HOLLYWOOD—With just one episode for the climatic season four finale of “Pretty Little Liars” the penultimate episode ‘Unbridled’ gave the audience more clues to piece together before next week’s season finale. The episode opened with Spencer (Troian Bellisario) cloaked in a wedding gown, running through the woods, while being stalked by someone dressed in all black. Pause. The setting backtracks to two days earlier, with Hanna (Ashley Benson), Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Aria (Lucy Hale) speculating about what the police might ask regarding Ali’s whereabouts.
The ladies were all skeptical about whether Mrs. D could actually be their tormentor, just as Emily and Spencer spotted a coy Jason (Drew Van Acker) who was aloof to the ladies calls, and received a threatening message. “You know me Spencer, you killed me,” said A. The picture was that of a blonde, so begin taking guesses as to who the guilty party is. Aria reunited with her mother Mrs. Montgomery (Holly Marie Combs) who returned home. Spence did her best to convince her babysitter to allow her to see her brother. Wow, all of the parents of Rosewood have secretly returned to the foray of things.
Hanna traded spars with Mrs. Marin (Laura Leighton) with her planning of the bridal runway show. Paige (Lindsey Shaw) interrupted a conversation between Spence and Emily, which caused Em to question her girlfriend about her actions. A divide in the relationship has come to the surface. Mrs. D was a complete wreck with planning the big bridal event, and distracted Mrs. Marin when the police arrived at her home with evidence that Ali isn’t in the grave. Detective Holbrook (Sean Faris) was adamant that Ali’s body was being exhumed from the grave. Uh-oh, either Mrs. D is hiding something or she really doesn’t want to deal with the emotional rollercoaster of having to relive her daughter’s death all over again.
Ashley rummaged through some bags and discovered clothing that raised a red flag. Emily did some digging on an email address that she located, but ran into a dead end, not before seeing Jason who informed her that Wilden was after him. A flashback revealed Ali arguing with her mother about someone threatening her; she assumed that Spencer was the bully, just as Jason laid on the couch listening to the conversation. Not buying it, Spencer is not that big of a threat in my eyes, she has a vindictive side, but murder?
Aria gave her mother a cold shoulder about not being there in her time of need. She unleashed the wrath of hell on her mother in a shocking moment, just as Dean was given the boot by Mrs. Hastings who found him sleeping next to her daughter. Perhaps, Mama Hastings knows more about Spence’s forgotten summer than she’d want the audience to know. The ladies were not pleased to be confronted by Detective Holbrook who decided to drop a bomb on the fact that he is onto the mystery involving Ali, just as the ladies decided to volunteer for the bridal charity event.
Mrs. Hastings began searching Spencer’s bedroom about her deception, just as mommie dearest dropped the bomb about an incident that occurred before Melissa left for school. A flashback revealed Mrs. Hastings cleaning up a bunch of Melissa’s damaged clothes, just as Alison attempted to understand why Spencer went off the rails. It was clear Spencer blocked everything in her memory, just as her mother admitted Spencer could have been a guilty party in Ali’s disappearance. From her window, Spence spotted Mrs. D watching her.
God, this is so frustrating, it appears the pieces are all there, it’s just a question of putting them together. Looks like Hanna is getting a second date with Travis, thanks to her attendance at the bridal event. Awww, what a sweet moment to see all the lairs dressed in their gowns, Spence came face-to-face with her brother, “I’m here to help Hanna’s mom, not to get into your mother’s grill,” said Spencer. Wow, that is indeed the line of the night. Spencer attempted to get answers from Jason about the blonde cloaked in Ali’s clothing, but Dean interrupted the conversation. Could Spencer be dropping Toby for Dean? Perhaps, but Dean informed Spencer that Jason lied about his whereabouts.
Jessica was not pleased to see the liars modeling for the bridal event, just as Spencer told the ladies that Jason was not in rehab. From a distance, Spence spotted Mrs. D. handing something to a person dressed in all black and decided to go after the elusive party. Hanna asked Travis to distract Mrs. DiLaurentis to allow her to get the goods inside Ali’s bedroom. Ella did her best to reconcile with her daughter about heartache, and both ladies shared a few tears, especially when she discovered that her mom got engaged. Emily and Hanna did some digging inside one of the bedrooms, and found a location where Ali may be hiding out and sent an email to the mysterious party. Spencer continued to follow the mysterious party who set a trap for Spence. Hanna, Aria and Hanna received a call from Ali informing them to come to her location ASAP, just as she stated for her friends to not mention anything to her mother who can’t be trusted.
The ladies speculated Spencer’s whereabouts, and were troubled to find Spencer covered in dirt and blood, and bones on the wedding dress, and another threatening note about the mystery person in the grave. Paige did her best to explain her actions to Emily, but it did no good, as she chose to end things with Paige. The ladies arrived at an abandoned building where Alison informed the ladies to meet her and came face-to-face with a mysterious party. Any guesses as to whom?
The episode wrapped with “A” contacting the Rosewood Police Department in regards to the whereabouts of Cece Drake. All I can say, is next week’s season finale has me counting down the days before the epic reveal that is sure to blow all the other finales out of the water. Until next Tuesday #AliTellsAll “PLL” fanatics!
By LaDale Anderson
