S06.E10: Game Over, Charles

[Jack Shaftoe]

I still can't get over Cece deciding to torment a bunch of Alison's friends she had never even met instead of, I don't know, the people who locked her up in Radley. She even thought Mona's game was really fun - and yet she claimed to love Alison. I know, I know, mentally unstable but come on, even the actions of mentally unstable people follow some semblance of logic, albeit with a faulty premise or conclusion. The way they have portrayed Cece she should have most definitely started with Kenneth  (regardless of whether he had good reasons for having her institutionalized or was trans-phobic and wanted to get rid of Charles). Or at least she should have focused her ire on Mona - I mean, Mona drives Alison into hiding with murder threats and so on and Cece is all "This is such a fun game, Mona is my new BFF"?!? And then she does a 180 and goes all "I hate the Liars because they don't appreciate Ali enough. The girl who hated her so much she wanted to murder her is totally fine, though, I will use her as a minion". What the hell, Cece?

[ottoDbusdriver]

From the recap:

 

We now know CeCe killed Shana in New York and ran off the France, but she just. Couldn't. Stop. Playing.

 

Except CeCe didn't kill Shana, Aria did.  Something that Aria has still not been brought to justice for.

 

I still can't get over the fact that CeCe had her own private cellular network in Rosewood.

 

Looking back, it sure is a good thing that the PLLs didn't check Sara to see if she was chipped -- since the answer would likely have been no, and would have raised questions why she wasn't chipped.

 

Did Aria go to LA for her internship ?  Because she ended up going to Savannah, GA for college, though offhand I can't think of any prestigious colleges in Savannah.  Emily goes to Pepperdine, but didn't Paige go to Stanford so they would still be 400+ miles apart.  Of course Spencer got into Georgetown, probably for law, so what happened to Oxford ?  I guess we just assume that Alison stayed local and went to Hollis.  And did Hanna leave to live in NY with Caleb and just went to any old school (since it's never really mentioned which one) ?

Edited August 12, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

Wasn't there an episode where Ezra and Aria were in his apartment while CeCe, in a black hoodie, was straining to hear them through the door? The same one who was just revealed to have a super hi-tech lair with a holographic screen?

 

Ahahahaha

[Sakura12]

Wasn't EzrA paying CeCe to spy on the girls? Not only was he being a creepy stalker by spying on and banging teenage girls for a book, he had their tormentor on his payroll. 

[Amelia]

Why did A send Ali a video of herself burying Jessica with the caption "Watch me bury her just like I'll bury you" (or something along those lines) if Cece just stumbled on Jessica's body when she was already dead??? #danglingplotthreadnumber547 .-.

 

I JUST CAN'T EVEN.

 

Yeah, I actually thought the reveal was good and we don't give the PLL writers enough credit.

 

Reveal exceeded my expectations for the following reasons:

1/ Was not deus ex machina. Charles was a character we knew from the beginning

2/ Nobody really expected it because Cece wasn't a character in the books

3/ It kind of made sense??? There was so much stuff that I can't fact check it all myself but it does explain away a lot.

 

1. But it is a dues ex machina. Cece has literally been in like 13 episodes in the entire run of this series and they didn't start until maybe season three? HOW have we known her from the beginning?! 

2. Sorry, but everyone has been suspecting Cece for seasons now regardless of her being a character in the book or not.

 

That's what's really getting me at the moment. Our big, bad, all knowing A has been in little more than TEN episodes. Granted, at least it wasn't Clark or Rhys, both of whom showed up like five minutes ago, but still. She's no one. Even if Radley is the worst sanitarium on the planet (which, it is), we have to make so many allowances for this to even resemble making sense. I'm just so mad, but I knew going in that I'd be let down so really I shouldn't be. 

 

Another thought: why was Leslie bugging that the liars got her file? What was the point of that and her eight hundred pairs of glasses? 

[Kaboom 2.0]

So many of you have echoed my thoughts and opinions about this ep, all I can add won't someone PLEASE think of the Pretty Little Moms still trapped in the basement; thank you, Emily, for punching Sara, something my right hand has been itching to do for a while; and thank you, Vanessa Ray, for being such a good actor and pulling this reveal off.

 

And still no Noel Kahn. Booooo.

[Aquariuz]

Weirdly this finale satisfied me. It's like an end to a chapter.

And I'm excited for the gir...err women's next adventure.

p.s.: No closure on the mothers' fate?

p.p.s : Spencer's future hairdo. Yay or nay? (At least, Troian will guest star on Suits tomorrow!)

[Peanut6711]

Was it Spencer Hastings in the backyard with a hockey stick?  CC Drake in the front yard with a rock? Or Mona Vanderwault along the road with….what….her laptop case?

For those of you that remember the movie Clue based off the boardgame, given the mess this show has become I think Marlene King should have just gone with a Clue themed episode to wrap it all up, possibly with multiple endings because, let’s face it, there’s too many continuity errors for her to make any one really make sense as ‘A’.   So instead of the high tech room, ‘A’ could have lured the girls to a large foreboding house on a hill on a dark and stormy night.  And once it was all recapped and explained away in the style of the movie, they definitely needed to spoof the unanswered questions with this line:

“So this all had nothing to do with Ian and Jason’s creepy NAT club or Ezra’s surveillance fetish of underage girls?”  Tanner shakes her head and looks surprised, having once again uncovered evidence that she pegged all wrong.

“No, voyeurism was just a red herring,” Caleb, having helped uncover real clues to find the girls, explains.

[ottoDbusdriver]

By the way, the latitude and longitude coordinates on Mona's tablet of A's private cellular network were all for locations for the high Arctic in and around the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.  Despite the fact that the map clearly shows that the cell towers and the location of the Carissimi group superimposed over Rosewood. WTF ?

 

I'm still curious why that many cops showed up to an alarm going off at a supposedly closed sanitarium -- and they already knew about 'the suspect' on the roof and possible civvies.  I doubt the PLLs called the cops since none of them had cell phones, so why did the cops show up in force with guns drawn ?

Edited August 12, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[mntnsrck79]

Did Aria go to LA for her internship ?  Because she ended up going to Savannah, GA for college, though offhand I can't think of any prestigious colleges in Savannah.  Emily goes to Pepperdine, but didn't Paige go to Stanford so they would still be 400+ miles apart.  Of course Spencer got into Georgetown, probably for law, so what happened to Oxford ?  I guess we just assume that Alison stayed local and went to Hollis.  And did Hanna leave to live in NY with Caleb and just went to any old school (since it's never really mentioned which one) ?

 

I'm sure Aria was going to SCAD, Savannah College of Art & Design. They have a good writing program.

Edited August 12, 2015 by mntnsrck79

[Lady Calypso]

Yeah, I actually thought the reveal was good and we don't give the PLL writers enough credit.

 

Reveal exceeded my expectations for the following reasons:

1/ Was not deus ex machina. Charles was a character we knew from the beginning

2/ Nobody really expected it because Cece wasn't a character in the books

3/ It kind of made sense??? There was so much stuff that I can't fact check it all myself but it does explain away a lot.

 

Sorry, I gotta echo everyone else, but Charles is a character we did NOT know from the beginning. We did not know about Cece until season 3. We did not find out about Charles until the end of season 5. Thus, it was a lie. 

[Bort]

Spencer's future hairdo. Yay or nay?

Nay. I know they were trying to go for Spencer looking chic and mature but since Troian is almost 30, she already looks that way. I like the long no-bangs better.

[Lady Calypso]

Nay. I know they were trying to go for Spencer looking chic and mature but since Troian is almost 30, she already looks that way. I like the long no-bangs better.

 

Yeah, oddly enough, she actually looks a lot YOUNGER with the bangs. I mean, she looks like she's eighteen or nineteen with the bangs. But I'm growing used to the bangs the more I see them.

[tldryolo]

I know the point has been amply made, but just reading the PLL Wikia on CeCe Drake shows what a mess this reveal is:

 

http://prettylittleliarss.wikia.com/wiki/CeCe_Drake

 

After Caleb finds CeCe's address from an old cable bill, Aria goes there and talks to CeCe's old roommate. She reveals that Alison got CeCe kicked out of college after she pushed a girl down the steps at a frat party in "The Badass Seed." CeCe believes that Spencer, Emily, Hanna and Aria are "four she-devils" that had something to with what happened and hates them for it.

 

 

?

 

Jessica DiLaurentis has a flashback of a time when she received a phone call from Radley Sanitarium saying Alison had checked in. When she got there it was CeCe dressed as Alison. Jessica tells Spencer and Hanna that CeCe and Alison's friendship was obsessive, toxic, and that they 'wore' each other's personalities. They realize that the "Alison" Masks that Alison purchased weren't for them, she probably had them made for CeCe.

 

 

 

Um....

 

It's revealed that CeCe actually witnessed Ali and Spencer's fight but couldn't say anything because Mrs. DiLaurentis paid her to keep quiet.

 

 

What?!?!?!

 

Jessica DiLaurentis gives CeCe a suitcase full of clothes and CeCe, in a black hoodie, retreats into the woods, where Spencer follows her. Meanwhile, at an unknown Hotel, "A" prepares to turn CeCe into the cops.

 

 

So this A was...? Or did CeCe turn herself in?  Or..?

 

 

CeCe is caught by Detective Holbrook and brought in for questioning. She wears a shirt purchased by Mrs. DiLaurentis in Unbridled. She tells Holbrook she knows who killed the girl in Ali's grave and that it was the same person still trying to hurt her friend Ali. She tells him she's alive and that she's seen her more than once.

 

 

I guess... technically true if she's the one who killed the girl in Ali's grave and she's trying to hurt Ali... kind of....

 

CeCe was Prom Queen in High School.

 

 

Impressive!  So why did she show up for her fake prom in a tux?

 

CeCe's character often causes confusion amongst fans for many reasons, such as:
CeCe is seen outside Ezra's apartment wearing a black hoodie, A's infamous clothing choice. However, in "EscApe From New York", Alison claims that CeCe helped her save Emily from "A".
As stated above, Alison claims that CeCe only wore the red coat in order to distract "A" so Ali could save Emily. However, in "Bring Down the Hoe", an episode which takes place before this event, CeCe is shown to have a Red Coat of her own.
In "The Mirror Has Three Faces," CeCe's roommate tells Aria that CeCe hated them because Ali got her kicked out of college. However, CeCe and Ali now seem to be friends.

 

 

Okay, think we're done here.  

Edited August 12, 2015 by tldryolo

[Sakura12]

Was it Spencer Hastings in the backyard with a hockey stick? CC Drake in the front yard with a rock? Or Mona Vanderwault along the road with….what….her laptop case?

For those of you that remember the movie Clue based off the boardgame, given the mess this show has become I think Marlene King should have just gone with a Clue themed episode to wrap it all up, possibly with multiple endings because, let’s face it, there’s too many continuity errors for her to make any one really make sense as ‘A’.

Haha, a few years ago I designed a PLL Clue game when I was messing around with a design program. The only Clue game no one will ever win because they'll add some random new character into the envelope every time you play.

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/mhoye1214/PLLcluebox2_zpsf6049c5d.jpg

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/mhoye1214/realFinalClueboard_zps7b36521e.jpg

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/mhoye1214/Suspectscluecards_zps8e516e9d.jpg

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/mhoye1214/Weaponscluecards_zpsa92635d5.jpg

Edited August 12, 2015 by Sakura12

[tldryolo]

Haha, a few years ago I designed a PLL Clue game when I was messing around with a design program. The only Clue game no one will ever win because they'll add some random new character into the envelope. 

 

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/mhoye1214/PLLcluebox2_zpsf6049c5d.jpg

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/mhoye1214/realFinalClueboard_zps7b36521e.jpg

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/mhoye1214/Suspectscluecards_zps8e516e9d.jpg

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k512/mhoye1214/Weaponscluecards_zpsa92635d5.jpg

 

This game could work, it just has to get meta.

 

"I accuse Caleb in The Brew with the Knife."

 

"Your accusation was not during a season finale and implicates a fan-approved love interest.  Therefore, you are wrong on at least two counts.  You may make no further moves in the game.  However, you remain as a player to contradict suggestions made by other players."

[Sakura12]

Or you have to say your theory first and the other players can contradict it. You can't make your accusation until everyone agrees on your theory. But then you'll still be wrong because a surprise character no one has heard of pops up making you have to start all over again. 

Edited August 12, 2015 by Sakura12

[RedInk]

I know the point has been amply made, but just reading the PLL Wikia on CeCe Drake shows what a mess this reveal is:

 

http://prettylittleliarss.wikia.com/wiki/CeCe_Drake

 

Thank you for this post! I'm so disappointed about this reveal that I didn't want to do the legwork and look up all the plot holes.

 

The worst offense to me, though, now that I think about it, was how much this episode changed the feel of the show. The central A mystery was always dark, moody and a little dream-like. The secret lairs, stalking, blackmailing - the implausibility of A being everywhere/seeing everything. A was a mastermind at inflicting psychic trauma. Those damn Halloween episodes actually scared me a little with the oppressive creep factor, and I'm a 36-year old woman. But A is CeCe. They gave her a big backstory, but she really just amounts to a mean girl that I never really cared about. How did she finance all of this? Well, she made some money off Radley and then played the stock market. Going out on a limb...no one who watches this show wanted A to make money from wise investments. I don't think there's any insight as to how she became a criminal genius, but then I don't believe for a second that this was planned before this season. This explanatory episode felt like an episode of a procedural drama, like an episode of Law & Order. Here's how I did it, and here's why, and aren't you a little more understanding now? She even gave up at the end! All defeated! Game over, you guys (sad face).      

Edited August 12, 2015 by RedInk

[Writing Wrongs]

I hope they have a new opening credit sequence this winter. This one has been way overdo for a change.

[kelslamu]

Game over was right.

[mercfan3]

 

 

 

Oh, please. Can you stop with this "it's the patriarchy's fault" excuse for everything? Why do you believe Cece regarding the reason she was locked up? She also thought running a car into Emily's house was no big deal. Kenneth might well be telling the truth about Cece and that hot water bath. And even if he lied about that, they sure went over board with Cece creepiness in the flashback before she was locked up, so I think we are supposed to think she was mentally disturbed all along. Also, Mrs. D. covered up the murder of Toby's mother and (as far she knew) the murder of her own daughter. She even let Jason continue dating his half-sister. Are you going to blame the patriarchy for this too? She was more villainous than her husband for my money,

 

 

 

1. I hate that you are having me defend this finale. Because it was terrible. And in fact, more than anything I believe the theory that this was quickly done because of the spoilers. You expect plotholes, you don't expect poorly filmed scenes. 

2. Yes, it was totally a "patriarchy is bad" episode. The whole theme that goes onto these shows.  I just understand the underlying theme and it simply existed in a different way this episode. Her father couldn't accept her, she was blamed for Marian's death because she was in a dress. It was an underlining factor. 

3. CeCe is transgendered and also crazy. She's not crazy because she's transgendered. Like I said, I think establishing that (which they did) and also being the lgbt friendly show that it is, a transgendered character being A isn't that harmful. That being said, I think they shouldn't have done it. If they wanted Charles to be transgendered, fine...Charles died and (Bethany) CeCe took his identity for the game. Or, you know..actually have a trans actress play CeCe. (And I totally respect people who feel differently..also, I used "Charles there because in this scenario CeCe wouldn't be Charles..and there's no other name to use.) 

 

For me though, the answers (at least A...Red Coat and Blackveil were terrible...I would have even been okay with Sara being one..but to have her be both..and to have us only know her this season, even if she was mentioned in prior seasons...bad..) were okay. There are plenty of CeCe clues...the story they told..should have been put together better. Motive should have been better (although even those were....okay..if TOLD better..) timelines needed to be better. The answers wouldn't have bothered me if it was a well thought out in the details and the actual finale was a good show..instead of looking like a college project. 

Edited August 12, 2015 by mercfan3

[MinionBooty]

So between running from Ali after trying to set the bomb off, she retied the black mask and hoodie on  and was going to jump with them on......um why? So was the A plan to blow her, Ali, dad, and Jason up and keep the Liars looked in that room forever? I mean they would get out eventually. and A would be dead and the point would be?????

 

What would have happened if Aria had dropped her harder when in Ravenswood? No more A?  Was Sara involved then? Did she care about the amount of info Ezra at that time had?

 

So was Tanner good for bad? I got confused.

[tldryolo]

Thank you for this post! I'm so disappointed about this reveal that I didn't want to do the legwork and look up all the plot holes.

 

Those damn Halloween episodes actually scared me a little with the oppressive creep factor, and I'm a 36-year old woman. But A is CeCe. They gave her a big backstory, but she really just amounts to a mean girl that I never really cared about.       

 

Thank you!

 

I really appreciate you and others mentioning their ages.  I am a 32 year old man and an ex got me into this ridiculous show.  The romance faded, but the Addiction remained.  When we dated, it was season 2 and I was calling EzrA.  Since then, we broke up, and then the ex in question (i) got married, (ii) had a child, and (iii) is pregnant with a second child.  We were texting our disappointment to each other last night in this reveal.  Her husband thinks it's really strange we watch this show and still talk about it, and I am forced to concur.  But at least I know I'm not the only weirdo.  

[ottoDbusdriver]

I hope they have a new opening credit sequence this winter. This one has been way overdo for a change.

 

Ain't that the truth -- it's needed an update for a while.  The intro never made sense anyway since it's supposed to be Alison's funeral attended by the 4 PLLs standing over her coffin, even though Alison wasn't really dead, so who's body was it ?  At the minimum it should have been refreshed once Alison was confirmed to be alive, the producers are just incredibly lazy.

 

Sidebar: At least 'Defiance' gets this stuff right -- once the St. Louis Arch was blown up, the opening credits of the very next episode were updated to show the blown up remains of the Arch.

[DigitalCount]

Lol, 29-year-old male, also lost the girl and kept the show. She'd read the books too and knew about Mona and Courtney, but nothing beyond where the books were when the show started.

Also, I feel like Tanner being considered bad was because we didn't know that Sara was involved yet. Sara is the one who was supposed to contact Tanner. I'm guessing it's like Mona being the one to text Hanna in unmAsked. I don't think she's anything other than a good cop.

[jjjmoss]

IMDB has it rated as the Worst Episode Ever, beating that weird black and white noir thingy.
Usually the T2 rated episodes of a season are the mid-season finale and the finale, so this is highly unusual, but fitting given how horrid it was.

 

Still can’t believe someone who was in fewer eps than Linda Tanner/Gabriel Holbrook/Shana is our big bad.

 

Hope for 6B: My trinity of favorite non-main cast members are around - Lucas, Noel, Jenna. Melissa and Wren would be cool too; I’m not actually a Wren fan but his absence has been weird.
Someone relevant dies.

[MinionBooty]

Trying to make us think Tanner was bad to to they and hide how sketchy Sara was, was ......... dumb. The chick wouldn't go in the room. She had that ominous warning last ep and thats after all the weird crap before.

[mercfan3]

2 more thoughts..

 

I also blame ABC family for this. Fans feelings were too important to the network, so they couldn't do what they should have done..and had Toby, Paige  or Ezra be A. (Granted, Keegan couldn't pull off the acting..) 

 

I thought Vanessa Ray was very good, and her dark humor was probably the only positive of this episode's execution. 

 

edit: actually a third thought..how badly does Ezra suck at sleuthing..because CeCe was on his payroll. 

Edited August 12, 2015 by mercfan3

[DigitalCount]

I don't think Toby or Ezra would have fit either. The only difference is that they'd have been main characters, but Charlotte being a Johnny-come-lately is one of the smallest issues that I have with the reveal.

I don't really understand why people wanted these two to be Charles. Sure, they're bad people, just like everyone else on the show. I also don't find them to be the type of psychotic that would fit for A (which is a problem clearly present in Charlotte as well, but this time her not being on-screen often helped a lot since we have no idea who she really is). Furthermore, were there any actual clues pointing at these guys?

It feels more like those theories came from a desire to see them punished for being bad boyfriends, which is odd given that any A activities would dwarf the impact of being a creep. It's like, "Ezra, you used me for a book...and locked me in a freezer to die." At that point, their churlish behavior becomes negligible.

[tldryolo]

DigitalCount, I think you're misreading the Ezra/Toby people.  Nobody is saying, I don't think, that they should have been Charles.  They are saying that Charles is a concept that never existed.  Even if the online crowd was suspicious of Ezra from day one, it would have been far better story-wise if it was revealed he was A and got obsessed with the liars in the course of writing his book.  From the moment they burned Toby and Ezra as viable suspects it was very unlikely that they could come up with a satisfactory resolution and once they introduced the concept of Charles it became impossible-- it would either be a character who wouldn't fit or it would be someone we haven't seen before.  

[Sakura12]

I guess Ezra missed seeing CeCe on his bazillion cameras watching the girls every move because he was too busy creeping on Aria, A rarely paid any attention to her. 

 

This show should've ended with the EzrA reveal. 

[Jack Shaftoe]

 

2. Yes, it was totally a "patriarchy is bad" episode. The whole theme that goes onto these shows.  I just understand the underlying theme and it simply existed in a different way this episode. Her father couldn't accept her, she was blamed for Marian's death because she was in a dress. It was an underlining factor.

 

One of the themes being "the patriarchy is bad" doesn't necessarily make it an episode about "the patriarchy is about". There could be many, many themes in a given show or an episode. One can also claim the episode was about "women are bad" because it had Bethany and Mona killing without remorse, Mrs D not stopping incest, Sara helping Cece blow people up, etc. Kenneth Di Laurentis is a terrible parent, no doubt, but he is far from the worst character in the show or the most villainous. Also, as I said, Cece might well be lying. And in any event, there are people who do not support the patriarchy but can't stand transgendered people, so why reduce everything to "the patriarchy is bad"?

 

 

3. CeCe is transgendered and also crazy. She's not crazy because she's transgendered.

 

Never said anything to the contrary. I'm saying that maybe she was mentally disturbed before she was locked up in Radley.

 

Oh, and since I forgot to mention it among all the other nonsense in this episode - the Liars trying to prevent Cece from jumping was just as bad as I feared if not worse. It happened right after Cece had tried to explode a bomb with which to kill herself and at least three other people and not long after they had heard how she decided to torment them because it sounded so fun. They should have tried to push her, not stop her.

[tldryolo]

I guess Ezra missed seeing CeCe on his bazillion cameras watching the girls every move because he was too busy creeping on Aria, A rarely paid any attention to her. 

 

This show should've ended with the EzrA reveal. 

 

I agree completely.  There should have been fewer seasons, less filler, and a commitment to making Ezra the big bad from the start.  Yes, a lot of people would have seen it coming... but a lot of people *wouldn't* have.  To some extent, being unpredictable and crafting a good mystery are incompatible.  They should have accepted that and gone with a better ending that would have been less twist-y.  I didn't see CeCe coming, but only because of how illogical the reveal is.  That's not really a point in their favor. Ezra being the big bad and having the PLL's uncover it, rather than have a non sequitir passively explained to them, would have been much better.  

[mercfan3]

I guess Ezra missed seeing CeCe on his bazillion cameras watching the girls every move because he was too busy creeping on Aria, A rarely paid any attention to her. 

 

This show should've ended with the EzrA reveal. 

 

Yup, and if they wanted a time jump..then time jump then..

EzrA was the perfect A. He had family money. Although they could come up with a better theory than "Writing a book" ...psychopath torturing innocent teens to write a demented book is a better motive than.."Obsessed with the girls and liked the game" which was both Mona's and CeCe's motive. It would have reinforced that he was a terrible person for being with Ali and Aria..teenage girls..oh and there were plenty of clues..from the damn pilot..to make up for it. CeCe's redcoat..she's on his payroll..(That's enough of a motive)..black widow..who cares? If Sarah was both characters anyway, no need for Blackwidow to exist. 

 

plus, Ian harding could have pulled it off. (Although Vanessa did do a good job.) 

[Sakura12]

I wouldn't have cared with EzrA being predictable. He was there the whole time being nice and helpful. The girls confided in him, trusted him, Aria was sleeping with him. That would've explained A leaving Aria alone, she was getting the worse treatment of all, falling for a guy and finding out he's been torturing her friends for fun and pretending to care about her. He had the money, the means, and no friends his own age (which was the biggest red flag). Ezra could've been a true psychopath, the charming, nice man that enjoys causing pain to others.  

 

It's good to be different, but if you are it has to make sense not be pulled out of your ass 5 years after the show's been on. 

[itainttippithebird]

A few quick notes about terminology -

 

It is considered dehumanizing to refer to someone as "a transgender" - similarly to how you wouldnt say "so, you're a gay." It's also generally considered bad form to say someone is "transgendered," as if it's a condition that happened to them, rather than something someone authentically is. Also, once you know someone's gender identity and preferred pronouns, you should always use them, even when referring a trans person's former gender presentation/assignment. Finally, to speculate on someone's genitals is generally considered really rude and again, dehumanizing.

 

I say this not to scold - because the terminology and the politics are trans issues are evolving rapidly in this moment of unprecedented visbibility and political action, I realize that it can be really hard to keep current on these things if you aren't well-versed in it. Rather, I just wanted to give y'all some quick info about language if you don't want to be mistaken for saying something anti-trans.

 

All the love and benefit of the doubt, y'all!

[Kromm]

So honestly... isn't it just all too weird that we're supposed to be believe they cast a 5'4" actress for a role "fated" to be transgender? Not that there aren't 5'4" men in the world, but it's statistically pretty far on the low (and unlikely) end (the average Caucasian male in America is around 5 foot 10 inches tall).

Makes you think that "A" identity maybe underwent a change since that casting.

[tldryolo]

So honestly... isn't it just all too weird that we're supposed to be believe they cast a 5'4" actress for a role "fated" to be transgender? Not that there aren't 5'4" men in the world, but it's statistically pretty far on the low (and unlikely) end (the average Caucasian male in America is around 5 foot 10 inches tall).

Makes you think that "A" identity maybe underwent a change since that casting.

 

That is the tip of the PLL iceberg when it comes to dimensional shifting.  Mona is the tiniest person on the show, yet the season 1-2 A (most notably in the nursery) looms large over the actors.  And the person Jenna thought she'd never see again had a white hand and turned out to be the black Shana.  It is quite clear they are making this up as they go.  

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

So, We Finally Meet The Face Behind The Hoodie, And: Seriously? Liane's head might have exploded.

[crystalflame]

I think it's possible the writers planned CeCe to be A, at least before season 6 started filming. In the 5 episodes we were told we should watch before the season 5 finale, CeCe-as-A storyline clues are in most of them, whereas Melissa and Wren are pretty irrelevant to them. Still, I don't believe IMK when she says she came up with this at the start of Season 3. Nope.

Things I still want to know:

-What possible motive did Ian have to kill himself?

-Why did Mona(?) try to burn a house down with Jenna in it and frame Garret for it?

-Why would CeCe blow up the Cavanaugh's house?

-Melissa is super shady. Wren is super shady. Where the hell have they been?

-Noel?

-Jenna?

-Lucas?

-Weren't we promised a reveal of the entire A-team? Should Toby and Lucas' involvement been brought up?

-And what about Varjak (could that be the "he" in the time jump?)

-Did Cyrus live?

-Where is Holbrook, and did he really date Ali?

Summer of answers. Right.

[WhosThatGirl]

i now wish it was Noel Kahn in the black hoodie and I am someone who truly believed that they would not be good. But it would have made a hell out of a lot more sense than Cece who we met in season three.And not even like the start of season three, I think like six or seven episodes in. 

[Sakura12]

I want to know why everyone is having so much trouble trying to kill a blind girl? They've tried explosions and drowning and she's still alive. Is she human? This show would make so much more sense if there was magic and the supernatural. 

[Eneya]

Plot hole...
They claimed Charles (Cece) put Ali in a tub and poured scaldingly hot water... but showed him putting her in a filled tub with normal water which simply covered the baby's head. MINOR nitpick but pissed me off to no end.
 

I didn't like the weapon in the shoe, somehow it pissed me, because the whole set was... stupid.
 

The show is now exactly like a soap, with the exagerated reactions, faces, sounds and weird body movements. It's... ugh. No!

WhisperingSoul - what is daisygate?
 

Outside of this... WTF did I just watch? It made ZERO sense. It is the same slock as the books who have "this person is insane... that is ALL the justification they'll get for their actions".
 

What the hell has political correctness to do with the idiotic idea that Mr. D is supposedly worse than Charlotte resonance? I see it as really dumb argument but nothing to do with the oh, so scary PC.
 

PLL, the show that boldly goes, where everyone and their lazy writing have gone before in regards to demonization of mentall illness and gender... Yay..

Edited August 12, 2015 by Eneya

[itainttippithebird]

 

They claimed Charles (Cece) put Ali in a tub and poured scaldingly hot water... but showed him putting her in a filled tub with normal water which simply covered the baby's head. MINOR nitpick but pissed me off to no end.

 

I assume it was a hot bath ("this always makes me feel better") - but also, CeCe said it was basically an excuse to get rid of her because Mr. D. was uncomfortable with her trans-ness. It makes sense to me, even if the larger context of the reveal is messed up.

[Tara Ariano]

Except CeCe didn't kill Shana, Aria did.  Something that Aria has still not been brought to justice for.

 

Sorry about that -- fixed.

[WhosThatGirl]

I just..remember when this show used to be fun? Like, when Emily went to pick up Toby from his house only to find Jenna and then Jenna was all, "goodbye Emily, please leave my porch" and then she played her off with her flute. AMAZING. That will never not make me laugh. I mean, this episode wasn't fun at all.  I don't believe for one second that the show was always planning this or had been planning this to the be the reveal, I do however believe that the show was slowly sucking the fun out of it since season 5, though and now we're left with this. 

[itainttippithebird]

Ugh, the part that kills me is that I thought the end of S5/beginning of S6 was PLL at the top of its game! So rich with film and literature allusions, such interesting directorial choices, a nice mix of funny and dark, and most of all, a doubling down on its feminist themes. Until last night, I would be the show's #1 champion! The timeline problems, small continuity issues, fantastical elements I could also easily brush off as small potatoes sacrifices in the service of the show's bigger accomplishments - but then it had to go and break my heart by (at least in my reading of it) destroying all the very smart, feminist, queer work it had built in the last 6 seasons!

[mercfan3]

That bothers me too, some of my favorite episodes came this season (The first two and the mom's episode..)

 

As has been said, I totally believe CeCe was going to be A from the start of season 3. The clues are there. I just don't know if the rest of the story was..

[apgold]

I didn't hate this episode as much as most did - CeCe was not an out of left field choice (despite her being in a dozen eps or so), but there are so many plot holes, the show looks like swiss cheese. 

 

Transgender politics aside, I am still stuck on when Charles became Charlotte.  Who did the surgery?  Did Mrs. D pay for it?  I thought they did a good job casting young Charles - a feminine looking boy.

 

I also don't know how far the Carissmi Group HQ is from Radley, are they on the same block?  Because it didn't take the girls long to get on the roof to try to talk Charlotte down.

 

While I loved Emily punching Sara, I am disappointed that we didn't know how she became RedCoat or how she and Charlotte even met.  And yes, she should be in prison, not a hospital so that left me shaking my head.

 

Marlene refuses to say who killed Mrs. D, so I am guessing that might pop up in the next season.  At this point I am out of suspects but that woman had a ton of secrets and probably a lot of enemies we don't know of.  I hope it's not Veronica, who got drunk one night and decided to kill her for sleeping with her husband.

I so wanted to see the moms rescued from the basement or at least show them alive and well during the good-bye-we're-off-to-college scene.  That was easily the best scene of the show.

 

So in the end there was no Uber A? Just CeCe and her Carissmi group minions? Mona was the original A and CeCe took over for her.  Anyone notice that the red coat was really a red bathrobe?

[Chaos Theory]

Ok I am going to say one more thing and then I am done.

I wish PLL was better written.

That being said I am not offended out of hand by a transgendered villain just like I am never offended by a gay or lesbian one. Piper Chapman is still my favorite character on OITNB. I would love to see a gay Don Draper or gay Heisenberg.

Maybe PLL wasn't the best platform for the transvillian but I think it was sensitively done if you aren't offended out of hand. CeCe wasn't a Gillian because she was teams she was a villian because every time life gave her something it took two things from her. I know I will be in the minority but I liked the finale.

I just wish it was better written.