Pretty Little Liars 512: Summer #fAtalfinale Liveblog Situation OF DEATH

The Pretty Little Liars mid-season, summer finale is here! Tonight at 8/7c, after four and a half season on the run from A, the girls jump in a helicopter and visit a new theme park full of dinosaurs who eventually run amok and eat the girls as they cower in various outhouses! Just kidding, they’re still trying to figure out who A is, but someone is going to die in this episode. (None of the promotional materials has specifically indicated the non-involvement of T-Rexes, so one can assume they are the cause of death.)

The good news is that I’ll be here with you through whatever kind of pressure-cooker this episode turns out to be! Listen, I’m giving you everything, all that joy can bring, this I swear, and all that I want from you is a promise you will be here at 8/7c to hang out and liveblog this with me.

Here is the official synopsis, via the official press release:

With Alison leading them down a dangerous path and “A” barring them from telling the police the truth, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer feel trapped and are desperate to find a way out of this mess. With nothing else to lose, could the PLLs lose everything by putting their faith in a possibly untrustworthy ally?
Meanwhile, Alison begins to build up her own army now that the PLLs have turned their back on her.

There are also rumors that Paige is going to be heavily featured in this episode, which I feel great about. I mean, the press release promises “Paige posing next to a plastic snowman and looking super adorable,” which is confusing but encouraging.

Who knows, maybe the person who dies won’t be queer and/or a person of color! Let your imagination run wild, it’s possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF27rVV2jtQ


7:38 p.m.: I finished my popcorn watching the tail end of the ABC Family #PLLMarathon. Last week’s episode was so gay, you guys. I bet Mona dies this week, though.

7:51 p.m. My stream froze, and when it came back, all I heard was “life doesn’t stop for a UTI,” which was part of a commercial, unfortunately, despite how much it sounds like something Spencer would say.

7:57 p.m.: Ok, so where we last left off, Spencer, Emily and Aria deduced that Ali was going to go to the police “to tell them everything,” or at least her version of everything. The gang is fucking finally turning against her. Hanna was listening to Caleb describe the series finale of Ravenswood, which was a snoozefest. EVERYBODY GET EXCITED FOR SOMEONE TO DIE, I GUESS??

8:00 p.m.: Well at least we know what time of year it’s supposed to be, although that’s the warmest Pennsylvania Thanksgiving I’ve ever heard of.

8:01 p.m.: Wait what the fuck is happening, if Spencer is dead I will throw up all over my computer.

8:04 p.m.: So clearly Mona is related to that creepy guy from this season of American Horror Story re: dolls. Also are we supposed to think Ali’s real name isn’t Ali, was that the implication? Also, “Alison Lauren DiLaurentis” is right up there with “Jerry Gergich,” tbh.

8:07 p.m.: Oh no, Mona’s mom is so nice and cute! Definitely the nicest and cutest mom on this show, A+, #1 cute mom.

8:09 p.m.: Mona called someone on the phone and said “send out a Code A, she’s plotting something big,” which supports this really intense theory I read on Tumblr about how Hanna is A. I’m super into that idea, even though I don’t really believe it.

8:11 p.m.: Commercial break! Have you looked at the cast of Dolphin Tale 2? It’s surprisingly robust. I’m not going to watch it, don’t worry.

8:15 p.m.: Holy shit, this just got so real. Emily’s line about saying that Ali is A outloud is clearly a callback to Paige saying, “If I say it, out loud — if I say ‘I’m gay’ — everything is going to change,” way back in like, season 1 or whatever, which is even more heartbreaking when it comes with the realization that Alison never loved her. My heart can’t stand this. Also in this scene, Mona assigns them all Hogwarts houses! Jk, she assigns them all main attributes that Ali took advantage of: Smart (Spencer) [Ravenclaw], loyal (Emily) [Gryffindor], admiring (Hanna) [Hufflepuff] and compassionate (Aria) [also Hufflepuff because Ali is all the Slytherin anyone could need].

8:16 p.m.: Who the fuck are those twins? Is this because of how the books end?

8:17 p.m.: PAIGE! What a babe. Godddddddd, Paige “I’m tired of talking” McCullers. What a smooth operator, kissing Emily like that. She smiles like a cowboy.

8:18 p.m.: Maybe Mona’s mom will be the one who dies.

8:19 p.m.: Fucking gross, Spencer and Toby. Fucking gross. We don’t need their heterosexuality shoved down our throats. Also, all this cop stuff is wigging me out.

8:20 p.m.: So Mona and Lucas are working together to take down Ali and her army, but things aren’t going as smoothly as usual? So Mona definitely isn’t A because A never fucks up. That’s like, A’s whole thing.

8:24 p.m.: *Buffy spoiler* OH SHIT YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT I JUST REALIZED? Remember what happened as soon as Tara and Willow got back together?

8:25 p.m.: I wonder what the significance of doing a holiday special right now is? If the answer is anything that isn’t “so Paige and Emily can make out under the mistletoe,” I’m quitting.

It almost looks like they're in LA in the spring and now Rosewood in late autumn. Huh.

It almost looks like they’re in LA in the spring and now Rosewood in late autumn. Huh.

8:27 p.m.: Emily: “Where’s Jesus?” Paige: “He’s up here!” Why is this so funny.

8:28 p.m.: So Emily’s dad comes home every Thanksgiving, which is why Emily is so into the holidays, and since she outlined what normally happens, there’s absolutely no way that’s going to come to fruition. :(

8:28 p.m.: The Scooby Gang is watching the tape of Ali’s testimony (acquired by Mona). She accuses Spencer of killing Bethany, in a roundabout way, by talking about how Spencer was on drugs and would’ve done anything for her.. Womp womp. “I didn’t have anything to do with Bethany Young’s murder,” she says, so clearly that’s a lie.

8:31 p.m.: Apparently the liars are calling their significant others “bed buddies,” which I hated when they said it and then immediately loved.

8:33 p.m.: The cops no longer think that Ali killed Bethany! Yay! Instead they think that Spencer killed her to “gain clout with the group’s leader.” No! DON’T WORRY, Emily says “we’re going to stick together,” because that’s “what they do.” As clearly illustrated by something not included in this season, I guess.

8:35 p.m.: Caleb is doing movie hacker typing! Omg, remember when his #1 personality traits were that he was good at computers and slept in the ventilation ducts?

8:36 p.m.: Spencer and the Scoobies are breaking into Radley! AGAIN! Those crazy kids. How is it that they still haven’t beefed up security there? Why doesn’t anyone question high schoolers dressed as nurses? Is it because they look like they’re super old? WAIT I JUST LOOKED IT UP, the actress who plays Mona is 25, and the actress who plays Spencer is 28. Good god, no wonder teenagers have all sorts of body image issues.

hoops, hard to read

hoops, hard to read

8:39 p.m.: Ok well first of all how DARE Ali ruin a perfectly good Paige/Emily phone conversation. Second of all, the tiny little smile Ali does when Emily says “I don’t want things to be like this” made me scream at my computer. Fuck that forever. I just want Emily to have nice things.

8:43 p.m.: Sidebar, super jazzed for How To Get Away With Murder.

8:44 p.m.: This cop whose name I don’t remember has definitely take a page from Tanner’s playbook with the whole “one more thing” business. I want the cops to put it all together, I am officially #teamcop, but only w/r/t this show because I want the games to stop.

8:45 p.m.: HANNA IS SECRETLY A GENIUS, HANNA IS A.

8:46 p.m.: Fuck, Ali is gonna murder Emily right here in her bedroom. I can’t believe she has the nerve to get upset at Emily for lying to her after all of this shit! Seriously?

8:47 p.m.: Oh no Paige, don’t be alone ever in the episode where someone dies! GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER. Although cute car.

8:47 p.m.: Spencer and Mona are a terrifying team, so of course they’re the ones who discover that Ali knew Bethany. I hope they make out soon. And by “they” I mean Spencer and Mona. Or Ali and Bethany in a flashback. Or I guess any two women.

8:49 p.m.: OH NO OFFICER TOBY! But that’s not how whoever died died. Also obviously it’s too early in the episode. This is a red herring for sure.

8:53 p.m.: So Toby is fine but in a cast, and Paige found out that Ali is building an army, officially. Maybe she’s just really good at making friends, you guys! Maybe!

8:54 p.m.: Oh no, Spencer is arrested for Bethany’s murder! But she’s rich and white and a woman so she probably won’t go to jail even if she did it. #OITNBseason3

8:55 p.m.: MONA IS ALONE IN A HOUSE WITH A, SHIT SHIT SHIT

8:56 p.m.: Ezra is nonplussed by Spencer’s arrest, because he’s a super rich, straight, young white dude with a good haircut. But Aria is worried because of friendship! She soon gets a phone call from Mona telling her that Alison lured Bethany to Rosewood and away from Radley because she knew about the affair between Ali’s mom and Bethany’s dad.

8:57 p.m.: “Alison is A, and now I can prove it.” MONA YOU CAN NEVER SAY THINGS LIKE THAT, DON’T YOU KNOW HOW THIS WORKS.

8:58 p.m.: Yep, Mona is a goner. A black, hooded figure with blonde hair, presumably Ali but who can really say, is the one who stabbed her. There wasn’t a body, though, so IS SHE REALLY MURDERED? MAYBE SHE’LL TURN UP IN SOMEONE ELSE’S GRAVE? HAVE YOU EVER SEEN STRANGERS ON A TRAIN?

8:59 The first A cutscene is A stealing Emily’s baby Jesus and replacing with with a Mona doll, which means Mona died for our sins, probably.

8:59: Nevermind, Mona is really murdered. Sorry, handful of people who shipped Mike and Mona. What was their ship name? Mina? Moke? Eh, who cares.

9:01: I don’t know what show just started, but I hate it. It looks like Big Bang Theory crossed with Just Shoot Me, which is a real shame because I love Wendie Malick on that show.


And that’s it! I guess Mona really took that one to the grave, eh? EH? I’m not sorry for that. What I am sorry about is that the show won’t be back until the Halloween (Christmas? Black Friday?) special called “How the ‘A’ Stole Christmas” in December. That’d be so crazy if it were about Christmas, especially because we just spend half a season covering about a month of time only to skip forward an entire month. OH WELL, SEE YOU IN DECEMBER FOR MORE DILDO JOKES, LIARS.

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Intern Grace

Grace Ellis has been writing and making hack-job graphics for Autostraddle since 2011 and is a co-creator and co-writer of the comic book series Lumberjanes. She is mostly an intern in name only. (Mostly.) She lives in Columbus, Ohio because why anything. Also, she wants to write the Black Widow movie and feels like if she just keeps telling people, eventually she will be allowed to do it. She has a Twitter and a Tumblr, both of which are pretty above average.

Grace has written 89 articles for us.

24 Comments

  1. I am crossing all my fingers and toes that Mona will live through this episode! But she will probs die. My body is ready regardless # fAtalefinale

  2. No it can’t be Mona, she’s one of the only reasons I’m still watching this show. I wouldn’t be too heartbroken if it was Caleb, then he could go find Miranda or something. I don’t really know I stopped watching Ravenswood after a couple episodes. Is it to much to hope it’s Ezra? If we’re going on odds it’s probably Paige, Emily hasn’t had a girlfriend or ex die or be in mortal danger in at least a season…

    • It could be literally anyone. The only reason I feel so strongly about Mona is because there’s been a fair amount of foreshadowing for it in the last few episodes, although I would be completely unsurprised if that didn’t amount to anything.

  3. NO NO NO THEY CANNOT BE HINTING THAT IT’S SPENCER. No. if anything she found the tardis and flew away with Dr. Who.

  4. I don’t believe it will be any of the Liars, that would be so lame. Though if a liar has to go, I have no problem offering up Aria.

  5. Totally didn’t realize this was happening. SORRY FOR GCHATTING THE SHIT OUT OF YOU.

    Also this is so great and fun and I wish I was watching along with you all.

  6. NOOOOOOoooooo That was probably the most disturbing thing I’ve seen on PLL, a show full of disturbing things.

  7. Welp.

    The love of my fictional life is gone, the most compelling character on this show is no more, and now.. there is only one thing left…

    ROSEWOOD MUST BURN TO THE GROUND!!!! NO SURVIVORS!! IF MONA ISN’T ALLOWED TO LIVE A NICE HAPPY LIFE NONE OF THESE PEOPLE DESERVE MY PITY OR MY MERCY!

    GAH!!!

  8. This whole “Toby is a cop” storyline is reeeeeeeeeeeeally badly timed, America. Wowzers, that gross seduction scene made me super uncomfortable.

    Toby: “We’re trained in the academy in how to deal with delinquents like you.”
    Me: “Oh god, he’s going to shoot her 16 times…fucking great.”

  9. Oh no – I only just watched the episode. Not Mona! :(

    Is there any chance she was just pretending to be dead – or taking part in a staring contest, or something?

  10. My dad was waiting in a black hoody to jump out and scare me when I came down from watching this in my room…

    • Update: my sister just informed me that last night my mom put the same black hoody on a pillow and hid it in the closet so it looked like someone was hiding there when she went to bed.

  11. I stopped watching this show somewhere during season 2, but I live for Grace’s recaps because she is the best tv show recapper on the planet.

  12. Finally got to see the episode and I’m so sad now. Farewell, sweet salty Mona. You were the most badass and second prettiest of them all.

  13. Your recaps are so amazing! and this episode was so intense! but omg I’m one of those people who has super strong feelings about sorting people into Hogwarts Houses:
    “Also in this scene, Mona assigns them all Hogwarts houses! Jk, she assigns them all main attributes that Ali took advantage of: Smart (Spencer) [Ravenclaw], loyal (Emily) [Gryffindor], admiring (Hanna) [Hufflepuff] and compassionate (Aria) [also Hufflepuff because Ali is all the Slytherin anyone could need].”

    Spencer= Slytherin (yeah she’s smart but she’s really about power/ambition, not loving of learning)

    Emily=Hufflepuff (could feasibly be Gryffindor but she’s more loyal+hardworking than loyal+brave I think)

    Hanna=Gryffindor (she’s so brave! also loyal! but more likely to rush head first into battle kind of thing)

    Aria= Ravenclaw (books on books on books)

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