The last few weeks of Pretty Little Liars has been the equivalent of a tumultuous relationship between two people. There have been great times, and there have been bad times. The problem is that I've gotten to know the latter a lot more than usual and it has put a serious crimp in my affections toward the show. In other words, I'm in a serious bad romance with Pretty Little Liars that even Lady Gaga herself might stage an intervention to prevent me from hurting myself further.
The most ironic thing about this whole scenario? Last night's episode was all about complicated relationships and how far from 'picture perfect' they had become. Talk about art imitating life... It's moments like these that make me fall in love with PLL all over again, despite the irrelevant plot lines I witnessed on our date tonight. So, let's begin this discussion by starting with the bad before we get to the good...
Why Should We Care About Mike?
All season long, I have had the unfortunate task of seeing Mike Montgomery, a seriously irrelevant character in my eyes, become more and more prevalent to the point that he eventually got his own storyline. A storyline that has annoyed me more than intrigued me, because there isn't any viable excuse for Mike's behavior. When Ella left after finding out about Byron's infidelity, it made sense for Mike to have a sort of rebellious nature. Now that his family has been pieced back together, Mike's rebel without a cause nature has went into serious overdrive with not stopping point in sight. Again, why should I care?
It seems as if the writers heard me banging my head on my TV screen from afar and decided to give us an answer to why Mike is giving Jenny Humphrey from Gossip Girl a run for her money in the Most Annoying Sibling Award. Seems that Mike might be in the beginning stages of some form of depression, which was hinted at by Byron, who's own brother was disturbed in some capacity himself. While I personally know the effects of depression, I hope this storyline pays off in some way. Maybe 'A' will use this as something to use against Aria, but until that happens, I just can't with this storyline.
Caleb, You're A Cool Guy But...
So far this season, Hanna's storylines have been dominated by the men in her life, namely her father and Caleb. While I welcomed the return of Caleb to Rosewood (he was truly a better fit for Hanna than Sean or
Lucas ever were), I sort of didn't care about his own issues outside of his relationship with Hanna. Then the bombshell was dropped that his long lost biological mother had not only searched for him via private detective, but she also wanted him to come stay with her and her rich family. You would've thought that a sledgehammer had connected with Hanna's head, but despite that gut-wrenching goodbye scene, I couldn't help but think about how... relieved I was that he was going. Caleb had become a major distraction to Hanna, in my opinion, and didn't offer anything to the overall scheme of things. Was he a viable boyfriend for Hanna? Without a shadow of a doubt. However, he was never there unless Hanna was trying to crack his own mystery.
I hope Caleb returns in come capacity, but I'm going to need him to be supportive of Hanna's storylines and not the other way around.
With those two gripes out the way, let's take a look at what Pretty Little Liars did to tell me that things will get better between us in the future.
'A' Ruins Another One of Emily's Relationships. Jealous Much?
'A' has seriously been gunning to make Emily's life a living hell this year. Last week's steroids attack was jaw-dropping and goes in the Top Three Worst Things 'A' Has Ever Done with Hanna's hit and run and this year's fashion show debacle. But last night's scheme of forcing Emily to give her number to one of Samaire's friends, in order to avoid having the steroids results posted everywhere, has me wondering why does 'A' have it in for Emily so tough this year? Plus, how the hell did he/she know the name of Samaire's friend in the first place? Hmmm...
Jason, You Peeping Tom...
We knew all along that something was up with Jason and that shed of his, but professional peeping tom didn't come to mind. It seems like Rosewood is a hotbed for these type of people, but Jason looked as if he had them all beat. Could Jason have been in cahoots with Ian when they were spying on the Little Liars the night Jenna had her accident? Or was that really Toby (I'm confused on that one...)
Either way, Jason has some issues and they involve a serious, if not deadly, obessession over Aria, who is struggling herself with her attraction to Jason and her love for Ezra. Despite my disappointment of Ezra and Aria's relationship, I would support it after seeing Jason's House of Aria photos he has been taking and collecting. Plus, I wonder how (or if) 'A' will return all of Jason's things or if it was Jason who left that creepy message behind with the flashlight. The guy looks more and more suspect and I feel that it won't be long before he strikes.
Then there is the Jenna and Garrett situation. What night could they be talking about? Jenna's accident or Alison's death? Could they be trying to find out who the murderer is as well? Are they helping 'A'? Or could they be just trying to cover up something else entirely?
So before I go, I want to assure fellow fans of Pretty Little Liars that despite all that I said earlier, I am not upset, just worried. I'm not angry, just a little disappointed. I just want to preserve the relationship I have with Pretty Little Liars and go back to the way we were. Is that too much to ask?
Your thoughts on last night's PLL?
My biggest problem with the show by far is how this 'A' individual always seems to get a leg up on them but they are never smart enough to get a leg up on 'A'. It's like, we get it, 'A' ruins lives and runs the show. How many terrible things do we have to see continually happen to these girls to get that particular point across?
This is minor and also not related to the episode, but why are the men so creepy or angry or whathaveyou? I know the books are written by a woman but I doubt the writer is also the show runner. Have some balls, person in charge, and create a NORMAL male character on the show, who isn't a cheater, suspect, or villain.