SUMMER FINALE REVIEW: Pretty Little Liars “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” S4, E12

Another summer finale and another big WOW moment.   And while in the moment I was wowed, I’m now skeptical.   Because the last big reveal of who “A” was, or at least who was part of the “A” team, turned out to be a fraud.   When Toby was revealed to be part of team “A” and working with Mona, the show completely back peddled on that and made Toby working undercover to bring “A” down.    Since the back peddle, I wasn’t buying it.    I think it was the writers reacting to their audience and the outcry that one of their favorite characters being written as a bad guy.    Now, maybe that’s not the case.    Maybe that was the plan all along. But like I said, I wasn’t buying it…..until this episode.   If it truly was the plan all along to make Toby work undercover and pull a fast one on us, it makes perfect sense since their plan was to reveal an even BIGGER jaw dropper of either who “A” is or who is on the “A” team…..Ezra Fitz!!!!   Now fair warning PLL writers, if you back peddle on this one too, I’m done watching your show, and I think you’ll risk losing many viewers because I think your fans are starting to lose some patience.

I’ve been frustrated with PLL lately.   I feel like we’ve been watching this show for 3 and 1/2 seasons and we’ve gotten absolutely nowhere.   We are no closer to finding out who “A” really is and why.   The girls keep having all these horrible things happen to them while never, ever wanting to get some help.  Their parents are never around (except for Hanna’s) and when they are around, they are completely clueless as to what is happening with their daughters.   I mean I know teenage girls can be moody and difficult (I used to be one of them) but what has been happening to these girls and the way they always walk around without any sense of happiness in their lives (see Emily) how do none of their parents ever think to push the issue and ask them what is going on?   And we’ve never really been let in on the secret as to WHY “A” is doing this to these girls.   What could they have done to this person to warrant this type of torture and torment?    That’s why we really need more answers than questions sooner than later.

So there were two big reveals in this episode…Ezra is “A”, or at least part of the team, and Allison is alive.   I’ve said since the first season that I think Allison is alive.   Whether or not that’s really true, I guess the show will confirm in the Halloween episode on Oct 22nd.   But I’ve always thought she was alive.  Although her being buried alive and reaching her hand out and the sorority lady just happens to be there and see it….yeah, I don’t know about that.

I know there are a lot of theories going around about both of these reveals.    And I’m going to go out on a crazy limb based on every episode I’ve watched, everything I’ve read and seen and say that not only is Ezra “A” but so is Aria.   I’ll let that one sink in for a minute.   If I remember correctly, the first episode of the series shows that Aria spent a year oversees.   So we have no idea what Aria was doing while she was away.   The reason we were given that she was away was because of finding out about her father cheating on her mother.  And maybe that’s true.   But if she was an angry Aria at that time, could she have met Ezra at that point?    If Ezra’s motive for being “A” is because he had a relationship with Ali, could Aria have known about it and therefore knew about Ezra or even knew him sooner?   Could they be working together this whole time?    If Ezria is the endgame (according to one of the writers) then it would make sense that they would be working together.   That way the relationship really was never fake, the way fans fear, because they’re working together.  I’ve always thought that one of the Liars was really “A” or part of the “A” team, I just wasn’t sure who.  I’ve had my suspicions about Aria before but now with this Ezra reveal (if it sticks) I’m thinking even more strongly that she’s part of the whole thing and has been from the beginning.   I told you it was crazy!

While the show has been frustrating me lately, I will give them this, they sure know how to do a finale.   However, if this was another red herring and there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for what we saw, I’m done.  I really am.  Because I’m tired of the false leads.   Do it once (with Toby), ok fine.   I don’t like it, but I can deal with it.   You do it again, with Ezra, I’m done.    Because nothing else you do moving forward will carry any weight.  I won’t trust you as a show or writing team.  I’m ok with mystery and storylines that keep me on my toes and guessing as to what is going to happen and who’s behind it.   But when it keeps happening in the realm of “ha ha, gotcha…it wasn’t what we led you to believe” then I’m bored.  I think you keep your audience engaged by at least answering SOME questions or by giving some sense of direction.   If it’s always questions and more questions and more misdirection, then you lose.   At least, you lose me.

So what do you think?   Is Ezra “A”?    Is Allison really alive?   Are you as frustrated as me or are you completely fine with the direction of the show?

 

RECAP & REVIEW: Pretty Little Liars “Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Inferno” S3 E17

Poor Spencer.  That girl is going right off the deep end.  She just walked around this episode with all kinds of crazy in her eyes.   But can you blame her?   Spencer, for all her faults, has really been the brains behind tracking down who “A” is and how to stop him/her/them.  I’ve given her grief over the seasons because for being the smart one, she sure handled many issues very stupidly.  But her passion for wanting to protect the people she cares about was never a question.  And in my opinion, she’s been the most driven about taking this enemy down.  It’s just her personality.  She doesn’t do things half way.  She jumps in the deep end with both feet, legs, arms, head, everything.  She’s like that with school, family, friends, and her love life.  When Spencer wants something or someone, she’s all in and that’s how she was with Toby.  So you can imagine her devastation to learn that the person she has grown to love and give herself completely to, is none other than a member of the “A” team.  Between this episode and the last one, Troian Bellisario has done a fantastic job at showing her range of emotions.  From shock to disbelief.  From sadness to anger.  From utter betrayal to determination.  She has run the gamut in basically 24 hours.  The scene where she’s in her car about to meet someone and she’s trying like hell to pull herself together, perfectly sums up all her feelings.  She knows she needs to be strong, to get past this, and to get back to her end game of taking down “A.”  But she now realizes that in doing that, it also means, taking down the man she loves.  I have to say, I’m looking forward to that showdown!

Ezra finally learns the truth.  After going round and round of “I’ll tell him, I can’t tell him” the obvious happens…Ezra finds out from someone else.  Knowing Spencer’s in a fragile state, “Aria” sends a text to Spencer saying that she told Ezra and that he broke up with her and to come and see her in the park.  Spencer goes right over and sees Ezra in the park.   Seeing how she’s in a really pissy mode these days, she rips Ezra a new one about breaking up with Aria (that whole jumping in with both feet rears its ugly head again.)  Ezra has no idea what she’s talking about.  And even though I knew it was coming, I knew she was going to spill the beans, when it happened, I still gasped out loud.   I was heartbroken for Spencer when she realized what just happened.  I mean really, how much more pain can this girl take?  She runs off and Ezra immediately goes to Aria at school to confront her.  I found it funny that Ezra wanted to have this public discussion in front of everyone, yet it was Aria that asked them to be mature walk somewhere privately to talk.  After Ezra gives Aria  a verbal beat down, he takes off and Aria gets a text from “A” saying she needed a jump-start.

Later, they meet up and Ezra is packing his car.  He’s off to meet his son.  He tells Aria that he spoke with Maggie and she explained that she asked Aria to keep this secret putting her in an unfair position.   And even though Ezra forgave her, you could tell he was still bothered by what happened.  When he goes to leave Aria asks when he’ll be back and if she can call him.  His back is to her and he starts to cry.  He abruptly turns around, kisses her on the head and says he’ll be in touch.   Did, he just break up with her?  I think Aria is wondering the same thing as well.  Maybe Ezra finally realized that dating someone in high school while you’re a grown adult, and now a father, isn’t appropriate and it’s time to grow up, get a real relationship, one that doesn’t break the law, and move on.   Maybe he realized that by having a child now, put his 17-year-old girlfriend in a position she’s just too young to have to deal with.  Not to mention his kid is 7-8 years old.  Hell in 15 years, Aria could date the kid.   In all seriousness, it’s unfair to Aria.  She’s 17.  She does need to be dealing with a boyfriend who has a child with his ex.  SHE’S 17!!!!!!!  I say, let Ezra go be a dad, get a job, and start a new life and let Aria start hers again…with someone more age appropriate.

Aria goes to see Spencer and Aria handles herself like a real pro.  She would have every right to lay into Spencer but she didn’t.  One, because she knew it wasn’t her fault and that she was set up and two, because she knows something is going on with her right now.  While Aria wants to give her friend some space and let her work through whatever she’s dealing with, she was pretty perturbed that Spencer didn’t at least ask how she was doing.   I don’t blame her.  Being supportive of your friend when they are obviously going through something is one thing and letting her deal with it in her own way is fine.  But seeing that you are responsible for destroying your BFF’s relationship, couldn’t you put aside your demons for one second and be there for her?  I know it wasn’t really Spencer’s fault because she was set up, but ultimately, it was still her that let the cat out of the bag.  So for 5 minutes, show a little remorse and compassion to your friend who is also going through something pretty upsetting for her.

There was another big reveal in that we learned Allison may have been pregnant when she was killed.  Now there’s something I didn’t see coming but should have.  So now the question is, who’s the “hottie at the beach,” did that person impregnate Allison, and was she killed because of it by this person?  We know this all happened down in Cape May because of the picture Emily found.  Ironically, later in the police station where Emily is visiting her mom and Hanna is there for underage drinking, they see a picture of the creepy detective, with friends of his, down in Cape May.   Now I know this is a TV show.  I get it.  And connections need to be made. But really?  If you’re from the Philadelphia area, chances are you spend all if not some part of your summer down the Jersey Shore.  There are 5-6 million people in the Philadelphia area.  I would venture to say that at least 1-2 million head to the shore every summer.   A fair amount of those people, head to Cape May.  Not to mention all the people outside the Philly area that flock to Cape May every year.   So it could be anyone.  Because I would guess, and I’m going out on a limb here, that there are many “hotties at the beach” in the summer time.   I’m just saying.  But PLL is very good at bringing people back into the picture and making you question them.  But what is it with the writers putting adult men with high school girls?   ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!

I wonder when Spencer is going to tell the girls about Toby.  How long will she hang onto that juicy detail.  If “A” is as dangerous as we’re all led to believe, then she owes it to her friends to tell them soon, especially Emily who’s still pretty good friends with Toby.  But she’s hired, what I assume is a private detective to do some digging around.  So I think it’s just a matter of time at this point.  Hell, it’s still only been 24 hours since this all came to light so I’m willing to cut her a break.  But at some point, she’s got to let them know.

 

SEASON FINALE RECAP & REVIEW: Pretty Little Liars “The Lady Killers” S3 E12

I’ll tell you what, the networks, writers, and casts have really brought it with summer season finales.  Another awesome finale last night although I must admit nothing was surprising.   But I don’t care, because I still enjoyed it immensely!

We start the episode seeing Aria and Spencer comforting Hanna as she is bawling her eyes out while seeing a body on a gurney and Emily is covered in blood looking glazed as she’s talking to the cop about knowing the deceased.  I had seen the promo picture of that shot all over the web so my initial thoughts were that something happens to either Caleb or her mom.  After the opening sequence it was pretty clear that something happens to Caleb.   I was hoping it wasn’t that he was killed but we’d have to wait to find out for sure.

The episodes leading up to last night’s finale and all last night, the girls (especially Spencer) felt that Paige was a member of the “A” clique.  I’ve talked about this before and I’m going to say this again…why do the girls always listen to what Spencer says about who’s guilty?  I know she’s the smartest girl in the group but she’s been completely off every time she thinks she knows who “A” is.  First it was Toby, then it was Jenna, then it was Garrett, then it was Jason, now it’s Paige.   Each time she was proven wrong.  So how many times does Spencer have to be wrong before one of the girls steps up and says “Hey Spence, maybe you should take a backseat this time on the detective front because you’ve been wrong every time!”  Seriously, for someone so smart, she’s been very gullible throughout this whole thing.  Did it NEVER cross her mind (since “A” always seems to be 5 steps ahead of the girls) that “A” knew they were onto Paige and that “A” possibly planted that earring in Paige’s purse?  Really?  Not one person thought to bring that up?   Spencer sees evidence and BOOM they’re guilty.  She’d make a lousy detective or prosecutor.

I like the character of Paige but I don’t like her with Emily.  Actually I don’t like anyone with Emily because Shay Mitchell isn’t doing a good enough job (in my opinion) convincing me she’s into girls.  Not to mention, Emily is my least favorite character so that probably has something to do with it as well.  About three episodes ago, the spin of the story was setting Paige up to be part of the “A” team…which is always an indication to me that it’s a red herring designed to turn attention away from the true culprit.  As it turns out, not only did Paige have nothing to do with “A” but she became a victim herself, just not one of “A”‘s victims.

The other person we all knew was up to no good was Nate.  Since he came to town, I never believed anything he was saying and he never rubbed me the right way.  I wasn’t quite sure how he was connected to “A” but that’s where I was completely wrong…and I’m glad.  Not every story line has to do with “A” and I’m happy the writers made this separate from that.  Nate was actually named Linden and wasn’t Maya’s cousin….he was her stalker.  He didn’t like Emily and Maya together and he ended up being her killer.  He came after Emily because he felt Emily took Maya away from him.  So now he was going to take someone away from her.  He opens up his closet and we see Paige bound and gaged and looking completely frightened.  Nate/Linden brings Paige out of the closet (pardon the pun) and puts her on the couch next to Emily where he keeps threatening to kill her, just like a James Bond movie.  When he goes to get her, Emily snags a phone.  But as this is playing out, the writers pull a Silence of the Lambs moment.  We see Hanna, Aria, and Spencer walking up to the steps of a cabin and as they walk on the porch, it creaks.  Flash to inside where Nate/Linden hears a noise and goes to check it out.  A door bursts open but the girls are at a different cabin and Emily has run out with the phone (leaving Paige bound and gaged still behind.)  I know Emily got a lot of grief about leaving Paige behind. But I think what she was trying to do was get to a spot where she can get a cell signal and place a call to 911. I think she also assumed that Nate/linden would follow her so Paige was probably safe.  I ripped her more for running to the top of a lighthouse where she has no escape and nowhere to go.  I know she was looking for a signal but you don’t necessarily need high ground for a signal and putting yourself at the top of a lighthouse, puts you in a much more dangerous position!  But whatever.  Nate/Linden tracks Emily to the top of the lighthouse and as she dials 911 and gets an operator, Nate/Linden attacks her.  A major struggle ensues and Emily ends up stabbing Nate/Linden to death.  Meanwhile, Caleb comes charging up the lighthouse with his gun.  To back up, when the girls and Caleb decide to go after Emily, they aren’t 100% sure where she is at.  They have a name of a cabin but there are two locations with the same name.  The girls go to the one location (the wrong one) and Caleb goes to the other (the right one) which is why he was there.  As Emily hugs Caleb the camera flashes to the outside of the lighthouse and we hear a gun shot.

Now we have come full circle to the beginning of the episode where we see Hanna crying her eyes out and we see Caleb coming out on a gurney with a gun shot wound.  The second gurney comes out with Nate/Linden’s body. Emily and Paige are both talking to the police about what happened.  Now, the way Caleb was shot is bothering me.  I’m probably nit-picking but I thought it was weak.  We knew something was going to happen with Caleb the minute we see the gun in Hanna’s room (and tie that into the opening scene, you knew Caleb was getting shot.)  Hanna was freaking out about the gun and the danger of guns, so it was bound to happen that Caleb gets shot.   We are all to assume it was Nate/Linden that shot him right?  I mean Emily was hugging him and why the hell would she shoot him so it only made sense that it was Nate/Linden.  Again, as soon as Caleb put the gun down…he was getting shot.  So it didn’t have the impact it could have because it was so obvious this was going to happen.  Plus, Nate/Linden looked pretty dead.  I guess he woke up, tried to shoot Emily, shot Caleb instead and then really died.  I guess I can go with that.   Hopefully Caleb will be alright because I love that character and I love him with Hanna….best couple on the show!  I have a feeling he’ll be just fine.

But enough with all that, let’s get to the part of the show that had everyone on Twitter freaking out (and that’s putting it mildly.)  For the last month, PLL has been pumping it’s season finale at the BetrAyal.  Meaning someone we have grown to love and trust (so have the girls) is going to be revealed as part of the “A” team.  Not to toot my own horn (but I’m going to) I totally called it!!!  If you listen to my podcast from last week, I said my guess was either Melissa or Toby.  I eliminated Melissa because no one likes her and it wouldn’t be that big of a reveal.  So I went with Toby.  Toby made the most sense because of many reasons.  First, the girls were leery of him early in series but proved himself to be innocent and a loyal friend.  He and Spencer fell in love and he was able to gain her trust and as a result, all of the Liars’ trust.  He and Emily had always been good friends so she always stood by him.  Plus, Toby would be gone for long stretches of time where no one knew where he was or what he was doing.  Yeah he told Spencer he was “working” in Bucks County, but we didn’t know that for sure.  There were many signs pointing to Toby for a while.  Even going back to last season.  And that would be more of a tug on the heart-strings because of all the Toby/Spencer shippers out there and because he had become such a likable character.   So it was no surprise that Toby was on the “A” team but it still made the reveal brutal for many people.

The big question is, is he really part of the “A” team or is it all a rouse?  Is he posing as part of the “A” team to take them down from the inside or has he really been against the girls from the very beginning?   Having Toby revealed to us but not the girls brings a very interesting layer to future storytelling that quite frankly, the show needed.  It was starting to get a bit stale and now with this reveal, a burst of life has just been interjected into the series and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here!

I have to say, even though Spencer drives me crazy, I am absolutely heartbroken for her.  I have really come to like her character and her feistiness.  When she finds this out Toby is part of the “A” team, she seriously may spontaneously combust!   And if I’m not mistaken, she’s the first Liar to lose her virginity correct?  If I’m wrong, please let me know.  But Em’s a virgin, Hanna’s a virgin.  I’m pretty sure Aria still is.  How apropos that the first Liar to lose her virginity, loses it to an “A” member.  Yikes!

I’ve already got October 23rd on my calendar for the Halloween episode and then we have to wait until January for the back 12.   I hate having to wait that long but I think I can suffer through it.

Other Thoughts From the Episode:

• Garrett completely creeped me out when he left the jail.  The smirk he gave the girls when he was released because Nate/Linden was found out to be Maya’s killer, was chilling.  Is Garrett just a creep or is he involved somehow?
• Maggie and Aria go toe to toe over telling Ezra about his son.  I love Aria.  But she has a lot of guts to give Maggie grief about lying to Ezra.  I mean of ALL the Liars, Aria should NEVER call anyone out for lying.  As Maggie told her, there is more to this story and she has no right to blow the whistle on this situation without knowing why she is doing what she is doing.  And she can easily get out of being in trouble with Ezra for not telling him.  By explaining to him that it’s not her news to tell.   Tell him the situation and if he doesn’t understand, then that’s his problem.  Plus, she’s a teenager.  Can you really hold her accountable for adult actions when she’s just a kid?   Maybe Ezra should date someone his own age if he wants a situation handled differently.    But you all know how I feel about that!
• Where was the creepy pastor?  I know that guy is up to no good.  I don’t know how he connects or why, I just know he’s bad news.  Ashley better be very careful.  I guess we’ll revisit that in the second half of Season 3.

What did you think of the finale?  Were you devastated it was Toby as the reveal?  Did you call it too?  Did you not care?   Sound off below!

 

WINTER PREMIERE REVIEW: Pretty Little Liars “Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares” S2 E14

The Liars are back!!!  It feels like forever since they were on TV but then again it seems like it was just yesterday.  It’s weird.   Regardless, we catch up with the girls about a month after we last left them and they have A LOT to atone for.

When we last left the liars, Aria was being threatened by Jackie to break things off with Ezra, which she did.  Spencer was told to break up with Toby, which she did.  Hanna had to break up her father’s wedding to Isabel, which she did.  And Emily, was still recovering from her carbon monoxide poisoning and having Alison tell her, in her dream, that she was her favorite and that she knows who “A” is but isn’t saying.  Now, from the special Halloween episode we got in October, we learned that “A” didn’t just show up after Ali died.  “A” was tormenting Ali way before he/she ever came after the rest of our fearless foursome.   I know there is still much speculation out there that “A” is Alison and that she never died.  And with hints like tonight where “A” told Emily she was her favorite (just like Ali did in Em’s dream) the show is doing a good job of keeping that a possibility but I don’t think it’s true.  At one point, I did, but not anymore.  I think “A” is someone with strong ties to Ali but not Ali herself.

The surprising part of the episode, was how much the girls had turned on one another…more so Spencer and Emily.  But I have to admit, I didn’t buy it for one second.  I knew it was a ruse to trick “A”.   So if I knew, how come “A” didn’t.  “A” always seems to be 3 steps ahead of the girls.  He/she knows them inside and out.  So wouldn’t he/she have seen right through it as well?  Basically the girls tricked “A” into thinking that Emily was on the outs with all of them so that she would be approach by “A” (which she was) and the girls were going to use that to trap “A” and finally reveal who he/she is.  It worked for a few minutes but eventually “A” got away, but not before leaving behind a valuable clue to who they are…..his/her cell phone!  Which as you could see by the final scene, “A” was severely pissed about that stupid mistake.

I have to say, I was a little disappointed how quickly they wrapped some things up.  For example, Jackie really turned the tables on Aria in the summer finale.  When Aria went to expose Jackie for plagiarism, Jackie told her that she would expose her relationship with Ezra to her parents unless she broke up with him.  I really thought this was going to play out longer.  And actually, I thought it would have been great to watch.  But knowing what was going down between Jackie and Aria, Ezra decided to take Jackie’s power away.  He went to see Ella and Byron and in a very difficult, painful, grueling, scene to watch, he finally came clean about his relationship with their daughter.  I was literally dying for him on my couch!  As to be expected, this went over soooooo well with the Montgomerys.  The asked him to leave, he wouldn’t, Mike punched him, and then Ezra left.  While it was a fabulous scene and all actors played it beautifully, I would really like to have seen this dragged out a little longer.

The other story that I thought was wrapped up too quickly was Tom and Isabel still getting married anyway even thought Hanna exposed his affair with Ashley while they were at the altar.  It was a little too easy.  I know it ruined their wedding day and they didn’t get the wedding they wanted, but it didn’t destroy their relationship the way something like that should.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not rooting for Tom to be miserable, but it was a little too clean for my liking.   As a result of this disaster, an awesome thing has resulted.  Tom and Isabel are moving to Rosewood…with evil Kate.  Kate is a deliciously awful person and every show like this needs a character like that to turn up the bitch volume.  Yes Alison and Jenna have that but you see them so randomly, it isn’t enough.  So I hope Kate will be a regular force that Hanna and the liars will have to deal with for seasons to come!

So what did you think of the winter premiere?  As usual, it was a great episode.  I’m not sure how the liars will use the cell phone to their advantage, but I can’t wait to see.  It also set up some great sub plots with Aria and Ezra’s relationship being public, Kate moving into the fold, Lucas bringing Caleb back to Hanna, and Spencer and Toby trying to find a way to repair their relationship.

 

RECAP & REVIEW: Pretty Little Liars “Picture This” S2 E9

My heart is still breaking for Hanna after her scenes with Caleb tonight on PLL.  I guess I didn’t realize how much I liked them as a couple until a few tears started streaming down my face.  Then I started thinking…..Oh My God I am actually crying during PLL and I’m not 15-years-old!!!!  Oh well.  I don’t care.  Touching moments are touching moments whether they come from teenagers who people in their 30s and 40s.   So be it!

Emily

I know I keep saying this but poor Emily.  I am really starting to feel horrible for this girl.  What is happening to her now reminds me of what A was doing to Hanna last season.  She is doing things just to be cruel.  I’m getting to the point where I am wondering what the hell her/his problem is with the Liars.  Other than these girls having normal teenage issues, they don’t seem like overly cruel horrible people.   So what could they possibly have done to A that has made her/him be so vicious and cruel towards them?  I would really like to know.

Emily and Samara are trying to plan a poker game with Samara’s friends.  She really wants Emily to meet them but their location isn’t working out.   Ashley is there and offers to let the girls use her place since both she and Hanna will be out.   Samara and Emily are really appreciative and thank her for her generosity.  When Samara leaves, Ashley and Emily have a really nice moment in which Ashley tells Emily that she wants her to feel free to invite her friends over anytime and to feel 100% comfortable in being who she is.   She doesn’t have to hide anything.  Ashley is awesome!!!!  But being the good mother-figure, she tells Emily that same rules apply, no girlfriends upstairs in the bedroom, only girl friends.   Then she asks Emily how she’ll know the difference and Em promises to let her know.  It was so sweet.

They have the poker game and everyone is having fun.  A sends Em a text asking her to give her phone number to one of the girls at the game not named Samara or the information about her taking HGH goes viral.  Em wants no part of this but she does it anyway.   While she thought she did it away from everyone, one of the girls saw it and told Samara.  She confronts Em and Em tells her that it was only a friendship number swap but Samara wasn’t buying it and dumps her.   Em’s life sucks right now.

Aria/The Montgomery’s

Aria is having all types of crazy sex dreams.   One minute she’s in bed with Ezra (gross) and the next she’s in bed with Jason (yum!)  It’s completely freaking her out to the point that she goes to Ezra’s office and seduces him before class.   Ok I have a dumb question.   Have he and Aria slept together yet?   I get the impression that all of the Liars are virgins and that if one of them did do the deed, it would have been a bigger deal and discussed among the girls.  But if Ezra and Aria hadn’t slept together before, did they tonight?   Ezra did ask Aria about “picking up where they left off.”   So does that mean they didn’t go as far as it appeared?  I don’t know.  I just know I want them to stop dating!!!

The Liars are still trying to convince Aria to stay away from Jason because he’s dangerous.  I’ll get into this more in Spencer’s section.   Aria isn’t convinced and I’m glad she decided to remind Em (when it was her turn to give Aria grief) that they all were convinced it was Toby at one point and it wasn’t.

After walking home one night, Jason happened to be driving by Aria (which may or may not have been a coincidence based on what we saw in his shed.)   They strike up a conversation that ends with Jason leaning in for a kiss and Aria accepts it!!!!  She doesn’t push him away and is kissing him right back!!  You go girl.   Now before you yell at me Ezra fans with “how can you condone cheating on Ezra…he’s Aria’s true love” argument, you know how I feel about that already so it won’t work on me.   Plus, Aria has been pulling away from him for weeks because of her feeling for Jason intensifying.  But eventually she does pull away and tell him that she can’t because she isn’t available.   Bummer.   Maybe she’ll finally come to her senses and won’t be “not available” for long!

The whole thing with Mike is getting weirder and weirder and I am now starting to get royally annoyed with it.  Byron goes into Mike’s room ready to lay down the law when he sees him curled under a blanket with a blank look on his face.  He’s unresponsive for the most part and eventually Byron leaves asking Mike to join them for dinner, which you know he won’t.   We learn that Byron had a brother who had some sort of issue in the past.  I don’t know if it was drugs or a mental disorder or what.   But seeing Mike like that really freaked him out.   THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!!  I am so sick of them allowing Mike’s behavior to keep continuing and at this point, I don’t feel bad for them anymore.   If they aren’t going to demand discussions and answers or take him to see a doctor, then I don’t want to see them on my screen anymore.  Because now it’s becoming the same thing every week with no progression.  Mike’s pissed and bothered about something he won’t talk about.  He is rude and belligerent to his family and friends and his parents continue to allow it to happen.  So if you aren’t going to progress this story and you are going to keep showing the parents as ignorant fools, then take it off-screen.

Hanna

If Hanna thought she had a rough emotional go of it last week, she had no idea what was about to hit her this week!   What we’ve all been thinking about the man following Caleb around lately has come to fruition.   He wasn’t a cop after him for his cell phone business, but a PI hired by Caleb’s Bio Mom to track him down and find him.   He was able to get her contact information but he didn’t want to reach out to her.   Hanna convinced him that he should because he has wondered about his parents his whole life.  Now is his chance to get some answers.

Later, Caleb comes over to Hanna’s to tell her the good news…he got ahold of his mother and they had a really great conversation.  It was so great that he has decided to spend time with her to get to know her better….in California.  Immediately you see the tears in Hanna’s eyes start to well up.  She completely understands and supports his decision to go and see her so they can start to build their relationship.   She asks him when he’s leaving.  I thought he was going to say “tomorrow” but instead he says “tonight.”   Wow he isn’t wasting anytime.  She offers to drive him to the airport but he says his mother got him a car so he’s good.   Hanna finally starts to act her age and not a mature adult when she asks him what this all means for them.   He tells her that they will talk everyday and that he will be back.   They have a tearful kiss goodbye and right before he walks out, she tells him she loves him.  He stops and turns and says “I love you too.”  Another kiss, and off he goes.   Does any of this seem a bit strange too you?    Don’t you think this is happening awfully fast?  He goes from having no contact with his mother to jumping on a plane to California to be with her that very night and she has made all the arrangements.  Maybe I’m reading too much into this but something seems fishy to me.  I hope I’m wrong.   And I just want to give an extra shout out to Ashley Benson and Tyler Blackburn for their scenes tonight because they were absolutely wonderful!!!!

Spencer

Spencer, Spencer, Spencer.   When are you ever going to learn?   And when are your friends ever going to hit you over the head with a field hockey stick to slow you down!!!!   Typical Spencer like she has done countless times before.   She latches onto to suspect and there is no convincing her otherwise that this person is guilty.   First it was Toby, then it was Ian, and now it’s Jason.  How about accumulating all the evidence you can find, compile it, analyze it, and then start making determinations?   What happened to the Garrett and Jenna angle?   Has she totally forgotten about that?  Yes because she is tunnel visioned on Jason.   For smart girl she drives me absolutely bat shit crazy sometimes!

This week, she and Emily decide to break into Jason’s shed since he blacked out the windows.  Here’s the other thing that drove me crazy.  If he is really trying to hide something, wouldn’t he have hidden the key to the shed somewhere other than right on top of the door?   Seriously?  I think it was all a set up.   Jason may have had a dark room in the shed (which would make blacking out the window a lot more innocent since it would make perfect sense for a darkroom) but I don’t think he was taking those pictures of Aria.  I think those pictures were planted in his shed to lead the Liars to believe Jason is up to no good.  Think about it, A is always 5 steps ahead of them.   It wouldn’t be that big of a stretch for A to know they are on to Jason, A would know the chemistry between Aria and Jason, and A would set this up.  That’s what I think is going on.

Only 2 episodes left until the summer finale!!!  Are you sad?  I am because this is a great show!!!!   But we won’t have to wait too long.  January will be here before we know it!!

 

RECAP & REVIEW: The Nine Lives of Chloe King “Responsible” S1 E9

The penultimate episode of the first season had some interesting developments going on leading up to the summer finale next week.  Chloe is still confused about Alek and Brian but seems to be committing to Alek…for now.   There wasn’t too much with Amy and Paul this week.  Yeah for the Amy part and bummer for the Paul part, although he did have a good scene with Alek.  Jasmine is prepping to go on a date but as soon as this guy showed up, I didn’t like him or trust him.  There was just something about him.  And Meredith invites her boyfriend Frank over for dinner with his girlfriend Vanessa which turns into quite the storyline.

At first, the dinner party with Meredith, Chloe, Frank, and Vanessa isn’t going very well.  Chloe is really enjoying herself and open to getting to know Frank and Vanessa.   Vanessa on the other hand, wants no part of this.  But when they are in Chloe’s room, while the parents have a little make out time, Vanessa starts to open up to Chloe.  She confides in her that she has a boyfriend and she is really into him.  Chloe convinces her to tell him how she feels and Vanessa tells Chloe her handle so they can IM.

The next day, Vanessa is gone.  She took all her things a disappeared.  Chloe was able to get a hold of her via messaging and sets up a time to meet up with her. Vanessa agreed to meet with Chloe because she wanted her to tell her dad that she’s ok.   I’m not sure why Vanessa wouldn’t have hooked up with a friend she is closer to.  I mean she just met Chloe so I found that odd.   But whatever.  Chloe told her dad about the meeting because she was worried and her fears were confirmed when Vanessa tells her that she’s running off with a 27-year-old!   If there are any teenagers reading this right now, let me give you some advice.  If you start talking to a boy online and you find out he’s in his 20s and he knows you are in your teens and he still wants to meet up and hang out with you anyway…RUN, don’t walk, RUN away from that creep as fast as you can.   Trust me, this has nothing to do with your looks or your intelligence or your personality.  It has EVERYTHING to do with there being something wrong with him.   Guys in their 20s NEVER have good intentions going after teenage girls.  And I’m not talking about if your 19 and he’s 20 or 21.  I’m talking about a 10+ year age difference.  Ok, I’m off my soap box now.  Chloe and Frank try to stop Vanessa but she gets away and off she goes with 27-year-old Cody.  Even his name is creepy….Cody.  When Cody and Vanessa show up a dock filled with cargo ships, you know this isn’t going to end well for Vanessa.  Even more so when the other man shows up to force her into one of the cargo containers that has other young girls in it.  Chloe tells her friends what is going on and somehow (I forget how) they connect Cody with these cargo holders.  They get to the docks and wipe out creepy Cody and his crew while rescuing Vanessa and the other girls.  Vanessa returns home and unfortunately the person who pays the ultimate price, is Meredith.  Frank breaks up with her so he can spend more time focusing on Vanessa.  I don’t understand that strategy.   You can still spend more time with your daughter and still date Meredith.  Why does it have to be one or the other?  It’s stupid.  But Meredith respects it and is just happy she can move on and date again.  I don’t know how much moving on she’s actually doing since she did reach out to Jonathan (Chloe’s dad) last week via email.   Because we all know what’s going to happen…he’s going to show back up.   It wouldn’t shock me if he shows up in the finale next week but my gut tells me we won’t see him until possibly next season.

Now someone please help me out here.  Do we know what the Mai did to Whitley’s family?   He mentioned this week how he wants to destroy the Mai (starting with Chloe protectors) because the Mai destroyed his family.  Has that been explained before and I missed it?   I would really like to know what his beef is and if he is the one who started the Order or if the Order was already in existence when he joined them to go after the Mai.  Plus with everything Brian is investigating, there is something that Whitley is hiding.  Did he kill Brian’s mother?   Does he know who did?  Was it Mai?   Was Brian’s mother Mai?   We’ve learned that the story about Mais kissing humans being deadly is a lie so maybe human and Mai can produce children.  I doubt it and it is probably something else.  But there is something shady going on with Brian’s mother’s death/disappearance.  And I’m not sure what Simone’s end game is but she is protecting Brian because when Whitley wanted to see everyone in Chloe’s life, she removed the picture of Chloe and Brian so he wouldn’t see.

Summer finale next week, which means we should have some episodes in January to look forward to!!!  I will do a full recap next week with analysis on the rookie season as a whole, which I have found very entertaining.

 

REVIEW: Pretty Little Liars “My Name is Trouble” S2 E3

As soon as I watched the “previously on Pretty Little Liars” clip, I knew what was going on with Melissa and I have a theory about her baby.   Wren is who she has been speaking to the whole time and she was having an affair with Wren and he is actually the father of her baby and not Ian.     That’s my theory.  I think the texts she was getting was from Wren so that when Spencer sent the “what did we name our baby” text, Wren answered “Taylor” because he’s the baby daddy!!!   Then when the last scene happened, it solidified my thoughts and I am more convinced than ever that Wren is the baby’s father.

Spencer

I find it curious that considering all the “trouble” Spencer has been in and the fact that Melissa is still recovering from a car accident and her husband is either dead or missing, that the Hastings are out-of-town a lot!    Would you leave your daughters in this situation?   I know I would make arrangements for at least ONE of us to be there for them.    I find that strange.

Spencer is determined to find out who Melissa is talking to and she also wants to know if someone is staying with Jason DiLaurentis.  Toby has started working for Jason because no one else will hire him and he really needs the money to start his own business and move out of his house.   Spencer doesn’t like this and wants him to quit.   To help speed that process along, she takes Melissa’s wedding ring and sells it to a pawn shop to get the money to buy Toby a truck so he can take a job in Yardley and stop working for Jason.    I’m not sure why Spencer would be so against Toby working with Jason.   If anything, if Toby gets closer to Jason, he may be able to open a circle of trust and therefore get more information out of him.   Spencer should be encouraging this in my opinion not discouraging it.   One day when Spencer went to visit Toby, Jason was bringing trash bags to the curb and one broke showing rags with blood on it.  Hmmmm.  Did Jason have an accident or is he helping someone with injuries from a fall in a bell tower?   We’ll have to wait and see.

Aria

Aria is now taking a pottery class at Hollis College, where he father teaches, Ezra teaches, and Ezra’s ex fiance teaches.  This surprises me.   Wouldn’t this still be an issue for Ezra?  I don’t know the rules of college professors dating students at the college but I can’t imagine this would be acceptable.  Ezra and Aria had to keep their creepy, out-of-line relationship a secret when Ezra was teaching at Rosewood because he would have gotten fired (and I have to imagine in some states, arrested.)   Now he’s at Hollis and their relationship can be out in the open.  Well if Aria is taking classes at Hollis, whether she is in his class or not, isn’t that against the rules?   She’s 16 and taking a class at a local college where her “boyfriend” teaches.  In my mind, there is soooooo many things wrong with that scenario I don’t even know where to begin.   But I can’t imagine the administration at Hollis, being happy about this.   Boy I really hope they break up soon.

While Aria was taking her pottery class, she noticed Jenna in her class.  She tries to keep her distance and when the teacher asks her what her name is, she says Anita.  Now I would think that regardless of what Aria said her name is, Jenna would be able to recognize her voice.   I’m about to get really angry at the writers for insulting the intelligence of the viewers but then they correct the situation.  When Jenna takes her finished product and asks “Anita” to describe it to her since she can’t see, Aria starts to tell her what it looks like.   It is then that Jenna recognizes her voice and yells at her to blow out the candle (the lights have been turned out and the candle was the only light in the room.)   I have to say, this is the first time I really start to feel bad for Jenna and I think Aria starts to see the full impact of their actions from a very real and emotional level that she (and the audience) really hadn’t seen before from Jenna.  But as soon as Jenna realizes Aria is there, she instantly goes back to crazy mode, so that didn’t last very long!

Hanna

Before we get into Hanna, I have one comment for the writers.  Tom Marin, Hanna’s father (played by Roark Critchlow) was talking about his upcoming wedding to Isabel, his fiance, and said “if she could fill up Veterans Stadium, she would.”    Technically, it should be Lincoln Financial Field.   My beloved Veterans Stadium, which was home to the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies for over 30+ years, was imploded on March 21st 2004.   So it would be quite a challenge for Tom and Isabel to have their wedding at the Vet.

On that front, Ashley and Tom seem to be getting along very well.  Tom is staying in Rosewood a little longer which seems to make Ashley very happy and Isabel very unhappy.  At first I didn’t think Hanna liked the idea of her parents getting chummy again.  But when Isabel sends Tom an apology text,  his cell phone is on the kitchen island while Tom and Ashley are on the patio, drinking wine, laughing, and really enjoying each other’s company.  So Hanna does what any teenager would do….she deletes the text.   I have a feeling that will come back into to play, but for the time being, there was a small part of me that was thrilled Hanna did that because I really like the chemistry between Tom and Ashley.

At school, Hanna is trying to rebuild her friendship with Lucas.   And while Lucas is hesitant and cautious, you can tell he misses Hanna.  I still think there are some residual feelings there on his end, but I really believe that Lucas would rather have some portion of Hanna in his life, than not at all.  And if that is only as friends, so be it.   He looks like he starts crushing on another girl on the yearbook committee so Hanna makes it her mission to help him get a date.   It’s pretty sweet and I think she succeeds.

Emily

Emily is my least favorite character.  She is so maudlin and  morose that she gets on my nerves.  I can’t remember the last time I saw that girl smile.   She always looks like she is going to burst into tears at any moment and she’s a huge downer.  Even when she started dating this new girl, she looks like this is a painful experience for her rather than a happy one.  So I’m hoping the writers start to give her some life and happiness because she drags down every scene she’s in.

Emily came up with a plan to change the Danby letter she received from being more vague about her opportunity to an all out scholarship offer if she stays in Rosewood.   She would then mail it so her mother would receive it and decide to stay in Rosewood vs. moving to Texas.  After a heart to heart with her mom, she decides against.  A, on the other hand, has other plans for her.   A somehow mails the letter to Mrs. Fields and as a result they are staying in Rosewood….prompting another gloomy look from Emily.

While I am enjoying Season Two, I would like to start getting some answers to some questions.  Even if it is just revealed to us and not the Liars, but I need something.    Is Jason bad?   Who is staying with him and why?   Is Ian alive or dead?   What is going on with Melissa?   What’s up with the cop and Jenna?   Is Jenna good or bad?   Is Toby involved in any of this?   Is there any other clue to who A may be?   I dont’ need everything answered.   I’m still ok with not knowing who A is.   But there are major questions being opened up so it would be nice if ONE thing could be solved or ONE question could be answered.   Want to help me out there ABC Family?  Thanks!

 

REVIEW: Pretty Little Liars “It’s Alive” S2 E1

The liars are back.   Season two’s premiere picks up exactly where season one’s cliff hanger left us….outside the church where Ian tried to kill Spencer and Ian being pushed by someone he knew (A?) to his death.   But did he really die?   His body is gone and our fearless foursome is beside themselves.  At Spencer’s they try to put the pieces of what happened together and when they go to grab some coffee, all their parents are downstairs trying to figure out what to do with them.     They all agree that they should see a therapist.  The girls aren’t so sure but they agree to it.  They meet with Anne Sullivan (I will never be able to hear that name without thinking of Helen Keller) who is played by Annabeth Gish, and the girls aren’t really ready to open up to her yet.  After some further discussion the girls decide that they can trust Dr. Sullivan and that what they say to her, stays in the room.  Right now, no one believes the girls and Dr. Sullivan is the only person willing to really listen to them with an open mind.  When they go to see her again, they decide they are going to show her the videos and tell her why they are convinced Ian killed Allison.   However, when Emily is about to show the video, Spencer notices Ezra’s college diploma in her office (A had stolen Ezra’s key from under his mat and the girls find out that A could get into Ezra’s apartment whenever he/she wanted.)  She shuts Emily down and they abruptly leave the office.  The girls realize A knew they were going to see Dr. Sullivan so they shut down the idea of opening up to her.  As a result of their behavior, Dr. Sullivan calls all the parents of the girls and tells them that the girls shouldn’t hang out together anymore.  You can imagine how well that went over!  And it doesn’t last long because Spencer sees a text on her sister’s phone and she think’s it’s Ian.   She calls the girls and they meet in secret place to decide if this is Ian or not.   Aria tells Spencer to ask him something only he would know.   She decides to ask him the name of the baby.   “What is it?” Aria asks.  “Taylor” Spence tells the crew.   So when the text comes back with an answer, guess what it is?   That’s right!   Taylor.  I still don’t think it means it’s Ian.   Melissa could have told lots of people the name.  There was nothing that indicated they were keeping that  secret.  But I’ll go with it.

So what do we think?  I think it’s a shame that no one believes the girls.  But I know they are telling the truth so of course I’m on their side.   I don’t know if Ian is alive.   I could go either way.  In one sense, how would anyone be able to carry a dead body out of the church as fast as it would need to happen for someone to have removed him?  So Ian must have walked out on his own.  On the other hand, this is TV!  Of course they can find a way to have someone carry him out.  I also think the text message is a red herring.  I could be wrong but that’s my feeling.   But the ultimate question is are we sure Ian killed Allison?   I’m trying to remember the season finale (and my memory sucks.)  I know the girls had the videos showing Jenna’s relationship with Toby being much more consenting than Jenna alleged.   Allison had used this to blackmail Jenna into staying quiet about how Jenna lost her sight.   Allison also told Jenna to leave Rosewood and that if she came back, she would destroy her.  Jenna did leave and returned to Rosewood on the day of Allison’s death.  We know Jenna had a connection with Ian and we also know that Jenna has a connection with Garrett the cop whom she asked to help her make sure those videos never see the light of day.  More on that in a minute.   So it could be Ian that killed Allison via a request from Jenna.  But it could be something else entirely.  So I haven’t shut the book on Allison’s killer just yet.   It’s even possible, Allison isn’t dead!   But that’s another discussion for another time.   Back to Jenna’s relationship with Garrett.  I’m not sure when this started or why or what Garrett’s end game is here in deciding to help Jenna.  But if he promised to help her keep the videos hidden, is he the one that broke into Ezra’s apartment and put his diploma in Dr. Sullivan’s office to let the girls know he is watching and listening to them?   Is he A?   Is he one of many As?  Is it possible Garrett isn’t A at all and the girls are just assuming A placed the diploma there but it was really Garrett?   Soooo many questions and so little answers!!

Some other storylines moved forward as well.   Ella has moved back home and getting back together with Byron, which I am very happy about!  Pam has put her house on the market and is moving forward with this move to Texas for her and Emily to be with Colonel Fields.  Toby and Spencer are seeing each other in secret because both parents have told them they are forbidden to see one another.   Melissa is out of the hospital and as usual the Hastings are focusing more on her than on Spencer.  By the way, does anyone else think Melissa is awfully calm considering she was in a car accident, her baby was at risk, and her husband is either missing or dead.  I don’t know about you, but I would be a wreck.   Something seems fishy there.   Caleb came back to see Hanna, thanks to Lucas, and he was able to tell her about the letter he left her.  It didn’t matter because Hanna was so hurt that she sent him away, tearfully.  I really like them.  I want those crazy kids to work something out.  It also led to a great scene with Hanna and Mona where Hanna confronts Mona about not letting her see the letter.  I’m on Hanna’s side here but I do feel bad for Mona.  As much as Mona is a turd, I really do believe that she did this to protect her friend from getting hurt again.   She still shouldn’t have done it, but I understand why she did it.  Ezra is still taking the job at Hollis (where his ex-fiance also works) but this means Aria and Ezra can finally date in public.   I know people are going to scream at their computer screens over my next comment but I have to say it.  I don’t like Ezra and Aria as a couple.  I think it’s creepy and out of line.  A teacher should not date one of his students.  I am so sorry but it is so wrong.  As soon as he learned she wasn’t in college and only 16 and his student, he should have ended the relationship right there.  He’s the adult and the “responsible” grown-up.  Aria is still a kid and it’s completely logical for her to think with her heart vs. her head.   There has to be at least a 7-8 year difference in age.  When you’re older, it doesn’t matter.  But when you are 16 and he’s 23-24, it’s a HUGE difference.  And it’s gross.  I think Aria needs to find someone her own age and Mr. Fitz can start dating Dr. Sullivan or even Ashley Marin.   Anyone would be better than a 16-year-old.

While I love this show so much (probably more than I should) I hope they start answering some questions.  Otherwise this will start to get like Lost, where more and more questions are popping up but nothing is ever getting answered.  I would also like to see the girls having some happy moments again.   These poor girls are so unhappy right now and have nothing positive going on.  Let’s change that a bit and give these girls some happy times interspersed with the grave moments.   Regardless, I am very happy to have my liars back and can’t wait to see where Season Two takes us!

 

RECAP & REVIEW: The Nine Lives of Chloe King “Pilot” S1 E1

The Nine Lives of Chloe King (which I will reference as NLCK) premiered last night on ABC Family.   The show centers around Chloe King (played by Skyler Samuels), who was born in the Ukraine and adopted by an American family.  Chloe’s mom, Meredith (played by Amy Pietz) is a single mom (Chloe’s dad left them 10 years ago when Chloe was 6) and seems to have a solid relationship with her daughter.   Chloe’s closest friends are Amy and Paul (played by Grace Phipps and Ki Hong Lee respectively) and they have all been friends since they were little.  At the start of the show, we see Chloe running from a man with scars on his face.  At this point, we don’t know what’s going on but you know the man chasing Chloe isn’t looking to take her to Starbucks for a latte to get to know her better.  Chloe runs into a tower and runs to the top.  At this point have to stop the recap and ask the same question that is on everyone’s mind.   If you are running away from someone, why do you run to the top of a tower where there is no where else for you to go???????!!!!!!!!!   How many times have you seen this in a movie or TV show?  It drives me up a wall!!!!   Anyhoo, Chloe stares out of the tower to see two people in black running around as well. It’s safe to assume they are working with the man with the scars to find Chloe….or is it?    When Chloe turns around, there is scarface (no it’s not Al Pacino, he’s actually played by Kiko Ellsworth) and he pushes her out the window and she’s dead at the bottom of the stairs.   And that concludes the series.    Thanks for watching!!!!   Oh come on, you know that can’t be it!!!   Now comes the ubiquitous, “Two Days Earlier” on the screen.

It’s Chloe’s 16th birthday and she is wishing for something better….different…to happen in her life.  She has always been the good girl and for once she would like to take a ride on the wild side!    So she decides she wants to go to a club with her friends, meet a cute boy, maybe get kissed for the first time, and dance her little heart out.  She meets Xavier and the hit it off instantly.  The night ends with numbers being exchanged and as Chloe turns to leave, she rushes back and kisses him.  Ah, I remember those days!!

The next day, she is telling Amy about Xavier (Amy and Paul left early because they hooked up unbeknownst to Chloe) when a group of popular kids, led by Alek (played by Benjamin Stone), come over and start messing with Chloe and Amy.  Chloe grabs his basketball and hurls it all the way down the hallway and into a trash can.   We are starting to see little things like this that make Chloe stand out a bit.  Alek notices this too and starts to talk to Chloe, alone.  As he leans in to kiss her, Jasmine (played by Alyssa Diaz) shows up and yells at him not to kiss Chloe.   We assume this is his not so happy girlfriend but appearances are not always what they seem.

Little by little, Chloe is starting to notice more things about her that are different.   She’s running a little faster, she’s jumping really high, she is able to balance on the tiniest of areas, her hearing is very acute.  She’s not sure what all of this means but she is loving it because she feels she is starting to develop these “super powers.”  She also must have garnered some super man attracting powers because she meets ANOTHER guy who she connects with named Brian (played by Grey Damon).    Man this girl went from no dates to player in about 30 minutes!!  She really connects with Brian and decides to go on a date with him (especially since she hasn’t heard back from Xavier.)  Unfortunately in the middle of their date, a dog starts barking at her wildly and she takes off.   Later, Chloe is attacked by a homeless man and scratches his face pretty badly.  When she looks down at her hands, she sees claws coming out of the tips of her fingers.   Well that would certainly freak me out.   These changes aren’t so cool anymore are they?

At one point, when Chloe is running away, she runs into Alek and his girlfriend who wants to talk to her about her “transformation.”  She is wondering what the hell he is talking about (so am I quite frankly.)  He tells her that first Jasmine is not his girlfriend but a fellow Mai assigned to protect Chloe.  A fellow what?   Mai.   We learn that the Mai are an ancient race that are facing extinction at the hands of The Order.   Both Alek and Jasmine are also descendants of the Mai.  They are assigned to protect Chloe.  They start to tell Chloe about the Mai and what all this means and you can see this is starting to be a little too much information for Chloe to absorb.   It gets worse when they tell her she can’t kiss humans because a kiss from a Mai to a human can be fatal.  She remembers her birthday night and how she kissed Xavier and hasn’t heard from him.   They rush to his apartment to see the cops taking him away in a body bag.   Chloe is full of tears and completely devastated.  I would be too.  She tells Alek and Jasmine to stay away from her and to leave her alone and that she wants no part of this.   Oh Chloe, I don’t think you have a choice.

Flash back to the tower and Chloe gets pushed off.  She’s dead at the bottom but when scarface gets to the bottom, he sees she is gone.   We also learn that the two hooded figures Chloe saw at the bottom were not part of scarface’s team but were Alek and Jasmine, following Chloe to protect her.  When Chloe walks away from the fall, scarface, Alek, and Jasmine all realize something huge…..Chloe is the Uniter, savior of the Mai race because she has nine lives.  Chloe was brought about to save the Mai race so Alek and Jasmine do everything they can to keep her safe.   But scarface is on a mission.  He meets up with a man in a limo who tells scarface that he doesn’t care how many times she has to die…kill her until she is really dead!   Alrighty then mystery evil man.

Chloe doesn’t know what to do, that is until her friend Paul gets kidnapped by scarface.   Amy is with her so they go to rescue Paul.   Chloe tells her friend to wait in the car and when Amy asks if she will be ok, Chloe flashes her her claws and says she’ll be just fine.  For the record, Chloe had been telling Amy about her new-found “super powers” so the claw thing probably wasn’t as shocking to Amy as it could have been.  Chloe finds Paul and then scarface shows up then……FIGHT SCENE!!!!   Meanwhile Alek and Jasmine land on Amy’s car scaring the crap out of her and ask where Chloe is.   Amy tells them and follows them in.  A&J help Chloe with her fight while Amy starts talking to Chloe.   “Not now Amy” Chloe tells her while still kicking scarface’s ass.   Alek releases Paul and both he and Amy try to help Chloe, Alek, and Jasmine.  Eventually scarface flees the scene but not before trying to throw a ninja star at Chloe, to which Jasmine steps in front of her and takes the shot.  Alek carries her off to his house to heal and Chloe, Amy, and Paul head out.

At the end of the episode, Jasmine is recouping while Alek stands guard outside Chloe’s home, Brian goes to tell his father about the awesome new girl he’s met and we realize Brian’s father is the head of The Order who is trying to wipe out the Mai race and especially Chloe, Meredith is going through Chloe’s adoption papers, and Chloe receives a mysterious email from someone.   The email simply says “Trust no one, Dad.”    DAD?????   I thought he left 10 years ago?   You know what though, I knew since they were mentioning him so much, he had to be in the picture some how.   So is “Dad” also a Mai and knew about Chloe all along when he adopted her from the Ukraine?   Is Dad not a Mai but still knows who/what Chloe is?   Did Chloe have any contact with her father before this email?    Can’t wait to see where that is going!

So what did you think of the premiere?   I liked it.   The cast is good and so far the premise is interesting.  It’s a little predictable and unoriginal but I still like it.   I instantly liked the character of Chloe and the actress playing her.  Seriously though, who doesn’t like an ass-kicking teenager?   Buffy anyone?   The only thing I don’t like is the best friend, Amy.   Quirky is one thing.  She’s down right annoying.  Her voice, her mannerisms, everything quite frankly.  I hope they can tone her down because every time she was on-screen I wanted to scratch my eyes and ears out with Chloe claws.

 

Pretty Little Liars Returns and The Nine Lives of Chloe King Premiere Tonight

ABC Family’s summer season kicks off tonight with the Season 2 premiere of Pretty Little Liars at 8pm followed by the Series Premiere of The Nine Lives of Chloe King at 9pm.

When last we left the ladies of Rosewood, PA, Ian was revealed as Allison’s killer and tried to kill Spencer before someone killed him.  Or did they?    Ian’s body hasn’t been recovered so either he’s not dead or the person who killed him, took him away from the crime scene.  And who was that person in the hooded sweatshirt?   Was it A?   Was it someone working for or with A?   Was it Toby?   So many questions to be answered!

Here’s another question I have….are we 100% sure Allison is dead?   Did we ever see her body and receive confirmation that she is in fact really deceased?  Maybe I’m trying to read more into something than what is really there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if awful little Ali really isn’t dead after all.   But if she is really dead, then who is A?  If you have read the books and know who A is, DO NOT SPOIL IT FOR ME OR ANYONE ELSE WHO DOESN’T KNOW!!   I’ve been to other sites where people get their kicks out of spoiling things in the comments section.  Don’t even think of trying that here!

Even in my 30s, I love a good teen show.   This one is very well done.  It’s probably the best teen show on TV.   Maybe because there is a touch of realism where these girls actually go to school, study, have parents that treat them like children, and have real problems girls’ their age face.   They just happen to have this murder investigation hanging around their heads due to the death of their former friend.  But it’s well written and a solid cast and great summer guilty pleasure!

The Nine Lives of Chloe King (which will now be known as TNLOCK) premieres right after PLL.  Skyler Samuels stars as Chloe King who discovers she has these cat-like powers and is part of a group called the Mai.  She meets a young boy, Alek, who also shares these powers and is her mentor in learning how she will live her life with this new-found information.  There is a group called The Order that is out to destroy all the Mai and now they are coming after Chloe.

It sounds like this show will have some mythology to it as well as a young ass kicker similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I’ll definitely check it out since it is after PLL.   Tomorrow I’ll let you know guys know what I think.