Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

S05.E11: No One Here Can Love or Understand Me


Recommended Posts

Ya'll have already posted so much of what I was going to post so I'll just post my fave moments:

 

"Act normal, bitches" right at the start of the ep. One of my fave lines ever on this show and we see it again. Thank you, show!

 

Toby actually barrelling through Hanna and Spencer's attempts to ease Caleb into talking about what's bugging him and his continued dependence on alcohol. Men! But I'm a sucker for Caleb and Toby buddy scenes anyway. Although boos to Spencer for not calling her old sober coach, I really wanted to see that little home slice NB again. Yum.

 

I watched every episode of Ravenswood because sure, it interested me and I like Tyler Blackburn, but mostly because of TWoP's Jacob Clifton fantastic recaps, so last night's references to jars, the bridge, firelies and Miran-duh made me smile and think back on good times with that show and its recaps. What I wouldn't give to see Uncle Barnabas Collins and The Grunwald again.

Emily's slip of the tongue, calling Ali "A."

 

I really hope Mona doesn't die. Even when she isn't HBIC she just gives off HBIC vibes and I love it and her.

Link to comment

Byron went to bat for his daughter, which was nice, but he was also Fedora Guy, which explains a lot. I'm not sure if they're actually trying to have Byron and Ella reconcile, but that is what it seems like.

 

Ugh, the fedora. The only thing that was worse in that outfit was his plaid sports jacket. And why was everyone so dressed up for the movie? Was the theater doing some sort of promotion where you get in free if you look like you're from the 1950s? Because that would be an awesome promo. I just know that when I go to the movies, I'm typically in sweats.

 

So apparently Toby's police academy training includes staging interventions and counseling?

 

Maybe that's what he's learning while he's waiting to get into the actual police academy since he can't get in until he's 21 years old.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Wow, I didn't expect the show would dare leave Alison out of a whole episode now. This makes me believe a bit more.that they aren't going to redeem her just like this.

 

 

Too bad that instead of Ali's fake sob story we were treated instead to Mona's fake sob story. Why are the Liars falling for this crap again?

 

 

If Melissa is indeed killed (I hope it will be Mona but chances are it will be Melissa), it will be a deserved reward for being too stupid to live. She not only didn't check the identity of the "dead" person but didn't make sure she was actually dead before burying her. Has anybody in Rosewood heard of pulse, breathing and so on? And if Ian tried to kill Spencer to protect Melissa... then Melissa doomed herself, Bethany and Ian with her stupid lies and carelessness. Ah, Melissa, so smart, you keep cutting yourself.

 

 

I love Caleb and Hanna but there is a lot of stuff she hasn't told him either, so it's a little hypocritical to whine that he isn't completely honest with her.

 

 

What on earth is Paige talking about "How does it feel to be back in the locker room"? Half the times we saw her talking to Emily this season it was in that very locker room. And Paige is looking fantastic once again, no wonder Emily feels like a total idiot.

 

 

I really want to know what Aria whispered to Mona that was SO AWFUL she ran to the bathroom to cry. "Did you see what I was wearing today? I am going to drug you, dress you in that hideous outfit, take pictures of you wearing it, and email the photos to everyone at school."

 

Yes, I also thought Aria threatened her to dress Mona in some of her (Aria's) outfit. No wonder Mona was shaken.

 

Ezra can find about Cyrus's criminal record in like a day but with all his cameras he never caught A red-handed? Yeah, okay, show. That makes sense.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
(edited)
Could not give less fucks about the Ravenswood reveal, the fireflies, and especially the last shot which should be saved for the A tag, bitches! And that better not have been an A tag, show!

A is in league with the fireflies! They are her new minions! Or A is a firefly!

 

I liked seeing Spencer's reflection in the laptop as she watched the video, but when they showed her watching it again later that night and then again when she showed the video to Aria and Emily, I was ilke ENOUGH WITH THIS VIDEO.

 

My favorite part about the A footage in the window was the return of "Act normal, bitches!"

 

I still don't buy a high school having a student as an assistant coach. I don't know why I am able to believe that Ali used a time turner on the day she disappeared but this detail is sticking in my craw.

 

why was everyone so dressed up for the movie? Was the theater doing some sort of promotion where you get in free if you look like you're from the 1950s? Because that would be an awesome promo.

There are some special movie nights I've been to where people were encouraged to dress up and they had a costume contest before the movie started. The prizes weren't anything huge (I think it was free tickets to come back to the same theater for another movie). They definitely did that when I went to singalong versions of The Little Mermaid and The Sound of Music. Some of the costumes were typical (a million Ariels) but some of them were more unique (there was a group of people who came as jellyfish with white umbrellas with LED lights and a guy who came as a brown paper package tied up with string).

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
  • Love 2
Link to comment

 

I really want to know what Aria whispered to Mona that was SO AWFUL she ran to the bathroom to cry. "Did you see what I was wearing today? I am going to drug you, dress you in that hideous outfit, take pictures of you wearing it, and email the photos to everyone at school."

 

I got the impression from when Mona said "your dad should hate me for everything I did to you" that Aria let Mona know that Mr. Montgomery didn't really like her and was just putting up with her.  I don't buy the Mona tears though.

 

I will say the part that made me laugh out loud was when Toby just put it out there to Caleb about why they were there and Hannah looks at Spencer who just says "Don't look at me. This must be how guys communicate."   Awesome.

Link to comment

When Toby said "Say it Loud." I said "Vampire."

Honestly Emily could've just asked Spencer to get her dingy PI to find info on Cyrus. The show is trying to hard to get Ezra in the loop of A.

Also I really like how annoyed Toby and Hanna was of each other. When ever they have scenes it never fails to make me laugh.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

A is in league with the fireflies! They are her new minions! Or A is a firefly!

 

 

There we go we figured it out, A is a WereFirefly. It explains everything!

 

The doubledatervention was awesome, because I'm sure Hanna and Spencer spent hours coming up with a plan, then went over that plan ad nauseam with Toby, Caleb shows up and Toby just goes "Dude, what's up with you? Stop drinking". That is how guys communicate, if you want to know what's up, just ask. 

 

I can actually see Alison sending them the "Act normal, bitches" video. They could not honestly think that they could just dump Ali that easily. She has plenty on them and to me it looks like she made sure they were in it together. That doesn't mean she's A, I could see her just signing her name that way since it does start with an A to mess with them. 

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Another interesting thing about the Mona/Aria said. 

 

Mona said two cryptic things to Aria.

 

1. "Alison Underestimated you"

2. "When she's done with me, She'll come after you." 

 

The first was just cryptic..

 

The second though..really..Ali would come after Aria next? After Emily's blowout, Aria is actually the most loyal to Ali. Spencer wants to turn her in to the cops, Hanna wants to chase her out of town, Emily's pissed because she's heart broken. Aria though...she's never had an issue with Aria, and Aria hasn't planned to go against her. (Now she's going with the other girls, but she's clearly the follower over the leader.) Or at least from what we've been shown. 

 

So..what does Mona know about Aria? 

 

Also...just saying..there's a third person that wouldn't want the girls to go to the cops. 1. A...2. Ali...3. Aria

Edited by mercfan3
Link to comment

Ah, I didn't remember hearing "the others"

She still also said "Ali underestimated you."

Still think Mona is deader than Melissa.

I should point out that "the others" doesn't necessarily mean the Liars, but screw that and screw this show. For all we know, the others could be fireflies, ghost ninjas, or the people who were already on the island when the plane crashed. Edited by DigitalCount
  • Love 7
Link to comment

I should point out that "the others" doesn't necessarily mean the Liars, but screw that and screw this show. For all we know, the others could be fireflies, ghost ninjas, or the people who were already on the island when the plane crashed.

This show could use some Benjamin Linus.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

Tanner freaking rocks.  Except with the hair--oiy.  I loved her exchange with Byron, and her straight up claim that the cops think Aria's involved in a homicide or other "complications" in the investigation.  But the best was her deadpan, "This town ranks surprisingly low on curiosity."  Hell yeah, it does!  She's definitely playing with the liars, but I don't think she was making up the claim that one of the girls wanted to talk to her.  

In one of the previews for the final two episodes of the summer season, it shows Ali about to take a lie detector test. So I think the girls are right that Ali is the one going to the police in the morning.

 

I loved having Mona (and her retro outfit) in this episode, but agree she's playing Aria and Mike with those tears.  When Mona told Aria that Ali would come after them when she was done with Mona, I had this quick fantasy that that will be part of the last seasons of the show:  Ali going after her former besties because they've turned on her and stopped playing along with all her lies and games.  Then Ali can stay a villain, and I don't have to worry about the writers redeeming her with some bullshit sob story.  I will be devastated if predictions on this thread come true and Mona's the one to bite the dust in the summer finale.  I agree that Melissa is looking a little too obvious to be the one to go at this point, but the show would loose a lot of its captivating dynamics without Mona and the fabulous Janelle Parish who plays her.  I like Mona as a villain waaaay better than Jenna.  Mona is creepy, devious, and looks fly all the time.  Jenna is a rapist, so I really don't find her entertaining or enjoyable as a villain, even if I can say that she also usually looks pretty fly.  But never as fly as Mona!  I've been trying to settle on alternative character I'd rather see bite the dust next, and I've settled on Sydney or Cyrus.  Cyrus would actually be a good one to kill because nobody cares about him (no upset fans), and killing him would make it harder to verify Ali's story about him and find out what those two had been up for while Ali was supposedly dead/kidnapped.

 

Am I to understand from this show that two teenage girls in yellow ruffle tops got bashed in their heads in the same back yard, at different times, and were accidentally buried alive, also at different times, in the same hole because neither person who buried them bothered to check to see if the girl they were about to put in a grave had a pulse?  Give me a freaking break.  Melissa's story is weak in this regard, but I found Mrs. D's even weaker, because what mother buries her child, after watching someone try to murder them, without making sure she's dead?  Melissa just thought she was burying the bitchy neighbor girl her sister murdered.  (I do type that with tongue in cheek.)  Neither scenario makes much sense as they've been shown/explained to us.  Bethany's head wound wasn't even that bad--head wounds bleed like crazy even when they're not serious, and though she was unconscious, there wasn't a lot of blood.  At this point, I'm willing to believe that Melissa might have been stupid in her panic, but I think Mrs. D knew that Ali wasn't dead when she buried her.  And I think that Mrs. Hastings is the one who bashed Bethany on the back of her head, thinking it was Ali.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Bethany's head wound wasn't even that bad--head wounds bleed like crazy even when they're not serious, and though she was unconscious, there wasn't a lot of blood.

It was bad enough to leave enough of an indentation that the autopsy was able to tell it was from a shovel. That leads me to conclusion that even if Melissa hadn't buried her alive, Bethany would've been dead soon from massive head trauma (by Spencer! I'm still convinced she did it, I can't let it go).

Link to comment

Am I to understand from this show that two teenage girls in yellow ruffle tops got bashed in their heads in the same back yard, at different times, and were accidentally buried alive, also at different times, in the same hole because neither person who buried them bothered to check to see if the girl they were about to put in a grave had a pulse?  Give me a freaking break.

 

 

I'm starting to wonder if Ali's account of being hit in the head and buried alive by her mom is bullshit. We know she's a liar. Also there's the issue that Cece was running around in the same yellow top that night according to Jason. So three identical tops? I have to wonder if Bethany was redressed in Ali or Cece's top with the intention of passing her off as Ali.

 

ETA: We still don't have Mona's account of that night, right? Just Ali's story about Mona "helping" her.

Edited by lorikauai
  • Love 1
Link to comment

We've had a lot of twin theories. For a while I've wondered if CeCe is actually a twin, and Jason didn't see CeCe that night, he saw Bethany. Three identical outfits is ridiculous. And/or intentional. 

 

(Or it'll come out that CeCe is the one who bashed Bethany's head in.)

Edited by mercfan3
  • Love 2
Link to comment

When Hanna asked Spencer for her sober coach's info for Caleb, I thought OMG we are going to get WereGhost Caleb and Original Vampire together! Damn you for squashing that, Spencer!

I love that Spencer nixed that idea by saying Hanna couldn't just introduce a new person to ask Caleb about his drinking problem because you have to ease into it. Cut to Toby giving the classic bro hug followed by immediately asking Caleb why he can't sleep.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I really loved Byron sparring with Tanner. But he is still soooo clueless. And please, please ,please show writersdo not I repeat Do Not put Ella and Byron back together. God, you have done this story line. I beg you let's not go there again.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

So the writers DO have this all planned out somewhere, right? To the end? I'm sure they have a timeline written down in stone somewhere, yeah? o.0

 

I've decided once and for all it's not going to be twins like in the books. It's going to be quadruplets.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

Mona tried to run Hanna over with a car and throw Spencer off a cliff, attempted murderer and torturer puts her on the same boat with a rapist in my book. And what was up with that Ice Cream sweater? So I'm also going to have to go with Jenna dresses better than Mona. She dresses better than Aria and she's blind most of the time. 

 

I don't think Mona's going to be the death, I still think it's Melissa no matter how obvious it is (plus Torrey Devitto has another tv show she's on). 

 

I've decided once and for all it's not going to be twins like in the books. It's going to be quadruplets.

 

With this show, I'm going with Ali figured out how to clone herself.

 

Along with discovering how to time travel, astral project and teleport.

Edited by Sakura12
Link to comment
I'm not surprised at the Spencer/shovel bit, but I am surprised at Melissa's reveal. I don't think Spencer killed Bethany, but her memory loss could be from witnessing the murder. She was traumatized so she blocked it out. That's consistent with the books... which is another indicator that we're getting the twin story.

 

 

Show of hands, who was surprised that Melissa killed that girl?   ...I called it last finale.

 

 

Yeah, after the finale, I think we all automatically assumed Melissa was the one who murdered Bethany Young but it was Ali she actually intended to kill so I wasn't really that emmotionally invested in this storyline, but I was actually really impressed with the reveal and how it was handled overall. The scenes between Melissa and Spencer were just gorgeous and they really did justice to one of the greatest dynamics of the show, imo.

 

I also don't think Spencer actually hit anyone that night and that both Melissa and Ali were telling the truth. 

 

And now that i've written that I noticed how unlikely that may seem, but their stories sure fit. 

 

I really wanna know who killed that girl/who tried to kill Alison and I'm kinda glad the mystery is still unsolved (don't kill me). Didn't one of the writers say, before the season started, that we'd find that answer out in the mid season finale? Did I imagine that?

 

 

Aria... her scenes with Mona made me think she was A and made me not think she was A at the same time. Whatever she whispered to Mona was severe enough to make the HBIC cry. That's very Aish. But, it's been hinted at all along that Mona knows the identity of UberA. In the bathroom, she didn't react to Aria as if she was A. 

 

 

I'm not Aria's biggest fan but I hate how the show wants us to pity Mona after what she's done to the Liars. I love Mona but I don't care for her tears. This is one of the times that I'm on Aria's side.

 

 

I've always had a special place in my heart for the AriA theory and Aria playing nice in the bathroom might even be explained as her away of keeping Mona on a leash. 

 

That said, while I adore Mona and what she brings to the show, I have no sympathy for her whatsoever. Her talk about all she has done was to protect herself from Alison was some grade A bullshit and I was surprised/disappointed Aria didn't call her out on it. Any of the other girls would have.

 

 

I want to know what Aria said to Mona that had her fleeing in tears. 

 

 

SO DO I!!! The direction of that scene (and the entire episode overall) was really cool but I'm curious as well.

 

The character from the black and white movie had glasses that strongly reminded of Nerd!Mona's and given how strongly Mona reacted (if we're to take it as a real reaction)  I believe Aria might have made some pretty nasty comment in regards to that along with a threat of some kind, like she'd strangle Mona if she hurt Mike or something.

 

 

Is it just me, or is Mona playing victim as much as the liars are? It's like, she knows that the liars are mad at Ali..and she's tryingto win them over even more. But on the other side, I think Mona's one of those "fine line between genius/insanity" type of people.

 

 

 

ITA. Then only way I could see Mona being genuine in the bathroom scene is if Aria was A. It's way more likely she was playing the hell out of Aria and Aria is a great fool.

 

 

First time in a long time I've liked Toby. Not for his trying to help Caleb but for his instant "WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU BRO?" when the girls wanted to ease into it. #stillabetterboyfriendtoCaleb

 

 

Yup. Couldn't have put it better myself. These two should only ever interact with each other. 

 

And speaking of being a better boyfriend to Caleb, I can't help but notice how heavy handedly schmoopy Spencer and Toby have been for this entire half a season and I don't know man...something wicked this way comes. I'm feeling a tingle.

 

 

I love how Emily went from "Ali is a victim" to "Ali is A" in one episode. When that girl turns on you she really turns.

 

 

I'm kind of annoyed about that tbh. I'm the first one to praise Spencer for being so on her feet when it comes to how dangerous Alison is and I'm team Hanna in the Hanna vs. Alison 100%, BUT when it comes to Emily it seems that the moment she slept with Alison it's like a switch went off in her head. It's like she just needed to do that to get Ali out of her system which is real thing in life but it's kind of irritating to me in this scenario because I actually feel Alison has genuine feelings for Emily.

 

i'm not saying I don't think Alison isn't toxic as hell in spite of that and that Emily should have stuck with her anyway, especially after last episode, but I guess I just felt the switch from "Ali is a victim" to "Ali is A" was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too fast as well.

 

I couldn't care less about Paige but I was kinda glad she was doing so good and moving on and Emily didn't get her back with a snap of her fingers. Girl is getting way too spoiled.

 

 

Hopefully this is the end of Ravenswood. Even though I watched that show I am not interested in Caleb's demons on PLL.

 

 

I was happy if how it was handled, unlike the last time, but I hope we're done with Ravenswood as well although those goddamn fireflies left me wary. I love the supernatural genre and I'm still hanging in there with TVD to this day after seriously considering quitting it 20 times and don't even get me started on my hate/hate relationship with Supernatural but that show sounds really freaking stupid.

 

 

I love the intensity this episode. Do they tell, do they not tell. Do they care about what happened to Ali or not.

 

 

Episodes like these is the reason I'm still hopelessly in love with this show. I haven't been excited for the midseason finale and sometimes kind of even dreading it but I'm sure as hell now. I predict Ali will redeem herself somewhat to the girls and that either Ezra or Toby will turn out to be A or a real enemy of some kind. I'm thinking Mona is the one who dies but I'm not set on that.

Edited by cuddlingcrowley
  • Love 1
Link to comment
We've had a lot of twin theories. For a while I've wondered if CeCe is actually a twin, and Jason didn't see CeCe that night, he saw Bethany. Three identical outfits is ridiculous. And/or intentional.

 

(Or it'll come out that CeCe is the one who bashed Bethany's head in.)

 

That is an interesting idea, that CeCe had a twin in Radley. It would explain why Mrs D was wary of the twin-like notes her friendship with Ali took, and why she thought Ali would be in danger when Bethany got out.

 

About who hit Bethany, I've been thinking. Maybe I was too hasty when I dismissed the Melissa reveal as extraneous. Maybe the new significant piece of the puzzle we found out is not that Melissa was the one to bury Bethany, but that whoever hit Bethany did not bury her. Because why would that be? Bethany was dressed in Ali's Yellow Top of Death, so she could be mistaken for Ali, and that had been relevant in the identification of her corpse, but Melissa put the corpse there without the intent to pass her off as Ali. What if Bethany was dressed as Ali not so that she could replace her in the grave but so that the killer attacked her? But whoever hit Bethany noticed it wasn't Ali, so s/he just left her there. We know Ali had Garrett lie to Jenna about hitting her - why would she bother if Jenna would find out she was not harmed in the next days? But if Ali knew she'd have to leave that night, it does make sense.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

What I gathered from the Ouija scene when it said "goodbye" I thought that it was Miranda saying goodbye to Caleb, and figured the writers were closing the Miranda/Ravenswood story line. But then, the fireflies outside the cabin got me thinking that this isn't over yet, even if the show was canceled, does this mean that Ravenswood story is moving over to Rosewood?  Because they just made it very clear that ghosts are real, demons are real, doesn't matter what town they are in, the characters spoke it out loud, Hanna knows this stuff is real now. Which makes me believe this story line isn't over.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I thought the Caleb/Ravenswood stuff was handled as well as it could have been. Caleb was the lead on a spinoff of this show and he couldn't just wander back into town like nothing had happened; like nothing had changed for him. Especially since some of the events were cannon on this show . PLL handled it well; they gave Caleb(and the people who actually watched the show) closure the only other options were to retcon the entire Ravenswood arc or a Halloween special.

Edited by Chaos Theory
  • Love 1
Link to comment
What if Bethany was dressed as Ali not so that she could replace her in the grave but so that the killer attacked her? But whoever hit Bethany noticed it wasn't Ali, so s/he just left her there. We know Ali had Garrett lie to Jenna about hitting her - why would she bother if Jenna would find out she was not harmed in the next days? But if Ali knew she'd have to leave that night, it does make sense.

 

Good point!  I think Ali's exposition / flashbacks to the Night of a Thousand Deaths was incomplete and misleading.  After Grunwald rescued her and she absconded from the hospital parking lot, she said that Mona picked her up alongside the road and took her to that hotel.  Ali made it seem like it was Mona's idea that she should disappear, so that whoever whacked her in the head would think she was dead.  (Unintentional rhyme, sorry).  That just can't be true, because Ali was waaaay too prepared to disappear for it to have been a new idea.  Leading up to her disappearance:

 

1.  Scene with Spencer at church where she told Spencer that she'd need the info in her journals for after Ali was gone.

2.  Desperation to get money that the Mask Maker owed her

3.  Renting a storage locker for the NAT videos she'd stolen and hiding the key in the snowglobe she gave Emily

4.  Trying to blackmail more money from Byron

 

I'm sure there were other instances showing she was preparing to vanish.  CeCe was probably dressed like her to provide some erroneous "I saw Ali in the woods / behind the barn / dancing the fandango" sightings. 

 

I just wonder who dressed Bethany the same way:  was that part of Alison's plan or someone else's?

 

I really wanna know who killed that girl/who tried to kill Alison and I'm kinda glad the mystery is still unsolved (don't kill me). Didn't one of the writers say, before the season started, that we'd find that answer out in the mid season finale? Did I imagine that?

 

I'm expecting some post-finale weasel-worded quibbling from the creators.  "Well, you did find out who killed Bethany:  Melissa accidentally buried her alive, so she technically killed her.  Sure, Melissa didn't hit her, but we did answer who killed her.  Nyah Nyah"  I'm flashing back to S2 finale.  "You said it wasn't like the books, but Mona was A in the books and she was A on the show."  "Yeah, but Mona died in the books and didn't in the show, so it is different!"

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Two questions. 1)  Why on earth was Grunwald wandering in the DiLaurentis's backyard in the middle of the night?  I just don't remember that part of the explanation.  I do remember that the story seemed crazy when Grunwald told it, but I also remember being confused and unconvinced.  2)  Who or what does the title "No One Here Can Love and Understand Me" reference?  I'm at a loss.  Suggestions?

Link to comment
Am I to understand from this show that two teenage girls in yellow ruffle tops got bashed in their heads in the same back yard, at different times, and were accidentally buried alive, also at different times, in the same hole because neither person who buried them bothered to check to see if the girl they were about to put in a grave had a pulse?  Give me a freaking break.  Melissa's story is weak in this regard, but I found Mrs. D's even weaker, because what mother buries her child, after watching someone try to murder them, without making sure she's dead?

 

 

I actually took it to mean that Ali's entire story that she told the liars is utter b.s.  Wouldn't be the first time.  The only reason we know that Mrs. D buried Ali is because Ali said so. And I actually assumed that's what Spencer was thinking when she watched the video. 

  • Love 2
Link to comment

I actually took it to mean that Ali's entire story that she told the liars is utter b.s.  Wouldn't be the first time.  The only reason we know that Mrs. D buried Ali is because Ali said so. And I actually assumed that's what Spencer was thinking when she watched the video. 

I agree, Ali probably saw what happened to Bethany & took the story since she figured Bethany couldn't contradict her. In fact, maybe Ali killed Bethany, & then deliberately dressed like her to give the impression that Bethany was still alive.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

If there were any rhyme or reason to the mystery in this show Alison's story (or Melissa's at least) would of course be a lie. But there isn't, so both might well be true. People thought the spoiler about Ezra's book was a lie because it made no sense whatsoever but it wasn't a lie. 

  • Love 2
Link to comment
I agree, Ali probably saw what happened to Bethany & took the story since she figured Bethany couldn't contradict her. In fact, maybe Ali killed Bethany, & then deliberately dressed like her to give the impression that Bethany was still alive.

Ali wasn't just trying to make up a story; had she done that, she could have said it was Ian or Garrett since they couldn't contradict her either. And if Ali knew that Melissa was the one to shove Bethany in the grave, I'd think she would have gone for that revelation instead of implicating her mother (who was still alive at the time) - unless this is the blackmail material that had Melissa scared.

 

Also, Ali and CeCe were both seen in the yellow top, so I don't think the show will have us believe the top was originally Bethany's - unless she is CeCe's twin, I suppose - which means Bethany was dressed as Ali and attacked as Ali. I don't see why Melissa would lie about having been the one to bury Bethany, and the only reason I can think of that someone would attack Bethany but leave her there, still alive, is that whoever it was realized she was not Ali - which means it wasn't Ali that attacked her. (Unless Bethany is the crazy twin, Ali attacked her, then freaked out and ran away? I guess that's possible.)

Edited by Crim
Link to comment

I actually took it to mean that Ali's entire story that she told the liars is utter b.s.  Wouldn't be the first time.  The only reason we know that Mrs. D buried Ali is because Ali said so. And I actually assumed that's what Spencer was thinking when she watched the video. 

 

The story isn't entirely from Ali's perspective:  Grunwald pulled her out of the ground so Ali was definitely buried.  It could be that she set that up, though, if she (somewhow) knew that Grunwald was coming andtrusted that her breath-holding skills would keep her alive long enough for Grunwald to unearth her.  Seems pretty risky.  Maybe she was "buried" in such a way that she wasn't in any real danger of suffocating.  So the string of events becomes:

 

1.  Ali's night of a thousand encounters.

2.  Ali and an accomplice "bury" her (with adequate protection so she won't die)

3.  They somehow lure Grunwald there, who "rescues" Ali

4.  Ali ditches Grunwald, and she (or her accomplice) hit Bethany

5.  Melissa buries Bethany, and Mrs. D (in a pill-and-alcohol induced haze) sees it

 

Yeah, no, that falls apart at step 4.  If Ali was using Bethany as a stand-in to fake her own death, why leave her in the open rather than bury her?  Bethany's corpse was mistaken for Ali, but that was after a year of deterioration and a sketchy ID of her clothing.  Freshly-killed Bethany wouldn't be mistaken for Ali if her body was found that night.  I mean, the police are incompetent, but not that incompetent.

 

Also step 5 doesn't make sense.  If Mrs. D saw Melissa burying someone, she would have told the police immediately, not covered for her for two years.

 

On a meta level, saying Ali's flashbacks were a lie seems like the showrunners are violating the ground rules they've established with all the other flashbacks been true in content even if the visualization was dubious (e.g. Toby's do-rag)

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Thanks for responding to my questions!  I checked out the video of the song.  What I came up with is this title was a nod to giving closure to the Ravenswood story (the chorus is about bye, bye, blackbird), and I hope it does mean no more fireflies or hauntings.  I really disliked this post-finale conclusion.  It just felt so...lame.  Why didn't Grunwald and creepy uncle just open all the jars ages ago if that's all it took?  I shouldn't even wonder, and let sleeping birds lie.

 

I love the idea that Ali saw what happened to Bethany and put her in the yellow top!  But then I wonder where Ali got her own head injury.  We can be pretty sure it's not fake because the doctor checked it.  She's not above injuring herself to make a point or a play, but she'd have to have recruited CeCe or someone to do it, and that may be pushing it.  Here, hit me in the back of the head so I bleed, but not too much, and then bury me, but not too well...  An interesting theory nonetheless.   Thinking about the doctor makes me think again about how badly Ali seemed to be lying to him.  As in, not convincing at all.  I kept wondering, how has she been playing all these lying games for years when she's such a shitty liar?  But now I think Ali acts like a bad liar sometimes, so that she can be a better and less suspicious liar when she means it.  I still don't understand her horse shit kidnapping story.  It seems like the story itself was intentionally implausible and the delivery was shady as hell, but that made little sense to me, unless Ali had this long game in mind about how she would waltz back into town claiming to have been all traumatized but wouldn't be fully believed, and that she would pull all kinds of stunts to try to make the cops and everyone else eat their doubts about her.  That she was meeting clandestinely with Cyrus several episodes before he confessed (such an excellent catch!) supports that vague idea.  

Edited by M1977G
  • Love 1
Link to comment

I feel like there was a missing step in the Ravenswood story, IIRC the jars protected the spirits from preacher guy, so once they got rid of him they'd have been able to open the jars and free the ghosts.

 

 

The story isn't entirely from Ali's perspective:  Grunwald pulled her out of the ground so Ali was definitely buried.  It could be that she set that up, though, if she (somewhow) knew that Grunwald was coming andtrusted that her breath-holding skills would keep her alive long enough for Grunwald to unearth her.  Seems pretty risky.  Maybe she was "buried" in such a way that she wasn't in any real danger of suffocating.  So the string of events becomes:

 

1.  Ali's night of a thousand encounters.

2.  Ali and an accomplice "bury" her (with adequate protection so she won't die)

3.  They somehow lure Grunwald there, who "rescues" Ali

4.  Ali ditches Grunwald, and she (or her accomplice) hit Bethany

5.  Melissa buries Bethany, and Mrs. D (in a pill-and-alcohol induced haze) sees it

 

Yeah, no, that falls apart at step 4.  If Ali was using Bethany as a stand-in to fake her own death, why leave her in the open rather than bury her?  Bethany's corpse was mistaken for Ali, but that was after a year of deterioration and a sketchy ID of her clothing.  Freshly-killed Bethany wouldn't be mistaken for Ali if her body was found that night.  I mean, the police are incompetent, but not that incompetent.

 

Also step 5 doesn't make sense.  If Mrs. D saw Melissa burying someone, she would have told the police immediately, not covered for her for two years.

 

On a meta level, saying Ali's flashbacks were a lie seems like the showrunners are violating the ground rules they've established with all the other flashbacks been true in content even if the visualization was dubious (e.g. Toby's do-rag)

 

Why would Mrs. D need to have seen Melissa burying not!Ali? Is that one of the events and I forgot about it?

 

I'd think that the scenario works if you assume that Alison and her accomplice were about to bury Bethany in the grave but saw/heard Melissa coming and hid before she could see them.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
×
×
  • Create New...