5.1 EscApe From New York It’s the problem Lost faced when it wrapped up a few years back, and the reaction to its answers (or lack thereof) will taint the legacy of that show forever. But Lost arguably didn’t feel like it was betraying fans until its sixth and final season, and Pretty Little Liars has been shedding credibility for almost two years already. A sixth and seventh season are set to follow this fifth, and it’s a worryingly long timeline for a show like this to be working with. This season premiere felt like it was doing two things – cleaning up the mess left by the Big A/Ezra non-reveal and setting us up for a brand new phase of the show. That first part is where the hour really suffered, with a completely ridiculous reveal coming out of nowhere, unsupported by past events in previous seasons and devoid of any emotional impact. We may have been invested in Jenna’s plight in the beginning, but she’s been missing for a long time and, let’s face it, Shana is no one’s favourite character. Aria was her usual self here, completely uninvolved until it came to crunch time, and the decision to push her and Ezra’s relationship even more into the foreground, rather than make him the arch villain of the show, has completely backfired. One thing that has the potential to be interesting is the notable reaction she had to effectively killing Shana – whether this will go anywhere depends on the endlessly puzzling whims of the writers, but I do hope we get more from Aria sans her love life this year. It’s unlikely, but possible. The rest of the girls were reduced to their basic archetypes, which is kind of required in a relatively action-packed episode like this, but there was a smattering of reaction to Alison’s re-established place in the group. Spencer is threatened, Hannah is defensive and Emily is conflicted – all reactions that make sense and could provide some nice, fresh conflict in season five. Add to that the fact that they think their ordeal is over and life can return to normal, and maybe there’s something to tune in for after all. It’s a new take on the group dynamic, which is very welcome in a show’s fifth year. Equally interesting was Alison’s own band of outcasts, featuring CeCe, Noel and possibly more. It’s lovely to have Noel back, especially if the show remembers his conflict with Ezra back in season one, and we’re currently spoilt for returning characters. We have Lucas and Paige threatening to become and more important part of the show, Mona back in villain mode and the very welcome return of Caleb in episode five. Last year it felt as if the girls were more alone and paranoid than ever, which kind of worked in terms of the Ezra ‘reveal’, but it’s time for the world to re-expand. Melissa’s also back, bringing with her a fresh secret for us to not care about. Melissa is long past being a legitimate character on this show, even if she effectively knows more about the town’s villains than anyone (bar maybe Wren – where’s Wren??), and whatever she told her father that’s shocking enough to drive him to drink will probably be a letdown. We are seeing Jason again, however, and given the family connection it’s more than likely that he’ll come into play here. It’s a brand new era for the show, but only time will tell whether that era is as infuriating as the last. Where A stood there’s now Mona’s army, and the Liars are just as unprepared as ever. Read Caroline’s review of the season four finale, A Is For Answers, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
