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“Pretty Little Liars” recap (6.2): Picking Up the Pieces

Despite their triumphant escape from the dollhouse, it seems like season 6A is going to be the darkest possible timeline for the Liars. This week’s episode deals with the post-traumatic fallout of their time in the dollhouse, and we find out more about what happened in those lost weeks.

We open with the Liars in hospital gowns, recuperating from their kidnapping. They discuss the evidence against Andrew, and while Aria is fully convinced that he’s Charles, Spencer isn’t so sure. She wants to keep the Charles stuff a secret from the cops (some things never change) until they see how the Andrew sitch works out.

Meanwhile, Toby has tracked down Andrew and tries to sneak some police brutality in before another cop tells him to knock it the fuck off. Andrew is arrested, so I think we can safely assume he’s not Charles. Toby tells Spencer about the arrest, but she’s still not sure that Andrew is Charles.

In addition to finding the prison van at his family’s farm, the police also found journals where Andrew accuses the Liars of the “feminization of society”…which makes sense since Charles is obviously an MRA supporter. I mean, he’d have to be, right?

Over at the DiLaurentis house, Ali’s dad is pissed that she double-crossed the police and rescued the Liars herself. So he’s angry that his daughter is amazing? Ali asks him about Charles DiLaurentis, and he claims not to know who that is. Likely story, Mr. D.

Emily visits Sarah Harvey, and Sarah tells her that she ran away from home before getting knocked out and abducted by Charles. Emily starts grilling her for deets, like she’s some sort of Spencer. This girl has been in a hole for years, maybe ease up a little. Mr. Fields calls Emily, but he can’t come visit because Army won’t give him a half day/Rosewood would collapse with so many parents in town.

Once the Liars are back home, the trauma of the dollhouse starts to sink in. The Liars deal with some hardcore PTSD, and we see each of them experience terrifying flashbacks. This trauma manifests itself in different ways with each girl; for Hanna, it’s the urge to tear apart her bedroom and start over from scratch. For Aria, it’s helping the police convict Andrew.

Over at Casa Hastings, Veronica refuses to give Spencer her anti-anxiety meds because of her history with pills. I get that Veronica is worried Spencer will relapse, but also, the girl can’t sleep. That’s some tough love.

Meanwhile, Emily puts on her father’s army jacket and unlocks his gun safe, which begs the question, why hasn’t Emily spent the past three years packing serious heat?! Girl, you could have shot that glass right out of your hair!

Spencer tries to sleep, but she’s plagued with nightmares about the dollhouse. We see her chained to a table, forced to get electro-shocked or shock her friends. Using the Liars to torture each other? This is some dark shit.

The next morning, Ali comes by to see Spencer and tells her that her father doesn’t know a Charles DiLaurentis. Spencer is like, “No offense, but your dad is a lying sack of shit,” and Ali is like “Maybe so, bro.” Besides, Charles wouldn’t be the first sibling their parents lied about cough Jason cough. Ali wants to know if Spencer is gonna investigate, but Spencer is leaving her theories alone and letting the police deal with it. Damn, you know that was some serious trauma when it renders Spencer uninterested in sleuthing it up.

Meanwhile, Aria is at Ezra’s Empanada Emporium where she thanks Ezra for saving her life, and he’s like, “Thanks for not pressing charges against me for the billion laws I broke.” He encourages her to journal her feelings and experiences in the dollhouse, but Aria is in no fucking mood and would rather never ever think about that place again. Can you blame her?

While Aria is dodging her past, Emily is facing her future, firing off rounds at the local gun range. This makes so much sense; Emily is a soldier’s daughter, and a warrior in her own right. No wonder the defender of the girls wants to train to defend herself. BTW, I am so on board with Emily becoming a cop…you know she’d be better than Tobey.

Hanna is dealing how Hanna deals: she’s stripped her room to the bones, but she doesn’t have any interest in redecorating. Caleb tries to comfort her, and Ashley tries to be supportive, but Hanna is sick of being coddled. She wants to be heard. After losing her agency in the dollhouse, Hanna is desperate to assert herself, even if that means tossing her mattress on the front lawn.

Over at the precinct, Ali runs into Tobey and his new partner Lorenzo, who is part of the Rosewood PD’s Fresh Perspective program, which judging by the name is either a Whole Foods tie-in or an organic douche. Speaking of organic douches, Toby and Ali are awkward as fuck around each other, which I blame on that time she saw him in a doo-rag. LOL, remember that nonsense?

Emily Fields is amazing at pretty much everything, but she sure does suck at keeping secrets from Pam, who immediately knows that she was at the gun range. Emily isn’t allowed to use her dad’s guns by herself, and Pam suggests she see a therapist. Where’s Annabeth Gish when you need her?

Pam asks Emily to call Paige, but Ems already did. Paige wanted to fly back to see her, but Emily convinced her not to. She says that Paige did the right thing by leaving town, and she deserves to be happy, and Pam tells her that she deserves to happy as well. It’s a real heartbreaker, and let’s be honest: Paige not rushing back to see Emily is the most unbelievable thing this show has ever done. It’s more unbelievable than a psychic pulling a girl out of a fresh grave. More unbelievable than a lake full of masks. More unbelievable than a New York street filled with multiple dancing As. More unbelievable than a Cece killing a snake with a mannequin leg. More unbelievable than Paige’s Lego haircut. More unbelievable than Ezra going Paleo. It’s pretty far fucking out there is what I’m saying.

Back at Hanna’s house, Ashley tries to get Hanna to talk about her experiences. She even tries to get Hanna to see her friends, but she doesn’t want to. Hanna tells Ashley that Charles played games with the Liars. Games like “Who electrocutes who?” “Who gets to drink water today?” and “Who do you love more?” (the answer to that last one is Emily, obvs). Charles pitted the Liars against each other, damaging the greatest asset these girls had: each other. Someone get these kids some therapy.

Aria is giving her testimony at the precinct, but the evidence against Andrew is mostly circumstantial. Aria is furious at the thought that he might get away, so she lies to the cops and tells them she saw Andrew’s face in the dollhouse. Oh, Aria, you really are the worst liar of all the Liars. You finally got a clean slate with the police, stop weaving a web of bullshit that will only serve to bite you in the ass.

Spencer and Toby have a picnic, and Toby confesses that he thinks Andrew might not be A. Spencer is uninterested in investigating the truth, and even less interesting in telling Toby what happened in the dollhouse.

Emily is back at the gun range, firing away while flashing back to torturing her friends. Pam finds her at the range and Emily breaks down. This episode is breaking my heart, you guys. Emily tells Pam that she rented the gun, and she just wants to defend herself, but Pam says she shouldn’t bring anger to the gun range. I don’t know, seems like a pretty good place to get the anger out.

Emily tells Pam that she saw the damage in Sarah Harvey’s eyes, and she wonders how long it would have taken her to lose herself as well. Emily thought she’d feel better turning her fear to violence, but it only made things worse…she’s turning herself into what she fears.

Ali goes to church, and miraculously doesn’t burst into flames. Lorenzo sees her, and they strike up a conversation. She tells him she likes the music, and he promises not to tell anyone he saw her there, but she claims not to care.

Spencer visits Aria, who knows she fucked up by lying about Andrew. Spencer knows that Aria gotta Aria, so she’s not that surprised. Out of nowhere, Aria apologizes to Spencer…I assume for pressing her button in the torture room? When she steps out, Spencer eyes Aria’s pills.

Hanna and Caleb inflate an air mattress, and Caleb tells Hanna that she is the bravest person ever. He’s not wrong. She tells him that she can’t even face her friends, but he assures her it will get better. She also really wants her night table back.

Ali runs into Lorenzo at the coffee shop and apologizes for being rude at church. He offers her some tiny hamburgers. I am uninterested in this storyline.

Aria is taking photos and Ella tries to talk to her about the dollhouse, but Aria is over talking. She’s over words. She just wants revenge against Andrew. Ella advises her to be both smart and wise, which seems like some fortune cookie parenting. Hard to say who is struggling more: the Liars or their parents trying to parent.

Emily is listing to Now That’s What I Call Vengeance! 54 and wearing her army jacket, when she hears rustling in the bushes. It’s Sarah Harvey, who has run away from home. Damn Gina, isn’t that what got you abducted in the first place? Luckily, Emily desperately needs someone to protect, so it might as well be this cute blonde girl.

Sarah tells Emily and Pam that her mom doesn’t want her at home, and Emily assures Sarah that she’ll be safe in Rosewood LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. No she will not. Emily Fields’s bedroom is probably the least safe space in town, but there’s still a waiting list to get in.

Spencer stares at the pill she stole from Aria, but hides it when Veronica comes in. Seeing that she still can’t sleep, Veronica offers to stay up and watch movies with Spencer. Before she can join her mom, Spencer gets a call from Emily, presumably telling her about Sarah. We see the Liars calling each other, reconnecting. We see Andrew being interrogated, and Ali flipping through a photo album with pictures missing.

Ending with the Liars on the phone together is a powerful image, as they’ve spent most of the episode unable to confront each other. The friendship between the Liars has always been the cornerstone of the series: As long as the Liars stick together, they will always be stronger than A. The real damage of the dollhouse lies not just in the physical torture, but in the feelings of betrayal and pain the Liars were forced to inflict on one another. Hopefully, their friendship can withstand their time in the dollhouse.

What did you think of last night’s episode? Tweet me your feels @Chelseaprocrast

Thanks as always to Nicole @PLLBigA for her amazing screencaps!

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