Pretty Little Liars is like a game of spin the bottle – except when the bottle lands on a character, they don’t get rewarded with a kiss. Instead, they get accused of being part of the A-squad. The latest victim of this crude game of chance is none other than Aria’s (Lucy Hale) little brother, Mike (Cody Christian). As if this kid hasn’t been through enough with his girlfriend turning up dead (err, suspected to be dead), he’s now become mixed up with whatever sordid plan Ali (Sasha Pieterse) is concocting from the comfort of her jail cell while she awaits trial for the aforementioned murder. What a tangled weave the writers have transfixed viewers with the season.
It’s not that Mike seems like an unlikely candidate for the role of A or one of his/her minions, it’s almost that he’s too likely a recruit. He wouldn’t even have to worry about being covert most of the time, which would come in handy, since his physical proximity to one of the Liars, and her stuff, is a natural bi-product of living under the same roof. It also would account for the sudden attachment to Mona (Janel Parrish), who since stepping down for her spot at the top of the food chain has pretty much been public nuisance number one as far as A is concerned. But, all of this still doesn’t account for Mike meeting up with Ali’s would be kidnapper tonight at an obscure diner outside of town.
The last time I checked, Cyrus was a suspect in Ali’s kidnapping. A case, which if I’m not mistaken is still open – despite Ali now being the prime suspect in her own brutal crime. Whatever is worth Cyrus lurking around the area must be important, but it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly that is. The writers have included so much misdirection into the current plot that it’s become hard to follow and generally muddled. Friends, foes, suspects, perpetrators – it’s all started to run together, and not in a good way.
Tonight’s episode of Pretty Little Liars, like last week’s, didn’t do a whole lot to move the story forward. Finding out that Mike obviously knows more than he’s letting on and is probably working with Ali for some reason or another wasn’t exactly breaking news. The writers already previewed the character of Cyrus earlier in the season, so him showing up “out of the blue” to rendezvous with Mike, although creepy, didn’t come as a huge shock. Him to trying to run the Liars over with his nifty motorcycle? More so.