Pretty Little Liars: To Plea or Not to Plea
March 4, 2015 6:45 AM - Season 5, Episode 23 - Subscribe
Aria, Emily and Hanna keep looking for a way to prove Ali’s innocence without incriminating Mike. The D.A. proposes a plea bargain agreement for Ali that includes naming one of the Liars as her accomplice. Meanwhile, not knowing what is happening back in Rosewood, Spencer gets a much needed break from all the drama with a night out on the town in London.
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Parents
Recaps and Reviews
Washington Post
Entertainment Weekly
Onscreen Hashtags
#WhoIsAndrew
#AlisScared
#EndofEzria
Bonus PLL Power Rankings
Parents
Yeah, I am also glad Aria and Ezra (Mr. Fitz, seriously, I mean, he was her teacher for fuck's sake) have split up. That is definitely good.
I also feel like this was a good episode for Spencer; I know I've said this a lot recently but I feel like they lost their way with her a bit and her desperately wanting to go to the Royal Shakespeare Company to see Hamlet and then being disappointed that it was a modern interpretation was a good return to form. Also the teacher guy (I forget his name) is irritating to me but a totally legit choice for her. He may be smarmy but he's not a dick (GOD I HOPE JOHNNY'S GONE FOREVER) and I think Spencer, being a very smart high school senior, is not going to mind the pretension nearly as much. Definitely a solid episode for her. I also liked her and her sister talking about how screwed up their relationship is, trying to fix it, and then falling right back into the same dynamic.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:59 AM on March 4, 2015
I also feel like this was a good episode for Spencer; I know I've said this a lot recently but I feel like they lost their way with her a bit and her desperately wanting to go to the Royal Shakespeare Company to see Hamlet and then being disappointed that it was a modern interpretation was a good return to form. Also the teacher guy (I forget his name) is irritating to me but a totally legit choice for her. He may be smarmy but he's not a dick (GOD I HOPE JOHNNY'S GONE FOREVER) and I think Spencer, being a very smart high school senior, is not going to mind the pretension nearly as much. Definitely a solid episode for her. I also liked her and her sister talking about how screwed up their relationship is, trying to fix it, and then falling right back into the same dynamic.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:59 AM on March 4, 2015
They're also really pushing this "three more episodes until the A reveal" thing and I am getting desperate to know who it is. Fingers crossed for Emily!
Seriously though, I'm trying to figure out who would not be disappointing because they're too recent or not enough a part of the show without being totally bonkers insane because it makes no sense. I'm drawing a blank. If it's CeCe Drake I will be disgusted and disappointed. If it's some Johnny-Come-Lately (hahaha) I will be annoyed. If it's someone who was part of the show for a while but has disappeared completely (pretty much any parents except Hannah and Spencer's moms) that will be kind of disappointing too. I actually do kind of hope it's Emily. She never suffered as much anyway, I don't think, except for killing that guy and if she's A then whatever.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:01 AM on March 4, 2015
Seriously though, I'm trying to figure out who would not be disappointing because they're too recent or not enough a part of the show without being totally bonkers insane because it makes no sense. I'm drawing a blank. If it's CeCe Drake I will be disgusted and disappointed. If it's some Johnny-Come-Lately (hahaha) I will be annoyed. If it's someone who was part of the show for a while but has disappeared completely (pretty much any parents except Hannah and Spencer's moms) that will be kind of disappointing too. I actually do kind of hope it's Emily. She never suffered as much anyway, I don't think, except for killing that guy and if she's A then whatever.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:01 AM on March 4, 2015
Oh, also, the part with Allison getting beaten up in prison? What was that? Like, I knew something was going to happen because everyone slipped out and locked the doors, but was it A? Was it an emissary of A? She clearly knew the person, right?
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:03 AM on March 4, 2015
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:03 AM on March 4, 2015
Obviously Ali is not going to spend 15 years in jail, so the question is what's next? Presumably the Liars will find a way to get her and Hanna both out, but how? This season has three more episodes, so they've got time to do it, but I'm really really hopeful that there's a scheme in the works immediately.
If Allison's not taking the plea then I think that should help Hanna at least, right? But I suppose she's already been arrested and they're not just going to release her now. I suspect Ali's trial will begin in the first episode of next season but I would also be happy if it were settled earlier.
Does anyone think Hanna might be A? She and Mona were best friends and, like Mona, she has the "secretly really smart" thing going on, although I don't think she'd do all that stuff to her mother so probably not. It would be sort of neat, though. Also maybe she WANTED to get arrested to be closer to Ali to threaten her which is why Ali got that "take the plea" message. Maybe? Probably not.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:12 AM on March 4, 2015
If Allison's not taking the plea then I think that should help Hanna at least, right? But I suppose she's already been arrested and they're not just going to release her now. I suspect Ali's trial will begin in the first episode of next season but I would also be happy if it were settled earlier.
Does anyone think Hanna might be A? She and Mona were best friends and, like Mona, she has the "secretly really smart" thing going on, although I don't think she'd do all that stuff to her mother so probably not. It would be sort of neat, though. Also maybe she WANTED to get arrested to be closer to Ali to threaten her which is why Ali got that "take the plea" message. Maybe? Probably not.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:12 AM on March 4, 2015
I don't have much to say other than that Ezra is stupid and I hate him and his idiotic "helping" and his vacant facial expressions and his terrible novel and his managing to fail upwards into yet another career that will put him in charge of teenage girls. I would hope that he's A except that I doubt he has the intelligence to formulate any of the plots or the competence to execute them.
posted by Copronymus at 9:57 AM on March 4, 2015
posted by Copronymus at 9:57 AM on March 4, 2015
I hope that it turns out that A has been using him all along somehow, that he is the biggest, most glorious patsy in history and somehow this is all his fault but he's not actually A, just a bumbling jackass who keeps doing high schoolers. When he and Emily and Aria were driving to that lawyer's house, he wasn't even the most mature person in the car! He might have been the least mature person in the car!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 10:07 AM on March 4, 2015
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 10:07 AM on March 4, 2015
The dude was sitting in the back of the car, anxiously leaning forward to try to get involved in the conversation. It was like one of them brought along their little brother.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:38 AM on March 4, 2015
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:38 AM on March 4, 2015
What does everyone think about the bit with the lawyer at the end? Have they found A's house? That lawyer was working for A instead of Mona? Or working for both?
Also WHAT THE FUCK EMILY you just called that phone number? You don't think A will know EXACTLY what's going on? SERIOUSLY? At least use a damn pay phone. Jesus Christ, woman, you are better than this, or you should be.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:03 AM on March 4, 2015
Also WHAT THE FUCK EMILY you just called that phone number? You don't think A will know EXACTLY what's going on? SERIOUSLY? At least use a damn pay phone. Jesus Christ, woman, you are better than this, or you should be.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:03 AM on March 4, 2015
On that one hand, Emily should absolutely know better. On the other, A is practically omniscient, there's not much you can do. A would know either way.
I feel like that can't be A's house. A should be someone we know and presumably people would know if anyone actually lived there.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:14 AM on March 4, 2015
I feel like that can't be A's house. A should be someone we know and presumably people would know if anyone actually lived there.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:14 AM on March 4, 2015
Yeah, maybe "lair" is more accurate -- I meant "A's house" in the sense of "a house belonging to A" like you'd say "A's book" or "A's burner cell phone" or anything of which there are a great number. I certainly don't think that's A's only house although it seems likely to be A's Lair House.
What about Caleb? It just occurred to me that, other than Mona, he's the one with the technological ability to pull all this off although I would be sad if it turned out he didn't really love Hanna. I am not All About them like some people but I think they have a healthy relationship (especially for this show -- JESUS I can't even list how terrible many of them were. I loved Paige and Emily but when you get down to it Paige bullied the fuck out of Emily and tried to drown her in a pool before coming out so that's definitely not the best example, obviously Ezra's just a creepy nitwit, Wren isn't the best guy ever...it goes on, too, Jesus) and I'd be sorry to see that undermined.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:12 PM on March 4, 2015
What about Caleb? It just occurred to me that, other than Mona, he's the one with the technological ability to pull all this off although I would be sad if it turned out he didn't really love Hanna. I am not All About them like some people but I think they have a healthy relationship (especially for this show -- JESUS I can't even list how terrible many of them were. I loved Paige and Emily but when you get down to it Paige bullied the fuck out of Emily and tried to drown her in a pool before coming out so that's definitely not the best example, obviously Ezra's just a creepy nitwit, Wren isn't the best guy ever...it goes on, too, Jesus) and I'd be sorry to see that undermined.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:12 PM on March 4, 2015
Oh man, the Haleb people on Twitter if it turns out to be Caleb? They'd lose their goddamn minds. That would be fun to watch.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:31 PM on March 4, 2015
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:31 PM on March 4, 2015
I love that you pay attention to PLL on Twitter. It is a very attractive quality.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:54 PM on March 4, 2015
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:54 PM on March 4, 2015
Is that house in the woods the same as the Creepy Sex Cabin? Or do they just have one set for all creepy woods lairs?
posted by Copronymus at 6:51 AM on March 5, 2015
posted by Copronymus at 6:51 AM on March 5, 2015
No the Creepy Sex Cabin was Ezra's although it looked a lot like Caleb's...place? Where the fuck was Caleb even living? How does he afford rent? I guess his mom's helping him out? God I can't wait for the next episode of this show.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 6:55 AM on March 5, 2015
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 6:55 AM on March 5, 2015
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As an episode the will she won't she plea bargain tension meant that not a lot happened until the end when Hanna went to jail. I did laugh at Ali for insisting that she serve her 15 years somewhere safer than the county jail.
Obviously Ali is not going to spend 15 years in jail, so the question is what's next? Presumably the Liars will find a way to get her and Hanna both out, but how? This season has three more episodes, so they've got time to do it, but I'm really really hopeful that there's a scheme in the works immediately.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:30 AM on March 4, 2015