Every finale of ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars promises enough twists and turns to make your head spin, so when the network touted the summer finale of Season 4 as having “the biggest reveal yet”, I have to admit, I was more than skeptical.
Well, I take it back.
A new shocking person revealed as “A,” the truth about Alison’s (Sasha Pieterse) death, the permanently instagram-filtered town of Ravenswood, Mona (Janel Parrish) and CeCe (Vanessa Ray)? This finale was a non-stop thrill ride meant to shock, awe and taunt you until the Ravenswood premiere this fall. And it worked.
Note: MAJOR Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen the summer finale of PLL, “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t.”
OH. MY. GOD.
You guys, EZRA is “A”. Wait, did I type that right? I did!??! Ezra (Ian Harding) is “A”!!
I think I may still be reeling from the shock and despair. After presumably following the Liars to Ravenswood, Aria’s (Lucy Hale) ex is revealed in a black baseball cap glaring around his/”A’s” newly discovered lair yelling and angrily hitting a door. And the fans, well, we are still picking our jaws up off the floor.
How could it be, Mr. Fitz, is captain of the “A” team? With larger than life pictures of Ali plastered all over the walls of the lair and a timeline of each Liar’s secrets and events as well as an intense surveillance set up, it’s obvious the English teacher has been doing his homework on our girls.
He’s kept tabs on everyone in the Liar universe, including Ali herself. That’s right, ALISON IS ALIVE. According to Ali’s old sorority pal, Mrs. Grunwald (Meg Foster), Ali was terrified of this man and the night she went missing, Mrs. G felt something terrible was going to happen. Upon arriving at Ali’s house in Rosewood, she found her buried alive and reaching out from the dirt. She pulled her to safety, but when she took her to the hospital to get help, Ali disappeared.
Mrs. G warned the girls that Ali was unsure she could trust them and to leave Ravenswood, telling them, “you’re being watched. He’s hoping you lead him to Alison.”
Of course, the girls stick around but we’ll have to wait until October for more answers.
As for what else went down on the finale, here goes…
“A” loves magic. To get the girls to Ravenswood, all of “A’s” text messages on the finale were accompanied by packages addressed to all four girls. What did they receive? Four magic 8-balls, a child’s coffin complete with a doll of nerd Mona and a magic box containing a saw. Creepy.
Even creepier, “A” made Emily (Shay Mitchell) disappear and almost got her sawed in half.
CeCe is “Red Coat.” While the penultimate episode of this summer season gave us some indication that CeCe was donning the red coat, the finale confirmed it. In Rosewood, she’s wanted for questioning in Wilden’s death. While in Ravenswood, the sneaky blonde went toe to toe with Aria and fell to the ground. Though it seemed she was dead for a moment, she was up and gone a minute after the Liars turned around. Meanwhile, another Red Coat, presumably Ali, led Spencer (Troian Bellisario) to “A’s” lair.
Ashley Marin (Laura Leighton) was cleared of all charges in Detective Wilden’s murder. The information provided by Travis to the police helped Hanna’s (Ashley Benson) be set free. Later, she looked hot and went on a date with Pastor Ted.
Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) headed to Ravenswood. Hanna’s hot boyfriend got on an old sketchy bus to his new town and show.
Mona, Shana and Wren (?) are in cahoots. It’s not clear how it happened, but Mona is no longer a patient at Radley. She’s seen by Toby (Keegan Allen) hiding out at a bed and breakfast and chatting with Shana (Aeriel Miranda) towards the end of the episode. Mona asked Shana, “You sure she’s ok with this?” who responds, “She doesn’t have a choice.” Could they be referring to Melissa who happens to be with Wren in London? Or Jenna?
Buzz Moments
OMG: I still can’t believe it…. Ezra is “A”! Seriously, he’s “A.” I mean What? Who? Huh? I still need to process this.
Thank you, TV gods.: For answers … they are all a PLL fan wants.
Awk-ward: Ezra thanking Aria for coming over the previous night after having just taught her about A Midsummer Night’s Dream in class. You are her teacher, Ezra, and you are at school … STOP IT.
Hotness: Caleb, Rosewood is sure going to miss you.
Fab-u-lous: There were so many clothes I wanted to steal on this episode, I’m thinking PLL upped their fashion game just for the finale. One of my faves was Hanna’s printed peplum top. It’s Rachel Roy and is available at Macy’s. For this and other fashion finds from the episode, head to wornontv.net.
Can. Not. Wait.: For the Ravenswood/Halloween episode double punch on October 22. It’s so close yet SO FAR.
Celebuzz (1-10): 9. As usual, this finale of PLL delivered. I’m just hoping that the explanation for Ezra as “A” is justifiable and that the writers stick with it instead of turning him good again ala Toby.
So now it’s your turn! Were you shocked about Ezra as “A”? How about Ali being alive? What do you think Mona and Shana are up to? Give us any and all of your thoughts, theories and feelings in the comments below!
