Pretty Little Liars Episode 521 Recap: Vengeance Is Mine

I forgot to tell you that Aria is wearing a lanyard that is also a skirt. It’s bananas. She goes to Spencer’s to help her pack for London, and while she’s there, she buys one dollars’ worth of legal advice from Veronica Hastings. So like one zeptocecond of legal advice. Basically, she wants to know if Mike can go to jail for the various ways he has obstructed justice and hulked out on everyone this season. Veronica says yes to that first thing, and no to the second. Hulking out is not a crime. Aria puts that information her back pocket.

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Oh my god, Spencer, just pick a Great Gatsby costume. They’re all the same!

Upstairs, Spencer is packing like she’s leaving for a year (and maybe she is!), and Hanna and Emily forget for a second that it’s not season one anymore. They both start pleading with the Liars to recruit honestly just one single adult, a competent one like Veronica maybe, who they can tell about A, and who can help them stay out of jail and out of that one grave. Aria finally has something to protect that is not just her hats and earrings. It is her brother. And so she vetoes roping in a parent or a police to help them. Spencer does not get a vote. She cast her vote for Johnny and therefore all of her other votes are void for the rest of the season.

At Fitzgerald Bookstore and Candy Shoppe, Emily is wearing another one of Paige McCullers’ t-shirts, I do believe, and talking to Talia about how she needs to start working during the school day instead of on nights and weekends because she’s going all in on pageants now, in terms of her future.

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I know that’s another one of your ex-girlfriend’s t-shirts.

paige-shirt

Close, but no. Hers was a black cut-off with an eagle on it.

Talia: Whatever. I’m quitting anyway.
Emily: Girl, you are a mess. And don’t get me wrong, messes are one of my biggest turn-ons, but you are a grown-up mess messing out on a teenager. I’ma give you the number to this woman I know named Annabeth Gish.
Talia: Nothing matters.
Emily: I mean, it matters that I don’t kill every patron of this bookstore with my poisoned empanadas, so you should stay.
Talia: Fiiiiine.

Mona is doing laundry at jail. It is sadly not sexy lesbian laundry, like what Piper and Alex get up to in the jail laundromat, but it is just as gay. She forlornly writes Mona’s name in the dust on the table like it’s her middle school notebook. Later on, she’s gonna walk back in here and find that someone has written “… told everything!” under Mona’s name, and underlined it.

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Mrs. Ali Vanderwaal. Mona DiLaurentis. Mrs. and Mrs. Mali Vanderlentis.

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Next thing you know, Ali’s getting a present in her cell, and it’s a tiny little Alison doll inside a tiny little plastic barrel with a note talking about, “Guess who’s getting broke bad next?”

Jail Living Room.

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I need you to help me make Spencer give up this obsession with lesbians.

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She never told you about our ghost waltz, did she?

Ali: Thanks for coming to see me, Mrs. H.
Veronica: I came to see if you have any insight into why my daughter keeps sabotaging her future.
Ali: Is this about Johnny?
Veronica: Ugh, no. I already snapped his neck. This is about her coming to visit you in jail.
Ali: Speaking of which, my lawyers don’t want me to take the stand to tell my story because they think everyone will think I’m lying.
Veronica: … and you feel surprised about that?
Ali: Maybe you can coach me. I know your main thing is you’re worried about Spencer, but she won’t be implicated in anything if I take the stand.
Veronica: I also think you’re an asshole who makes bad decisions and I judge you for that.
Ali: Mama, please. Remember when Melissa found a dead body in our backyard and she just went ahead and buried it on the off-chance Spencer had killed the person?
Veronica: Okay, valid. I’ll think about it.

Hastings/DiLaurentis 2016!

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Heather Hogan

Heather Hogan is an Autostraddle senior editor who lives in New York City with her wife, Stacy, and their cackle of rescued pets. She's a member of the Television Critics Association, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Heather has written 1718 articles for us.

28 Comments

  1. Hanna figured out that Cyrus must have met varjak in person.
    I’m so dissappointed in 5b. It’s been a real snooze fest. Just Spencer, emily and Aroa all hanging out with people unconnected to the plot. And I’m really annoyed with how much of Emilys romances always revolve around the other persons drama.

    • I was going to say the same thing. I was proud of my girl, Hanna; and frankly disappointed that Aria didn’t get it.

  2. Okay, there is a thriving lesbian community in Rosewood. Besides all of Emily’s girlfriends, there’s also the Rosebud. So answer me this, how come nobody is hitting on Emily’s friends? There are enough lesbians around enough for Emily to trip over them every 12 steps she takes. We’ve all seen Emily’s friends. There should be a least a few women willing to see if they’re interested. As soon as Hanna walked into the Rosebud she was getting waved at, danced with, and sent drinks. Lesbians should be beating each other to death trying to ask Spencer out. She’s into Sparia, and there’s that weird chemistry she has with Melissa. You can’t tell me that she wouldn’t ping your gaydar. I don’t understand.

    • “Lesbians should be beating each other to death trying to ask Spencer out.”

      There is now water all over the screen from where it escaped from my mouth. omg

  3. This was worth the wait, your funnier then he had been recently.

    “1) Emily is still a minor and therefore not old enough to be dating Talia” It is impossible Emily is under 18, we’ve been over this, she had her Senior year B-Day.

    Sometimes a non governmental organization will demand a Permission slip just being under 21. I’ve experienced that myself.

    What bugs about this Talia and her Husband storlyine is it sends a really problematic message about people in open marriages. Like the House episode they’re effectually saying any couple that thinks they’re happy in one is engaged in some major Communication.

    I think what Veronica read in that file may have to do with Wren. I hope she gets in the -A became what happened here, I’m remembering way back in 1.9 when she was awesome.

    • I don’t think “open marriage” was ever mentioned on this show, not even by Talia. Talia told Emily she was basically still married to her roommate because getting divorced is complicated (which is still weird, but whatever), but she wasn’t presenting it as an open relationship, just like, friends with a piece of paper. I’d compare it to green card marriage. I don’t think her husband was calling their relationship open either, he was being really creepy and dismissive of Talia’s sexuality.

      But honestly, it doesn’t even matter because Talia had no business getting involved with Emily. Even if Emily is 18, SHE IS STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL. Talia is old enough to nostalgically refer to her husband as her high school boyfriend. She has a career, not an after school job. She doesn’t live with her parents. She is in a completely different stage of life than Emily and it is SUPER CREEPY for an adult to want to be with someone whose next big life event is the prom.

  4. Wonderful recap as always! Sorry to hear about your health and computer, Heather. But very happy that the wizards of hogwarts were able to put you and your technology back together again!

    I’ve been wondering, are the #booradleyvancullen tweets a thing that is no more? When you first started at here, you brought them over with you, right? Or did I imagine that?

    If they’re gone for good, I’ll miss them. But it’s ok. I’d rather have your recaps, in whatever from they come. Was just a bit curious is all…

  5. – A targets Mike after Aria tells the other Liars, including Spencer, that he can clear Alison.
    – Spencer could easily have put the blood in her own purse. In fact, that makes more sense than she didn’t notice it in there for 24hrs.
    – Emily dances with Talia, and gives us PLL Boobs o’clock.
    – Okay, we all know that Spencer was applying for Hogswarts, right?
    – That was Andrew in the bandages.
    – If Spencer let out all of her nervous energy, she’d be breathing fire on that guy.
    – Okay, I’m calling BS on Hanna having watched “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.

  6. Heather! You genius! I already thought Andrew could be A, but you’ve offered enough proof to convince even Spencer Hastings! Andrew is A!

  7. Okay, now I want a spin-off where Emily and Santana are best buds and conquer Broadway while breaking all the girls hearts until Paige and Brittany come in and they fall in love!

  8. Heather you’ve written yet another gem. Honestly, your recaps make the show 1000000x more entertaining.
    I agree with your ranking of PLLs this season: Hanna, Aria, Emily, then Spencer.
    Even though it depresses the hell out of me.
    My love affair with Troian and Spencer is having trouble accepting that they wrote Spencer down to season one nonsense with great criminal skills.
    I do appreciate that Hanna is a total badass. Remember her in season one when she was essentially a barbie doll and now she has an amazon prime order history that would make Walter White proud.
    Emily is a disappointment. She’s acting like Aria, granted she’s about 1000x times hotter and therefore I can deal (Shay Mitchell is a goddess).
    Aria is surprising the hell out of me with her new tree whisperer status and such. After four seasons of making fun of her uselessness all the time I’m a little sad that I can’t do that anymore.
    Oh PLL writers how you play with my heart.

  9. My personal opinion…Naya is still the sexiest teenage lesbian. That takes nothing away from how sexy Emily is in this dance, but all the girls on PLL have really never dressed or looked like teenagers. There is no way I can watch this dance and believe that Emily is not in her 20’s. I know for the sake of PLL we all suspend disbelief and pretend these girls are in high school, but seriously, they haven’t looked like high school in years.

  10. “Vengeance is Mine, and retribution. In due time their foot will slip, For the day of their calamity is near. And the impending things are hastening upon them.” Love ARIA

    (Andrew is just A nobody)

  11. I totally thought Claire looked familiar. Now I know it’s from back in the day when I would stay home from school and the only thing on TV was In The Heat of the Night. Thank you.

    Also, it seems that the PLL Gods received at least half of our petition to have Emily and/or Hanna dance for the rest of the season. Also also, bless you for the screen grabs of Emily dancing. Shay Mitchell is my future ex wife in my head, so thank you.

    I’m starting to believe that I may personally be A. There’s probably evidence somewhere.

    Oh, and Tippily the Bird? Thank you.

  12. Fake London and the fake English gave me more rage than Johnny folks. Colin is just the worst, I know a lot of Primary School teachers and headteachers and I’m telling you he wouldn’t be employed here, no snacks are given in this country, also no naps, we make them study Dickens and Shakespeare from the age of 4. That flat was a joke, nothing looks like that in England! Seriously no one can afford a flat in Central London…even the DiLaurentisese. I have 30 y/o friends in excellent well paying jobs living in tiny shared basement flats with random weirdos because it’s so expensive. Aaaargh! How am I meant to suspend my disbelief of all the A based crazy when the version of England they depict is even crazier. I did snort/spit laugh at Spencer’s “this is how I pack” statement. It was the first time I feel like we’ve seen a proper Spencer this half season. Why did her mother tell her to stay in fake England I can’t bear it!
    I wish Andrew wasn’t so creepy and I wish Emily hadn’t U-Hauled all over Talia. She’s just too kind for her own good.

  13. As someone who lives in London and went to Oxfurred, I too was a little baffled by that. Also oh my goodness I hate epussodes of things Americans go to London. You find the odd old duffur like that purrofessor in Ox, but no-one like Colin is allowed to exist, and if they did, I’d punch them. Why is he smiling ALL THE TIME? Also hahahahah there were union flags in the background – NOT a thing! Couldn’t work out if she was suppussed to be in Ox or London at that point, because that place exists nowhere… I wonder if she took the train or the coach between the two…trying to imagine Spencer taking any kind of public transpawt.

    That said, I feel Spencer would fit in at Oxfurred. She’s ludicrously neurotic, which is basicatly the only requirement. Oh my goodness I need there to be a series where they all go there and A chases them around the Bodleian and up all the spires. Although the fact that so many shows are filmed there and the crews have no sense that anyone is actually trying to get a degree makes me hesitant…

    • I forgot about the flags hahahah. I supposed the set dressers didn’t realise that its mainly fascists over here that put flags up! I wish there had been random pearly Kings and queens and a one man band…maybe a chimney sweep. I second a Lewis/PLL crossover in Oxford, that would be glorious.

      • Hahahaha exactly – I mean, it’s more the English flag that’s like that but increasingly the union flag just looks creepy. I think they were going fur more of a Hugh Grant in the 90s vibe – at least Colin’s hair wasn’t that bad. But they might as well have had all that jazz. I really wish A had followed her there dressed as a demonic chimney sweep. Why is my imagination better than the real world? :p Only if they stop purreventing people using lipurraries, and actually start featuring my college as my college, not All Souls’. Dude, no-one believes that is AS, no-one films there, just tell people you’re in the lefty gay college fur once, and someone murdered someone else because they missed the Q off LGBTQ, or misquoted Judith Butler.

        On a Lewis-related note, my tutor was once told she had to go the long way out of Merton on the only day she could move out…ofur an actor called Bob who was playing a dead body and lying on the ground. I also once confuronted a man who replied to my “how can I get round to the Rad Cam” with “you can watch us filming ofur there”…in exam season. This should be repeated on the show, with Spencer in finals-mode slapping him.

        I mean… *Insert sane remarks here*

    • Oh god, all the England scenes have been just teeeeerrrible, like you totally tell that the writers have never actually been to England and are overcompensating with the most Britishisms ever uttered by humankind.

  14. Though, really, you think Mr Darcy is a desirable mate? I always feel like I’d much rather marry Mr Bennett – he’s such a troll.

  15. Tippily the Bird! I could get into that. Though honestly Paige is much more my type.
    And I totally agree that they’re treating Emily like an Aria this season. I didn’t notice until someone pointed it out to me because I actually enjoy seeing her story lines, unlike all the Ezaria bullshit of seasons 1-5A.

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