Pretty Little Liars - Season 3 Summer Finale - Recap and Review - The Lady Killer
Those who were disappointed with the overhyped A reveal on last season's finale were most likely very pleased with the shocking revelation of The Betrayer on tonight's Pretty Little Liars season 3 summer finale, "The Lady Killer." Fangirls, on the other hand. are most likely crying their eyes out and wishing the reveal had exposed another "Mona" as opposed to shattering one of the show's most popular couples. Also, we were introduced to a brand new psychopath, murderer entirely uninvolved with the ongoing Alison Dilaurentis murder. Meanwhile, the trial has begun! Who betrayed them all?
The episode opened with a flash-forward sequence. Any fans of the show who have been anticipating this finale have likely already seen the clip of Emily (Shay Mitchell) standing wide-eyed and speechless as she gazes across a crime scene to see Hanna (Ashley Benson) in hysterics. Who croaked? Or better yet, who bit the bullet?
A few days earlier, Aria (Lucy Hale) and Spencer (Troian Bellisario) joined Hanna in attempting to make peace with Emily, who was still seething from their decision to incriminate her new gal-pal, Paige (Lindsey Shaw). How dare she get upset with them for doing something as harmless as digging through Paige's purse without her permission! This is Rosewood. Anything goes! How exactly did they decide to make things right with Emily? Well, by lying to her, of course! For a "pretty little liar," lying is totally a bonding ritual like hair braiding or pillow fighting.
They called Emily over to Spencer's house promising to apologize in person. In reality, their plan was to concoct Paige's murderous motives as they sat waiting for Emily to make the drive over. Paige wants Emily all to herself so she killed Maya and Alison before attempting to frame the other three of them for said murders. Emily is really going to love listening to this one. "When did it get so easy to lie to your friends?" Emily pondered. Aria gawked up dumbfounded that someone would dare to call her out. Seriously, sometimes I think Aria completely forgets about A. She must think she's on The Secret Life of the American Teenager what with Ezra's (Ian Harding) former high school flame being a teen mom and all. Even the discovery of Aria's earring, the one from Ali's casket, in Paige's purse wasn't enough to convince her. Just another plant by A?
Emily: "Three against one... A wins!"
In all seriousness, everyone is A at this point. The show has done a solid job of paving the way for any one of these people to betray them or to have murdered Ali. Only a parent turning on them would truly surprise me.
The next day, Emily ditched school. The other 3/4 of the core four wallowed in their guilt over stomping all over Emily's three or so episodes worth of happiness. Aria even admitted that Emily was right for calling her out on her lie. "I'm Aria Montgomery and I'm a pretty little liar." Good, now get your head in the game because this is the summer finale!
Aria had been preoccupied dealing with this episode's only true side story. After venting to Hanna about her escapades from last episode, she was encouraged to confess to Ezra that she had discovered his illegitimate lovechild. Ezra's ex, Maggie a.k.a. the one who was supposed to "take care" of her teen pregnancy but didn't, showed up at his apartment. Immediately, she recognized Aria as the girl who showed up to observe her classroom last episode. Using their lady powers, the two girls managed to convey a mutual decision to lie to Ezra about the kid via eye contact. That is, until they figured out how to handle it. Maggie didn't want her son being jeopardized because Ezra's scary rich mom found out. Aria agreed to zip her lip. Oh, the nice old lady from down the hall brought over a bundt cake. "She never forgets dessert!" Declared Ezra. Hey, didn't we see one of the A's eating sherbet a few weeks ago? I think that's a dessert!
Hanna: "Secrets don't keep us close, they tear us apart."
When did Hanna become the voice of reason?
Hanna: "Yo hablo sicko."
Well, baby steps, Hanna.
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As is turns out, Paige skipped school, too, just after butting heads with Spencer. Spencer attempted to put the fear of God in Paige by putting on her mean girl voice, but Paige's locker slamming and teeth gritting got the best of her. Words won't do Spencer very well when an angry field hockey player is coming at her face. Once Emily and Paige met up, Emily decided to take a leap of faith and confessed everything about the new A to Paige. Paige found out about the gravesite framing and the new harassment. Just then, Paige got her own text from A with a series of directions.
These same directions, a command to meet at the gravesite at a certain night and time, were sent to the other girls, too. Emily was left out of the equation and, more importantly, put at risk. If Hanna, Spencer, Aria, and Paige refused to show up, Emily would end up on the chopping block. The girls were also prompted to bring Maya's bag to the scene. Meaning, they know A needs something from the bag. The three of them assumed Paige was trying to frame them, especially after getting an email with a picture of Ali's body bag attached. Dark.
Meanwhile, either it took Mona (Janel Parrish), who for all intents and purposes is a genius, all season to figure out how to steal a nurse's uniform in order to sneak out or she's just been biding her time. She's out, everybody! The cuckoo bird has flown the coop! Or over her nest. Afterwards, Mona made her way to a new A lair, a dank lair once again wallpapered with those same creepy pics of the girls. You know, the eyes crossed out and the ugly baby dolls. I for one was hoping for a new decorating scheme. There, we were exposed for the first time to #TheBetrAyer! Perhaps they'll reveal the face a mere thirty minutes in? Nope, just a quick flash of a black hood. We'll have to wait and see.
Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) had a massive target on his back this week. After seeing the flash-forward of Hanna bawling her eyes out as body bags are zipped up at the future crime scene, we knew he'd be the one to watch. The question seemed to be whether he'd end up dead or The Betrayer. After hearing about the girls' plan to meet with A at the cemetery, Caleb insisted on tagging along in secret. After a little arguing, the girls gave in. Someone needs to fill in for Emily! After walking in on Caleb preparing a gun, Hanna flipped. Caleb pretended to hide the gun in Hanna's room but inevitably ended up sneaking back for it. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. The A-Team still seems to be playing by "high school mean girl" rules, even if they are behind the murders, but a gun changes everything. As an audience, though, this is when we really started to worry for Caleb. Who's going to jailbreak their phones and hack into websites for them if Caleb ends up six feet under next?
#TobyIsBack. Honestly, I didn't even realize Toby (Keegan Allen) was missing. Allegedly, he's been working a new job out of town. Spencer caught Toby's reflection while gazing at a poster for the "Halloween Ghost Train Party" in the window of a shop. Foreshadowing! Cue the music! Spencer was quick to spit out an apology for landing Toby in the middle of the legal drama with Jason. Toby was even quicker to accept her apology. Who else got a little dizzy watching the camera spin wildly around the two as they kissed and made up? A little later on, Toby and Spencer sealed the deal. Oddly the big moment became a part of a montage of clips of the other girls dealing with their own dramas.
The only sappy song the show could afford to buy the rights for played over images of Aria watching Ezra reconnect with Maggie, Hanna breaking into Emily's room and stealing Maya's bag, Spencer and Toby making whoopie, and Emily getting tucked in by Nate (Sterling Sulieman). Emily made the decision to take a weekend trip with Nate while the news crews covering the trial hounded her house for a statement. The two made their way out to the secluded Lighthouse Rock Inn. Emily almost seemed embarrassed to tell other people she was going there.
This is the point where the sh*t really start to hit the fan. The girls and Caleb made their way to the gravesite on schedule. Paige, however, never showed up. Caleb rigged Hanna's phone with a recording device/ walkie-talkie system and waited in the woods with Maya's bag. It seemed like all three of those girls got the same "we messed up badly yet again" feeling in their stomach at the very same moment. Suddenly, they were just standing at a crime scene with an empty duffle bag as opposed to meeting with A. Have they been set up?
"YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE. GET OUT!" You have one minute, get out?! Emily woke up to that message and started clamoring to find Nate. After getting no answer, Emily took her sweet ass time meandering around the room. My first thought was, "put on your damn shoes, Emily!"
The girls caught a glimpse of Caleb zipping by in his car. It seemed as though he figured something out before they did. Caleb instructed the girls to get to Emily in Bay Head and informed them that he would be heading to Belmar. The idea now, although it was admittedly slightly hard to follow, is that Paige wanted them out of the way and distracted. We as viewers, however, know Paige got the same text from A. Where is Paige, though?
Emily basically ignored the threat she received and decided to use what could have been her last few moments of life to snoop. She discovered the letter she had written to Maya's parents, the one Nate promised to deliver, in his bag. Nate strolled in from out of the blue with what looked like fresh neon yellow paint on his shoes. While he was distracted starting a fire, Emily found a cell phone, Nate's or Maya's, loaded with pictures of Maya. One photo showed Maya chilling in the woods and a tiny glimpse of Nate's neon splattered shoe. Well, he did know Maya. He claimed to be her cousin. Is a photo with her really that much to ask?
Either way, Emily started to get the same troublesome feeling the girls got at the gravesite before bolting and she too decided to make a run for it. She feigned needing fresh air, but Nate was onto her.
Emily: "You scared me half to death!"
Nate: "Not really, but I will."
Yeesh! Flash to psycho Nate forcing Emily to watch a video Maya had prepared for her. The video explained Maya's odd behavior and why she was hiding out at Noel's cabin. Apparently, her stalker popped up in Rosewood. Uh oh, Emily. Once Nate made contact with Emily, he found himself caught in the middle of hating her and loving her. He was jealous of her relationship with Maya, yet he loved connecting with Maya through Emily. Seriously, Emily is now in the middle of two nearly entirely separate murder cases. Wow, this is just one of those years, Em. It's strange that the show often alluded to the fact that Maya had discovered a piece of Alison's murder. "She knew too much!" As we've heard. Maybe the bag still has an answer unrelated to her own murder.
What's #LadyKiller Nate's point, anyway? He doesn't want to kill Emily. He wants Emily to watch him kill... Paige! Poor Paige is everyone's punching bag. While Nate yanked a gagged Paige from the closet, Emily snatched up her cell phone in a flash. She's an athlete, guys!
Spencer, Hanna, and Aria showed up at the Inn. Aria wondered if the place was closed down.
Spencer: "There's a light on."
There one light on? If that doesn't scream awfulness, I don't know what does. London James, the murderer formerly known as Nate the stalker, explained that Jenna had seen him with Maya. Jenna attempted to warn Emily about him, but it was a little too late and a lot too cryptic. Jenna's the only one who's not A, right? The sound of people outside distracted London/ Nate enough for Emily to make a run for it. Bye, Paige! Emily stammered through the forest in an attempt to find a signal. In a last ditch effort, she managed to climb her way up to the top of the lighthouse. Wow, there actually was a lighthouse at the Lighthouse Rock Inn. Just as she dialed 911, the jerk caught up to her. Now, the scene that followed was an awesome cat fight, and I have to say, I think knife aside, Emily could have taken the wuss. Still, she managed to disarm him and stab him with his own blade.
Guess who showed up to hug it out with Emily? Caleb and his gun! He put the gun down long enough for London/ Nate to shoot him. Haven't you even seen a horror movie Emily? Just when you think the killer is dead, they're not! Thus, we've made our way back to the opening scene. A sobbing Hanna watched as a still-alive Caleb was taken away to the emergency room, and Paige even got a tearful stare from Spencer. In Hastings world, that's an apology, Paige! Take it and run.
At the station, Emily's mother, Pam, informed them that Caleb was still in surgery. As the girls waited, they received a five-way call from someone we presumed to be A.
A: "Emily, I owe you one!"
Just as they hung up, a free Garrett Reynolds (Yani Gellman) walked out and Spencer's mom (Lesley Fera) thanked Emily for saving an innocent man. That stank smirk Garrett shot the girls didn't really say "thanks," though.
Had the episode ended there, there would have been disappointment, but as it turns out, Maya's killer, London/ Nate, was not The Betrayer. A last scene featured a disappointed Mona heading back to her asylum with another A-Team member. Apparently, their plan was to frame Paige with Maya's phone, which is now lost in the mix, but Paige never showed up to the grave! Better luck next time, loon!
As Mona bid farewell, the other A turned to reveal the face of The Betrayer... Toby Cavanaugh! Wow, that was certainly a shock. Most of the first season was based around the "framing" of Toby and the subsequent clearing of his name. Poor Spencer is in for a bumpy ride.
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A also bought two tickets to the Halloween party that's been foreshadowed.
What did you all think of the summer finale? Were you shocked to find out the identity of The Betrayer? Were you happy with the reveal? Could Toby be an A-Team double agent? Do you think it's strange that the girls found themselves involved with another psycho entirely in Nate? Are you psyched for the "Halloween Ghost Train Party"? "YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE. GET OUT!".. or what?
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Here is the first interview with The BetrAyer himself, Keegan Allen:
