Pretty Little Liars 6×10 “Game Over, Charles” REVIEW

A FAce-to-Face With ‘A’ With Shocking Revelations

The Pretty Little Liars season six mid-summer finale, “Game Over, Charles” leaves no stone unturned and viewers and the Liars’ jaws on the floor. After six seasons and over 100 episodes of mysteries and torment the Liars finally are able to put a face to the infamous ‘A’ who has them cringing at every text message. After Ali (Sasha Pieterse) goes MIA at the prom intending to reunite with her long lost brother, Charles, in true Liar-style, the ladies are determined to rescue her. However, they had no clue what is in store for them as ‘A’ is finally identified and believe it or not humanized in a way no one thought possible. The Liars get front row seats to an hour-long super villain monologue revealing the answers to everything from the true identity of ’A’ to what really happened to Charles DiLaurentis, who really killed Bethany Young, Officer Wilden, Mrs. Cavenaugh and much more. So much is explained in the episode, so let’s not waste anymore time and get right down to discussing!

The Many FAces of A

Wow. Wow. Wow! The mid-season summer finale can be described in one word: MIND-BLOWN. Just when viewers thought for almost half of season six ‘A’ must be Ali and Jason’s (Drew VanAcker) long lost brother, Charles, viewers knew it couldn’t be that easy. However, at the very least viewers were almost sure (kinda) that ‘A’ has to be male. So many names have crossed our minds over the years and so many shady characters have come and gone in Rosewood over the years that it was hard to pick just ONE plausible suspect. In retrospect, ‘A’ has had several identities over the years. Born as Charles DiLaurentis, no one even knew Jason and Ali had a brother except of course for Mr. and Mrs. D. until the end of season five when Spencer (Troian Bellisario) discovers the secret room in ‘A’s life-sized dollhouse of torture. From a young boy, Charles knew he was meant to be a girl, but never got the approval he desperately needed from his father. Sent to Radley for years, Mrs. D. stayed close with her son and truly accepted him for who he is, even bringing him the same dresses she bought for Ali. Later Charles transitioned to become Charlotte DiLaurentis and leaves Radley for college, but misses her family, so she returns to Rosewood and takes on the identity of CeCe Drake (Vanessa Ray), whom we’ve known for years. CeCe longed to be a part of the DiLaurentis family. She even dated Jason, her own brother and became close friends with Ali and surprisingly Mrs. D. knew all along who CeCe really was. For years ‘A’ has been right in front of us and we had no clue, despite a few suspicions here and there, but honestly, who hasn’t crossed our minds at one time or another as ‘A?’

“Wait, so Charles is CeCe but CeCe is … Charlotte?” - Hanna.

The A Team UnMAsked

However, CeCe didn’t work alone playing her sick and twisted game over the years, like all true super-villains, she needed a few minions along the way. Viewers uncertainty about Sara Harvey (Dre Davis) proved to be completely warranted. She is revealed to be part of A’s team. (Poor Emily). Sara is not only the person under the infamous ‘Red Coat’ seen throughout the years often donning an Allison mask, she is also exposed as the identity of the mysterious ‘Black Widow’ first seen at Officer Wilden’s funeral. In fact even Wilden (Bryce Johnson) was part of the ‘A’ Team at one point in time. That is before CeCe killed him. He was paid cover up the real details of Toby’s (Keegan Allen) mom’s death and even killed Garrett. CeCe also confesses to using a drugged up Mona (Janel Parrish) during her stay at Radley to gain information on the Liars to befriend them as CeCe. While some of the audience’s theories were partially correct at one time or another, who could’ve actually predicted ‘A’ is a transgender female? (We kinda did, though)

An A + Performance for a Amazing FAce-to-Face:

One of the biggest OMG moments of the episode is when ‘A’ is unmasked as CeCe Drake, who is also known as Charlotte DiLaurentis and formerly Charles DiLaurentis!! Vanessa Ray does an amazing job in the episode. Her portrayal of CeCe takes the audience on an emotional roller coaster ride as she lays all her cards on the table sharing the details of the events leading up to this point. When we FINALLY see the face under that infamous black hoodie, CeCe looks as if she’s proud of all the awful things she’s done over the years. She has almost a sly smile smile as she slowly turns adding to the suspension of the reveal. Her eyes even have a hint of crazy to them, but that’s to be expected considering ‘A’s expansive list of evil doings. Initially, viewers can’t help but feel anger towards her for all she has put the Liars, their family and friends through over the years, but as she tells her story, ‘A’ is humanized. Our hearts break a little for her as growing up she faced a difficult childhood wanting nothing more than the acceptance from her father and to be a part of her her own family. During specific parts of the story CeCe has a sadness in her eyes that really tugs at the audience’s heartstrings. Explaining as a young boy she was sent to Radley for putting baby Ali in the bathtub in an attempt to comfort her not harm her, CeCe’s facial expression saddens conveying to the audience how painful it is to remember this. During the flashback sequence, the actor who portrays little Charles when he’s left behind at Radley, Wyatt Hodge is great illustrating the emotion scene, His sad expression shows viewers he’s hurt that his parents are leaving him behind, but has innocent widened eyes showing his confusion of why they’d would do such a thing to him.

“You didn’t just bury Charles, you buried your dirty little secret!” - Charlotte.

As viewers continue learning what makes ‘A’ tick, she isn’t just this anonymous torturer anymore, she is a person that has feelings and emotion just like everyone else. Feeling the need to protect her mom from Bethany Young, CeCe returns to Rosewood to stop her. After discovering she hit Ali over the head, CeCe’s expression shows viewers how upset she is that she hurt her beloved little sister instead. Then again upon finding her mom’s dead body in her backyard, CeCe breaks down, crying in disbelief at what she’s found. She even goes as far as to bury her mother’s body in an effort to deal with the pain. Besides being forced to grow up at a mental institution and oppressed by their family is enough to conjure up a hell of A LOT of anger in anyone, but Vanessa Ray does a great job conveying to viewers the other side, the human side of ‘A.’

FINAL VERDICT:

The mid-summer finale of Pretty Little Liars, “Game Over, Charles,” is a jaw dropping episode from beginning to end that has viewers unable to take their eyes away from the TV. Executive producer and showrunner, I.Marlene King penned an episode that has grabs the audience’s attention right from the get go. She packs the episode with so much information, answering so many questions viewers and the Liars have had for years that it’s enough to leave your head spinning long after the episode ends. Almost too much information for just one episode and perhaps the network should have given a double episode special to give each reveal the proper justice deserved. It is clever how King tells CeCe’s story from a young Charles to Charlotte and then CeCe by weaving together present day scenes with flashbacks. And by doing so, she humanizes ‘A’ making the audience and the Liars feel bad for her even after ALL the awful things she’s done.

King, who also served as the director of the episode, does a wonderful job using just the right camera angles to capture each actors’ facial expressions adding to the emotion of the scene. Before ‘A’ is fully identified, positioning CeCe with her back to us, hood up and her one leg slightly bent at the knee gives viewers a tease that ‘A’ is a female just by the profile. Then as ‘A’ is revealed King slowly zooms in just as CeCe slowly turns around really enhances the suspense of the scene. Couple with the great writing and directing by King, Vanessa Ray does a fantastic job as CeCe in the episode. She illustrates to viewers both sides of ‘A’s personality; the dark, devious and vengeful ‘A’ we’ve all known for years and a vulnerable girl that wants nothing more than to be loved and accepted by her family. When CeCe finds her mom, Ray conveys CeCe’s sadness and heartbreak CeCe feels in this scene and King makes great use of camera angles to capture the emotion. Again when CeCe leaves her family behind after accidentally hitting Ali on the head with a rock, Ray is spot on with portrayal of CeCe. And King zooms in to focus on CeCe’s expression and sad eyes capturing the raw emotion of the scene.

“He’s coming for you…..”He’s already here!” - The Liars.

Ending the heart pounding episode with a five year flash forward after all the ladies finished college is a great decision by King. It not only teases viewers about where they’re all at in their lives while also provides a cliffhanger for us to ponder for the rest of the year. The ending scene shows Ali is a teacher and her name on the blackboard also reveals she’s married! And cleverly, King zooms in on each of the Liars’ faces as Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily rush into her classroom to tease how each girl’s fashion has evolved over the years. While exclaiming they’ve returned to Rosewood to help Ali also peeks the audience’s interest as to where they’re living and they’re life outside Rosewood. And obviously leaves us wondering who the hell ‘he’ is that is after Ali. King offers just enough information to peek viewers interest and ensure they’ll be tuning in when the season continues.

Comments, Questions, Concerns:

• What happened to CeCe after she decided not to jump? Is she in prison? Or perhaps back at another mental institution?
• How did CeCe and Sara team up and why did Sara agree to do such awful things??
• CeCe never explained why she kept the Liars in her life-sized dollhouse and tortured them….
• Who killed Mrs, D??
• Are the moms still trapped in the basement? WTH?
• Where were Erza, Caleb and Toby? Did they all break up? Why were they not even in the first flash forward when the girls say their goodbyes before college?
• Did Jason and Mr. D here EVERYTHING and let’s hope they’re not still laying there.

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS RETURNS FOR THE SECOND HALF OF SEASON 6 IN 2016