With “A’s” return, it’s safe to say that Ali is more than spooked. Enough to immediately want to leave town. But, in this episode we get to see that the once-in-control Alison is now subject to do whatever “A” wants her to do.
“A” has even sent Alison a video of she/him burying her mom, Mrs. D. The video “A” sends Ali does at least serve one good purpose: it leaves Mr. Hastings in the clear for Mrs. D’s murder. And though it relieves Spencer to know that her father isn’t guilty of the crime, it isn’t enough to unite her parents once again. Mrs. Hastings reveals that Mr. Hastings has been keeping multiple secrets for years, and it’s easy to see that there are a lot of things that need to be uncovered in the Hastings family. Mr. Hastings is like a tomb, he never reveals what he and Melissa hide, and at this point, it has cost him his marriage and the unity of his family.
Meanwhile, Alison is beginning to make her exit from Rosewood, and she calls Noel Kahn for help once again. I still don’t truly understand how Noel and Ali are so close in all that has happened, but I’m sure it’s going to eventually be an important detail. Hannah walks in on Ali’s plans but instead of opposing like all the other girls, she quickly agrees to actually help Alison leave. It’s clear that Ali’s return has made a huge impact on Hannah more so than to all the other girls. Her intentions on helping Ali leave town aren’t exactly good: less because she cares for her safety but because she wants Ali gone from town herself.
She comes to terms with these feelings, confessing how she feels to Caleb. Caleb’s return certainly has shaken Hannah up more so than Ali’s return. He says he will be leaving Rosewood shortly, and you can tell that’s the last thing that Hannah wants. Which is leaving her in quite an uncomfortable position and the never failing love triangle between her, Caleb and Travis. Travis is no fool, even though he hadn’t mentioned anything he knows about Caleb’s return to town and is aware that that’s what has caused Hannah’s recent erratic behavior. Poor Hannah is stuck between two cute guys, and it’s going to be hard to pick between the two. Even though it seems that Hannah probably needs some alone time since she’s definitely going through an identity crisis.
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Back at Ali’s house, “A” decides to get physical with Alison.
As she’s preparing to take all her belongings for her runaway trip, ”A” comes up from behind and smacks her in the head. She then proceeds to use Ali’s own scarf to choke her. Thankfully, Emily walks in and is able to stop “A”, even though I’m not sure if “A” was truly planning on killing Alison. This is a first for “A” to get so extremely up close and personal on a physical level.
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Suddenly, “A” isn’t a threat from a haunting distance to Alison – she’s come face to face with her tormentor, and I’m sure that has had quite an impact on her. We can observe from “A” during the attack scene that it has very slender arms; definitely girl-like. They were strong to slam Emily back and fast enough to run away so they’re in shape. I could even believe that it could have been Sydney. Though I doubt that a newbie in Rosewood is “A,” it leads me to believe that it wasn’t the true “A” but one of its minions. Regardless, we are all still clueless at who the heck the true “A” could be.
Yet, Ezra and Aria are working on finding a connection between Bethany Young (the girl who was buried alive in Ali’s place) and Mrs. D. Certainly, their connection begins at Radley, since Mrs. D was part of the executive board. Eddie Lamb, one of the employees at Radley, is unable to help Spencer with any information directly but manages to secretly drop off a drawing that Bethany Young drew while she was alive. It contains a picture of what appears to be Mrs. D and a monster-like creature who is going to hurt her. Bethany doesn’t seem to have liked Mrs. D much.
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This causes the girls to come to the conclusion that they must go into Radley in order to get more information. Spencer is off the nominee list since she was actually committed there a while back. It only leaves one choice… Aria.
Sweet, little Aria is going to have to be brave and strong to go into Radley and not blow her cover. It certainly is an intimidating task after what “A” did to Ali. It’s going to be quite interesting, and I’m sure will provide Aria’s character with a lot of intriguing storylines.
This episode was held up by the shock factor that the encounter between Ali and “A” provided since it was something that we hadn’t really seen “A” do. But really, I’m so over Emily and the way she’s so protective over Alison. She constantly assumes the role of caretaker. Clearly, her affections for Alison blinds her from everything that Ali has done before that hurt Emily. Alison returns, and Emily is instantly back under her grip and emotional manipulation. The sad thing is that Emily doesn’t notice it. And she defends Alison at all costs even against her friends, such as Hannah, that have proven themselves to be much more dependable and trustworthy than Alison. I would appreciate seeing a stronger side to Emily once again instead of seeing her be a little puppy following after Alison.
As the season returns many of its plot points back to Radley, I am sure that the following episodes will be giving us some scary and creepy moments. Nothing is ever a coincidence at Radley.
Next week we should also be seeing an encounter between Alison and Caleb that shows us why Caleb hates her so much. That will be interesting to watch!
Hopefully next week we will receive many more answers about Bethany Young!
Let us know your thoughts on this past week’s episode.
Do you believe that Sydney could’ve been standing in for “A” during the attack on Alison?
How do you feel about the Hastings divorce?
Travis or Caleb? How would you choose?
Discuss below!
Gif/ Photo Credits:
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