Pretty Little Liars Review: An Impossible Game
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Pretty Little Liars has finally moved from mysteriously complex to downright improbable.
"A dAngerous gAme," the Season 3 finale, may have featured tons of action and drama, but it was so unbelievably frustrating that I couldn't really enjoy it.
In classic Pretty Little Liars fashion, the hour needlessly complicated the plot of show. Over and over again, the series gives us no real answers because its constantly undoing the work of the previous episodes. What are we really suppose to believe when everything that is asserted one week is completely upended later on? How can we really narrow down our suspects when the drama constantly throws new characters into the mix?
Unfortunately, PLL has reached the point that all programs built around a central mystery eventually encounter: how can you answer the questions without writing yourself out of a job?
Shows such as Lost "solved" the problem by setting a clear end date and mapping out the storylines from that point on. With Pretty Little Liars, it feels like the writers have no clear sense of the ultimate direction. Or they need to continue to obscure it by retreading over the same clues from different angles.
For example, when Toby was revealed as A, Marlene King announced that he was definitely evil and wasn't working undercover for good reasons. Yet, Toby claims that he is just working with the A-team to keep Spencer safe. Who are we suppose to believe? If you remember, the big Mona reveal was met with some derision because the creators claimed they weren't following the plot of the book series. So I guess if your a Spoby fan, you'll believe that Toby's really protecting Spencer and you probably squealed a little at their reunion.
It was nice to know that Spencer was actually trying to protect her friends in the end because it did seem like she was going to betray them for a guy. The deal she made with Mona was to serve up the girls on a silver platter for Red Coat in order to get Toby back. Luckily, she was working towards helping the girls figure things out...but even that seemed a little convoluted. It seems a little much to expect that Malcolm would someone how see the photo she sent and identify her so that Hanna would know.
Side note: how ridiculous was it that despite the fact that she was holding her cell phone, Hanna told Malcolm she was going to use the house phone to call Emily, leaving him to conveniently play games on her cell phone? How many houses even have landlines these days? But I digress.
The big showdown with Red Coat didn't go as planned. Someone locked Mona, Hanna, Emily and Aria (and possibly hoped to get Toby and Spencer) in that lodge and set it on fire. We know it wasn't Spencer or Toby. Red Coat was still getting off the plane. The most likely suspects are Jenna, Shana and Melissa.
Yep, these three ladies were together talking about the gathering at the Lodge and some videos (plus there was some talk about "those bitches getting what they deserved"). And Jenna and Shana helped Wilden the night he got hit by his own car, as we recently found out. They all seem to want to make the As (and the girls) pay for something, and it looks like Jenna may have also been being blackmailed by A as well. (And her eyes are getting bad again.)
And everyone wants to know who Red Coat is. The answer is *spoiler alert* Allison....Or someone who looks a lot like her. What was crazy about this reveal (other than the fact that Ali is supposed to be dead) is that no one knows who Red Coat is. To hear Mona tell it, she is all powerful and all-knowing. Is she a girl or a superhero?? It's just ridiculous to think that there is a person who is that omniscient and omnipresent and have no one (not even the people working for her) know what she looks like. This character is an outrageous improbability, making it impossible for anyone to fight against her.
Mona also revealed that she was working alone as A until Red Coat showed up at Radley and took over. And now it seems that Mona will be one of A's victims.
The final scene of the hand reaching out the ground nicely referenced us back to the Halloween episode that ended in the same way. Only this time, another hand came onto the screen to help the buried person pull themselves free. I'm guessing the buried person is Ali since we're suppose to believe that she is the girl in the red coat.
In other season finale partial reveals, Wilden's car made a reappearance and exposed Jenna and Shana's involvement with Wilden. And there was a little surprise waiting in the trunk...but of course we don't get to see what it is. CeCe's body anyone?
Oh, and Ezra and Aria finally broke up.
What are your thoughts on the Pretty Little Liars Season 3 finale? Will you be tuning in next season?