It
is coming.
No,
not winter. At least not yet.
Just
one week away, and the infamous “A” will be revealed.
After
being disinvited to their senior prom, the Liars decide to host their own low-key
version in Spencer’s barn. Sadly, Caleb jets off to New York without much
explanation and Sarah’s own prom is scheduled the same night, leaving Hanna and
Emily dateless. Thankfully, things are looking up for Aria. Not only does Ezra
accept her offer to attend the girls’ makeshift prom, but Aria also finds out
that she won the photography contest, which means she’ll be leaving for her
internship in L.A. come summer.
With
Charles still on the loose, the Liars’ mothers aren’t taking any chances. Mrs. Marin,
Mrs. Hastings, Mrs. Fields, and Mrs. Montgomery all convene in Spencer’s
kitchen so that they can keep an eye on the girls as everyone arrives at the
barn in the backyard. And who can ignore the lovely homage to the series
opening scene as a thunderstorm rolls into the area just as Ali arrives? She
receives a text from Charles, ordering her to go to Rosewood’s prom. Determined
to speak to her brother face-to-face, Alison sneaks away the instant the mothers
aren’t paying attention.
Oh
so fitting to the “Enchanted Forest” theme, Alison arrives at the festivities
looking like the Belle of the Ball. Her stunning entrance isn’t lost on Clark,
who all so suspiciously happens to be the photographer for the event. Back at
the barn and clearly in boredom, the Liars check out all their classmates’
posted prom pics on their cells, and Emily spots Ali in one of the shots. With
too many servings of wine already underway, the Liars’ mothers are completely
oblivious to what’s happening literally right in front of them as Aria, Hanna,
Spencer, Emily, Toby, and Ezra all manage to skulk off undetected to prom.
Forget the tipsy mothers for a moment. How did the police officers stationed
out front not notice six people all leaving the property at once? Clearly, the
gang didn’t hoof it to prom, so you’d think Rosewood’s finest would see them
taking one of their cars and driving off. Just saying…
Ali
peruses the dance as more taunting texts pour in from “A”, telling her to seek
him out. Just as she’s about to close in on her brother, Spencer intervenes.
Knowing full-well what Charles is up to, Spencer urges Alison to walk away
while she still can. Ali immediately rebuffs the advice, demanding that Spencer
stays out of it. All Alison wants is answers, and she’s determined to finally
get them. Everyone splits up to survey the room, keeping Alison in sight as she
continues searching for Charles.
Caleb
crashes the party, looking quite smashing might I add, filling Hanna in on what
his mysterious trip was about. Apparently, he’s been offered a high paying job
working as an information risk analyst. He invites Hanna to move with him to
New York, which she gladly accepts. Toby and Spencer patch things up as well,
but things don’t look so good for Team “Ezria” as Aria decides to go through
with her plans to L.A. and Ezra joins Habitat for Humanity.
Another
unexpected guest arrives, in the form of Sarah Harvey. She conveniently steals Emily’s
attention, just as everyone else loses sight of Alison. The Liars do spot something of interest…like Clark
running after Ali with a gun in hand. Toby manages to take down the creepy photog,
only to discover that Clark is actually an undercover cop. Now in the wind, Ali
wanders through the maze of decorations alone before “A” snatches her from
behind. Charles drags her out into an empty corridor where his sister finally
gets the chance to face him. And by her reaction upon his off-camera reveal,
he’s definitely someone she knows.
After
an entire summer of unanswered questions and melodrama clogging the runtime, PLL finally regains its footing with
“Last Dance”. Though nothing is actually revealed to us, the rising tension
woven throughout the entire episode makes for a gripping viewing. Its
magnificent direction and cinematography coupled with the enchanting costumes
and set pieces recaptures the series’ allure that had been noticeably absent
for most of this season. All that’s left now is to speculate one last time over
who’s really hiding underneath that notorious black hoodie.
Prime
suspect on our radar? None other than Melissa’s current beau, Wren Kingston.
Why might you ask? Previous seasons have dropped many hints that seem to point
to this delicious British doctor, like how he shares “A”’s choice in alcoholic
beverages and has the same OCD tendencies. And who can forget “A”’s message,
“Nosey bitches die”? The standard American spelling of nosy doesn’t have an e, but the British version does. Plus,
you can’t ignore the fact that the drawing Kingston showed Mona while she was
in Radley looks eerily similar to the farm footage Spencer saw inside the
Dollhouse. The big giveaway recently was during Spencer’s Oxford interview.
Remember when blood started seeping from her purse all over the visitor’s
chair? “A” texted her right after she fled the building. Either “A” went
through a whole lot of trouble to take his scheming to an international level,
or he was already in England. And where was Spencer staying during her visit?
Wren’s flat…where he could easily plant the blood in her purse. Nothing’s for
certain though. We’ll just have to wait till next week’s big reveal to find
out. So, who do you guys think is “A”?
Pretty
Little Liars - “Last Dance” Rating: A
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