Um…what
was that?
Out
of all the crazy and creepy things seen over five seasons, the opener to this
particular episode doesn’t just take the cake when it comes to weird. It takes
the entire pastry shop.
While
caught in a nightmare, Spencer roams Radley Institute’s desolate halls,
crossing paths with a feral young girl. Frightened, the mysterious youth (Maddie
Ziegler) runs inside an old tiled room and begins…performing an interpretive
dance? Yep. Between her long plastered locks, raggedy old gown, and contorted
movements, the whole display is quite unsettling to say the least. When Spencer
finally awakens, she can’t shake the feeling of familiarity to the place and
turns to Aria for help without much luck.
All
Aria wants to do is focus on moving forward. Sadly, how Ms. Montgomery goes
about doing so over the course of the episode is rather idiotic at best. When hunky
artist, Clark, invites her out to a local junkyard to take some vintage
photographs, she jumps at the opportunity. Really? You just recent escaped a
madman’s lair, and you’re running off with strangers to a creepy remote
location? Did your parents not teach you the importance of “stranger danger”?
While
scouring the junkyard for some good shots, Aria notices a hooded figure lurking
nearby. And what does she do? She tries chasing the perp into an abandoned shed,
which luckily happens to be empty.
Again,
are you serious, Aria?
Honestly,
what was she going to do if she did run into “A”? Beat him up with her Nikon?
Blind him with her flash function?
Thankfully
(and despite Aria’s idiocy), something of use comes out of the trip. As it
turns out, an unsuspecting Clark captured something of particular interest in
one of his photos. Though the person’s face is still obscured in the image, the
hooded figure sports a particular set of assets.
A
bust.
Could
“A” really be a girl?
As
this notion is combed over, Hanna finds a surprise guest waiting for her come
breakfast. Mona, who is apparently taking styling tips from Jenna now, has regrettably
returned home to Rosewood and is dreading every minute of being back. Given
that she faked her death and framed Alison for her murder, she knows she has
her fair share of enemies to deal with. The one she doesn’t see coming? Leslie
Stone. Apparently, the possibility of being charged with perjury, not to
mention an accessory in faking Mona’s death, makes Leslie about as huggable as
a porcupine right about now. She calls out Mona, even calling her the B-word,
and warns her to stay away.
On
the other side of town, Mrs. Harvey apparently wants her daughter to come back
home, and Emily’s none too thrilled about the prospect. All Sarah’s mother
really wants is the money that comes with exploiting her daughter’s situation
to the media. Convincing Caleb to lend a helping hand, Emily works towards
getting Sarah legally emancipated. Sadly, not everyone is finding it so easy to
move forward. Struggling with her recent pot vice, Spencer decides to drop in
on an addictions meeting, where she runs into her former-sponsor, Dean. Finally
having someone to talk to about her struggles with substance abuse, Spencer
finds her way back onto the right track and kicks her habit on the spot.
With
a clear mind, she decides to take a trip to the recently closed Radley
Institute with Hanna by her side. The girls wander the basement, hoping to find
any evidence regarding Charles’s stay, and they discover the tiled room from
Spencer’s dream. Inside, they find medical records confirming Charles’s death,
including a list of organ donations. Archetypal to a creepy asylum, things goes
bump in the night, prompting the girls to abandon their investigation. Heading
back through the corridors, the pair hears a ruckus coming from behind one of
the doors. Spencer looks for anything to arm herself with (something a smart
person does, Aria) and grabs a metallic crutch. Hanna pushes the door open and
Spencer steps inside, ready to swing. She stops though at the sight of finding
Mona clutching a stack of hospital records.
Tired
of all the games, Spencer pries the mystery file from Mona’s hands as Hanna
demands to know why she needed to steal her own records from Radley. Surprise,
surprise. The records don’t belong to Mona. They’re Leslie’s. It seems that Ms.
Stone had been a patient in the facility for years, which is where she met Mona
and possibly even Charles.
All
the Liars reconvene at Hanna’s to discuss their findings. The fact that Clark’s
photo confirms a female is behind the hooded sweatshirt makes Leslie a likely
suspect. The fact that she shared a room with Bethany Young at Radley…well, you
get the picture. Mona breaks the news to Leslie that the Liars know about her
past, in which Leslie blows a gasket. The show closes with “A” constructing a
doll-sized wing made of black and pink hair.
“She’s
No Angel” steers PLL back on the
right track following last week’s rather lackluster episode. Leslie’s history
definitely makes her suspicious, perhaps a member of the “A”-team, but it seems
too easy, doesn’t it? The enigmatic Sarah Harvey on the other hand leaves much
room for speculation. She’s already cast a spell over both Emily and her
mother, and now she’ll be working for Caleb, so who knows how long until she charms
him over as well? The pacing plays out nicely, and the episode holds viewers’
attention with compelling information and suspense, enough that we can all
overlook Aria’s poor judgments. Well…almost.
Pretty
Little Liars - “She’s No Angel” Rating: A -
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