S05.E15: Fresh Meat

[lion10]

I wonder if Ezra is being set up to be a villain...again.  What Jackie said was very interesting how she wishes she could go into a time machine to get all of her years with Ezra back.  That sounds like the type of relationship that ended very badly.  And did anyone else sense any sparks between Emily and the caterer woman?  I felt really bad for Emily when she started to cry over Paige not answering her texts or calls.

[Cranberry]

That letter to Jackie should be a non-issue. Aria should just show it to Ezra and tell him that she wrote it because she needed to get into that school. If he freaks out about it, she can remind him that he stalked her and her friends and that he can deal with one stupid letter or GTFO.

 

However, if she keeps it from him, he finds out about it and takes it super personally, and they end up breaking up over it (or even spending some more time apart), that would be awesome. On second thought, I hope she keeps it from him for as long as possible so that he feels the maximum amount of betrayal.

[GaT]

That letter to Jackie should be a non-issue. Aria should just show it to Ezra and tell him that she wrote it because she needed to get into that school. If he freaks out about it, she can remind him that he stalked her and her friends and that he can deal with one stupid letter or GTFO.

 

 

That would be the logical thing to do, but this is PLL where even after years of being tortured by A, these morons still haven't figured out that if they have a secret, A will find it out & hold it over their heads. How many episodes of Aria trying to keep Ezra from finding out about the letter do you think we'll have to suffer through?

[DigitalCount]

Considering that A never went after Aria for kissing Ezra's freaking brother, I can't imagine that she has much to worry about. It's also a reason why I don't think Mike could have been A at any time; he would have jumped on that since he seemed to hate the Ezria relationship back in the day and blame the Montgomerys' breakup partially on that. I can't remember how he feels about the two of them now, but he seemed less than impressed with Ezra last episode, so that seems in line with this too.

[Jack Shaftoe]

 

I also liked Emily's storyline a lot. When she broke down it really hit me how Emily's character is in desperate need for the story to take to some new places, even if that new place is something as common as crying over a girlfriend.

 

New places? This was almost a carbon copy of Emily's storyline in 1.14. At least back then Maya had an actual reason for not taking Emily's calls. In this case it's an off-screen character assassination.

 

 

Speaking of Paige, I just rewatched 5x14 and her goodbye scene with Emily, right before watching 5x15, and I got a really strong feeling Paige indeed might have been the one who killed Mona. She really didn't give Emily a good reason for going way, especially considering Ali/A had been arrested, but she seemed extremelly determined about going.

 

Not everyone can be a teenage contractor/police officer as Toby. When parents move, their children who are still in high school move too in 99% of the cases. Especially if the town they live in has a serial killer on the prowl. in fact, if Paige had killed Mona this would be all the more reason for her to stay in Rosewood. Unless you mean she is scared of the Rosewood cops...

 

 

And I dare hope this is the beginning of the end of Ezria once and for all.

 

In this case I have beachfront property in Kansas you might be interested in. If the writers decided to keep Ezra with Aria after his S4 shenanigans then they are never breaking this two up unless an extreme majority of the fandom starts hating them on Twitter which, sadly, is not going to happen.

 

 

Why had Ali's dad not worked on getting her released on bail?

 

He probably feels relief not having the little monster around. Seriously, personal bias aside, I would imagine even the Rosewood law establishment would be reluctant to release in bail a prime suspect in a multiple homicides case.

Edited January 15, 2015 by Jack Shaftoe

[mercfan3]

Maybe..because apparently EVERYONE thinks it's creepy. (seriously...the entire cast and producers have all called the Ezra/Aria relationship creepy) They are going to keep poking holes in that ship until it sinks. 

 

Not only did they make it creepy because of the age difference, and student/teacher concept. But then they made him a creepy stalker predator. And it's even realistic that Aria would keep coming back to him. Girls in those types of situations would. (Also, the fans...) 

 

I'll still hold out for him being Big A. 

[mac123x]

I see that the building inspectors in Rosewood are just as incompetent as the police:  a walk-in kiln like that should have some sort of emergency shutoff button inside to prevent just that sort of "accident" from happening. 

 

Speaking of incompetent police:  why are they just now searching the grounds around Mona's house?  Did Tanner get an Anonymous tip that they might find the murder weapon 3 months after the murder?  Caleb and Spencer were totally right that it was A setting someone up, but they should have taken the knife to a foundry.  Too expensive to shoot on location I guess. 

 

Lucky for them that A was being lazy, because I half anticipated that they would be caught while in the process of destroying evidence.  The girl who was just recently under suspicion of killing Mona happens to be in possession of a bloody knife: yeah, that doesn't look suspicious at all. 

 

Since when does Emily even have a college fund?  A couple of seasons ago (which with their timeline means two weeks ago last Thursday), her family was in dire financial straights with A having put a car through their house and Pam losing her job at the police station.  Emily was desperately seeking a scholarship at that sorority that Grunwald used to work at, because otherwise she couldn't afford to go to college at all.  I'm sorry, I was expecting some continuity on this show.  My mistake.

 

Aria drama:  I don't care.  Is A messing with her, or is it that she's too arty-farty even for east-coast liberal arts colleges to stomach?  Wait, I forgot, I don't care.

 

Ezra is such a spineless twerp.  He doesn't think Emily is up to the job of catering his party (which she isn't) but rather than confront her directly he just hires her replacement and blindsides her with it when she shows up to work. 

 

I liked Hanna telling off Ali, but the scene was so stupid.  Ali has no expectation of privacy while in jail, so saying she was going to meet with Cyrus (the guy she fingered as her 2-year-long kidnapper) to discuss their "deal" was just so dumb it took me out of the scene.  Then again, Rosewood correctional officers are probably just as incompetent as their police, mental health professionals, high school administrators, building inspectors, etc.

[emma675]

 

That letter to Jackie should be a non-issue. Aria should just show it to Ezra and tell him that she wrote it because she needed to get into that school. If he freaks out about it, she can remind him that he stalked her and her friends and that he can deal with one stupid letter or GTFO.

THANK YOU! Ezra stalked teenage girls with cameras and surveillance equipment for months and lied to Aria about everything, he has no ground to stand on with anything, imo.

 

Please tell me 1) Spencer and Caleb didn't actually think a kiln would melt a knife and 2) they didn't leave the knife behind in said kiln.

[lorikauai]

I thought Emily's desperation to get to Paige was really pathetic. It seemed really obvious to me that Paige was breaking up with her at the airport. No wonder Paige isn't returning her texts. Emily can't take a hint. 

[Shangrilala]

I think this show was doing more to set up the future of PLL than anything else.  There are some theories and speculation out there that the show is going to do a time jump ahead.  In this episode you introduced 2 potentially new characters that I doubt were just blips on the one time PLL radar.  Since they've killed off Mona, shipped off Paige, gotten rid of Melissa, and we know that Lucas, Sydney, Noel, and *possibly* Jenna will be leaving Rosewood to go to college, there is space for new people.  

 

With Ezra opening up his bookstore and Aria not getting into her colleges, I'm wondering if they are setting the stage for Aria to go to Hollis and she and Ezra run the bookstore together.  If the girls are seniors now (are they seniors?) then that would mean that Aria will be turning 18 soon, she and Ezra are about to become legal.  I bet that the letter comes out and Ezra makes the pitch that rather than have to lie about who she is to get into a school that won't challenge her any way, that she use the connections with her father to look into programs at Hollis and that way the two of them can stay together.  Or some such nonsense.

 

Then you had Emily.  It's been made clear that her college options are shaky.  Between their financial situation and her injury we know that she can't go to school on an athletics scholarship, we know that her grades aren't so high that would warrant an academic merit scholarship, and that her parents financially can't foot the bill fully.  I bet she gets offered some financial aid for a philadelphia area school, and continues coaching swimming at Rosewood Day to cover the gap in expenses, or she goes into the catering business with this new chick.  That keeps HER in Rosewood. 

 

That leaves Hanna and Spencer.  Interestingly other than learning that Hanna is getting into everything and Spencer hadn't yet heard, we haven't heard much about Spencer and her college applications.  Which is odd because since the beginning she was so focused on Penn.  That said, Penn is pretty close.  Perhaps with Toby having a legitimate career in Rosewood she will stay nearby.  I don't know how they would keep Hanna in the area, since it's clear that she is pretty intent on going to college, but it was pretty clear to me that in this episode they were setting up a reason for all 4 girls stick around Rosewood in some way. 

 

And as for Alison, she's not going to college.  That much is clear. 

[Jack Shaftoe]

 

I thought Emily's desperation to get to Paige was really pathetic. It seemed really obvious to me that Paige was breaking up with her at the airport. No wonder Paige isn't returning her texts. Emily can't take a hint.

 

If Paige had wanted to break up with Emily she would have made that abundantly clear, not dodged her calls.

 

 

Maybe..because apparently EVERYONE thinks it's creepy. (seriously...the entire cast and producers have all called the Ezra/Aria relationship creepy) They are going to keep poking holes in that ship until it sinks.

 

They don't need to be poking holes in it. They can sink it at any time by simply unplugging one of the badly patched gaping holes that already exist. The writers can say whatever but their actions speak loud and clear - they either support Ezria or have bitten the bullet and decided to pander to its fans until the of time, I mean the show.

 

 

Speaking of incompetent police:  why are they just now searching the grounds around Mona's house?

 

Toby said they were searching that area again, so Rosewood's finest apparently missed the bloody knife the first time around or someone recently planted it.

[mac123x]

Toby said they were searching that area again, so Rosewood's finest apparently missed the bloody knife the first time around or someone recently planted it.

 

 

Okay, that makes a little more sense.  The knife was supposedly buried under all the snow during the (unseen) winter.  Incidentally, if Mona was killed on Thanksgiving, and it's 3 months later, it'd be late February, right?  Totally light jacket weather, since Pennsylvania is well known for its mild winters.  Just ask the Continental soldiers at Valley Forge.

[racked]

What made Spencer wander off in that scene exactly? Was it just rattling windows? So random.

I like the idea that Paige was involved in Mona's murder and that's why she has disappeared, but I think we're going to end up with dead Paige soon. She's not answering Emily's messages because she's missing.

[GaT]

Since they've killed off Mona,

Yeah, I'm still not believing in that, especially since I think that they may have given her time off so she could do Dancing with the Stars.

[Chaos Theory]

Now the women get a turn to be pedophiles! Wooot.

 

'Never say this show isn't an equal opportunity show.

 

 

And I dare hope this is the beginning of the end of Ezria once and for all.

 

 

The cops in Rosewood have a better chance of solving a crime then Ezria does of ending.    TWEEEEEEEENS!!!!!!

 

Why had Ali's dad not worked on getting her released on bail?

 

 

Well with 2 murders even Rosewood Justice system would not set bail or they would let her out with no bail at all.  Chose your own adventure.

Edited January 15, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[hqtextbook]

Arias letter: "I regret that I squandered my high school career getting involved with an older guy. I was robbed of all the rituals that my classmates enjoyed. The secret relationship kept me in a fishbowl separating me from my family my friends even myself."

 

Its like a if an 8 year old wrote a summary of these forums for the past 3 years. 

[Law Mom]

Hey you know who doesn't get assigned to a murder case? A rookie cop who was frenemies with the victim, is dating a suspect, and was once framed for attempted murder by another suspect. Hey you know why? Because this.

 

I totally thought that A messed with the empanada filling, especially when the other caterer sniffed it and made a face. It would have been hilarious if everyone at the opening got food poisoning. But nothing bad ever happens to Ezra, now, does it?

 

I really don't get the kiln thing at all. Imma let it go.

I always thought Ashley was an interesting character. This wasn't the first time she has admitted that she was afraid. Unlike the other parents, she knows deep down that something horrible has been going on for a long time. I can't wait for her to figure it all out.

[Mabinogia]

lol I forgot how badly written that essay was, given Aria is supposedly this amazing writer or whatever. It was a bit like a child recapping the Ezzzzria. Maybe it's her crappy writing skills that got her rejected from every school she applied to except the one that oh so conveniently employs Ezra's ex.

[AmandaPanda]

Speaking of incompetent police:  why are they just now searching the grounds around Mona's house?  Did Tanner get an Anonymous tip that they might find the murder weapon 3 months after the murder?  Caleb and Spencer were totally right that it was A setting someone up, but they should have taken the knife to a foundry.  Too expensive to shoot on location I guess. 

 

Well, if every police officer is like Toby with his 2 weeks of police academy, that would explain a lot. 

 

Please tell me 1) Spencer and Caleb didn't actually think a kiln would melt a knife and 2) they didn't leave the knife behind in said kiln.

 

I couldn't tell if they were trying to melt the handle or steam fingerprints off it or what, but it didn't make much sense to me. I also don't understand why this high school has a walk-in kiln. Every school kiln I've ever seen is basically a big oven, not an entire room.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Because it's Rosewood, where the men are pedos and the kilns are huge!

[bettername2come]

Because it's Rosewood, where the men are pedos and the kilns are huge!

 

I was going with "Because they've seen Hocus Pocus too many times and the high school kiln is huge there too!"

[insubordination]

Was lovely to see Ashley/Laura back. Where has she been? I've never liked the Jason character, but I liked her telling him that she didn't mind being thanked. I thought they had some chemistry.

 

I liked all the creepy bits (trailer park teddy bear, Holbrook's father, odd kid,  kiln), but I wasn't shocked like I sometimes am.  I agree that Caleb and Spencer do good work together.  Troian was excellent, as usual.  The hacker stuff was silly.

 

Aria was Aria. As for Ezra, what a douche! I preferred EzrA.

 

Oh and to answer someone's question, I think he just bought the cafe 'cos he likes cake. Is Double Fudge Brownie Murder a real book? 'Cos I would read that.

 

Ashley/Hanna looked very pretty tonight.  And Emily/Shay makes me laugh sometimes. She's not the greatest actress, but she has some comic timing. She didn't seem to be very sympathetic towards sick fathers.

 

Alison was a bit boring, but I loved her prison look.

 

I can't even comment on Toby/Knife plot. I've gone though my hate-watching stage and for some reason I just enjoy the show now, no matter how stupid it is.

 

I'm now of the view that Mona is alive after all. It was you guys pointing out the fainting that did it. I wouldn't mind if she was 'A' after all.

[cuddlingcrowley]

I've gone though my hate-watching stage and for some reason I just enjoy the show now, no matter how stupid it is.

 

 

I'm like that when it comes to The Vampire Diaries. I took a serious break from it after the show got awful in S3 but today I just mindlessly enjoy it.

 

I thought Emily's desperation to get to Paige was really pathetic. It seemed really obvious to me that Paige was breaking up with her at the airport. No wonder Paige isn't returning her texts. Emily can't take a hint.

 

 

If Paige had wanted to break up with Emily she would have made that abundantly clear, not dodged her calls.

 

 

Or, you know, she's dodging Emily's calls for a reason: because she wants to break up. 

 

At the very least, Paige certainly in no way hinted she wanted to do the long distance relationship thing which Emily seems determined to do. My take on their goodbye scene is that she wanted a break but I don't blame Emily for not quite getting it. Instead of being honest, Paige chose to do that bullshit tv thing where at least one half of a pair doesn't want to be in a relationship anymore and instead of owning up to it, they say bullshit like "this is what's supposed to happen between us right now" or whatever she said because they're not ready/don't want to shut that door completely.

 

Since when does Emily even have a college fund?

 

 

Eh, I did a doubletake on that as well but I'm thinking while her parents can't afford to put her through college completely, surely they, along with Emily and her part time jobs, have started saving a little something since finding out she won't get a scholarship. The writers could have put it in a different way, but I don't think it's a plot hole.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Is Double Fudge Brownie Murder a real book? 'Cos I would read that.

 

Oh, it's a real book.

 

http://www.joannefluke.com/double-fudge-brownie-murder/

[mercfan3]

That's what makes me think Paige has something to do with Mona's death.

 

Paige has always wanted to be in a relationship with Emily...to the point where it was almost desperate. And all of a sudden she doesn't want it anymore? Sure. 

[Black Knight]

Yup, Paige has always been the clingier and the one more in love of the two girls by far, so her suddenly giving Emily the cold shoulder is totally suspicious. She's never been the sort of rational person who would be like, "I don't think a long-distance relationship will really work, so we should just end this now" - I could buy her coming to that realization after trying for months and months to make it work, but not immediately. Paige is either dead, kidnapped, or Mona's murderer and staying away because of that.

 

I got the impression from the way Ashley was talking that she and Ted must've broken up, even though it hasn't been mentioned. But her talk about how lonely she is didn't at all sound like a woman who's in a relationship. So I don't think she cheated on Ted. Hanna's reaction didn't seem to have any "my mother's a cheater" mixed in. I don't mind the Ashley/Jason hookup, but if she's willing to go young, can she go a couple of years younger and fulfill my crackship dream of Ashley/Emily? Please?

 

The Ali/Hanna and Ali/Toby scenes were well-done.

[Jack Shaftoe]

 

My take on their goodbye scene is that she wanted a break but I don't blame Emily for not quite getting it. Instead of being honest, Paige chose to do that bullshit tv thing where at least one half of a pair doesn't want to be in a relationship anymore and instead of owning up to it, they say bullshit like "this is what's supposed to happen between us right now" or whatever she said because they're not ready/don't want to shut that door completely.

 

Or that weird thing which teens do in real life - obey the wishes of their parents. And not feeling comfortable living in a town with a serial killer on the prowl.

 

 

Yup, Paige has always been the clingier and the one more in love of the two girls by far, so her suddenly giving Emily the cold shoulder is totally suspicious. She's never been the sort of rational person who would be like, "I don't think a long-distance relationship will really work, so we should just end this now" - I could buy her coming to that realization after trying for months and months to make it work, but not immediately. Paige is either dead, kidnapped, or Mona's murderer and staying away because of that.

 

Most likely this is just another case of horrible writing where the characters do implausible things to get the plot from point A to point B. I suspect it will either never be explained or it will turn out to be wacky misunderstanding like Paige not having Internet and mobile phone access for two weeks (the horror, the horror!). Sort of like when Hanna basically pushed Caleb to Ravenswood to help some girl he just met. I don't see see why they would send Paige away and then have A do something bad to her - without gloating or telling Emily anything about it. As for running away because she is murderer - it's California, not a murder suspect haven where the police can't touch you. If anything, Rosewood fits the bill much better. If Paige were willing to kill for Emily (because she doesn't have any other reason to get rid of Mona) why would she then promptly leave? Parents, smarents, once you are resolved to murder people, I reckon become a teenage professional like Toby should be a piece of cake.

 

 

I got the impression from the way Ashley was talking that she and Ted must've broken up, even though it hasn't been mentioned.

 

I would eat my hat if those two have broken up. Pastor Ted is coming back next episode apparently and I expect the cheapest of soap opera drama. In other words - random cheating shenanigans, wacky misunderstandings and a touch of hysterics.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Jack Shaftoe

[DigitalCount]

Most likely this is just another case of horrible writing where the characters do implausible things to get the plot from point A to point B.

/forum

 

To be honest, I think Paige's exit is one of the least implausible things this show has thrown at us. And considering how they cycle through side characters (man, I still remember how Garrett was a Johnny-come-lately at one point, like his sudden inclusion in hugely plot-related elements seemed jarring at the time, what a thought) I can't see that this should be considered some significant piece of evidence.

 

That's probably my biggest peeve about this series. There are so many things that seem dictated by BTS issues, and when you're doing a mystery story with ONE SINGLE MYSTERY running through season after season, you can't have the answers decided by actors just up and getting new roles, or heavily biased Twitter surveys. Something is going to be aggressively retconned when it comes to the final reveal, but hopefully it won't be on a Dan is Gossip Girl level.

 

<= did not watch Gossip Girl

[ElectricBoogaloo]

My husband didn't watch Gossip Girl either, but he went to work the day after the series finale and said to one of his coworkers, "Can you believe Dan was Gossip Girl?" and she shrieked, "I KNOW!" and went on a five minute rant. Afterwards he told her that he didn't even watch the show and she was like, "WHAT?! Why did you let me go on and on about it?"

 

But yes, if the A reveal is as lame as Dan being Gossip Girl, I will have to go A style and stab a bitch. And maybe sprinkle some glass in someone's hair for good measure.

[AmandaPanda]

Eh, I did a doubletake on that as well but I'm thinking while her parents can't afford to put her through college completely, surely they, along with Emily and her part time jobs, have started saving a little something since finding out she won't get a scholarship. The writers could have put it in a different way, but I don't think it's a plot hole.

 

A college fund doesn't necessarily mean that it's her full college tuition. My parents called my savings account my "college fund," even though it only had about $600 in it when I graduated high school. 

 

Or that weird thing which teens do in real life - obey the wishes of their parents. And not feeling comfortable living in a town with a serial killer on the prowl.

 

Paige has also been affected by everything that has gone on in the town. After she got kidnapped by Lyndon James, she definitely was exhibiting some PTSD-style symptoms. Now that she's gotten enough credits to graduate, it's fully possible her parents wouldn't let her put off the move any longer. 

[hqtextbook]

But how did she get the credits early when in season 3 (i.e. 3 weeks ago rosewood time) her grades were low enough that she was almost benched from swimming??

[someguy]

I am way late to this thread but:

 

1) Aria remains the worst friend ever.  Like, she can't even spend two seconds pretending to care about anything but her own problems.  At least this writing is consistent.

 

2) Aria should have totally written her personal statement about how her overage boyfriend started off seducing her by deceit because he wanted to write a book about her murdered friend who turned out to actually be alive, but they got through it and now it's love.  Admissions officers love that overcoming adversity shit.  I bet Jackie would get a kick out of it too.

[mac123x]

That's what makes me think Paige has something to do with Mona's death.

 

Paige has always wanted to be in a relationship with Emily...to the point where it was almost desperate. And all of a sudden she doesn't want it anymore? Sure. 

 

Could be.  I doubt she was Blond Wig, though, because (for the same reasons Mike wasn't Blond Wig) she's too tall.  Mona's assailant wasn't that much bigger than her, and she's tiny.  Granted, this show has been really bad about body-doubles not even being close to the right size (e.g., Mona vs Emily in the hothouse).

 

I got the impression from the way Ashley was talking that she and Ted must've broken up, even though it hasn't been mentioned. But her talk about how lonely she is didn't at all sound like a woman who's in a relationship.

 

I wonder if she said "lonely" but meant "horny" because she's in a relationship with a minister and he's keeping it chaste.

[cuddlingcrowley]

I got the impression from the way Ashley was talking that she and Ted must've broken up, even though it hasn't been mentioned. But her talk about how lonely she is didn't at all sound like a woman who's in a relationship.

 

 

I thought Hanna mentioned her Mom dating a Minister in the same episode we got Ashley and Jason hooking up. Did I imagine that?

 

Regardless, while I abhor cheating in real life, I couldn't be happier with this storyline. I always thought Ashley deserved more fire in her life. And yes, while Jason is hardly lively, he's got the boy toy thing going for him.

 

 

 

A college fund doesn't necessarily mean that it's her full college tuition. My parents called my savings account my "college fund," even though it only had about $600 in it when I graduated high school.

 

That's what I meant.

 

Or that weird thing which teens do in real life - obey the wishes of their parents. And not feeling comfortable living in a town with a serial killer on the prowl.

 

 

If only we weren't talking about real life but about a tv show where dramatic reasons most likely relating to the plot are usually behind the characters' actions... Wait!

 

 

 

 

But how did she get the credits early when in season 3 (i.e. 3 weeks ago rosewood time) her grades were low enough that she was almost benched from swimming??

 

 

I really should get around to rewatching this show. The only seasons I watched more than once were one and two and only because they aired on tv where I live. I feel guilty when you guys mention details like that.

Edited January 19, 2015 by cuddlingcrowley

[hqtextbook]

 

1) Aria remains the worst friend ever.  Like, she can't even spend two seconds pretending to care about anything but her own problems.  At least this writing is consistent.

HAHAHAHHAA. She is the absolute worst. I rolled my eyes when emily was clearly heartbroken and getting no sleep while having a melt down over making empanadas and all aria could do was rant on and on about her own problems. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Now the women get a turn to be pedophiles! Wooot.

To be fair, Jason is supposed to be in his 20s and there was no indication that Ashley was attracted to him when he was a minor. It's not like she was perving on a 15 year old high school student (ahem, men of Rosewood).