Pretty Little Liars: The Bin of Sin

January 28, 2015 6:43 AM - Season 5, Episode 17

Suspecting that Alison is out to frame her for Mona’s murder, Hanna is not willing to just sit by and let it happen. When Caleb and her friends try to come up with a safe plan to get Hanna off the hook, it isn’t good enough for her. Taking her fate into her own hands, Hanna strikes out alone to clear her name. Meanwhile, relationships are tested when Aria comes clean to Ezra and Spencer’s shady actions continue to put Toby in a bind at work.

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posted by Bulgaroktonos (15 comments total)

That liquid nitrogen thing was just exactly the kiln thing but with cold instead of heat, and was a lot like the shower thing a long time ago which also involved Aria and Spencer. Too much plot/tension recycling too soon.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:02 AM on January 28, 2015

I do think the abandoned ice cream factory has potential, though. I think some of the creepy factory has been toned down since it stopped being so much about Mona with her dolls and we haven't spent as much time at Radley so I hope this works out.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:09 AM on January 28, 2015

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of the liquid nitrogen thing, and at this point I have no clue why any of these character ever think about entering an abandoned ice cream factory, much less split up once they get inside. That said, abandoned ice cream factory is a hilariously self-conscious setting, which I like.

The show as a whole is feeling a bit like they've got an endgame for the season set up and they're just waiting, poking at romantic relationships and putting the girls in minor danger to pass the time.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:15 AM on January 28, 2015

Yeah, I think there's something to that. They've also basically been ignoring the Ali in jail stuff which I get because it's kind of heavy for the show but on the other hand if they're going to keep talking about her and she's, you know, back then it would be nice to include that.

They have also all just started completely assuming that Ali is A which makes me sure that she isn't, at least for now. It does feel like we're killing time; most of the drama is one-off stuff like the kiln or the freezer and there hasn't been much actual long-term crazy manipulation happening in a while.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:26 AM on January 28, 2015

I mean, again, what secrets do we actually have now? Jason and Mrs. Marin, fair, that's pretty juicy, although she might tell Ted anyway (I think she should NOT tell him but I also think she should not marry him; I think he's a really good man and loves her and I think she cares for him but does NOT love him and would not be happy in their life together). Aria told Ezra about the letter, and I was really proud of her for that, although it did rob me of a potential chance to see the world's ugliest crier.

We need some actual long-term secrets, interesting exciting life-destroying stuff, not the bullshit kiln-trappings we've had. I miss the girls being manipulated into betraying each other to save themselves. Man, that was some awesome psychological stuff! Seeing exactly what their limits are? Seeing how good friends they are? Choosing between friends and family? That's what made this show great. Also them being just constantly freaked out because they were being watched all the time. They don't seem scared or tense enough anymore.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:31 AM on January 28, 2015

Oh God and we haven't even talked about that women hitting on Emily (vindication: totally saw it coming). She's too old for Emily, right? I think it's true age-wise and it's DEFINITELY true life-wise. She's an actual adult with an actual job. What does she see in Emily? It creeps me out, especially because she hasn't seen Emily as awesome and confident, just as scared and incompetent and defensive in a very teenage way. That bookstore is just a haven for adults engaged in inappropriate relationships.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:43 AM on January 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

The argument for Ms. Marin marrying Pastor Ted is that he's decent to Hanna, but I don't see it being enough.

As secret's go: We've got Hanna's name being on the lease to where they're all assuming Mona's body is (in the PLL universe making assumptions changes the actual fabric of reality to make your assumed fact untrue, so obviously it's something else). We've presumably got some unknown to the viewer secrets about Mona's death and the real A, but we're removed from the using secrets to manipulate game that Mona and Ali excelled at.

The Talia into Emily thing is kind of annoying, if only because it seems like every woman Emily spends any on-screen time with turns out to be into her. The relationships also tend to start in really bad places and then we forget about that. Remember when Paige tried to drown her?
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:47 AM on January 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah that was hilarious (by which I mean "awful, but also hilarious").
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:52 AM on January 28, 2015

Oh, what does everyone think about Spencer and Toby? I understand her point that she would like him to protect them but I think she is being unreasonable and is extra-upset because she can feel them growing apart and it's really hard. I don't like seeing them fight and I really, REALLY hope she does not end up with tempera paint guy who thank heaven was not in this episode. He would just be another in a list of smart guys who want someone smart to admire them and don't really appreciate her as a person.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2015

I don't see how Toby and Spencer can stay together without him either quitting the police or her having wildly different expectations of what him being a cop means to their relationship. If I had to predict, he does something to help one of the girls out of a jam, gets caught, gets suspended, and then cuts ties with her, at least for a little while. Just a guess, though.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:10 AM on January 28, 2015

That seems reasonable. They also started talking about what will happen when she goes to college, something that came up with Aria and Ezra as well, and already happened with Emily and Paige. I understand why he wanted to join the police force, but the whole thing is such a giant conflict of interest I'm shocked they hired him.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:12 AM on January 28, 2015

Even with the three month jump in the middle of season five, the show has been averaging 2.8 months/season since the start of season three. That would put them going into college sometime in season eight, say during 2017, when Troian Bellisario will be 32. I suspect the girls don't make it to college during the run of this show.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:18 AM on January 28, 2015

I'm guessing the finale will be their high school graduation, yeah. It's always weird when they talk about stuff like college because in life this would be a huge thing, the part of the year where all the seniors are getting their letters, and in the show it just pops up every now and then because anything that marks the passage of time is anathema to the PLL's writers. Does Emily have ANY idea what she's doing?
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:35 AM on January 28, 2015

I like what this series has done with the whole "A" thing, much more satisfying than Gossip Girl's underwhelming reveal.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 8:04 PM on January 28, 2015

I agree with that (watched like half a season of Gossip Girl and got over it -- it's no O.C.) although at this point there have been so many pseudo-reveals it's gotten a little eye-rolly. We'll see what happens when we find out who A ACTUALLY is, probably around 2035.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 5:30 AM on January 29, 2015