6.05 - "SHE'S NO ANGEL"
Directed by Michael Grossman
Written by Oliver Goldstick and Maya Goldsmith
Reviewed by Gavin Hetherington
Note: Hey guys. This is my last review of
Pretty Little Liars until I come back from Cambodia early August. Kate Sidwell is going to be stepping in to review episodes 6-8, and I'll be back in time for the last 2 episodes of 6A.
SEASON GUIDE
Click on an episode title to be taken to the review of the episode. Episodes 1-13 were reviewed by Jasmine Alyce.
5.01 - "
EscApe From New York" (June 10, 2014)
5.02 - "
Whirly Girlie" (June 17, 2014)
5.03 - "
Surfing the Aftershocks" (June 24, 2014)
5.04 - "
Thrown From the Ride" (July 1, 2014)
5.05 - "
Miss Me x 100" (July 8, 2014)
5.06 - "
Run, Ali, Run" (July 15, 2014)
5.07 - "
The Silence of E. Lamb" (July 22, 2014)
5.08 - "
Scream For Me" (July 29, 2014)
5.09 - "
March of Crimes" (August 5, 2014)
5.10 - "
A Dark Ali" (August 12, 2014)
5.11 - "
No One Here Can Love or Understand Me" (August 19, 2014)
5.12 - "
Taking This One to the Grave" (August 26, 2014)
5.13 - "
How the 'A' Stole Christmas" (December 9, 2014)
5.14 - "
Through a Glass, Darkly" (January 6, 2015)
5.15 - "
Fresh Meat" (January 13, 2015)
5.16 - "
Over a Barrel" (January 20, 2015)
5.17 - "
The Bin of Sin" (January 27, 2015)
5.18 - "
Oh, What Hard Luck Stories They All Hand Me" (February 3, 2015)
5.19 - "
Out, Damned Spot" (February 10, 2015)
5.20 - "
Pretty Isn't the Point" (February 17, 2015)
5.21 - "
Bloody Hell" (February 24, 2015)
5.22 - "
To Plea or Not to Plea" (March 3, 2015)
5.23 - "
The Melody Lingers On" (March 10, 2015)
5.24 - "
I'm a Good Girl, I Am" (March 17, 2015)
5.25 - "
Welcome to the Dollhouse" (March 24, 2015)
Click on a title to be taken to the review for that episode. Episodes 6-8 were reviewed by Kate Sidwell.
6.01 - "
Game On, Charles" (June 2, 2015)
6.02 - "
Songs of Innocence" (June 9, 2015)
6.03 - "
Songs of Experience" (June 16, 2015)
6.04 - "
Don't Look Now" (June 23, 2015)
6.05 - "
She's No Angel" (June 30, 2015)
6.06 - "
No Stone Unturned" (July 14, 2015)
6.07 - "
O Brother, Where Art Thou" (July 21, 2015)
6.08 - "
FrAmed" (July 28, 2015)
6.09 - "
Last Dance" (August 4, 2015)
6.10 - "
Game Over, Charles" (August 11, 2015)
6.11 - "
Of Late I Think of Rosewood" (January 12, 2016)
6.12 - "
Charlotte's Web" (January 19, 2016)
6.13 - "
The Gloves Are On" (January 26, 2016)
6.14 - "
New Guys, New Lies" (February 2, 2016)
6.15 - "
Do Not Disturb" (February 9, 2016)
6.16 - "
Where Somebody Waits For Me" (February 16, 2016)
6.17 - "
We've All Got Baggage" (February 23, 2016)
6.18 - "
Burn This" (March 1, 2016)
6.19 - "
Did You Miss Me?" (March 8, 2016)
6.20 - "
Hush... Hush, Sweet Liars" (March 15, 2016)
'SHE'S NO ANGEL' REVIEW
This was an awesome episode! It was creepy, insightful and had some really great developments. I think, to me, it's the best episode since the premiere,
Game On, Charles, even though this episode was still far from perfect. I think the only thing dragging the show down for me right now is Emily's storyline with Sara. Like seriously, I am finding the other three girls way, WAY more entertaining at the minute and it's been like this all season long now. Emily's storyline in this episode basically consisted of helping Sara get emancipated and in the process, she got a tattoo due to peer pressure. How does this compare to going into Radley after dark and going to a junkyard only to be followed by A (and get a photo of her). They could have cut all of Emily's scenes out and I never would have noticed, and it's not like they provided any substance. I guess it got better when Aria texted Emily and Sara saw it. I expected Sara to delete it so she wouldn't see, but then that would reflect badly on her when Emily would have found out about it, so she went the better route and told Emily that she has seen this A person too. That way she can still look like a victim and remain in Emily's trust. I still think Sara is in cahoots with Charles or A, helping them in some way, brainwashed from all those years of being in the dollhouse. Hopefully, moving forward Emily's storyline is going to get better now Sara knows Emily is chasing A, because now maybe Emily won't act like a protective mother hen whose proud of her baby when she submits some paperwork for independence. Come on Emily, get back to being interesting.
Aria, I can't tell you how much I am liking you more and more this season. It may have to do with Ezra being absent in this episode (what is he contributing to the show now these days except pep talks and guilt trips) but it also had Aria be very productive - way more than Emily but a little less so than Spencer and Hanna. I am quite liking this new Clark guy and he seems to be okay - but remember my fellow Liars, don't just blindly trust anyone in Rosewood. Stay vigilant. I liked their scenes at the junkyard, and I thought Aria was going to beat his ass up when he took that photo of her. I don't blame her - she's probably sick of unwanted photos being taken of her by strangers. Aria said she would now embrace the creepy, which is better for her to do than fight it like she has been doing the past five seasons. She's growing up, that's for sure. I want this relationship with Clark to remain platonic though, as Aria did decline his dinner invitation and said she wasn't looking. Can we not just have a nice, normal boy-girl relationship on this show that doesn't take the romantic route? The best parts for Aria comes from the photo that Clark took where you see A in the background. I'm not sure how Aria noticed that tiny detail on the string of undeveloped photographs but whatever, it kept her relevant in this episode. Her moment at the end when she realised A is a girl and texted the others was great.
Spencer and Hanna basically go hand-in-hand in this episode, but I'll talk about Hanna separately in the next paragraph along with Mona. What was that opening? Some little girl dancing (was it ballet?) in a creepy-ass room around, and on top of, bathtubs and banging the wall and stuff. I knew Spencer was dreaming, so I thought maybe that was her younger self? It was a great opening really, as it set the mood for the rest of the episode - and it was quite a dark mood too. I guess not all of it was gloomy as Spencer seemed to kick her addiction out the window by giving Dean her pot cookie. Way to go Spencer! I liked her scene at the addiction meeting - doing what any sane person would and munch on those delicious looking brownies - and it was pretty cool to see Dean again. I like when familiar faces show up, really establishes the world within Rosewood. It's very fast for Spencer to recover though, but she has been through it before and she's a little wiser now, so let's just see where this takes her. And I can't speak more highly of her scenes with Hanna in Radley! Amazing! Love the atmosphere and the pairing of the two - complete opposites but they work so amazingly together. I liked how it connected with the opening, but still, why the dancing little girl? My heart almost jumped when the bath water revealed what could have been a dead body. That was an exciting little moment between the two.
Hanna is totally my main girl now, and I was so excited to have Mona back too! Mona was acting very sketchy in this episode and it took until the end to find out why. But is that the end of it? I loved Hanna for defending Mona when Leslie ripped her to shreds. Leslie's insults to Mona felt a little forced to me, a little too on-the-nose and I think that might just be due to bad writing (sorry I did love the episode but Leslie's dialogue was off). I thought Leslie was pretty reasonable with Hanna too when she apologised to her later, that the source of her anger wasn't Hanna. But still, Leslie is a major bitch and I don't like her. I also found it hilarious when Hanna told Spencer that Mona and her mother were attached at the hip - where was Leona when Mona was at Hanna's house, the Brew, outside Alison's house and at Radley. Now we know Mona would have used any excuse to get out of taking them on a tour of Radley so she could get Leslie's file, but you would think Leona would still be attached at the hip with Mona now they're back in Rosewood where her daughter almost died. So Mona snuck into Radley when Spencer and Hanna were there to take Leslie's file, saying it was to repair their friendship and make things right. Mona made an awful lot of noise despite having 2 seasons of experience of being a sneak as A, so why all of a sudden be so clumsy? I think it was to attract the attention of Spencer and Hanna so they'd find her, and she'd be able to tell Leslie that she tried to get her file and mean it.
The ending with Leslie screaming at Mona down the phone, saying she always screws everything up, was so suspicious. What kind of role does Leslie play in Mona's life, then? Is Mona still on the side of good, or evil? I loved how it all came to a head in the end, with the girls all joining up to talk about Leslie. I like that they have this known common enemy now which will hopefully give them more scenes together in the episodes to come, especially for Emily's sake, now they want to catch her in the act. I almost forgot to talk about Alison, whose storyline was also not the best in the grand scheme of things. I am warming up to Lorenzo and the chemistry he has with Alison, and it places Kenneth in such a horrible light too as he did act like a dick to his daughter. He's so inconsistent - a couple of episodes ago he was all protective of his daughter, and now he's so dismissive of her when she is being called names by some cops. Where does he stand with her? Is he going back to the "my daughter lies" character, or the protective father? Lorenzo made sense when he said Kenneth is just guilty for failing to protect his family, but I don't think they're showing that very well.
And I'm sorry, but A has to have taken an Arts and Crafts class at school because he/she really is the most creative person I've ever seen. The Aria wig was looking awesome, by the way, nice job A!
EPISODE VERDICT
Loved the episode. I have enjoyed all the episodes of season six so far, even the slower-paced ones, and this episode was far from slow paced. There are still some issues that need to be worked through, such as Emily's and Sara's storyline, but other than that, I loved
She's No Angel. It was very creepy at times and that's when I love
Pretty Little Liars the most, and there were some very interesting aspects of this episode that kept me hooked until the end.
EPISODE AWARDS
Prettiest Little Liar: Joint winner between Spencer and Hanna. It could have been a triple winner with Aria.
Most Dreamiest Guy: Lorenzo for being so kind to Alison.
Biggest Asshole: Leslie Stone. Her shouting at Mona, twice, was so rude.
Most Sympathetic Character: Mona, she looked scared throughout the episode.
Favourite Episode Pairing: Spencer and Hanna.
Best Line: "Kinda hard when someone's kicked you in the teeth before you've even brushed them" - Alison DiLaurentis.
Funniest Line: "Unless you're texting me the answer, you're rude" - Hanna Marin.
Best Moment: Spencer and Hanna think there's a body in the tub.
Saddest Moment: Wouldn't say it was sad but Leslie shouting at Mona made me sad.
Creepiest Moment: The shadow appearing behind Sara.
Shadiest Moment: Mona's and Leslie's phone call.
Damned Disappointment: It was just a doll, not a body, in the tub. A body would have been awesome.
Biggest Question Mark Award: Are we back to Mona being against the girls?
Biggest ReveAl: Leslie was in Radley long enough to know Charles and Mona.
A's Mysteries
THE BALLET DANCER IN THE ROOM
Spencer's dream was bonkers, right? Spencer mentions the girl she saw in her dream could have been a younger Alison, but I thought she looked like a young Spencer myself. Do we know anybody in the show who took ballet as a kid? Maybe Spencer was admitted into Radley when she was a kid, she just can't remember - like a lot of things.
LESLIE STONE
Remember when Leslie took the book out of Mona's house that had the clue to Charles DiLaurentis in? Now, it's revealed she was in Radley when the real Charles was inside, long enough to form a bond with him. I'm thinking she could be Charles, but at the same time, the Liars think she is A too, which makes me question myself. What was with the "I believe in payback too" line? Could the red-head be a red-herring?
CHARLES IS DEFINITELY DEAD
I was with Hanna in the last episode about waiting to find out if Charles is really dead, and it seems like he is since his organs were donated. I would say that that could still be false information (I mean Jessica did cover for Charles, right?) but I am choosing to believe that he is dead, so someone else is stepping in for him in order to exact his revenge against Alison (and the girls).
What did you think of 'She's No Angel'? Let me know your thoughts on the episode in the comments and be sure to watch the next new episode in two weeks on July 14 on ABC Family!
About the Author - Gavin Hetherington
Award-winning author of 'Abyssal Sanctuary: Remnants of the Damned'. Gavin joined SpoilerTV in August 2014 and reviews 2 Broke Girls, Mistresses, Orange is the New Black, Pretty Little Liars, Salem, Scream Queens and Sleepy Hollow. Gavin will write previews for Devious Maids and Shadowhunters, and backs-up Empire, The Flash, iZombie, Once Upon a Time, Reign, Scandal and Supergirl. You can contact him at gavin@spoilertv.com.
Did you fellow PLL fans find this episode as creepy as I did? And what's the deal with Leslie? Let me know your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteBoring as hell. Gavin. This season of answer shoud be rename as season of Borinhood.
ReplyDeleteThe episode was ok but damn i miss A torturing the girls with texts and his passive agressive attitude.
Watching the first scene i was replaying Chandelier in my head and it made more sense that the BS Spencer find out (C'mon, she is always the one to remember or find things, im sick of that).
Aria and Clark scenes were kinda good, tho the girls should know that not anyone is A, not everyone who wears a hoodie is after them and know they are looking for another dead end with Leslie. She is crazy but she is crazy on her own.
Now Mona was A in the begining and then she was exposed then we saw her at Radley with Red Coat, which apparently we are gonna find out who it is in the 6A sumemr finale, what if she is still working with Charles and she has never been on teh good side, that would definetly make things more interesting.
I always love how you make of an slow episode a great review. Read you in a month! hope you have a great time there.
how do you find it boring?! Such an amazing season so far
ReplyDeletei really really dont know, but all this Sarah story and only bits and pieces of what happened to them, are makign things boring for me. I dunno i want more.
ReplyDeleteI remembered that Alison had another brother, so l checked it on Netflix, season 1ep8. I thought maybe it was Charles. Turns out it was a different actor, but still Jason. He had a totally different attitude, smart, wore a suit and was very together. I remember the current Jason was shown in flashbacks as a lazy burnout.
ReplyDeleteI agree. This season is missing something. I'm over Emily's revolving door of women. I'm over this Emily & Sara storyline. Leslie is just another red herring. People need to understand that not everyone Har wears a black hoodie on this show is A.
ReplyDeleteCharles is NOT dead, sorry but he's just not.
ReplyDelete@Gavin Hetherington
ReplyDeletePeople on reddit analyzed the dance sequence and believe they've figured it out.
Maddie is representing different people at different stages in Radley.
The first part (Maddie and the bathtub) is Charles. According to Kenneth, Charles tried to drown Alison in a bathtub.
The second part (Maddie banging the walls) is Spencer. She feels trapped, possibly because Spencer was a Radley patient but cannot remember.
The third part (Maddie jumping on and then falling on the bed) represents Marion and her fall from the roof.
The fourth part (Maddie giving birth) is the confusing one. Perhaps a baby was born in Radley.
The fifth part (Maddie sits and rocks) is Bethany and her mental trauma/breakdown.
The theory is that Spencer was in Radley as a child when this all took place and she repressed the memory. Now it's starting to come back to her. So she knows Charles which is why he stopped and looked at her when they were in the Soul Room in the dollhouse. He recognized who she was finally.
Great review Gavin, as always. I'll miss reading your reviews when you are absent.
ReplyDeleteAbout the episode, honestly, I didn't like it. I wish Mona's comeback would've been way more dramatic, shocking perhaps. Instead it was just a mess. When I watched the promo for this episode it got me so anxious to see it because I thought it would be all action, and the anticipation about whose name was in that Radley file... omg, it got me theorizing through the night.
But what did we get... Leslie. Are you kidding? Some girl that was introduced to us like last season and just is not a remarkable character, that we thought was manipulated by Mona but now is just leading the race to become the next A? Sorry, I don't buy this.
I know that Marlene said we'd be introduced to Charles on episode 10, so maybe Leslie is really Bethany, or maybe Sara is Bethany and Leslie knows her. I don't know, this is just too much information being thrown at us that will lead us to a dead end.
I wish they'd find out that Melissa was in Radley or even one of the girls, so it'd make them go back to their parents to try and find out why. Leslie being thrown at the plot this close to us figuring it all out was just a miss for me, truly.
Having said that, Emily has to get over her crushes, really. Her storyline is just boring. Aria's becoming a lot more interesting over the episodes, and Hanna is honestly the best character on the show at the moment. I just wish they had given us bad ass Mona. It looks like she really wanted the girls to find out about the Leslie thing, so we know she'll have her well deserved comeback later this season (here's hoping for next episode).
Really had nothing that interesting to say about this episode, for me it was just boring. I know that we had good moments, but overall it was just slow-paced and not that well written.
Have a safe trip and see you back for the final episodes!!!
Right there with you Gavin on the "best episode so far". A lot of development and a lot of thrilling/scary moments... I loved Hanna , as I do 95% of the time (I miss her mom though , their scenes together are always the best). She maintains that "Let's go kick A's ass" style throughout this season. I also loved Spencer overcoming -or seeming to overcome, because you are right It looks fast - the addiction. Together, they where the best: funny and effective. I understand what you say about Aria, but I cannot overcome her awfully lot of wrong decisions in the previous seasons and even two/three episodes ago with the false testimony about Andrew. Alison indifferent and Emily too. What's the deal with Sara?Is she as shady as she looks? What is her role in the whole story, I can't wait to find out and I honestly don't know where to place her just yet.
ReplyDeleteThis show is going to drive me nuts! So in order not to lose my sanity, we must establish some facts, some things that are not going to be overturned as we move along. So , I will believe that Charles is dead and that A is a girl (isn't that a big reveal or did we always know it and I've lost track somewhere along the way?)...
And lastly ....Mona (of course you didn't think I'll leave that out, right?) That's my Mona!!! Not the scared one in the beginning of the episode "Oh what's Alison going to do to me" but the other one the mysterious one, the "I have a plan and you won't find it out until the very end", the "I'm playing you all and give you the answers that I want you to see when I want you to see them" one... I like so much the aspect that Parish gives to the Mona character, so so much! So, again for sanity reasons, I'll say the bad guys definitely think that Mona is with them but she has chosen the good side. One question though... When Aria send the message about A being a girl she didn't include Mona...does that mean we are back to not trusting her?... :(:(:(:(:(
Thanks so much dosia! I'll miss you and the fellow PLLs a lot while I'm away, I don't know what I'm going to do without any access to watching the episodes and chatting with you guys about the latest episodes :(
ReplyDeleteWhere is Ashley? I miss her too. You'd think all the parents would be stuck like glue to the girls following their ordeal but evidently not. Last we saw of her, she wasn't really sure how to handle Hanna's situation, so maybe she's just giving Hanna her space? The Aria testimony is going to be hard to overlook, you are right, and she has made some downright bad decisions in the past. Hopefully she has turned over a new leaf and she'll be more vigilant and helpful moving forward. I hope we get some answers to Sara soon too as she is very shady yet it could just be a red herring as always. Need to know whose side she's really on.
Yeah, I'm just gonna say Charles is dead for now too just to establish the facts as they can be so hard to follow haha. I don't think we had any indication to A's gender before, as they could have been boy or girl, but I guess it is a big reveal that A is a girl, though to be fair, that could have been anyone in a hoody walking past :P haha
I agree about Mona too - she is so hard to interpret and that's what I love about her. I thought she'd be more on the same page as the other girls after their experience in the dollhouse but she seems to be doing something. I think she is trying to help the girls though, in her heart of hearts, no matter how mysterious she is. Janel Parrish is amazing! Not sure about the girls not trusting Mona, they must just want to keep it among the five of them which is a shame since Mona is just as much a part of it as Alison. Maybe they thought it was too soon for Mona, or you could be right, they're a bit untrusting of her at the minute. Thanks so much for reading my review and sharing your awesome thoughts :D
Thanks so much Rafael! I'll miss our PLL talks a lot while I'm away, but I'm glad I'll be back for the last 2 episodes of 6A as I'm sure they're going to be the most important episodes so far!
ReplyDeleteI'm sad you didn't enjoy the episode that much, but I totally agree about Mona's comeback. She came back in a whimper, not the explosion that I wanted. The only remarkable thing about Leslie is how much I don't like her, and I feel she is badly written. Not sure Leslie wants to be A, she just wants to have her records cleared so no one ever knows she was in Radley. I doubt she'll be the replacement Charles or helping Charles in any way, I do believe that's how she met Mona and she's trying to move on with her life - but still has some psychotic tendencies. I still don't like her, any way you flip her.
I agree about too much information that could lead to a dead end. So much focus on other things that may have nothing to do with the overall story which is a shame. Glad I'm not the only one feeling Emily's story is sooo boring. I'm hoping Mona will be her bad-ass self again very soon, but she does look a little boring. Who knows, though, could be an act at the minute but I do want her back to normal like Hanna seems to be. I guess I'm just a sucker for anything creepy or remotely creepy which is why I enjoyed the episode :P Thanks for reading and letting me know what you thought of the episode!
Wow that's an awesome theory, how someone analysed that and it makes so much sense. And is quite beautiful and thoughtful actually - did the show really pull something like that, or was it just by accident? I like the theory though. Maybe Jessica gave birth to Charles in Radley? I dunno, just spitballing here haha.
ReplyDeleteLove the Spencer theory too. It would totally explain why they paused and she didn't rip that mask off his face right there and then like we all shouted for her to do. It's deep stuff! Ahh I was kinda hoping Charles was dead and someone was taking his place, but I guess I'll take Charles being alive. How could Spencer miss a big detail as that?
I agree the Sara thing is weighing it down which is a shame but I've loved everything else this season so far :D We'll get more soon ;)
ReplyDeleteThat's why I'm kinda thinking the photo Clark took of A could have just been a random person walking past in a hoodie. Is it so far-fetched?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts Ron haha it's a shame you found it boring! See, I'm a sucker for anything creepy. Haha yes Sia's Chandelier popped up in my head too, especially since the girl danced to it in the music video or something like that. Spencer has as bad a memory as I have! Leslie is definitely crazy but I think she was genuinely just wanting her records destroyed so nobody knew she was at Radley - nothing to do with A. Mona always being on Charles's side would have made sense until the Dollhouse scenes as he really did torture her along with the other girls. Sara is the accomplice to Charles. It's her hair we saw when Mona was kidnapped in 5x12. Exact same hair.
ReplyDeleteI always try to see the good in things Ron haha so I always try to make my reviews as positive as I can :D Thanks for the well wishes, and I can't wait to talk more PLL with you when I come back! Will miss your honest comments!
Now I'm starting to think he may not be since it would have been impossible for his organs to be donated due to the circumstances of his death, so something isn't right there. I was kinda hoping there was someone impersonating him. I think Ezra may have very well gotten away with his inappropriate relationship with a student otherwise he would have suffered the consequences long before now.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, played by a different actor, I remember him as well and thinking how bizarre it was. It's weird how they've completely redeveloped the character. Doesn't make sense but hey, that's what happens when a show recasts and wants a different story for a certain character.
ReplyDeleteCould be, but not necessarily. I'm thinking it could be Black Veil or the third red coat. Who knows though.
ReplyDeleteYeah you're right, until it's explained to us with a face and a definite name (not a red herring or anything like that) we'll not know who it was. Could literally be anyone with a chest.
ReplyDelete