Review: Pretty Little Liars

PHOTO CREDITS: OFFICIAL POSTER

BY RACHEL CALLAHAN

Officially among the living, Alison Dilaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) brought with her more questions than answers. The Season 5 Summer Finale of the popular show Pretty Little Liars didn’t promise to give fans any answers, but with it being deemed the “fatal finale”, a death was guaranteed. If that wasn’t eerie enough, the name of the episode, “Taking This One to the Grave”, is enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.

 In true Pretty Little Liars fashion, no time was wasted. The show opened with a majority of the gang standing around at what appeared to be a crime scene, but of course everything they said was so vague, viewers had no clue what happened, but it’s clear someone died. Before fans could gather their thoughts, we were taken back 36 hours earlier to watch the drama unfold.

 The police soon realized no one in the town of Rosewood is telling the truth, so they make head liar Ali take a polygraph test to finally get some answers. (I can’t believe it took 5 seasons for them to administer a lie detector test. I mean, if they had this equipment the whole time, why in the world wasn’t it being used?) Unfortunately, the test didn’t really reveal anything we didn’t already know, but it did show that Ali was trying to get Spencer (Troian Bellisario) to take the fall for Bethany Young’s murder and that she is not to be trusted. (Honestly, though, did anyone ever think she could?) Her four friends, Spencer, Aria (Lucy Hale), Emily (Shay Mitchell), and Hanna (Ashley Benson), finally get a clue and turn their backs on her. That’s when they look to Mona (Janel Parrish) for help.

 The liars turning to Mona was a big deal because she was the one who tortured them for two years and they’ve never really managed to forgive her. When Mona expresses what all fans were thinking by questioning the girls as to why they think she can help them, they wisely respond “Because you’re Mona”, which, believe it or not, actually makes perfect since. Mona may not be the most trustworthy person and she has definitely done some bad things, but it’s undeniable that she is very intelligent and more than capable of taking on Ali, even if Ali is “full out socio” as Mona claims.

 The liars teaming up with Mona has been a long time coming. It’s something fans have wanted to see for some time now. Mona’s perspective is rarely shown. For most of the series, she’s been the beacon of death stares and accusations, but this finale took a different approach, instead showing Mona’s humanity. This episode helped to paint a clearer picture of Mona. For the first time in 5 seasons, Mona’s mom is introduced and finally, fans start to see Mona for who she really is: a girl who’s been hurt.

 The liars, with Mona’s assistance, sneak into Radley Sanitarium (a mental institution that many of the characters have spent some time in) in hopes of finding more information on Bethany Young, the girl who was murdered and buried in a grave marked “Alison Dilaurentis”. Before the liars can sort through the information, Spencer is arrested for the murder of Bethany Young, thanks to Ali’s accusations. While Aria, Hanna, and Emily are occupied with the latest development, Mona finds evidence that Ali is responsible for Bethany’s death and that she is “A” (the person who has been tormenting the girls). Very dramatically, she looks into the mirror and says that she has won, not Ali. She hears footsteps and looks to see if it is her mom. The figure (who was most definitely not her mom) enters Mona’s bedroom. As Mona turns around, she gasps while falling back onto her dresser.  Later, Hanna, Emily, and Aria enter the house looking for Mona, only to discover blood everywhere. The police deem Mona dead, but for any fan of the show, we know that no one is dead until we see a body. The worse is confirmed when the closing scene is of Mona’s dead body in the trunk of the figure’s car.

 After a very eventful finale, fans have to wait until the Christmas special, “How the A Stole Christmas” in December to get some answers. Fans were reassured that this was not the last we’ve see of Mona. She will make an appearance in the Christmas special, as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. While few questions were answered, it’s undeniable that it truly was a fatal finale.