot of the straight men surrounding Ali and the other girls relationships, but 1) A lot of them are now dead and have been for a while or go missing for seasons at a time or are Ezra 2) they get more taken for granted as straight relationships and blend into the general show without comment except for how many of them are stalkers and or Phedophiles. A lot of lesbians on TV are written as part of a longterm couple who rarely cheat with other women (some exceptions) as their storyline or otherwise rarely date and when they do only recurring characters at best. This makes it more noticeable when a show actually does build a tiny (toxic death) community around its lesbian characters in a small town and that it does interact with the main plot.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Featherhat

[mercfan3]

Yea, it's funny to point out the lesbians in this. Everyone is interconnected and falls back into Ali's web on this show. Lesbians included. 

[lorikauai]

I think what makes it weird is not the number of lesbians on the show but how Jenna and Ali are using their sexuality to manipulate both boys and girls. Emily/Maya/Samara/Paige - that's what I expect to see from teen girls, not seduction and then using the girl in a nefarious plot.

[Sakura12]

This brings up a side question for me: how long have any of the main characters lived in Rosewood? If Ali had a childhood BFF that no one knew about, did she live somewhere else at the time? Have Ali and Spencer always loved next door to each other? It's what I assumed since the proximity explains Jason being the DiLaurentis/Hastings love child (and it would be a lot creepier if they weren't neighbors, Jason was born, and then one of the families bought the house next to the other family).

 

I think they said that the DiLaurentis family moved away after Jason was born, then moved back with Jason and toddler Alison. So there's a few years that they lived somewhere else, I'm assuming Georgia with Grandma DiLaurentis or Jessica's mother. 

 

I think Alison and Jenna are drugs that no one can quit. Hence the Liars continuing to put up with Alison's crap and Toby running to save Jenna when she gets hurt. I don't know if Ali and Jenna are actually bi or just get with people to get what they want, whether your a guy or a girl doesn't matter. 

[lion10]

 

I think what makes it weird is not the number of lesbians on the show but how Jenna and Ali are using their sexuality to manipulate both boys and girls.

 

What do you mean?  People use whatever they can to manipulate people.  Using sexuality to manipulate someone is one of the oldest tricks in the book.

 

I really liked this episode.  It had everything about PLL that I like.  Great study of interpersonal relationships, crazy twists, and my favorite recurring characters!   I really hope the writers know what they're doing with Ezra and Aria.  They banged to "Every Move You Make" so hopefully the writers know who creepy Ezria is.  Seriously, Aria has no sense.  I'm so happy that Emison finally happened!  I'm really happy for Emily because the ghost of Alison has been in every one of Emily's relationships so if nothing else, Emily can finally deal with all her Alison-related issues.  And I like seeing Emily happy.  If Ezria can somehow still be okay with the show runners, then Emison can too.  

 

That said, Allison's always scheming so I'm sure she has an ulterior motive for getting with Emily besides love.  I do think Alison likes Emily but I think Emily loves Alison a lot more than Alison loves her.  Maybe Alison will surprise me and prove herself worthy of Emily.  The fallout from their hookup and how it changes the dynamics of the Liars is going to be fantastic.

Edited July 9, 2014 by lion10

[lorikauai]

What do you mean? People use whatever they can to manipulate people. Using sexuality to manipulate someone is one of the oldest tricks in the book.

I really liked this episode. It had everything about PLL that I like. Great study of interpersonal relationships, crazy twists, and my favorite recurring characters! I really hope the writers know what they're doing with Ezra and Aria. They banged to "Every Move You Make" so hopefully the writers know who creepy Ezria is. Seriously, Aria has no sense. I'm so happy that Emison finally happened! I'm really happy for Emily because the ghost of Alison has been in every one of Emily's relationships so if nothing else, Emily can finally deal with all her Alison-related issues. And I like seeing Emily happy. If Ezria can somehow still be okay with the show runners, then Emison can too.

That said, Allison's always scheming so I'm sure she has an ulterior motive for getting with Emily besides love. I do think Alison likes Emily but I think Emily loves Alison a lot more than Alison loves her. Maybe Alison will surprise me and prove herself worthy of Emily. The fallout from their hookup and how it changes the dynamics of the Liars is going to be fantastic.

I mean the number of people and the things they get them to do. These are teen girls 14-17 manipulating even adults with sex. It is not common, especially two of them in one school. Sure you get a random story here or there of a girl manipulating someone to commit a crime but at Rosewood High it's an everyday occurance. But maybe there's something in the water there. People are either more evil or dumber.

[mercfan3]

I wish they would have broken them up for a while before getting back together, at least for a few episodes to build up the relationship again. I get the "Spoby" is a popular couple on the show but the way it was handled was pretty bad. It seems like they wanted to forget it. I really don't like Toby that much anymore. I still like Spencer though. Apparently they are doing a time jump after this season so maybe they will be single then. 

 

I still think Ezra/Aria is way worse though. Toby did something stupid but according to the show, he just did it to "protect" Spencer. And he was only on the A-team for like half a season. (Whenever he left the show in 3A). Ezra has been stalking and playing everyone since he first appeared and he even attacked Spencer and didn't care that they were all in danger. Uggh this show and relationships though. I feel this is sending bad messages to the 12 year old that watch this show.  

 

You know, I'm actually at the point where I prefer Ezria. 

 

Ezra is a creep. A creep who has not grown up mentally. He sleeps with teenage girls. Who stalked and video taped them to write a book. (I'm sure that's all.) That's what he is..and him being with Aria is gross. But at least he has put in an attempt to make up for it. He stopped the book's progress. He stopped Shanna from shooting all of them. He has tried to help Aria through her Shanna crisis. (and until this episode..in totally adult and child appropriate ways.) It's an effed up relationship, but I see how Aria could forgive him. And the fact that we get things like "every breath you take" as hints that the writers/directors know this is an effed up relationship makes me more okay with it. And Ezra is a bit more enjoyable now that it is completely out in the open with how much of a creep he really is. (Although, I really wish they would have let him be the ultimate bad guy. Ian was so good with that role..in both the overdramatic and hilarious ways and in the milk drinking ways.) 

 

Toby and Spencer. Toby never did anything to apologize or make up for what he put Spencer through. How could he have been protecting her when it was his, and only his, actions that made her break down. He also found out nothing to help the girls that we are aware of. Something Ezra actually did. (I mean, it didn't further the mystery, but it stopped the girls from being murdered.) There was no attempt at redemption, but the writers don't act like this relationship is wrong. They act like both Spencer and Toby have needed second chances, that Toby is Spencer's "moral compass." It just makes my skin crawl more.

 

Truthfully, I'm team Sparia. Get rid of the boys. But I prefer Ezria at this point. 

[Jack Shaftoe]

Shame on me for not predicting that Aria would get over killing Shana by (finally) realizing that she (Shana) almost killed her precious Ezra. In retrospect it makes so much sense.

 

The episode was too couple-heavy for my taste, especially with two of the couples making my stomach turn. Caleb and Hanna's relationship troubles are too meta since everybody knows none of this was going to happen if it weren't for the failed spin-off and Toby and Spencer will probably never recover from the TobiAs fiasco.

 

Once again I enjoyed Paige immensely, the way Ashley dealt with Hanna's latest drinking episode was great and it's nice to see the Liars finally getting more confrontational with Alison but all in all this was a boring episode. Why are the Liars suddenly so pissed by one lie that was so insignificant by Alison's standards? Why did she even bother to lie about the encounter with Mona? Which by the way was unitentiaonally funny because both of them behaved as maturely as five year olds. 

 

Shana is repeating Maya's trick - she is even more annoying dead because people just won't shut up about her. 

 

The latest episode of "The Hastings suspect that one of them is a killer" drama is so stupid. Why would Peter be scared of Mrs D's testimony? Even a Rosewood police officer would have a bit of trouble believing a story along the lines of "After two years I suddenly remembered that I saw who attacked my daughter and probably killed that other girl too. Silly me, I will forget my own head next." Or am I missing something?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Although Emily's niceness makes her seem gullible, I liked that she was the one who confronted Ali about Slapgate. I think the old Emily would have been so happy about sleeping with Alison that she wouldn't have spoken up. But new Emily was like, "You lied to me and then you slept with me? I don't think so, bitch! I'm cutting you off from MY magical vagina!"

Edited July 10, 2014 by ElectricBoogaloo

[superman1204]

As a gay male, when I was in high school I had multiple boyfriends including 3 men that I went to school with.  I had plenty of LGBT friends who also had multiple boyfriends or girlfriends.  Emily is a main character.  She is a lesbian.  She is beautiful.  So bisexual women and lesbians are interested in her. 

 

It is one thing to question why are the lovers of these 4 characters always connected to Ali somehow.  I can see that.  But to specifiy the lesbian character seems odd to me. Lesbians are not a rare, exotic creature who are never seen in more than a group of two per 5 mile radius  Emily is a main character.  Her love life is depicted just as the straight girls.  That is the way it should be.  It is one of the freshest parts of the show.

Of course Emily's love life should be depicted like the other girls.  Of course women who are attracted to other women would be interested in her and Emily would be able to find dates.  Also I realize that lesbians are not spaced out evenly across society and that the majority of people who are gay or lesbian have multiple relationships before they meet someone they want to spend the rest of their lives with.

 

My point was that, assuming Alison formed rivalries and friendships without taking into account anyone's sexual orientation, she formed some kind of a connection with say fifteen girls, five of which were later shown to be lesbians or bisexual.  All I am trying to say is that its a statistical outlier for five out of fifteen women, selected at random, to be lesbians or bisexual.  There's nothing wrong with that.  Its just really unlikely.

 

Obviously this happened because the writers feel the need to make everything interconnect.  Last I checked, on this site, we tend to point out how improbable things on this show are.  All I was trying to point out is that it's improbable that five out of the fifteen girls that happened to know Alison would later realize that they were either lesbians or bisexual.

Edited July 10, 2014 by superman1204

[Cranberry]

Rosewood is somewhat of a lesbian paradise, I'll give you that. Well, aside from all the murder... but staying away from Emily Fields cuts your chances of premature death by quite a lot.

[AmandaPanda]

I've decided that the last two episodes were intentionally boring. It lulled the characters and the audience into a false sense of security. They showed how monotonous life is without A in it. So, even though we all pretty much knew that A was going to come back, it made a bigger impact because everyone was just kind of complacent about life without A.

 

 

(Although, I really wish they would have let him be the ultimate bad guy. Ian was so good with that role..in both the overdramatic and hilarious ways and in the milk drinking ways.)

 I loved evil Ezra so incredibly much. It just seemed like Ian was having more fun with it than anything else he'd been given. I was so disappointed when it was another fake out.

[omfgitstaryn]

Yeah, they really went all out with this episode--Jenna, Caleb, EmAli, bitch slaps, houses blowing up. It's almost like these last few episodes were just buying time before they could bring on the crazy.

 

(1) As everyone has mentioned, I love the song choice for the Ezria/EmAli scenes. Does that mean that TPTB know that these aren't relationships viewers should be looking up to? Because they don't act that way when they talk about the show in the press.

 

(2) I knew something was up with Sydney, but I couldn't figure out where she fit in. Thank God Jenna's back. She's really the only part of the mystery that's still intriguing instead of infuriating.

 

(3) I'm very curious about Lucas' girlfriend. Something's weird there.

 

(4) Spencer's family breaking up leads me to believe that Peter is a bad bad man. But, then again, Veronica could be the bad one. Anyway, somebody did something wrong, and Melissa knows something about it.

 

(5) Caleb's back, so I guess I could look forward to some healthy-ish relationship drama. As usual, Ashley Marin proves to be the best parent.

 

This episode was the best of the season so far. But, as always, I'm still waiting on the answers we need. I liked the reveal of the girl in Ali's grave, and I'm sure it will tie in to someone's stay at Radley (I'm guessing Toby's mom). I also liked that everyone was together at the end and that it sounded like everyone got that A text. Maybe if everyone's working together at the same time, we will find some real answers (wishful thinking, I know).

[Black Knight]

The other thing I liked about the juxtaposition of Ezria and Emison, besides the song choice, is that it showed the existence of the network double standard. I appreciate that ABC Family is consistently one of the most gay-friendly networks out there, but even it does have a double standard and PLL just pointed it out for everyone to see in undeniable terms by sandwiching understated Emison right between explicit Ezria scenes. I wonder if maybe TPTB were annoyed about being told the Paily scene in the B&W episode needed to be toned down and that's why they decided to do this?

 

I think the old Emily would have been so happy about sleeping with Alison that she wouldn't have spoke up. But new Emily was like, "You lied to me and then you slept with me? I don't think so, bitch! I'm cutting you off from MY magical vagina!"

 

Heh. I think it's two-thirds Emily having evolved from her old self and one-third finally having had sex with Ali. Part of Ali's hold over Emily was that she was unattainable, frustratingly near and yet Emily could never quite have her. Well, now Emily's had her. One night isn't enough to get Ali out of her system altogether - just look at the handholding at the end - but still, it makes a difference. Ali may have thought she was shoring up her hold on Emily by sleeping with her, but it's probably going to work out the opposite way in the end. Emily won't have as much tolerance for Ali's shenanigans as she did before they finally had sex, and the more they have sex the more Emily will get satiated and be increasingly ready to drop Ali when she steps out of line. The only way Emison has any chance of working out in the long run is if the show does go the twin or DID route with Ali, where one Ali is much nicer than the other.

 

Speaking of, I'm so looking forward to Spencer's reaction when she realizes Hanna was right. I think Hanna is mostly resigned to the idea of Emison, since she herself is still pretty caught up with Ali and so she understands how it's not easy to pull away. Aria already figured Emily still has feelings for Ali, so she won't be surprised, and I think she'll mostly try to be nonjudgmental. But Spencer is going to blow a gasket. Emily's her favorite too, I think, and not only will she worry about Emily getting hurt, she'll also see it as a power play against herself. We already got a preview of the fun last season when Emily went to meet Ali, Spencer followed, and Emily got mad at Spencer.

[dohe]

Loads of people were drawn to Ali, whether they were straight men, lesbians or bisexual girls, even some straight girls (rest of the Liars) were half in love with her. And she was a deliberate master manipulator at using this to do her bidding, as Jenna seems to be.

 

In the earlier seasons it was relatively straight forward. Her sexuality was Emily's big secret that supposedly only Ali knew. She then got one love interest then another when the first left, two very different characters one newly arrived with very liberal Out of Town parents, one deeply small town closeted until she couldn't bare it any longer and a random guest star LI who had no connection to anything and was at college I think. Roughly the same number of potential love interests that the other 3 main girls got. Her obsession with Ali was a long running theme and was always going to come to ahead again if/when they resurrected Ali. Jenna/Shanna makes everything seem more "seriously?" but whatever those two are/were up to was more about manipulation than anything else. I think they only gave Shanna the Ali stuff because they'd already offed everyone else it was likely she could have been close to like that. And at first I think it was going to be the twist that Shanna was connected to Paige and/or Jenna and not A or Ali related.

 

In general I think there is just as much interconnected WTF? ness with a lot of the straight men surrounding Ali and the other girls relationships, but 1) A lot of them are now dead and have been for a while or go missing for seasons at a time or are Ezra 2) they get more taken for granted as straight relationships and blend into the general show without comment except for how many of them are stalkers and or Phedophiles. A lot of lesbians on TV are written as part of a longterm couple who rarely cheat with other women (some exceptions) as their storyline or otherwise rarely date and when they do only recurring characters at best. This makes it more noticeable when a show actually does build a tiny (toxic death) community around its lesbian characters in a small town and that it does interact with the main plot.

Yes.  A million times yes.  I think that tendency to have the lesbian character, or for that matter all LGBT individuals, represented on tv in that way instead of as a person who has to deal with multiple romances is the thing throwing some people off when it comes to the lesbian/bisexual female representation on PLL.  The reality is LGBT characters don't all live in a one romance cocoon and yet that is where many shows have long stuck them.  That is why Emily is refreshing.  She falls in love with two women at the same time.  She has to make choices between multiple women.  She has women fighting over her. She breaks hearts.  That is possibly the truest aspect of the show.  

 

Of course Emily's love life should be depicted like the other girls.  Of course women who are attracted to other women would be interested in her and Emily would be able to find dates.  Also I realize that lesbians are not spaced out evenly across society and that the majority of people who are gay or lesbian have multiple relationships before they meet someone they want to spend the rest of their lives with.

 

My point was that, assuming Alison formed rivalries and friendships without taking into account anyone's sexual orientation, she formed some kind of a connection with say fifteen girls, five of which were later shown to be lesbians or bisexual.  All I am trying to say is that its a statistical outlier for five out of fifteen women, selected at random, to be lesbians or bisexual.  There's nothing wrong with that.  Its just really unlikely.

 

Obviously this happened because the writers feel the need to make everything interconnect.  Last I checked, on this site, we tend to point out how improbable things on this show are.  All I was trying to point out is that it's improbable that five out of the fifteen girls that happened to know Alison would later realize that they were either lesbians or bisexual.

What is the difference in improbability here in comparison to the straight girls?  Emily is a lesbian.  She is a major character.   She has dated multiple women.  There was also, whether completely manipulation or not or something in between, an intense relationship with Alison.  The show focuses on her Emily's love life with the same conviction as the others - though to be fair, he tends to censor itself in comparison to the other three.  But again this show is, to a great degree, about Emily.  Therefore some women that also like women have played roles on the show. And as with many of the friends, family and lovers of these 4 primary characters, they have an interconnectedness to the mysteries going on.  Everyone here knows that it is improbable that so many friends, family, and lovers of these 4 primary characters would have some link to the mysteries.  The question is why, instead of raising that point, there is a focus on the women loving women being linked to the mysteries.   

 

 

Edited July 10, 2014 by dohe

[mercfan3]

Of course Emily's love life should be depicted like the other girls.  Of course women who are attracted to other women would be interested in her and Emily would be able to find dates.  Also I realize that lesbians are not spaced out evenly across society and that the majority of people who are gay or lesbian have multiple relationships before they meet someone they want to spend the rest of their lives with.

 

My point was that, assuming Alison formed rivalries and friendships without taking into account anyone's sexual orientation, she formed some kind of a connection with say fifteen girls, five of which were later shown to be lesbians or bisexual.  All I am trying to say is that its a statistical outlier for five out of fifteen women, selected at random, to be lesbians or bisexual.  There's nothing wrong with that.  Its just really unlikely.

 

Obviously this happened because the writers feel the need to make everything interconnect.  Last I checked, on this site, we tend to point out how improbable things on this show are.  All I was trying to point out is that it's improbable that five out of the fifteen girls that happened to know Alison would later realize that they were either lesbians or bisexual.

 

I don't see it that way though. Out of the main characters, Emily, Ali and Jenna are bisexual or a lesbian. 

 

The rest of the lesbians/bisexuals? Love interests of Jenna and Emily. One of which was bullied by Ali. It's really not all that surprising that Ali bullied a lesbian, considering all of the people that she bullied. Statistically, there would be one in there. And one of which happened to be a childhood friend. 

 

So essentially, out of Ali's female friends (Aria, Spencer, Emily, Hanna, CeCe, *Shana) two out of 6 were not straight. Considering Ali wasn't straight herself, that really isn't that shocking. And of the girls that hate her..Jenna, Mona, and Melissa. Only one of them aren't straight. 

 

It just doesn't seem that odd to me. 

Edited July 10, 2014 by mercfan3

[Derenaspoby]

I enjoyed the last 10 minutes of the episode, but most of it was boring and stupid.

Aria~ IRRITATED me. Can she ever not obsess over Ezra? I can't believe she forgot he stalked her, and had video cameras watching her. She forgave him too quickly, and just keeps whining about Shana. Can she get over it? Yeah, cool, you killed someone. So did Emily! It was self-defense. I get she felt bad, but I feel like she was just using it as an excuse to talk to Ezra and stay in his apartment. I mean, she forgot the reason they broke up was that he was 1) her school teacher, 2) her stalker! Neither of those problems have been solved, so I'm annoyed that they're already back romantically.

Spencer~ I actually enjoyed her whole family thing. It was something to look forward to, and I want to see what Peter has to say about it. I also felt like her kiss with Toby was so cinematic. No matter what people say about Toby and Spoby, they'll always be my favorite ship, and Toby will always be my favorite PLL guy. Spencer is the one character that has always been tolerable to me. Plus, her world doesn't revolve around Toby. Aria brings ezra up every 4 seconds, and it's annoying. Spencer at least only talks about Toby when it's necessary. If I was Aria, I wouldn't talk about my relationship with a school teacher so much! Doesn't she ever fear that people will hear her?

Hanna~ I had mixed emotions with Hanna in this episode. I am SO irritated that Caleb came back. I literally dislike him so much. I liked Haleb in season 1 and sorta in season 2, but ever since season 3, he started acting like her father, and it got so annoying. He was such a jerk in season 4. And the fact that Hanna and Caleb are so obviously going to get back together is annoying. Travis was such a wonderful character, and they're pretending like he doesn't even matter to Hanna anymore. He's suddenly the boring, annoying boyfriend? He and Hanna were so adorable and fresh together! I don't want Tranna to break up. I really don't want Haleb back together. The parts of this episode that I did enjoy with Hanna were all the Hancas scenes! Hanna and Lucas were such good friends. If I could see Hanna with anyone, it would be Lucas. They were literally adorable. But I admire their friendship in the meantime. I liked her drunk scenes, and I didn't hate Hanna in this episode, I just hated her obsession with Caleb.

Emily~ Idek for her. She's such a boring character nowadays. I'd rather have her with Paige, because I really don't like alison. Emily just isn't interesting. I loved Emily in season 1 and 2, but her plots in the newer seasons suck. Her plots of coming out and being the weakest link were so good, but now it's just so bland. She just continues to be naive and fall for Ali, so boring!

Alison~ I can't even begin to explain my hate for her! I wish she wasn't alive, honestly. Please explain to me how she thinks she can make Mona a loser again? Everyone HATES her at school. She always lies and manipulates. She and Emily feel so forced! They have no chemistry. I don't even like Paily, but Paige and Emily have way more chemistry IMO. Emily and Alison's kissing scene was so forced, seriously... I can't tell you how much I find Alison annoying. She's so obnoxious, though I don't believe she deserves -A stalking them. Honestly, what does A even want? To humiliate Alison and her friends? As well as Mona's army... I mean come on!! This is pathetic. Yes, Alison bullied people, but how is getting back at her any good? I hope they all feel satisfied when Alison cries from their bullying! Time so well spent... (Total sarcasm there)

I did, however, like the ending of the episode, as said earlier. I want more about the explosion and Bethany young. I also hope Toby is okay!

[BigDfromLA]

Caleb came across as screwed up in the head. He didn't seem like himself. I never watched "Rosewood". What the heck happened to him over there?

[Featherhat]

I think there’s ample evidence to suggest that Paige just didn’t happen to be a lesbian that Ali bullied, but that Ali bullied her *because* she was a lesbian and Paige was so closeted and terrified and ashamed that she became aggressive, which lead to a bigger issue between them.

The fact that there’s a community of girl interested girls around Ali (some of which hate her) isn’t weird considering her personality.

 

There are a ton of men in their 20s and 30s who also congregated around Ali and the rest of the straight girls all of whom were connected to this incestuous little circle in crazy romantic and manipulative ways. Ian, Garrett, Wilden, Wren, Ezra, Jason, Lucas, Noel, random guys  who piloted Vivian Darkbloom around in a tinker toy plane for the afternoon etc.

[FAU]

Caleb came across as screwed up in the head. He didn't seem like himself. I never watched "Rosewood". What the heck happened to him over there?

 

He was dealing with supernatural stuff (ghosts, curses, etc.) but from what I saw, he didn't look freaked out at the end of the series so something else must've happened in between.

Edited July 10, 2014 by FAU

[emma675]

 

Caleb came across as screwed up in the head. He didn't seem like himself. I never watched "Rosewood". What the heck happened to him over there?

I never watched it either, but he seemed kind of lost, like he didn't know his place in the world anymore and was pissed off about it. His anchor Hanna is with another guy, she's seemingly friends again with the dead girl he knew as someone who tortured her, and the girls have managed to handle A all on their own without his help (or at least that's the way it seemed until Toby's house blew up). I feel like the explosion and the new texts from A are actually going to help Caleb out mentally because now he has something to help with; he always seemed like someone who thrived helping others, esp. Hanna.

[scarletregina]

I have complicated feelings about this episode. It was a good PLL episode, but it was a shitty 100th episode. We didn't learn anything helpful. 

 

Sydney's on the A team. Great, another person who comes into the show out of the blue is involved. I imagine the writers know that Shana was not well received by the fans. Why would they do this again? The story is complicated enough.

 

I like this new version of Ali. She's more complicated than the straight up villain we've seen in flashbacks. We've seen her crying alone in her room, and yet I'm not convinced that her sleeping with Emily wasn't an act of manipulation. I don't think Ali did anything wrong with her interaction with Mona. Had their been a recording of their entire conversation, I don't think the Liars would see anything wrong with it either. Yes, she threatened to make Mona "Loser Mona," but she was on the defensive and being threatened herself. 

 

The girl in the grave is pointless. Again, she's someone completely irrelevant to the story we've been following. All of these layers don't make it interesting, they make it annoying and convoluted in my opinion.

 

However, I do like the layers they are adding to Jenna's character. She's not a straight up psychopath. Her crying in her room was real and not a manipulation. I wish we would've gotten to see what she and Aria said to each other. Mona knows Aria (or at least the Liars) killed Shana. Wouldn't Jenna know this too?

 

I understand Aria's obsession with Shana, but she should be leaning on Emily. There's a great opportunity to build on that relationship and create Arily, but instead the writers are using this as a reason to throw Ezzzzzzzria back together.

 

Man, I didn't realize this post would be so long! Apparently, I have a lot of feelings about this show!

[KatWay]

Wow, I was so psyched when it looked like Alison would be a full time character on the show now but am I ever underwhelmed by this version of Alison the saddest little victim character. Why is it that with Jenna I can totally buy that she has all these different layers (sociopathic rapist, alpha girl, seductive player, traumatised victim, sad girlfriend) but with Alison I feel like she just got a complete personality transplant, it just doesn't feel organic. They're overdoing it with the quivering lips and the teary stares and the trembling voice IMO. It would be way more interesting to see flashes of the old Alison coming through. 

 

I mean, I can see it, sort of, but there's a lot of fanwanking involved. I don't trust Alison as far as I can throw her but that's based on the version of her I liked and want to see rather than what's on screen. For example, her sleeping with Emily I could see as manipulative, as she realised her hold on her was fading (especially considering that Alison has never really shown any attraction towards Emily before, certainly no romantic feelings) but the show seemed to play it straight. 

 

Also, who is that girl in the grave? Wasn't there some other dead girl introduced in S4 (Sarah?) who disappeared around Ali's "death"? I thought we were meant to think maybe she was the one in the grave, but now it's yet another dead blonde girl? Why do people even still live in that area? Seriously, you couldn't even move somewhere with a higher murder rate than Rosewood.