S06.E01: Game On, Charles

[Free]

 

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.

 

Based on the promo, we'll probably get flashbacks and it'll most likely just be torture.

 

As for the episode, while I'm not convinced of Charles, everything feels like too much of a convenient set up, I did enjoy it especially after season and season of fillers.

[FineWashables]

That was so much fun!  I'm so glad this show is back, even though I never have any real idea what's going on or why. There are so many questions about the story that I can't even start, but two questions not plot related stand out in my head:  Why did they decide to dress Ali like Hilary Clinton?  Not good.  And what the hell did they do to Caleb's hair?  Not at all good.

 

And just like you, ElectricBoogaloo, I was totally confused about who the fourteen girls could be.

Edited June 3, 2015 by FineWashables

[ElectricBoogaloo]

A may be creepy but I have to applaud his musical choices. "Don't Fence Me In" at the beginning? Hilarious.

 

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.

If the intention was for the screams to be a montage of their three weeks of torture rather than all the girls reacting as soon as they stepped into their rooms, they did a terrible job conveying that. We see all the girls looking at each other and then as they enter their rooms, we definitely hear Spencer and Emily yelling and then silence. After that, we get a title card that says, "three weeks later." My interpretation is that they were reacting to whatever A's aforementioned surprises were immediately.

[ottoDbusdriver]

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.

 

Once I saw the three weeks later placecard, I was hoping for the mice from 'Babe' to appear.

 

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).

 

Interesting thing -- on one of the TVs in the police station, there was an item about the fact that Radley is now closed.  I'm sure that will come into play sooner than later -- I wonder if 'A' bought it.

 

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.

 

Hopefully someone also explains that scene with Mona looking very dead in the trunk of the car after her 'murder'.

 

ETA: If the PLLs were basically gone for a month, will that affect their academic years and they won't be able to graduate ?  Or will it be like Alison getting full credit for the two years while she was missing and they will all just pick up as if they were on a very long field trip ?  

 

While they announced the murder conviction was overturned against Alison (how that happened in only 3 weeks, I have no idea because the police had no actual evidence that Mona was alive, but I guess since they never had a body to actually prove she was dead it all balances out in the end), shouldn't the PLLs still technically be incarcerated and the Rosewood PD have taken them back into custody ?  They were on the way to jail when they were abducted, and as far as we know those charges haven't been dropped (or were they dropped once Alison was freed) ?.

Edited June 3, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[ElectricBoogaloo]

on one of the TVs in the police station, there was an item about the fact that Radley is now closed.  I'm sure that will come into play sooner than later -- I wonder if 'A' bought it.

I was convinced that something was going to come of that info, like that Charles had another lair at Radley or something. I guess we will see if anything comes of that later in the season.

 

One thing I liked seeing was that the girls' reaction to Charles kidnapping them was more about how worried they were about their families rather than being upset that they were locked up in A's dungeon. They are at the point where they accept and expect A to torture them, but the big reactions we got out of them (Hanna crying about Ashley going to the hospital and Aria's outburst) were about their concern for their families and what they must be going through.

[raytch]

Maybe A has a Lair Franchise chain?

Run by Lair Managers who together form The A-Team?

[Shangrilala]

A couple of questions.

 

The makeovers - did only Aria get a haircut?  Why?  If A was trying to recreate a look from the year Ali "died," he should have left her hair longer and just put the pink into it.  I feel like from a psychological standpoint, cutting a woman's hair means something, I just can't remember?  Spencer definitely looked more like old Spencer with her clothes, however, Emily and Hannah looked the same to me. What were their makeovers?

 

I read an article that talked about two big reveals that we didn't know about, that happen in this episode.  The first one, they said, was right in the first minute.  I'm assuming that is Sarah Harvey, they showed her to us right away watching the girls run through the prom bunker.  The other one was supposed to be tied to the video, they said there is more to that video than what we saw at the end of last season.  And I think that's right, they showed Mrs. D kneeling down next to the boys in front of the video camera.  But was there something more that I missed?  I'm not sure I get what was so revealing about that moment?  

 

I don't trust MonA.  I have no reason to trust MonA.  If you look back at all of the seasons, with the exception of Ian, if I remember correctly, Mona is tied closely to every A.  She was A in season 2.  After Radley, she was still part of the A team, working with UberA and Toby.  She knew about Ezra's surveillance of the girls and was in cahoots with him at some point.  I can't remember her interaction with Shauna, but let's face it, nobody cares about Shauna.  As others pointed out, in all of her searching through the bunker, how did she never hear or see Sarah?  Her "no" to Charles after Emily asked her if she was sure she didn't know anything else seemed like a ploy.  And hey, the girl let herself get locked into Radley for a time.  This girl doesn't do things half-assed, that's for sure.  Why not a hole, too?  This is MonA.  Have you ever fully trusted her?  

 

I have issues with the character of Charles.  Mainly because while I can seem him angry at the DiLaurentis Family and Allison, I have no idea why he would be torturing 3 or 4 girls that he never knew.  It makes zero sense to me.  Why take them back to the year Ali was first "murdered" if he wasn't even part of the picture back then?   Why is he not torturing Jason or Mr. DiLaurentis?  What the heck did Hanna Marin ever do to Charles?  

 

I, too, thought there was more than 1 A during that montage of Ali arriving in the woods and the girls burning down the room.  I'll have to go watch it again, but it seemed like there was an A watching from the control room, which we know is not at the park, and then there was an A in the bunker.  Or, if the Rosewood PD shut down the control room at Campbell Farm, there's another control room somewhere (in the bunker, I'd assume).  But either way, I saw it and said "there's 2."  Which makes sense.  Has any A ever fully operated alone?  Shauna might have, but let's face it, Shauna was a dumb A.  And she was in cahoots with Jenna anyway.  

 

I stand by my theory.  A is really the A-team.  And certain characters have always been and will always be on the A-team.  Mona.  Jenna.  Lucas.  Andrew (Charles?).  

 

And the tracker in the shoe was dumb.  Come on Caleb, you're better than that.  Embed that thing in her arm or something.  

[Artsda]

 

Spencer definitely looked more like old Spencer with her clothes, however, Emily and Hannah looked the same to me. What were their makeovers?

Not sure about Emily, but maybe they force fed Hannah or made her eat?

[stave]

 

The makeovers - did only Aria get a haircut?  Why?  If A was trying to recreate a look from the year Ali "died," he should have left her hair longer and just put the pink into it.  I feel like from a psychological standpoint, cutting a woman's hair means something, I just can't remember?  Spencer definitely looked more like old Spencer with her clothes, however, Emily and Hannah looked the same to me. What were their makeovers?

Emily was wearing her old swim team tracksuit, I believe. As for Hannah, were those the pants she was wearing when she and Emily were attacked in the murder cAbin and she got stabbed in the leg, and Dr Wren fixed her up and they made out? The color seemed similar, from what I remember, and there was a rip in the thigh...

[raytch]

A couple of questions.

 

The makeovers - did only Aria get a haircut?  Why?  If A was trying to recreate a look from the year Ali "died," he should have left her hair longer and just put the pink into it.  I feel like from a psychological standpoint, cutting a woman's hair means something, I just can't remember?  Spencer definitely looked more like old Spencer with her clothes, however, Emily and Hannah looked the same to me. What were their makeovers?

 

I think Emily's makeover was the sporty outfit, and I guess he couldn't make Hanna hefty again within 3 weeks.

This actually says how little the liars looks' have changed all these years. Ali has obviously put on weight, and this is due to Sasha P starting really young on this show (she's only 18 now) and so her body is making changes the way teenage bodies do. The rest look the same because they're all past their mid 20s, which kinda makes me wish they brought younger actresses. Don't get me wrong I love them, but no one looks that perfect in their teenage years. 

 

I have issues with the character of Charles.  Mainly because while I can seem him angry at the DiLaurentis Family and Allison, I have no idea why he would be torturing 3 or 4 girls that he never knew.  It makes zero sense to me.  Why take them back to the year Ali was first "murdered" if he wasn't even part of the picture back then?   Why is he not torturing Jason or Mr. DiLaurentis?  What the heck did Hanna Marin ever do to Charles?

 

My take on this is that the liars did something while drugged that night, that maybe caused Bethany's death?

Maybe Hannah accidentally hit her and the liars didn't do anything about it?

Hannah looked the most broken when they walked out of their rooms 3 weeks later. And Aria and Spencer looked particularly suspicious about her, like they were processing something.

Good God could it be that he made them play some sick ass game where he keeps trying to remind them what happened that night until they had it all figured out?

Whatever it is. The liars must have done something terrible because this seems very personal. This isn't bullying, this is settling an old score.

 

I, too, thought there was more than 1 A during that montage of Ali arriving in the woods and the girls burning down the room.  I'll have to go watch it again, but it seemed like there was an A watching from the control room, which we know is not at the park, and then there was an A in the bunker.  Or, if the Rosewood PD shut down the control room at Campbell Farm, there's another control room somewhere (in the bunker, I'd assume).  But either way, I saw it and said "there's 2."  Which makes sense.  Has any A ever fully operated alone?  Shauna might have, but let's face it, Shauna was a dumb A.  And she was in cahoots with Jenna anyway.

 

But if there were 2 As why didn't they just split? One takes care of Ali and one takes care of the liars in the vault? I don't know I just rewatched that scene and the editing makes it very confusing.  

The lair looked nothing like the one in the Campbell farm from the finale, but it was connected to it since there were videos from the cameras in the dollhouse.

Also whoever was in the control the room at first, went elsewhere and then in the next shot we saw someone in the control room again, then again someone hitting the fire alarm button.

 

Did anyone else notice that whoever spoke to Ali had a british accent? He didn't sound like Wren though,  he sounded much older. My mind is going towards Byron but I'm not sure how that would make any sense...

Edited June 3, 2015 by raytch

[GaT]

While they announced the murder conviction was overturned against Alison (how that happened in only 3 weeks, I have no idea because the police had no actual evidence that Mona was alive, but I guess since they never had a body to actually prove she was dead it all balances out in the end), shouldn't the PLLs still technically be incarcerated and the Rosewood PD have taken them back into custody ?  They were on the way to jail when they were abducted, and as far as we know those charges haven't been dropped (or were they dropped once Alison was freed) ?.

I believe that the PLLs were arrested as accomplices to Mona's murder, so once Ali was declared not guilty, they couldn't be her accomplices anymore.

[SadieT]

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.

Oh good catch! In the promo it does look like the lairs, looks like Emily and maybe Spencer, are made to hit buttons or switches with the other girls' names on it. Part of the torture they faced could have been being forced to "choose" to torment their friends in some way. I still think whatever they were forced to endure was completely psychological and nothing physical or sexual (as was already confirmed by a writer). The girls had no markings or bruising on them and weren't showing signs of physical abuse (although Hanna did seem to be holding herself back a bit) but we know A uses mental torment because Mona said that's how he punished her when she did something wrong.

And now that I've seen it again I'm with those who think the screaming was meant to be montage screaming occurring over the 3 weeks and not the girls immediate reaction to what was waiting for them in their rooms. We can hear the girls gasp when they walk in and the doors lock but the screaming seemed like it was occurring over time, it just wasn't edited clearly.

Edited June 3, 2015 by SadieT

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

Excuse me if someone has already brought this up, but I just got back after spending the whole day out and I haven't had a chance to read all the comments yet. Am I the only one who finds it weird that A would "torture" the girls as soon as they get back into their rooms, THREE WEEKS GO BY and then and only then do they get out of there and stare awkwardly at each other muttering "Let's not talk about what we just went through"? Why would they dissuss after 3 weeks? I can't possibly be the only one to have spotted this MAJOR plot hole!

Edited June 3, 2015 by Giuliano Lanzilli

[ottoDbusdriver]

I can't possibly be the only one to have spotted this MAJOR plot hole!

 

Or the other major plot hole -- none of the PLLs rooms appeared to have a bathroom attached.  When they were finally released after 3 weeks they acted like they hadn't been out of their respective rooms in all that time, so I doubt they got to share the bathroom at the end of the hall.  Did they all get their own buckets ?  Who emptied the buckets -- Sara Harvey, Mona ?  The PLLs were interred in the prom bunker for over 3 weeks, probably closer to 4 weeks so some sort of solution would have to be in place.  And this was a ridiculously high-tech bunker complete with floor level lighting, powered doors for remote closing/opening and a retractable sprinkler head system (which is not exactly standard equipment).

Edited June 3, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[gesundheit]

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

Thank you! I was coming here to ask what happened to the other 8 girls. 

 

 Am I the only one who finds it weird that A would "torture" the girls as soon as they get back into their rooms, THREE WEEKS GO BY and then and only then do they get out of there and stare awkwardly at each other muttering "Let's not talk about what we just went through"? Why would they dissuss after 3 weeks? I can't possibly be the only one to have spotted this MAJOR plot hole!

What they "just went through" lasted three weeks.

 

That was a pretty exciting episode, and it was refreshing that A wasn't a secret anymore. I'm disappointed, though, that boyfriends had to save them instead of the cops actually accomplishing something for the first time.

 

I suppose it's always asking too much for Aria and Ezra to ever be broken up for more than a minute. I think if they want to turn Ezra into a hero. instead of having him save the day he decides he cares enough to stop having sex with a high school student. And also realizes he participated in violating these kids who have already been through so much.

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

What they "just went through" lasted three weeks.

 

Pardon me but I have a really hard time believing A would keep them all in isolation for such a long time, especially when that had never happened since they stepped foot in the dollhouse. I think the writers meant the "three weeks" tag to only apply to the "outside world" (their parents, boyfriends, reporters and police searching for them) to give the impression they had been missing for a very big chunk of time, and screwed it up by making it stick to whatever was going on down the bunker, too. Doesn't the main generator shut down EVERY DAY for three minutes? So they NEVER managed to gather in the hallway for 3 FREAKING WEEKS? It doesn't make a lick of sense, even in a show thriving on sheer nonsense like this one!

Edited June 3, 2015 by Giuliano Lanzilli

[SadieT]

Pardon me but I have a really hard time believing A would keep them all in isolation for such a long time, especially when that had never happened since they stepped foot in the dollhouse. I think the writers meant the "three weeks" tag to only apply to the "outside world" (their parents, boyfriends, reporters and police searching for them) to give the impression they had been missing for a very big chunk of time, and screwed it up by making it stick to whatever was going on down the bunker, too. Doesn't the main generator shut down EVERY DAY for three minutes? So they NEVER managed to gather in the hallway for 3 FREAKING WEEKS? It doesn't make a lick of sense, even in a show thriving on sheer nonsense like this one!

They were too scared to leave during that time because they were being tortured. Hanna says so when they're talking about escaping and someone says the generator still shuts down at night.

[gesundheit]

Pardon me but I have a really hard time believing A would keep them all in isolation for such a long time, especially when that had never happened since they stepped foot in the dollhouse.

Why is it impossible to believe they didn't interact for three weeks and weren't able to escape? He could have easily restrained them. I mean he had Mona in a well, who knows what was going on. He'd kept Sarah captive and isolated for 3 years. Seems like three weeks would be a piece of cake.

[raytch]

Pardon me but I have a really hard time believing A would keep them all in isolation for such a long time, especially when that had never happened since they stepped foot in the dollhouse. I think the writers meant the "three weeks" tag to only apply to the "outside world" (their parents, boyfriends, reporters and police searching for them) to give the impression they had been missing for a very big chunk of time, and screwed it up by making it stick to whatever was going on down the bunker, too. Doesn't the main generator shut down EVERY DAY for three minutes? So they NEVER managed to gather in the hallway for 3 FREAKING WEEKS? It doesn't make a lick of sense, even in a show thriving on sheer nonsense like this one!

From next week's promo, it doesn't seem like they were in their rooms. Maybe only one o the liars was out every time and pushing the torture buttons thus triggering the one of the other liars to be tortured in their rooms?

There's only 2 shots in the promo, one of Emily pushing a button while covering her ears (probably so she doesn't hear whoever she chose screaming) and the other one is Spencer pushing a button with some wires on her hand.

[stave]

If we're talking about sheer nonsense, how about the incredibly over-complicated plot to get Ali out of the house? Like, she can't just say, "I'm going to the bathroom," and then sneak out the window. No no, this requires creepy phone calls and old-timey music, and also masks and mannequins and hoodies, because why not! we're going full red herring here, so let's just throw literally every single A trope at the thing. It was just too much of a "HA, gotcha!" to the audience, and I definitely would have taken 3 more minutes of Mona singing to herself in the Hole over watching Rosewood PD fail at its job some more, again.

[raytch]

Um I think the police was not just inside the house but also outside watching. So the BF team had to create a diversion.

I don't know I didn't question all these things while watching.

Besides considering the usual major plot holes on this show this episode was top notch.

[lorikauai]

They were too scared to leave during that time because they were being tortured. Hanna says so when they're talking about escaping and someone says the generator still shuts down at night.

 

I caught that too and thought that was super far-fetched. So they all had the ability to check on each other during those 3 minutes and none of them did for 3 weeks? These girls who are always like, "Hey A is leading us to an abandoned warehouse. Let's split up and look for clues!" don't adventure out during the power outage for 3 weeks? Not even to make sure the other girls are still alive? 

 

I was sort of bored by the whole episode. I'm already tired of the Charles DiLaurentis-family-member-we-didn't-know-existed storyline. Bringing in some male sadistic serial killer type figure at this point? The creepy rape-y imagery? Ehhhh. I stopped watching Criminal Minds for a reason. 

 

Ezra and Toby and Mona all continue to be suspicious. I continue to hold on to my theory that they are all still involved. The gas mask thing was part of Ezra's plan after all. I felt like it might have been Lucas in the bunker with the girls. I could see him still partnered with Mona. Hmm, maybe the girls under the sheets was a reference to the Emily massage he helped A with? I saw lots of horror film references but maybe also some references to actions of the assorted A-team members?

 

I wonder if the Charles thing is just a ruse on the part of the A-team? The girls were meant to find those clues and put those pieces together. For all we know he might be completely innocent, dead, or even fictitious. 

 

I am glad the girls are out of the bunker. Interested to see what (if anything) Sara Harvey has to do with this. Hey, maybe she's Charles? Ha! 

 

 

Oh, and I agree with the previous poster, the journal definitely appeared to have been written by a girl. It may have been in Andrew's possession, but that doesn't mean he is the author. 

Edited June 3, 2015 by lorikauai

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

Why is it impossible to believe they didn't interact for three weeks and weren't able to escape? He could have easily restrained them. I mean he had Mona in a well, who knows what was going on. He'd kept Sarah captive and isolated for 3 years. Seems like three weeks would be a piece of cake.

 

Because the main generator shuts down for three minutes every midnight, hence their previous escape attempt! I find it extremely implausible that they wouldn't take advantage of that and decide to stay put inside their rooms without even talking or reaching out to each other for three weeks (especially considered the inhumane torture they were allegedly enduring)... hell weren't they even going to the bathroom? Whatever rationalization one could come up with for that, it just SCREAMS contrived!

Edited June 3, 2015 by Giuliano Lanzilli

[gesundheit]

Because the main generator shuts down for three minutes every midnight, hence their previous escape attempt! I find it extremely implausible that they wouldn't take advantage of that and decide to stay put inside their rooms without even talking or reaching out to each other for three weeks (especially considered the inhumane torture they were allegedly enduring)... hell weren't they even going to the bathroom? Whatever rationalization one could come up with for that, it just SCREAMS contrived!

I really don't understand how their torture couldn't have easily involved not being able to attempt escape. I doubt they decided to stay put, they probably didn't have a choice.

 

Well, regardless, we'll supposedly find out.

[Slugabug Foster]

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.

Sarah's tick marks on the walls reminded me of Cathy's in Flowers in the Attic.

[RedInk]

I'm not sure how we can determine what happened during the 3-week ordeal, because the behavior of the girls was really inconsistent. I get that there is no textbook response to imprisonment and torture, and I'm overthinking a teen-targeted soap, but the varied reactions of the girls is confusing to me.

 

Hanna says she was too scared to even attempt to walk out or try to contact anyone, but we see Spencer desperately trying to reach out to Mona (really what's-her-name, who I don't care about) when she was delivering food. So it follows that Spencer would have tried to get out/talk with someone if she could. I thought maybe their families were threatened, and that was their motivation for staying, but that theory went out the window later in the episode. Also, for all the trauma they went through, they were able to pretty much shake it all off at the end. They were too terrified to upset Charles until they decided to taunt him and burn his lair down, along with his most prized possessions, just an hour or so after being freed - again, an act they could have committed on their own when the generator shut down. I realize I'm being a suuuper nitpicky brat here, but really - what went on & how bad was it? I can't get a read!

[Slugabug Foster]

I'm very curious about what happened after the girls returned to their rooms, even though it was scary, and more than a little disturbing.

 

I'm not surprised that it's looking like Andrew is Big A. I'm sure Brandon W. Jones is a nice guy in real life, but when I see him, I can't help but think of creepy Liam on The Fosters. He plays a believable stalker/pervert/sicko.

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

I caught that too and thought that was super far-fetched. So they all had the ability to check on each other during those 3 minutes and none of them did for 3 weeks? These girls who are always like, "Hey A is leading us to an abandoned warehouse. Let's split up and look for clues!" don't adventure out during the power outage for 3 weeks? Not even to make sure the other girls are still alive? 

 

THANK YOU!!!

 

I'm not sure how we can determine what happened during the 3-week ordeal, because the behavior of the girls was really inconsistent. I get that there is no textbook response to imprisonment and torture, and I'm overthinking a teen-targeted soap, but the varied reactions of the girls is confusing to me.

 

Hanna says she was too scared to even attempt to walk out or try to contact anyone, but we see Spencer desperately trying to reach out to Mona (really what's-her-name, who I don't care about) when she was delivering food. So it follows that Spencer would have tried to get out/talk with someone if she could. I thought maybe their families were threatened, and that was their motivation for staying, but that theory went out the window later in the episode. Also, for all the trauma they went through, they were able to pretty much shake it all off at the end. They were too terrified to upset Charles until they decided to taunt him and burn his lair down, along with his most prized possessions, just an hour or so after being freed - again, an act they could have committed on their own when the generator shut down. I realize I'm being a suuuper nitpicky brat here, but really - what went on & how bad was it? I can't get a read!

 

BRAVO! Couldn't have said it better myself! As usual this fucking show is as messy and convoluted and contradictory as they come (I doubt the writers are even aware of these inconsistencies, let alone able to fix them).

[Slugabug Foster]

I feel terrible for Ashley... can't wait until she and Hanna are reunited.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Slugabug Foster

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

Also, I'm sorry If I'm being dense, but 2 minutes into the episode we clearly see A shutting down the electricity in the bunker (the lightpoles go out) when they're all outside. Why didn't they try and climb the fence then? I totally thought they were going to... were they afraid A would switch it on all of a sudden and they would be electrocuted?

[Cranberry]

Wouldn't you be?

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

Wouldn't you be?

 

Yeah, I was just seeking confirmation that this was the reason why they didn't climb it. Also, another WTF moment: "Let's burn this whole place down... no wait, watch the flames! Let's put out the fire!". -.-

[elizacat]

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.

The call from inside the house was from a movie called When A Stranger Calls.

[Jack Shaftoe]

This show is getting stupider and stupider, alas. Instead of plot or characterization that makes any kind of sense they put in tons of "homages" and "twists". And loud "scary" music. In my case, I don't find it scary in the slightest because it is all way too ridiculous. The creepy little girl in Ravenswood, for instance, was a total cliche, but I found her quite scary - maybe because that show was actually about supernatural stuff, and yet had much more grounded characters than the current, flanderized versions of the PLL characters.

 

 

I wonder if the Charles thing is just a ruse on the part of the A-team? The girls were meant to find those clues and put those pieces together. For all we know he might be completely innocent, dead, or even fictitious.

 

I still don't understand why the girls are so convinced the Big Bad is called Charles based on nothing but anagrams and a video of some kid Charles. For all they know he could be this Charles' father or maybe he just likes to watch videos of his victims and that of Jessica merely happened to have a kid named Charles in it.

 

Really show, Sarah Harvey? Like the cast isn't bloated enough and the list of A's victims ridiculously long?

 

It sure was easy getting into "Charles's" secret lair. That's the problem with seemingly omnipotent supervillains - they are incredibly resourceful and cunning off-screen and tend to fold like a cheap suit on screen.

 

 

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.

 

Darker in theory, yet so hard to take even remotely seriously. Hanna having to eat those cupcakes in season one much sadder to watch for me than all the murders, dark woods chases and creepy lairs of the last few seasons.

 

Why the hell were the girls so shocked by the items A had stolen - of course, he prepared long for this moment, did they think the copies of their rooms were something he ordered online at creepykidnapperparaphernalia.com only after kidnapping them or something?

Edited June 3, 2015 by Jack Shaftoe

[mercfan3]

I think they thought if they just started burning things than Charles would release them and it went too far. Their plans are never the best. 

 

I didn't see anything illogical about the torture scenes though. A person being tortured doesn't think logically. And in fact, I think some of the inconsistencies that people get annoyed about are actually because people are thinking too logically. "Why didn't she.." well, she's essentially been stalked and tortured throughout high school and people would make different decisions than the traditionally logic one because of that. 

[AnJen]

Chiming in to say I actually loved last night's episode. Honestly, I feel like it was the most well-done, especially in terms of creep factor, since season 2.

 

The rapey-ness vibe stood out to me as well; I was uncomfortable with the implications, but from the narrative, it makes sense to me, tbh. I mean, A has been stalking these 5 girls for...4 years now? (this timeline is so screwed up, I get confused)...and he brought them to his dollhouse, supposedly to keep them there indefinitely. It kind of seems like a given that there's some kind of weird sexual thing in this for A. 

 

I didn't get the feeling rape actually happened, but I don't mind them including the undertones of that in the show, since it seems like it's built up this far that even revenge doesn't seem to fit anymore. It's obsession at this point, and maybe revenge plays into it, but some kind of sexual deviancy plays into it, I would assume.

 

I would actually really like to know what the torture was. Call me cynical, but we obviously know that their families were suffering, but it's not like A has videos of their family members being physically tortured (since the parents are all alive, physically well, and looking for their daughters)...so a video of their parents crying or something probably isn't going to produce screams and pleas to stop. I can't see pictures or videos of anything causing that much of a reaction, honestly. That, to me, implies physical, and I assumed the promo for 6x02 with the pictures and the wires was meant to imply being forced to shock each other with electric shocks. (Although I'll admit that the promos are often very misleading). The screams were more puzzling to me, because aside from physically being hurt, I'm honestly not sure what would cause that reaction.

 

 

Because the main generator shuts down for three minutes every midnight, hence their previous escape attempt! I find it extremely implausible that they wouldn't take advantage of that and decide to stay put inside their rooms without even talking or reaching out to each other for three weeks (especially considered the inhumane torture they were allegedly enduring)... hell weren't they even going to the bathroom? Whatever rationalization one could come up with for that, it just SCREAMS contrived!

But you're assuming they had the ability to leave their room...A obviously has knock-out gas, he could have tied them up, he could have threatened more punishment if they tried to get out, he could have kept them so exhausted that they couldn't physically find it in their power to get up and go out into the unlocked hallway. Also, Spencer's bathroom is in her bedroom at her house (it's so embarrassing that I know that. But yeah, it's the door just to the left of her bedroom door, behind where the rocking chair usually sits), so we don't know if A recreated that feature in her dollhouse room. If not, though, it's not absurd to think that A could have forced them to use some kind of portable toilet in their rooms...I've heard of prisons making inmates use buckets as toilets in order to shame/degrade/humiliate them. A obviously isn't above that level of torment. And it's also not impossible that A let them out for bathroom breaks one at a time (either using his computer and remotely opening a door and telling them where to go, or by taking them one by one himself), and then knocking them out at night so they wouldn't be conscious when the generator went off.

 

My main question is why we have any reason to believe that Charles is Jason's twin...yes, there's a video of Mrs. DiLaurentis holding a baby girl while twin boys run around. And yes, she refers to the girl as the boys' sister...but you'll note that she never refers to herself as the mom of any of the children in the video, nor calls them by name if I recall correctly. We don't really have anything to base it on that Charles and Jason are twins or that the baby was Alison. 

 

I feel like my thoughts are rambly here, but overall I really liked the episode. It reminded me quite a bit of the feel of the creepier episodes of season 1 and 2, and I think it was the most sucked-in I've been to an episode since then. Still had several roll-my-eye moments (like, really, A built a super secret underground bunker and then decided to put a loud fire alarm system on it? Not just the sprinklers??), but overall I was impressed.

 

The thing I found most un-believable was that we, as an audience, are expected to believe that Andrew is suspicious or could be A. Like...he's been in what, 6 episodes out of all 6 seasons? And is primarily a cute hunky dork? I feel like Marlene and Co try so hard to get us to believe these red herrings and think we actually believe them. They hint so so hard that it's Andrew while saying something like "everything is not as it seems", and we're like "well obviously it's not Andrew, because 1) he's never there, and 2) they're hinting at it so hard" and then they're like "OH HO! You thought it was Andrew, didn't you!? We fooled you again!"

Like in all of the episodes he's been in, has Andrew ever once mentioned Alison? At all? Or even had any scene with Emily or Hanna? And yet as of yesterday we're supposed to believe that he's sooo obsessed with them all and wants to meet Ali at the kissing rock and wrote creepy journal entries about them?!

 

ETA: Also, I am still convinced Ezra is evil, and his creepy pedo beard is gross. Also I believe A was trying to escape the burning bunker, and Ezra conveniently led Caleb and Ali to right where the girls were...and right away from where A would've been??

Edited June 3, 2015 by AnJen

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

I think they thought if they just started burning things than Charles would release them and it went too far. Their plans are never the best. 

 

I didn't see anything illogical about the torture scenes though. A person being tortured doesn't think logically. And in fact, I think some of the inconsistencies that people get annoyed about are actually because people are thinking too logically. "Why didn't she.." well, she's essentially been stalked and tortured throughout high school and people would make different decisions than the traditionally logic one because of that. 

 

Wouldn't survival instinct kick in at some point?

 

But you're assuming they had the ability to leave their room...A obviously has knock-out gas, he could have tied them up, he could have threatened more punishment if they tried to get out, he could have kept them so exhausted that they couldn't physically find it in their power to get up and go out into the unlocked hallway. Also, Spencer's bathroom is in her bedroom at her house (it's so embarrassing that I know that. But yeah, it's the door just to the left of her bedroom door, behind where the rocking chair usually sits), so we don't know if A recreated that feature in her dollhouse room. If not, though, it's not absurd to think that A could have forced them to use some kind of portable toilet in their rooms...I've heard of prisons making inmates use buckets as toilets in order to shame/degrade/humiliate them. A obviously isn't above that level of torment. And it's also not impossible that A let them out for bathroom breaks one at a time (either using his computer and remotely opening a door and telling them where to go, or by taking them one by one himself), and then knocking them out at night so they wouldn't be conscious when the generator went off.

 

Yes, anything is possible OBVIOUSLY... but I think people are making way too many rationalizations to justify something that just comes across as a blatant plot-hole on the writers' part. I mean, Sarah Harvey was free to waltz in and out of her room with her door unlocked (we saw it more than once, not just in the first scene, but for example when she brought Spencer food) and the girls were able to do so as well for three minutes a day. Based on that, why would A tie them up and prevent them from leaving? If that was his intention, wouldn't he have made his whole surveillance system more efficient in the first place?

Of course we'll still have to wait and see if they provide us with a plausible explanation in the following episodes, but I hope you see where I'm coming from when I scream "inconsistency"! It's just like Jack Shaftoe said: this A person is supposed to be an omnipresent and omniscient supervillain who's always a step ahead of his victims and yet he seems to make so many avoidable mistakes!

Edited June 3, 2015 by Giuliano Lanzilli

[AnJen]

 

 

Yes, anything is possible OBVIOUSLY... but I think people are making way too many rationalizations to justify something that just comes across as a blatant plot-hole on the writers' part. I mean, Sarah Harvey was free to waltz in and out of her room with her door unlocked (we saw it more than once, not just in the first scene, but for example when she brought Spencer food) and the girls were able to do so as well for three minutes a day. Based on that, why would A tie them up and prevent them from leaving? If that was his intention, wouldn't he have made his whole surveillance system more efficient in the first place?

Of course we'll still have to wait and see if they provide us with a plausible explanation in the following episodes, but I hope you see where I'm coming from when I scream "inconsistency"!

What I'm saying is that it didn't come off at all to me as a blatant plot-hole; I didn't think anything of it until it was mentioned here, and could immediately come up with half a dozen scenarios for why they didn't leave their rooms to check on each other or try to escape in 3 weeks. They honestly seemed pretty reluctant to leave their rooms at the end of those 3 weeks, so while I don't know the exact reason for it, it doesn't seem at all like a plot-hole to me.

 

As far as Sara Harvey goes, she'd been there for...what, 3 years? And I believe an above poster mentioned that we saw her three times: when she was locked in her room and the power surge that the girls caused with the camera unlocked her door and she saw them running out (notice she didn't follow), when she was giving Spencer her food and Spencer thought it was Mona, and when the police officer found her. Sara didn't even try to escape her cell when the bunker was on fire (assuming her door was unlocked when the fire alarm unlocked everything else). And that's pretty common among kidnapping victims, really; Elizabeth Smart has mentioned that there were several times when she could have escaped but was too afraid/too defeated to try. She'd been there for years at that point, and likely had the same punishments that Mona and the girls were subjected to; the will to fight back was probably long gone, so A felt comfortable having her out serving food. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The stupidest thing about Ali's plan was the original premise. She was talking about luring A so the police could catch him. During that scene in her living room, all I could think about was the fact that A has spied on them in their houses before, so why did she think he wasn't listening to everything that she and the police were saying about trapping A?

[rho]

I'm not surprised that it's looking like Andrew is Big A. I'm sure Brandon W. Jones is a nice guy in real life, but when I see him, I can't help but think of creepy Liam on The Fosters. He plays a believable stalker/pervert/sicko.

 

Did you see him on Kimmie Schmidt? I had to keep reminding myself he's not always going to play a creep.

[lorikauai]

Wouldn't survival instinct kick in at some point?

 

 

Yes, anything is possible OBVIOUSLY... but I think people are making way too many rationalizations to justify something that just comes across as a blatant plot-hole on the writers' part. I mean, Sarah Harvey was free to waltz in and out of her room with her door unlocked (we saw it more than once, not just in the first scene, but for example when she brought Spencer food) and the girls were able to do so as well for three minutes a day. Based on that, why would A tie them up and prevent them from leaving? If that was his intention, wouldn't he have made his whole surveillance system more efficient in the first place?

Of course we'll still have to wait and see if they provide us with a plausible explanation in the following episodes, but I hope you see where I'm coming from when I scream "inconsistency"! It's just like Jack Shaftoe said: this A person is supposed to be an omnipresent and omniscient supervillain who's always a step ahead of his victims and yet he seems to make so many avoidable mistakes!

 

 

I agree. What bothered me was that they (the writers) chose to have Spencer ask Hanna if she noticed that the power was still going out and ask if she went out during those times and then Hanna said "I was too scared" not "I couldn't". Now that doesn't mean that the other girls chose not to go out, maybe they really were restrained, but if they all had the opportunity (as Hanna suggested she did), then it seems unlikely none of them would have taken it at some point. It stuck out to me because suddenly once they were reunited all fear seemed to vanish and they were burning the place down. It just struck me as lazy writing, unless they were trying to point something out with that. Mona must have been hanging out there in the hole going "WTF? They were supposed to come "rescue" me a long time ago."

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Please proceed to Ali's room and prepare for arrival.

It cracked me up that Dungeon Siri could have been saying "prepare for arrival" or "prepare for a rival."

[superman1204]

I almost don't want to know what happened during the three weeks the girls were trapped in their rooms.  Not because I think it will be anything horribly disturbing (this is ABC Family), but because the first ten minutes of this episode was one of the creepiest, most well-done sequences in the history of the show (well done Chad Lowe).  I really don't want the reveal to ruin that by being something convoluted and dumb.  There is nothing more frightening than a closed door, as they say.

 

Did the show have to spend so much time with the cops.  They suck.  Can we move on?  Also I get the idea of an homage, but Mona in the well from Silence of the Lambs felt like a straight rip off.

 

Lastly like everyone else I have no idea what happened the girls in their rooms.  Thankfully the writers ruled out anything sexual.  No one had bruises or burns, so physical torture is out.  Showing them videos of their families or something seems like it should make the girls cry, not scream for it to stop.  The idea that the girls had to electrocute each other kinda works, but shouldn't the girls have trouble talking and interacting with each other afterwards.  Personally I am placing my money on some type of sensory deprivation; days in total darkness and silence with short bursts of bright lights and loud noise in between.

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

Now that doesn't mean that the other girls chose not to go out, maybe they really were restrained, but if they all had the opportunity (as Hanna suggested she did), then it seems unlikely none of them would have taken it at some point. It stuck out to me because suddenly once they were reunited all fear seemed to vanish and they were burning the place down. It just struck me as lazy writing, unless they were trying to point something out with that. 

 

THIS!!!

[Peanut6711]

I kept rolling my eyes every time they were in Charles's room and Spencer or someone would comment 'he does have a soul.' Why because he kept things from his childhood??? How does that make him less of a serial killer/stalker and more human? Jason Voorhees kept his mother's bloody sweater and her decapitated head. Maybe the Liars should have looked around the room a little more. ;-)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Did you notice when the girls were unpacking Ali's room, there were multiple yellow tank tops hanging in the closet? Exactly how many of these tops does he have? So far we know that he had Mona, Sarah, and Ali wearing them plus however many he had in the closet. I am now imagining Charles walking into a boutique and buying all the yellow ruffled tank tops. Did he buy them five minutes after Ali bought hers? Or did he go back after she disappeared? Or does he have a tailor who makes them for him? So many burning questions.

Between the yellow tank top and Aria's new/old pink streaks, why is Charles so obsessed with the night Ali disappeared? Did they laugh at him at the malt shop or something equally heinous before the sleepover?

[hcs]

I loved this episode it was completely crazy but entertaining and that it is all I expect from this show. Hanna continues to be my favourite Liar and I still find Mona  more interesting and sympathetic then Allison, I actually think  Sascha has gotten worse as an actress the more the writers try to make Alison a heroine.

[bettername2come]

I actually think  Sascha has gotten worse as an actress the more the writers try to make Alison a heroine.

 

I don't think she's gotten worse. They just don't have her in the role they hired her for, and they never realized she wasn't suited for it.

I liked the creepy aspects of the episode, although I want the lighter stuff back. This was too emotionally draining to watch every week.

Seriously, what the hell did A do to them? He broke Hanna! Hanna! Hearing Hanna say "I don't want to get in trouble again" may have been the lowest point of the episode for me. Or Spencer calling out for Sarah when she delivered the bread and water. They're supposed to be the strong ones! 

 

Did anyone else think Sarah might be Charles? Like a split personality kind of thing?

[Black Knight]

The stupidest thing about Ali's plan was the original premise. She was talking about luring A so the police could catch him. During that scene in her living room, all I could think about was the fact that A has spied on them in their houses before, so why did she think he wasn't listening to everything that she and the police were saying about trapping A?

That was never Ali's real plan. There was no way the cops were going to just leave her alone, and A wasn't going to go near her while the cops were around. So she roped the cops into her pretend plan in order to set up her getaway from them, and Ezra, Caleb and Toby were all in on it. I thought the car conversation with her, Ezra and Caleb made that clear enough.

 

Which brings me to something else - I thought it was amusing that we're back again to the idea of four couples, since Ali was aligned with the significant others in this episode and Emily ran into her arms while the other girls went to their boyfriends. It reminded me of that bit shortly after Ali returned home when they were all watching the news conference (right before that house blew up), the four couples.

 

One thing I did think was weird was, before Toby showed up at the end, Spencer and Mona were hugging each other since the other girls all were already in the arms of their significant others. When Toby showed up Spencer went to him, and we saw that Mona then went to Ali and Emily. If she'd gone to Emily's side I wouldn't have thought much of it, but the trio was actually lined up as Ali in the middle with Mona and Emily on either side. Mona did deliberately frame Ali for her "murder" (A hijacked it by kidnapping Mona, but still, the original plan was Mona's), and Ali was in jail for months, got beaten up in there, got convicted - shouldn't Ali be slugging her? Maybe that'll come next episode. Yeah, Mona got kidnapped by A and went through her own hell (allegedly - I am feeling distrustful of her since I find it impossible to believe Mona didn't know about Sarah being in there, and that is information she did not share with the PLLs), but since that wouldn't have happened to her if she hadn't framed Ali for her murder, I wouldn't expect Ali to be completely forgiving, unless the writers are turning her 100% vanilla. I hope not. I don't mind some redemption, so I can have my Emison, but I don't want her losing all her edge.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Black Knight

[superman1204]

I loved this episode it was completely crazy but entertaining and that it is all I expect from this show. Hanna continues to be my favourite Liar and I still find Mona  more interesting and sympathetic then Allison, I actually think  Sascha has gotten worse as an actress the more the writers try to make Alison a heroine.

In Sasha's defense there is only so much an actress can do when the writers decide to have a character do a compete 180 in terms of personality and development.  She did fine in G.B.F., when her character had a clear direction and character arc.  Though I do agree, the character of Alison has become so much less interesting since they brought her back to life.