PLL kicks off where it ended last season.
Upon escaping above ground from “A”’s compound, the girls find themselves
trapped inside an electrically charged fenced-in area. As punishment for their actions,
Charles leaves them outside to brave the conditions for days. When Charles’s dollhouse bunker finally opens, the girls regrettably
head back inside, only for “A” to snatch hold of Mona and gas the remaining
girls, rendering the Liars unconscious.
Charles
makes it clear who’s in charge as the girls awaken naked on morgue slabs. The
Liars discover they’re still inside “A”’s lair when Mona enters the mysterious
room playing nurse. Vanderwaal finally takes a stand against Charles, only to
be taken away to “the hole”. Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna succumb to the
pressure and do as “A” demands, heading inside each of their mock-bedrooms.
Screams ensue from behind closed doors before the screen cuts to black.
Three
weeks later, Alison speaks with the media after being officially exonerated for
Mona’s murder. Andrew Campbell is the prime suspect in the Liars’
disappearance, and Ali pleads to the cameras for her friends’ safe return and
for the police to respect her privacy. It turns out that the whole press
conference was merely a ruse set up by Detective Tanner in an attempt to lure
“A” out of hiding. As the police wait inside the DeLaurentis house for Charles
to make his move, Ali makes one of her own. With the help of Ezra, Caleb, and
Toby, she manages to send Tanner and company out on a wild goose chase so that
she can escape from her house.
The
Liars finally emerged from each of their living quarters, having undergone
unspeakable torture during the past three weeks. None of the girls can find the
words to express what happened, but the fact that Aria’s hair is now chopped
off and dyed in streaks of pink again, a lot of freaky things have definitely
gone down. The four meet up in Mona’s room, only to find boxes full of Alison’s
belongings occupying the space…and no Mona. As the girls comb through the personal
effects, Spencer discovers one of Charles’s old toys. He’s a DeLaurentis. They
also realize something else. All the stuff in each of the girls’ bedrooms was
stolen from them over a period of time. It’s been Charles’s plan all along to
lock them up in his sadistic “dollhouse”.
As
it turns out, Alison left a hidden message inside her speech to the press
earlier, telling Charles to convene with her at the Kissing Rock. Ezra and
Caleb pick up Alison after she eludes the police, and they drive her out to meet
“A”. To ensure her safety, Caleb puts a tracking device inside Alison’s heels
so that he and Ezra can track her with the hopes of “A” bringing Ali to the
girls. The plan goes south though when Alison heads to the rendezvous point.
Charles isn’t there, but a car is. She gets inside, and the GPS instructs her
to dive out to Tyler State Park. Upon arrival, the car runs out of gas. Ali
hits the button for roadside assistance, only to get “A” telling her to open
the trunk. Caleb and Ezra arrive at the spot soon after, but Ali’s nowhere in
sight. They search the abandoned car, finding an automated greeting card
declaring that Alison leave all her belongings behind, including her clothes
and shoes, and start walking.
Forced
to change into that notorious yellow blouse, she treks through the woods as the
girls plan their own escape from below. Having witnessed “A”’s vanishing act
from the vault, Spencer knows there’s a secret entrance into the room. The
Liars find it and take a stand by burning all of Charles’s precious keepsakes
inside. Forced to take action, “A” pulls the fire alarm. Caleb and Ezra catch
up to Alison as the three overhear the whaling coming from underground.
Aria,
Emily, Hanna, and Spencer scour the bunker for Mona, finding her trapped down
in a pit. They rescue her and flee to the surface just as Caleb, Ezra, Alison,
and the police arrive on scene. After inspecting the bunker, another girl is
found inside. Sarah Harvey. A girl who went missing the same time as Ali
initially did. A girl…dressed to look just like Ali?
Where
to start…
An
awful lot takes place over the course of this episode, but the proclaimed #SummerOfAnswers
begs far more questions at this point. Who is Charles? Who is this Sarah
Harvey? What does she have to do with any of this? Why would Tanner leave all
the curtains drawn open in the downstairs when the police are supposed to be
hiding out in the family room? Seriously, do the police think that a mastermind
like “A” isn’t capable of looking through a window to see if the coast is clear
first? Yikes.
With
that last peeve aside, the episode is an exceptionally strong opener to kick
off season six. Admittedly, the dollhouse captivity seemed a bit outlandish
when introduced in March’s finale, but it plays out surprisingly well. With striking
visuals, including the girls’ electrically fenced-in imprisonment and the mock
morgue scene, kudos goes out to Chad Lowe for the direction of this episode.
The emotional burdens and particularly dark atmosphere are captured flawlessly,
showcasing the truly grisly nature of unfolding events.
What
are your thoughts on this week’s episode? Any theories of your own? Comment and
let me know!
Pretty
Little Liars - “Game On, Charles” Rating: A -
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