S06.E09: Last Dance

[SadieT]

I loved Alison's and Aria's dresses. Sasha looked beautiful and Lucy was really adorable in her Snow White get-up. Emily's dress was a bit much and Spencer's was so understated it was hard to pick up on which character it was modeled after but she still looked gorgeous. Hanna too. 

[mercfan3]

Spencer's was the little mermaid. (Troian said so, somewhere..but you can see the seashells in her hair at some point.) 

[Lii]

Like half that prom was just one giant make-out out grotto, wtf.

[Artsda]

Loved the moms getting drunk and getting the "liars" treatment.

 

I adored Caleb and Hanna's prom outfits plus his plan for their future including his affording her tuition. 

 

I laughed at Aria assuming Ezra was going with her to LA. Aria looked great.

 

Emily's dress looked like a Halloween costume. 

Edited August 5, 2015 by Artsda

[GaT]

Watching Ali wander the prom in her bad makeup looking for Charles for a full episode was not interesting, & couldn’t they have given her a gown that she didn’t have to hold up the whole time? I am so sick of hearing her bleat about her brother, I honestly wish that they would kill Ali off again, & this time make it stick.

 

I loved how much of the moms together we got finally. You would think that with everything that has gone on, we would have gotten a lot of scenes of them together before this, & now A has a new bunch of girls to torture!

 

And once again, the liars & their stupid plans/decisions screw things up. Maybe you should have held Clark there a little longer so A could get Ali farther away.

[WhosThatGirl]

Seriously, Caleb is best boyfriend. Always. I did get a laugh out of Aria just assuming that even though she and Ezra are not even together, he still plans on chasing her to LA. That made me laugh. Oh, Aria. 

 

I liked Hanna's dress the best, followed by Alis, then Arias, then Spencers. Emily's was not good at all. Also, more Sara scenes. Ugh. 

 

I don't know. Aside from the Mom's scenes which I mentioned above, I kind of thought this episode was boring. It was watching the liars and Ali walk around the school for no reason only for us to come face to face with.. a person in a black hoodie? Thanks show. Thanks for nothing. 

Edited August 5, 2015 by WhosThatGirl

[SadieT]

This was the highlight of the episode for me.... and how I feel going into next week's finale. 

 

Just remembered how funny/gross it was to see Ezra taking photos of the girls in their prom dresses... dude has a lot of experience photographing young girls, only this time it was with their knowledge and consent so he's making strides in the right direction. 

[WhosThatGirl]

This was the highlight of the episode for me.... and how I feel going into next week's finale. 

 

Just remembered how funny/gross it was to see Ezra taking photos of the girls in their prom dresses... dude has a lot of experience photographing young girls, only this time it was with their knowledge and consent so he's making strides in the right direction. 

I know, right? Ezew is his name from now on. Thats what I am calling him.

[Lii]

Best Boyfriend Caleb with dat plan to support the Marin household ladies like it ain't no thang.

[auntiemel]

 

And once again, the liars & their stupid plans/decisions screw things up.

 

I have this fantasy I indulge in sometimes for my own amusement, where High School era Veronica Mars moves to Rosewood and somehow gets pulled into the 'A' mystery with the liars. When they give her the lowdown on all of their past schemes, she gives them the most witty and acerbic dressing down in history for their terrible tradecraft. Then, she spends the next few weeks whipping their asses into shape, investigative skills-wise.

[lorikauai]

Dying at Ezra going to Thailand for the summer. What place could be better for a grown man who likes young girls?

Love the PLL moms and I'm regretting that we haven't seen more drunken investigation from them. I wonder if they will mostly disappear post time jump?

[dwmckim]

I remember the first time i ever heard anything about PLL - i knew nothing about the books, i just saw an entertainment news blurb that Nia Peeples, Laura Leighton (both of them being huge favorites of mine) and Holly Marie Combs has signed onto a new show called "Pretty Little Liars" (which at the time struck me as sounding like it was a sitcom) - i knew that with Nia and Laura on the same show, i'd make it a point to watch.  Tonight's episode with Pretty Little Moms was a huge favorite of mine for obvious reasons!  I could totally sign up for Pretty Tipsy Moms: The Spinoff.

 

Rosewood, Rosewood, Rosewood - you ban five/six (i presume the Vanderwaal's got the same letter) girls from Prom for security reasons after their revealed years-long escapades with a masked stalker and then include masked waiters as part of the theme?  Eep.

 

And of course only one faculty member throws any shade at someone when they did enter.  Upon their entrances, they stood at the top of the stairs scanning the room for long moments and not only did any faculty/security fail to react then but apparently the entire Rosewood High student body is so over these girls since there were no stares or murmurs from anyone when Ali and then the others made their otherwise-would-have-been-dramatic entrances.  And as for the lone teacher who confronted any of them, it would be Aria she dressed down and yet couldn't then finish by turning to Ezra with a "...and as for YOU!...."

 

"The wind has a name: Charles"  Poor Maria's been usurped!

Edited August 5, 2015 by dwmckim

[Bort]

Please tell me that tonight's episode of drunk adults being terrorized by A is what it'll be like after the time jump.

Undercover cops don't carry their badge ON them, that's the whole point of undercover.

[lion10]

The moms made this my favorite episode of all time. That is all.

Also Caleb <3.

And...so..um..Aria's dress was my favorite. (Saying something, isn't it.) Can't figure out what Emily is supposed to be from..is Hanna cinderella?

I got a strong "evil queen" vibe from Emily's outfit. I thought it looked the best out of all the outfits.

[Writing Wrongs]

I didn't go to a public high school, so I never had a prom. Are real ones as elaborate as tv shows always portray them? Cause, damn, that was big.

 

Drunk moms was best part of the show.

 

I get that Rhys has a passing resemblance to Jason, but everyone acts like they are identical twins or something.

 

How can Emily not think it's shady that Sara happened to show up at the prom? Geez.

 

I hope next week lives up to the hype.

[Preity]

Same as with those masks that supposedly look exactly like the people they were modeled after....

I really don't see how one episode is supposed to answer all our questions. Even if we ignore all our questions from before, that episode is only long enough to unveil A and red coat and have everyone going 'oh man god'. Summer of answers had me thinking we were going to get some answers like every episode, not just 10 minutes worth of them in the finale. As usual dissapointed.

Boring episode overall. At least Ali finally did something two episodes in a row! She is so used to doing everything alone that she doesn't get how stupid it is to to after A alone though...

Caleb is still the best boyfriend a girl could have.

It does feel weird that they would all go their separate ways now... I know that's life after Highschool, but considering how close they have become I would totally be freaking out about all my friends moving to different states...

Aria telling Ezra not to go to LA made me so happy! Her asuming he was following her there made me laugh.

I'd like to know what Spencer was planning for life after Rosewood. I alyways thought she would go to a great school and be amazing at whatever she does, now I could totally see her not doing anything other than following Toby and taking care of him.

I don't even know what to say about Emily anymore... Her dress was great, Shower was annoying as hell, that's it. Was there anything else going on with her?

And how on earth did Ali graduate? Is there like a rule in Rosewood, you show up to school for a week senior year and you get to graduate? I definitively went to the wrong school.

The moms were amazing. Rhys is sketchy, still don't think he's A though. Charles maybe, but that wouldn't be a surprise anymore. Black hoodie seems to he a surprise in next weeks promo. I'd be disappointed if Rhys was A.

I wish my school threw parties like Rosewood High.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I didn't go to a public high school, so I never had a prom. Are real ones as elaborate as tv shows always portray them? Cause, damn, that was big.

It really depends on your high school and their budget so sometimes yes, sometimes no. My high school always spent the majority of the budget on the actual location (partly because my high school was really big so we needed really large venues - one year it was at the San Diego Convention Center) so the decorations were nowhere near as elaborate as the Rosewood prom. But I find it kind of hilarious that Rosewood used the opposite tactic - we'll just use the school gym but decorate the hell out of it! Realistically they probably would have rented a hotel ballroom in Philadelphia. I can tell you that we never built elaborate mazes for any of our dances!

 

At my high school, everyone had to check in at the door (even for regular dances that we had in the gym). If your date was not a student at the school, you had to go to the office the week before the dance to obtain a guest pass. There was no strolling into the gym or the ballroom for any dance. The stupid thing is that the school made a decision to ban the PLLs from prom but when they showed up, no one did a damn thing about it. What was the point of officially banning them if no one made any move to stop them from entering or escorting them out once they arrived? I'm not saying that banning them was the right thing to do but if you're going to make a decision like that, at least have the balls to enforce it.

 

So last week Ezra thought it would be awkward to be at the prom but this week he was totally fine dancing with Aria in front of his former students and coworkers. Oooookay! At least he is finally getting out of Rosewood. That is probably the smartest thing he has ever done on this show.

 

I loved PLL: The Previous Generation. Everything about those scenes was awesome. Loved Pam gulping down her wine before leaving the kitchen. She has the right priorities. Earlier when Veronica offered wine and they all turned it down, I thought it must be an alternate reality. When does Ashley ever turn down wine? I laughed my ass off when Pam tried to say something in front of Rhys and Ella shushed her. This kind of stuff is what I expected when I saw that Laura Leighton, Holly Marie Combs, and Nia Peeples had been cast as the parents on this show! When they started walking down the basement stairs, I KNEW the door would slam shut behind them but I still kind of laughed at the fact that they have been very consistent about telling the girls to be careful ever since they got back from the dollhouse yet they committed the most cliche horror movie sin.

 

Oh, Caleb. How do you know that your new secret employer isn't the Carissimi Group? I mean, I am totally fine with Hanna and Caleb moving to New York but I am highly suspicious that his job is somehow connected to A. Maybe that's just six years of watching this show making me paranoid. But once again I love that Hanna and Caleb deal with their issues like adults.

 

When Sara said "no matter what happens," I was waiting for her to stab a bitch or reveal that she was a fembot or something.

 

And when Aria started grilling Clark, I was cracking up when she gave him the PLL version of "She doesn't even go here!"

Edited August 5, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[mjgchick]

I hope A is Ali's twin because current Ali is awfully boring. Sasha is so much better than what they've had her do since Ali turned up alive.

I hate all the couples. Spoby's boring. I use to like them because he made her happy but meh Spencer needs a break from dating. I judge anyone who likes Ezria so that was always a no for me. Emily's thirst for low budget Legend of Billie Jean terrifies me and with Caleb I think they try to hard with him and all I do is roll my eyes. He's just to perfect and boring even if he makes Hanna happy.

The moms need to be on more. They were clearly the best part. Of course the girls are carbon copies of their mom's but at least the moms were hilarious while being stupid.

One thing I hate about the show is how the public seems to treat the Liars. The girls have been bullied to hell and back, kidnapped, had their loved ones threatened but everyone treats them like they are the bad guys. I remembered when Mona came back from Radley everyone wanted to throw her a party even though she tried to kill Spencer.

Speaking of Mona is she and Ali trading episodes? When one is on the other isn't on or if both are on one of them dominates the episodes and the other comes like at the end of the episode.

Edited August 5, 2015 by mjgchick

[Kaboom 2.0]

Drunk Pretty Little Moms was THE best. Ever. As much as I enjoyed them, especially seeing each one show a characteristic their daughter obviously inherited, I did feel a pang of sympathy when one, was it Ella?, sadly asked the others how their girls have survived these past five or whatever years, being bullied, injured, kidnapped, branded as liars by an entire town, etc.

 

Thanks a lot, show, for mentioning Noel Kahn being at the prom but NOT SHOWING HIM. At least we got Caleb, getting that job for himself and Hanna and attending prom in the suit Hanna chose. My God, was he actually wearing an ascot??

 

I'm sure there's more but I'm still cackling with glee from Drunk PLM.

[resonance]

Who do you guys think Ali saw at the end of the episode? Somebody we knew or somebody completely random?

 

My guesses are Mr DiLaurentis or Jason if it's somebody we know. Or maybe it could be her twin.

Edited August 5, 2015 by resonance

[Bort]

WHY MUST THEY TORTURE ME WITH MENTION OF NOEL KHAN, BUT NOT SHOW ME THE GOODS???

I really wanted to see Noel's hot mess of a date after hearing that description. "85% tequila and her dress is on backwards."

[Primetimer]

This prom is pretty sucky for all involved, but the dresses are interesting.

Read the story

[bettername2come]

I would watch the heck out of a Pretty Little Mamas spin-off. That gif of Pam chugging wine will be used by me frequently.

My God, was he actually wearing an ascot??

 

My words exactly. Although, I liked how he and Hanna were matchy. I loved Aria's Snow White look, which surprised me. It looked better than the promo pictures. Emily's hair and accessories looked great, but it had a costume vibe to it. I liked Spencer's believable and more refined prom look. And Allison, nothing good ever happens when you wear yellow. "Disturbia" couldn't be a more appropriate song for PLL, but they cut the most appropriate line "I gotta get out or figure this shit out. It's too close for comfort." And why are they playing a song from 2007. Did Charles pick the playlist for this prom too?

 

Yay, Haleb planning for a future! I hope this means their together after the time jump, but I fear it won't. Seriously, though, I love Caleb trying to get the fuck out of there. No more psychotic serial killers or demons after your soul.

 

I didn't call Clark being an undercover cop until I saw the gun. Good job, show, although, why is he the only one? I feel like prom should have been like the graduation on Buffy, where everyone busts out weapons. The elaborate maze and masks could have all been set up by secret undercover cops, who of course knew the girls would crash prom and thus pretended not to realize this and let them in to lull A into a false sense of security.

[insubordination]

 

Loved the moms getting drunk and getting the "liars" treatment

 

The mothers were amazing, each one with a distinct personality and look - just like the girls. I would like to see more of them on the show. Imagine a show with 10 or so female leads (I'm counting Mona and Ali and add Tanner)!  It was worth not being able to afford Lucas and Jenna or any of the other high school regulars (Andrew, twins, Mona, Principal) just to have the PLM get so many scenes.

 

 

I did feel a pang of sympathy when one, was it Ella?, sadly asked the others how their girls have survived these past five or whatever years

 

I admit I chuckled 'cos I thought she was referring to the bad storylines about being locked in a room. They all just forgot their phones and Ashley didn't want to check on the girls?

 

 

One thing I hate about the show is how the public seems to treat the Liars. The girls have been bullied to hell and back, kidnapped, had their loved ones threatened but everyone treats them like they are the bad guys.

 

I was thinking that today too because the teacher spoke to them with 0 sympathy considering what they've been through. I guess the town hates them for disturbing the peace!! It reminds me of a sub-plot in the movie 'The Beach' (at least I think it was that movie). One of the gang ruins their island paradise by being selfishly attacked by a shark. They pull him to shore, but after a day or so they get sick of his painful screams and move him farther away so they can go back to enjoying themselves without listening to his wailing. I guess Rosewood residents want the status quo where it's only the underbelly that's seedy.  It's sicker than Twin Peaks.

 

I agree Ali has been neutered or something and I hope she turns out to be the boring twin. I still like the actress, but not what they've given her to work with. How on earth could any actress play such an undisciplined role?

 

Oh and why in fuck are cops and teachers turning up to high school proms with their high-school aged dates?  Just 'cos it may be 'legal' doesn't make it any less inappropriate.

Edited August 5, 2015 by insubordination

[ottoDbusdriver]

Oh and why in fuck are cops and teachers turning up high to school proms with their high-school aged dates?  Just 'cos it may be 'legal' doesn't make it any less inappropriate.

 

Lorenzo was undercover too -- shhh, don't tell anyone.  </snark>

[raytch]

OK so I finally finished the episode.

 

I just wish there wasn't so much hype about finding out who Charles/A is since last season's finale. This is like when Nina Dobrev announced that she'll be leaving Vampire Diaries last year, we were just watching to see how it unfolds and I kept thinking that I wish I hadn't known because I would've enjoyed the later half of the season a lot more.

 

We knew Charles/A was going to be unmasked by the end of the summer finale this year, and I'm not saying this season has been great, but it's like I'm watching to see how it's going to unfold.

It doesn't help that whenever there aren't A related discoveries/shenanigans, the episodes have been filled with stupid filler. I was incredibly hopeful after the first 3 episodes, because while A was pretty much MIA during those episodes, there was some great aftermath to the dollhouse and the girls' trauma and the police and all the parents finally learning about this psycho monster. They could have easily kept going in that direction, where we see meaningful scenes and interesting interactions between the characters, but instead... they gave half answers every 2 episodes, and filled the plot with useless, useless characters.

Why does it matter that Clark is an undercover cop? It's not like he's ever gonna be able to actually protect any of the liars or come up with something useful.

What is the point of Lorenzo? Are they seriously trying to say Ali is redeemed by going to church and dating a cop? I loved Ali, but I loved her for the good and the bad in her, and I don't see why they wanna shove everything under the carpet and be like oh she regrets it all. Ali should not apologize for EVERYTHING she did because she was a teenager brainwashed to lie by her mother, lied to for her entire life by both her parents, and filmed half nude by a secret society club founded by her brother.

Where the hell did Andrew disappear to? Are we seriously not getting anything else about him? So he was just a douche bag chauvinist who ended up being framed by A? Did he gather nothing interesting?

What was the point of Sabrina The Baker aside from giving Spencer those loaded cookies and gummy bears?

What was the point of bringing Dean back if they were going to have him quit on Spencer because he can't help wanting to kiss her (and I'm saying this because I LOVE DEAN)

I won't even talk about what a let down the whole Shower Harvey plot and what it did to Emily.

 

I loved this show so much, and I've defended it through the mess that was season 5, and I came into season 6 hoping for some actual game time.

Don't get me wrong, I usually like to see where the show is trying to take me, but we're one episode away from our answers, and the liars might as well still have been in the dollhouse.

I'm not holding out hope for next week. At this point I just wanna see how it plays out and I'm really over getting any answers. I just wanna know who A is and call it a day.

 

 

ITA with everyone, the moms were awesome.

[Watt]

I've completely suspended any belief in the reasonable with this show and enjoy it much more.

I've decided not to care about the inappropriate relationships, unlikely situations, dubious laws, inane police, and have given into the complete lack of realism on any level.

[Crim]

The editing in the beginning was fun, and some of the writing was hilarious. But Spencer's speech to Toby was awful, and Spencer's speech to Lorenzo was the worst, the very fucking worst; I hate the show for it. WTF was that? Did they give that bit to a new writer who just opened up a Screenwriting for Teen Drama 101 book and lifted from there without watching old episodes beforehand? I couldn't believe my ears. I used subs. Couldn't believe my eyes. Fuck you, show.

 

Of course every romantic interest made it to prom, every single one, and then juxtaposition of Couple Talk scenes from everyone? So clumsy, just dutifully crossing the Ts. The execution was so lame and soapy, I felt diminished by it (to reference True Detective s2's also awful writing).

Edited August 5, 2015 by Crim

[ottoDbusdriver]

I thought it was interesting that the producers tried to make an effort with some of the prom music from 2012 or before then, but at least one song ('My Type' by Saint Motel) was from 2014 and two other songs ('Holy Dove' by Civil Twilight and 'Morning Joy' by Sugar and the Hi Lows) were from 2015.

 

And what was with all the hand jewellery -- most of the PLLs had big gaudy rings on practically every finger ?  Was that a thing in 2012 ?

 

Despite the dramatic falling of the lamp in the basement, there were at least two other light bulbs shown in the stairwell leading down to the basement.  Did the power go out to coincide with the falling lamp ?

 

Do undercover officers usually wear their guns in a holster ?  Because that doesn't seem very undercoverry ?  Or is Pennsylvania an open carry state ?

 

I'm still curious to know how Allison was so oblivious and didn't see that dude in the red coat/hoodie wandering in the maze near her ?  Or when she entered the prom and he was right behind her ? Is the weight of that dress and the tons of makeup that heavy that she can only focus on one thing at a time ?

 

And then there's the mystery of Alison's phone switching hands when she breaks the mirror -- they show the phone in her left hand as she approaches the propped up red coat, and then she pushes the mirror (for whatever reason -- that really made no sense) that causes the mirror to fall and break, but the phone is now in her right hand microseconds after she pushed the mirror.

 

Did Toby say that someone should check the kitchens ?  There are kitchens in a high school -- I suppose maybe for Home Economics classes, but I doubt they would be anywhere near the gym ?  It's a high school, not a hotel -- do the the writers even remember this fact ?

 

Not to ask a stupid question, why didn't the PLMs break a fucking window before trying to climb up the chimney ?  There were lots of windows in the basement, so if they were really intent on getting out they really weren't trying all that hard.

[mac123x]

Dying at Ezra going to Thailand for the summer. What place could be better for a grown man who likes young girls?

 

I haven't seen the episode yet, but that had me chuckling.  Was the BGM during that scene was an instrumental rendition of "One Night in Bangkok"?

[Bort]

Do undercover officers usually wear their guns in a holster ? Because that doesn't seem very undercoverry ? Or is Pennsylvania an open carry state ?

I think it depends on the specifics of the undercover job. I didn't have a problem with the fact Clark was carrying his gun, just that he had his badge -- which he shouldn't. And also that his gun didn't really look like police-issue (too shiny).

Maybe Clark is impersonating a cop.

[tldryolo]

I realize this is old news by now, but the whole "banned from prom" conceit just shows how sloppy this show is. The ability of the PLL's to evade the police that were supposedly monitoring the barn and sneak into prom, then have two other people who were supposed to meet them at the barn catch up with them, stretches narrative convenience to the absolute limit. And the thing is, this is easily fixable: Drop the aspect where they're banned from prom! It did nothing for this episode, and it wouldn't make the PLL's look nearly as bad when they lose sight of Alison (because the were at prom to be at prom, not to hunt her down). They could have even retained the moms' part of the episode, just hanging out at the Hastings for a different reason.

Also, just how much did Veronica spill off-screen? Based on the reactions, I'm guessing she kept the tidbit that Melissa inadvertently buried a girl alive to herself. Perhaps Bethany Young wasn't close enough to the lilacs to register.

[bettername2come]

They could have even retained the moms' part of the episode, just hanging out at the Hastings for a different reason.

 

Get together to take pictures of all the girls before they head off and then, "Hey, look, wine!"

[Black Knight]

I very much hope the adventures of the PLMs continue in the next episode and we won't just see them being released from the basement right away and then disappearing for the rest of the episode after brief obligatory handwringing over their discovery that the PLLs actually aren't in the barn. Speaking of, Pam's "We had one job!" recrimination cracked me up especially because she doesn't even know yet just how much Fail they had - she probably thinks they only fucked up when they went into the basement. But of course, they blew it all right at the start of the evening when Pam waved to Ali and then Ali promptly stole off into the woods under Pam's very nose. Once Ali did her vanishing act, it was entirely predictable that the other girls would notice and eventually go looking for her - which of course they and their dates managed to do without attracting any attention. You had one job, Moms!

 

In addition to the PLMs having distinct personalities that nicely mirrored their daughters' without being carbon copies, I'd like to point out that Jessica filled the niche of her daughter in the same manner among the adults - both dead/"dead," both shady and getting involved with taken men, and Veronica being the one to bitch endlessly about Jessica just as up until this half-season, Spencer has typically been the hardest on Ali. I appreciated Ali's comment that Spencer never liked her because I would like to see that dynamic explored more - there's a reason that out of the PLLs, Spencer has always been the top suspect (I always enjoyed AriA theories, but let's face it, those were basically just an attempt to tie her into the mystery since for so long she seemed to be on an entirely different show). She always wanted to be the HBIC instead of Ali, and when Ali came back from the dead Spencer was the one to really jump on and start pushing the Ali-is-A theory. I do think Spencer has tremendously softened towards Ali in this half-season, although it's interesting to wonder to what extent that might be due to the "changed Ali" being so thoroughly defanged and passive this half-season that she posed zero threat to Spencer's position in the group. But before that? Ali's right, Spencer never liked her. Emily and Hanna loved Alison and missed her in their own ways, and Aria wasn't vulnerable to Ali's games the way the other girls were. It's too bad that they couldn't have explored the Spencer/Ali dynamic more since we have one episode left before the time-jump, because it's an interesting one.

 

I think Rhys is Clark's partner. It ties everything together pretty well; why Rhys was meeting with Clark, why Rhys wanted to see Mr. D in this episode. He's undercover at the C-whatever Foundation and trying to get to the identity of A that way. I think somebody in law enforcement (Tanner?) was smart enough to understand that a guy who looks like a DiLaurentis could get hired by Charles because lookalikes and twins are the kind of mind game/red herring that A loves, and so they found a cop with Jason's looks to go undercover.

 

I'm really sad that they only mentioned Jenna, Lucas and Noel, since they were among the original group of secondary characters - it would have been nice to give them a last appearance, at least. Jenna is dating Lucas?!

Edited August 5, 2015 by Black Knight

[Eneya]

I couldn't shake the "just break the damn door down, come on, for fuck's sake, most of these doors are one kick from oblivion anyway". They could have shown them at least TRYING to kick down the door or destroy the lock.

 

The teacher's reaction towards the liars was bizzare, as if they were grounded or kicked from the ball because they did something wrong and not because there is someone with a grudge against them and wants to harm them.

 

The makeup Alison wore was... what was with it? It looked very sloppy for some reason. To be honest, I liked her dress.

 

I am ready never to hear about Charles EVER again. :)

[Aquariuz]

This episode is a hoot and I love it. Love the Pretty Little Mamas spin-off. They basically share the same character traits with the original Liars. Veronica is the one in charge and diving in head first into things. Pam is the one being scared of touching stuffs. Ella's keep making O_O eyes and Ashley's "I think there's something rotting in there. Please don't ask me to do that again." LOL....

I thought I saw Principal Hackett in the background at the Ezria dance scene. Keep wishing that someone responded to that inappropriate pairing in public.

No Mona, No Noel, No Jenna and No Lucas. Darn. I was hoping to get one last look of Noel Khan before the time-jump. I hope he's still recurring. And Queen Jenna too.

Troian rocks that outfit so much. She blows the other girls out of competition. Emily failed at pulling off Maleficent though.

Can't wait to find out who A or Not-A is next week! #sarcasm

[WhosThatGirl]

I don't think Charles is going to be A. We've been let down before. I honestly hope the time jump doesn't erase the parents because we need them. Last night proved how much scenes with the Moms were needed more. 

[AnJen]

I didn't go to a public high school, so I never had a prom. Are real ones as elaborate as tv shows always portray them? Cause, damn, that was big.

 

In real life, prom is much less like PLL and much more like Napoleon Dynamite:

[apgold]

I think it's funny that none of the other students seemed to care that the Liars were at Prom.  They were too busy getting drunk, dancing or making out in corners to notice.

 

Caleb is awesome and he even wore an ascot for Hanna.  If that's not true love, I don't know what is.  All the other couples suck, but Haleb makes up for it.

 

As everyone else said the Moms were the best part of the show.  Drunk!Veronica is very much like Spencer, so the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. 

 

There were too many shots of Alison walking around prom looking for Charles.  Her dress was beautiful but I thought the make-up was a bit drag queeny.  I did like the smoky eye on Hanna. They were able to do it without her looking like a raccoon.

 

I thought Jenna left town?  How was she Lucas' date?  Would've been nice to see some of the old gang.

So we're supposed to learn all about A next week? At this point, anything Marlene throws at us probably won't make sense.  Keeping expectations extremely low.

[Jack Shaftoe]

This episode had its fair share of fun moments which in itself is enough to make it better than the average PLL episode in the last few seasons but can these writers write any plot in an organic manner any more? Everything, and I do mean everything, hinges on people passing the idiot ball from one to another. Like the moms conveniently getting distracted with a game of Catch the Kenneth and allowing their daughters the chance to impress everyone with their pretty dresses, I mean, to chase Alison.

 

 

The editing in the beginning was fun, and some of the writing was hilarious. But Spencer's speech to Toby was awful, and Spencer's speech to Lorenzo was the worst, the very fucking worst; I hate the show for it. WTF was that? Did they give that bit to a new writer who just opened up a Screenwriting for Teen Drama 101 book and lifted from there without watching old episodes beforehand?

 

The old writers write plenty of these "telling in the most artificial manner possible, instead of telling" speeches too, so it might well have been a writer with many PLL episodes writing credits. It's like they are afraid that anyone might miss some some nuance so they try to make everything as obvious as possible. Alison has changed! You must believe me! Amateurish stuff, really.

 

I even shipped Emily and Sara for about ten seconds because Emily looked so pretty and Sara is looking less messed up lately. Plus, if the other choice is soccer mom Alison, give me Sara any day, Hanna wore way too much mascara and Alison wore about seven kilograms of make-up, she looked so awkward.

 

I know Ezra is the worst but come on Aria, why would he buy a ticket right this second even if he intended to stalk you? And why would you invite him to prom if you two aren't dating? Mixed signals much?

 

So the Liars aren't going to uncover anything, it seems, Charles is going to uncover himself for reasons. I don't like the sound of that.

 

Has there been a single (potential) love interest on American television who has said "I'm not coming to prom" and stuck to their word? It's the same tired story every time  I mean, were there any viewers out there who were anxious that Caleb or Sara wouldn't make it in the end?

Edited August 5, 2015 by Jack Shaftoe

[Crim]

I think Rhys is Clark's partner. It ties everything together pretty well; why Rhys was meeting with Clark, why Rhys wanted to see Mr. D in this episode. He's undercover at the C-whatever Foundation and trying to get to the identity of A that way.

He also happens to look like a DiLaurentis by coincidence, I guess. Is it that easy to get a quick job at a shady private corporation? It's only been a short time since the police had reason to investigate there (unless it's an unrelated matter, which... I can't even.) That wasn't entry level. If he is an actual cop, did he fake his resume to get hired, then was competent enough to keep his job? And did he want to be the one to talk to Hanna (why?) or was that a coincidence too? Why would an undercover cop go to Mr D's house to talk to him in private, at night? Actually, I'd rather he was some DiLaurentis cousin that Mr D asked/hired to investigate the group for him to trace Charles via his money. He is cooperating with Clarke, but is not a cop, he's someone actually working there.

 

The old writers write plenty of these "telling in the most artificial manner possible, instead of telling" speeches too, so it might well have been a writer with many PLL episodes writing credits.

Oh, definitely. I didn't mean that it was beneath their level, just that it didn't really match the show's reality. How does Spencer see all that in Toby at this moment? Just how? And Ali never had someone like Lorenzo in her life. How many mental gymnastics are needed to define what Lorenzo is for Ali to reach that conclusion? It's not just that the speech is bad writing, it doesn't fit.

 

were there any viewers out there who were anxious that Caleb or Sara wouldn't make it in the end?

Given Sara's being loathed by many, I bet there were quite a few viewers who were anxious she wouldn't make it. Disappointingly, she did.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Crim

[SadieT]

And how on earth did Ali graduate? Is there like a rule in Rosewood, you show up to school for a week senior year and you get to graduate? I definitively went to the wrong school.

 

Alison has attended approximately three days of school since her freshman year, but Rosewood High is probably just like, "whatevs. give these girls their damn diplomas and get them the hell outta here so people can stop getting murdered!" 

 

At my high school, everyone had to check in at the door (even for regular dances that we had in the gym). If your date was not a student at the school, you had to go to the office the week before the dance to obtain a guest pass. There was no strolling into the gym or the ballroom for any dance. The stupid thing is that the school made a decision to ban the PLLs from prom but when they showed up, no one did a damn thing about it. What was the point of officially banning them if no one made any move to stop them from entering or escorting them out once they arrived? I'm not saying that banning them was the right thing to do but if you're going to make a decision like that, at least have the balls to enforce it.

 

When Sara said "no matter what happens," I was waiting for her to stab a bitch or reveal that she was a fembot or something.

 

 

I attended an all girls school so when we had a dance, just about all the dates were non-students so the administrators (principal, assistant principals, deans) stood at the entrance in a line and you had to introduce your date to each one of them and he'd be subjected to a brief interrogation. It was kind of hilarious looking back on it. Don't know why any high school boy put up with it but you could be sure no former teachers or middle-aged cops came to our dances. 

 

Yeah Sara's "no matter what happens" came across as kind of creepy. I almost wanted her to go full on villain on Emily right then and there because Em kind of deserves it for how utterly stupid she's been acting. Everyone's running after Ali because they know she's about to get her pretty little self kidnapped and Emily just stops and turns away to go have a chat with Shower Harvey.  

 

One thing I hate about the show is how the public seems to treat the Liars. The girls have been bullied to hell and back, kidnapped, had their loved ones threatened but everyone treats them like they are the bad guys. 

 

 

That teacher's snarky reaction to Aria was insane. Like she was mad at the girls for showing up and possibly ruining the party for everyone else by selfishly getting kidnapped and murdered again.

 

Who do you guys think Ali saw at the end of the episode? Somebody we knew or somebody completely random?

 

My guesses are Mr DiLaurentis or Jason if it's somebody we know. Or maybe it could be her twin.

 

I was thinking Jason too because he's one of the only people I can think of that would elicit such an emotional response from Ali. But a lot about that wouldn't make sense. 

 

Oh and why in fuck are cops and teachers turning up to high school proms with their high-school aged dates?  Just 'cos it may be 'legal' doesn't make it any less inappropriate.

 

Well in Lorenzo's case, they probably just assumed he was their picking up his child. Because he looks old AF. 

 

 Ali should not apologize for EVERYTHING she did because she was a teenager brainwashed to lie by her mother, lied to for her entire life by both her parents, and filmed half nude by a secret society club founded by her brother.

 

I think Alison does need to apologize for a lot of what she did in the past. And she has. We've seen her apologize to the girls, to Paige, she even tried to make things right with Mona. There's still a lot of people she owes apologies to but at least we've seen her regretting her past mistakes and attempting to make things somewhat right. She doesn't just get to be a horrible person and then get shot to fix it all instantly like Ezra. But while I think Ali needs to apologize, I don't think she needs to be punished for mistakes she made as an emotionally messed up 15 year old child for the rest of her life. She should be able to forgive herself and move on eventually. I feel like part of her sympathy for Charles comes from her thinking she's this horrible person like him who deserves everything she gets, but she's not a monster or a sociopath like him and I would like to see her realize that and stop worrying about everybody hating her. 

 

But Spencer's speech to Toby was awful, and Spencer's speech to Lorenzo was the worst, the very fucking worst; I hate the show for it. WTF was that? Did they give that bit to a new writer who just opened up a Screenwriting for Teen Drama 101 book and lifted from there without watching old episodes beforehand? I couldn't believe my ears. I used subs. Couldn't believe my eyes. Fuck you, show.

 

I'm convinced the writers threw Spencer's speech to Lorenzo in just to piss off Emison fans and kill any hope they may have had for their ship in the future. All that "Ali's never had anyone in her whole life who saw the good in her or saw her as vulnerable and genuine" stuff is pretty much the basis of the Ali/Emily relationship so those shippers are livid. Marlene even responded to one on twitter and said Spencer meant Ali hasn't had that since jail, but Spencer literally said "in her whole life." 

 

I'm glad Spencer didn't actually get to deliver her valedictorian speech because writing about your boyfriend at graduation is really lame. And not something I'd expect from Spencer. 

 

 Drop the aspect where they're banned from prom! It did nothing for this episode, and it wouldn't make the PLL's look nearly as bad when they lose sight of Alison (because the were at prom to be at prom, not to hunt her down). They could have even retained the moms' part of the episode, just hanging out at the Hastings for a different reason.

 

I love that the girls and their dates showed up at prom to prevent Alison from getting herself killed but once they got there, they were just like, "well, since we're here might as well do some dancing, have a deep discussion about our future plans and make out a little... Ali will be fine." 

 

But yeah, the girls could have gone to prom and the moms could have held a pre-prom party where they all meet at one house to take pictures of their daughters since that's a pretty common thing now, and then after the girls left, they could have broke out the wine and gotten smashed. It would actually make them look less negligent because they would have been under the false assumption that their kids were safe at school under the watch of faculty and police, but instead the girls all snuck off under their watch so they're not looking too great. 

 

 I appreciated Ali's comment that Spencer never liked her because I would like to see that dynamic explored more - there's a reason that out of the PLLs, Spencer has always been the top suspect (I always enjoyed AriA theories, but let's face it, those were basically just an attempt to tie her into the mystery since for so long she seemed to be on an entirely different show). She always wanted to be the HBIC instead of Ali, and when Ali came back from the dead Spencer was the one to really jump on and start pushing the Ali-is-A theory. I do think Spencer has tremendously softened towards Ali in this half-season, although it's interesting to wonder to what extent that might be due to the "changed Ali" being so thoroughly defanged and passive this half-season that she posed zero threat to Spencer's position in the group. But before that? Ali's right, Spencer never liked her. Emily and Hanna loved Alison and missed her in their own ways, and Aria wasn't vulnerable to Ali's games the way the other girls were. It's too bad that they couldn't have explored the Spencer/Ali dynamic more since we have one episode left before the time-jump, because it's an interesting one.

 

I loved the scene between Alison and Spencer too, brief as it was, because like you said, there's a really interesting dynamic between the two of them I would have liked to see it explored more.

 

But I got a kick out of Spencer's disbelief that Alison would think that. Not like Spencer ever framed her for a murder she didn't commit or called her a horrible human being, both while presumed dead and while falsely incarcerated. Don't get me wrong, it would be totally understandable if Spencer didn't like Alison because Ali's done some pretty messed up things to her in the past, but Spencer shouldn't be acting like she's personally wounded by the mere thought that Ali could even think that. As much as Spencer has a reason for disliking Alison, Ali has a reason for thinking Spencer dislikes her. 

 

But I think Spencer's actually feeling kind of guilty for how she's treated Alison since she returned. There was that scene early in the season when she thanks Ali for saving them and Ali brushes it off and says Spencer would have done the same for her and Spencer looks kind of conflicted, like she's not sure if she would have, and then there's Spencer going out of her way twice now on Ali's behalf when it comes to Lorenzo. Plus all that stuff she said to Toby and Lorenzo about Alison having changed and not being the same person she was in the past. She's really the only one of the girls who have made an active effort to be supportive of Alison since her release from prison and during the whole Charles mess.   

 

The makeup Alison wore was... what was with it? It looked very sloppy for some reason. To be honest, I liked her dress.

 

It was way too heavy. It's a good thing Sasha's so young because that much makeup on any of the other girls probably would have aged them even more. 

Edited August 5, 2015 by SadieT

[CloudySky]

What would have made the moms scene better is if Veronica had tried to clumsily pick the lock and when that didn't work, have Pam charge it and hurt her shoulder because it doesn't budge. Meanwhile Ashley's halfway through a window, legs sticking out and Ella is distracted by light coming from the ceiling peek holes and stumbles over Kenneth's body.

 

They were the best part of the episodes buuut their scenes were trying a little too hard imo. Compared to the rest of the episode which consisted of: the liars are banned from prom! Oh, the liars are going to prom! Ali is walking! Liars are dancing! Ali is walking! Red hood! Blonde guy! Red hood! Ali walking! Black hood! Liar dancing! Ali walking! Red hood! for 40 minutes, the mom scenes were shakespearian gold. An Honest Trailer of this episode (and hey, of PLL in general) would be hilarious.

 

I completely tuned out of Spencer's speech to Toby so I have no idea what she said. The only words I caught are that he said her mom would be proud or sth and she says it's about him.

Spencer's talk to Lorenzo is the first time this show has actually made me want to scream out loud in frustration (and that's saying something).

 

I completely forget Sara even exists when she's not on screen so I wasn't anxiously awaiting her prom arrival. I even forgot about Caleb not being there so there's that. Oooh, Clark is an undercover cop. Who. The. F. gives a shit????

 

I have the impression I won't give a hoot about 80% of the answers given in the finale and the other 20 % comes 3 seasons too late and will be utterly unsatisfying or nonsensical like when we found out Lucas massaged Emily and Ali pushed Ian, Do we even know who actually killed Ian?? Will we find out?? Probably not, but Toby's mom's mystery will be answered because Radley!

 

 

 

 

[SadieT]

Oh one more thing... Is Toby supposed to be a horrible cop? Because he's soooo bad at his job that I'm starting to think it's intentional. When the girls realize Alison went to prom and Spencer says he (Charles) must have lured her there, Officer Toby the Terrible is like, “who? what? who lured who where? why would she do such a thing? what’s going on? where am I? are those gummy bears over there?" What the fuck do you think she’s talking about, Toby? The pot has long left your system so knock it off and get your head in the game. God, didn’t he learn anything during his weekend at the police academy?

[Chaos Theory]

Toby needs to look on the bright side. He's been a cop for three whole months and all he is getting is fired. By this point all the other cops in Rosewood get arrested....or dead.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[raytch]

Did anyone else notice it was a bit weird that Ali was getting choked by A who seemed to have a strong grasp over her and then in the next shot she's running in front of him and asking him where he's taking her?

[Black Knight]

Oh, definitely. I didn't mean that it was beneath their level, just that it didn't really match the show's reality. How does Spencer see all that in Toby at this moment? Just how? And Ali never had someone like Lorenzo in her life. How many mental gymnastics are needed to define what Lorenzo is for Ali to reach that conclusion? It's not just that the speech is bad writing, it doesn't fit.

Yes, I totally rolled my eyes at Spencer's speech to Lorenzo. Leaving aside the Emison ship for a moment (as SadieT mentions later, lots of Emison shippers were pissed off by the "in her whole life" thing) - I was wondering how Spencer even reached these conclusions about Lorenzo since we've never heard Ali mention her relationship with him to the PLLs, much less discuss it to the extent necessary for Spencer to be sure she knows what Lorenzo is to Ali. (Emily turned out to know about the relationship too, which is another F-U to Emison fans.) It's not that I particularly want to hear a conversation where Ali goes on about Lorenzo to the PLLs, but at the same time, that lack of connective tissue is very jarring.

I loved the scene between Alison and Spencer too, brief as it was, because like you said, there's a really interesting dynamic between the two of them I would have liked to see it explored more.

 

But I got a kick out of Spencer's disbelief that Alison would think that. Not like Spencer ever framed her for a murder she didn't commit or called her a horrible human being, both while presumed dead and while falsely incarcerated. Don't get me wrong, it would be totally understandable if Spencer didn't like Alison because Ali's done some pretty messed up things to her in the past, but Spencer shouldn't be acting like she's personally wounded by the mere thought that Ali could even think that. As much as Spencer has a reason for disliking Alison, Ali has a reason for thinking Spencer dislikes her. 

 

But I think Spencer's actually feeling kind of guilty for how she's treated Alison since she returned. There was that scene early in the season when she thanks Ali for saving them and Ali brushes it off and says Spencer would have done the same for her and Spencer looks kind of conflicted, like she's not sure if she would have, and then there's Spencer going out of her way twice now on Ali's behalf when it comes to Lorenzo. Plus all that stuff she said to Toby and Lorenzo about Alison having changed and not being the same person she was in the past. She's really the only one of the girls who have made an active effort to be supportive of Alison since her release from prison and during the whole Charles mess.   

I agree Spencer is feeling guilty and, this half-season, has been the only one of the girls really supporting Ali. They still throw in the occasional tiny crumb where Emily is the one to look at Ali and ask if she's okay or some such, but all Ali's substantial scenes with a PLL have been with Spencer. Not near enough in my taste since they didn't actively talk about their dynamic in those scenes (Ali's comment to Spencer in this episode is the first time that topic's been broached), but it's been something. But Spencer's disbelief is amusingly weird, like you said: She has plenty of reason to dislike Ali, and she did dislike her. And Ali is not stupid or naive, so of course Ali knows both those things - that Spencer has reason to dislike her, and that she did dislike her. I'm not sure Spencer even likes "changed Ali" now, although my dislike of passive Stepford-wife Ali is definitely coloring my perspective - I have trouble imagining how anyone could like this bland Ali. But she does feel guilty for what she did to Ali before, she does feel protective of Ali now, she's not out to get Ali anymore. Again, the question of to what extent Spencer can feel these ways is due to Ali not posing any sort of threat to her all half-season is an open one, but regardless, Spencer's been easily the best friend to Ali out of the PLLs this half-season. I just wish I could figure out where her utter disbelief came from - did she really need Toby to point out to her that Ali was an unlikable person much of the time? Is she pod Spencer? Does she have a twin who was the one around for all Ali's shit? How many times has Ali herself said she was horrible?

 

The other thing about Ali and Spencer's conversation that struck me was when Ali said that Charles is her brother, not Spencer's. That seemed to indicate maybe some jealousy on Ali's part of Jason and Spencer's relationship, which is kind of funny because this half-season is easily the best that Ali and Jason's relationship has ever been.

 

On a related note, I wonder if there's any real significance to the PLMs seeing the photo of Jessica with her kids. It was probably just a throwaway moment, but still, it seemed a little weird to me that the writers chose to have it since that photo in itself doesn't reveal anything the PLMs didn't already know. I kind of wondered if maybe one of the moms picked up an important clue (most likely Mama Hastings). Oh, and I'm also not ruling out a dead body in the basement just yet - Ashley did say that she could smell something rotting in that pipe or whatever they were trying to use to escape.

 

Did anyone else notice it was a bit weird that Ali was getting choked by A who seemed to have a strong grasp over her and then in the next shot she's running in front of him and asking him where he's taking her?

 

Yes! Especially since the camera angle was terrible on the shot of Ali running in front of him (or her).

Edited August 5, 2015 by Black Knight

[Mayadog]

You all have beautifully captured the majority of my thoughts on this guilty pleasure show of mine, but I must share my favorite non-drunk mom line:

Toby: "I'm an officer."  That sounded all kinds of silly, especially when Clark looks at him with an eye roll and says "So am I.".  
 

[auntiemel]

Yeah Sara's "no matter what happens" came across as kind of creepy.

 

I watched this episode with my niece, and this was our exact conversation after that exchange:

 

Me - Well, that certainly sounded ominous.

Mariah - I don't think there's ever been a more appropriate use of that word. Ever.

 

In thinking back on it, it struck me as less "A team, evil intentions" and more "A team, but now I've gotten to know and lurv you, and I feel like you're going to be killed or something else horrible and I'm in too deep to stop it, and the only way I can assuage my guilt is to make a cryptic comment and then stare into the middle distance over your shoulder as if that helps anything."

[methodwriter85]

Like half that prom was just one giant make-out out grotto, wtf.

Yet not a single same-sex couple. Geez, guys. Come on, if we're stuck with Shower/Emily, can't we at least get a split-second shot of two hot 30-year old teenaged guys making out?

 

I thought we were going to see A/Charles's face. WTF, show?

Edited August 6, 2015 by methodwriter85