S06.E11: Of Late I Think Of Rosewood

[SadieT]

Alison's request was pretty unreasonable but I'll give her a pass because it was to jumpstart the plot. And let's not forget that she was also traumatized by everything that has happened. If anything, I blame the psychiatrists more - both Alison's and Charlotte's - because 5 years is way to soon for unsupervised release and they should have tried to temper Alison's expectations rather than feed them. Alison's abandonment issues and desperation for any sort of family is something that she should have continued working on in therapy rather than marrying the therapist.

 

I don't know why people even expect Alison to behave normally at this point. I don't think she's a bad person but I think she's deeply damaged and as a result, she doesn't respond to the world as one might expect a "normal person" to. She's not normal. She's never been because her parents fucked her up from such an early age and she's had such a traumatic life. So while her request for her friends may have been totally selfish, it wasn't malicious. She wasn't intentionally disregarding their feelings because she doesn't care, I honestly don't think she understands why they might still feel apprehensive about Charlotte. She forgave Charlotte and no longer thinks she's a threat so she probably thinks they could too. She's definitely a little delusional and certainly blinded by the host of psychological issues she has, but again, I don't think her intentions were bad. She's just so desperate for a family that she's grasping at straws to build one and because she never really understood what it was to love or be loved, in her little messed up mind, she probably thinks Charlotte did all those crazy things to hurt her because she loved her, and now she feels the need to take care of her. 

 

But you make a good point, the decision is ultimately up to the doctors and the courts. No matter how badly Alison wanted it to happen, she couldn't actually make it happen. And the girls are grown now and have proven they have no issue standing up to Ali, hell, they had no issue throwing Ali in jail for a crime she didn't commit...  so if they didn't want to do it, they shouldn't have done it. If Aria could get up there and tell the truth, so could the others. 

 

 

One of the girls: "Why isn't Jason here?"

 

Alison: "So he can be a red herring suspect later in the season when we find out that he really was in town today.

 

I'm not sure if Jason wasn't around because of actor availability or for plot reasons... like you said they might be setting him up as a suspect for later, or I was even thinking his absence might have been to emphasize how alone Alison is and show how desperate she is to have a family, but I don't buy that Jason would leave both his sisters after everything they've been through. He seemed supportive of Charlotte in that deleted scene where he and Ali go to visit her and he and Ali were on good terms last we saw too. Ali dating Charlotte's doctor wouldn't be enough to keep him from his dead sister's funeral. 

 

One odd WTF for me was when Dr. Rollins said that the court could compel "your friends" to testify.  How exactly ?  Was the judge going to subpeona them all ? That seemed absurd. They even made a point of saying that they wouldn't be under oath when they testify.

 

The biggest WTF is the timeline:

• Alison finds out from Dr. Rollins that Charlotte's hearing is in 4 days.
• Alison pens hand-written letter, and photocopies it (since each letter was exactly the same), asking each of the PLLs them to come back to Rosewood to meet with her and give her 5 minutes that will change the world, then go t and say nice things about Charlotte to the judge
• Alison mails all the letters
• The USPS delivers these letters from Rosewood to the PLLs in about a day -- including all the way to California to Emily
• The PLLs are all conveniently home to receive the letters
• They all seem to take their time getting around to reading these letters, let alone making plans to rush back to Rosewood
• Each of the PLLs arranges their travel plans and arranges to take time off work
• Each of the PLLs travels back to Rosewood and arrive within hours of each other on the day before the hearing.

 

The weird thing is that the tone of that letter made it sound like the PLLs were already planning to come home for the court hearing -- which would mean that they knew WELL beforehand what day the hearing would happen.  None of this "hearing in 4 days" nonsense.

 

Another WTF about Emily -- when that woman pays Emily for that drink, she puts all the cash in her purse not just the amount of any tip.  Is she stealing from her employer at the bar ?

 

I think their testimony was requested by the courts, not just by Alison. I think it's Spencer who says something about how it was technically the courts not Alison who made them come home.

 

And Alison wasn't mailing the letters out on her own. Dr. Rollins said he'd have them attached to the official notifications the girls would be receiving, which I guess with priority mail could have arrived in a couple of days. But that's still short notice and barely leaves time to book flights and make travel plans so it's still a stretch. 

 

The customer could have had an open bar tab and was just tipping in cash. 

 

 

So maybe I am way off base but I thought most prescription drugs that people abused were in the pill form, pain killers and what not.  I always thought if you were injecting your high you were not getting it from a doctor, at least not in the long run.  Not to mention that fact that Emily drank and wasn't a complete train wreck so I find it hard to believe she was taking pills and shooting up at the same time (though Spencer technically did consume three drugs during the premier).  So I was thinking maybe Emily has something similar to her dad's heart problems and is taking something to stop or prevent the onset. 

 

Right. She wouldn't be using doctor prescribed syringes if she had a prescription pill problem. I mean it is pretty common for people to get hooked on prescription pain medications like oxycontin and then resort to using heroin because it's a similar high for a cheaper price, but they wouldn't be shooting heroin with needles prescribed to them by a doctor. When we first saw the pills I assumed she was on some type of anti-anxiety or depressant medication, which would be totally understandable, but the syringes in her name make it seem like some other type of health issue. The most common prescribed self-injected medications are insulin, steroids, hormones, or something like that, so I'm not sure where they could be going with that. Although I do know a couple of people who have battled cancer who have to self-inject medication but yikes, I hope they don't go there. 

 

 

Are people calling Sarah "shower" for a reason or is that autocorrect?

Why did Ezra storm into the meeting with the judge? How did he even get in? Did he testify?

 I don't give two shits about her backstory, her gender, her anything - that bitch be crazy and Ali requesting that her friends ask for that release was ludicrous. I can't even fathom Why she would do it unless she was in on the plan to kill Charlotte for some reason. Which would make Allison a hell of a lot more interesting than she had been. So...one can hope?

 

Shower Harvey is just a fandom nickname because all she did in 6a was take showers and run away. 

 

I feel like all Ezra did the whole episode was show up uninvited to various places. Not only was it crazy that he was at the hearing, but what the hell was he doing at Charlotte's funeral? Then again what was anyone other than Alison and Rollins doing at Charlotte's funeral? I guess we're supposed to believe the girls went to support Ali but they didn't even bother with her there. And who were all those other people? Did she make a lot of friends in the mental institution? 

 

The cast live tweeted the episode and both Troian and Ashely commented on Ezra's uncanny ability to just show up where no one wants him lol. 

 

I don't know how I would feel about Alison being A at this point because I happen to like the character but it would make way more sense than anything else they're going to come up with. Ali actually has motive to target Charlotte, all the girls, and even Mona. 

 

Well, according to mArlene, Charlotte only killed one person. She's tied with Aria and Emily.

 

And Mona. She killed Bethany, right? So many teenage murderers in Rosewood. 

[aslightjump]

I just want to say hats off to Lucy Hale. That story about her crying on the train and not realizing made me do the ugly-cry face scrunch without the actual tears. I suffer from claustrophobia like Aria does (and I really dug that, accidental or not, her claustrophobia was remembered), so I felt like I was in that train with her. Not that I have someone putting me into boxes like Aria did. But I'm always a sucker for scenes where the girls show how traumatized they really are.

 

ETA: I've now seen the full ep. I still don't care about Shower Harvey, all she does is make me miss Jenna, but I will say that everybody's acting was on point. There were a couple times in the previous half-season where you could tell the cast was flagging but this seems to have given them a boost.

Edited January 14, 2016 by aslightjump

[SadieT]

Marlene commented on Sara Harvey in an interview and compared what's going on with her to the Jenna thing. She confirmed that something did happen to her that left her impaired in some way and the girls feel responsible for. Apparently "it was something that happened before those girls left the house." 

 

Does she mean the dollhouse? Because we saw Sara running around taking showers and making out with Emily after getting out of the dollhouse and she seemed fine.  

 

She also said they had originally planned to kill Alison again this season but Marlene thought fans would be too upset by it. 

[Jack Shaftoe]

 

Marlene commented on Sara Harvey in an interview and compared what's going on with her to the Jenna thing. She confirmed that something did happen to her that left her impaired in some way and the girls feel responsible for. Apparently "it was something that happened before those girls left the house."

 

Does she mean the dollhouse?

 

I think she means Radley, right after Emily's famous punch. Which, as mentioned already, makes no sense whatsoever. So let's say the Liars did inflict some bad injury on Sara - so what? If she didn't tell that to the cops back then no one is going to listen to her five years later, and even if they did, people who set up bombs do not usually enjoy much sympathy from the authorities or the general public. I really wish Marlene would stop recycling old plots. The Jenna thing was different for many reasons - it was an unprovoked malicious act that not only blinded Jenna but got Toby into a lot of trouble. Plus, considering the way the Liars have treated Mona and Charlotte it's impossible to believe that the Liars would have intentionally injured Sara so badly. If it was an accident as I suspect, it will be even more of a joke. You just know that the Liars will incriminate themselves to make this "Sara thing" stay secret because they never learn a thing.

 

From the interview:

 

 

It wasn’t something that we knew that much in advance, to be honest with you. I love the character of Charlotte and it was hard to make that decision because I wanted to get to know her more. I knew fans would love her too once they understood her story.

 

Does she really believe this? Most major villains have sob stories these days, she is acting like Charlotte is unique somehow and fans are basically obliged to love her.

 

 

It was a very risky, fun, edgy idea, but the next person we thought of to re-launch the show was Charlotte. That was a terrible call to have to make because [Vanessa Ray] did such a great job in the previous episode. We shot them back to back, and she was like, “Oh my God, I’m dead now?” As I always say, you’re never dead in Rosewood. Alison, we thought was dead for a long time, and now here she is on the poster. No one ever truly dies in Rosewood and we always find ways to bring your character back in the show. We will see Charlotte again, but it won’t be walking amongst the living — most likely.

 

They are totally bringing her back, I am telling you. And please, Marlene, when a showrunner uses the word edgy this always results in the show becoming worse, so stop it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Well, according to mArlene, Charlotte only killed one person. She's tied with Aria and Emily.

And Mona. She killed Bethany, right? So many teenage murderers in Rosewood.

After I read your post, I started thinking about how many people have been killed in Rosewood and realized I couldn't remember who killed who due to the endless red herrings. Thankfully the internet helped me:

 

Dead/killed by:

Cece - ?

Bethany - hit on the head by Mona, buried alive by Melissa

Jessica DiLaurentis - ? (buried in Spencer's yard by Cece)

Maya - killed by Lyndon aka faux cousin Nate

Wilden - shot by Cece

Ian - pushed off the bell tower by Alison, but escaped and then committed suicide according to Marlene (suicide note written by Mona)

Shana - shoved off a stage by Aria

Lyndon (fake cousin Nate) - stabbed by Emily

Garrett - shot by Wilden

Marion Cavanaugh - pushed off the roof at Radley by Bethany Young

[NutMeg]

Marlene commented on Sara Harvey in an interview and compared what's going on with her to the Jenna thing.

For me, the main diffence is thay way back then, we had no idea if the 4 were evil or victims - they could have been stalked by someone who was all "I know what you did last summer", for all we know. Now, six seasons and years later, our perception is differwent.

 

I guess the actor who played Jenna was not available, because otherwise she would have been the one to bring (no link to CeCe? who cares? the producers will easily make one, wouldn't be the first time).

 

LOL at Spencer and Mona ending up in the same field. These two have been competing with each other for a while now. Both stayed at Radleigh, both suspected of murder, both incredibly intelligent, both running for the same thing in high school (can't remember what that was), etc. 

 

would love to see what's happened with Noel Kahn

[mac123x]

So I was thinking maybe Emily has something similar to her dad's heart problems and is taking something to stop or prevent the onset.  It would make sense why she does not want to talk about it and explain why she dropped out of college, i.e. she's depressed about the fact she might have health complication relatively early in life.

 

As I am an ignoramus sometimes, I had to look up the Salk Institute.  Salk Institute for Biological Studies.  My guess is that Emily will reveal that she's not working there, but is actually a test subject because she's got ____ disease.  I have no idea if the Salk Institute actually does clinical trials, but I doubt the writers do either.

[Peanut6711]

Marlene commented on Sara Harvey in an interview and compared what's going on with her to the Jenna thing. She confirmed that something did happen to her that left her impaired in some way and the girls feel responsible for. Apparently "it was something that happened before those girls left the house." 

 

Does she mean the dollhouse? Because we saw Sara running around taking showers and making out with Emily after getting out of the dollhouse and she seemed fine.  

 

She also said they had originally planned to kill Alison again this season but Marlene thought fans would be too upset by it. 

So rinse-repeat because MK didn't have the better actress available and can't come up with anything logical or original for her show that was never plotted out from the beginning and is way past it's prime.

[Lii]

I get that Ali wanted to have a family, but it was incredibly insensitive and selfish of her to ask the other girls to blatantly LIE to the judge and say that they were not afraid of Charlotte so that she could be released. These girls were psychologically tortured by her for years, but they should all disregard that because Ali wants her sister to come home. I was really hoping that Mona would tell the judge that Charlotte should stay institutionalized forever. And what was the point of Ezra showing up? He didn't testify and we didn't see him talk to anyone else. Is this just going to be a thing now where Ezra stumbles into scenes angry and drunk in the background?

.

###

So what exactly was Ashley's role in turning Radley into a hotel? In S1 she worked at the bank. Last season she was Jessica's (and then Jason's) assistant. How do either of those jobs translate into any kind of job involving turning a sanitarium into a hotel? Did she do PR? The interior design? Later Hanna said, "My mom runs this joint." So she's the manager? I need more information!

 

I don't even understand Allison's problem with this whole wanting a family bit. Bitch, you have a dad and brother. That's more than a lot of people have. STFU.

Pretty sure Hanna's mom invested all her lasagna savings into wine futures ages ago, and let's be real, she is clearly the only real choice to be in charge of wine in Rosewood. It makes so much sense it's eerie.

 

While I enjoyed the Ezria conversation (uhg, I know), as a brazilian I had to try really hard not to roll my eyes at the "south american" tragedy they kept alluding to. It felt so dumb in about 5 different ways. Even if Ezra and Nicole's group travelled all over South America surely Ezra should mention the name of the specific country where Nicole was abducted and not the fucking continent. Do the writers even know it's a continent? Because, believe it or not, revolutionaries abducting people is not actually so common in countries of "South America" to the point one could talk about it like Ezra did. But then again, this was Ezra talking so...which brings me how dumb can people get they'd do volunteer work somewhere like Colombia? Which is where I'm pretty sure the whole thing went down. Not to say I don't totally buy Ezra Fitzgerald would be that dumb and uninformed. But everything makes it really hard for me to sympathize with him.

"But *sniffle* she was such a *pause for dramatic effect* GOOD PERSON!!!!!"

 

Also, at the end of 6A they were actually headed to Thailand. Just sayin. Whatevs though, true crime tell-all book incoming, amirite guys???

 

Heh maybe we will see a bunch of fireflies outside Radleythis season.

I was hoping it was an alert from Gossip Girl.

ITA - I hate the 90210 approach to shows where they have the main characters constantly swapping boyfriends. One of my favorite things about the show is the friendship berween the four girls. Personal taste aside (I mean, who else besides Aria would want to date Ezra?), I think they like and respect each other too much to date the ex of one of their best friends. I really hope it turns out that Spencer and Caleb are just close platonic friends and Hanna gets irrationally jealous, causing her to realize she should ditch the fiancé because she still loves Caleb. Cliche, I know, but preferable to the awkward rift that would result from Caleb dating Spencer.

I absolutely hate Hanna and Caleb being broken up. Sorry bout it. I also hated her bitchy "Well at least THAT still works" at him. No wonder the actress was so pissed about the Haleb storyline direction. Can we not make one of the two functional family units on the show into a sink of passive aggression?

Shower, Jenna you are not. Girl bye.

[superman1204]

For me, the main diffence is thay way back then, we had no idea if the 4 were evil or victims - they could have been stalked by someone who was all "I know what you did last summer", for all we know. Now, six seasons and years later, our perception is differwent.

Exactly and I don't know why the writers tried to fit this thing into the, what, half hour they were at Radley during the final.  Anything they could have done is a) justified because Sara was about to set off a bomb b) a complete accident or c) so out of character it would make no sense.  Maybe it could have made sense if whatever happened took place after Sara was released and the Lairs were just acting paranoid.  

 

Like maybe:

• Sara was creeping around Emily's house
• the Lairs freak out, kidnap her, accidentally breaking her hand in the process
• Sara explains she was trying to get back something she left at Emily's and could not ask because of her parole
• The Lairs don't believe her and keep her overnight
• Finally the Lairs decide she is telling the truth and drop for off at a hospital or something

 

It doesn't really work, but it sounds better than any options the writers have.  Whatever the answer is it would have to make sense for the Lairs' characters (i.e. not torture), be something illegal so they would be afraid of the cops finding out, and have take place at Radley during the final.  I got nothing.

[CloudySky]

Maybe she had escaped by the time the whole rooftop scene was over and the liars realized all of their secrets and illegal shit they've done are in the harddrives at the Carrisimi group future spaceship place and that if she gets to them it might still not be over.

They jump in the car, screech away and in their hurry they run her over...

[Bort]

I don't even understand Allison's problem with this whole wanting a family bit. Bitch, you have a dad and brother. That's more than a lot of people have. STFU.

Under the circumstances, I can understand why Alison might not want anything to do with her father. He was basically the catalyst for everyone on this show having their lives ruined. But yeah, Alison would still have Jason-- a much more palatable relative to bond with instead of her pychopath of a sister and has basically chosen Charlotte over him. Okay then.

[mac123x]

Adding fuel to my "Toby and Caleb are dating" fever-dream:  Toby says that they went fishing together one summer.  That was the cover story that the protagonists of Brokeback Mountain used to hide their trysts.  Coincidence?  I think not!  #TeamTaleb

[Evie]

I absolutely hate Hanna and Caleb being broken up. Sorry bout it. I also hated her bitchy "Well at least THAT still works" at him. No wonder the actress was so pissed about the Haleb storyline direction. Can we not make one of the two functional family units on the show into a sink of passive aggression?

Shower, Jenna you are not. Girl bye.

I wonder what happened with Hanna and Caleb?Spencer mentions aside, their interaction was the most awkward.

[mac123x]

I forgot to mention this meta-rant:  ABCFamily's new branding is quite stupid.  They had that 2 min long montage before the show with various celebrities yelling "Freeform!" at the camera.  Harrison Ford looked like he had no clue what that meant or where he even was.  I didn’t realize the network had changed its name so I had no idea what they were screaming about.  I thought it was some new social media application, or maybe a hygiene product.

[cuddlingcrowley]

Is (whatever left Sara impaired) something that happened in the last five years, or in the dollhouse?

If you go back and really listen to the second-to-last scene, the goodbye scene in the summer finale, Emily says, “I hear they’re letting Sara out of the hospital” and you can tell she feels guilty. Someone says, “It wasn’t our fault.” It was something that happened before those girls left the house.

 

 

From that, we can gather that the Sara thing (*sigh*) happened at some point in 6x10. Wasn't there a bomb? I'm thinking it went off but I don't get how it could have been anyone else's fault besides Sara's giving she was the one in charge of it, if I recall correctly.

 

I've always given this show the benefit of the doubt but considering the awful pattern we've been in with the girls being expected to forgive their abusers over and over again I have a feeling whatever answer we get will be dumb as hell. Like Sara tried to apologize and since the girls didn't accept it she stayed behind and got caught in the blast of the bomb. Or something.

 

But I promised myself I wouldn't get caught in the mystery again so i'm happy they're making it so easy for me not to care.

Edited January 14, 2016 by cuddlingcrowley

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

Ask The Pretty Little Liars Judge Who Clearly Doesn't Understand What PTSD Looks Like
After five years, the poor, traumatized Liars are back, and after five years, they still can't get anyone to listen to them.

[starrae]

Ok, I haven't seen anybody mention this but I don't believe aria is an author. I think she's the person that goes with the authors to help them out events, maybe she's a junior junior editor.<br /><br /> If you notice at the beginning of the episode she's in front of the camera until she says all good, then gets up and a man takes her place. My assumption was she was there for the light test and once they were ready the author stepped in.

[cuddlingcrowley]

Agreed, Starrae. Hanna also isn't a model but an assistant of a fashion designer or of a fashion editor or something. I think we're gonna learn a little more about all the liars' jobs and see they're age appropriate, mostly. In a fortunate as hell kind of way, of course.

 

Working in a publisher might be the sanest thing I've ever seen Aria do in almost six years and i'm fine with Spencer's job as well but I don't see her sticking to it in the long run, like I could see Aria with hers. Spencer seems to be doing the thing where she lies to herself that she's happy with something but I could be wrong. I did get Spoby flashbacks with some of her expressions during her talk with her Mom. Eeeks.

 

Hanna's is the one I struggle with the most  but to be fair I have no clue what exactly would be realistic for someone her age to be doing in her line of business. I just feel like all the travelling that was alluded to seems fake but they had to blame the Haleb break-up on something contrived right? God forbid highschool sweethearts actually grow apart naturally and are interested in seeing other people.

Edited January 14, 2016 by cuddlingcrowley

[Cranberry]

Toby better not be building that house for Spencer.

[MyFangirlLife]

Adding fuel to my "Toby and Caleb are dating" fever-dream:  Toby says that they went fishing together one summer.  That was the cover story that the protagonists of Brokeback Mountain used to hide their trysts.  Coincidence?  I think not!  #TeamTaleb

Love this! I hadn't thought of it at all, and have to say that I'm pretty down with the Spencer and Caleb thing, but this would be an awesome twist. I'm really not a fan of Toby but this might redeem him just a little bit.

[mercfan3]

Caleb is way too good for Toby. 

[DigitalCount]

To be honest, I'm only watching for Spencer and Caleb now. I've thought they made a great team and had a lot more common ground than Hanna/Caleb, sorry to say. But then again I've only ever tolerated Hanna at best; at first I thought she was the literal worst, then I warmed up to "eh she's there" which was demolished by her secret genius storyline. But I like Caleb and I like Spencer, and what's more, I like Spencer with Caleb.

 

The reason why I think they're not just platonic is because Spencer intentionally stayed downstairs. I can't see her doing that if they're just friends. Also, Caleb was way too shifty about Spencer in general, and he did the hand-on-back thing, so yeah.

 

The dialogue was a bit weird even for PLL. Also, it doesn't work when you do Dawson casting for the students in the class and then the teacher is played by a 19-year-old. It looked like Sasha was playing make-believe, which only worsened when Spencer made the crack about pretty please with sugar on top. In addition, they can't seriously think people will try to solve the mystery at home as well, right? Not after this last reveal? It can't be done.

 

I lied earlier when I said I'm only watching for Spencer and Caleb. I'm so glad someone broke ranks even though it was Aria. I'm glad Mona murdered Charlotte after doing that pre-planned as heck crumpling of her "speech" (that probably just had a copied and pasted Wikipedia article on it). I'm glad Lorenzo is still around and hope he's here for the rest of the season. I don't really care all that much about his character, but suck it racists and suck it Tumblr. I would probably try to say more here about this episode, but I can't remember anything else. I just imagined myself rewatching this episode and burst out laughing.

[lorikauai]

Toby better not be building that house for Spencer.

 

I was thinking maybe it was for Jenna. Is Jenna alive or dead? I can't remember. I will laugh so hard if it's for Mona.

[SadieT]

So rinse-repeat because MK didn't have the better actress available and can't come up with anything logical or original for her show that was never plotted out from the beginning and is way past it's prime.

 

Marlene prefers terms like "call back" and "parallels" when she rehashes old storylines. So clever. 

 

Under the circumstances, I can understand why Alison might not want anything to do with her father. He was basically the catalyst for everyone on this show having their lives ruined. But yeah, Alison would still have Jason-- a much more palatable relative to bond with instead of her pychopath of a sister and has basically chosen Charlotte over him. Okay then.

 

Jason doesn't talk to Alison because he doesn't approve of her dating Dr. Rollins and Mr. D seems to be out of the picture completely. So that's why she has no family left besides Charlotte. But honestly why would Jason care that Ali was dating Dr. Rollins? It's maybe a little skeevy because he's her sister's doctor, but at least Alison is an adult now and it's not like the Lorenzo situation where an older authority figure was preying on an emotionally fragile teenage girl. I mean I guess Jason might think the good doctor is taking advantage of Alison during a vulnerable time, or maybe he thinks Ali was using Dr. Rollins to get Charlotte released before Jason felt she was ready and he didn't want any part of it? 

 

From that, we can gather that the Sara thing (*sigh*) happened at some point in 6x10. Wasn't there a bomb? I'm thinking it went off but I don't get how it could have been anyone else's fault besides Sara's giving she was the one in charge of it, if I recall correctly.

 

I've been thinking it might have something to do with the bomb too. They made a point of showing the whole bomb sequence in the "previously on" intro. Maybe Spencer didn't completely disarm it and like you said, it went off in some way and Sara got hurt because Emily had knocked her out and left her there? Which wouldn't be anyone's fault but Sara's and Charlotte's, but I guess Emily might feel guilty for leaving her there even though she shouldn't because that bitch was going to blow everyone up. 

 

To be honest, I'm only watching for Spencer and Caleb now. I've thought they made a great team and had a lot more common ground than Hanna/Caleb, sorry to say. But then again I've only ever tolerated Hanna at best; at first I thought she was the literal worst, then I warmed up to "eh she's there" which was demolished by her secret genius storyline. But I like Caleb and I like Spencer, and what's more, I like Spencer with Caleb.

 

The dialogue was a bit weird even for PLL. Also, it doesn't work when you do Dawson casting for the students in the class and then the teacher is played by a 19-year-old. It looked like Sasha was playing make-believe, which only worsened when Spencer made the crack about pretty please with sugar on top. 

 

 

The more I think about it the more I like the idea of Spencer and Caleb. I never cared much for Caleb as a character before but I think that was mostly because Hanna is probably my least favorite liar, although I admit she's had her MVP moments, and I had absolutely no interest in her love life. So all the Hanna/Caleb stuff was just kind of annoying and a waste of time in my opinion, but there's definite chemistry there with Caleb and Spencer and I think I'll enjoy seeing him as something other than the other half of Haleb. But I'm kind of torn because while it might be fun to see, this show went 5 and a half seasons without ever having the girls fight over a boy and that was actually kind of refreshing. 

 

Alison looked like a student who got up to do a class presentation in front of her classmates, which I imagine she never actually did because she spent like a grand total of 6 hours in high school but now she's teaching there at 23 years old. 

[Lii]

I had interpreted the "out of the hospital now" line as in mental hospital, last season. Foolish me. I should have remembered we only refer to mental hospitals as "nuthouse" or "sanitarium" on this super progressive show. Yaaaaaaaaaay.

If it's about the bomb, it must have been a super-high-tech hyper-realized bomb, because bitch looked better than last season, no facial scars, no nothing. Like maybe it was the Genesis bomb or something.

[WhosThatGirl]

I'm going to assume Sara got hurt with the bomb and blames the girls, which is all, "really?" I'm not in the mood to do a rehash of Jenna's arc, because Jenna did it well. Sara will not compare, sorry Marlene, next! Sara is not going to happen, stop trying to make her happen. 

[mac123x]

Marlene prefers terms like "call back" and "parallels" when she rehashes old storylines. So clever.

 

George Lucas describing the plots of the prequels:  "It's like poetry -- it rhymes.  Each stanza rhymes with the next.  Hopefully it'll work."  [spoiler: it didn't]

 

I'm going to assume Sara got hurt with the bomb and blames the girls, which is all, "really?"

 

I can buy that Sara might feel that way.  She is, after all, insane.  What I really can't buy is that the PLLs would feel any guilt whatsoever.  "You got injured after we disabled the bomb you had planted?  Good.  Actually, not good -- it's too bad you weren't killed, you lunatic.  Get offa my lawn."

[tennisgurl]

The thing that keeps bugging me? Ezra saying his girlfriend got "murdered" (yeah, sure, like she aint coming back for a big reveal) in "South America". Who would name the continent, instead of the country? The writers are aware that there are several, separate countries in South America, right? Its not all one lump of a landmass? Its like the girls just saying they want to go to "Europe" instead of listing actual cities/countries, like its all the exact same thing. Did they not want to offend people in whatever country she died in? Well, aren't you kind of offending an entire continent by acting like the whole place is one giant, war destroyed mess, without any actual countries in it? What the hell? And who talks like that? Wouldn't most people list the actual country? Huh? 

[fitzcarraldo]

The thing that keeps bugging me? Ezra saying his girlfriend got "murdered" (yeah, sure, like she aint coming back for a big reveal) in "South America". Who would name the continent, instead of the country? The writers are aware that there are several, separate countries in South America, right? Its not all one lump of a landmass? Its like the girls just saying they want to go to "Europe" instead of listing actual cities/countries, like its all the exact same thing. Did they not want to offend people in whatever country she died in? Well, aren't you kind of offending an entire continent by acting like the whole place is one giant, war destroyed mess, without any actual countries in it? What the hell? And who talks like that? Wouldn't most people list the actual country? Huh?

And Aria just doesn't understand that kind of thing happening to an innocent girl. No experience with kidnapping whatsoever .

[dwmckim]

Jason doesn't talk to Alison because he doesn't approve of her dating Dr. Rollins and Mr. D seems to be out of the picture completely. So that's why she has no family left besides Charlotte. But honestly why would Jason care that Ali was dating Dr. Rollins? It's maybe a little skeevy because he's her sister's doctor, but at least Alison is an adult now and it's not like the Lorenzo situation where an older authority figure was preying on an emotionally fragile teenage girl. I mean I guess Jason might think the good doctor is taking advantage of Alison during a vulnerable time, or maybe he thinks Ali was using Dr. Rollins to get Charlotte released before Jason felt she was ready and he didn't want any part of it? 

 

It would be a strange judgement coming from someone who used to lead a secret club dedicated to spying on/videotaping young girls (including your seven years younger sister and her friends)

[Perfect Xero]

After the CeCe is Charlotte/A infodump/retcon Jason's 3-4 years older than Alison. Not that it matters much, but I'm pedantic.

 

I got the impression that Jason thinks that whatever is going on between Alison and the Doctor is compromising his ability to treat/evaluate Charlotte.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Heh, despite Jason's previous perving, if his concern is that the doctor getting involved with Alison was a conflict of interest that could affect his ability to treat Charlotte impartially, I'm willing to concede that's a legitimate concern. It's entirely possible that Jason was worried that any other doctor (who wasn't dating Alison) would think Charlotte wasn't ready to be released yet and that this guy was only pushing for it to make Alison happy.

Ooh what if the doctor is in cahoots with Mona? It's PLL so no conspiracy theory is too out there.

[Jack Shaftoe]

Wouldn't the doctor dating Alison be a huge red flag for the judge? Are they even dating yet or it is something that is about to happen?

Jason has like a million reasons not to trust Alison, maybe her getting close with Rollins was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Or maybe they were just too cheap to hire Drew for this episode.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Honestly, I think it was the latter. It was one of those rare episodes when we saw one parent of each of the four PLLs. Although they did actually film that scene of Jason and Alison talking about Charlotte, so I guess it just got cut for time? Or maybe it will be a flashback scene for a future episode?

[NutMeg]

Wouldn't the doctor dating Alison be a huge red flag for the judge? Are they even dating yet or it is something that is about to happen?

Jason has like a million reasons not to trust Alison, maybe her getting close with Rollins was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Or maybe they were just too cheap to hire Drew for this episode.

The first part is a question I have too - did I somehow miss something between Alison and the doctor? Was there something about them dating? When was it said that Jason didn't trust Alison and/or the doctor?

 

Also, I must have missed it: when was it said that Emily's dad died of a heart problem?

 

 I'm really confused...

[Bort]

The first part is a question I have too - did I somehow miss something between Alison and the doctor? Was there something about them dating? When was it said that Jason didn't trust Alison and/or the doctor?

It's assumed that Alison and the doctor are dating because in the finale flash-forward, she was writing "Mrs. Rollins" on the board and he's Dr. Rollins. But in all honesty, I don't think they're dating at this point. I didn't see anything that made me think they were involved in any way other than getting Charlotte released from the hospital.

And that Jason just flat didn't want Charlotte cut loose and didn't have anything to do with the nothing that's going on between Alison and the doctor.

[fitzcarraldo]

That's fast to get married, if they aren't dating. Unless this season has a sped up timeline in general....

[NutMeg]

It's assumed that Alison and the doctor are dating because in the finale flash-forward, she was writing "Mrs. Rollins" on the board and he's Dr. Rollins. But in all honesty, I don't think they're dating at this point. I didn't see anything that made me think they were involved in any way other than getting Charlotte released from the hospital.

And that Jason just flat didn't want Charlotte cut loose and didn't have anything to do with the nothing that's going on between Alison and the doctor.

OK, so I'm not Radleigh-crazy then :-) I remember that finale, but didn't see any confirmation this episode, so should we take that as cannon? And if yes, should it be considered as spoiler or not? Just me, I completely forgot about all this Mrs. Rollin, so this thread has been spoilerish for me :/ 

[AmandaPanda]

Also, I must have missed it: when was it said that Emily's dad died of a heart problem?

 

He didn't die of a heart problem. When Emily went back to her house, she touched the flag in the window with the gold star. That's a symbol for someone who has died in combat. I assume he got deployed again and was killed overseas. However, it was mentioned back in season 4 or 5 that her dad had some sort of heart problem. It's when Emily was trapped in the school and her dad was scaling the wall to try to get her out. Afterwards, he collapsed and it was revealed that he had a heart problem. It could be hereditary and maybe Emily has inherited that?

[ottoDbusdriver]

He didn't die of a heart problem. When Emily went back to her house, she touched the flag in the window with the gold star. That's a symbol for someone who has died in combat. I assume he got deployed again and was killed overseas. However, it was mentioned back in season 4 or 5 that her dad had some sort of heart problem. It's when Emily was trapped in the school and her dad was scaling the wall to try to get her out. Afterwards, he collapsed and it was revealed that he had a heart problem. It could be hereditary and maybe Emily has inherited that?

 

If Emily's father had a diagnosed heart problem, would they have really let him go back into a combat area (where he apparently got killed) ?  

 

More than likely he'd be in the rear detachment area back in the States (thank you 'Enlisted', a short-lived but loveable little show).  So, unless ISIS invaded Texas in the intervening 5 years, something doesn't add up there.

[AmandaPanda]

Yeah, somehow I doubt that PLL has a military consultant. They definitely showed Emily touching the gold star flag, though, and that is only for someone who has lost a family member in combat.

[mac123x]

Listening to the Bros Watch PLL too podcast, they reminded me of something I noticed when I watched.  Hanna and Ashley's first scene, Ashley says something that included the phrase "what that person did to you."  It was obviously ADR, like really blatant.  Anyone know what they dubbed over?  I'm guessing she said something more harsh that they decided to change to avoid more backlash.

 

Also, they referred to the guy accompanying Sarah Harvey to the funeral as her "seeing eye bro" which made me chuckle.

Edited January 17, 2016 by mac123x

[Bwill3133]

This was actually a good setup to me. Cece being murdered makes the Liars have to stay in town since otherwise after testifying they would go back to their respective cities. I was frustrated with the finale but I was looking forward to the 5 year time jump so it could get closer to the Liars real ages and skip the college years of all of them somehow ending up at Hollis to keep them together. Murder is at least believable in Rosewood. Emily's medical issues or whatever is going on with her intrigue me but I guess she will get more focus in the next episodes.

So Spencer and Caleb are probably already together after those interactions. I don't hate the idea because they do have chemistry but I love Spencer and Hanna's friendship the best and I feel like this will do some serious damage to it. And as everyone else has said this is one of the only shows with teens that didn't have the boyfriend swapping between friends and I really liked that. Even with Hanna being engaged I can't see her reacting well to this news if that long stare at her ring was any indication about her feelings for Caleb. Also curious about the Haleb breakup. Ashley said in an interview they did film that scene so we will eventually see it.

Oh Alison you may not be an unapologetic sociopath anymore but you are selfish. I still like you because your parents were a mess and your childhood was truly fucked up. Her messed up childhood was never dealt with so I can see Ali trying to cling to this idea of a "family." That clearly is the reason you want your sister who tortured, kidnapped and nearly murdered your friends released. And having no qualms about asking them to outright lie about not being afraid of her. That's a normal request. So go Aria for telling the truth! Also I know people are skeptical of Alison being a teacher right away but her and Caleb did take that Rosewood Aptitude Test (or whatever) so they could graduate because they missed so much school. I'm assuming it was similar to a GED. With that and college she could have got a job right after finishing. Teaching at Rosewood however where EVERYONE would know who you are could be awkward.

[SadieT]

The first part is a question I have too - did I somehow miss something between Alison and the doctor? Was there something about them dating? When was it said that Jason didn't trust Alison and/or the doctor?

When Spencer asks Ali why Jason isn't at the hearing, doesn't Ali say Jason doesn't approve of her and Dr. Rollins? I assumed that meant he didn't approve of their relationship.

[ottoDbusdriver]

When Spencer asks Ali why Jason isn't at the hearing, doesn't Ali say Jason doesn't approve of her and Dr. Rollins? I assumed that meant he didn't approve of their relationship.

 

I don't think that's quite it.  From the episode:

 

Spencer: "Why isn't Jason here ?"

Alison: "He doesn't agree with Dr. Rollins and me."

 

In the context of the conversation, that makes it sound more like Jason doesn't agree with the path that Dr. Rollins and Alison are taking to get CeCe/Charles released. YMMV.

[Perfect Xero]

Honestly, I think it was the latter. It was one of those rare episodes when we saw one parent of each of the four PLLs. Although they did actually film that scene of Jason and Alison talking about Charlotte, so I guess it just got cut for time? Or maybe it will be a flashback scene for a future episode?

 

That was a scene that was shot for the 6A finale and then cut.

 

When Spencer asks Ali why Jason isn't at the hearing, doesn't Ali say Jason doesn't approve of her and Dr. Rollins? I assumed that meant he didn't approve of their relationship.

 

She said, "He doesn't agree with Dr. Rollins and me." Which, in the context of the conversation suggests it's about Charlotte being ready, but strikes me as something that's been worded by Alison to avoid telling the girls that she's in a relationship with the doctor without directly lying to them.

 

The fact that he delivered the message in person and the way he looked at Alison implied that something was going on between them, IMO.

[SadieT]

I don't think that's quite it. From the episode:

Spencer: "Why isn't Jason here ?"

Alison: "He doesn't agree with Dr. Rollins and me."

In the context of the conversation, that makes it sound more like Jason doesn't agree with the path that Dr. Rollins and Alison are taking to get CeCe/Charles released. YMMV.

Oh yeah, that makes sense. I guess I was just influenced by knowing they end up married so I took it the other way. I do think there's probably already something going on between them based on how they were acting in the episode...he was with her at the hearing and the funeral and they left together, but you're probably right that Ali meant Jason doesn't agree with her and Rollins that Charlotte's ready to be released.

[Jack Shaftoe]

I really don't understand how Marlene expect Charlotte's death and Sara's impairment to have any real emotional impact. Those two are not only villains who got a slap on the wrist but are also woefully underdeveloped characters. Alison's the only one in-show who gives a damn about Charlotte but does it in such an obnoxious way that you have to be a huge Alison fan to be able to be moved by it. Sure, I remember some of us joking once upon a time on the TwoP forum that whoever killed Alison deserved a medal but at least she was a strong presence in the Liars' lives, if mostly negative, so they had a reason to care about her being dead which in turn made it easier for the viewers to care. Plus, a murder of a teenager is always going to seem more tragic than the murder of an adult, especially if the adult is criminal mastermind who has made the lives of the show's protagonists hell "because it was so much fun".

 

Also, just how stupid is that Charlotte who was so resourceful and tough ended up being killed so easily? Even blind Jenna is apparently much tougher to kill. Or, to put it another way, I really wish Marlene didn't treat murder as plot device or at least that device them more sparingly. If she needed a murder mystery to restart the show, why not kill some character that more than one other character gives a damn about? Not that I am not happy to (hopefully) have seen the last of Charlotte, mind you, but making this a central mystery reminds of my reaction to the "who killed Wilden" or "who killed Garret" mysteries - "who cares?".

Edited January 17, 2016 by Jack Shaftoe

[Mabinogia]

I do think there's something going on with Ali and Dr. Rollins, but mostly because of the Mrs. Rollins thing from last season. But I don't think that's why Jason wasn't at the hearing. I think that is because he is as disgusted as most of us at the idea of Charlotte going free so soon after terrorizing teenage girls and if not actually perpetrating, she was the cause of a great number of deaths. There is no way she is "cured" in just five years.

 

The only reason I want to know who killed Charlotte is so I can pin a medal on them and thank them for their community service.