The TV Chick

As Holly Sorensen promised, the season finale of Make It Or Break It titled “At The Edge of the Worlds” was the most intense episode to date. It was a roller coaster of emotions, and what a fantastic roller coaster it was. In fact, I am already distraught a new episode won’t be on my television next week. The big World Trials day has arrived, but there is turmoil at The Rock. People are laughing at Payson because they all know about her kiss. She’s going to train anyway, and she makes light of it with her teammates. Kim defends Payson to Ellen Beals, but The National Committee decided they don’t want Sasha to coach The Rock gymnasts or the National Team. He’s suspended from The Rock. Ellen Beals names herself the new coach, naturally. Ugh, biotch! Sasha tells his gymnasts they don’t need him, just to follow the rules and stay focused. And then of course Trials are moved up a day, which directly conflicts with Emily’s court date. Emily tries to appeal but Beals is unwavering.

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Just when I thought things couldn’t get more crazy for The Rock girls, they did. Last night’s episode of Make It Or Break It was an intense one. It featured probably some of the best acting performances by the girls on the show as each character dealt with their own looming set of problems. The episode starts with Emily in jail, recalling her arrest. She calls Razor for help, but since she’s a minor, her mom has to show up to get her. And boy does she show up. She’s dressed in a very revealing outfit with an interesting hairdo, leaving us to wonder, what exactly IS her new job? Emily and her mom duke it out at the police station. Soon after, Damon shows up to see her. They kiss. Woo! He got signed to a record label. Emily doesn’t tell want to ruin his good mood, so she doesn’t tell him about the arrest. Later, Emily and Damon are out on a date, and Emily comes clean about the endowment fund but not the arrest. She storms out of their date. She wants space because they weren’t supposed to see each other for two years. And in love triangle action, Razor is back working at the Pizza Shack. He tries to make her feel better about the bad date, and  they get in a food fight. Damon walks in on them. Oh wrong impressions. In the end, Damon tells Emily if she wants to be with someone in the meantime, she can. Emily looks sad and distraught. This is clearly not what she wanted! I love the Emily/Damon relationship, so  I am sad for both of them. But I also enjoy a good love triangle. I wonder if we will see a Razor/Emily kiss. I’m also Team Kmetko and hope that Emily really steps it up for World Trials and that this doesn’t distract her too much.

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Last night’s episode of Make It Or Break It, quite cleverly titled Rock Bottom, was very intense.  Each character is going through something big, and it’s only going to get more dramatic as the season wraps up. Lauren is dealing with the aftermath of her dad paying for Emily. She still wants to break Chloe and her dad up, so when Chloe tells her to come clean to her dad about Carter or she will, she devises a plan. She confides in Summer about her sex life, but blatantly lies about Chloe’s involvement in her life and knowledge of her relations with Carter. Lauren is the queen of manipulation. Carter’s only concern in this matter is getting kicked out of the gym. Of course, Summer spills the news to Steve, and he is unwilling to forgive Chloe. Chloe aptly points out that she forgave him even though he lied about the endowment, but he doesn’t budge. Steve Tanner, you are shady, just like your daughter! I don’t think this will be the end for them, though. Who knows. Lauren’s plan worked, but she breaks up with Carter because he seems to care more about himself than her. Lauren, you have a big tendency to ruin good things.

Emily is back working at the Pizza Shack, and pays Steve back some of the money from the endowment. She promises to pay back the rest. However, not all is fine in the Kmetko household. Chloe is supposedly starting a new job (who knows where), but the electricity went out and her brother Brian is dealing with seizure syptoms. She goes to get his medicine refilled from the pharmacy, but is told insurance doesn’t cover it anymore. Not knowing what to do, she takes the pills and runs off. This moment was just so sad. Emily was desperate. She is clearly not the type to steal anything. Her morals (unlike some others on the show — ahem, Lauren) are admirable, and she’s a very hard worker. I can’t imagine having to make that choice. At the end of the episode, the cops come and arrest her. How will this impact her place on the National team? Will bitchy Ellen Beals find out about this? Who will bail her out? Emily has more than proved herself to be worthy of a place on the National team and a scholarship, but what will happen now?

Back at The Rock, Payson is still training to become an artistic gymnast. Payson is practicing her artistic dance moves, Sasha said she’s not quite there yet. He brings her outside to paint a canvas with her dance moves, asks her to channel her emotions. On her second try, she paints this beautiful canvas. I absolutely loved seeing Ayla dance again, because I know she has extensive ballet training and it’s so nice to see. Later, Payson is back in the gym practicing. Sasha wants to tell a story, asks her to think of her favorite story. Her favorite story is Romeo and Juliet, and he tells her to pretend she’s Juliet. Later that night, Summer and Sasha are on a date outside The Rock. Summer finds a Christianity book in his trailer and is of course, instantly won over. Payson walks in on their date to brings Sasha food. What a sweet crush. I also love seeing Summer and Sasha together. But the most shocking moment of the entire episode comes when Payson is showing him her routine the next day while she is attempting to be Juliet. She completely nails it, and tells him he inspires her. Out of the blue, she kisseshim. I GASPED. Seriously, I gasped out loud. I understand Payson has hormones and it’s natural to get attracted to someone in a position of power like a coach. Also, Neil Jackson, who plays Sasha is quite amazing to look at, this was just very surprising. I’m sure Payson surprised herself given the fact that she runs off after this. In the previews for the next episode, a picture of them kissing was circulating around, which is obviously not a good thing. I hope that this mini scandal can blow over quickly, but I’m not sure if it will. There’s also some controversy surrounding Kim Keeler challenging Steve Tanner for President of the parents board. Payson’s parents disagree about Kim running. Mark thinks she won’t be neutral after that. Payson thinks her mom should run so she can win and they can save the gym and Sasha. Eventually, Mark gives her the go ahead to run. Go Kim! Keep out shady Steve Tanner.

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Last night’s episode of Make It Or Break It titled “What Are You Made Of” tested just that out of each of the girls. The big National Team practice comes to The Rock, and everyone is nervous about it. Kaylie is overtraining, Emily is questioning her skills, Lauren is well, Lauren and Payson is going to ballet class to reinvent herself as a gymnast.

Kellie Parker and other national team girls come to The Rock. They are super bitchy. But Lauren has a competitor for bitch of the gym! Ellen Beals is back too. She’s very skeptical of Emily. But I say: Go Em, show them what you’ve got! The practice starts with conditioning drills, where the other girls try to throw The Rock girls off their game. Ugh. Of course, Kaylie’s mom and Marty have an awkward run in, where he tells Ronnie he loved her. This was interesting to me, and I think it set up the possibility for a future romance between them which would be much to the chagrin of Kaylie.

But back to the practice. Marty tells Kaylie to do her original mount. Ellen tells her to butt out, tells Sasha about why Emily didn’t compete in Callait. She kicks him out of The Rock. Ughh Ellen Beals, you suck. Beals is also being a jerk to Emily, and everyone keeps alluding to Emily’s endowment fund believing in her. This obviously will not end well. I think Beals has a thing for Steve Tanner, and can’t stand when people break the rules. But everyone (even Kaylie) spoke up for Emily, yet she kept putting her down and trying to throw her off her game.

In an unexpected turn, Kellie Parker picks up on Kaylie’s new body type, and tells her she is hurting herself. She’ll keep the secret but tells her to be careful. I thought this was interesting that her rival noticed but her friends, coach and family don’t. A lot of times it’s someone you least expect to figure this type of thing, who ends up putting the pieces together. And for those who keep asking, Josie Loren didn’t lose weight or become anorexic for this part. She has a fantastic body, and was made to look skinnier by lighting and makeup. She posted about it on twitter, and I wanted to point it out as well. She was great in this episode, showing Kaylie’s strength and vulnerability at the same time.

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“She knew too much,” are four words I have been waiting to hear (or see) since Pretty Little Liars started. Those four words, texted to Aria, Spencer and Emily by A, capped off an exciting and fantastic summer finale. Who is A referring to? Why our lovely resident liar Hanna who seemed to have figured out who A was, and A decides to run her over with her car. But back up, there is a lot that leads to this incredible cliffanger.

Ian Thomas returns to Rosewood, Melissa’s ex-boyfriend who Spencer admits to the girls that she kissed and Ali caught her. He is back to coach field hockey at school, and Spencer wants Melissa to patch things up with him. She also wants for her and her sister to stop hating each other. Of course, we find out later that he was Ali’s secret older boyfriend. And then there’s Mona. Bitchy, bitchy Mona. She invites all four girls to go glamping at Camp Mona (or glamorous camping, which is genius). The girls don’t want to go, but A sends a text for them to come find her at Camp Mona. Oh boy, this obviously doesn’t end well.

All the girls are stressed out for various different reasons. Hanna gets a lecture from Mona about being a good friend. Meanwhile, Mona spreads a rumor about Hanna getting liposuction, claiming A texted her this. She has been blown off by Hanna one too many times and un-invites her from her party. And her mom is delinquent with her mortgage. What Hanna doesn’t know is that Ashley Marin takes matters into her own hands and steals some money from a safe deposit box. Whew, boy. This wasn’t in the books but I love seeing a bad-ass side to Ashley. She clearly wants her family to survive and is guaranteeing this by any means necessary.

Aria’s dad is stressed out about life without Ella, while Aria is trying to patch things up with her mom. And even though things seem to be going smoothly for Aria and Noel, she clearly still has her eye on Ezra Fitz (love him!) A leaves her a note on a book in her locker (which Noel finds) to read a poem by Ezra, which is presumably about her. Aria confronts Ezra about his poem, tells him to move on. But on the girls’ glamping adventure, Aria meets up with Ezra in secret. Ezra admits he was wrong, asks her to forgive him. They make out. Woo!!

Emily is still with Maya when her dad comes home. Her mom kicks Maya out for some family time. Someone had mailed her mom the photos of her and Maya kissing. I think this story will be heavily developed in the second half of the season. Emily and her dad talk about Toby, who is now the number one suspect in Ali’s murder. Later, Emily is driving to meet the girls, and Toby startles her in the backseat. He wants to finish telling her what he started to tell her at homecoming. He tells Emily that he and Jenna were in a relationship. He told her it had to stop on September 1st  (hence the tattoo) but she is still in love with him. He met Ali outside Spencer’s barn on the day she disappeared to tell her she did him a favor getting him away from Jenna. He came back to say goodbye to Emily and make sure she believed him. Toby, you are slightly creepy, but I believe you.

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Last night’s episode of Make It Ore Break It, titled “Party Gone Out Of Bounds” (nice pun there!) was a fun episode that centers around the fine line between friendship and teammates. I wouldn’t call it a filler because it was a nice break from the super serious episodes. And of course, it wasn’t without drama. It starts with Lauren catching Chloe leaving the house after she had just slept with her dad. Lauren uses this as leverage later when Lauren and Chloe confront each other. Lauren tries to play the sympathy card with Summer, saying that Chloe keeps flaunting her and Steve’s relationship.

Sasha gives the team the next day off, because their training regimen is about to get very intense. Austin then invites the girls to a party but we all know what a disaster the last party was — ahem, Carter and Lauren, and Kaylie’s keg stand. Kaylie invites the girls over (sans Lauren) as an alternative. Emily says she can’t she has to stay with Brian because her mom is going out with Steve. Of course, Lauren plants the idea in Kaylie’s head that Emily is lying. Over at Kaylie’s house, Payson points out that Kaylie might be overtraining, but she says she has it all under control. Payson tells her that the old Kaylie would want to check out the party. Everyone keeps referring to the old Kaylie. I miss you old Kaylie! You have become too obsessed with your weight and overtraining to have fun. What happened to the fun loving golden girl champion?

In non-gymnast world, Summer and Sasha go on their first date to a place she has been frequently with Steve. Of course, shortly after, in walks Chloe and Steve. Awkward dates on both ends ensue. Sasha sends over champagne to Chloe and Steve, and claims it’s a Rock appreciation dinner. He apparently texted Kim Keeler under the table to show up. I thought it was rather adorable that Kim was so excited to eat there. It may just be because I’m a huge fan of Peri Gilpin, but I think Kim Keeler is a great character. I also really liked seeing more Summer and Sasha, and definitely more Sasha (whew, he is pretty nice to look at!) After their date, Sasha tells Summer he respects her values. They might have had a crappy first date but she asks him to kiss him goodnight (woo!! more action)

Back in party world, Kaylie calls Emily’s home and reaches Brian, then calls Emily’s cell which goes to voicemail. She decides to go to the party to see if Emily is there. Kaylie and Payson arrive, but Payson stays in the car. Way to go Pay! Kaylie spies on the party and spots Lauren. Quite unfortunately, she falls in the garbage and Austin finds her. She tells Austin she wanted to make sure everyone knew the fun loving Kaylie was still around. Ha! Sure Kaylie. Lauren takes a picture of Austin and Kaylie and sends it to Emily (she actually was at home). Of course there is an awkward Kaylie/Carter moment, where he tells her she always wanted to have control and that’s why their relationship didn’t work out. Emily shows up and confronts Kaylie about her tight leash. Payson joins the party and is super excited to meet all the olympians there. I feel like Make It Or Break It definitely could have gotten some big name gymnasts here but  it was entertaining nonetheless. Kaylie leaves the party, and Lauren/Emily play twister — the winner makes the loser do whatever she wants. Lauren wins and says Emily has to accept her apology for stealing her choreography and ruining her leotard. Oh, Lauren, stop trying to be nice, you are just doing it for show!

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There was a storm brewing in Rosewood last night, and not just one of the weather variety. The beginning of the episode starts with Hanna, Spencer and Aria studying for the SATs. Emily is noticeably missing, and she arrives home muddy and super distressed. She gets an ominous text from A about burying things. This story line was such a smart move on the part of the writers. Emily has always been the good one, the defender of Alison, so what was she doing coming home like that? What is she hiding? Well in Rosewood, nothing is ever as it seems.

As the day unfolds in school, Officer Wilden tells the girls that someone ruined Ali’s memorial. He talks to Emily about Toby, but she said she hadn’t heard from him. He mumbles that she should check her basement. As the episode continues, all of the girls seems to go through a journey. Emily is forced to face her past. There are flashbacks with multiple kisses with Ali (one where she reams Emily out).  The first kiss was when Ali was reading Great Expectations in the library (which A taunted Emily with in a text). I have to say, I’ve been waiting for this flashback for a while. It was a big and momentous part of the books, and I’m glad it finally happened on screen. Ali reads the letter Emily wrote about how upset she was over Ali’s reaction to their kiss in  a later part (Ali disappeared three days later). Another flashback scene was Ali and Emily in the locker room. Ali talks about going to Paris, and asks Emily to hook her bra. She kisses her shoulder, and Ali flips out. She  tells her she’s likes boys, it was just a kiss, practice for the real thing.  It is very fitting that while all the students are stuck in the locker room because of a tornado notice, this scene also took place in a locker room. Shay Mitchell had her moment to shine here. She has done some very risque scenes with Maya but this was so innocent and sweet, and I thought she did a fantastic job.

Another “liar” going through a journey is Aria. She won’t have dinner with her mom, because she refuses to accept her parents’ divorce. She ends up escaping the locker room with Noel Kahn. He plays guitar and she sings (who knew Lucy Hale had such a nice voice, I adore her even more than I already did!) They seem to be bonding, and the song reminds her of her parents. However, it is entirely short lived as Noel and Aria almost kiss and Ezra walks in on them. I think that Noel is a good guy but as I have mentioned in the past, I am a big fan of Aria and Ezra, even if it is slightly creepy. After Ezra walks in on her and Noel, Aria confronts him. Ezra says he went to New York to confront his issues, and clear his head. He interviewed at another school, and he tells her things have to change. In the end, Aria comes around to having a relationship with her mother again, and agrees to go on an actual date with Noel.

Meanwhile, Spencer is still with Alex, and doesn’t want to blow it. Her mom still doesn’t know about them. But the jig is almost up when her mom sees them together in school and is rather unfriendly to Alex. Spencer spends the day with him trying to figure out what the deal is with him and his mom. I think giving Spencer a boyfriend has been a great move. I don’t believe Alex was in the books, but I am enjoying his character.

And Hanna is just trying to deal with bitchy Mona who treats Lucas like scum. It’s rather hilarious though when Mona turns up with Hanna’s old bag that she sold on EBay. Boo Mona, you whore! (Insert Mean Girls reference here, Mona isn’t really a whore). However, despite the journeys the girls go through, I think the overall theme of this episode is unlikely pairings. Byron Montgomery and Ashley Marin end up together in the dark after he comes over to send a fax. Ashley and Byron talk, and she tells him knows why he and Ella split. They share sob stories about their divorces. I thought their bonding was sweet. In the books, there was never any romance between these two characters, and I doubt they will go that direction in the series but I like this potential friendship. It ended on a slightly awkward note when the lights went back on.

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As readers probably know by now, I was at Comic Con last week and couldn’t write my review of Make It Or Break It. But not to worry, I am back! And ready to talk about my favorite Rock gymnasts. To recap, last week was The Rock awards banquet where Summer gets drunk, Becca Keeler is going to train to be an elite while Payson struggles with becoming an artistic gymnast, Lauren is a total biotch to Emily yet manages to win The Rocky (congeniality award) because her dad clearly faked the results, and Kaylie wants to lose weight to be able to do harder moves like the Chinese gymnast. I have a very strong opinion on this storyline but I’ll talk more about that later. And there is some Summer/Sasha making out! Yay! 

Last night’s episode “I Won’t Dance, Don’t Ask Me” centers around the elite gymnasts (including Payson) getting new floor routines. Of course, there is drama when Lauren and Emily vie for the same choreographer and she chooses Emily. There is even more drama when Lauren steals Emily’s moves at the big presentation to prove she is better than her. Sasha takes Payson out to the ballet (despite Summer’s big hints she’d like to go) to change her perceptions about what body type fits the ballerina mold. In the ballet, the swan must be reborn to become a woman. It symbolizes becoming what you are meant to be. She is so inspired, and realizes that she is perfectly capable of being an artistic gymnast and changing her ways. Way to go Payson!

Kaylie asks her parents to be her co-managers, which really just ends up backfiring in her face because they fight all the time. The end result is Kaylie’s ridiculous mix of classical and techno floor music and her crazy awful moves at the presentation. But it’s not Kaylie’s falling apart family that is plaguing her. She is running 10 miles a day, and eating barely anything and no one seems to notice. This was happening a bit the last episode, because Kaylie wants to lose weight to complete the harder moves. The show is treading a fine line with this storyline. I love Kaylie, and she has seemed like the healthiest gymnast on the show. Healthy, not as in fat, but as in a healthy attitude and lifestyle. I realize that eating disorders happen in elite gymnastics, and athletes are definitely at risk. I don’t have any problem with them going down this route for Kaylie (although I am a bit sad), I just really hope they avoid cliches. However, I can understand what lead her to this, so it doesn’t come out of left field. Her life is falling apart a bit and she has a lot of pressure to maintain her national championship title. If she does get a more serious eating/over-exercising disorder, I hope to see her get counseling, or some sort of help. On TV shows (My favorite childhood sitcom Full House and also Saved By The Bell comes to mind), these stories get glossed over, wrapped in a bow and sent on their way. I think Make It Or Break It has tackled some tough, dramatic storylines with a lot of grace and I really hope this one is not an exception. That said, Josie Loren is doing a fantastic job playing Kaylie and dealing with the challenges life is throwing at her.

In Emily’s world, she is struggling to let go and nail her dance moves. After a late night practice, she grabs a slice of pizza with Austin Tucker. It’s not a date as they both so firmly declare. Austin tells Emily to take risks, and feel comfortable spending money on herself. Of course, Lauren catches her and blabs to the other girls. After Lauren steals her dance moves, Emily comes out and performs the same ones, with a great deal of fortitude and grace. She shows Lauren! Go Emily! I am so Team Kmetko! I feel like I should make a shirt…Anyway, Carter tells Lauren what she did to Emily was really terrible, and her bad side is really scary. He can’t tell her he loves her because she does things like what she did to Emily. Wow, harsh words, Carter. But I agree with you. Lauren needs to do some self evaulation if she wants to be a good friend again and find love.

At the end of the episode, Payson practices a new, graceful ballerina routine. Ayla Kell’s ballet dancing training must have come into play here. I am really enjoying this new Payson. I also can’t wait to see some sisterly rivalry in the gym once she is back to her old form. I really enjoy episodes where the girls are in the gym, and the dancing was great. What I liked the most is that you could tell it was really them on the dance moves because they are capable of doing basic dance as opposed to really difficult tumbling. All of the cast did great! I like the way this season is going (as there isn’t many episodes left until the hiatus). They are set up for another big competition (most likely) and they are gearing up for the Olympics, even if they are years away. The Kaylie plot has really been the only storyline out of all of the episodes of this show that I have been wary of. And I was a big fan of the TV movie The Perfect Body (which quite ironically, Chelsea Hobbs was in!) which centers around an eating disorder and gymnastics. I have the utmost faith in the creators and executive producers to resolve this storyline well, I just hope Kaylie is able to face her problems head on and become the champion she deserves to be. I also love the Summer and Sasha romance, and I can’t wait to see their official first date. There is a side of me that wants him to partially corrupt her, and go against her religious beliefs (as Neil Jackson, who plays Sasha on the show so eloquently put it on Twitter: bedroom gymnastics), but this is an ABC Family show after all. I look forward to what lies ahead.

Make It Or Break It airs Tuesday nights at 9 pm on ABC Family.

I was away for Comic Con all last week (many reports and interviews to come!) so I wasn’t able to write my usual Pretty Little Liars review. To recap, last week is when the Little Liars are dealing with the aftermath of homecoming. And the big news is that Emily told Maya she wants to give a relationship a shot. Love it! In this week’s episode, the girls are getting ready for a memorial service for Ali, and Jason DiLaurentis (Ali’s brother) comes into the picture. He shakes things up and basically takes over the planning. He’s not satisfied with the investigation into Ali’s death and wants to pressure Wilden and the gang to get things done.  In my opinion, Jason is pretty creepy and I don’t like his vibe. Judging from the books, we will see a lot more of him, and there is more than meets the eye.

Jenna wants to speak at the memorial service, and the girls are worried she will spill their secrets. Jenna also tells Spencer that “Alison was done with you. She was afraid of you. Is that why one of you did what you did?” So apparently, everyone is a suspect in Ali’s murder! Suspect number one at the moment is Toby, and the police search his locker. Apparently, Toby called Ali the night of her murder, and she took the call. Oh Toby, you are so misunderstood!

The episode also featured a lot of flashbacks with Ali. I love Sasha Pieterse, so it was great to see her again. One particularly creepy flashback was Ali saying it would be great to die young in a mysterious way. We also see her manipulaitve, cruel ways, and the other girls feeling uncomfortable with it. Spencer is the only one who semi-challenges Ali (Jason points this out to her) and Hanna speaks up but then bites her tongue. I loved Ali in the books and I really enjoy her in the show as well. There is much more to her than just her mean and controlling attitude, and I can’t wait to delve more into her private life. Speaking of her private life, Ian Thomas (Melissa’s ex) shows up to Ali’s memorial, leaving the girls to wonder what’s going on. I won’t spoil too much but if the show goes the direction I think it is, Ian plays an important part in the upcoming episodes and knew Ali fairly well.

Hanna, Sean, Noel and Aria go on a double date because Hanna pressured Aria into it so they could go to a concert. Aria’s friends still think she is in love with someone from Iceland and I can’t wait when they figure out it’s actually Mr. Fitz. Speaking of dates, Emily and Maya go out on a real date and they make out in the back of a movie theater. Something tells me A was spying on them. In any case, I didn’t see this coming and I love that Pretty Little Liars isn’t shying away from two girls kissing. Normally, we might see them go in for a kiss and a quick cutaway but this was some hot and heavy action and I think it’s a brave and applaudable move.

At the memorial service, all the girls speak and it’s very touching. Surprisingly, Jenna’s speech was probably the most moving. She didn’t talk about how she was blinded, she just talked about Ali’s strength. I’m very curious to find out what Jenna knows about Ali that hasn’t been revealed yet. Jason tells Spencer that Ali pinned the Jenna thing on Spencer and tells the girls all about it. Jason also gives the girls Alison’s bracelet–the same one they had found in the woods. Oh A, what are you up to? At the very end, someone (A presumably) smashes a stone in the memorial.

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It’s Homecoming time for the Pretty Little Liars, and it’s not without trouble. Aria is upset about her parents (and Ezra), and the girls stage an intervention. She’s says she’s not going to Homecoming, but her friends convince her. Spencer is bringing Alex to homecoming and Emily is going alone. Hanna thinks that Emily should ask who she really likes (in other words, Maya). While they are all trying to help Aria, they get a fortune cookie message from A: Lions and tigers and bitches, Oh my. There’s no place like homecoming. See you there. -A. Oh A, you will never disappear. Also, I absolutely adore Hanna, and how she has no filter. Ashley Benson is quite the wonderful actress.

In true Rosewood fashion, everything goes awry at Homecoming (a cleverly themed Carnivale dance). Alex seems like such a nice guy, but Spencer and her friends are concerned with Hanna getting Jenna’s file from her therapist. Melissa is a chaperone and ends up sort of oddly flirting with Alex, or at the very least rubbing it in Spencer’s face when he finally takes off. Toby Cavanaugh asks Emily to go to homecoming and she accepts. He also seems sweet, albeit slightly creepy. When Hanna finally gets to the therapist’s office, she finds Toby’s file. I knew this from the books, but Toby had a shady past with Jenna. From what I discerned, he molested her but I could be wrong. It was always sort of unclear. In this episode, Jenna tells him that once Emily finds out the truth about him, she’ll hate him. He has a tattoo (that wasn’t in the books) saying 901 Free At Last, which the girls take to mean the date Ali died. Of course, all the girls think Toby is the killer after they see that Jenna and Toby were having sex, and try to get Emily away from him. She’s in the chem lab with him where he’s about to confess something big (his past?) but she gets a text from the girls and pushes him into a glass cabinet and runs off, trips and falls. Oh Emily, Toby may be sort of weird but I’m pretty sure he didn’t kill Ali.

Hanna and Sean win homecoming king and queen but Hanna isn’t there to claim her throne. Aria almost tells Ezra everything about A and The Jenna Thing but stops herself. They both obviously still have feelings for each other but can’t seem to get past the student/teacher hurdle. Before the Emily/Toby debacle, her and Maya confront each other. Maya wants Emily to come to grips with who she is. Personally, I think she is confused and not sure who to like. Mona also had a bigger role in this episode, telling Hanna that she was not about to lose her social status, and being bitchier than necessary. At the very end of the episode, someone is painting the population of Rosewood sign to have one less person. So creepy!!

Homecoming in Rosewood was a lot of fun and very dramatic, as I expected. I’m still not sure how to feel about Toby because he’s much more developed than he was in the books. I was rooting for Spencer and Alex but it doesn’t look like that’s going to work out, and Melissa continues to be evil. There is a lot of family history there and it’s bound to come out soon. I loved seeing Ali back in some flashbacks and I look forward to learning even more about her. Pretty Little Liars is well acted and has more than met my high expectations. On the surface, it might seem like a guilty pleasure show about some girls whose friend went missing, but it is much more complicated than that. There is a ton to Ali that we haven’t even seen yet. We haven’t gotten into her relationship with her brother Jason, her other boy toys and her manipulative relationship with her friends. We haven’t seen why the girls drifted apart and of course A is still a big mystery. I can’t wait to see what happens!

And since this song has been stuck in my head for about a week, here is the full version of the theme song to Pretty Little Liars. It’s called “Secret” by The Pierces, and it’s pretty good!

Pretty Little Liars airs Tuesday nights at 8 pm on ABC Family.