Pretty Little Liars – S07xEp10 ‘The DArkest Knight’
Aside from relationships, of course the main focus was a search for answers on the whole A.D. – Charlotte mystery. Noel Kahn was in fact involved, and the same goes for Jenna.
But before the Liars could escape, Jenna (gun in hand) found them,and someone else put a bullet in Spencer. That person seems to be none other than A.D., who is very much still out there.
Credit has to go to Mary Drake for saving Spencer (or at least we hope). After all, she has a good reason to help out: She’s her mother! That’s a game-changer, and we hope she makes it out of this one alive !
So who’s AD? And who’s Charlotte’s killer? We’ve only got 10 more episodes before all is revealed, so now’s as good as any to get our theories straight.
“The Darkest Knight” was far from perfect. At this stage, a lot of the reveals felt cheap. We still have 10 episodes left, and we need answers before it’s too late. Waiting until April is going to be a drag.
With so many old faces in town, and Noel, Mary and Jenna now off the table, the suspects list for AD is getting a little shorter. We’re in the final stretch, so everyone who’s ever been accused of A shenanigans is back on the table, and that includes Paige, Sydney, Lucas, Caleb and Wren (who’s confirmed to return in s7b), just for starters.
Pretty Little Liars – S07xEp09 “THE WRATH OF KAHN”
Let’s talk about Aria & Jason or what had to be one of the hottest scenes in the whole series flash-backed to their relationship. It seemed like the two actually dated for a little while. I was very surprised by that, as I expected a quick hookup. Jason appeared to be very into the relationship. I think he really liked Aria and maybe still does. But even Jason knows that Ezra and Aria were meant to be.
It’s really hard to grasp how Mary had not one, but two babies while in Radley. Which, I may have to remind you, was a mental institution and not the hip hotel it is today. Aria and Jason finally received the paperwork they needed, which of course was redacted. Nothing is that easy in Rosewood. Seeing Noel’s dad as the judge who signed off on the adoption did raise some eyebrows.
But most importantly, this week, Hanna was determined to take down Noel Kahn all on her own. Armed with duct tape, rope, a video camera, and some powerful powdered pills, we first see her camping out in that sparse, newspaper-covered room recording some sort of goodbye message.
“My name is Hanna Marin,” she says into the camera. “If you find this video before I finish what I need to do, something went terribly wrong. Please give this to the police.” Right off the bat, we know one thing: She’s not 100-percent confident.
Spencer’s having pretty good luck with her mission and is able to find Noel Kahn’s address from her mom’s campaign manager. (Also, can we talk about how in Rosewood, Google is called XSTER? Was there really not a better fake name for a search engine? I do appreciate the consistency with XSTER Maps, though.)
It turns out he’s been living with his parents, and their address is curiously close to the barn where Hanna was tortured. That can’t be a coincidence… Can it?
Emily and Paige are still applying for the swim coach job, and after Em’s forced to answer the question, “Have you ever been arrested?” she emotionally spills to her ex that the “A” game is back on. Uh oh.
That’s not all. Later on, she calls Paige to tell her they believe Noel Kahn is the one after them, but Paige is busy giving the evil eye to Emily’s new love interest Sabrina at The Brew. The jealousy is palpable.
Probably the most relevant piece of evidence is that Noel ordered a red velvet cake from Sabrina. Just kidding. But seriously, what’s with the cake? If this was just thrown in to cause tension between Emily and Sabrina, I’m not going to be impressed. Could Noel be building a new lair out of cake? If so, Emily was justified in her freak out. If it’s for literally anything else, she was being crazy.
Pretty Little Liars – S7xEp08 – ‘Exes and OMGs’
Episode 8 kicks off with the entire gang walking through Rosewood discussing A.D. Hanna is certain that Noel Kahn is their mysterious tormentor, but everyone else isn’t so certain. She storms off and Caleb goes after her. However, their chat is cut short when a car speeds at them. Caleb pushes Hanna out of the way and is struck by the vehicle. When Hanna looks up she discovers Noel Kahn behind the wheel — smiling. Fortunately Caleb’s not really hurt. It was all a dream, but scary enough to get Hanna to go to Caleb’s hotel room first thing in the morning. She clutches him close before realizing how awkward things are. Although they’re not a couple, it’s still clear that they care for each other. In fact, Caleb really cares about the entire group. He got them brand new cellphones that are bug-free to prevent them from getting harassed.
Paige also made a “surprise” return to apply for the swim coach position at Rosewood High School. Over a somewhat romantic dinner with her fellow applicant, Emily rehashed her history with Paige, even blaming herself for their breakup a few years earlier. Paige — whose Olympic dreams apparently went up in smoke after a nasty car accident — seemed interested in rekindling their old flame, so you can imagine her disappointment at the sight of Emily and Sabrina together in the episode’s final moments.
You all know how I feel about Ravenswood and all the sprites and spirits therein, so it will not surprise you that I was very unimpressed with the return of this Strega Nona wannabe, whose magic power is apparently “noticing obvious shit and expressing it in a manner that is so vague as to be worse than useless.” She even tells Hanna, “I felt a darkness around you.” O RLY, GRUNWALD? Hanna has been kidnapped and tortured twice in the past five years and — for reasons unclear! Dr. Sullivan is not the only medical professional in the greater Philadelphia area! — is getting approximately zero treatment for her almost comically crippling PTSD.
When Grunwald uses her powers and Noel Kahn is nearby, she gets a nosebleed. This bloody-nose thing is way cooler when it happens to Eleven in Stranger Things, probably because her powers are legitimately awesome.
Also, why do she and Hanna leave Lucas’s loft, a private place where no one can creep on them, and relocate to the Brew to have what is obviously an Über-confidential conversation?
Ezra and Aria’s post-engagement bliss was shattered pretty quickly last week, when the FBI insinuated Nicole might still be alive. We don’t have any answers this week, but it gets worse: Aria tells Ezra about deleting the phantom phone call from Nicole off his phone, and that seems to confuse Ezra just as much as his dead girlfriend possibly coming back to life a week after he proposed to his old girlfriend.
Emily tries to tell Ezra it was her idea to delete the call, but he isn’t having it — Aria deleted it herself, it was his choice. By the end of the episode, though, Aria makes a choice of her own: She cashes in the tickets to Italy they were supposed to use for their elopement and buys him a ticket to Colombia. I am not convinced this was the right choice…
As for the hunt of the mysterious child… At least we now have confirmation that he made it out of Radley alive, but could it really have gone to one of the liar’s parents? It would be a head spinning twist, but would the show go that far? There’s a possibility that this mysterious child could be Jenna. Something just doesn’t add up with why she was back on the show this season. That would mean she’s served some sort of purpose.
There’s also a strong possibility it could be Spencer. Why else would she be rifling through a family photo album? Spencer’s life would literally be turned upside down fi she was the adopted child, but she’s never really felt like part of her family.
Pretty Little Liars – S7xEp07 – “Original G’A’ngsters”
Jason is back in Rosewood, and within two minutes of his return he set the wheels in motion to oust Mary Drake from Alison’s life.
He even invited Aria as his +1 to dinner, forcing them to briefly confront their romantic past. ( Where I Personally feel like I’ve missed something in the past episodes ? When was #Jaria even almost a thing ? )
Jason’s plan pretty much fell apart when Mary served the main course — which turned out to be a sob story about how Jessica kept her in the dark about Charles’ “death” — but the evening wasn’t a total waste. Her story led the Liars to Jessica’s secret lair, where they discovered that Charlotte had a biological sibling!
It seems like the show wants us to pin it on being: Noel. He is back, and some how both hotter and creepier than ever. In addition to making creepy eyes at Emily across the Radley bar numerous times, we now know that he almost definitely had something to do with Yvonne’s assault, and probably is the person who blew up Jessica’s lair. We also hear him a threatening call to a doctor’s office, saying that he’s “running out of time and patience.”
Ezra and Aria, meanwhile, have wasted no time in starting their wedding planning. But even though it was all Ezra’s idea, the thought of choosing colors is making him hyperventilate, and he asks Aria if she wants to just elope. But not in Vegas — in Italy! Aria’s unconvinced, and even in the rest of the episode, I can’t tell if she wants to go, or if she just wants to make him happy. Doesn’t that fashionista want to show off her dress in front of everyone?
Hanna’s at the Radley investigating Sara’s hotel room. Caleb, apparently, has been hired by Hanna’s mom for hotel security. Makes sense… But also, come on. In a move that’s pretty evil for Caleb, he poses as a masseuse for poor blind Jenna so Hanna and Spencer can swipe (from Jenna’s purse) the keys to the lockbox in Sara’s room.
Toby is moving to Maine with Yvonne, so it seems for now that Spencer lost both loves of her life in the last week. I have a feeling Toby won’t be staying lost for long though. It’s not like the Rosewood police force can afford to lose even one team member.
So many questions and so little answers. You’d think Pretty Little Liars was renewed for another four seasons with the amount of questions that pop up.
Pretty Little Liars – S7xEp06 – Wanted : Dead or Alive
Sara Harvey is dead. How freaking ironic is it that her body was found in a tub with the shower on? It’s almost like the person who killed her knew she liked showers.
I’ve been hard on Sara. She was one of the sketchiest people in Rosewood, but she really redeemed herself in her final hours. She genuinely cared about Emily. Why else would she follow her and tell her to look out for herself? It’s just a shame the character was written off the show as soon as she started to become somewhat likeable.
The episode’s centerpiece is the search for Elliott Rollins (aka Archer Dunhill). His whereabouts are unknown both to Rosewood’s police and the Liars. Detective Furey tells the girls that Archer was wanted back in the U.K., and that Ali is still in danger. He (or someone else) was leaving a trail to throw them off the scent of his real location and plan.
This leads Spencer and Hanna back to Archer’s grave to dig him back up. His death certificate comes in the form of his decaying corpse, and Uber A catches the girls on night-vision camera. Oops. (They’re also not wearing gloves again. Why?)
Archer’s confirmed death means that he isn’t the one who called the burner phone to say he’s about to attack Ali. “First you turn her in, then you leave her all alone?” the unidentified voice said. “Stupid bitches.” The audience knows it’s the rubber-masked fake police officer stationed outside Ali’s house, but she invites him in to feel safe. He then brutally beats her up and strangles her, only to be scared away by other police sirens, though Ali does manage to rip half of his mask off in the process.
For some reason, Jenna decides to come clean about their relationship, and we’re treated to a flashback of Jenna, Charlotte, and Archer at a hospital. Apparently, Jenna’s the one who brought Archer and Charlotte together, AND Jenna helped get Archer his new identity, AND Jenna was also helping Charlotte find her birth mother. She explains she felt bad for Charlotte wasting away in Radley and went to visit her — and it so happened that Mona had told her everything about Rosewood, so Jenna was a bona fide celebrity in Charlotte’s eyes. Still not sure why that would make you go to such great lengths to help a stranger, right?
here were so many great friendship moments in Pretty Little Liars season 7, episode 6, and Aria’s conversation with Hanna about their respective engagements was one of my favorites. I love how no matter what, these girls will drop everything to be there for each other. Hanna came running as soon as Aria said she needed advice (at least she was about to before A.D. called) and they came clean to each other about everything in their love lives. Again, this was one of those rare, refreshing episodes where people were actually being honest with each other.
Spanna also had their moment in the sun. Maybe you were happy to see Caleb return, or maybe you wish he had moved back to Ravenswood, but one thing we can all agree on is that we’re happy Spencer and Hanna are back on track. Troian Bellisario’s performance in her scene with Caleb was stunning and it completely broke my heart, but I fully believe that Spencer will be okay. When Hanna came clean about breaking up with Jordan, Spencer even suggested that Hanna tell Caleb!
Are we supposed to be surprised to learn that Charlotte is Mary’s kid? I thought we knew that already. Also, I know this show plays on horror tropes, and that’s all well and good, but I’m grossed out by the narrative that C-sections are vicious surgeries imposed on unwilling women by “impatient” doctors.
Pretty Little Liars – S7xEp05 – Along Come Mary
After last week’s Excellent episode, I guess it was too much to ask that this episode also be a stunner. But couldn’t it at least have been, I don’t know, marginally less mediocre? This episode was so boring I had a better timing scrolling through my dog’s Instagram and facebook, than I did remembering to take notes on all the nothing that went down in Rosewood.
Well, at least Ezra got down on one knee and presented Aria with an engagement ring — and not the fake kind Hanna’s been rocking these past few weeks. “When you walked through the door after [the five-year time jump], it felt like the last flat stretch of track on a rollercoaster ride right before it comes to a stop,” he told her. “That’s when I knew. I want you in my life, Aria, for the rest of my life, and I don’t ever want to let you go.”
More detective work: They find out, via Elliot’s burner phone, that he knew Allison didn’t kill Charlotte — so he can’t have been taking her somewhere to kill her. Apparently Mona thinks the number the phone had texted belongs to another burner phone — so who owns that one? Jenna? Then they learn Elliot didn’t just have a burner phone, he had a “burner apartment.” Not sure if that’s really the appropriate phrase, but it’s kind of hilarious (especially if his plan was to set fire to it once he didn’t need it anymore, ha!).
In another déjà vu moment of Liars kissing cops, Spencer realizes that the “random” guy she hooked up with in the Radley Hotel elevator is none other than Toby’s new boss and head of the Rollins investigation. She pretends they don’t know each other, which is either because she’s in the middle of asking “Toby-Wan Kenobi” where Caleb is, or because we finally see their height disparity. Awkward.
Alison is already struggling with her aunt and her fake, dead husband when she gets a shot straight through the heart: Her red jacket is returned dry cleaned with a note from A.D. that tells her that her friends, the Liars, are the ones who ratted her out for killing Charlotte.
And finally, there’s perhaps the craziest new partnership: Jenna and Sara Harvey. Jenna and Alison have a confrontation at the DiLaurentis house, where Jenna alludes to knowing Archer is already dead and Alison lets it leak she knows about the burner phone.
Pretty Little Liars – S7xEp04 – Hit and Run, Run, Run
Why do the writers hate Hanna Marin? Since the beginning, she’s had it the worst. From being hit with a car to being the only one kidnapped, separated, and tortured. And now murder. She’s lost her fiance, heard the previous love of her life confess his feelings for one of her best friends, and she’s been framed for murder countless times, as well as her mother almost convicted.
Give her a break.
In between tense brunches and frantic jaunts through the forest, the Liars pretty much fell to pieces over the course of Tuesday’s episode:
For Spencer, that meant avoiding Caleb and hooking up with a not-s0 handsome hottie (to my taste ) in an elevator at the Radley. For Hanna, that meant coming clean — to Mona, at least — about her broken engagement.
And for Aria, that meant wondering how closely the hotel surveillance system was capturing her every move. In fact, Emily seems to be the only Liar keeping calm under pressure. But hey, isn’t that what bartenders are for?
Upon returning to Welby, Alison also revealed the truth about the night Charlotte was killed. She had an argument with her sister about Elliott in the church — the site of so many legendary PLL confrontations, for some reason — then left her there to stew in her own anger. (Because what could have possibly gone wrong?)
But the biggest surprise of the episode, even more so than Jenna’s epic return — the minute she said, “Oh, didn’t you hear? My house blew up,” I remembered how much I truly missed her — was that Toby’s investigation into Elliott’s past actually yielded results! It turns out Elliott’s real name is/was Archer Dunhill, aka A.D.!
Pretty Little Liars – S7xEp03 – “The Talented Mr. Rollins”
After everything these girls have been through since they received that first text from A, it’s amazing that they can even get out of bed in the morning. Years of physical and mental abuse are bound to have a tremendous effect on someone, and we definitely saw some evidence of the changes that have occurred within the Liars in Pretty Little Liars season 7, episode 3. One of the strongest Liars had some extremely weak moments, while two other Liars took back some of the power they’ve been lacking lately.
First and foremost, the ladies realized that this man was being less-than-honest when it comes to his history with the DiLaurentis family. Hanna and Aria visited an Amish farm for some clues, and in the process learned there that he had he and Charlotte had a romantic entanglement. From here, Hanna also saw possibly the same cattle prod that was used during her torture. As if this wasn’t enough of a scary reveal, how about the fact that he was drugging Alison, or that he may have stolen the identity from someone who was alive decades beforehand?
The Liars eventually were able to track him and Ali during their escape plan, and things went from bad to worse when they accidentally ran over Elliot, who was chasing down Ali as she tried to escape. We gotta say that this was definitely not the ending to his story we necessarily expected. What happens now that he has already been killed off?
Elsewhere, things on the relationship front for the liars were strained. Hanna was hiding the fact that she ended things with Jordan. This seriously makes me think she’s doing it to keep Spencer happy. Spencer was less than impressed to learn about Haleb’s kiss, so wouldn’t it make Spencer a little bit frightened that Hanna is back for her man?
Probably, but Hanna should be opening up to her friends about her life. They’re meant to be her best friends. Then there was Spencer, who came back into contact with Yvonne. I don’t blame Yvonne in the slightest for being off with Spencer. She had a point when she addressed the fact that Toby seemed to be in on the schemes.
That’s probably why Spencer tried to keep him well away from anything to do with getting dirt on Elliot. She seemed a little jealous about Toby’s engagement, but she realized that it was time for her to really move on.
Whether that’s with Caleb or not is another story. Things aren’t going great. Spence finding out about Caleb’s kiss with Hanna will only further complicate things for them.
Emily, meanwhile, kept us entertained via her bartending gig at Radley. She initially got turned down by Sabrina, only to later land a date after opening way up about her life. Do Emily and Sabrina have a real future together? We all know Paige is on her way back into the picture, so we’re gonna go ahead and just say no to the that question.
Pretty Little Liars – S7xEp02 – Bedlam
PLL Season 7, Episode 2 opens where the premiere left off: Hanna is in the car with Mary Drake, who drives her back to Spencer’s house. Emely and Spencer are worried about their newly returned friend, but Hanna is more concerned about addressing the elephant in the room with former beau Caleb.
“I always felt safe around you,” she tells him.
Things aren’t going well for Spencer who starts the episode by giving Hanna and Caleb some space to make heart-eye-emoji at each other; she occupies herself by leaning against a wall, inhaling and exhaling on a four-count, and hating her life. Even when she’s right, no one listens to her. (When Elliot claims that he knows best for Ali because he’s “her husband and her doctor,” Spencer says, “Maybe that’s not the best combination.”) Caleb is already talking about their relationship in the past tense. And then, just as I was wondering, Doesn’t Spencer have a real job in Washington?, she gets axed via text message. Yet another out-of-work millennial who has to move back in with her parents. I’ll just say what we’re all thinking: She never should’ve gotten those straight-across bangs.
As Hanna signs papers to become a partner of the new project Lucas is working on, we get a flashback of how Hanna and Jordan first met. Hanna surprises Jordan at his office and wants to buy him a drink at the bar where they first met. However when they get there the bar is closed down and Hanna completely flips out. She ends up giving Jordan her engagement ring back, and it looks like the couple is over.
Aria’s relationship with Liam finally also came to an end. He wasn’t a great character, but Aria kind of messed him around, so I can totally see why he made it his mission to piss off Ezra. And I kind of did like Ezra getting annoyed about getting feedback from Liam. Sure, Liam crossed a line, but it was good to see Ezra get talked down to.
Pretty Little Liars – S7xEp01 – Tick Tock, Bitches
We begin with a flash-forward to Emily, Spencer and Aria spending some quality time, digging a grave. We don’t know for who, or when this scene is taking place, but we do know that something the Liars did has led to “first degree murder”. Theories? I’m going for a tertiary character like Sara Harvey, who may have been caught in the crossfire while the Liars were hunting down Uber A.
I guess we’re supposed to think it’s Hanna, given her lack of presence? Or possibly Alison. I don’t buy it. Last year Alison became so unrecognisable that it seemed inevitable that she would die before the end of the show but, now? This episode went some way to convincing me that the writers are aware of some mistakes they’ve made, and are trying to fix them. For me, the disempowerment of Alison DiLaurentis has been the show’s biggest misstep, and I’m ready for her to have a glorious ending.
First the Liars have to #SaveHanna, who is being kept by A in an abandoned shed. The gang have 24-hours to solve Charlotte’s murder before they lose a member. Cue cool countdown clock!
Most of the gang guess that Alison is behind it — but time is of the essence, so they all split up to follow Mary Drake, investigate around the Lost Woods Resort and Alison’s house and also visit Alison herself in the hospital. When Emily asks Alison if she killed Charlotte, Alison only awakens asking for forgiveness. Emily then goes to Alison’s house, where she finds a red coat linked to the night of Charlotte’s death. Emily shows Caleb Rivers the coat, so he texts Uber A that the killer is Alison.
Meanwhile, Aria and Ezra Fitz spot Dr. Rollins with a bag full of sharp and dangerous-looking tools.
Over some awkward tea, Mary Drake reveals to Spencer that Jessica DiLaurentis, Alison’s mother, has turned Rosewood against her — and that Mary Drake is tight with Spencer’s parents.
And speaking of old emotions resurfacing, Emily spent the bulk of the hour wrestling with her feelings for Alison, remembering the good times (sexy sleepovers!) while also grappling with the latest development, including Ali basically confessing to Charlotte’s murder. And finding a red jacket — not to be confused with the infamous Red Coat, of course — in Ali’s bedroom certainly didn’t simplify those feelings.
“Tick-Tock Bitches” was a thrilling installment of this Freeform drama. It certainly seems like the show is gearing up for a last hurrah, but Freeform could go and ruin that by trying to get another season. It’s time to bring this story to a close…for good. The fans that have invested so much time on the show deserve this to be it for the show.
Season of Bloom 