INTO THE DEEP
Pretty Little Liars: Eyes Wide Shut
By Karen Malmquist
IT’S MORE MONEY AND MONA PROBLEMS on Tuesday’s Pretty Little Liars. If Ashley wants to get out of jail, she’s going to need a serious chunk of change, but when Jenna ends up unconscious in the lake, we’re reminded that Red Coat is out for blood.
Mona is being questioned. She talks about how she snuck out of Radley many times, and explains why she “killed” Wilden. According to her, Wilden was being blackmailed Because she knew he killed Garrett. When the investigator says she could’ve gotten away with the crime if she hadn’t confessed, Mona starts to cry and explains that she can’t let her best friend’s mom go to jail for a crime she didn’t commit. When he leaves, Mona stops crying and straightens up. Mona could really channel her psychopathic tendencies into an acting career.
The next morning, Veronica asks Hanna and Spencer if they had anything to do with Mona’s confession. Because if they did, it could really hurt Ashley’s case. Whoops.
Spencer calls Aria, who’s watching Jake put his shirt back on from last night. He slept on the couch since Aria was apparently too scared to fall asleep without her brother in the house. She is not going to do well in college if she keeps this up.
Emily and Paige go walking in the woods, and Paige gives her a business card for a swim trainer. Emily tells her that it’s too late for her, but Paige says she can take a year off and train to some something she loves. Even though Emily is upset, Paige tries to cheer her up, since her birthday is approaching soon.
At The Grill, Maggie tells Ezra that she got into a Masters program in Washington. He watches Aria and Jake talk nearby. God, even Ezra doesn’t care about Maggie’s existence on the show.
Veronica and Hanna meet with Ashley, who learns that after Mona’s confession, she’s getting a bail set for her. Apparently even though Mona’s story doesn’t fully match-up with the evidence, the info about Wilden got the judge’s attention. However, since he was a cop, the bail is set higher than usual: a million dollars. Does that seem a little messed up, though? Like, everybody knows he was a corrupt cop who was putting people in danger. Ashley (or Jenna and Shana or Melissa) should get to walk free and have a parade through Rosewood on her behalf.
Emily meets with Dominic, the drill sergeant of a trainer, who asks to see her recruiting video. Also, he wants to know when and how long she’s sleeping. For some reason that doesn’t scare her off.
Hanna is crying on the phone to her dad about Ashley when she runs into Pastor Ted in the park. He’s left her a few messages, offering to help out any way he can. He tells her that she’s needs to keep her head up and have faith. Hanna says she doesn’t need faith. She needs money. Also, it looks like they’re being watched from the woods. Oh, “PLL” producers. I know all your camera tricks.
Meanwhile, Maggie and Ezra argue about what’s going to happen to Malcolm, and a collective “ugh” is heard throughout the fandom.
Spencer and Aria walk around the deserted school and Aria reveals a picture of Emily and Paige that she framed for them. They overhear Shana assuring Jenna that “this will all be over soon.” Apparently Jenna thinks she’s in trouble because she “knows where she is” and cops could be involved. They’re not looking too good right now. Let’s not forget that last season Jenna was seen in the woods handing Shana the gun that shot would eventually kill Wilden. And that gun was wrapped in the same scarf Hanna used. Hmm.
Ashley is home! Veronica says someone posted the bail anonymously, but she’s on house arrest. Her monitoring bracelet also prohibits her from having any of her precious merlot. Because Ashley is such a threat to society, being both the mother and father to her daughter and opening her home to those who need it. What a terrible person!
Emily asks Dominic how soon after her shoulder surgery she can start training again. Dominic says he didn’t know she had an injury, and says her chances of swimming again are slim to none. Also, not to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but why train with that guy for five hours a day, six days a week if her chance to be an Olympic swimmer passed ages ago?
Spencer and Aria are setting up a surprise party at Paige’s house for Emily’s birthday. Paige arrives, and Spencer asks her to un-un-invite Shana, because they know that having the entire swim team means having Jenna tag along. And they need answers.
Ezra meets with Veronica, asking for legal advice about what to do with Malcolm. Maggie wants to take him to Washington with her, after hiding him from his father his entire life, so naturally Ezra isn’t cool with this.
Emily shows up to Paige’s, not knowing about the surprise. Everyone is hiding as Emily asks Paige why she lied to Dominic, but before Paige can answer, all of her friends jump out to surprise her.
Pastor Ted stops by the Marin house to welcome her back, and offers her some pie. He says he tried visiting Ashley in prison, but she says she put in the request for no visitors because she was ashamed. Ted insists that she didn’t deserve for this to happen to her. She invites him inside for some pie.
Jenna and Shana are in the car outside of Paige’s house, and Jenna is worried about showing her face at the party, but Shana says it would be worse if they didn’t go. That doesn’t seem true at all. In Rosewood, staying deep inside of your house and locking all your windows and doors and keeping a tazer on hand is always the best idea. Or, you know, moving very far away.
Aria sulks on the couch, watching Jake talk to the girl he showed up at the party with. Oh my god, Aria. No one cares. There are people dying.
Paige finds Emily outside on the mini dock by the lake, and Emily asks her why she lied to Dominic. After talking about how hard the distance will be if Paige is at Stanford while Emily is not, they cry at the realization that they won’t be together next year. Why is Emily crying over this? Paige is the only person who wanted to be in that relationship.
Hanna is about to say goodnight to her mom, when she gets a call from Mona. She is at home, packing what looks like an overnight bag, and says she called to make sure Ashley is okay and got out on bail. Hanna says she’s home and going well, and Mona quickly says “you’re welcome.” Mona then hangs up, takes her bag, and leaves her room.
Aria gets a text from Spencer, telling her to not let Shana and Jenna leave the party.
Jenna begs Shana to agree to leave, and as Shana caves, Aria corners them. She asks Jenna why she was talking about Ali at school, and Jenna says she doesn’t have to tell her anything. The shady couple walks away as a crowd gathers nearby to watch Emily blow out her birthday candles.
Ashley tells Ted her side of the story. She and Wilden had an argument the night he was killed. Ted gives her a hug and says he knows she didn’t kill him, and that everyone has their limits. He then offers to drop dinner off for her and Hanna tomorrow night, but Ashley says only if he gets to eat it with them. Aww.
Aria and Emily look for Spencer outside. Jake approached Aria, so Emily, who is as over “Jaria” as much as we are, wanders off towards the back of the house, where she sees what appears to be Spencer floating in the water.
Emily starts yelling for help as she runs into the water to get her, and realizes it’s Jenna she’s pulling out to safety. Not only is she not breathing with her eyes completely open, she’s wearing an outfit similar to Spencer’s. Anyway, she drags Jenna onto the grass, and finds that she’s not breathing. If she’s not breathing and she’s unconscious with her eyes open, it’s pretty bad. After all, she did seem to know what happened to Ali. Someone must’ve wanted her dead.
As Jenna is being taken away in an ambulance, Emily tells Spencer and Aria that that was blood on the back of her head. Someone had to have hit her, causing her to fall into the lake.
Ashley tells Hanna that Ted was the one who put up the money. He didn’t tell her he did it, but Mr. Marin sure as hell didn’t bail her out. Hanna fails to mention that Mona probably pulled a Patty Hearst and stylishly held up a bank
Jake is at Aria’s again, and he says he had no idea Aria had to deal with so much. He also says that if Emily had pulled Jenna out of the water seconds later, she “might not be with us.” Wait, she’s alive? The exhausting pair seems to have made up and he tells her that the girl he was with was just a friend. As the two make out, I can’t stop thinking about how Jenna is magically alive.
Spencer looks around the hospital for Jenna and Shana. Shana says it’s not Ali they’re afraid of because Ali’s dead. It’s CeCe Drake. Noooo! If CeCe wasn’t in the first episode, she has no beeswax being so import to the show.
Mona arrives at Radley, back in her old room. Ahh, how we’ve missed the adventures inside the mental institution.
After watching someone moving about in Ali’s bedroom, Red Coat walks up to the DiLaurentis house and pushes back the shrubbery to get to the crawl space under the house. Remember that Ali supposedly had a lot of hiding places around her home. Yes, I will be pushing the whole “Ali is alive” thing until the August 27 episode, when we’re supposed to know whether or not she lived after pulled out of her own grave.
What appears to be blood is on the floor of wherever A is. They finish off a glass of wine by a piano, where the sheet music for a piece called Any Time is sitting. A places a sticky note on the papers, and puts them into a manila envelope, labeled “Toby Cavanaugh.”
Okay, there’s only three more episodes left in season 4A, and I. Marlene King told fans that we’ll learn who Red Coat is during the Halloween episode this October. Even though all signs do point to CeCe Drake, don’t you think the writers would be selling everyone —- including themselves — short if they made Red Coat the most obvious person? The show is all about surprises that would catch even Spencer off guard, and she’s already suspected CeCe. Where’s the fun in that?
