Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Pretty Little Liars – Tick-Tock, Bitches


Pretty Little Liars begins its Seventh Season with Hanna (Ashley Benson) the prisoner of A.D. and the rest of the Liars given 24 hours to find Charlotte's real killer if they ever want to see their friend alive again. Stopped from going to the police by the sudden appearance of Mary Drake (Andrea Parker), the twin sister of Jessica DiLaurentis who the Liars believe but can't prove is the one holding Hanna, the group races against the clock to find some proof that the the most logical suspect, Alison (Sasha Pieterse), killed Charlotte.

In the kind of tease the show has given audiences for seven years, Emily (Shay Mitchell) is on-hand for a questionable exclamation by her institutionalized friend and former lover. That, plus a red sweater from the night of Charlotte's death, gives the Liars enough circumstantial evidence to agree to throw Alison to the wolves to save Hanna not realizing that Hanna has already escaped her captivity (possibly jumping from the frying pan into the fire) nor that the "safety" of the hospital doesn't extend to Alison's husband Elliot (Huw Collins) who, like Mary, is working against the Liars.

Although the previous season ended on more of a whimper than a bang, the season premiere does ratchet up the suspense with Hanna's life on the line. That said, the odd dream sequence with Spencer (Troian Bellisario) doesn't quite work, and getting picked up by the enemy after escaping is a little too B-horror movie for my tastes. The opening scene suggests Benson may be exiting stage left before her castmates, although given the show's love of misdirects could also mean the other three Liars are digging a grave for another loved one (Caleb? Alison?) in the opening scene of the season set just days after Hanna's abduction.

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