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Pretty Little Liars - She's No Angel - Review: "Heart-Stopping Show-Stopper"

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6.05 - "SHE'S NO ANGEL"
Directed by Michael Grossman
Written by Oliver Goldstick and Maya Goldsmith
Reviewed by Gavin Hetherington

Note: Hey guys. This is my last review of Pretty Little Liars until I come back from Cambodia early August. Kate Sidwell is going to be stepping in to review episodes 6-8, and I'll be back in time for the last 2 episodes of 6A.

SEASON GUIDE




'SHE'S NO ANGEL' REVIEW

This was an awesome episode! It was creepy, insightful and had some really great developments. I think, to me, it's the best episode since the premiere, Game On, Charles, even though this episode was still far from perfect. I think the only thing dragging the show down for me right now is Emily's storyline with Sara. Like seriously, I am finding the other three girls way, WAY more entertaining at the minute and it's been like this all season long now. Emily's storyline in this episode basically consisted of helping Sara get emancipated and in the process, she got a tattoo due to peer pressure. How does this compare to going into Radley after dark and going to a junkyard only to be followed by A (and get a photo of her). They could have cut all of Emily's scenes out and I never would have noticed, and it's not like they provided any substance. I guess it got better when Aria texted Emily and Sara saw it. I expected Sara to delete it so she wouldn't see, but then that would reflect badly on her when Emily would have found out about it, so she went the better route and told Emily that she has seen this A person too. That way she can still look like a victim and remain in Emily's trust. I still think Sara is in cahoots with Charles or A, helping them in some way, brainwashed from all those years of being in the dollhouse. Hopefully, moving forward Emily's storyline is going to get better now Sara knows Emily is chasing A, because now maybe Emily won't act like a protective mother hen whose proud of her baby when she submits some paperwork for independence. Come on Emily, get back to being interesting.

Aria, I can't tell you how much I am liking you more and more this season. It may have to do with Ezra being absent in this episode (what is he contributing to the show now these days except pep talks and guilt trips) but it also had Aria be very productive - way more than Emily but a little less so than Spencer and Hanna. I am quite liking this new Clark guy and he seems to be okay - but remember my fellow Liars, don't just blindly trust anyone in Rosewood. Stay vigilant. I liked their scenes at the junkyard, and I thought Aria was going to beat his ass up when he took that photo of her. I don't blame her - she's probably sick of unwanted photos being taken of her by strangers. Aria said she would now embrace the creepy, which is better for her to do than fight it like she has been doing the past five seasons. She's growing up, that's for sure. I want this relationship with Clark to remain platonic though, as Aria did decline his dinner invitation and said she wasn't looking. Can we not just have a nice, normal boy-girl relationship on this show that doesn't take the romantic route? The best parts for Aria comes from the photo that Clark took where you see A in the background. I'm not sure how Aria noticed that tiny detail on the string of undeveloped photographs but whatever, it kept her relevant in this episode. Her moment at the end when she realised A is a girl and texted the others was great.

Spencer and Hanna basically go hand-in-hand in this episode, but I'll talk about Hanna separately in the next paragraph along with Mona. What was that opening? Some little girl dancing (was it ballet?) in a creepy-ass room around, and on top of, bathtubs and banging the wall and stuff. I knew Spencer was dreaming, so I thought maybe that was her younger self? It was a great opening really, as it set the mood for the rest of the episode - and it was quite a dark mood too. I guess not all of it was gloomy as Spencer seemed to kick her addiction out the window by giving Dean her pot cookie. Way to go Spencer! I liked her scene at the addiction meeting - doing what any sane person would and munch on those delicious looking brownies - and it was pretty cool to see Dean again. I like when familiar faces show up, really establishes the world within Rosewood. It's very fast for Spencer to recover though, but she has been through it before and she's a little wiser now, so let's just see where this takes her. And I can't speak more highly of her scenes with Hanna in Radley! Amazing! Love the atmosphere and the pairing of the two - complete opposites but they work so amazingly together. I liked how it connected with the opening, but still, why the dancing little girl? My heart almost jumped when the bath water revealed what could have been a dead body. That was an exciting little moment between the two.

Hanna is totally my main girl now, and I was so excited to have Mona back too! Mona was acting very sketchy in this episode and it took until the end to find out why. But is that the end of it? I loved Hanna for defending Mona when Leslie ripped her to shreds. Leslie's insults to Mona felt a little forced to me, a little too on-the-nose and I think that might just be due to bad writing (sorry I did love the episode but Leslie's dialogue was off). I thought Leslie was pretty reasonable with Hanna too when she apologised to her later, that the source of her anger wasn't Hanna. But still, Leslie is a major bitch and I don't like her. I also found it hilarious when Hanna told Spencer that Mona and her mother were attached at the hip - where was Leona when Mona was at Hanna's house, the Brew, outside Alison's house and at Radley. Now we know Mona would have used any excuse to get out of taking them on a tour of Radley so she could get Leslie's file, but you would think Leona would still be attached at the hip with Mona now they're back in Rosewood where her daughter almost died. So Mona snuck into Radley when Spencer and Hanna were there to take Leslie's file, saying it was to repair their friendship and make things right. Mona made an awful lot of noise despite having 2 seasons of experience of being a sneak as A, so why all of a sudden be so clumsy? I think it was to attract the attention of Spencer and Hanna so they'd find her, and she'd be able to tell Leslie that she tried to get her file and mean it.

The ending with Leslie screaming at Mona down the phone, saying she always screws everything up, was so suspicious. What kind of role does Leslie play in Mona's life, then? Is Mona still on the side of good, or evil? I loved how it all came to a head in the end, with the girls all joining up to talk about Leslie. I like that they have this known common enemy now which will hopefully give them more scenes together in the episodes to come, especially for Emily's sake, now they want to catch her in the act. I almost forgot to talk about Alison, whose storyline was also not the best in the grand scheme of things. I am warming up to Lorenzo and the chemistry he has with Alison, and it places Kenneth in such a horrible light too as he did act like a dick to his daughter. He's so inconsistent - a couple of episodes ago he was all protective of his daughter, and now he's so dismissive of her when she is being called names by some cops. Where does he stand with her? Is he going back to the "my daughter lies" character, or the protective father? Lorenzo made sense when he said Kenneth is just guilty for failing to protect his family, but I don't think they're showing that very well.

And I'm sorry, but A has to have taken an Arts and Crafts class at school because he/she really is the most creative person I've ever seen. The Aria wig was looking awesome, by the way, nice job A!

EPISODE VERDICT

Loved the episode. I have enjoyed all the episodes of season six so far, even the slower-paced ones, and this episode was far from slow paced. There are still some issues that need to be worked through, such as Emily's and Sara's storyline, but other than that, I loved She's No Angel. It was very creepy at times and that's when I love Pretty Little Liars the most, and there were some very interesting aspects of this episode that kept me hooked until the end.


EPISODE AWARDS

Prettiest Little Liar: Joint winner between Spencer and Hanna. It could have been a triple winner with Aria.

Most Dreamiest Guy: Lorenzo for being so kind to Alison.

Biggest Asshole: Leslie Stone. Her shouting at Mona, twice, was so rude.

Most Sympathetic Character: Mona, she looked scared throughout the episode.

Favourite Episode Pairing: Spencer and Hanna.

Best Line: "Kinda hard when someone's kicked you in the teeth before you've even brushed them" - Alison DiLaurentis.

Funniest Line: "Unless you're texting me the answer, you're rude" - Hanna Marin.

Best Moment: Spencer and Hanna think there's a body in the tub.

Saddest Moment: Wouldn't say it was sad but Leslie shouting at Mona made me sad.

Creepiest Moment: The shadow appearing behind Sara.

Shadiest Moment: Mona's and Leslie's phone call.

Damned Disappointment: It was just a doll, not a body, in the tub. A body would have been awesome.

Biggest Question Mark Award: Are we back to Mona being against the girls?

Biggest ReveAl: Leslie was in Radley long enough to know Charles and Mona.


A's Mysteries

THE BALLET DANCER IN THE ROOM

Spencer's dream was bonkers, right? Spencer mentions the girl she saw in her dream could have been a younger Alison, but I thought she looked like a young Spencer myself. Do we know anybody in the show who took ballet as a kid? Maybe Spencer was admitted into Radley when she was a kid, she just can't remember - like a lot of things.

LESLIE STONE

Remember when Leslie took the book out of Mona's house that had the clue to Charles DiLaurentis in? Now, it's revealed she was in Radley when the real Charles was inside, long enough to form a bond with him. I'm thinking she could be Charles, but at the same time, the Liars think she is A too, which makes me question myself. What was with the "I believe in payback too" line? Could the red-head be a red-herring?

CHARLES IS DEFINITELY DEAD

I was with Hanna in the last episode about waiting to find out if Charles is really dead, and it seems like he is since his organs were donated. I would say that that could still be false information (I mean Jessica did cover for Charles, right?) but I am choosing to believe that he is dead, so someone else is stepping in for him in order to exact his revenge against Alison (and the girls).

What did you think of 'She's No Angel'? Let me know your thoughts on the episode in the comments and be sure to watch the next new episode in two weeks on July 14 on ABC Family!



About the Author - Gavin Hetherington
Award-winning author of 'Abyssal Sanctuary: Remnants of the Damned'. Gavin joined SpoilerTV in August 2014 and reviews 2 Broke Girls, Mistresses, Orange is the New Black, Pretty Little Liars, Salem, Scream Queens and Sleepy Hollow. Gavin will write previews for Devious Maids and Shadowhunters, and backs-up Empire, The Flash, iZombie, Once Upon a Time, Reign, Scandal and Supergirl. You can contact him at gavin@spoilertv.com.
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