TV REVIEW: The Icing on a Giant Cake of Lies in Pretty Little Liars “Thrown From the Ride”

By Nicole Bozzani

There is no stronger bond than that of a family. That is, unless, your father is trying to remove you from your home or could have possibly murdered your next door neighbor. “Thrown from the Ride,” in true Pretty Little Liars fashion, provided far more questions than it did answers.

Ali is planning her big return to Rosewood High but still has plenty of secrets she needs to bury and she must ask the girls for help. The girls are quite reluctant to help her as things have changed since she has been on the run,. However after a bit of arm pulling they agree to help her continue her kidnapping lie just a bit further. Aria is continuing to suffer from guilt over Shauna and turns to an unlikely source for help: Ezra. Spencer is even more suspicious of her father’s involvement in the death of Mrs. DiLaurentis, and attempts to gather support and intel from her mother. Unfortunately for Spencer, she makes a discovery in the shed she just can’t ignore. Meanwhile, Hannah silently struggles with being herself and Emily heeds warnings from Paige about how other students will react to Ali’s return.

Ali wants nothing more than to return to her regular life. Unfortunately for her, everyone in her old life has seemed to move on and change. Her father wants to remove her from the pain she has been exposed to, but she’s in too deep. Ali’s kidnapping lie is just the icing on her giant cake of lies. She is forced, by Detective Holbrook, to take a medical exam, and she is understandably nervous. This doctor could blow her entire cover story, and he almost does with one very noticeable injury. It remains to be seen just how long this little lie will be able to carry on, but so far it seems to be working.

(ABC FAMILY/Adam Taylor)
ASHLEY BENSON, LUCY HALE, SHAY MITCHELL

Aria … where to begin with Ms. Aria. First it’s worth mentioning her pretty cool hat, right? All kidding aside, Aria is having a rough go of it lately. After killing Shauna (in defense of her friends) she’s begun a downward spiral which includes being suspicious of nearly everyone who uses any electronic form of communication and obsessively Googling the girl. She stumbles along one creepy funeral video which viewers are repeatedly introduced to terrifying time after terrifying time. Okay, we get it. She quickly turns to Emily for help as she has done previously, but Emily doesn’t seem to give her the advice she is looking for. There’s only one other person she can reveal her feelings to: Ezra. Is Ezra being sincere or does he have some ulterior motive? At times it’s hard to see past his dreamy and (seemingly) innocent exterior in order to see what lies beneath. There’s a bit of a revealing moment between Aria and Ezra as she leaves his apartment which felt like maybe this isn’t the real end for those two. Where can they possibly go from here? They both are carrying a deep dark secret, and what brings people closer together better than secrets?

Manipulative Mona is still up to her (so far) unfounded and revenge-ridden antics. She first tries to antagonize Aria and Hannah about the events of New York at a used book sale and then attempts to force Paige into siding with her rather than being a ‘social Switzerland.’ Paige ultimately stands firm in her decision to be Switzerland. Lucas even has a change of heart about her intentions and attempts to catch up with his old friend Hannah. Lucas, dear Lucas, what are you up to? Did someone spit in your Cornflakes this morning? Without Mona there would be no antagonizer. A is still dead or waiting for her grand return and without some suspicious side drama, the show would be boring. That said, it’s still a mystery what Mona’s big plan is for Ali’s return to school, but odds are it truly isn’t justified.

The biggest story of them all this week definitely revolved around Spencer and the rest of the Hastings clan. They have been a big chunk of story since it was revealed Spencer could have possibly killed the girl in Ali’s grave. After Melissa being shut down just as she was about to reveal her big secret, Spencer is ever more suspicious of her own flesh and blood. She turns to her mom for help and to gain a little intel, but Mama Hastings is a bit more concerned about the police investigation messing up her gardening project in the yard. A gardening project that leads Spencer to stumble upon rat poison which she immediately ties to the suspicious circumstances surrounding Mrs. DiLaurentis’ death. Could one of the Hastings poisoned Mrs. Di to get her to remain quiet about Spencer’s involvement in the death of the mysterious girl in Ali’s grave? And if Mr. Hastings (or someone else) didn’t poison Mrs. Di, it still brings up the question: what were they hiding last week and should Spencer be ever more concerned her mother was just shuttled off to a no-contact spa until further notice?

(ABC FAMILY/Adam Taylor)
JANEL PARRISH

Lastly there’s Hanna and Emily. Both these girls had poor stories this week. Hanna with her new dramatic makeover that was supposed to take Rosewood by storm is just one piece of a new Hanna that is yet to come. She stands up for herself in regard to being tired of being the girls messenger and eventually goes back to her stealing ways. Hanna, why on Earth do you feel that is a good idea? Meanwhile, Emily is dealing with her breakup with Paige and training the new swimmer at school. Paige wants to remain friends but is also part of Mona’s Merry Band of Misfits. She tries to warn Emily to stay away from Ali, but friendship is one bond that is just as strong as a family bond. And even with all of Ali’s lying, Emily is still willing to stand by her knowing the consequences of not doing so might just be too great. What is new swimmer girl’s story? She seems to have a lot of questions about Ali that she just doesn’t want to ask. Not only that, she seems to be randomly tossed in as a distraction for Emily and it just doesn’t work out all the time.

“Thrown From the Ride” opened many more chapters to the Pretty Little Liars saga. What is it going to be like when Ali finally returns to school? Is there a future for Aria and Ezra? Will Aria ever get passed her guilt? When will Mona take a cue from Frozen and ‘let it go, let it go?” Are the Hastings ever not going to be the shadiest family tree in the neighborhood? There’s plenty of twists, turns, and celebrations as Pretty Little Liars celebrates it’s 100th episode next week. It can only get better from here.

One final thing: it’s time to take a psychological selfie.