In Rosewood, suspicious
behavior is about as common as a cloud in the sky. The most suspicious of the
residents: Mike Montgomery. Aria’s average teenage little brother is now
full-blown Mr. Hyde as he’s on the prowl and up to no good, while being about
as inconspicuous as an elephant in a room full of hamsters. As the Liars donate
some blood to the local blood drive (with the exception of Emily due to her
trip to Haiti), Mike is caught perusing the coolers where all the labeled vials
are being stored. Then later that evening, Aria overhears Mike’s phone and
answers the call. Surprise, surprise. It’s from the woman’s correctional facility
that just so happens to be housing Ali. Aria confronts Mike again, only to end
up with a door slammed in her face. Seriously, between his rigorous
iron-pumping workout and his sudden anger issues, this kid needs to be tested
for steroids, ASAP!
Hanna finds herself in a
pickle of her own. After being accepted into a number of first-rate colleges,
she discovers that she’s being denied for financial aid on account of her
father’s impressive income. Against her mother’s wishes, Hanna decides to pay
him a visit at his office, explaining her situation. Things turn sour though
when he fails to help her. Apparently, stepsister dearest, Kate, is going to
Dartmouth in the fall, and Mr. Marin already agreed to pay for her tuition in
full. To further pour salt in the open wound, he doesn’t hide his previous lack
of faith towards Hanna’s future. Ouch!
Her merriment isn’t the only
one to find itself crushed. Following a romantic bike ride, Emily and Talia
appear to be quite happy with their recent love connection. That all blows up
in smoke though when Emily catches a glimpse at Ezra’s paperwork. Talia isn’t
exactly who she says she is, literally. Talia’s last name isn’t in fact
Sandoval, but Mendoza. The name of her husband.
It seems only Ms. Hastings is finding any relief these days. Her new
houseguest, Jonny, takes Spencer out with him to do a mural at Hollis College.
She only finds out after the deed though that Jonny wasn’t compensated for the
artwork. It’s in fact vandalism. The pair shares a quick spat, but Spencer soon
forgives him for his deception.
Now, back again to Mike’s
dubious behavior. Emily catches Aria’s brother at the ATM machine withdrawing a
suspicious amount of cash. When he leaves, Emily approaches the ATM,
discovering his forgotten bank receipt. His transaction is more than shifty,
having taken out four-hundred dollars from an account stashed with almost
twenty grand. Given that this isn’t exactly piggybank change, Emily darts over
to the Montgomery house and accidently interrupts Aria’s tutor session with
Andrew. With no other alternative, the girls enlist Andrew’s help as they tail
Mike out to an old backwoods diner. Aria and Emily survey the restaurant,
finding Mike meeting up with the mysterious Hank Mahoney with whom he’s been
communicating with. Lo and behold, the mystery man is in fact Cyrus Petrillo,
Ali’s fake kidnapper.
Keeping a low profile, the
girls duck outside. Spencer arrives on the scene, relieving Andrew of his
services. As the Liars sit and wait for Mike and Cyrus to wrap up their
meeting, they all receive a text from “A”. Now, a message from the infamous
blackmailer is about as warranted as a shovel to the face, but this particular
text holds horrifying news. It
reads, “Thanks for donating to my get-into-jail
fund. – A,” along with a picture of blood vials with Hanna, Spencer, and
Aria’s names stamped on it. Their DNA is now in the hands of the one person who
wants to take them all down. Distracted by the development, the Liars realize
all too late that Cyrus and Mike have left the diner. They start scouring the
parking lot, hoping to find either of them, when Cyrus charges at the trio on
his motorcycle. Before things get nasty though, Andrew suddenly appears and
comes to the girls’ aid with a baseball bat in hand. Cyrus takes the hint and
hits the road.
You can’t end the episode
without some more suspicious behavior now, can you? Following the recent
discovery about her brother’s involvement, Aria finds herself unable to return
home. She and Hanna crash at the Hastings house that night, and the three
contemplate the possible implications “A”’s new advantage holds. Just as Spencer
goes to fetch an extra blanket for their sleepover, Mike is shown peering
through the kitchen window. Yeah, because that’s not weird or anything… The
show closes with the hooded “A” doing some handiwork with Mona’s blood-stained
sweater. With the vials to each of the Liars’ blood on display, “A” plucks out
Hanna’s and administers a few drops of blood onto the shirt. Uh-oh.
“Out, Dammed Spot” finally
gains the momentum that previous episodes were lacking. The downside, the
mystery is a bit unraveled in the wrong places. To weave a compelling suspense
story, the audience still needs to be thrown a bone or two in the process.
Unfortunately, everything’s rather muddled. Mike’s abrupt turn to the “dark
side” feels more than aberrant. Having never really been a big part of the main
storyline, his sudden involvement just looks like another distraction. Does
anyone honestly believe for a second that he’s “A”, or even remotely involved
with the “A”-team? Let’s face it; after forgetting the bank receipt from his
lucrative account, it’s obvious this kid’s not exactly a criminal mastermind. This
slipup doesn’t take away from the fun-factor of the episode though. Having
toned down the romantic element during its runtime, it focuses on the show’s
stronger selling point. If the writers can tidy up on the whodunit aspect, PLL just may deliver one hell of a
showdown.
Pretty Little Liars:
“Out, Dammed Spot” Rating: B +
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