Pretty Little Liars – Here Comes Mary

By: Alex Steele

“Pretty Little Liars” is continuing to succeed this season with twisting and turning the story arcs of each character that we never see the next thing happening. When you think you’ve figured out who “A.D.” is, they throw another curveball, another familiar face shows up or the Liars find themselves remembering important things they’ve forgotten. To say it’s been a well thought out plan for the Liars is being nice. And this week was no different with every step forward it seemed like took one back. Titled Here Comes Mary, the episode opens on Aria (Lucy Hale) waiting outside of Alison’s (Sasha Pieterse) house. Leaving another agitated voicemail on Emily’s (Shay Mitchell) we learn that Alison is returning home. No sooner had Aria finished leaving the message does Alison pull up with a surprising companion in tow – Mary Drake (Andrea Parker). This can’t be good and Aria is right to be cautious, but Alison reassures her friend that it will all be okay even though Mary staying with her is a part of her release. Talk about shady; nonetheless Alison is going to keep a close eye on Mary while the others follow Jenna (Tammin Sursok).

After the credits roll, Mary and Alison don’t waste any time making small time – Mary tells the story of how she and Elliot (Huw Collins) became involved. Questioning his motives, Mary reveals how clever he was and how vengeful he became. Alison, letting the conversation flow, seems a little apprehensive when Mary asks if there are any updates on the investigation and who he really was. Oh the shade. The resting bitch face. This scene had it all. Elsewhere, Emily wakes after a long night of hanging out with Sabrina – oh another first date. Sabrina (Lulu Brud) does seem like a keeper though as she has a hot cup of coffee ready for Emily as she wakes. The share a cute moment where they address their nerves before sharing their first kiss. Unfortunately, the moment is interrupted when Emily realizes she slept through her alarm and is late for a test. Meanwhile, Ezra (Ian Harding) arrives home to Aria where he comes clean about the true nature of his trip; he went to New York to visit Nicole’s parents (note his comment about keeping secrets).

Spencer (Troian Bellesario) and Hanna (Ashley Benson) continue to grapple with the status of their friendship, but when Elliot’s car is found by the police the two put their differences aside to make sure the situation doesn’t get out of hand. With Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) missing, Spencer is able to calm Hanna’s nerves. Meanwhile, after missing her test altogether, Emily, Alison and Aria have convened a meeting to catch Ali up on all the new developments. They discover (thanks to Mona) that before they killed Elliot, he had received a text saying that Alison wasn’t the one who killed Charlotte. Talk about awkward! They also discover he had a burner apartment and we all know they can’t sit on that information. Unfortunately, not all of them are on board. Alison continues to struggle with everything, especially after discovering Elliot has cleaned her finances out. Everything. She’s broke.

Not having decided on a plan, Aria returns to Ezra’s apartment where she overheard a phone ringing. When she goes to pick it up, she discovers the call is coming from Nicole – talk about ghosts! She doesn’t answer, but instead hangs up. It seems creepy things are on the menu for all the Liars this week, with Emily receiving her test results back to say she passed. What? She actually aced it thanks to A.D. With all these new developments, Emily and Aria discuss what to do. Aria ends up deleting the call from Nicole, while all this stuff with A.D. sparks Emily to take action. Elsewhere, Spencer has still had no success finding Caleb and calls Hanna for any guidance or advice. I’ve got to give to Troian and Ashley, they’ve given this evolution with their characters such depth and emotion it’s hard to pick sides. Spencer continues on her mission to find Caleb while she tasks Hanna with following Jenna.

When I mentioned action before I was referring to Emily using the burner phone message A.D. And this just reiterates that her and Aria need to check out this apartment. Checking in with Alison, she’s experiencing a minor meltdown at home at home after discovering what Elliot has done and when Mary works out that he double crossed her also, the DiLaurentis women are all kinds of agitated. Oh and add to that Jenna showing up uninvited, Alison continues to desolve as the stress becomes too much. Success this week is foreign to our Liars, but when Spencer reluctantly asks Toby (Keegan Allen) for help regarding Caleb, she is happy to find out that he’s safe and he just needs time. Talk about messy – between Toby, Caleb, Hanna and Spencer we’ve got a solid love foursome going on.

Arriving at Elliot’s burner apartment, initially finding nothing suspect, Emily and Aria come across passports and posters. There are posters of Detective Wilden, a ledger of payments to JM (Jenna Marshall) and MD (Mary Drake) so it seems as though Elliot had thought out this elaborate plan. At this point, the Liars seem to think that Mary Drake and Elliot were the big bads, but when Jenna and Sara Harvey (who we haven’t seen for a while) cross paths at Radley, our team may have even bigger problems on their hands. Back with Aria and Emily, they are interrupted when there’s a knock on the door. Luckily for them it’s Toby – well not lucky, just better than the alternative. He catches them up and they do the same. He continues to grapple with loyalties to his profession and to them as friends, but he lets them leave before he calls in it. Elsewhere, Spencer and Hanna are still working together yet it seems as though Spencer needs more time. Hanna refuses to give up, making a strong stand saying that she doesn’t want to be the one that messed this for them. But Spencer, in all her wittiness and sass, bites back saying maybe it’s time for Hanna to work out whether she still has feelings for Caleb. Ouch.

As the episode begins to come to an end, Alison is called to the police station where Marco (Nicholas Gonzalez) informs her that Elliot has been spotted in Baltimore. Um, what? Excuse me? “He’s dead, right?” I’m sure is what Alison is thinking right about now. Not to mention, she’s still very much in shock and not able to focus fully on what Detective Marco is saying. Elsewhere, Emily makes one last ditch attempt to resolve her earlier “blow off” of Sabrina by asking the cute blonde out again. The happiness of this moment is overshadowed however when Emily witnesses and is confronted by Jenna and Sara (Dre Davis). Oh the shade. Oh the history. Look out Liars, there is a new diabolical duo in town and you better all come together soon or else.

Spencer returns home, alone again, while Emily keeps a close eye on Hanna after she had another minor meltdown regarding Jenna and Sara. Alison arrives home to find the red jacket from earlier this season, dry-cleaned and in her closet with a note from A.D. But what’s most interesting is that Aria is summoned to a deserted Brew by Ezra. Upon arrival, it’s empty and silent. She makes her way upstairs to find the apartment scattered with candles – it’s romantic to say the least. And then we get that #PLLProposal they’ve been teasing. Ezra doesn’t let her speak and as heartfelt and as genuine as ever, he gets down on one knee and proposes. Aria is motionless and not giving an answer. Tune in next week for that. But wait, that’s not it. At Radley, Sara and Jenna are joined by a third party. Any guesses? Either way, for some reason I don’t think that anyone would have guessed this familiar face. Noel Kahn. Yes, you read that right. Noel Kahn (Brant Daughtry).

Other key notes:

– Marco is the new detective on the case