Welcome back to Rosewood, the town where answers only create more questions and Mona is as creepy as ever! Season 4B kicked off with a surprisingly brilliant Hanna, a not-so-surprisingly brilliant Spencer, an angry Emily, and a fairly calm Aria. Let’s get to it!
After having a nice little “Ali’s alive?!” discussion, Hanna came up with a plan. If Ali’s alive, then someone is buried in that crypt. If the girls find out who it is, they’re one step closer to answering every other question … supposedly. But with Jason “driving across country” with a full voicemail inbox and Mrs. D busy hiring Ashley Marin and talking to Ali in her dreams, the Liars were, once again, on their own.
Perhaps I spoke to soon (but not really). Both Toby and Caleb made an appearance during the hour, but they weren’t exactly in Rosewood to help with the Ali situation — not that they could, considering the Liars are keeping it a secret. Instead, Toby enlisted Spencer’s help intimidating the insurance company that owns Radley into telling the truth about his mother’s non-suicide, and Caleb simply swung through town to sweep Hanna off her feet and then leave her in tears when he returned to Ravenswood unable to explain himself. In my opinion, right about now, Jake’s kind of the best boy toy, and he’s not even in town.
But while we’re on the topic of significant others, I cannot explain how much I loved the fact that Ezra was teaching his class Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It was just too good. Also, let’s over-analyze his line about “you know the plot, but you don’t know the story.” Is that about us? We know Ezra’s “A,” but we don’t know the whole story? Should I loosen my ninja-grip on the idea that Ezra’s not all bad? I’m not so sure …
After Ezra’s class, he asked Aria to stay, during which he told her that after she graduates and they both leave this place, he would like to try to be the person she thinks he is. He wants to be the person she thinks he is, guys! He wants to be the Mr. Fitz we thought we knew! This means he can find redemption, right? Right??
As Ezria chatted, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer went into another classroom so Hanna could catch the girls up. She had found another blonde who went missing the same day as Ali, some girl named Sara Harvey. She reached out to Sara’s best friends for coffee. They agreed, but not before “A” made the first and only threat of the episode, via projector: “Ali, Ali, Oxen-free. Whoever finds her, gets to keep her.”
At coffee with Sara Harvey’s friends, Emily and Hanna found out that Sara went missing the day after Labor Day, which meant she couldn’t be the one buried in Ali’s grave. However, by the end of the episode, Claire, one of the friends, showed up back at The Brew to talk to Emily, and Sara’s story seems to be a little too close to Ali’s for comfort. In Rosewood, that means there’s got to be something there, right?
Out on the street, Mona convinced Mr. Fitz to get a cup of coffee where she seemed to be asking for a mentor? In evil? Basically, Mona said she wants revenge, but Fitz was quick to shut her down. He said she was fearless, which meant she was vulnerable. Fear is valuable, because it stops you from pushing someone too far … to the point at which they push back. Is it bad that I’m attracted to Fitz when he’s threatening a high schooler?
After finishing his threat, Fitz got a call from Aria, and the two drove out to a cabin he “watches for a friend.” He wanted to start over and offered for them to “have this place” as their secret (because they’re both good at keeping those!) Cue the sex! Sorry Jake, but it looks like Ezra’s back in the game, albeit it in secret.
Elsewhere, Emily was done with keeping the secret of her relationship with Ali from Paige. Em explained how Ali broke her heart. And now, she was ready to say goodbye to Ali for good … just as Caleb and Hanna did the same. Caleb promised not to forget Hanna before driving out of her life. Alright, can someone grab me a tissue, please?
The next day, Hanna finally told the girls about the notebook she stole from the Ravenswood lair. She claimed it was Ali’s journal and that she was hiding it from the girls because of what it said about them. Perhaps that was where “A” was getting all those secrets from?
And in our “A” clip of the week, the hooded figure headed out to Ezra’s “friend’s cabin” — now Ezria’s hideout– to check out the trap door/hidden basement. But what (or who) is hiding down there?
What did you guys think of the 4B premiere? Will Spencer’s dad succeed in closing down Radley? Is Mona still evil? What’s under the trap door? And shouldn’t Ezra have had a hand injury? Sound off in the comments below!
