S06.E01: Game On, Charles

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Moments after where the Season 5 finale left off, Aria, Emily, Hanna, Spencer, and Mona are trapped outside of Charles’ Dollhouse with nowhere to go and must now deal with an angry tormentor. Just when the Liars thought Charles couldn’t get any worse, his games take a more demented and darker turn. As the girls struggle to survive, the puzzle of Charles’ story begins to come together.

Meanwhile, Ezra, Caleb and Toby continue the fight to find the girls with or without Rosewood P.D.’s help.

 

Canadian promo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjDsIOlqFQ8

 

Australian promo:

 

And I'm assuming everyone already watched the promo from a few weeks ago:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Sneak peeks:

 

[raytch]

So much for the show picking up RIGHT where we left off, and everything happening in a condensed timeframe!

The Ali scene is after one month. The liars scene is after 2 weeks. So I guess A kept them out for 2 weeks then let them in after that where they spent another 2 weeks? And Ali's scene is supposedly after this one?

It's funny because the episode seems to cover more time than the entire run from seasons 3 to 5.

 

Seriously though. Did A actually keep them locked outside for 2 that long? Is it possible to survive so long without any food or water?

Edited May 27, 2015 by raytch

[ottoDbusdriver]

Seriously though. Did A actually keep them locked outside for 2 that long? Is it possible to survive so long without any food or water?

 

If they were outside for weeks, their clothes should be filthy from sitting and sleeping in the dirt and mud as well as falling apart (prom dresses aren't known for their durability against the elements). Plus, aside from Hannah's hair and Mona's bad wig, their hair is all pretty perfect.  And I very much doubt that Emily would even consider licking jockstraps -- I get it, she's the former athlete of the group.  How would none of them not die from exposure in that kind of time frame ?  Or develop lingering coughs/pneumonia from being outside in the cold.   Or look unkempt like they do on Survivor after a week or so.

Edited May 27, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[WhitneyWhit]

What in that video suggested they had been out there for two weeks? Mona just said you can go without food for three weeks, then Spencer said you can only go without water for a few days.

 

The episode can pick up where they left out, then have a time jump at some point later in the episode.

Edited May 28, 2015 by WhitneyWhit

[hqtextbook]

My poor babies!!!! This is intense!

And come on, like they would ever have the plls look fully disheveled. That's like against the rules of pll

[mercfan3]

Yea, I've got a feeling that preview is like..two days after they got locked out of the building. 

[raytch]

What in that video suggested they had been out there for two weeks? Mona just said you can go without food for three weeks, then Spencer said you can only go without food for a few days.

 

The episode can pick up where they left out, then have a time jump at some point later in the episode.

 

My bad. I thought I heard one of the girls say "how long have we been out here". I'm guessing this is after 2, 3 days, they don't look THAT bad. I mean the dresses are still in perfect shape and their hair isn't that dirty.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

New Australian promo (looks like no new footage but I thought I'd post it just in case anyone wants to obsessively compare the different promos):

[Watt]

So...can I talk about what's going on even though the episode isn't over? What am I supposed to believe happened to then girls when they each went to their rooms naked. Why were they not more concerned they were naked? Why why why? How do they not feel totally violated?

[Peanut6711]

So...can I talk about what's going on even though the episode isn't over? What am I supposed to believe happened to then girls when they each went to their rooms naked. Why were they not more concerned they were naked? Why why why? How do they not feel totally violated?

Yes that was totally disturbing. Took PLL to a new level of creepiness. 

 

One thing that bugged me...the tracking device in Ali's shoes! Seriously? Shoes would be the easiest thing to get off her. Caleb is generally smarter than that. 

Edited June 3, 2015 by Peanut6711

[kat165]

Good question, Watt. They were wearing sheets or something though so not completely totally naked. I wonder if we'll ever find out.

 

Surprisingly engrossing episode. I haven't enjoyed a PLL ep this much in years, seriously, years.

[Artsda]

That was a great episode! One of the best in a long time. 

[Writing Wrongs]

Good episode. Although I was distracted wondering if Sasha was pregnant. Her first couple of scenes looked like they were trying to play hide-the-belly.

[Mabinogia]

I think I hope we find out what happened to them during that few weeks to so traumatize them (and cut and color Aria's hair lol) but I'm kind of afraid to find out.

 

And it's funny because through the whole ep I kept thinking there was another girl dressed as Ali, but the show did such a good job of screwing with me that I kept wondering if maybe I was just seeing Mona. Then BAM there was another girl all along. Well played, show, well played.

 

That was a great ep but it's kind of funny to think of where the show started and where it is now. Totally different vibe to me. But still Rosewood PD is the most inept bunch of idiots on the planet, though my Toby hating heart was dying laughing when he was trying to get the pig mannequin to turn around, lol

 

I'm so glad this show is not just back on TV but seems to have it's mojo back. That was a fun hour and I can't wait to see what happens next week.

[Chaos Theory]

I love this crazy ass show.

It may not be the best written or even the best acted show but I love every second of it. It was creepy as all hell.

My show is back!

[ottoDbusdriver]

So...can I talk about what's going on even though the episode isn't over? What am I supposed to believe happened to then girls when they each went to their rooms naked. Why were they not more concerned they were naked? Why why why? How do they not feel totally violated?

 

They should have been WAY more concerned about that -- and whether or not Charles decided to take photos to blackmail them with later on (because blackmailing people is kind of his thing).  At the minimum, he peeked.

 

So, was Mona aware that Sarah was there all that time ?  Based on the counting lines Sarah had drawn on the wall, it had been a looooong time.  With A spending so much time in Rosewood and Ravenwood, who took care of Sarah during that time -- another of A's minions ?  If Sarah disappeared when Ali disappeared, that means she's been there for around 3 years.  And why was her door apparently unlocked, because when the PLLs were mad dashing in their prom dresses it wasn't midnight when the power would go out for 3 minutes (which still seems like an incredibly stupid design feature considering the infinite resources that 'A' appears to have access to.

 

Starting a fire wasn't the smartest idea in an underground bunker -- smoke inhalation would have got to them quick.

 

Of course, the big WTF of the episode is the location of the bunker -- how was this place built in the middle of a state park and no one either noticed or reported to the park rangers ?  Or any of the construction workers mentioned something ?  And where was the electric fence when the PLLs escaped to the surface -- or was it yet a different exit ?  Plus A had the trees wired with cameras.  Or was it an existing structure in the state park that 'A' just happened to find and took over -- which also makes no sense ?  The amount of truck traffic just to furnish the place and wire it up would have been very noticeable.

 

Not to mention the fact that 'A' not only rewired Onstar in the car, but relied on the fact that Alison would press that button to get info about the contents in the trunk.  What would have happened if Allison didn't do anything and just sat there ?  The car running out of gas when she arrived at the state park was kind of stupid as well.  I'm still trying to figure out how Ezra/Caleb managed to call the police if there was no cell service in the park (as seen on Allie's phone in the car).

Edited June 3, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[Mabinogia]

I love trying to explain the ridiculous so...

 

Hmm, the bunker. An old military bunker set in the park (in New Haven, where I'm from we actually have something like that, Fort Hale Park is a park with old, like Revolutionary War old, bunkers and things. I used to love wondering around in them when I was a kid) so maybe A just wired up some pre-existing bunkers in a park? lol Yeah, I got nothing else on that. Maybe A is the head of the Parks and Recreation department of Pennsylvania. All of A's expenses have been written off to the state and that is how they get him. Like when Al Capone was basically finally arrested for tax evasion rather than all the murders he perpetrated.

 

I'm impressed at A's ability to have known exactly how much gas was required to get the car to stall just inside the park. That is some impressive logistics, which again speaks to a possibly parks and rec connection, maybe he's a city planner. lol I think it's pretty logical to guess that when Ali couldn't use her phone she would try onstar. Her other options were to just sit there, in which case A could just onstar her anyway, or call her (I am going to assume since the boys could use their phones that A is just powerful enough to have enabled Ali's phone just to get her to use the onstar), or start wondering aimlessly through the park.

 

Seriously, though, this show makes no logical sense, but it is pretty to look at and fun to watch so I just don't think too much about that stuff.

 

The phones working all of a sudden were my only WTF moment, but given all A has done I can convince myself that he just disabled Ali's phone to make her use onstar.

[luvly]

I'm not bothered by the cell phone issue. Stick a signal jammer close by in the woods or under the car and boom, no cell phone signal and no legitimate OnStar. I hope they reveal what traumatized them once they all went back in their rooms. The vibe was very rapey, for lack of a better word, but since it all seemed to happen to them simultaneously that seems out of the question.

[mjgchick]

I'm back to not trusting Mona and I'll probably never trust Ali but none of them creep me out as much as the girls former English teacher with scruff wrapped around one of his former students. JFC.

[Lolabelle]

Wow, well done PLL.  You remembered an old plot line that was never cleared up with Sarah Harvey.  Poor girl being down there for years, I hope we see more of her.  

 

The girls waking up naked in the morgue was a little to much for this show.  Like other said, it seemed a little rapey, for lack of a better word.  Wondering how it will show up again.

 

Oh and anyone getting Silence of the Lambs vibe from Mona in that hole?

[Shangrilala]

So this ep was a tribute to creepy movies, right? The call from inside the house is an old horror movie from the 80s I think. Mona in the hole was right out of Silence of the Lambs. "A" staring at them through the glass was from another one...maybe Scream, I think? Were there others? Sarah locked up,and counting the days I think was also a reference, just can't remember which one?

Great ep. I was sufficiently creeped.

[Watt]

I'm confused on the time line too. The girls were gone a month, right? So when all the girls went back to their room and when they came out again with new hair and crying, I mean..how long was that?

Maybe it wasn't supposed to or maybe it was, and I have a hard time thinking the show would go there, but it for sure had a "rapey" vibe. And I hate tossing that word around.

Just why are they not more concerned that they were drugged, stripped, and laid out. He did more than peek if he's the one that did it. Ugh.

Also it's funny, I've missed like the last 8 episodes and I watched this and could follow along perfectly. Lol.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Watt

[AmandaPanda]

The girls finding themselves naked in that room definitely crossed a line for me. I can excuse a lot of crazy crap, but these are still high school-aged girls. That was not okay by any means. When Emily lifted the sheet, I was hoping she would say something about thankfully being clothed. Definitely not okay with that.

 

Another question: Has anyone actually referred to a cop as a "pig" since the 1960s? That's at least the second time I've seen pigs being used as a thing for cops. I guess it goes along with the Hitchcock vibe the show goes for at times.

 

I really want to know more about Sara Harvey. I'm hoping we actually see her team up with the girls in some capacity.

 

Hanna's realization about what her kidnapping had done to her mom was so heartbreaking. Mama Marin better be okay. She's my favorite parent on the show.

[Kate213]

I'm so glad this crazy show is back.  This one episode was more entertaining than all of 5B. 

 

As much as there were definitely uncomfortable vibes about what went on in the liars'  rooms during their three weeks in isolation, my guess is it was all psychological torture.  That seems to be A’s pattern.  Them waking up naked in that fake morgue was creepy as hell though and seemed to go too far, even for this show, and I’m surprised the girls weren’t more freaked out about that.

 

Nice to see that Rosewood PD is consistently inept, with gun-constantly-drawn Officer Toby leading the charge.  I laughed when he was tough talking that pig mannequin. 

 

It will be interesting to learn Sara Harvey’s story (if it is actually her, this show makes me question everything lol). 

 

So I’m guessing since everyone thinks Andrew is A in 6x01, he’s most definitely not A.  On to the next suspect!

Edited June 3, 2015 by Kate213

[mjgchick]

Yeah the way Troian held that sheet made it seem like they were naked.

[SadieT]

How did Ezra, Caleb and Ali get to the bunker door? Wasn't it surrounded by an electric fence? If the girls couldn't get out, how did the three of them get in? Or was that a different door that just happened to look the same but wasn't surrounded by a fence? 

 

 

I hope they reveal what traumatized them once they all went back in their rooms. The vibe was very rapey, for lack of a better word, but since it all seemed to happen to them simultaneously that seems out of the question.

 

I feel like they're going to drag out the reveal of their dollhouse trauma for several episodes. We'll probably get bits and pieces in flashbacks, therapy sessions, or whatever.

 

I agree there was a very disturbing borderline rapey vibe to the whole thing though and it was more than a bit unsettling. The girls waking up naked was creepy enough, although they didn't seem all that concerned about what this freak could have done to them while they were unconscious and naked, but the screaming when the doors locked and their shocked traumatized expressions when they were finally released from their rooms suggests something horrible happened to them in there, and of course rape is one of the most horrific things a person can endure so that's probably where a lot of viewers' minds went. But I feel like the show goes out of its way to avoid making A sexually threatening despite the fact that he's been stalking and terrorizing a group of teenage girls he's clearly obsessed with for years. Up until now it was almost like there was this invisible line the show seemed unwilling to cross. A stalks, blackmails, psychologically tortures, kidnaps, and murders, but sexual assault has never even been hinted at before because I think the show knows that would be a step too far and the audience would no longer find the journey fun if A was that kind of predator. 

 

I'm back to not trusting Mona and I'll probably never trust Ali but none of them creep me out as much as the girls former English teacher with scruff wrapped around one of his former students. JFC.

 

I questioned Mona a bit this episode too. At one point one of the girls, I think it was Emily, says something like she doesn't know if they could trust Mona and that's when Mona turns to the camera and tells A "no", it seemed almost like she was trying to prove something to them by challenging him. But then again, she was locked outside with the others as punishment and of course was kept in the hole for weeks so I do think she was as much a victim as the others. I enjoy seeing Mona being part of the group and liked that the girls refused to leave without her, so I hope we don't later find out she was just working for A the whole time. 

[tennisgurl]

Dang, when this show wants to be creepy, it really pulls out all the stops!

 

I assume we will learn what happened to the girls, but I kind of don't want to. The implications are creepy enough.

 

A lot has changed on this show, but one thing that never will? The uselessness of the Rosewood PD. There could have been blinking lights over that bunker and they wouldn't have found them. 

 

The reveal that there was another girl was a chilling moment. Makes you wonder if there were other "Ali`s" before her. 

 

I am so very glad this show and its weekly festival of WTF and questionable hashtags has returned to us. 

Edited June 3, 2015 by tennisgurl

[GaT]

This was a really strange episode, but I'm glad they got them out & we're not going to spend the entire season in there. But, They did “the caller is in the house!” thing? Seriously

 

So what happened when they were locked in the rooms? Why did Aria get a new hairstyle? I hope they give us a clue, but honestly, I think it's just going to be another mystery. The girls will probably have nightmares, & we'll see vague kind of things, but we'll never know for sure.

[SadieT]

So what happened when they were locked in the rooms? Why did Aria get a new hairstyle? I hope they give us a clue, but honestly, I think it's just going to be another mystery. The girls will probably have nightmares, & we'll see vague kind of things, but we'll never know for sure.

 

Technically Aria got an old hairstyle. A dressed and styled all the girls in a manner similar to how they looked when Ali went messing, hence Aria's pink stripes. 

[Lii]

The whole waking up naked thing took me out of it too. Let's see how they play it out.

Charles is a hell of a hairdresser, though. Aria's new hair looks really cute.

I like how Tanner didn't even care when Toby fed her that obvious BS about how he supposedly found the A lair through totally legit police means. She was all just like whatevs, let's go find whatever your friends found, god rosewood PD sucks.

[GaT]

Yeah, they all got a "makeover" pre the series, however, did not sound like it was a pleasant makeover experience. The sounds of the girls were downright horrifying.

So the question is, who gave them the makeovers? Is Charles a stylist too? And how did it happen to all of them at the same time?

[GaT]

Its..confusing. Whatever. 

They should probably change the name of the show to this.

[GaT]

I forgot to ask, my recording cut off right after Emily said she met Sarah's friends, did anything important happen after that?

[Lii]

If the show really does go that direction, it's not going to be the same show any more, and they know that. "It's confusing, whatever" is different than "and then they all got raped in A's murder cabin" and there's no coming back from that. Honestly, I'm surprised they decided to go the route of making A a guy, because it makes everything from all along way squickier already, even without the naked morgue scene and assault implications tonight.

[SadieT]

So the question is, who gave them the makeovers? Is Charles a stylist too? And how did it happen to all of them at the same time?

 

I don't think they immediately got their makeovers upon entering their bedrooms. They were locked in there for 3 weeks so A could have gone in and done their hair at any point during that period. He might have gassed them through the air vents to do it or forced them to it themselves. But it did seem like they were reacting to the "surprise" A had waiting for them as soon as their doors slammed and we heard them all gasping and screaming. A himself couldn't have been in there waiting for them because he can't be in 4 places at once, but obviously whatever they saw when they walked in terrified them. Unless the terrified screaming wasn't actually from when they first walked into the room but was meant to be sort of like a soundtrack for the elapsed 3 week period? We hear Spencer screaming "no, no, no!" and what sounds like Emily saying "please don't do this" just as Aria's door slams shut and the screen fades to black, but A couldn't have been personally torturing them all at the same time so either the screams are from different points during the 3 weeks or they're in response to whatever surprise was waiting for them in their rooms. I'm not even sure A ever physically does anything to them himself or that they even saw him during their 3 week lockdown. I think whatever they went through was more psychological than physical.

 

Janel Parish did say this about what happens to the girls inside the dollhouse, which is kind of interesting:

"every girl gets a different type of torture that, again, you'll find out more about as the season goes on, but it's dark -- it's really dark. It kind of reminds me a little bit of Saw."

 

ETA: A fan on twitter asked one of the writers about the possibility that the girls were raped in the dollhouse. His answer here. 

Edited June 3, 2015 by SadieT

[Lii]

Watching the replay now... I bet the girls wish they could go back to the days of pig face cookies and incriminating lesbian kiss photos. MonA was best A. <3

[william0102]

Okay, well, trying to figure out what the surprise could have been, we have to automatically discount Aria's reaction because there really was none and the others were already in their rooms. Could it have been photos/video of A having their family/loved ones under surveillance? Exposing one camera on each girl's house/s.o.'s house is nothing when no one is looking for the cameras. The girls were prisoners, so it wasn't like he needed all the cameras. Hanna's surprise had something to do with one of her parents. Maybe Spencer got pictures from when Toby was 'dead' or real time video on Melissa's place? And I guess either Paige or Alison threats/photos/video for Emily.

 

Honestly, I  really don't want to consider any other kind of surprises because I was shocked with them waking up the way they did- total violation of their person. The show has problems with lots of things, but having Charles/Sarah/ or Mona undress and clean the girls is disgusting. I don't get why they weren't freaked out. And if something sexual did happen, it couldn't be Spencer, right? Charles is a DiLaurentis, probably Jason's brother, and Spencer is Jason's half sister, so that would just really be sick af.

 

Edited to add: I was worried as hell when Hanna didn't come out right away. My mind immediately went to Charles triggering her bulimia and her being hurt.

Edited June 3, 2015 by william0102

[Lii]

Upon rewatch, the female cop with short, dark hair who found Sarah could totally pass for Charles under a mask. Perfect height, build, hair color/cut/style, everything. Also, all that time Mona was there, even the time she spent searching through the place when the power was out and whatnot, and she never had any idea this girl was there, yet this cop found her in no time flat... IDK, the way the whole scene was directed made it all seem super fishy. Maybe I'm just reaching because I really, REALLY do not want the Charles who undressed and sponge bathed the girls while they were drugged unconscious to be a dude. >.>

[ElectricBoogaloo]

For better or for worse, this crazy show is back, bitches! I just noticed that this episode was directed by Chad Lowe.

 

Ha, I love that Ali, Caleb, Ezra, and even Toby know that Rosewood PD is so incompetent that they have to come up with their own plan to trick the police so they can find the girls themselves. I love Caleb, but I was surprised he only put one tracking device on Ali. I would have put multiple devices on her and then used one of those subcutaneous chips they use for pets, just to be on the safe side. When Toby went to Tanner about the car, I was afraid that Toby and Caleb were going to be accused of kidnapping Ali or something.

 

Whose diary was Tanner reading at the station? She had a box of Andrew's stuff on the table, but the handwriting looked like a girl's writing, not a boy's.

 

I really want to know who Charles hired to be the Siri voice of his dungeon. My major quibble is with Spencer and then Emily saying that A has a soul just because they found his stuff. Even serial killers have families and childhoods and that still doesn't mean they have souls or consciences. A room of mementos doesn't make a person good. Maybe he's just an obsessive hoarder.

 

I love that even while kidnapped, Spencer is keeping track of the phases of the moon and using her OCD to count the number of steps from place to place within Andrew's dungeon.

 

While I still can't trust Mona, I don't think she was faking being thrown in the Pit of Despair. I do wonder why Charles put a gas mask over her face when the others were gassed. When she showed up as a candy striper, I was sure that Charles was giving them more drugs.

 

I wonder what the girls' surprises were. It couldn't have been anything as simple as incriminating pictures of their old secrets since most of those have already been exposed by now. Spencer and Emily reacted very vocally as soon as they entered their rooms so it must have been something visual, but I can't imagine what. The only positive thing I can come up with right now is that least he couldn't have physically assaulted all four of them simultaneously by himself. I know there's nothing to say he didn't personally assault each of them over the following three weeks, but we know that he couldn't have beat them all up at once the night that they came back. Maybe it was pictures of them naked and looking dead? I got nothing. Part of me is really afraid to find out what he did to upset them so much that they could barely look at each other or talk about it when they were finally let out of their rooms.

 

And it's funny because through the whole ep I kept thinking there was another girl dressed as Ali, but the show did such a good job of screwing with me that I kept wondering if maybe I was just seeing Mona. Then BAM there was another girl all along. Well played, show, well played.

Sarah was actually shown at the very beginning of the episode during the flashback to prom night. She is drawing a sun on the wall of her cell when the power goes out. As the girls are all running to escape, Sarah is shown wearing the ubiquitous yellow tank top and walking past all the hashmarks on the wall. Her door isn't even closed so she sees the girls running down the hallway. She then goes and sits on her bed in front of all the hashmarks. She's shown again after the girls are back in the dungeon. She brings Spencer her food tray, but Spencer assumes that she's Mona.

 

The actress playing the reporter kept saying "the four teen girls who were abducted" so that I kept hearing "the fourteen girls."

[raytch]

Wow that was kind of great wasn't it?
 
I don't know how teenagers can watch this. I'm 28 and this left me seriously uncomfortable. Boy am I happy that I watched this in my office in broad daylight!
 
I feel like they've established a strong character with A without ever having to introduce him. I didn't think for one second "who is A" this episode, he's just the psychopath under the hood. 
 
I know everyone thought it's weird that the girls didn't freak out about waking up naked under those sheets. What I thought was weird was Emily actually saying "oh thank God he did not harvest any organs!" I think this tells us how low the bar is now. They're just happy to be literally in one piece at this point.
I do agree though, the entire episode did have a very rapey vibe.
This is someone who's probably "commissioned" the NAT club to take those videos for him. Let's not forget that in those videos, the liars are walking around almost naked and trying on clothes before they were even juniors! so this isn't exactly out of character or anything. Twisted as hell, but it goes with what we know about this person.
I could barely watch this scene though, from the minute Mona said 'no' I knew she was just trying to hold off the inevitable, the look on her face before they went in... something horrible happened in there and she knew exactly what it was going to be (probably because she had to prepare the surprises)
She looked as scared as they were so I don't think she's working with A.
 
I noticed something, when the liars broke into the vault and burned down everything, it seemed like there were 2 people?
We see A looking at both screens (Ali on the right, liars on the left), he slams the table and leaves, then we see him standing behind the curtain, then we see him watching the screens again. Was his control room so close tho the vault? Or was it more than one person?
Also, does this mean that the control room they found at the Campbell farm Andrew's? What was with the super obvious diary entry? (I do not hate them. I want to play with them). I'm sure there's another side to this. 
 
Sarah Harvey! I knew she would still be alive! Poor thing. She didn't even dare to get out of her room. I can only wonder how many times she tried to break free during those 3 years.
 

So, was Mona aware that Sarah was there all that time ?  Based on the counting lines Sarah had drawn on the wall, it had been a looooong time.  With A spending so much time in Rosewood and Ravenwood, who took care of Sarah during that time -- another of A's minions ?  If Sarah disappeared when Ali disappeared, that means she's been there for around 3 years.  And why was her door apparently unlocked, because when the PLLs were mad dashing in their prom dresses it wasn't midnight when the power would go out for 3 minutes (which still seems like an incredibly stupid design feature considering the infinite resources that 'A' appears to have access to.

 

The first time (prom night) I'm guessing it was unlocked once the liars cause the electricity malfunction. The second was because of the fire alarm?

Edited June 3, 2015 by raytch

[Watt]

I knew they wouldn't go the rape route but I feel glad that it was confirmed. Thank God for that. Still think they should have been more concerned about waking up naked. Can't wait to see how it plays out.

[RedInk]

This episode felt like a completely different show to me. Such a huge departure, with the police involvement, national media attention, the horrible affect on fully clued-in parents...not to mention a month-long torture ordeal in the murder bunker. This is a serial killer criminal mastermind show now, and in my opinion felt disjointed. There's definitely no going back. Kinda hated it.

No idea what happened to the girls as "punishment," but they all started screaming the second they walked in, so whatever it was occurred simultaneously, and there's only one Charles. They were able to regroup pretty quickly, but who knows if that's an indication of how bad it was or just a plot necessity. Oh...and I wanted them to stay outside and climb the fence when the generator shut down ;)

[Chaos Theory]

I don't think or want it to be rape. Honestly this show works better with emotional torture anyway. 'A' or hell Charles could just have shown them pictures or images of there family (Hana knew her mother was not handling things well) and forced them to do really awful things. Emotional torture has always been this shows stock and trade.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Kaboom 2.0]

For me, all is well, will be well, because Hanna and Caleb are back together.

This show has not made sense for me in YEARS and I still get dragged in every season just to see what A/various A's are up to, the shit he/she/they decides to put the PLLs through, how these girls react to it all, etc.

So many of my thoughts, opinions, questions/answers have already been posted but I must say that even though one of our fellow posters posted the Twitter reply of one of the show writers re: the PLLs actually being raped or not, I seriously shifted uncomfortably in my chair during the two shots last night that for me, went way too far in the rape/sexual assault direction: these poor girls waking up in the faux morgue wrapped in just sheets (someone obviously disrobed them and could have done God knows what while they were unconscious) and of course hearing each one scream when being locked into their respective rooms while wearing those sheets. Whoa.

 

Other than that, the premiere lived up to my now-usual PLL the show expectations of WTF.

[Agent Dark]

No idea what happened to the girls as "punishment," but they all started screaming the second they walked in, so whatever it was occurred simultaneously, and there's only one Charles.

I think that was actually just a poor editing choice for the scene - I have a feeling all that simultaneous screaming was meant to be a 'montage' of what happened during the 3 week time-jump.  Only it didn't come across very well, and made it seem all the girls just started randomly screaming as soon as their doors closed.  It would seem the next few episodes are going to actually go into what happened to each girl, and we'll probably get to see what made them so upset.

[Primetimer]

A totally reasonable argument for 'A' to get into the 21st century where he belongs.

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[raytch]

This episode felt like a completely different show to me. Such a huge departure, with the police involvement, national media attention, the horrible affect on fully clued-in parents...not to mention a month-long torture ordeal in the murder bunker. This is a serial killer criminal mastermind show now, and in my opinion felt disjointed. There's definitely no going back. Kinda hated it.

No idea what happened to the girls as "punishment," but they all started screaming the second they walked in, so whatever it was occurred simultaneously, and there's only one Charles. They were able to regroup pretty quickly, but who knows if that's an indication of how bad it was or just a plot necessity. Oh...and I wanted them to stay outside and climb the fence when the generator shut down ;)

 

I actually didn't mind that it's a serial killer criminal show now. I feel like they've been wanting to get here for a while. And the story can definitely handle it.

Ever since Mona went to Radley, A has been slowly going darker and darker (from digging up a body, to full on killing people, even his stunts and the way he attacks the liars, you can feel he was becoming angrier).

 

My only concern is that the younger generation might not be able to handle this dark turn. Unless there hasn't been any young new comers for a few seasons now, and thus the audience has been growing older with the series. But seriously, a 13 to 16 years old should not be watching this. 

I know that the show is always hinting at things instead of showing them. Like for example, Jenna and Toby, Ali being attacked with a knife while she was away, Ezra and Aria, Wilden and Ashley, the impending creepiness of every single male character...They've always been careful about just how much to show the viewers, just enough to be able TELL the stories from there and then back it up with hints from conversations and interactions between the characters.. Can you imagine if this show was on HBO for instance? It would be a lot more violent and a lot bloodier. Not to mention the sexual content that is mostly toned down (Aria has one scene with Ezra where she's topless in 5 seasons). Personally I don't mind this, because I'm not a big fan of free violence and overly gruesome scenes (I stopped watching Penny Dreadful after 10 mins into the pilot). 

But the story is much darker than it was when it started. In 2010 the show started off as a darker twist on Gossip Girl, but now... I don't know. It seems like the show has its' own mythology (for lack of a better word) and they've been building it up for quiet some time that it seems inevitable not to go there at this point.

[intensebeige]

I'm so glad this crazy show is back.  This one episode was more entertaining than all of 5B. 

 

 

After what seems like three summer seasons of nothing, I was thrilled by last night's episode.  It was nearly enough to wipe the Summer of Cousin Nate completely from my memory.  I do not need this show to make one minute of sense as long as it's a creepy thrill-ride.  

[raytch]

For me, all is well, will be well, because Hanna and Caleb are back together.

This show has not made sense for me in YEARS and I still get dragged in every season just to see what A/various A's are up to, the shit he/she/they decides to put the PLLs through, how these girls react to it all, etc.

So many of my thoughts, opinions, questions/answers have already been posted but I must say that even though one of our fellow posters posted the Twitter reply of one of the show writers re: the PLLs actually being raped or not, I seriously shifted uncomfortably in my chair during the two shots last night that for me, went way too far in the rape/sexual assault direction: these poor girls waking up in the faux morgue wrapped in just sheets (someone obviously disrobed them and could have done God knows what while they were unconscious) and of course hearing each one scream when being locked into their respective rooms while wearing those sheets. Whoa.

 

Other than that, the premiere lived up to my now-usual PLL the show expectations of WTF.

 

But in a way hasn't the whole omnipresence given that away? He's been watching the girls for so long, that, if it turns out that he undressed them personally when they were drugged (it could be Sarah Harvey who did that since she also delivered food), it doesn't feel that shocking because maybe he's just comfortable with the idea.

It doesn't make it less creepy, but obviously we're dealing with someone who's THAT creepy.

I honestly teared up during that entire scene when they woke up in the make shift morgue to when they walked into their rooms. I don't know what's in store for the upcoming flashbacks in the next episodes, but I don't even wanna know. According to the episode 2 promo, it seems like the liars had to torture each other with electro shocks or something? Seriously, I don't wanna know.