If the Christmas edition of Pretty Little Liars was meant to be the one episode this season when all the characters finally embraced the positive, tonight’s episode was the one where they felt the weight of the negative. The Liars found themselves once again getting the short end of the stick – story of their lives, right? – when A’s plan, which at this point is a little hard to follow, threatens them on a grander, real world scale. The idea of spending their post-high school years in jail as opposed to living it up at the college of their choice (fingers crossed) is enough to send our favorite Liars into panic mode major – and the results aren’t exactly glamorous.
Let’s face it, if Hannah (Ashley Benson) goes down for having anything remotely to do with Mona’s (Janel Parrish) murder, Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Aria (Lucy Hale), and Emily (Shay Mitchell) are without a doubt being charged as accessories. The Rosewood police department may not have a stellar track record (understatement of the year), but even they could probably find a way to connect all the girls together – especially if A has anything to do with it.
Pretty Little Liars has an exceptional talent for keeping fans on the hook. The show promises answers at every turn, but those answers tend to come wrapped in more questions. And, with A’s motivations hopping all over the place this season, it’s hard to tell which way the story will veer next. In the past, there’s always been something consistent about A’s actions. When Mona donned the title, she made it clear that no one messed with the Liars except for her. Those days probably seem like a fond memory at this point.
The latest version of A doesn’t follow any code. There aren’t any morality clauses that A doesn’t feel comfortable ignoring. There isn’t anyone who appears to be off limits. The Liars seem content pinning all their current A problems on their former friend, but if Ali is still pulling the strings, I hope the payoff is worth her time under fluorescent lights in that tacky orange jumpsuit. As of now, it looks more likely that the Liars will end up behind bars right next to her than that she’s the elusive mastermind behind the recent more extreme attacks. Mona may have accidentally run Hannah over with a car that one time, but in the last two episode alone, A almost killed three main characters – one by fire, two by ice.