Let’s be clear about one thing — there are spoilers in this post. If you don’t want to read spoilers about last night’s Pretty Little Liars season finale, stop.Okay. After this point, you are committed. Spoilers start…
Now.
For six seasons, we’ve seen The Liars get charged with murder, deal with murder, and actually commit murder, but last night we might have seen one of The Liars get murdered. The final scene of the episode had Big A carrying what looked like Hanna’s (Ashley Benson) dead body.
Hanna and Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) reunited (and we mean really reunited in last night’s episode) over a plan to stop Big A. The plan only half-worked. Hanna was kidnapped and possibly killed, but they did get a picture of someone sneaking up to the house — Mrs. DiLaurentis’ (Andrea Parker) twin. Turns out Mrs. D had a twin living at Radley, Mary Drake, and Mary’s been working with Charlotte’s ex, Eliot (Huw Collins), to ruin the DiLaurentis family and find Charlotte’s (Vanessa Ray) killer.
Hanna has always been our favorite source of comedy on the show (although everyone I know says that Spencer [Troian Bellisario] is their favorite Liar). Her death would shake things up in the Pretty Little Liars world, but would that really be so bad? There are only 20 episodes in the show's run left, and it's time something major happened. That being said, would the show's writers really kill off one of the main characters — one of the reasons we tune in every week? All we know for sure is that if there is a funeral for Hanna, The Liars will show up in... very interesting funeral attire.
The episode sure made it look like Hanna died, but did she? We put together an investigation in the following slideshow.
Eliot’s Romantic Plot Twist
There have been a lot of weird plot twists on the show, but this one was especially surprising. Eliot, Ali’s (Sasha Pieterse) husband, is actually in love with Charlotte. He married Ali (Charlotte’s cousin) as part of an involved scheme with Mary Drake, Charlotte’s birth mother.
Ali and Eliot were already dating before Charlotte’s murder. This means the scheme was already in motion, and perhaps Charlotte’s murder was a coverup or part of some bigger plan? Either way, they would know Hanna did not kill Charlotte. Without revenge as a motive, why would they murder her?
Perhaps it was all just a scare tactic.
“Thank you, Pretty Eyes”
In past seasons, Toby (Keegan Allen) being called “pretty eyes” was a clue that he was A. No one has called him that in a long time. But, last night it was used again. It could have been a coincidence. But how often do you go around calling people “pretty eyes” in your life? Was it actually foreshadowing that Toby is still in fact part of the game?
If he is part of the Uber A family, I don’t think Toby would actually let Hanna die.
The Haleb Effect
Last night we saw two couples reunite Haleb and Ezria. Most of the shows focus was on the former, with flashbacks showing how and why Hanna and Caleb broke up. Right before Hanna was kidnapped she told Caleb she never stopped loving him and they kissed.
As someone who grew up watching a soap opera with my mom after school, the most emotional deaths were ones that came right after reminders of why you loved them and their relationship. I have zero
feelings about this selfish fashion assistant who's planning a wedding with Jordan (David Coussins) version of Hanna. As for the loyal friend who was in love with Caleb? I've always loved that Hanna.
If she really is dead, it was a great set up for an emotional beginning of the final season.
The Spoby Effect
Spencer and Toby did not get back together last night, but they had their own moments that made it clear a reunion is inevitable. Even after their part of the scheme was over, Toby chose to stay with Spencer at her mom's victory party, instead of comforting Yvonne (Kara Royster) about her mom's loss.
The idea of three friends all getting back with their high school boyfriends was comical, let alone them doing it on the same night. Yet that seems to be the route the show is taking. If Haleb doesn't exist, what will push Spencer back into Toby's arms?
Five Years Later
We were promised a darker season with the girls grown up. While they did initially return with new secrets, haircuts, relationships and jobs, everything has returned to the way it was. They’ve found their way back to their high school relationships, they’ve basically all quit their jobs. Only their new haircuts and IDs that allow them to legally drink remain five years later.
I would argue in five years the girls haven’t grown up very much — they haven’t even learned to call the police. Seeing them mourn over a close friend could be the thing that finally allows us to see a different side of The Liars after all.
The Return Of The Dead
Mona (Janel Parrish), Ali, and Sarah Harvey (Dre Davis) have all "died" on the show. Yet, last night they were all very much alive and involved with the mystery. This show has a precedent of bringing back the main characters with a shaky explanation for seeing their dead body. Honestly, Mona looked more dead than Hanna in her "death" reveal.
In every case the “dead” was actually hidden (or in Ali’s case, voluntarily hiding) in a remote location. Hanna is probably back in the dollhouse, let’s be real.
The Nine Lives of The Liars
In the last six seasons these girls have faced a lot. They've been drugged, kidnapped, electrocuted, put in a life size dollhouse, hit with cars, shot at, locked in boxes, trapped with poisonous snakes, blackmailed, and lit on fire. It's honestly unbelievable that with so many people dying around them as part of the game, one of the liars, the actual pawns, have never been killed.
With all of the dramatics on the show, having one of the girls die, would not be a reach.
We Were Lied To
When Charlotte was acting as “A” she went by CeCe Drake. It’s not a coincidence that she picked the surname of her birth mother, Mary Drake. They knew each other. This means that everything we learned in season six, episode 10 was a lie. It doesn’t add up that her revenge was all because of love for her sister and betrayal of her adopted parents. It was part of a larger, more convoluted revenge plot, and what she told the police was just an attempt at a sympathy story.
Eliot, the doctor and love of her life, didn’t just happen to fall in love with his patient. It was part of the plan. If all the “answers” that we got, can be thrown out the window, Hanna was really just a distraction from something larger going on. Hanna will come back. Just in time for the actual answers of the last 20 episodes.
Mouthing Off
Ashley Benson gave an interview with Entertainment Tonightabout the fate of Hanna in Season seven. While she claims she doesn’t know anything, she also clearly doesn’t believe Hanna is dead yet.
She said in the interview, "But I might be in a lot of danger as well as all the other Liars, and the boys, for that matter.” It seems like Hanna will return next season, at least in the beginning, so let’s just hope that she can be rescued in time.
Yes, Liars, that is your cue to call the police and include your family. It's the ONLY reason you are alive today.
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