Aria Goes Double Agent, Emison Face a Life-Changing Decision and Spencer Finds Herself at the Top of Furey’s Suspect List
After an excruciating week hiatus, Pretty Little Liars returned this week with a brand new episode titled, “In the Eye Abides the Heart.” The episode picks up with Em (Shay Mitchell) and Ali (Sasha Pieterse) struggling with what to do about the baby. They decide to get a DNA test to make sure Em’s eggs were used. The Liars meet up at the Brew to talk about Ted’s (Edward Kerr) bombshell about Lucas (Brendan Robinson) and Charles’ childhood connection. Hannah (Ashley Benson) refuses to believe Lucas could be connected to A.D. She and Em search his apartment and find even more troubling information. And when more shady info on Lucas is uncovered, Hannah chooses to show the Liar’s Lament to Mona (Janel Parrish). While Aria (Lucy Hale) is forced to spy and even steal for A.D. because of whatever’s inside her file. She provides A.D. with information trying to protect herself, her friends and those she loves. And Aria finally issues Ezra (Ian Harding) an ultimatum when it comes to Nicole (Rebecca Breeds) and the lengths he goes to support her.
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Meanwhile, Detective Furey (Nicholas Gonzales) begins to question the PLLs and their knowledge on Archer’s (Huw Collins) death. While Spencer (Troian Bellisario) discovers clues indicating Mary Drake (Andrea Parker) is still in town and goes to elaborate lengths to set up a meeting with her. Instead, she finds Detective Furey and he has some serious questions about her and the night they met. He doesn’t have enough on her, so Spencer is free to go. She goes to meet Wren (Julian Morris) at the airport to keep him company while on a layover. There’s a rather awkward encounter with Ezra, who decides to return home rather than rush to Nicole’s side again. And Ali makes her decision about the baby. Wowzers! A lot happened in this week’s episode. Here are the top moments worth OMG-ing over.
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Arcturus, a dark comic from the minds of childhood besties, Lucas and Charles. A plan for the future or simply kids’ fantasy?
After discussing the bombshell Ted dropped about Charles/Charlotte and Lucas’ childhood friendship, the PLLs decide to search Lucas’ apartment. Emily and Hanna hunt for any clues connecting Lucas to Charles. They turn his apartment inside out and find a comic, Arcturus, written by Charles and Lucas. The comic is about a boy who is picked on by other kids as well as his own family. And there’s a shape-shifting alien woman, Arcturus, who helps the bullied boy get revenge even on his own family. Psychological torture is also mentioned. Both Hanna and Emily are in disbelief. They rush to show the comic to Aria before putting it back exactly where they found it careful not to raise any suspicion from Lucas.
Yeah, so I totally thought Lucas was shady from the get go. He disappears awhile, comes back totally changed? Lucas is such a good friend now that he lets Hanna stay in his loft, wants to invest in her and her fashion line. Maybe its so we’ll just forget how he was once obsessed with Hanna and used part of the ‘A’ team at one point. Hell, maybe he even still is. It’s not hard to see the comic he and Charles wrote when they were kids parallels what’s been done to the Liars over the years with the whole ‘A’ game. And let’s not forget Charles and Lucas wrote the comic at a camp for troubled young boys, so obviously, they had to have been sent to that camp for a reason. Seems pretty clear that Lucas has certainly known more than he’s ever led on over the years
Aria turns dark-ish. A super creepy pixelated version of Aria has her spying and stealing for A.D.
We learned the last episode, A.D.’s file on Aria and whatever’s inside forces her into working for A.D. She gets a video call from A.D. and the person on the other end is a digitalized version of Aria’s own face. Their voice is scrambled making it hard to distinguish or even guess who the real face behind the creepy calls.Later Aria sends a call to voicemail upsetting whoever is behind that messy face swap gone wrong and the next call not too friendly. Aria is reluctant but snitches on what Spencer and Hanna were doing when they went looking for Mary Drake at Ted’s. Now, A.D. knows where Mary Drake was hiding and who’s Charlotte’s biological father if they didn’t already. She also tells A.D. about the comic and is forced into stealing it. And when she puts it in the designated locker, inside there’s a black hoodie that she actually takes!
Whoa! Let me just say that the calls between Aria and ‘Aria’ are disturbing. Reminds me of one of those super creepy Snapchat filters. I wonder if Aria has officially joined team A.D.? She did take the black hoodie from the locker. She might have been cold, but she looked around to make sure no one saw her which makes it a bit sketchy. I admit it is kind of interesting to see a new side of Aria, but I’m not feeling the whole dark Aria. It makes me really curious about what the hell is in A.D.’s file on her that she’s willing to work for the enemy to keep it a secret. Must be a doozy. I cannot wait to find out! I am also interested to find out why A.D. seemed so concerned about Mary Drake’s whereabouts. Could she be a threat to A.D.? Maybe she knows who A.D. is and can blow their entire endgame out of the water.
Mona’s introduced to the Liar’s Lament and is beyond mesmerized by the evil genius-ness of it all!
At the Brew, Hanna runs into Mona and she has bad news. The factory they were planning on using for their fashion studio had been put up for sale. It appears Lucas lied about backing the business because it was done by Lucas or someone using his information as the contact. It’s time to let Mona in on A.D.’s game. She’s astonished by the genius of Liar’s Lament. and has nothing but admiration for it and whoever designed it. Mona even caresses the board at one point. Mona says the game is sealed and impossible for anyone to get inside, not even who made it. She concludes it runs on batteries and the game is over when they run out. She doesn’t think Lucas made it because the heart of the thing is mechanical and it’s not all computerized. Hanna begs Mona for help playing but she just can’t risk becoming addicted to playing with people’s lives again.When Hanna suggests they could possibly beat it, Mona appears to reconsider.
“Why build a dollhouse when you could turn the entire town into a dollhouse?” - Mona.
I absolutely love Mona! Yes, she used to be a total pain in the ass when she was ‘A’ and when she formed the alliance of all Ali’s victims and/or haters to make her return to Rosewood complete hell. Mona has come so far over the years. Her character development has been exceptional. I know I might regret that because for all we know she could be playing us all again. Mona’s reaction to seeing the Liar’s Lament is wondrous. A reformed villain and evil genius in her own right admiring A.D.’s work. Even caressing the game at one point is priceless. I was wondering when she’d learn about A.D. and the game but surprised she turned down helping Hanna play. Honestly, I don’t think it’s going to last long. Since A.D. blackmailed Aria over to the dark side the Liars are down a player, so it’s only fair.
“Playing with people’s lives like this is an addition. You’re not dealing with a healthy person. You’re dealing with an addict. I know more about it than anyone…” - Mona.
Uh Oh, Spencer! Looks like you’ve been outplayed by Detective Furey.
Spencer takes cupcakes to Marco hoping to get information about the finger sent to Rosewood P.D. and the search for Mary Drake. He shares a few details and reveals their main suspect in Archer’s death is Mary Drake. Spencer returns home and discovers someone had been in her bed. There’s an open door with a bottle of wine and a note from Mary Drake inside! Spencer and her plan to meet up at the Lost Woods. Spencer waits for her and when someone finally does show, it’s Marco! He followed her! Marco explains too many pieces of the case lead back to Spencer and asks if she knew Archer was at the Radley the same night they met or at least his credit card was. We learn in a flashback, Spencer used Archer’s credit card to buy her and Marco’s drinks and signed her name on the receipt. This is also the same night she drunkenly blurted out she was burying a body before the bar.
DAMN! Looks like Spencer could be in serious trouble. My jaw dropped when Marco showed up and confronted her about the night at the Radley. Spencer was spiraling a bit. For heaven’s sake, she and the others had just buried Archer. Not mention were all in the car when Ali purposely hit and killed him. It seemed like a joke when Spencer admitted she was burying a body earlier that night, but not funny now. Especially since Spencer’s hot hookup ended up being a freaking detective. I wonder if there are genuine feelings between Marco and Spencer. Honestly, he could’ve done his research on Rosewood’s tragic history with all connections to the Liars’ and sought Spencer out that night. But how could Spencer have been so sloppy? Let’s hope she can find her way out of this some somehow.
The truth about Ali’s baby brings Paige and Ali face-to-face for the good of Emily.
The blood test confirms Ali is carrying a baby from Emily’s stolen eggs and drops the bombshell, Archer isn’t the baby daddy. After talking to Spencer about it, Em decides she wants to keep the baby and asks Ali to consider it. Em talks about everything with Paige and she’s adult about the whole thing, It’s time for Paige to leave Rosewood, but Emily wants her to stay believing Paige could co-parent with her and Ali. Paige knows that would never and leaving is what she needs to do. They agree they’re both doing what they need and share a kiss goodbye. Paige makes one last stop before leaving town. She drops by to see Ali and puts her on the spot about her real feelings for Emily. Ali avoids the question at first but basically admits she loves Em. And then, Ali tells Em she’s decided to have the baby and raise it together.
“I have to do this.” - Emily.
“I know you do. That’s what makes you Emily.” - Paige.
Awe. Emison + baby = super cute! The question now is whose the baby daddy? It could be anyone. Noel Kahn? Lucas? Wren? Wilden? Oh shit! What if it’s Charles? Do we know when he transitioned to Charlotte? The possibilities are endless. The only person we know it’s not is Archer, which is a good thing. And I was really surprised at Paige’s reaction to Emily wanting to keep the baby. Especially after her behavior with Emily, Ali and herself working together at Rosewood High. I honestly thought when she went to talk to Ali the interaction wasn’t going to be cordial. It speaks volumes of Paige’s love for Emily. And finally, we learn Ali’s true feelings for Em. Let’s hope they’re genuine. Ali has quite a manipulative history with Em.
“I know how I feel when she looks at me… it’s like she sees who you really are… You want to be the person she sees.” - Ali.
FINAL VERDICT: The PLLs keep it interesting as a Liar joins the enemy, another finds herself suspect number one, a comic exposes a shady friend and Troian Bellisario makes her directorial debut in “In the Eye Abides the Heart.”
Pretty Little Liars 7×15 entitled, “In the Eye Abides the Heart,” is a suspenseful ride of shocking reveals, relationship woes and betrayal as well as touching moments of romance. Joseph Dougherty penned an episode full of emotion, jaw-dropping surprises and new details about the A.D.’s endgame that keeps viewers’ entranced throughout the episode. Dougherty shows us a new side of Aria this week. Sure, she’s always been secretive, sneaky, and manipulative with the other Liars, but to protect one another. This time Aria is working for the other side. I never thought I could be so frustrated with her and question her motives. The creepy facetime videos are a nice touch from Dougherty to reinforce just how twisted the person she’s been forced to work for. Director, Troian Bellisario, does a great job focusing and zooming in on Aria’s phone giving viewers a front row seat to the mangled face she’s talking to. She has great camera work again when Spencer finds Mary Drake’s clues and notes zooming in on the notes so viewers are able to read them.
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Dougherty is clever to link Marco and Spencer’s confrontation at the Lost Woods to the night they met at the Radley. While Bellisario creates an eerie ambiance enhancing the suspense as Spencer waits for Mary with the dark, abandoned motel and flashlights. Bellisario zooming and focuses on Lucas and Charles’ comic reinforcing the irony of it all, which again is a clever notion by the writer. Thank you, Dougherty, for Aria finally having the balls to call Ezra on his shit! I assume what she said during their argument he;s the reason she’s working with A.D. Did anyone else get the feeling the airport wasn’t the first time Ezra and Wren met? He looked spooked to see him and tried to avoid him. Did Ezra really decide to stay in Rosewood because of Aria? Or did seeing Wren change his mind? Something is certainly off with them. I cannot wait to find out more!
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS 7×16 airs TUESDAY, MAY 30, at 8|7c. on FREEFORM
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