Any game you play requires a certain sort of skillset. A level of strategy, if you will, in order to defeat your opponent and declare yourself the winner. Be it chess, checkers, Risk, Settlers of Catan, Battleship, you name it – some planning has to go into your gameplay. However, other games are much more about luck than anything else.
A spin of the wheel.
A roll of the dice.
A card pulled from the deck.
It’s the luck of the draw coming in to say hello. This can potentially result in your opponent’s favor. However, on the other hand, it can result in a Get Out of Jail Free card when you need it the most (as per Emily this episode). So far in this half-season, we’ve been seeing more of the latter, which makes us wonder, is A.D. back to being a frenemy once again?
When Charlotte DiLaurentis was first killed, there was no room for negotiation. Über A wanted to avenge Charlotte’s death and, as Emily points out in this episode, it wasn’t a game back then. So, that begs the question, why is it a game (again) now?
Back when the focus was on figuring out the identity of Charlotte’s killer, the pieces of the puzzle aligned to show us one specific picture: Elliott Rollins was actually Archer Dunhill, a conman who was in love with Charlotte. He enlisted the help of Jessica DiLaurentis’s twin sister, and Charlotte’s birth mother, Mary Drake (or was it the other way around?) to find out who the murderer was and punish them. This led to Alison’s torture at Welby and also presumably Hanna’s torture in the shed. The two of them were the masterminds behind it all. So, where did Noel Kahn, Jenna Marshall, and Sara Harvey fit into all of this?
Were they minions of Charlotte’s, now doing this new -A Duo’s bidding? Were they actual friends seeking answers on their own? Spencer’s speculation seemingly confirmed the latter, but what if the former also came into play? What if all these people were working together, but while some wanted a warped sense of justice, others just wanted the Carissimi money? That could possibly explain why Noel Kahn would kill Sara.
In any case, our current game maker is seemingly no longer that concerned with revealing the killer’s identity. In fact, A.D. is more in line with Mona or even Charlotte’s turn at the -A game. Wherein the Liars were pushed to do ugly things to get what their hearts truly desired. Hanna stopping her father’s wedding for one, and Aria getting rid of Jackie Molina are the first examples that pop into mind about how this frenemy dynamic has always worked with -A, which A.D. reminds us of in this episode: You have to embrace your inner darkness in order to win the game.
And when you lose yourself, -A wins.
Here in episode 12, “These Boots Were Made for Stalking,” it was Emily who ended up being the stalker and blackmailer of a 15 year old kid in order to clear her own name. A.D. is pulling a move right out of original –A’s playbook, which finds us pondering the following question: Has A.D. always been the same person post-timejump?
Seemingly, the answer would be no. Archer, Mary, Noel, Sara, and Jenna had apparently all finished their turns as villains and then turned on each other by the time 7A came to a close. However, if the answer is yes, if we’ve always had the same mastermind since we went 5 years forward, who would have wanted to avenge Charlotte so much and then has now moved on to trying to curry the Liars’s favor? We know with certainty that Jenna is either just a pawn or someone trying to make the best of her situation, the enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that. Which leaves Mary Drake. Is this all her hoping for a genuine connection with Spencer? The end justifying her means? Who cares so much about Charlotte and about the Liars now as well?
Or has a new player entered the game? Lucas? Another Twin? Mona?
Regardless, the question truly is this: Did the game get stolen once again from under our noses without us realizing it?
SCORE CARD:
ROUND 2
SHIP WATCH:
Spencer: Still technically “““dating””” the detective….?????
Hanna: The dress fiasco is getting her one step closer to confessing to Mona and Caleb that a new game is afoot.
Aria: Almost went through with threatening Nicole, who was just rescued from being kidnapped and tortured for 3 years in the Colombian jungle. All because Ezra may or may not have proposed to her back when they were together before she was abducted. Nicole, who is currently still recovering from this horrifying ordeal in a facility in NYC…. Nicole. We’re all on the same page that Aria’s in the wrong here right?
Emily: Not dating Alison. Just, you know, reminding Alison how she’ll support her whatever decision she makes about the baby, while gently tucking her hair behind her ear. And then having Alison support her during her turn in the game. Not dating Paige. Just, you know, confessing to Paige about the moment she fell for her back when they were teenagers, while gently taking her hand. And then having Paige clear her name from the sexual harassment claims she was suffering from. Just, you know, #GalPalGoals
ABSURDITY:
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Balls the size of church bells
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“Her smell clings to you.”
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Also, what was up with Jenna’s blind entourage??? They were waiting for an uber??? Hmmmm.
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Of Late I Think of Rosewood: Holden is still around being the best male character this side of Caleb’s momentary fuckboy lapse in judgment.
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“Why are you eating insecurity for breakfast?” This is a Heathers (1989) reference and no one can convince me otherwise.
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“Tell me you don’t want to lick this.”
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How Shay Mitchell pronounces Jumanji
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“Is Ezra the only person who’s ever told you he loved you?”
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There’s definitely something to be said about how actual predator Ezra Fitz is the show’s leading man and the tiptoeing that goes into verbalizing and normalizing his abuse, while the lesbian woman of color is getting this accusation plainly stated: predator. (And that’s not even touching how it kinda perpetuates that whole false notion about how women lie about harassment and assault to ruin reputations.) Dear show, let’s not.
LINE OF THE NIGHT:
(gif source: pllrose)