Pretty Little Liars Review: Wading Through the Secrets

at .  Updated at .

It's getting really hard to keep your head above water on this show. And to continue enjoying what has started out as a very slow-paced Pretty Little Liars Season 5.

For awhile, we tread through one reveal after another, waiting for things to finally become a little easier. Then, we're tossed back into the deep end to drown in more secrets

Pretty Little Liars Season 5 Episode 3 shows us just how much hasn't really changed since those first mysteries began. Even with Alison returning to Rosewood, we still haven't figured out who tried to kill her, who's behind this A-team, whether the N.A.T. club really mattered....and so on. Instead we get little answers, like who killed Wilden.

Moreover, the characters who should know better by now continue to lie, cover up and make ominous warnings. And the writers stall us with needless flashbacks.

It seemed like all Hanna did this week (except for discovering that Jason had to been in that Philly apartment when his mother died) was reflect on her transformation from Hefty Hanna to Queen Bee... all because Ali made another terrible comment about her weight.

I guess Alison hasn't changed much after all, huh?

The flashbacks led Hanna to realize that she didn't/doesn't know who she really is. Pretty standard teenage angst, but I'm more curious about Mona's role in all of this. Why did she push Hanna to be an Alison clone? Why was she and another mystery girl (Alison?) spying on Hanna at the salon?

In other teenage drama, Paige and Emily get drawn together by the new girl, Sydney. There's some awkwardness, but again I was more interested in this new girl's role than any of their relationship drama. New people on the show (unless they're celebrity cameos) always go through the same pattern of suspicious, innocent - and then "surprise!" villainous behavior.

What about Sydney? Is she really just a kind of weird new girl?

But on to the real reason we keep coming back: the mysteries!

It seems Jason's been cleared of suspicion...for now. But no one's ever completely innocent on this show.  He warned Spencer to walk away from this whole thing (unlikely!) and he seems willing to leave Rosewood fairly quickly after his mother died.

Is that just for the sake of his sobriety? We know he has more secrets to tell, but does he pose a threat to anyone?

Melissa and Mr. Hastings continue keeping their big secret...and yet they can't stop talking about it. Of course they should know better by now that trying to get Spencer to drop anything is an impossible task. Seriously, haven't they been paying attention these last few seasons?

Should we be more suspicious of Melissa or her father? Melissa's never been very trustworthy, but something about Mr. Hastings belligerent attitude worries me.

And just why did he take Alison home? What would the two of them even talk about?

Alison herself is definitely not above suspicion. She never has been. There's more to her story, and Ezra's apparently, and I wonder how long it will be before we find out just what she's hiding.

Well, between Melissa, Mr. Hastings, Ezra, Alison, Mona and maybe even Jason, it feels like everyone is withholding some vital information. It makes it hard to know who to believe, what to believe and who we (and the liars) should be the most worried about.

Who do you trust the least?

Surfing the Aftershocks Review

Editor Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
  • 3.5 / 5.0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
User Rating:

Rating: 3.8 / 5.0 (46 Votes)
Show Comments
Tags: ,

Pretty Little Liars Season 5 Episode 3 Quotes

She's going to bury the woman who tried to bury her.

Spencer

Emily: Coincidences happen.
Spencer: Yeah, all the time. They grow on trees like coconuts just waiting for you to walk under them.