Pretty Little Liars Review: Daddy Dearest

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It's the ultimate face-off!

No, not Spencer vs. Mona (although that was pretty awesome). This week's showdown was for the title of creepiest villain, and I think Byron won hands down.

Despite the title, "Mona-Mania" gave us a lot more to fear from Aria's unfaithful father than Mona. Yet we shouldn't lull ourselves into a false sense of security, as many of the girls were accused of doing this week. As we found out from creator Marlene King, there's a lot crazy plot developments coming our way.

There's definitely a Mona-scheme in the works, but there's also more to Byron than meets the eye.

Hanna and Company

From his first appearance, Byron couldn't help but subtly intimidate Aria by mentioning that the movie she was watching involved a man with a head in hatbox. Um, okay, dad. Then he makes sure that Aria knows he found the diary pages by dropping by her room to remind her about her super-secret hiding spot for her Halloween candy. Also, Aria, hiding evidence that implicates your father in the murder of one of your best friends in your boot? Not smart!

But I digress. There's no need for Byron to let Aria know he had the pages, except to scare her a little. Why is he trying to creep out his own daughter?

Then he gets violent with Meredith over his snooping. It's seems like there definitely is another side to Aria's dad that she and we haven't really seen before. Sure, he was a bad husband and father with that whole cheating thing, but violence and murder are quite a leap.

Speaking of Meredith...she decided to open up to Aria about the night Ali died. Byron came to see Meredith that night after getting his wife tipsy on wine and leaving her passed out at home. She already knew about the blackmailing, so she didn't need the diary pages she stole back from Byron for that little tidbit. Meredith told Aria that Byron did go meet Allison that night. If this is true, Meredith possibly suspected Byron all this time. Why would she still be hanging around him?

I'd like to trust Meredith, but it seems a little too convenient that she's suddenly Aria's ally. She suggests not bringing up any of the evidence against Byron, apparently for his protection, and she doesn't seem that worried that she's dating a potential murderer. I just can't believe she's 100% genuine. Do you trust her?

Trust has also been a big issue between Mona and the girls as well, especially Hanna. Mona's been playing her victim card quite frequently, and it all seems very rehearsed and fake. Whenever confronted with her shady actions, she fakes an emotional meltdown. When the girls begin to suspect her of surreptitiously texting as A, she's quick to not-so-subtly mention that she isn't allowed cell phone or the Internet...except for when Jason graciously monitors her online...for homework and stuff. Riiiiiight.

Hanna was right to call her out after finding out that she had been blackmailing Lucas all this time. Hanna's definitely made herself more of target, but that's better than just waiting around for Mona to strike.

Or is it?

Lucas and Paige both mentioned that these girls should be way more scared than they are. After this many attempts on their life, you would think they wouldn't blatantly antagonize A or at least be a little more cautious about where they spend their free time. Was a party out in the woods really such a good idea, Emily?

It caused poor Paige to have a panic attack, but it looks like Emily's just gotten stronger after dealing with A, Nate and the Halloween disaster. But, the question remains: should they be doing more to protect themselves?

It seems unlikely that anyone will be clever enough to predict A's next move. We had no idea why that random kid had his bike sabotaged at the end of last week's episode, but then it became clear that A was just clearing up a spot on the academic decathlon for Mona. This scheme gave us one of the best Spencer moments of Pretty Little Liars Season 3 or perhaps ever...until she choked. It didn't really seem like Spencer to fumble so badly, but it did expose another part of Mona's carefully crafted public persona - a faux fragility.

Tonight's episode definitely generated some serious drama, but again, it left behind more questions than answers:

  • What was in that envelope Lucas had to deliver from Jason to Mona?
  • What happened when Byron went to meet Ali?
  • Why was Mona following Byron after he left his office?
  • Who sloppily hid those masks by the train tracks?
  • Was Lucas more involved than he let on?
  • Is Spencer really going to find out about Toby soon (as teased in the promo for next week)?
  • Will Andrew (newcomer and decathlon teammate) be a new love interest for Spencer?
  • Does Aria have the flu or could it be *gulp* morning sickness?

I guess that's it for questions....except for, um, who killed Ali and who else is on the A team? But we don't expect answers to those anytime soon, do we?

Mona-Mania Review

Editor Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.2 / 5.0 (78 Votes)
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Pretty Little Liars Season 3 Episode 15 Quotes

I have enough daddy-issues of my own. I can't deal with having issues about hers too.

Hanna

Put on your Hastings face and spank her tomorrow night like I know you can.

Andrew Campbell