Pretty Little Liars – We’ve All Got Baggage

By: Alex Steele

It was all about love, drama and politics in this week’s episode of “Pretty Little Liars.” We’ve All Got Baggage was all that and more. We open this week with Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Emily (Shay Mitchell) finally letting Alison (Sasha Pieterse) in on Sara’s “Radley” hole just to find that the closet itself has been patched over. When the cleaning lady arrives, the Liars must keep out of sight and quiet, something Emily struggles with throughout this episode. As they make a break for it and successfully exit without being caught, the cleaner comes back in – with a sweeping shot, the profile of said cleaner looked a lot like Sara. Not to mention, the cleaner de-masked.

We meet “Spaleb” (Spencer and Caleb) for the first time this week, discussing whether it has been done – and by it we mean has Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) corrupted (disposed) of Veronica’s medical records. He has. Spencer (Troian Bellesario) is concerned it could come back to bite them in the butt, but Caleb ensures her it is all ok. Cue another hot and heavy make out session once again interrupted so gracefully (not) by Emily. Shay Mitchell is fantastic as frantic Emily and I’m interested to see who snaps first, it’s between her and Aria (Lucy Hale) right now. As Spaleb share a concerned look, Emily demands to know what they know. They fill her in regarding Melissa’s broken suitcase. This information does nothing to calm Emily down, but instead fire her up more.

Aria (Lucy Hale) is anxiously trying to figure out how she is going to come clean to Ezra (Ian Harding) about her dalliance as the author of his book. Liam (Roberto Aguire) is trying to be supportive – blindly – still not knowing the true extent to the relationship between Aria and her high school teacher. This guy is gonna be heartbroken. Cut to Hanna who is playing stylist for the week and more importantly for Ella’s (Holly Marie Combs) re-wedding to Byron (Chad Lowe). This scene is telling in the way of where Hanna is at with her own wedding, after receiving a call from Jordan and not taking the call, it is obvious she is in full on avoidance mode. Wanting to do anything but confront the reality of her own wedding. Ashley Benson has done a beautiful job of portraying Hanna’s subtle heartache and angst over the new Spaleb pairing while also showing how mature she has become in dealing with such a situation.

Emily is attempting to get back on track which involves re-enrolling in college. As she waits in line a familiar face to the audience (blogger dude from the campaign) interview shows up. Introducing himself to Emily as Damien, the two get chummy quick. But not before Hanna and Spencer both remember where they know him from. As Emily finds out the information, the audience can see that she’s going to use it to her advantage. Is she right in doing so though? She’s becoming more and more reckless as the season progresses.

As Spencer finally confronts her mom about her diagnosis and secrecy, we are gifted with an utterly, soul-touching scene between mother and daughter. Questioning her mom as why she didn’t tell her, Troian Bellesario taps into the emotion so viscerally it is hard not to tear up. To add to it, Veronica (Lesley Fera) admits that having kids has been one of her greatest joys, that the ability to make people better than yourself is so overwhelming. The moment is raw and one that encourages Veronica to be open about her health during the campaign. With a theme of coming clean this week, Aria admits to Ezra about writing his book and is somewhat taken aback when he isn’t angry or upset, but grateful. He knows she didn’t do it with the idea of gain, but more as an act of love. Uh-oh, could this be the rekindling of something? Possibly. However, later on when current boyfriend Liam and ex-boyfriend Ezra meet (not knowing the extent of the relationships they share with Aria) the drama possibility is heightened. Ezra unknowingly reveals the true nature of his history with Aria and Liam is rightfully upset and heartbroken. Aria, come on girl, really?

It is the day of the wedding and Hanna is busily getting Ella ready as her phone rings again, it’s Jordan. As she avoids it again, Hanna’s “people who are meant to be together, find their way to their first love” offers a deeper insight again into the torment she is obviously experiencing about the new Spaleb pairing. Our hearts ache for Hanna, as she silently grapples with what to do. Will she finally move on and let Caleb go once and for all? Or will there always be some sort of flame there? Transitioned with a new love story, Dr. Rollins (Huw Collins) is not giving up on Alison. He’s committed to you, he loves her and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. Um, did he just propose? Yes, yes I think he did. With one happy ending, comes another fork in the road. The Hastings women convene in the kitchen, only to discover that a leak has occurred. Someone has leaked information regarding an abortion – had by Yvonne (Kara Royster). It has been traced back to the Hastings campaign and now a full on investigation is underway. Did Caleb make a mistake? Or is this “A” trying to cause more trouble?

Emily just won’t let the clues go this week and she is teetering on insane as she ventured out to the diner alone. As she realizes how deserted it is, a truck fires up in the distance. From there she is a sitting duck. As the truck plays chicken with her for a good couple of minutes, attempting to retrieve the murder weapon Emily has come across, she comes close to being badly injured. Whoever the masked figure is this time isn’t playing around. Meanwhile, Aria is officiating the wedding of her parents as we all hold our breathes to see if Liam shows. He does. Spencer is trying to offer any suggestion as to who really leaked Yvonne’s medical records, but Caleb assures her that right now he is the best one to play the scapegoat.

The episode closes with relationships coming together and others falling apart. Liam and Aria reconcile where she states, in literary terms, that she is over Ezra. She says Liam is the one she chooses. Hanna finally calls Jordan back and sets a wedding date (May 17th) while Caleb is packing and moving out of Spencer’s barn – there is an obvious commitment between these two to one another and Troian and Tyler are playing it in a way that our “Spoby” and “Haleb” hearts aren’t quite registering. Spaleb now officially exists. Emily returns from being almost killed by the 4WD with a realization that there are two players trying to take them out. The one who attacked Emily is trying to cover up the murder; whereas Sara is wanting it solved. Elsewhere, a giddy Alison and Dr. Rollins show up on Aria’s front porch. They want her to marry them – wait what? We close the episode with “A” somewhere eating wedding cake with a universal remote control. Creepy!

Key points:

– Melissa returns, and is shady as. Once again playing innocent.

– Hanna has a flashback to London where she ran into Melissa. Ren had left her after receiving a call from Charlotte. Theories?

– Emily received a package of baby name books, freaky!