Pretty Little Liars - Season 3 Episode 16 - Recap and Review - Misery Loves Company

I’m sorry this is posting late, but Pretty Little Liars Season 3 Episode 16, “Misery Loves Company”, had me rewinding so often that I lost track of time. Pretty Little Liars is an absolutely underrated mystery series. I don’t care if it’s catered to teen girls. I’m saying it loud and proud!  The emancipation of Spencer Hastings!

Hanna: “Trash!”

No, not actual garbage, just gossip rags Hanna (Ashley Benson) had brought a grotesquely ill Aria (Lucy Hale), who laid basically decomposing across her father’s couch for nearly half the episode. Spencer (Troian Bellisario) and Emily (Shay Mitchell) offered some comfort, too. Uh oh, someone else was watching, of course. Probably one of those pesky A people. One thing was for sure; if Aria found solid proof that Byron (Chad Lowe) killed Alison (Sasha Pieterse), she was busting the lid wide open on the whole scheme. At least Meredith was helping to heal Aria with her signature super-powered tea. Please, I mean, Emily took one sniff of that toxic waste and knew something was funky.

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Back at the lair, the nerd herd known as the A-Team plotted their next scheme. Toby (Keegan Allen) seemed to think something was a-brewin’ too quickly. Mona (Janel Parrish), on the other hand, was willing to take orders from “She Who Shall Not Be Named Until the Finale, Probably.”

Toby stripped off his hoodie in favor of normal clothes the next morning, as Emily had offered to guard his apartment while a plumber did his work. Toby had work, I guess? Hey, what if a guy just wants to wear a black hoodie in this town? Small talk occurred, but Emily was more concerned with swiping Toby’s keys for Spencer, who was across town planning some shenanigans.

Toby skipped over to Spencer’s place for a hot shower while his plumbing was being repaired. Also, Spencer was totally appalled by the large holes in Toby’s pockets. Of course she can sew! What can’t she do? Spencer made up some excuse to not hang out with Toby on their anniversary that evening. I believe she claimed she had to attend a dinner thrown in honor of her father. Even Veronica (Lesley Fera) got in on this thing by passing down her mother’s bangin’ lasagna recipe, so that Spencer could take a swing at working the family charm that evening. Spencer used the keys Emily had borrowed to sneak into Toby’s apartment while he was at work, prepping and planning for the big night ahead. At one point she opened a drawer and just barely missed spotting a fake identification card for Mona’s Asylum with Toby’s information on it! Ah, so close.

Hanna was stoked for a big job interview she’d landed, and she looked to Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) for help picking an outfit. Hot but not too trendy, Caleb coolly suggested. Just as Hanna left the room, she managed to catch a peep coming from Caleb. Covertly, she listening in on a phone call about protecting her from that nut-job Mona. When confronted, Caleb lied and claimed to have been talking to his mother.

Back at the Montgomery residence, the former mistress from Hell, Meredith, snooped around the couch while Aria remained passed out. When Aria began to stir awake, Meredith was quick to play nurse. Aria was looking to call her mom for help, but funny thing, she couldn’t seem to find her cell. You know, the phone that had been sitting next to her all day on the coffee table… Ugh, Meredith would have to relay the message to Ella (Hollie Marie Combs), who knows how to throw some seriously shade-filled glances in the general direction of the college floozy who stole her husband. Ella had been trying to contact Aria to no avail. Meredith wrongfully informed Ella of Aria’s speedy recovery. It was at this point that we learned Meredith had swiped Aria’s phone. There it was; another psycho in the making hit the hallways of Rosewood High.

Paige’s (Lindsey Shaw) favorite meal in rosemary chicken? Emily figured she’d bring date night to Paige, if Paige wasn’t willing to get all spontaneous and, you know, leave the house for an occasion other than school. The courtyard would have to suffice. Emily even splurged on some sparkling cider. Man, I wish I were a lesbian. So sad, too bad, Emily! Hanna needed Emily’s help trailing Caleb for information, so date's over. Considering the fact that Spencer was preoccupied with wooing her own personal A and Aria was busy looking like utter death, Emily would have to do.

Hanna arrived at her interview with Philly’s biggest fashion designer ready to kill it. Before going in, she took a breath and noticed a reflection in the window that resembled Alison. With a turn, the red-coated chick was gone. The true problem was that there was no actual interview scheduled. A set Hanna up! In a room full of faceless white mannequins, A harassed Hanna until she fell to her knees. It was all very "Sarah Michelle Gellar in I Know What You Did Last Summer". It seemed like A was just looking to torment Hanna, but afterwards she got one of those infamous texts.

A Text: “Next time you’ll be left faceless- A”

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Gross, A! I loved how Hanna glanced down at the faceless mannequin after that text, almost with a look of pity in her eye. Hanna has a nice face! Whatever, A! You dropped your key. Toby, use your hoodie pockets next time, ya nasty!

Emily’s snooping session was a total bust, but ours went a little better! We caught a glimpse of Caleb meeting with none other than Paige. Well, that was a surprise! Paige has had it with Mona and her dabbling in diabolic ways. Caleb was on board. There is no way that the A-Team can be in enough places to constantly and consistently watch the four Liars and the people they love. If they can crack into the A-Team trophy room, they’d have the secrets and the answers. They’d render the entire "A" concept obsolete. At least some people on this show realize that lives are on the line. The Liars are numb to it all!

The Liars, minus Aria, were quick to figure out that Mona wasn’t the one to set up Hanna. Emily had seen her in front of the High School just prior. It was a minion of course, but who would drop a key? Spencer held onto it. Still, Mona has pictures of them at Alison’s gravesite ready for blackmail. Hanna suggested that Spencer show up to her anniversary surprise wearing nothing but five-inch heels. Wouldn’t that throw off A?

Aria managed to peel herself off of the couch, only to sink into the fluffy abyss of her own bed. Guess who popped in for a visit? Alison! Ali showed up in all of her glowing glory to make sure her diary papers were safe inside her creepy baby doll. Aria kept that thing hidden well.

Aria: “Did my dad kill you?”

Alison: “Do I look dead to you?”

Me: “Poke her Aria! Grab her!”

Alison left just as quickly as she had sauntered in, with all of her ethereal glory. Oh, piece of advice Aria; don’t drink that damn yucky tea. Thank you, Ali.

Aria awoke to find the doll still where Alison had left it! The room looked a lot more dank without Ali’s glow to light it up, no? Dream or reality, you decide. More importantly, Aria found herself locked in her own room from the outside. After failing to pick the lock, Aria smashed her hand mirror and grasped a shard for protection. Back to bed!

Emily and Hanna, draped in one of those famous Sneetch sweaters, walked the roads of Rosewood discussing the latest batch of horrors. Lucky, the duo managed to spy Meredith picking up some maxed out prescription. After she failed, she instead picked up a ton of over-the-counter knock-offs. Emily did some Googling and realized that Meredith was buying a ton of medicine used to dope someone into a deep sleep. Run to Aria’s!

Toby dropped by with flowers before Spencer had to leave for her “dinner,” only to notice the key A dropped on the countertop. Spencer made up an excuse about some storage space Melissa had rented. Spencer lied, and the thunder cracked. A storm was rolling in, and its name was Hastings!

Of course an actual storm was coming, because how terrifying was it when Aria woke in a panic to find Meredith standing over her bed with the shard of glass clenched in a bloody fist.

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Scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. *rewind* *rewind again*

Holy crap, it was like a scene from Scre4m! Lucy Hale has experience running from Ghostface, but Meredith was equally terrifying. As Aria attempted to dial the police, Meredith knocked her unconscious with a punch.

Hanna and Emily arrived a few minutes too late to help Aria, but they did bump into Meredith nearly immediately. As Hanna had been attempting to dial Aria, she noticed the phone in Meredith’s hand lighting up. Inevitably, she convinced the girls to go “help Aria look for flashlights” in the basement. Basically, all three girls ended up locked down in the cellar. Aria eventually stirred form her unconsciousness, just in time for Byron to show up. Wow, at the moment it became a case of “kill dad or be killed by dad.” Those girls were ready to beat the crap out of Meredith, too.

Upstairs, Meredith revealed that she had been protecting Byron all along, and that she was attempting to find the papers to save him. Byron, dismissed Meredith and freed the terrified Liars. He spoke to Aria one-on-one, and via flashback, we learned that he did indeed visit Ali just before her disappearance, but he actually was there ending their blackmailing cycle. He even decided to come clean about the affair, but Ali’s murder forced him to keep quiet for fear of being wrongfully blamed. Oh, we caught a glimpse of none other than Melissa on the porch, speaking on the phone. Thus, play passes from Garrett to Byron to Melissa.

Byron decided to confess the entire situation to the police in order to prove to Aria that he was innocent, but Aria ended up believing her father’s story. She burned the diary pages. Spencer is going to be livid.

Speaking of Spencer, the episode concluded with the promised revelAtion. Toby snuck into Spencer’s house, assuming she was out, in order to retrieve the A key he’d dropped. There she was, waiting to catch the damn fool.

Spencer: “Is this what you’re looking for?”

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Badass, even in her sorrow. *SLAP * Just like that, teen girls everywhere (and yeah... me, too) felt better about themselves. Spencer had actually seen the fake hospital identification card! We just didn’t see her discover it. Toby fled, and Spencer weeped to her mother. Later, Spencer journeyed back over to Toby’s apartment to confront him, but he wouldn’t even answer the door. Spencer was left sobbing on the stoop, as Mona enjoyed the anniversary meal she had waiting for Toby. I don’t think I’ve ever disliked Mona more than when I saw her enjoying that lasagna and glass of red Spencer had busted her ass preparing.

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What did you all think of Pretty Little Liars, Season 3 Episode 16 “Misery Loves Company”? How long will Spencer allow herself to remain delusional about Toby’s involvement? Are you happy to see Caleb and Paige teaming up for the greater good? How scary was that Meredith chick? Is a living Alison actually visiting these girls?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Pretty Little Liars, Season 3 Episode 16 “Misery Loves Company”!