pretty little recap: bad ideAs across the board

5.19 Out, Damned Spot

This week's episode didn't just bring the drama, it was also full of life lessons. So grab a pencil and some paper cause you might just learn something from the liar's many mistakes...

Maybe don't give out free DNA samples when someone is trying to frame you? Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. One thing that wasn't a mistake in this episode was some honest-to-goodness continuity! Emily can't give blood because of her trip to Haiti. More than anything, that just gets me wondering if this was all planned and there's a very specific reason they needed Emily to be unable to give blood. I guess time will tell on that one...

2. My only other main highlight of the week was the scene between Ezra and Hanna regarding her Dad and going to college. I've said it before, but I'm really enjoying the different character interactions we're getting to see this season. This one made for a really touching scene.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Let's get right into it cause there were a lot of mistakes this week--first and foremost: Girls, why are you giving blood when someone is trying to frame you for murder? That just seems like a seriously #badidea.

2. Aria cheating on a test. Oh Aria. When will you learn? A is almost definitely going to use anything stupid you do against you down the line. #badidea As a sidenote, can we talk about Andrew? That guy suddenly looks like he's 35! For a moment there I thought he was a student teacher or TA or something. I don't remember him looking that old the last time we saw him.

3. Talia is married. Oh Talia. What were you thinking? That is way too big a secret to try and keep from the girl you've been hitting on/kissing. The situation being complicated is all the more reason to tell Emily up front. Why drag her into something messed up when all Emily deserves is to have a nice, normal relationship for once. Is that really too much to ask? Keeping your marriage a secret is a #badidea Also, I don't buy "he's my BFF" as a reason for marrying a guy when you're a lesbian. Can't you just be BFFs?

4. Spencer and Jonny. This guy is clearly up to something, I just don't know what. I think the liars seriously need to stick to the tried and true guys in their lives. You know, the guys the show has already tried to convince us could be A and then proved weren't A, so they've basically been vetted for life. Between Andrew, Johnny and Talia, I think we can conclude that hanging out with someone new is a #badidea in Rosewood.

5. When a motorcycle is about to run you down, get off the road. Running in a straight line so the bike can continue to chase after you? You guessed it. It's a #badidea

6. BONUS Mistake: When Andrew says, "Do either of you drive stick?", Aria had a perfect window to say, "Well, Emily sure doesn't..." but she totally missed the mark. Dammit, Aria!

Pretty Little Mysteries

1. Not a lot of big reveals this week and not a lot of big questions, but I do find myself wondering why Hanna's extremely wealthy dad can't just pay for both girls to go to school. Cause seriously, he can afford it.

2. Where was Hot Caleb this week? Sure, I enjoyed seeing him in the short clip of video at the end, but that's just not enough Hot Caleb. #badidea giving him a week off, PLL.

3. What is Mike up to? As much as I hope he's truly up to no good, I'm starting to think that's not the case. Still, I feel like he's such a throwaway character. I want to see them go somewhere bold with him!

~PLR~

pretty little recap: double feAture

5.17 The Bin of Sin & 5.18 Oh, What Hard Luck Stories They All Hand Me

I'm finally at the point in my mat leave where I'm playing a bit of catch-up on appointments--haircuts, trips to the dentist, and more trips to the dentist after the x-ray revealed the beginning of a cavity and a wisdom tooth that needs to be pulled (at least it's my last one and I'll never have to go through it again!). But the most painful part is that I fell behind on my PLL viewings! But never fear, I'm all caught up and ready to recap the last two episodes in one! In honor of this PLR double digest, I'm changing up the format a bit--but only a bit--with a new section called, Pretty Little Mysteries. Now that it's here, I don't know how I've gone so long without it :)

The liars have perfected their suspicious glares. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. Hooray! Aria has finally come clean about that stupid letter she wrote. And Ezra is... okay with it? No wait, he's broody. Oh Ezra, isn't it a little too late to be regretting your relationship with a highschooler now? She's almost in college. Maybe just leave things be? These two were this close to acting like a mature, adult couple for once, but then Ezra had to bring the drama.

2. The old, abandoned ice cream factory, where the major scare of the week goes down. Oh PLL, stay you. Stay you forever. Seriously, who comes up with these delicious twists?

3. Team Haleb. Seeing these two work together as such a strong duo is definitely a highlight, but I do have one reservation--there's so much A-related drama going on that we never get to see these two be fun-cute. Sure, they're continuing to express their love in terms of how far they'd go to protect each other, but I miss the days of shower hijinks and passionate Haleb makeouts. Can we have a few of those thrown in from time to time too? Or have things gotten so dire on this show that nobody has fun anymore?

4. Talia is (hopefully) not someone to worry about. With all these new mysterious characters showing up in Rosewood all the time, it's nice to see that someone might just be a legit love interest without any strings attached. That said, this is PLL, so things could change at any moment, but I'm definitely warming up to Talia. Maybe not as much as Em seems to be, but she hasn't tried to drown Em yet so I'm already a bigger fan of her than I was of Paige. Sidenote: is it just me, or does it seem like Emily takes more breaks at work (or wanders into the backroom, or messes around after hours) than she spends time actually working? I know we the viewers don't want to just watch her working, but that doesn't mean she isn't taking an exorbitant number of breaks...

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. The flip-side of the Team Haleb coin is the Hanna's plan to begin with. Liars, repeat with me once more, tampering with evidence is never a good idea. And yet, they always try. I'm glad Hot Caleb decided to back Hanna up, because she was clearly going to go through with it either way, and at least he could help her to make fewer mistakes that she might have otherwise (love her, but this is Hanna we're talking about). I'm even happier that Copper Toby was on the scene to shut things down before Haleb could get themselves into trouble.

2. Emily, Emily, Emily. You call that an attempt to rescue you friends from freezing to death? She was behaving as though she somehow knew everything was going to work out. If I was Aria or Spencer I would be pretty pissed at Em's weak attempts to get that door open. Maybe give it a little more elbow grease next time, Em.

3. Okay, we need to talk about the hairy elephant in the room. Hot Caleb's teenstache has reached a point where it's no longer acceptable. It needed to be gone like two episodes ago. I love you to death, HC, but seriously it's time to shave the lip toupee.

4. Quick Pretty Little Mistake shoutout to Aria's leopard print chiffon dress (see above pic). Love the silhouette, hate the material. Aria, you are not welcome to the jungle.

5. Let's take a quick moment to address Spencer's college dilemma and I'll make it real simple: Spence, your mom is right. Go to college. Cause here's the thing: even when you don't know what you're going to do with your life, you don't stand to lose anything by going to college. If you change your mind later and decide to do something else with your life, you can very easily do that, but at least you will also have a college degree in your back pocket. The one thing you can't do down the line is suddenly have a college degree when you didn't go. See? Simple. Everything to gain, and nothing to lose. Just go to college.

6. Hanna may be a rebel, but she was really taking a risk when she got out of her car after the cop stop. If it'd been me, I'd have driven off when the officer appeared to have disappeared, but no, Hanna heads out into the dark with her (lead pipe?) and confronts the threat. Risky behaviour, even if she eventually come off as a bit of a badass.

Pretty Little Mysteries

1. Is Mona really in the barrel? Unless I missed something, we still don't know for sure. But Copper Toby does. Copper Toby, it's your by-the-book new career in law enforcement that first started to endear you to me, but come on, share your secrets!

2. Mona's friend, Lesli. Do you trust her? I definitely don't. There's no way Mona had a good friend that she never, not even once, mentioned to former-BFF Hanna. No way. Plus, could she have been any quicker to throw Mike under the bus?

3. Speaking of Mike (and his trick or treats--???), we once again witness the true magic of PLL--being able to take your viewer from not being sure who to suspect to definitely, absolutely, positively suspecting that Mike is not only up to something, but is definitely, absolutely, positively working with Ali. But that doesn't make him one of A's minions if you, like me, don't think Ali is A. So that's a bit of a snag in this plot, but here's what I love about the possibility that Mike is up to no good: unlike when the finger was pointed at then-Creeper Toby and Ezra, the show could actually go there with Mike. He's a minor enough character that they could make him bad without back-paddling down the road. I, for one, would love to see this happen. But again, him seeing Ali makes me think something else is happening here. I just don't know what.

4. And finally, Johnny. Oh Johnny, what the hell is up with you and your wacky inventions? This guy might as well be named plot device at this point, but here's the real mystery: since when did The Brew turn into a makeshift community centre were random weirdos can just solder away on their latest hobby project? Johnny has access to the Hastings' barn--why doesn't he just do his work there? I simply don't understand. Did Ezra sign off on this? I'm so confused.

~PLR~

pretty little recap: a bArrel of fun

5.16 Over a Barrel

One of the things I love about PLL is how, for an ABC Family show, they aren't afraid to push the boundaries of all things creepy and sometimes downright horrific. It's gonna be a while before I stop envisioning Mona sludge... let's recap!

Haleb can handle the drama. I hope. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. Hot Caleb the Hacker is always amazing, but Hot Caleb the MacGyver is on a whole other level! If loving someone more because they can pick a lock with a soda can is wrong, then I don't want to be right. Is there anything this boy can't do?

2. Team Spencer and Hot Caleb. Again, I don't want to see Hot Caleb linked romantically to anyone but Hanna, but I am definitely loving the fact that we're getting to see him interact with some of the other liars in interesting ways. This particular pairing is all win when it comes to detective work, but seriously, let's keep it to that, cause I don't wanna see the love quadrangle drama/fallout that would result from a Spencer/Hot Caleb hook-up. 

3. Hanna standing up for her man! It's nice to see Hanna have a solid reason for some of the not-so-wise things she does. Who can argue with a girl driven to protect her hottie boyfriend from being framed? Hanna is often portrayed as so flighty (which we love about her) so it's nice to see her acting strong here, both with protecting Hot Caleb and dealing with her Mom (which we'll discuss below...).

4. I hesitate to include this, but okay, Copper Toby and Spencer are actually kinda cute playing Scrabble. Until they start fighting.Which I'd have been loving a year ago. Oh, this show...

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Said it before and will said it again, the liars need to stop committing incriminating acts in writing. Yes, Aria really shouldn't have written that letter, but am I the only one who thinks the whole receipt thing was a little too ridiculous? I mean, this show constantly knocks against the limit of suspending your disbelief, but am I really supposed to believe that A somehow hacked into what appears to be a fairly basic, probably not too customizable, cash resister and programmed it to print out that receipt at the exact moment Aria was there waiting to be devastated by it? Yeah, that's a bit of a stretch. Even for PLL.

2. Okay, let's talk about the adulterous elephant in the room. Pastor Ted is back. Did you guys conveniently forget about him too? Cause I definitely did when Ashley and Jason hooked up last week, but yeah, now we're in a bit of a mess. Ashley, what were you thinking? I realized this week that she and Hanna have a bit of a Lorelai-Rory dynamic going on sometimes--except that Hanna has very little in common with Rory and Ashley isn't nearly as funny as Lorelai. Cause there's nothing funny about cheating on your boyfriend and then keeping him dangling on the line after he proposes, Ashley. Nothing funny about that at all.

3. I like Emily, I really do, but her storylines are sometimes the worst. This new chick at The Brew is beyond weird, which isn't helping Emily's case, but can we please get Emily back into an interesting storyline? We finally got rid of Paige (at least for now), so now is the time for her to get out there and do something exciting! Please, PLL, give her some juicy secret from her past or SOMETHING.

4. Why are the liars continuing to assume Ali is behind everything when she'd clearly be so limited from prison? At the very lease they should be assuming she has a network of people doing her dirty work for her, and in that case, why aren't they doing more to track these people down? Hacking into cash registers? Planting incriminating evidence? If Ali is doing all this from prison, the correctional facility she's in really needs to tighten their restrictions... 

5. Johnny. Yeah, what's up with that dude. I don't know what else to say about him yet--but was he hitting on Spencer? I don't like assuming that any opposite-sex pairing on this show (or same-sex in Emily's case) spells potential love interest, but that's how these shows seem to always go. I see Spencer with Hot Caleb and I think, "hells no!"I see Spencer with Johnny and I think, "what is going on here?" So yeah, what is going on here, Johnny? I don't trust you and your delightful homemade paints!

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Okay, that scene in the storage locker was tense. I could immediately tell the hazmat suit was empty, but Tyler Blackburn's delivery of the line about there being someone in there with them had me convinced there was someone there. Maybe it's just that part of my brain that convinces me someone is chasing me up the basement stairs at night, or is looking back in at me through a darkened window (ahh!), but the whole "there's someone inside the house!" thing totally freaks me out every time. Well played, PLL. 

2. Is Mona in the barrel? I don't know if I believe it.  Or maybe I just don't want to, but I know PLL would go there. "Should we open it?" No. No, you don't open barrels that might have sludge bodies in them. How would anybody be better off if you did that? Thankfully, Spencer and Hot Caleb, private eyes, decided to leave the barrel as is, but reporting it to the police is starting to not look like an option because...

3. The storage locker is in Hanna's name. And based on her reaction, she had nothing to do with it (which, I think we knew). Another plot by A to frame the liars? Or something else entirely? The safeguards on Mona's laptop have me wondering what else Miss Vanderwaal set up prior to her death. I have a feeling we're going to be hearing from Mona from beyond the grave for a while to come...

~PLR~

pretty little recap: i guess they rAn out of stuffing...

5.15 Fresh Meat

This week's episode flew by. Lots of action and lots to talk about! Plus, a major nickname change has finally happened..... 

It was never my intention to like you, Toby... but ah geez... Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights 

1. Copper Toby. That's right, he's officially made the jump from Creeper. What can I say? I dig that Toby has a semi-noble purpose now. Plus, the guy gets points anytime he's in a BFF scene with Hot Caleb. He's tipped the scale...for now. Don't do anything creepy, Toby. I've got my eye on you.

2. "You're a really good liar." Heh. I love little nods like that. But what is up with this new Johnny dude who will be conveniently renting Melissa's old room? I'm immediately suspicious. Besides, didn't The OC teach us to not trust randos named Johnny? 

3. Lots of Hot Caleb time. Even if he is messed up in this murder weapon business (see below), I love it when Hot Caleb gets involved in the main plot instead of just being Hanna's main squeeze (not that I mind him being TV's hottest boyfriend either). Much like his scenes with Aria last week, I totally dug his scenes with Spencer and Copper Toby. Hot Caleb has good chemistry with anyone. I probably shouldn't be surprised.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Okay, let's talk murder weapons. Obviously, there's whats right, and then there's what's best for the liars (and the plot!), but any plan that puts Hot Caleb's life in danger is not good in my books! Hot Caleb is not meant to be a literal! Also, how long can the liars possibly go on messing with evidence before they get into serious trouble?

2. Emilly randomly deciding to be a catering business. What a strange plotline. One minute she's convincing Ezra to let her do it and the next she's in the kitchen surrounded by vegetables. Am I the only one who is picturing the missing scene of her at the grocery store just throwing everything she sees into the cart with no plan as to what she's actually going to cook? And then she acts all hard done by. And then all offended. Are we supposed to be on Emily's side with this? Because I'm not. She's being a total B. And Paige is so not worth it.  

3. Aria's letter to Jackie, the super convenient admissions board member. Aria has been doing pretty decently in my books lately, but this college stuff is making her crazy. I get it, she's freaked, but desperation rarely leads to wise decisions and this one was downright stupid. Why haven't the liars collectively learned that anything they write down can and will be used against them in a court of A? How many times does that have to happen before they get it??

4. Spencer and Copper Toby fighting. I wasn't sure where to put this. Previously, when Copper Toby was still Creeper Toby, it definitely would have been a pretty little highlight, but now that's he's made the transformation to Copper Toby? He's a lot worthier of Spencer's time and affection than he was before. So stop fighting guys, okay?   

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Stuffed animals filled with...meat? Need I say more? What is even happening here? Why does the most effed up stuff always happen to Hanna when she's alone? In related news, all of the liars should definitely be in therapy. 

2. Jason and Ashley WHAT??? Granted, I started to get vibes early on in the episode, but really, who can say they saw this coming? Clearly not Hanna. 

P.S. I'm still 100% convinced that Ali didn't kill Mona and isn't A. I highly doubt anyone out there buys that theory, especially after she received that note in her OrangeistheNewBlack jumpsuit.

~PLR~

pretty little recap: the glass is dArker on the other side

5.14 Through A Glass, Darkly

A Very Vanderwaal Funeral. Photo credit: ABC Family

It really hasn't been that long thanks to that wicked fun Christmas special, but PLL is back for season 5B and I am super stoked about its return! I love the way this show breaks up its seasons. The hiatus never feels too long and whenever a half season starts up, I always get this feeling of, "More new episodes already? HOORAY!" It's also kind of necessary because let's face it, the more tangled the lies get, the more complicated the backstories, the more none of us would be able to remotely remember what's going on if there were really long breaks between half seasons.

Pretty Little Highlights 

1. Mrs. Mona's Mom freaking out on Ali and smacking her good. Yeah, I don't buy into the idea that Ali killed Mona cause that would be too easy, but I do think Ali needed a good smack so win?

2. Creeper Toby as a cop. I never thought the day would come when I could get behind anything Creeper Toby, but I actually kinda dig him as a cop. Maybe it's the uniform and haircut. But probably it's just the fact that the liars finally have someone "on the inside". Regardless, I'm this close to calling him Copper Toby instead of Creeper Toby. But let's not get ahead of ourselves..  

3. Hot Caleb and Aria: The Master and The Hot Mess. I have no good reason to like this pair together (not like, together together, cause team Haleb all the way), but Aria as Hot Caleb's hacker apprentice is actually kind of amusing. It's entirely possible this was a one-off scene, but with Aria asking for Hot Caleb's help regarding college rejections, it sounds like a B-plot to me!

4. The charges against Spencer being dropped. Thank goodness that's over. I'm not a huge fan of storylines I definitely know aren't going to play out for the worst. It feels like a waste of time. Spencer was never going to actually go down for murder. (Ali probably won't either, but there's at least a better chance of something bad happening to her than to Spence.)

5. "They don't allow fireworks in prison." Classic Hanna. Welcome back.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Bringing in Old Lady Ravenswood. Hanna, I know you don't always make the best choices, but come on, that woman isn't even secretly creepy. She's full-on, outwardly going-to-get-you-abducted-by-a-religious-cult creepy. I know you're desperate to find out what really happened to Mona, but how about some good old fashioned liar-style detective work?

2. Emily's plan to leave Ali's hair at the crime scene to save Spencer. Em, your heart is in the right place, but your plan is terrible. And illegal. Kids, just say no to planting evidence. 

3. Aria not even trying to fight back against A and his/her nail gun. If your life is on the line, you don't just say, "please don't do this", you struggle and try your damnedest to escape. You kinda deserve to die, Aria. Plus, did I miss something or was there no follow-up to this scene? 

4. Em and Paige. I'm so bored with this couple. How many times have they sat around being sad together? I'm over it. Can we please move on? Em deserves better.

5. Ali not just darting around the liars' blockade while trying to escape. They're not a brick wall, Ali. Put a little more effort into your getaway next time.

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Is it just me or does Jason look really different now? (And I don't mean different actor different.) Jason's hair is still super pouffy--classic J-pouf--but something (the facial hair?) about his face looked totally off to me. Like, beyond the facial hair. I didn't recognize him at first. Maybe he just looks older? I just don't know. 

2. The video of Mona being attacked. Again, I don't think it's Ali on the tape, even if her alibi isn't real, but it's still brutal to watch cause it's Mona and we love/hated her. 

3. Ali actually being arrested for Mona's murder. This isn't really that much of a ZOMG WTF moment cause I think we all know she'll be out in no time, but I'm a little surprised the show went there during the first episode back. Are we going to get an Orange is the New Black-esque storyline this season? :)

4. Mike having emotions. Could Aria Jr. actually be evolving into a multi-dimensional character with... feelings? Colour me shocked.

Bring on the new season!

~PLR~

pretty little recap: 'tis the seAson...for murder and stuff!

5.13 How the 'A' Stole Christmas

It's been a long wait PLLers (especially since Baby H being born in the summer resulted in no recaps for the first half of season 5!), but the bitches are back, forgoing their usual Halloween episode for something a little merrier and more stabby. Okay, probably not more stabby, but definitely as stabby, plus there were thrills, chills, and Santa boxers (oh my) so let's get to it!

If you want your stars to look like teens, maybe don't dress them as though they're on Dynasty. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights 

1. This episode was so delightfully over the top. It was everything you'd expect from a PLL holiday special and more. The Ghost of Mona Past (or was she Mona Future? Or all of them in one?) was great, especially her crazy, hot mess, glam ghost look. Work it, Ghosty Mona. 

2. I'm not normally one to dig anything Creeper Toby does, but the shout out to Rear Window (or as I associated it, the 'Bart of Darkness' episode of The Simpsons) was very cool. And really, that was just a general PLL decision. Not a Creeper Toby one. He was just doing what he does best. Being a creeper.

3. Umm, I'll just leave this here:

Photo credit: Lindsey Shaw's twitter

4. Hot Caleb and Hanna making with the charity. And Hot Caleb's elf costume. It's official: he's adorable year-round.  

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. I'm again weirded out to say that I can't really bag on Aria too much this week. Aside from not doing anything stupid/ill-advised, she was the only Liar who appeared to be wearing something even remotely youthful to Ali's Ice Ball. Seriously Em, what is up with that dress? It makes you look 35. Don't get me wrong, Shay looks gorgeous in it, but I am not buying her as a teenager in that dress...

2. Oh Hanna. I love you girl, but rule #1 when you break into someone's house as part of a major plot is to always keep your cell handy. How many times do you have to be attacked by crazy hooded people before you learn that lesson?

3. Am I the only one who found it super weird when the Liars and their paramours were snowed in and Ezra was at the head of the table as though he was the dad? Like, it's one thing for him to hang with Aria, but in scenes like that he's basically just some older dude hanging with a bunch of teenagers (most of whom are or have been his students!). Isn't it weird when they're chatting about school gossip and Ezra's all "Mortgages! 401Ks!" Or is that just me?

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Creepy mask staring at Hanna and Spence after Hanna gets knocked out. NOT COOL.

2. Ali's teamsters are willing to go behind her back. Or are they? Was it all part of a bigger plan? I'M ALWAYS SUSPICIOUS OF YOU ALI'S TEAMSTERS!

3. More creepy masks as Ali's minions provide a diversion. Stop with the masks and dolls already, people! But no, don't. Because we love how creepy it is. 

4. Ali definitely knew Bellamy = THEY ARE DEFINITELY TWIN SISTERS SEPARATED AT BIRTH. 

5. A decorates a mean Christmas tree. What? I found it kind of shocking. That would have taken some serious time. How did he/she manage? 

I'm certain there were more things worth mentioning, but my viewing up the episode was a bit chopped up due to teething Baby H, and now he's crying to get up from his nap, so I'll leave it at, bring on season 5b!

~PLR~

pretty little recap: the night she (almost) died

4.23-4.24 Unbridled, A is for Answers

And we're back. After a botched recording of last week's episode, I'm back this week to recap the last two episodes of season 4b! A lot went down in these two so we'd better dive in lest we find ourselves buried alive! (How's that for topical PLL humour?)

Freaking out is what they do best. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. Jason is back! Too bad I don't remember much about Jason's storyline after so long, but I've always preferred bringing back old characters to introducing news ones. So I'll call this a highlight.

2. Travis is no substitute for Hot Caleb, but I do really like the guy and hope he can somehow stay on the show even after Hot Caleb returns next season (!). He is good boyfriend material for someone, just not Hanna. Or Emily. Let's not go there, PLL.

3. Emily and Hanna searching the bedroom in their wedding gowns. I think they could have done more with this, but it was pretty funny seeing them flail around in those giant skirts.

4. Paige and Emily are officially on the outs and yeah, for me, this is a highlight. Now that Ali is back, I'm curious as to where the relationship between her and Em might go, but I think I'd prefer to see Em with someone more worthy of her time. You know, someone who isn't emotionally abusive or tried to drown her.

5. Hanna and her cookies. Love her. 

6. Shifting into finale territory, really, Ali's entire story was a highlight for me so I'm not going to break it down. I loved seeing all the old faces and as someone who needs things to be neat and orderly, I liked seeing the flashbacks to that fateful night all laid out in chronological order. Of course, that's assuming you believe Ali. I think in this case, I do. But I do still have a lot of questions about that night...

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Aria. Tartan dress. Yeah. I think that covers that.

2. The contrived charity fashion show storyline. I feel like this is just another one of those tropes that teen dramas use to get the main characters all together in one place in gorgeous clothing and then, drama ensues. Sure, there are a lot of similar tropes that I'm okay with (I've spoken before of my love of the theme dance), but the charity fashion show always feels extra contrived.

3. Spencer going into the woods when a) she's wearing a wedding dress and b) she was scheduled to walk the runway momentarily and c) why do these girls keep thinking it's a good idea to wander into the woods like that?? That said, I totally called the fact that it would be some part of her bridal outfit that got caught in the bear trap on account of her not screaming bloody murder when it happened.

4. The Spencer drug storyline needs to end. Now. Can we please move into Season 5a without its extra baggage? Thanks.

5. Oh Ali. You're not the smartest of the liars, but really, with everything you did the night you died, now that we get to see it all play out, it's no surprise you got a whack to the head. Why does nobody on this show ever just ask for help with anything? I get being scared, but come on, you're making it so much worse.

6. Do I even have to point out the fact that Mrs. D burying her own daughter is possibly the biggest mistake anyone in Rosewood has ever made? But I still don't understand if she did it on purpose or by accident or what. But there were an awful lot of hints that she was protecting someone else... another child perhaps?

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. The finger bones in Spencer's corset belt thing. Holy crap! How did she not see those when she put it on? Like, what really happened out in the woods? Cause Spencer looks way more banged up that I would have thought...

2. So we now know that Mrs. D is the one who put Ali in that grave (or... was it even Ali?). We know she was concerned about something earlier in the evening too, when she was on the phone. Perhaps another child escaping from Radley? Maybe. We know a lot of blonde girls who look similar were involved. We know a lot of these people are known liars. So where does that leave things? Still pretty up in the air, but I do feel like we're getting closer.

3. The biggest ZOMG WTF moment of the night was, of course, Ezra getting shot. But what was he doing there in the first place? And is he going to live? (I'm thinking yes.) Whoever did the shooting is clearly athletic and dangerous. The body type looked like a man, but it's hard to say for sure. Hanna sure did look like a BAMF with that gun though! My pulse was definitely racing throughout the confrontation.

4. And for our final scene we have someone (the same someone who shot Ezra?) dragging a knocked out (dead?) Mrs. D into an open grave before shoveling dirt on top of her. Ruh oh. Things aren't looking good for Mrs. D. Maybe she, like everyone else in this town, should have spilled her secrets while she still could...


And that's it for Season 4b! That seriously flew by. I'm not sure when Season 5a is set to debut, but it'll probably be close to when I go on mat leave, which means potentially more timely recaps...or at least more timely viewings. The reaction post is another story, but I think it'll be doable. Hooray!

~PLR~

pretty little recap: nowhere to hide

4.22 Cover For Me

Things are still tickling along at a slower pace this week, but I have a feeling it's building to something big. That's how PLL tends to do it and I have faith they'll continue to raise the stakes. But with PLL, even a relatively slower episode is full of quality entertainment...

Such a sweet, intimate moment for a one night stand... Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. Aria continues to impress. She's more laid back than we've seen her in ages and her clothes, while still not exactly "mainstream" aren't half as bizarre as they usually are (at least until she returns to Rosewood, then ick). Free spirit, recovery-mode Aria seriously isn't half bad. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this season has me liking her. Mostly. And her hot fling was kind of adorable in a hope-they-used-protection kind of way.

2. The Hanna and Emily dynamic duo. With Spencer and Aria both off in their own states of rehab, it's up to Emily and Hanna to take care of business. Love Hanna's sassiness as always, but Emily was spot on in this episode too, confronting Ezra and digging into the whole Crazy Mona stitch. 

3. Ali's mom is surprisingly crazy. Yes, we have officially been thrown on the mom-as-A train, which always colours perception of anyone on this show, but more often than not, it's a mislead. Mrs. D's comment about fresh sheets was just weird. And the whole situation that happened while Hanna was on her date was super sketchy. I don't think Mrs. D is the killer (cause Ali = alive or not, somebody died...), or even A, but she is up to something (more on this below).

4. Do the liars' SOS texts remind anyone else of the RALLY messages they used to send on Ghostwriter? Bit of an aside, but hee :)   (And seriously, Spencer's mom, you don't know what SOS means? Remind me to never hire her lawyering skills.)

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. The Spencer drug storyline is getting old. Seriously, she's too smart for this. I know it's not unheard of for overachieving high school students to go down a bad path, but we've seen many times before that Spencer puts her brain ahead of her emotions. Any drug storyline with her is unlikely to have ever been this explosive. And really, I don't know what she's so worked up about.  A mandatory vacation with extra time to sleep? Piles of dirt in the bed side, it sounds pretty good to me. 

2. Hanna's many boys. It's not that these boys aren't adorable and charming (and sure, mysterious, but who isn't in Rosewood?), but for reals, Hot Caleb needs to come back stat. Ravenswood is cancelled, so what's he still doing there anyway? (as an aside, I do hope we get a mini wrap-up of how Ravenswood would have ended if we'd been able to see it with our own eyeballs.) Also, I feel bad for Travis. Can we maybe hook him up with Aria instead?

3. Flying to NY to return an advance? It's probably because I work in publishing and no better, but the way the industry is portrayed on TV is always frustratingly inaccurate. Haven't these people heard of mailing cheques? Online banking? Did Ezra show up at the publisher's HQ with a sack with a dollar sign on it filled with singles?

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Aria told Ezra to leave town. And she meant it. I never thought I'd see the day. Of course, now that Ezra is all mysterious and interesting, I don't want him to leave town! I have a feeling/hope that this isn't over.

2. Mrs. D in Spencer's room! What the hell??? At first I thought Spencer was hallucinating again, except that she didn't see her, only the viewer did, so seriously, what is up with that woman? Creepy. 

3. What's with the wedding dress? I didn't see the preview for next week's (I guess this week's) episode so no spoilers please, but I can't think of anyone who is poised to get married.... Hmmmmm....

~PLR~

pretty little recap: she wasn't really all there to begin with

4.21 She's Come Undone

And we're back! Back to regular PLRecapin goodness! Things in Rosewood are falling apart so let's get to it!

Things are getting messy. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. I am officially feeling sorry for Aria. She looks like crap (and I don't even mean her clothes.. though, a sweater with skulls all over it? Come on Aria. At least try...) and everything Ezra has done is really messing with her mind. This is definitely the most interesting Aria has been in, well, ever. Plus, the liars are rallying around her and that's always warm and fuzzy :)

2. Spencer also looks like crap! But it's for a good reason. The drug abuse storyline has finally run its course (I hope) and she is officially on the mend. Kinda. She's still in pretty rough shape but she seems to  have realized that all her crazy Spencer antics are going to start affecting her chances of getting into a good college. I don't know why she didn't think of that before. Did she not see the I'm so excited episode of Saved by the Bell?  Oh. Wait. No... never mind. She's taking the pills again. Seriously? Okay, consider this a Pretty Little Mistake.

3. Hanna being all sweet and helping the intern from Bones, even though he's not Hot Caleb. This isn't really about them being cute together as much as it's about Hanna being her usual awesome self. Okay, I admit, the intern from Bones is cute, but now that Ravenswood is kaput, I want Hot Caleb back in Rosewood stat and there can't be any interns from anywhere getting between him and Hanna!

4. I don't know what is happening this half season, but I'm not only feeling sorry for Aria, I'm really starting to feel sorry for Creeper Toby too. And this right after the whole Toby is A thing! How do the writers of this show do it? I am seriously impressed. And confused. But mostly impressed.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Aria's freak-out at Ezra's. Okay, I get it. You're mad, and feel betrayed. But dude, don't break all the glass in the room. You're just going to hurt yourself, dummy.

2. Emily's envelope of money. I have to admit, I'm not really following what's going on with that thing, but every time it shows up, I feel certain something bad is going to come of it. Right? It has to!

3. Emily and Paige. What is going on there? Their relationship is so hard to understand sometimes. They definitely seem to fight and not trust each other more often than they act like a healthy, loving couple. And didn't they have a whole conversation last half season about how they could never last long term? Why not just end it already?

4. Hanna kissing all up on anything with boy parts. Come on, Hanna, you're a great girl. Your self esteem and self respect should stem from that. Don't let Hot Caleb's absence make you desperate for boys' approval.

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Spencer's drug spiral is getting violent! I am concerned for our poor girl. It's no secret that this drug storyline is not my favourite, but things are getting wildly out of control. Between this and the Radley storyline, is it possible that Spencer really is unhinged at her core?

2. Paige is getting the police involved! I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, in reality, it would probably be a good thing, but this is PLL so almost definitely a bad thing, right? I guess time will tell.

3. No major ZOMG WTF moments in this episode. The ending was kind of quiet. Sure, Aria says she's leaving town for a while, but is anybody really surprised or worried about that? I know I'm not. This felt like a bit of a filler episode, but hey, even a filler episode of PLL is better than nothing :)

~PLR~

pretty little recovery: catching up on season 4b

4.14 - 4.20

Hello fellow PLLers! It's been a while, but there have been many episodes of PLL that I'm all caught up on and it's time to do a catch-up recap! I recently shared my thoughts on the PLL spinoff here, and well, let's kick things off by addressing the dead black bird-shaped elephant in the room. Ravenswood has officially been cancelled. Obviously I feel a bit bad that Tyler Blackburn's show didn't make it to a season two... And I'm never a fan of when a show ends with a bunch of dangling cliffhangers and unresolved plots... But overall, am I sad about this news? Hells no. I want Hot Caleb back in Rosewood stat! The possibility of that not happening (there is no confirmation yet that he's returning, at least that I've seen, but come on! They'd be stupid to not bring him back!) is something I don't even want to think about. But enough about that, we're here to talk PLL!

These girls know how to do edge-of-your-seat TV. And look totally fab while doing it. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. Everything Hanna says/does. It's not secret that I love the girl, but losing Hot Caleb to Ravenswood has done nothing to slow this girl down when it comes to one-liners and being the hottest little liar in town.

2. Last week's black and white noir homage episode. I didn't think they could pull it off, but they totally did. I'm generally not a fan of dream/drug-induced haze episodes, but it was entertaining enough that I let that aspect of it slide. The hair! The clothes! Even Creeper Toby played his role well.

3. Minimal Creeper Toby. Or maybe I've just been ignoring him (aside from the above mention). The only downside is that the times we do see him, he's still drawing out the Creeper Toby's mom storyline (see below). I will give him the exception of this week's episode though. I actually felt kinda bad for him.

4. I feel weird typing this but... Aria! Yes, I'm as shocked as you are. Maybe it's the fact that she's been the unknowing prey (until recently) to Ezra's hunter, but I've actually been enjoying Aria's storyline this half-season. Yes, she still dresses like a crazy person who tripped and fell into a dumpster full of designer rejects, but I've barely been annoyed by her at all during these six episodes. And the ski lift scene between her and Ezra in this week's episode was chilling, revealing, and so good! This is why I love PLL!

5. Ezra's cabin/lair. It's isolated and spooky and has made for some seriously tense scenes during these episodes. I can't help but think the whole thing is going to go up in flames before the season is out.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Spencer's drug problem. I was so, so over this story before it even began. I think they're trying to recapture the magic of Spencer's descent into madness last season, but it's not working. It just feels a little PSA-y to me. 

2. Emily's mistrust of everything and everyone. I get that our little liars have a lot on their plates on the reg, but Emily is handling it almost as poorly as Spencer is with the drugs. Only Emily is a lot more annoying about it. It's like she's campaigning to be the next town Aria or something.

3. Mona and Ezra. Just ick to even the thought.

4. Why are we still talking about what happened to Toby's mom? Nobody cares! Oh, you care? Okay fine. One person cares. It's still not something I'm interested in unless his dead mom is somehow A.

5. Not nearly enough Hot Caleb! Yes, this is a bit of a no-brainer and I already covered it quite a bit in my aforementioned post about Ravenswood, but it's worth mentioning again, because his absence makes me sad, even if the show is still quite strong without him. 

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Ali is all over the place! It feels soooo weird! We go from seeing brief flashes of someone who may or may not be Ali and then suddenly there she is, having conversations with the liars like no time has passed. It feels unreal every time it happens. That said, I'm not convinced that's actually Ali.

2. Ezra is Board Shorts and has weird taste in pie/beer. Yes, we know Ezra is maybe/possibly A, but we didn't know he was Board Shorts--and now Aria knows it too! That was a big reveal and I feel it came together nicely. And made him so much creepier because seriously Ezra, have you ever dated a girl your own age? Gross.

3. Emily in the schoolhouse of horrors. Now THAT was seriously creepy. And poor Emily's dad! I was so happy when he came to her rescue, but then so certain that something bad would happen to him. And sure enough...

4. Hanna's emergency dental procedure. Again with dialing the creepy factor up another notch! Teeth stuff is bothersome enough as it is, but the thought of her lying unconscious while A worked away on her teeth is terrifying. Poor Han. Hot Caleb would not have stood for that if he'd been around!

5. Aria's brother's hookups. I don't even know what to say about this one. The Hanna bit was actually kind of endearing, but then the Mona stuff. Again, ick. Mona is a pretty girl, but she's too creepy to be with anyone in that way.

I know the above really only scratched the surface of what happened in these past episodes, but now that I'm all caught up, I hope to have some more in-depth recaps in the coming weeks!

How have you been enjoying this season so far?

~PLR~

pretty little recap: sleight of hAnd

4.12  Now You See Me, Now You Don't

LONG OVERDUE 4A finale recap! I had the best intentions to write this up BEFORE I went on vacation, but I seemed to have forgotten to factor in all that other stuff I needed to do before going on vacation. So oops. The good news is that though I've had too busy a summer to blog regularly, I have been keeping my blog idea file well stocked so I have lots of goodies to come as we head into what I hope is a slightly quieter fall.... A girl can hope, right? :) But that's for later. For now, let's discuss the season 4A finale of PLL!!!

Okay, you know you're in trouble when the town hobo is better dressed than you and your friends combined. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. I actually kinda awwwed at the sweet couple snuggles in this episode. Awww, you guys! Too cute. Even with Creeper Toby involved--that's quite an accomplishment!

2. Speaking of Creeper Toby, Team Caloby lives! I don't know how I'm going to survive this show moving forward without Haleb or Caloby. I need these pairings in my life!

3. Hanna trying to do magic is priceless. In fact, all of the magic in this episode was entertaining. A's magic trick was creepy and I'm only a little ashamed to admit I didn't see the bait and switch coming.

4. Aria fighting Cece also made my life a little bit. And then the red coat being Cece's downfall? Love it. Though the fall did feel a little too Ian all over again.

5. Hooray for A (or an A-teamer at least) having a layer in Ravenswood! This raises my hope for crossover episodes! I refuse to accept that Hot Caleb is going to be gone from PLL proper.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Okay, girls? It's time to stop opening packages from A. I mean, really. It's clear that A craves the attention she/he/it gets from you opening her creepy obsessive little gifts. So why do you keep giving her the satisfaction? Okay, yeah, a lot of the time said gifts give you a decent heads up that nefarious tidings might be headed your way, but maybe, just once, try not opening one of her packages and see what happens. That's all I'm saying.

2. This is really picky and more an issue with high school dramas in general, but what's up with Teachers on TV introducing a topic only for the bell to ring a minute or two later? I know we the audience don't want/need to sit through an entire lecture, but can't they at least try and make it seem like we're catching the tail end of something instead of starting some new (coincidentally relevant to the storyline) discussion that instantly gets cut short? And then the teacher reminds the kids that their term papers are due or hands out essays or something and then asks one particular student to stay behind so that they can't talk about something slightly more personal? How many times do we have to see this same scene play out on our TVs?

3. Why are the liars leaving their creepy doll coffin just lying around? What if Ashely sees it? Or are the girls just assuming that after prison life, Ashley no longer questions stuff like that. Inquiring minds would like to know, liars. You're really not that good at keeping secrets.

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. A is a guy. And probably not Creeper Toby again. Maybe. Err, okay, at least one of the A team is a guy. This we kinda know. Is this really a WTF moment? Maybe.... Whoever this man-A is has been tracking Aly. Maybe.

2. A has a payroll. This explains so much. I feel like I can finally stop asking questions about the practicality of As many arbitrary stunts. That said, I can still question the time/money investment...

3. Ali is alive! And possibly a zombie. Or maybe not. The Halloween hand rising from the grave is real though! Or maybe not. Hmmm. Most of these ZOMG WTF moments are non-starters......

4. OR MAYBE NOT BECAUSE CREEPER TOBY IS A! I mean Ezra. Ezra is A. Okay. Alright. This feels like the Creeper Toby reveal, but it also feels different enough that I'll allow it. (Also, can we please go back to Creeper Toby being evil? That was so much more fun than Creeper Toby being mopey, though admittedly I wouldn't want to give up Caloby...) I guess we'll see where this whole EzrA thing goes. That's right, old Fitz has earned himself a capitol A. I'm intrigued and ready for more answers. And yet we must wait... Damn you PLL!

Until the Halloween Special!

~PLR~

pretty little recap: where my hoe down at?

4.11 Bring the Hoe Down

This post is a few days overdue. I spent last week working on revisions and synopses and blurbs (and real work) and then was all ready to get this up before the 4A finale aired last night, but then I got sick. Which really sucks when it's humid outside and you're trying to fly through a million things before going on vacation next week. But enough about that. I'm getting this recap up now so that I can continue to recover from illness and watch and recap last night's finale!
For the record, this might be my favourite episode title of PLL ever. Cause I'm mature like that.

Creeper Toby = Creeper Cowboy. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. I think the biggest highlight of the episode is pretty obvious.... Hot Caleb dressing and speaking like a cowboy! Is this what Ravenswood has in store for us? Cause I'm starting to come around... except no! I want my Haleb. I'm not ready for change! And Hot Caleb just continues to be the most awesome boyfriend in the history of ever.

2. Is it just me or is Jake getting cuter? Or maybe he's just looking more put together next to Ezra, who is looking kinda rough, but in a still mostly hot kinda way.

3. I'm not a country music fan, but I love themed dance episodes so I can get behind it. Plus, the outfits are cute and again, Hot Caleb as a cowboy. You really can't go wrong.

4. Team Caloby for the win! Man, I am loving the Hot Caleb/Creeper Toby scenes we've been getting lately and this one was great too. Now Ravenswood is poised to ruin a romance and a bromance. Can't he just do double duty? Or get Ravenswood going and then return to PLL? PLEASE????

5. Though Hanna's, "Are you pregnant?" was a close second, the quote of the episode goes to Aria with "I told you she has the best flashlight." (about Spencer). Love it.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Detective Bitchface is really starting to get under my skin. And really, are detectives even allowed to just show up at a school and harass the students like that? Seems sketchy. She's probably A.

2. Okay, Mr Stare-y McStarerson needs to back off. Hanna is Hot Caleb's dude so stop it with your stalkeresque glares and secret information! Even if you are one of the interns from Bones. That charm isn't going to fly here, buddy so move it along!

3. Aria's wardrobe, which has been decent lately, was bound to make a comeback appearance in the PLM section. Tiger shirt + claw-like necklace = do not want.

4. Oh Creeper Toby. You're such a wreck. I'm starting to think nothing can be done to help you. I miss legit Creeper Toby. Weepy Toby is just... so weepy.

5. While I like the theme dance in general, the music at this hoe down is neither hoey nor downy. It's so somber. Aren't hoe downs supposed to be fun? Okay, yes, there was that terrible dance sequence, but can we please just pretend that never happened?

6. Pretty Little Almost-Mistake: Emily going after the suspect in the back of the truck with the intent to.. what? Murder her? Was Emily really going to beat Red Coat to death? That's suspicious Emily. And the last thing anyone in Rosewood needs to be is more suspicious.

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Not sure of this is worth of a full ZOMG WTF or not cause I feel like we mostly already knew this, but are we officially allowed to say that Cece is Red Coat now? Can we just call her Red Cece?

2. Grand prize ZOMG moment goes to the stabbing through the floor holes. Holy crap did I jump. Not really a revealing moment, but definitely tense.


Finale time... Though it aired last night, I've remained unspoiled. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some big reveals + no death for Hot Caleb (as is being speculated elsewhere on the web) + some resolution to Creeper Toby's dead mother storyline so that we can move on already!

~PLR~

pretty little recap: someone is always watching

4.10 The Mirror has Three Faces

Whew! What a doozy of an episode! Lots of clues in this one, and a lot to fret about too... Let's dive in!

Go home, Spencer. Let Haleb make out in peace. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. For me, the big highlight of this episode was getting to see Hanna and Hot Caleb actually acting like a couple (well, for the most part). I feel like it's been ages since we've seen that, despite their plan hatching and Hot Caleb's bamf protection of her. Sure, it took a bit of arguing to get there, but we got some street makeouts and that's not a bad thing. That said, I'm getting worried... I've been in denial over Ravenswood and all that spin-off implies for Haleb. I don't know how everything is going to go down, but dammit, I need there to be an open window for these two to be together again one day! I feel like this is Angel leaving Buffy all over again :(

2. Crazy Mona. I don't even think I need to elaborate on this. She's rocking the crazy and I'm totally digging it. I can't get a read on her motivation--could she actually be "doing the right thing"? Time will tell.

3.  Big Cece reveals! At least now we know she has a good reason to hate the liars (even if it's her misunderstanding the situation). If Mrs. D's story about Aly and Cece is true, then it sounds like the girls really did have a toxic relationship, one that leaked all over Rosewood...

4. Jake and Aria. I'm still digging this pairing. Not only has Aria's wardrobe been mysteriously decent since she started seeing Jake, but Jake himself is really likable. But here's the catch--good guy Ezra is clearly being left out in the cold. I definitely needed a break from Ezria, but I do still like Ezra so now I feel kinda torn. I'm cool with her going back to Ezra eventually, but maybe Jake could somehow be the one doing the dumping? Like, maybe have an ex show up with a child he never knew he didn't actually father? Oh, right...

5. Best quote of the episode goes to our dear Hot Caleb:

"It's a box at the post office, Hanna. She's not going to pop out like a girl in a birthday cake and yell 'boo'."

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Not a lot to complain about in this episode. But I am still less than impressed with the amount of time being spent on Creeper Toby's dead mother. This storyline had better pay off big time... I did like the scene with Spencer on the piano though. Spencer redeems the storyline marginally...

2. Ezra's non-babymomma needs to go. But what will Ezra do about the relationship he's already developed with his non-son. I don't know if this storyline can possibly have a satisfying conclusion. 

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. A few big moments in this episode, but none made me ZOMG WTF?! like red coat appearing behind Hanna in Aly's room. I SO SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING! Mirrors and windows and cars and forests and closets and attics and basements (and this list goes on) never amount to anything good in this show!

2. Mrs. D and Emily have discovered the hidey-hole! Was anyone else on the edge of their seat waiting for someone to suddenly roll over in that sleeping bag, wearing one of the creepy Aly masks? In retrospect, that wouldn't have made any sense cause where would they escape to, but I was still waiting for it to happen. Or for Em to find some piece of evidence in the trespasser's slovenly pile. Oh well. There's always next week!

3. This isn't relates to this episode directly, but seeing Mrs. D made me think of Jason and his pouffy hair and why haven't we seen him in FOREVER? Also, did they ever explain why he suddenly disappeared from his hospital bed that one time and then was just casually mentioned off-screen as though disappearing from hospital beds is totally a normal thing to do? Weirdness.

~PLR~

pretty little recovery

4.06-09

I'm finally all caught up on PLL! And seriously, you guys, my head is spinning right now. I was going to break this recap down by episode, but then I accidentally marathoned all of the episodes I missed and they're like one big twisting PLL web in my brain right now. It's probably not healthy, but I'm okay with it. So let's do a jumblefest recap so that we're all up to speed for next week's episode, okay? OKAY!

Oh Hanna. Maybe you should stop talking for a while, mmmkay? Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. Team Hot Caleb/Creeper Toby left me feeling torn initially, but I think I ended up squarely on Team Caloby. While Creeper Toby is never aces in my book, Hot Caleb more than makes up for his creeperness and honestly, these two were just entertaining to watch. Okay, fine, we can call them Team Boyfriend.

2. I'm actually enjoying Fitz these days. I never really had a problem with him, but obviously his storyline with Aria needed a shake-up. I'm digging the tension. He's actually kinda interesting at the moment.

3. Jake is still all good in my books. I know he's received some criticism, but I'm cool with him. He somehow makes Aria less annoying, which is quite the feat.

4. I think my standout giggle moment from these episodes was definitely Hanna wanting Emily to cop a feel on her behalf (when Em is hanging out with Caleb in 4x06). Hee.

5. Hooray for Team Moms! (That's Team Moms, not Teen Moms) Mama Spencer is working her magic on Ashley's behalf and Emily's Mom is even getting way deep in the PLL action. I bet Mrs. Aria is wishing she didn't disappear to.. where did she go again?

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. So many missteps in these episodes so I'll try to keep this brief. Emily and Hanna BOTH need to start running every plan they come up with by Spencer first. These girls should not be allowed to scheme on their own! They do really dumb things and need to stop. Burying guns, confessing to murder, stealing keys, other evidence, etc etc is not smart, girls. Yes, Spencer is guilty of sneaky plotting on occasion too, but she's (mostly) smart about it.

2. Aria's little bro seriously needs to take a lesson from Steven R. McQueen on how to be an awesome younger brother on a hit teen show.

3. Hanna and Hot Caleb fighting. I can't even talk about it.

4. Oh Paige. Just stop trying to make everything you're trying to make happen happen. And yes, that makes sense. Just say it slowly.

5. Am I the only one who thinks Red Coat should probably stop wearing that Red Coat? It would be so easy to go into hiding at this point...

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Obviously some of the cliffhangers experienced in these episodes are less dramatic than they would have been when they aired a week apart, but the car through Emily's house is deffo worth a ZOMG WTF?! The A teamers seem to commit a lot of crimes involving cars. Can't any of them be traced back to anything that might help? Seems odd.

2. Aly is alive? Again. Maybe. Probably not. But the question is still being asked.

3. Can we finally say that Red Coat is CeCe? Cause.....

4. Our anonymous A teamers' flare for the dramatic knows no bounds. And who knew A could play such delicate piano with those gloves on? That's talent! Maybe if somebody had encouraged A's art, he/she wouldn't feel the need to murder people? Just a thought.

I know that's just scratching the surface of these episodes, but I wanted to clean my PLL slate so that I'm all ready for next week's episode! I can't believe this season is flying by so quickly!

~PLR~

breaking july

This is another "where have I been?" post. The good news is, I've been in my revision cave and almost have a fully revised manuscript ready to send out into the world! And that's always a good thing, right? Oh, and I've also been busy with lots of work-related reading. They don't call it conference season for nothing. Pitches are fun and exciting and they result in piles of submissions to keep you cozy on an already hot summer night.

The bad news is, there's been no Pretty Little Recap because I've been unable to access new episodes! I knew cancelling our cable service would remove our ability to watch our favourite shows "on demand" as opposed to "with a little effort", but it turns out that sometimes (like when you're really busy with other things), that little bit of effort makes all the difference. That and I've been marathoning Breaking Bad to catch up before its final season premieres in less than two weeks. You know you can't blame me for that :) Anyway, all of that is to say that I plan to catch up on PLL imminently and when I do, there will be a catch-up PLR and I will make every effort (since I'm a few episodes away from being caught up on BB) to actually be on a normal PLR schedule again. Plus, yes, the neglected Friday5 will make its glorious return sometime soon. I have to confess, for a while there, the news was pretty heavy, with the passing of fellow Canadian Cory Monteith, plus Comicon, plus lots of Catching Fire and Divergent news, and I actually felt too intimated by it all to try and capture it in such a limited format. But there are book recs to catch up on and fun stuff to discuss so it shall return!

That's the latest with me. How've you been?