Pretty Little Liars: Top 5 Moments of “Exes and OMGs”

Hanna Goes Rogue and Has Us ALL Questioning Her Motives!

On Pretty Little Liars titled, “Exes and OMGs” the clocking is ticking for the PLLs to find out who is Uber A before there could be deadly consequences. Hanna (Ashley Benson) is determined Noel Kahn (Brant Daugherty) is behind everything. She even has a startling dream that Noel hits Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) with his car. She makes sure Caleb is alright and then gets a visit from Mrs. Grunwald (Meg Foster) while working on sketches. Grunwald fears the Liars are in danger and asks about Caleb. She explains a dream left her feeling very unsettled and she needed to come warn her. Their conversation moves downstairs at the Radley where they find Noel. Hanna gets his attention and when he comes over Grunwald has visions of Hanna being tortured. She tells Hanna a lot of people died at The Radley and can still hear their screams.

Meanwhile, Ali (Sasha Pieterse) and Em (Shay Mitchell) meet at The Brew before Ali returns to work. There, Em sees her old principal and he mentions an open position as Rosewood High swim coach. Em goes to Rosewood High to apply for the position and is surprised to see Paige (Lindsey Shaw) is also interested in the coaching job. The friendly exes go out for a drink and toast to the best woman getting the job. Later, Ali sneaks into the principal’s office to look at Noel Kahn’s file, but only finds a note from Uber A instead.

Elsewhere, Aria (Lucy Hale) comes clean with Ezra (Ian Harding) about deleting the call from Nicole (Rebecca Breeds). She gives him some time and her and Spencer (Troian Bellisario) track down a doctor with the same name as the one who delivered Mary’s (Andrea Parker), second child. They find his estranged daughter, who eventually gives them his address and pay him a visit. He was the on-call doctor at Radley. He remembers Mary Drake and delivering her children. The only thing he remembers is the second baby was a fighter and taken by the state. The Liars meet up to go over the day’s events and Hanna leaves to make a mysterious call. Then she goes to tell Caleb she’s going to NYC but holes herself up in a shed. So much happened this week and even more, questions are left unanswered. Check out the top moments in chronological order, as usual..

Is Ezra Wondering What Might Have Been?

Aria admits to Em she feels bad for deleting the phone call from Nicole on Ezra’s phone. Then Ezra walks in on the conversation shocking both the ladies. Aria no choice and to viewers’ surprise confesses to deleting Nicole’s call and keeping it from him. Unlike most, Ezra manages to keep his cool. It’s obvious he’s furious and even a bit hurt. Aria sees this and gives him time to process everything. At this point Era and Aria’s relationship status is questionable and viewers begin to worry.

Aria returns to find Ezra watching the new coverage of jungle investigation. Reports come in a camp’s been discovered and has been keeping hostages. Viewers’ hearts sink right along with Aria’s. Not because Nicole might be alive, but because if she is she could possibly lose Ezra.  Aria puts her own feelings aside cashing in their Tuscany tickets, where they planned to get married, so Ezra can go be part of searching for Nicole. When they say goodbye at the airport it’s heartbreaking for viewers to watch. The love between the pair is evident. Aria comes across as scared about the future of their relationship, but knows it;s the right thing ti do. Surely seems as she’s abiding by the saying, “If you love something, let it go….”

A Haunting Re-Appearance

The episode promo may have spilled the beans about Mrs. Grunwald’s return, but it doesn’t prepare the audience enough for her return. The moment Hanna opens the door to find her on the other side a chill goes right down viewers’ backs. She still has the same haunting appearance she did when the PLLs first meet her in Ravenswood. This time around she comes to Rosewood looking for Hanna and has a warning for her and her friends, including Caleb. Like the heartstopping dream Hanna had, Grunwald too claims to have had a dream that left her feeling quite unsettled. So she felt compelled to come warn Hanna.

Downstairs at the Radley, viewers get a creepy feeling when Grunwald reveals she can hear the screams of the many killed at Radley. Her expression is stone-cold serious confessing it’s deafening. Noel Kahn approaches them after Hanna deliberately spills a drink. To viewers, it seems Grunwald is experiencing visions of Hanna being tortured. Things get creepier when her nose starts bleeding. We have to wonder if it was really Grunwald’s vision. If so, Hanna’s theory that Noel’s behind everything must be true. Or is Hanna having more flashback? She’s been experiencing flashbacks to being tortured and held captive. Why is Hanna the only Liar Grunwald came to warn? Or was her entire interaction with Grunwald a hallucination? Hanna definitely presents symptoms of PTSD,which makes total sense given what she’s been through,

Radley Tales from a Drunken Doctor

Spencer discovers a doctor with the same name as the one who delivered Mary Drake’s children has a nearby office. She and Aria venture to the doctor’s office hoping to learn more about Mary’s second child. The doctor turns out to be not quite the doctor they’re hoping for. Surprisingly it’s his estranged daughter, who  doesn’t have anything nice to say about her father or want anything to do with him. She gives up his address only because she believes they’re who broke into her office. Obviously, viewers assume it was Uber A since the Liars had nothing to do with breaking into her office.

Spencer and Aria take a bottle of whiskey to visit the actual Dr. Cochran hoping to learn more about Mary’s second child. He reveals he was the on-call doctor at Radley and called to cover things up, which led to him losing his medical license. He remembers Mary Drake instantly as well as delivering both of her children. Ironically, he doesn’t remember the second baby’s gender but recalls the baby was a fighter and taken by the state. Doctor Cochran invites Aria and Spencer to return for more stories leading viewers to suspect he might know more than he’s letting on. Perhaps, he’s just working an angle for more booze, More details with each bottle of whiskey. He’s an alcoholic after all. His odd comment about family also suggests he’s not telling them everything. He as to know something about the baby’s father. The father has to be either a Radley patient or employee, who needed to keep his relationship with Mary a secret.

Oh, Hello again, Paige!

Mrs. Grunwald isn’t the only blast from the past appearing in this week’s episode. When Emily stops by Rosewood High to apply for the swim coach position she’s surprised to find Paige. Coincidentally Em’s ex-girlfriend is also interested in the coaching job. Their reunion seems friendly. Emily and Paige even go out for a drink to catch up and viewers finally learn what happened in California leading to their break up. Emily admits her father’s death left her in a dark place and ultimately took a toll on their relationship. Paige understands and confesses she had a tough time of her own. after a car accident crushed her dreams of competing in the Olympics. All seems to just be water under the bridge for Emily and Paige. They even toast to the best lady earning the coaching job. But viewers sense a creepy vibe when we see Paige watching Em and Sabrina (Lulu Brud) through the window outside in the dark. Maybe she just misses Emily….or maybe she’s connected to Uber A somehow. The timing of Paige’s return couldn’t be more suspect. History proves nothing is a coincidence in Rosewood and Paige just happens to return at the same time as Jenna and Noel? Color me intrigued, but for Em’s sake let’s hope I’m mistaken.

Hanna’s Solo Mission

Undoubtedly, this week’s O.M.F.G. moment is Hanna’s shady behavior. Viewers cannot believe their eyes when Hanna leaves an Uber A powwow discussing theories and new information to make a mysterious call outside. Immediately, we wonder if Hanna is Mary’s second child. It is after all the child is about the same age as the Liars. During the call, Hanna tells whoever is on the other end she’ll have all the money. What money? When or where is she getting the money? Is she talking about money from Carissimi? Hanna also insists it’s best if they forget her name or that she ever existed. WTF Hanna? This shady as f*ck call has viewers’ heads spinning and with so many questions.

Hanna’s actions get even more sketchy. She goes to tell Caleb she’ll be ‘off the grid’ for a while and lies saying she’s going to NYC. Wow. This new Hanna even lies to Caleb. Honestly, she’s probably trying to protect him in some way because if he suspected she’d be in any danger, he’d demand on going along. Hanna raises the audience’s concerns or suspicions when she holes up in an abandoned shed. Adding more fuel to the fire, she blacks out the windows with newspaper. Hopefully, this is one of those times in PLL where things aren’t as they seem because honestly, Hanna is coming off as super shady. Could she be Mary’s other child? If she is it doesn’t mean she’s necessarily linked to Uber A. Let’s hope Hanna isn’t doing something stupid to keep her friends safe because they wouldn’t be okay if anything happened to her.

CONCLUSION:

This week’s episode of PLL takes viewers on an emotional ride of unexpected reunions, mysterious new clues and as usual plenty of relationship drama. The writers do a fantastic job leaving the audience wanting more. Shocking reveals blow our minds and have us questioning everything we know about one of the Liars. That Liar, Hanna, Ashley Benson is easily the MVP of the episode for her amazing portrayal of Hanna. After having flashbacks to being held hostage by A.D. Hanna’s facial expression conveys the anguish she feels remembering the experience. Her eyes are sad and slightly squinted as if she’s in physical; pain. The episode’s director makes excellent use of various camera angles to capture the raw emotion of the flashback scenes. Alternating present day shots with the green-tinted flashbacks of her being tortured reinforces how painful the experience was and still is for Hanna.

The wording of Hanna’s shady phone call is done cleverly by the writers. There’s just enough to make the audience suspicious of Hanna’s motives and even wonder if she could possibly by Mary’s second child. But there is also enough to back up the theory that Hanna is perhaps using herself as bait or even sacrificing herself to save her friends. Let’s hope it’s neither and in traditional PLL style, nothing at all like it seems.

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS 7×09 airs TUESDAY, AUGUST 23 at 8|7c. on FREEFORM