5.2 Whirly Girlie When the show first started, it felt like it was about more than the surface mystery. It was about the paranoia of modern tech-ridden high school life, first and foremost, and had an edge to it that we hadn’t really seen elsewhere – especially on ABC Family. That edge is probably why it’s been so successful, but recent seasons have seen the mystery take over at the expense of the characters, relationships and larger thematic clarity. We complain about the lack of answers, but the show is arguably at its best when it isn’t trying to resolve its mystery at all. A has always worked better than a concept than a person, and it was the presence of that seemingly omnipotent force that gave the series scope to explore other things. The death of A last week, at least for now, is probably the best decision the show has ever made bar making Ezra the villain of the story, and that almost definitely means that we’re in store for yet another retread. I have hope, however, that this is indeed a new era for the show – one that gets back to its roots and makes Rosewood genuinely scary again. Of course, Rosewood will never be safe even without A around, and it was Jason who became suspect #1 this week. Like Toby and Ezra before him, Jason has always just been around, slightly sketchy but given a pass just because others were above him on the threat list. The fingers currently pointed at him pretty much take him off of the list completely, but my hope is for the show to finally delve into the N.A.T. club stuff again. Melissa’s back in town and Wren got a mention this week, so why not? It’s the last un-exhausted thread, and one that there’s currently lots of room to explore. The aforementioned stupidity of the show is largely down to the reactions of the Liars to all of the lunacy around them – still doing their hair and keeping their grades up despite crazy murderers sneaking into their bedrooms and threatening family members – and that’s another thing that appears to be getting addressed. Aria is obviously traumatised by the fact that she’s now a murderer, but it’s actually all five of the girls who are having trouble dealing with the long-awaited end to their two-year ordeal. Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, EscApe From New York, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
