Is Mona A.D. or is she just obsessed? I need answers. I need closure. Also, I never thought I’d say this, but I need Ali back.
Eureka! Ali is back in town and reunited with her baby’s other mama. As the two make their way upstairs to celebrate their reunion, they discover the game board on their bed with the inclusion of Aria’s puzzle piece. Just as they begin to wrap their heads around what they’re seeing, the police show up to search each Liar’s house. Just as the cops make their way up to the bedroom, Ali and Emily’s fears about the game board are weathered by its disappearance. A.D. is always watching, ladies. At this point I’m only just mad at the cops for interrupting Emison’s first on screen sex scene. Thanks a lot to Rosewood’s finest.
Spencer storms into the police department asking for Detective Furey, but instead she finds Tanner, who claims she knows all about her relationship with Furey. Deny, deny, deny is the name of the game for Spence.
Meanwhile, Aria is frantically shredding the dreaded police report as the cops show up to Ezra’s and take her phone. Of course A.D. has a solution for that and hides a phone so that the two can still collaborate. Just as Aria hangs up, we jump to Mona pulling of her headset. It’s too easy, right? Mona can’t be A.D.
Hanna shows up at the Radley and admits to her mother that she is somehow involved with Dunhill’s murder. Although she acknowledges the need for help, Hanna refuses it, instead insisting that she can take care of herself. Because Mrs. Mirren is wearing the heavy crown of the Wine Moms all by herself these days, she gives the Liars a suite at the Radley to stay in until they can all go home.
While the Liars minus Aria collaborate on the next step and Spencer hands out burner phones, Hanna makes her way over to the room service as discovers the phone that’s part of the came chilling on top of a pile of lettuce. A.D. tells the Liars if one of them admits to the murder of Dunhill, the rest of them can go free.
Always with impeccable timing, Mona storms in and tells the Liars to ask Aria about what’s happening, because she seems to be batting for A.D. Is Mona setting Aria up or has she just been spying to try and help Hanna? Mona reveals some of the details of Aria’s suspicious presence at the places A.D. has tortured the Liars, including hanging around Spencer’s house the night the recording of Mary Drake played.
In the lobby of the Radley, a rugged, lumberjack inspired Toby shows up to tell Spencer he’s been calling in for questioning. He entices Spencer to join her at his cabin, and tells her Tanner seems to be building a solid case against someone. When he asks Spence if she was involved in Dunhill’s murder, she doesn’t answer. Deny, deny, deny.
Out in the woods in full A.D. uniform, Aria is confronted by the rest of the Liars. It’s clear A.D. meant to have her get caught, because she received a text about her outfit seconds before she’s busted. When Aria explains why she’s been helping A.D., Ali’s the one who nails the distorted logic behind Aria’s decision making. After all these years, it’s like a slap in the face to choose Ezra over her friends. What happened to chicks before dicks?
It turns out the shards of glass were found in Mrs. Hasting’s shower and belong to Lucas’s car windshield and also underneath Dunhill’s fingernails. Tanner claims she’s giving the Liars a chance to tell her what’s going on so she can help on their terms. After leaving the police station, the Liars learn they have 24 hours left to throw one of them under the bus before they all go down.
Because Caleb is always Mama Mirren’s source for info, she approaches him about Hanna’s involvement with Dunhill’s death. So of course he tells her, and Hanna is surprisingly not as angry as I would be. Caleb overstepped big time. Now that Mama Mirren knows, where the hell is she? This revelation would be sort of important for a mother, no?
Even though Spencer was the first to verbally slay Aria over her involvement in her parents’ divorce, she’s also the first to show up to apologize. A.D. pulls through with an alibi for Aria, which spoils the reunion between the two besties. A.D. dropped off proof that Aria was in New Hampshire on the night of the murder, which understandably infuriates Spencer. After the cops unload her belongings back in the house, Aria tells Ezra they need to talk. Maybe she should have done that months ago? Why oh why do the Liars never learn this lesson? I guess the show would be called something different if they every told the truth.
It turns out Ezra did know about the police report after all, and suddenly Aria decides she owes Ezra an apology for everything even though he’s spend the last year screwing her over. Mama Mirren and Caleb surprise Hanna with a shotgun wedding to ensure the couple can’t be forced to testify against one another.
All of the Liars are making last ditch efforts to solidify their loves before their 24 hours of freedom are up, so now it’s Emily and Ali’s turn. Now a full-on romantic, Ali has set up a cozy, candlelit spot in the woods for them to have a few quiet hours together. Spencer decides to take Toby up on his offer to come seek solace in the cabin. With nothing left to lose, Spence makes her move on the newly widowed mountain man.
Cue the musical montage of every Liar making the most of their potential last night outside of a prison cell. Can’t we just keep the cameras on Emily and Ali? Say what you want about the pairing of these two (I know I sure have), but their scene together is downright sexy. Full of candles, skin, and smooches, I’ll shop Emison all day long if we get more sequences like this one. Thank you Pretty Little Liars.
The clock has run down, and Aria is the only one who’s missing. Just as the phone asks the Liars to choose who will take the fall, Spence smashes it with a rock. But it was just enough time for Caleb to track A.D.’s location through the cell phone towers. As all this is happening, Aria decides to tell A.D. she’s turning herself in, but she’s too late. A.D. grants her unlimited freedom for her help and lights the phone on fire. I’d like to learn that trick.
Frantically, Aria grabs her cell phone from the evidence box the police delivered and heads out the door, leaving the flaming phone on the hardwood floors. Anyone think Ezra’s house might burn down? Aria doesn’t seem to care though, because now she’s on her way to turn herself in. As she’s on her way, Aria’s car sputters to a stop and she discovers Dunhill’s dead body in her trunk just as the cops approach. Aria slams the turn closed, but I’m unsure why. If she’s trying to turn herself in, wouldn’t she want the cops to see the body? Cold feet much Aria?
Caleb and Ezra are following the cell signal, it leads to a location that appears to be coming from right by Mona’s house. Inside, it’s impossible to tell whether Mona is studying the game or marveling at her own creation. I’m betting on the latter, because Pretty Little Liars wouldn’t make it that easy.
Do you think Mona is A.D.? Will Aria go to prison for Dunhill’s murder? Was the Emison hookup everything you hoped it would be? Let me know in the comments!
