Perhaps the most widely anticipated episode of Pretty Little Liars (and the most advertised to date) premiered on Tuesday, February 11th. What made this episode so much more special than all the others? Well, aside from the first and last scenes, it was filmed entirely in black and white.
That’s right, the Liars paid homage to all of those 1940’s black and white films that, well, most of the viewers have never seen. That explains why most fans of the show sat confused as the drama played out before them – is it a hallucination? Is it all real life? What is going on? Why is it in black and white?
Well, the answer is, it was just a hallucination. My fave liar Spencer decided to supplement herself with pills to keep her awake. The moral of the story here is if you do drugs (My guess is Adderall was her drug of choice, but they never actually say the name) your life will turn into a black and white 1940’s drama.
Don’t do drugs, kids!
Still, even with the confusion, you have to admit: the liars look good in black and white. Stand out performers include:
Hanna, playing the bubble gum chewing switch board attendant tracking down Allison (let’s face it, Ashley Benson was born for that part)
Ezra, the recently unmasked bad guy (how did you feel about the Casablanca-esque scene? I think Ian Harding did it beautifully!)
And of course, my favorite member of the cast, Toby, as the… well, I’m not really sure who he was meant to be. A detective, I guess? It wasn’t clear. But Keegan Allen looks even better in black and white (who knew that was even possible?).
Even with all of the promotion done by ABC Family, fans didn’t quite grasp the concept of the black and white as well as everyone hoped. I doubt we’ll get to see the Liars in noir again anytime soon.
Shadow Play was fun while it lasted!
Some stand out quotes from the evening:
“Almost looks like she could step right out of the frame and kiss ya.” – Toby
“Emily, get real, this is all about the A-ness of things.” – Hanna
“Haven’t you ever heard of knocking before you come in a room?” – Spencer“I’ve heard of it, I just don’t subscribe to the practice. You learn a lot more walking in uninvited.” – Toby
“I’ll tell you what I know about people, they’re no damn good. Everybody’s out for themselves, and that’s the simple truth.” – Ezra
“Don’t look at the book, look at the pages.” – Toby
And basically every other piece of dialogue from the episode. Even if the episode wasn’t a hit, the one-liners certainly were.
Photo credit: ABC Family’s Instagram account.
Catch Pretty Little Liars every Tuesday at 8pm EST on ABC Family!