Didn’t see that one coming; BetrAyal, indeed.
What made The Lady Killer so strong, aside from the million and one shocks that it dished out, was that it was focused so heavily on the titular Liars themselves. It’s easy to say that the past 12 episodes have been all about Maya, and the previous 2 years about Ali, but Pretty Little Liars has always been about its core four and the grave effect that these deaths have been had on their lives.
The episode started with the girls broken apart, in almost exactly the same way that they had been faking for A last season. Though I spent the greater part of the 44 minute episode picking my jaw up off the floor, I think the fact that everything tied around Emily and her friends so well made it much stronger than just a game of shocks and thrills. They were pulled apart by lies and A’s games, same as before, but seeing them pull together, just as things got tough, it made the idea of these four girls being so close and so connected even more viable than it did before.
That’s not to say that the shocks and thrills weren’t a huge part of the episode’s fun factor. Nate (supposedly) being Maya’s killer isn’t really that surprising, though. I called Jenna’s warning about him last week, and he’s been a little on edge over the past few episodes so he being a stalking creep doesn’t come as a sock to the system, which is pretty great since it makes the show stronger, from a character building perspective at least. That final confrontation was a great play on the opening scene that essentially turned the whole thing into a deadly game of who lives and who dies. It made the episode even more exciting, right from the outset. I wouldn't mind seeing the show work with broken timeline story-telling more often.
Caleb’s shooting doesn’t hold a lot of merit, though, now that Nate was revealed as the one biting the dust. Given how much attention the writers lavish on his relationship with Hannah, I seriously doubt the show is ready to take them apart in such a tragic way, at least not yet. His shooting could either serve to make him even more integrated in the girls’ secrets, or it could tear him and Hannah apart, but given how much he’s been willing to help, I’m not sure he’ll want to back down so easily, even if Hannah begs.
Paige’s set-up as some introverted freak last week served as a great red herring. Since the show clearly wanted her to be considered part of the episode’s big “BetrAyal”, we spent plenty of time racking up reasons why she might be A, and considering all of the clues that have been piling up against her since early this season. All of that was essentially undone by the time the time the episode was up, and not just because that final scene basically cleared her of all things A related (she was clearly just an unwilling scapegoat), but thanks to her behaviour in the face of Hannah’s pain, and Emily’s desperation to help her friends. Spencer and co. may have treated her like a second rate psycho, but she was the first to start to the repair work to that relationship. I’m excited to see her becoming more involved when the show comes back.
Which brings us to the episode’s biggest bombshell; Toby is a first class member of Team A. There’s a lot of speculation to go along with this news, not the least of which is his motivation for doing this to Spencer. Was he always a part of A’s games? Did Spencer’s lies finally get to him, and force him to get her back? There could be an honest reason behind this, though. He could actually be infiltrating for the Liars to help them out, but even so, I like the idea of him being in on some plot against them. The fact that he’s been close with one of the girls makes him seem even more cold and evil; that is, if he’s actually a bona fide member, not just a double agent for Team Liars.
With the only downside being the Toby and Spencer gag-train, The Lady Killer was an incredibly strong note to end the first half of the show’s greatest and most mature season yet. It may have had a few down-slides in quality, but it’s definitely been one of the most decent run of episodes in the show’s history. I’m already excited from some masked fun aboard the ghost train come October; should be a great ride, especially if Mona is back in the game.
10/10
Just binge watched this series in the past two weeks and I'm a little bit obsessed. Really glad the next episode is only a month away.
ReplyDeletePoor Emily. I feel like she is the writer's punching bag, she can never seem to catch a break which upsets me because she is my favourite. I'm glad they killed Nate off because he was really beginning to irritate me, but tying him to True North was a neat little twist. Maybe there is more to it, though. They're always backtracking on the reveals on this show, wonder why they didn't flashback to the kill?
Paige is growing on me, although I loathed her in season one, y'know, because off the whole closet case crazyness and the fact that she attempted to drown my favourite...although she seems a lot more stable now, it's just a shame we never saw that development on screen. Don't think anyone watching actually thought she was A though, it just felt too neat (loved Mona being dissapointed that she couldn't plant Maya's phone on Paige...err, guess the A-team could've done something to her). Bit weird that more attention was paid to Maya dead than alive. I really would have liked to see more of Em and Maya together because they were really sweet, but Bianca Lawson vanished for such long periods of time that that never really happened, which is even weirder when I remember that she was a regular.
Was spoiled about the Toby reveal, but...meh. Never been a fan, but it should be interesting to see where the writers take it.
I also agree about the 'two days previously' type of episode. The season two mid-season finale was pretty damn great, with the girls all running around obeying the wishes of their little dolls - the scene with them digging up the bones was pretty damn effective.
Loved reading all of your reviews for this series, it really is crazy addictive. I watched it so quickly that the insanity never really bothered me (although, the fact that they always seem to get the texts after they've discussed an important issue that A realistically could never know still bothers me...but, eh, dramatic effect for television). It's so much fun though, and I really love Emily, Hanna, and spencer!
o.O
ReplyDeleteThat comment! I apologise for leaving that beast there. I got a little ramble-y.
haha, nor owrries about the comment, I'm always glad to get them =)
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you've gotten into the show. I'd love to know what it would have been like to binge watch it when I first saw it. I had the pleasure of waiting a week, sometimes months, in between episodes. Although, it's not half as frustrating as you'd expect.
Agreed with the love for Over My Dead Body. That was an insanely great episode, almost stronger than UnmAsked in a way.
Aw, kinda sucks you were disappointed with the whole Toby thing, it's probably why I loved this one so much. I never liked him all that much either, and Keegan Allen is as charmless as they come, but it'll be interesting to see how they approach the A thing now that the audience is in the know, and the girls aren't.
And I actually mention checking logical thought at the door in my show blurb, too. Things like those appropriately timed texts are all so silly, but work so well in the context of the show.
Anyway, thanks for reading these. Can't wait to see what you think season 3B!