S06.E10: Game Over, Charles

[GaT]

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/11/pretty-little-liars-marlene-king-answers

 

Some answers from EW:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Who killed Ian? (Season 2, Episode 4)

MARLENE KING: Ian killed himself but Mona staged the note and the crime scene.

 

WHAT??????? Ian committed suicide?????? Since when?????? My brain is going to explode, how is it possible that Ian killed himself?????

[DigitalCount]

That was...exactly what I needed, actually.

 

ItAintTippi, hope you get through it. Here's some strength from one ex-PLL fan to another.

 

I. Marlene King, feel free to GFY.

 

Everyone else: It's been fun.

[MinionBooty]

Another question...

 

How does Dr. Sullivan fit into the story? Did she meet with Sara?

[mercfan3]

I also have to say, I think Jason has become my favorite part of PLL. He might seriously be the biggest victim. 

[MinionBooty]

I agree. Poor Jason. Not only does he have to deal with this knowledge. He know Ali ands dad know he was messing around with his brother/sister. 

 

My question is did Jason not ever see his brother playing with moms clothes and stuff?

[SadieT]

I think so many of the scenes looked poorly shot because they decided to blow their entire effects budget for the episode on the Dr. Wells/Reverse Flash future room holograms and touch screens and didn't have the money/time to make anything else look decent.

 

That stupid hologram screen was so pointless. Why couldn't they just use a regular tv screen? 

 

I also have to say, I think Jason has become my favorite part of PLL. He might seriously be the biggest victim. 

 

I love Jason now and totally feel bad for him... he's unwittingly dated 2 out of 4 of his half-sisters. I imagine he's going to have trouble trusting every girl he meets in the future is not at least partially related to him. But until they address his involvement in the NAT club, I'm never going to be able to forget that he used to spy on and film his little sister(s) and her friends half naked with the other pervs in the NAT club, so while he's definitely a victim of his parents and CeCe's craziness, he's also victimized the girls in the past. 

[lorikauai]

I just came back to add that it is really shitty writing when they have the main characters try to narrate for us the audience how we should feel about the twist. That was incredibly heavy handed and ridiculous. As we hear Cece's sob story we get the PLL saying oh of course it makes so much sense and really A is just a victim blah blah blah. Um no. Good writing would show us that Cece is sympathetic and the twist makes sense, not tell us. 

[Lii]

I can't deal with what just happened.

Marlene what the fuck did you do? I can't find the words. This is so so so bad you guys.

I felt nothing. I didn't feel bad for Cece for a single moment and if the show is actually trying to shame us into feeling bad for Charles because he transgendered then this is bad for the world. THE WHOLE GODDAMN WORLD.

Lii, I'm sorry you're gonna have to experience this alone.

I...have trauma. {»°°«}

All I want to know is, why did CeCe call herself A?

The A IS for AHHHHHHHH SONOFABITCH WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS EVEN ON MY TELEVISION

I think they made her trans to make it more "shocking." If they had said the long lost sibling was a girl, everyone would have guessed CeCe.

In the future either Mona or Spencer invents a time machine? I kind of believe they're capable of it.

SKYYYYYYNETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT !!!!!!!!!########!!!!!!!! YESSSSSZZZZZZZZ okay I'm on it. Edited August 12, 2015 by Lii

[raytch]

I...have trauma. {»°°«}

The A IS for AHHHHHHHH SONOFABITCH WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS EVEN ON MY TELEVISION

SKYYYYYYNETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT !!!!!!!!!########!!!!!!!! YESSSSSZZZZZZZZ okay I'm on it.

*hugs and pie*

Remember how we all thought what a bad idea it would be if it was Lucas? I'd take him now.

[mercfan3]

CeCe's not the issue. IMO. There are plenty of clues building up to CeCe. In fact, it's pretty obvious.. I don't even think CeCe being trans is the issue. And hell, they could have even pulled off..her motive was she didn't like that they were happy Ali was gone/trying to get Ali to reveal herself/liked playing with dolls.

 

The issue was that it was a poorly written, filmed, and directed episode. Also Sara Harvey made it worse. 

[raytch]

Yep still not ready to discuss.

I'll try again in an hour.

[lorikauai]

Cece could have easily been Charles' girlfriend getting revenge for him or Jason and Ali's sister instead of brother. They only stuck the trans part in there to make it "shocking" which is what made it so bad. Actually the whole "Charles" thing was obviously only put in there to be a misdirect and make the viewers believe A was male in order to make the actual reveal shocking. It feels cheap and forced and tacked on unnecessarily.

Edited August 12, 2015 by lorikauai

[dwmckim]

As much rage is being directed towards Marlene & the other major creative PTB, most of my anger tonight is directed at ABC Family.  I come home from work during the first broadcast of each week's PLL episode so i typically wait until the second airing of it later that evening so i can watch the whole episode...and ABCFam didn't even have that second airing tonight!  (They're doing it tomorrow evening).  Thankfully, i decided that tonight i'd break from the norm and tune in for the second half of the "first" airing tonight so still managed to see parts of it and read recaps/reactions of the rest.  Can't believe ABCF would knowingly anger several fans who also watch the later airings for whatever reason who were totally unaware they wouldn't have a second broadcast tonight and replace it with some lame reality garbage?  Maybe the network knew how repellent people would find it and figured it was best to not show it again.

 

The CeCe as A and transgendered was a popular theory for a while and one i was believing up until one of the writers responded to a tweet that they WEREN'T doing a transgendered A story.  So the concept itself didn't bug me because i made peace with it a fair amount of time ago - but more offended that the show flat out lied about them not going there and the biggest episode of the show's run was exactly that. 

 

I'm also not of the "hating Sara as RedCoat/BV because they just introduced her this season".  Actually, no.  The character was part of the fabric of the show since season four but not shown onscreen until this year.  The Sara mystery was one i was interested in since it was brought up so i myself have no problem with this.  But what i do have an issue with (granted i still have yet to see the first half but from everything i've read, i feel confident stating this) is that the whole "why" of Sara wasn't really adequately addressed.  

 

I'd be really curious to hear Sara Shepard's (book author) reactions to tonight's ep.  She's not been involved with the creative direction of the show and has trusted them to do with her original world as they will and has enjoyed watching it like any other fan...would like to know if she's horrified by what happened tonight.  Especially considering that she has presented a sympathetic and non-evil trans character in the books - Noel Kahn's father (who's Aria's love interest through most of the book series after Ezra ends.)

 

I'm really hoping this is just a dream of one of the tipsy moms still locked in the basement and napping.

 

So, "no more lies" was the whole selling point of this episode - with Marlene King wearing a shirt with that printed on it and yet the whole episode revolved around a lie the fans were told by the writing staff.  Tonight was when we were to get "all the answers" and not only did they not touch on so many of the hanging mysteries/dangling plots, but the answers they did give were either a handwaved throwaway line (i.e. A's finances), or just flat-out horrible.  This is one of the times i actually wish it WAS a fake-out or unreliable narrator, etc.  

 

I'm still in for the rest of the show's run but i will not ever watch another show that Marlene King is in charge of (heck, i won't even watch any other show that Marlene does catering or janitorial work on) - this lady does not know how to tell a story; she abuses the audience's trust, gives no thought to consistency, TIMELINES, or making sense, and just is a walking textbook of the wrong way to run a series.

[MinionBooty]

Why is Sara snarling every time she pulls of one her masks? Is her mom dead?

 

And why did Cece trust her not to betray? She was obviously getting close to Emily. And when she was leaving to go to Paris, did she just say see ya, good luck on your own?

[bobbyjoe]

I understand people will take this transgender -A personally, but at the same time are we never supposed to tell a story about any demographic that could potentially be offended.  I think kuddos to the writers for going there and not being afraid to do it.

 

To better establish why this isn't just some random demographic being offended, it's important to offer some context:  there's a long and serious particular history of villain-izing or victimizing transgender or transexual characters in movies and television that stretches back many decades.  You can read about some of it here, in a relatively recent media research study that spanned ten years examining transgender representation on television:

 

https://www.glaad.org/publications/victims-or-villains-examining-ten-years-transgender-images-television

 

That study finds, among many other things that from 2002-2012, 40% of the representations of transgender characters on tv were in "victim" roles; 21% of the time they were killers or villains.  A full fifth (20%) of all transgender characters during that time were presented as sex workers, so even if they weren't victims of crime, or killers, they were still presented as morally suspect.   As far as PLL being not afraid to go there, many have been there before them.  Note, for example, an entire season of Nip/Tuck presented a villainous, incestuous murderous trans woman who was at the center of much of the violence that season. 

 

Transgender characters are rarely played by transgender actors.  So it was on PLL.  Even in prestige pieces, like Dallas Buyer's Club or TransAmerica, such characters were played by straight, non-trans actors like Jared Leto and Felicity Huffman.  On one of the few tv examples where a recurring, major transgender character was actually played by a trans person, Dirty Sexy Money, the character played by Candis Cayne was (wait for it... spoiler alert for a long cancelled show) gunned down.  Her male love interest immediately moved on to a heterosexual relationship, which he continued until the end of that series.  The history of such representation has been going on for a long, long time.  Major LGBT film historian Vito Russo as far back as the 70s and 80s was already publishing long lists of villainous or dead trans characters, like an infamous scene in Freebie and the Bean, where James Caan guns down an evil trans character in a public restroom who's holding a gun on a little girl.  You can see it on Youtube; I'm not going to link to it here.

 

Lecture hat off.  Sorry for the long post (and I won't post like this again), but it's not OT considering some of the comments being made here and I do think it's important given the discussion of exactly why PLL's use of a transgender character as both villain and victim is an incredibly bad move and part of a really long and disgusting legacy in film and tv.

Edited August 12, 2015 by bobbyjoe

[GaT]

Especially considering that she has presented a sympathetic and non-evil trans character in the books - Noel Kahn's father (who's Aria's love interest through most of the book series after Ezra ends.)

 

wut???

[Cranberry]

I believe that dwmckim meant that Noel is Aria's love interest through most of the book series, so we get to learn more about his family.

[dwmckim]

Uh...that is Noel is Aria's love interest, not his trans father.

[GaT]

I believe that dwmckim meant that Noel is Aria's love interest through most of the book series, so we get to learn more about his family.

 

 

Uh...that is Noel is Aria's love interest, not his trans father.

LOL, that I can deal with, Aria dating the transgender dad of some guy she went to school with, I can't.

[SadieT]

The writing really was terrible. There was so much to tell that we didn't really get to see any of the characters processing the information and none of the revelations really landed. They did a horrible job of showing how the girls, especially Hanna, went from hating/fearing A to sympathizing with her and begging Charlotte not to jump. The only one whose behavior made sense in that regard was Alison because we already knew she was feeling sympathetic towards Charles and was trying to understand her brother, but how the hell did Hanna get there? She was the one who snapped about how ridiculous it was when Alison apologized to Charlotte for what she's been through, but then a few minutes later she's saying she understands? What changed? Rather than show us why we might be sympathetic towards her, they had to characters straight up tell us to. 

 

One of many questions I have after watching that ridiculousness... CeCe says she killed Wilden because he was never going to let Ali come home and tell her story and then when Sara as black widow gets in the car after Wilden's funeral, CeCe says she had to make sure he couldn't hurt her sister anymore. When and how did Wilden hurt Alison? How did he even know her? 

[fitzcarraldo]

How come upenn let Cece take classes but Radley kept out Spencer?

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

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 .-.

[Cranberry]

I just wanted to thank all of you for using the proper terminology and name/pronouns (we follow the GLAAD guide here at PTV) when referring to CeCe in this thread. You guys make moderating easy! I enjoyed the liveblog thread, too (if not the episode, heh).

[Pollock]

That stupid hologram screen was so pointless. Why couldn't they just use a regular tv screen? 

And lose the best part of the episode? Noooooooo! More hologram screen please! 

Seriously, I had to pause when the final lair appeared, it was so James Bond villain, I couldn't stop laughing. Even the sound effects were awesome. It made my day.

[dwmckim]

I wouldn't be surprised if after tonight's fiasco, ABC Family reversed its season 7 renewal and announced 6B will be the end.  (Which actually wouldn't be without precedent... SciFi renewed its then-biggest show Farscape for seasons four & five at the same time then later pulled the plug on season five.)

 

Or better still, have ABC Family pull the plug on Pretty Little Liars after 6B and replace it with a new drama series called "The Pretty Little Truth" which would be a "remake" of PLL that takes place after the original series' season two and resets everything afterwards with one of the three ideas Marlene reportedly originally had for the next A before hitting onto the Charles idea a few eppys into S3....AND permanently ban Marlene from being a part of the new show (i'm talking filing restraining orders to keep her from within a certain amount of distance from the studio.)

Edited August 12, 2015 by dwmckim

[Jack Shaftoe]

That was hilarious. Hilariously bad, mind you, but I'll take what I can get. I don't even know where to start, so this post might be a little disjointed.

 

Sara's plan... did she expect all along for Emily to invite her into her house, trust her and hook up with her? Or she just likes playing the role of a prisoner for no reason? They didn't even bother presenting any motive whatsoever for her, not even something silly like "I was in love with Charlotte" or "She gave me money" or "I was really kidnapped and suffered from a Stockholm syndrome". Nothing.

 

Cece could even attend a very prestigious university while being supposedly a patient in a mental institution. Yeah, right. Every time they talked about the strong drugs Cece was given I kept telling myself "the writers must be taking some really good drugs too.". We saw Bethany but she was just your average murderous lunatic - no depth, no background, nothing. And Mona only now realizing how she killed her was so silly it wasn't even funny in a so bad it's good way.

 

Cece's motives for tormenting the Liars were so flimsy. She thought Mona was so interesting - never mind that Mona was drugged so much she didn't know who she was talking to and then she met the Liars and didn't like them...I don't even remember what she said, honestly. Some throwaway line about them not respecting Ali? Whatever it was, the motive of the main villain deserved a bit more attention.

 

Also, the Liars didn't do shit. Once again Mona is supposedly so much more competent than them and it took them so long to catch up with the plot and realize Sara is playing for the other side. They disarmed a bomb, okay but come on, I would have loved it if the bomb had killed Alison, Cece and Sara.

 

Well, at least they didn't go as far with Cece's sob story as I feared they would. Still, who killed Mrs D? Don't tell me there is yet another murderous maniac interested in the Di Laurentis family?

 

 

I'm actually going to say the transgender reveal was okay. It could have been done better. But let's be honest, the most famous trans character is a criminal. Is a crazy person that much worse? Likewise, I'd say that this show is so lgbt friendly, that it has earned the right to use a trans character as big bad. And finally, it was clearly yet another "fuck the patriarchy" moment from this show..because truly she was locked away for that reason. (And plus, truly..Mr. D was the biggest bad.)

 

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,

 

And now I wish Emily would have punched Alison like that at some point too. Or Hanna would have punched Mona.

 

Also, I wish Alison would have asked Cece what was the big idea behind framing her for murder.

 

And since this needs to be reiterated - good job making your precious finale all about the villain instead of the protagonists. We wouldn't want to see their reactions or anything, or god forbid, have them catch the villain themselves instead of the villain revealing herself for no apparent reason. I mean, how cliche would that be, right? Good job dodging that bullet, Marlene!

Edited August 12, 2015 by Jack Shaftoe

[superman1204]

I wouldn't be surprised if after tonight's fiasco, ABC Family reversed its season 7 renewal and announced 6B will be the end.  (Which actually wouldn't be without precedent... SciFi renewed its then-biggest show Farscape for seasons four & five at the same time then later pulled the plug on season five.)

The worst part is that would still make me sad.  I am just hoping after the shit show that was this final, the writers will keep the new mystery less convoluted and just focus on the relationships between the liars.  That's the only thing that has gotten people to this point in the show anyway.

[chelsie]

Lol did anyone like the final? 

Edited August 12, 2015 by chelsie

[resonance]

I know there are going to be people who do not like the CeCe reveal and some who are going to be offended by it but I thought it was sensitively done and very well done as well.  It made sense or at least as much sense as this show is capable of making.  

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.

[Chaos Theory]

Lol did anyone like the final?

I did. But I am in the minority. I already explained why above and won't esplain again except to say I think it was handled as sensitively as the show could. i thought the CeCe as A reveal was actually kinda brilliant.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Spencer Hastings]

So now that I've calmed down (not really, I dreamt about being angry), did anyone feel like they were watching a different show? Everything felt different last night. How did CeCe go from the A bunker to this bullcrap hologram? From pouring scotch and feeding Tippy to a control center and a fake Radley. None of it felt like A's style. I think that's what disappoints me.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Spencer Hastings

[Lady Calypso]

I think there were a couple of major problems:

 

1) This should have been an hour and a half, at least. There was way too much exposition that there wasn't enough tension or drama. They spent so long trying to answer all the questions, that the last ten minutes were horribly rushed and the audience was still reeling from all the stupidity that was half the answers, including Sara Harvey being both Red Coat and Black Widow. I could have taken her as Red Coat, but Black Widow/Black Veil? No, that was supposed to be Melissa. That was the number one theory with fans. Marlene just did this for the twist, and sometimes it's ok to go with an original plan. Most regular viewers would be surprised, I promise show!

 

2) Speaking of that, they should have stuck with their original plan. We all know this was not the original plan and this was most likely created halfway through this season, once they realized the audience was either getting too close to their plan, or they hit it bang on the money. Either way, all I see from this is Marlene wanted the audience to be surprised, so she changed up her plans (while lying about it; she lied about there being no transgender story) but in the end, pissed off more people. It wasn't the surprise factor that we were looking forward to; it was watching everything unfold and be explained. Who cares if they were going to make Wren Charles? It would have been so much fun to see them explain it, and how Wren would have been banging his half sister's sister, while kissing his half sister. Gross, yes, but hilarious. Wilden being Charles would have made sense too, in a way. Oh, he faked his death so he could get back on track with all of his plans. Ok, sure, I'll buy that. He's been there since the beginning, like Marlene also says A/Charles would be too. But this? There is absolutely no way this wasn't just created this season to surprise people. Sorry, can't buy that Marlene had this planned. Cece being regular A? Fine. But as soon as Charles was introduced, this should have never happened. It's still about the whole transgender storyline (they REALLY didn't have to go there), but it's about how it doesn't make sense.

 

Remember when Cece was found in the yearbook for the high school? How could she have gone to high school and been at Radley? And Cece said Wilden changed the report on Toby's mom's suicide. Wilden's around the same age as Cece, if not only a couple of years older. So that means Wilden would have been a fourteen year old cop....Also, someone pointed out that in the dollhouse, Charles was taller than Spencer. Like, a good couple of inches taller. Spencer said the person felt familiar. Yes, I guess Cece, but could have been Wren.

 

Basically, show, don't underestimate your audience. Before you plan a big reveal like this, hire some interns to go back and rewatch the whole series and take notes on what is important and what's not. Because there's more people who pay attention to those details than you might think, and sometimes, they're pretty effing important.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Lady Calypso

[resonance]

Oh, please. Can you stop with this "it's the patriarchy's fault" excuse for everything? 

I agree. Mr. DiLaurentis is definitely a victim and not a villain. Have we become so politically correct that not accepting your transgender child is worse than driving a car into someone's house (even assuming the house is empty)? Or taking the liars hostage in an underground lair and torturing them? Also, it's very possible that Mr. D thought Charles/Cece was trying to drown Alison even if she wasn't trying to. 

 

As for the response to Cece being transgender, I think it's overblown. I agree there was no need to make her transgender but for the sake of storytelling I can see why it would be convenient for writers to have a transgender character in this instance.

Edited August 12, 2015 by resonance

[Bort]

Remember when Cece was found in the yearbook for the high school? How could she have gone to high school and been at Radley?

That scene of Cece meeting Jason covered that, she was in the middle of sitting for a yearbook photo. I guess the high school has no problem with putting people in the yearbook that don't go to the school.

[Lady Calypso]

As for the response to Cece being transgender, I think it's overblown. I agree there was no need to make her transgender but for the sake of storytelling I can see why it would be convenient for writers to have a transgender character in this instance.

 

But I think that's the entire point; they didn't need this transgender storyline at all. Cece being A would have been enough. Hell, they could have still made her Charles/Charlie, just did it in a different way that didn't make her a boy just to elicit a surprised response and to throw people off track for this season. Everyone had been speculating that A was a girl, so they wanted to throw people off track...except the show got thrown off track along with it. It only became convenient when the show screwed up by throwing Charles in in the first place this season. That was their major misstep. Before this season I would have believed Cece could have been Uber A. I would have been so fine with it. It's the Charles aspect thrown in that makes it so much worse. Again, Cece wouldn't have been able to transition while in Radley. She was too young (only sixteen/seventeen and correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to be at least eighteen to go through the full transition?), and I don't know whether Cece also has actual mental issues on top of being transgender, but her time in Radley would have not made it an easy transition at all. Basically, Marlene swept all of that under the rug solely to surprise people, without thinking how the transgender community would think about this. 

[Agent Dark]

Rosewood PD at its finest:

"There's a jumper up on the roof!"

"What do we do?"

"Draw your weapons in case we need to shoot them before they commit suicide!"

 

 

This show is bloody lucky Vanessa Ray can act, because she managed to make the load of bullshit she had to deliver sound convincing in the moment.  I'm fine with CeCe being the Big Bad, because both the character and actor are pretty good (all transgender issues aside).  Terrible terrible directing on this episode, though I guess a terrible terrible script doesn't really help things (also who wrote/directed this episode?  Am I crazy or are there no guest actor or crew credits at the start of the episode or even in the closing credits??)

[Chairperson Meow]

I'm of the camp that Mr. D thought Charles was drowning Ali. She specifically states that Ali was her "doll" and was attached to her. We saw one scene from Charlotte's POV, therefore, we don't know exactly how attached Charlotte/Chatles was then. Mr. D has put up with a lot of bs, so I'd think a son wearing a dress wouldn't be a big deal to him. Pkus, Charlotte threatened him via birthday card. Mr. D is the only parent beyond Veronica Hastings to actively remove their child from Rosewood to escape this garbage. Also, if Charlotte was kidnapping girls in bunkers, dating her brother (she couldn't just be his friend?), driving cars through houses, etc, then yes, I buy that she'd be creepy and try to kill a baby. And I'm not buying Mrs. D being the good guy. If she knew Spencer wasn't the one to "kill" Ali, then why try to go after her? Why buy Ali and Charlotte identical clothes?

Poor Jason was neglected. Just go with your Hastings side, dude.

[David Selig]

Vanessa Ray was really good, which made the reveal somewhat tolerable. But the plot still didn't make any sense, not that I expected anything else. Charlotte became A because she heard from Mona the girls were happy Alison was dead? WTF? She should have stopped harassing them after her super surveillance equipment showed her that was blatantly not the case. If she was lying, why did she harass them? Because she was crazy and just felt like it?

 

And everything about Toby's mom was so lazy and conflicting with older info that it just shows that the writers couldn't be bothered at all to make it the story even remotely coherent.

 

Sarah Harvey joined forces with Charlotte because...she was crazy too? For the lulz? Again WTF?

 

And Ian killed himself? This takes the cake.

 

And the director is on Twitter saying that the show is all about "dream logic" so we should stop whining about timelines and plot holes. No, dude, your writers are just lazy and too obsessed with surprising the fans at all costs. This is no dream logic, it's pure hack work.

Edited August 12, 2015 by David Selig

[Bort]

This show is bloody lucky Vanessa Ray can act, because she managed to make the load of bullshit she had to deliver sound convincing in the moment. Am I crazy or are there no guest actor or crew credits at the start of the episode or even in the closing credits??)

Oh man, you're right about Vanessa Ray, they're extremely lucky she can act. I just imagined the actress who plays Sara trying to pull this off and shuddered.

And there were guest credits. I remember reading them.

[mntnsrck79]

Lol did anyone like the final? 

I liked it, for this show.

 

Yes, there serious issues with the transgender aspect being thrown in haphazardly, as everyone here has stated repeatedly. Some would argue that they can't/won't put that aside to consider the rest of the show, and I understand that, but I personally choose to put it aside and evaluate the show without it.

 

Last night's finale had tons of ridiculous, silly moments, but this is Pretty Little Liars. It is always ridiculous and silly. This episode was over the top and I personally enjoyed it. I feel like if you hated the finale (unless that hate was 100% because of how they mishandled the transgender character), there's no way you could have enjoyed the show for like 90% of previous episodes. Like this wasn't some big departure from the normal show.

 

Also, it's always going to be annoying that some mysteries have completely been dropped, but did anyone really expect answers to every single question this show has raised?

 

I mean really, what were the alternatives for a more interesting A reveal that would have still actually made some sense? Wilden as A because he hates teenaged girls? That's boring. Ezra as A because he's a creeper? Interesting and satisfying, but with lots of logistical issues. I think I'm always going to be let down by the big reveals on this show, but I was less let down with this finale than I usually am at the end of a half-season. Also, yay for Sarah Harvey being in on it and Emily punching her annoying face!

Edited August 12, 2015 by mntnsrck79

[Giuliano Lanzilli]

As much rage is being directed towards Marlene & the other major creative PTB, most of my anger tonight is directed at ABC Family.  I come home from work during the first broadcast of each week's PLL episode so i typically wait until the second airing of it later that evening so i can watch the whole episode...and ABCFam didn't even have that second airing tonight!  (They're doing it tomorrow evening).  Thankfully, i decided that tonight i'd break from the norm and tune in for the second half of the "first" airing tonight so still managed to see parts of it and read recaps/reactions of the rest.  Can't believe ABCF would knowingly anger several fans who also watch the later airings for whatever reason who were totally unaware they wouldn't have a second broadcast tonight and replace it with some lame reality garbage?  Maybe the network knew how repellent people would find it and figured it was best to not show it again.

 

The CeCe as A and transgendered was a popular theory for a while and one i was believing up until one of the writers responded to a tweet that they WEREN'T doing a transgendered A story.  So the concept itself didn't bug me because i made peace with it a fair amount of time ago - but more offended that the show flat out lied about them not going there and the biggest episode of the show's run was exactly that. 

 

I'm also not of the "hating Sara as RedCoat/BV because they just introduced her this season".  Actually, no.  The character was part of the fabric of the show since season four but not shown onscreen until this year.  The Sara mystery was one i was interested in since it was brought up so i myself have no problem with this.  But what i do have an issue with (granted i still have yet to see the first half but from everything i've read, i feel confident stating this) is that the whole "why" of Sara wasn't really adequately addressed.  

 

I'd be really curious to hear Sara Shepard's (book author) reactions to tonight's ep.  She's not been involved with the creative direction of the show and has trusted them to do with her original world as they will and has enjoyed watching it like any other fan...would like to know if she's horrified by what happened tonight.  Especially considering that she has presented a sympathetic and non-evil trans character in the books - Noel Kahn's father (who's Aria's love interest through most of the book series after Ezra ends.)

 

I'm really hoping this is just a dream of one of the tipsy moms still locked in the basement and napping.

 

So, "no more lies" was the whole selling point of this episode - with Marlene King wearing a shirt with that printed on it and yet the whole episode revolved around a lie the fans were told by the writing staff.  Tonight was when we were to get "all the answers" and not only did they not touch on so many of the hanging mysteries/dangling plots, but the answers they did give were either a handwaved throwaway line (i.e. A's finances), or just flat-out horrible.  This is one of the times i actually wish it WAS a fake-out or unreliable narrator, etc.  

 

I'm still in for the rest of the show's run but i will not ever watch another show that Marlene King is in charge of (heck, i won't even watch any other show that Marlene does catering or janitorial work on) - this lady does not know how to tell a story; she abuses the audience's trust, gives no thought to consistency, TIMELINES, or making sense, and just is a walking textbook of the wrong way to run a series.

 

Your post is the very essence of perfection! 

[Jack Shaftoe]

Things we learned from this finale:

 

1. Cece is a super genius who never made a wrong investment but also didn't bother to check if Alison was alive. Because we all know that hitting people on the head with a rock is practically the same shooting them in the head, right?

2. Cece is a super genius who hated it in Radley. Radley is joke of an institution from where just about anyone could escape but yet Cece stayed there for so many years.

3. The Liars are apparently totally fine with Mona being a murderer.

4. Apparently Emily is going to drive all the way to California.

5. Rosewood PD was actually right about Cece killing Wilden. Imagine that!

6. Out of all the people who hated Alison (according to conservative estimates - about 67% of Rosewood's population) no one tried to murder her. Instead she was buried alive by her big sis and her mom who liked her a lot more than the average Joe. What an amazing twist, am I right? Oh and that same night another girl was also assaulted because somebody thought she was somebody else. It could happen, right? Right?!?

7. Mrs D. is totally lazy. Buying the same dresses for Alison and Cece. Show some imagination, woman!

 

 

I feel like if you hated the finale (unless that hate was 100% because of how they mishandled the transgender character), there's no way you could have enjoyed the show for like 90% of previous episodes. Like this wasn't some big departure from the normal show.

 

The show has always been riddled with plot holes but as far as I am concerned, in the first two and a half season it had really solid, consistent characterization, which helped ground it. And the plots weren't as convoluted as they are now, if for no other reason, then because there hadn't been enough time to pile retcon upon retcon. Currently there is practically no characterization to speak of, everything is plot driven, or should I say shock driven. Cece's motivation was "explored" in literally fifteen seconds, which is fifteen seconds more than Sara's motivation got. The Liars reaction to all the revelation - we didn't get that either because the episode was 40 minutes of nothing but infodumping.

 

 

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

 

What are you talking about? Even Cece was introduced in season 3, while "Charles" was introduced in season 6. It wasn't quite "the butler did it" but close, IMO.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Jack Shaftoe

[larapu2000]

I just realized that perhaps they had to make Cece a dude in order to explain how she was able to lift so much weight.  

 

But maybe I'm giving them too much credit.

[Sakura12]

Wow, am I glad I gave up on this show last season. CeCe's a Transgender and A. They just went for shock value with that and to think Marlene King was be praised for handling of Emily's coming out storyline, then she does this. I thought A was supposed to be someone that we saw in the Pilot? CeCe showed up like any other random character later on. 

 

Of course anyone being A would make little sense at this point, since everyone was accused or thought of. I still hoped it was Ezra only because I still think he's a creepy loser. Horrible upbringing or not there should be no sympathy for CeCe after all the things she's done to that whole town. Everyone has traumas and they don't become psycho stalkers. I don't mind A being CeCe as much as I mind that MK had to throw in the extra shock and making her Trans. 

 

Must not think of theories for this stupid show...but I'm reminded of Jenna saying the person she feared was CeCe Drake. I wonder if she knew that CeCe was Charles DiLaurentis? If she did, then she once again warned the girls but they didn't listen to her. Then again, CeCe's only been in handful of episodes, so I can see why they didn't. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

Is it wrong when that title card popped up with "5 Years Later" that I really wanted the mice from the movie 'Babe' to be involved ?

 

It's 2017 -- and they are still using chalkboards in schools ?

 

The text on the chalkboard was a quote from Chapter 10 of 'The Scarlet Letter':  "Trusting no man as his friend, he could not recognize his enemy when the latter actually appeared."

 

ETA: in the classroom scene, was Aria's dress a reproduction from the cover of a landscape architecture book, with the trees and manicured lawns ?  At least it wasn't covered in skulls or spiders, so I guess that's an improvement.  Emily was rocking the leather pants.  I'm not sure what the hell Spencer was wearing -- she was dressed like Olivia from 'Fringe' in dark colors and a trenchcoat.  Is she a private investigator now ?

Edited August 12, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[Pollock]

3. The Liars are apparently totally fine with Mona being a murderer.

 

 

3. That slayed me. This episode was super funny and that too was great : "yeah whatever Mona, stop fakecrying, your victim was a bitch, you got lucky and thank you for getting rid of her".

Hop and on to the next reveal please!

[DigitalCount]

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?

Didn't CeCe sleep with Eric Kahn to get back at Jason once? In the Kahn Game? And yet they didn't do anything? Sucky version of GoT finally?

As has been said, everything with Marion Cavanaugh defies understanding. Also, what happened to Eddie Lamb?

What was CeCe's rationale for suddenly deciding that undercutting her own plan was more important than getting away with it? She's canonically the most intelligent and overpowered character on this or really any show, what did she have to fear? And how did she manage to get owned by Rosewood PD?

What is the deal with Aria?

Oh well. I think my (ground-level) expectations were just too high.

[Primetimer]

Liane's head might have exploded.

Read the story

[Lady Calypso]

.....hahaha, I think I may have been the only one to catch the temporary title change on this thread (unless it always happens when posting the review, which...still). I'm seriously laughing. 

Edited August 12, 2015 by Lady Calypso

[insubordination]

At least the episode spawned this thread, which has been quite entertaining to read.

 

   And what was with all the need for the stupid stripes in Aria hair?

 

 

This is the burning question!

 

    Do you think the moms ever got out of the basement?

 

 

They're having a breakfast club. I would buy the S6 DVDs if this were an extra.

 

    The whole thing is one of the worst finales I have ever seen. I have to admit, I didn't think it could get worse than the whole Lost season 6 and finale trainwreck, but this honestly takes the cake.

 

May I recommend that you never watch 'Dexter'.

 

There are too many genius characters and not enough genius writers.

Edited August 12, 2015 by insubordination