Pretty Little Liars recap Season 5, Episode 24: Im a good girl, I am -

“I hate this. I hate waiting.” — Aria Montgomery

Amen, sister. Aria was, of course, talking about having to wait for the verdict in the case of the Commonwealth vs. Alison DiLaurentis. But we’ve all been waiting — to find out who A is . Next week, we will finally know!

As the Commonwealth (which is how I henceforth plan to refer to Pennsylvania) wrapped up its case against Ali, the Liars looked for ways to help prove her innocence. Mike resurfaced, determined to tell the truths. Caleb and Toby committed in a big way to their respective relationships. And Andrew got creepier.

The episode started with a fun cameo — hey, it’s “Pretty Little Liars” author Sara Shepard! The woman behind the books that inspired this wonderful television show played a reporter who has long been following Ali’s case. She’s the expert in a television interview about Ali’s trial.”Tell me,” the overly excited TV anchor says, “is this kid going down, down, down?”

[“Pretty Little Liars" recap Season 5, Episode 23: “The melody lingers on"]

The short answer is yes. The first sign of this is surprise testimony from Leslie Stone. Remember Leslie? She’s the friend of Mona’s that we’d never heard of before she showed up in Rosewood post-finals to grieve her friend and spend some time with Mona’s mom. She likes statement glasses, black/white color schemes and completely blindsiding the defense, apparently.

Leslie testifies that she received a letter from Mona, two weeks before Thanksgiving. Mona was being threatened by Ali, who said that if Mona didn’t “keep her trap shut” about the fake kidnapping story, she’d be eaten by worms.

Worms! I don’t think slimy creatures that come out after it rains really rate on the list of awful things to be eaten by, but that’s just me. Leslie tearfully recalls not taking the letter seriously. “Everyone has feuds in high school,” she tells the jury. “I didn’t know what Mona was dealing with until it was too late.”

[“Pretty Little Liars" recap Season 5, Episode 18: A machine full of secrets]

Leslie throws just about everybody under the bus. She says that Mike freaked out on her for taking a book out of Mona’s room (pretty true) and that Hanna stalked her every move (also pretty true). But in Hanna’s defense, Leslie popped out of nowhere. Also, subtlety is not Hanna’s strong point.

Leslie’s testimony proves a bit too much for Spencer, who runs out of the courtroom and into Toby. They have a pretty chilly reunion and Spence calls him on not reaching out to her when Hanna was arrested. Spencer may not be getting the support she needs, but Aria had someone to hold her hand during the trial. That someone was Andrew, who manages to be just about everywhere Aria is these days.

After court adjourns for the day, the Liars hop on a conference call, which seems unlikely considering two of them are in jail. Props to Ali and Hanna, though, for developing a rather clever inter-correctional facility communication system, which involves passed notes and self-imposed injuries aimed at landing them in the infirmary together. Ali reveals that there may have been someone in the park with her that Thanksgiving Day. Is this the first time we’re hearing about this? I believe it is! Emily and Spencer go to the park to investigate and find a church youth group cleaning up.

That eventually leads them to Kendra, a well-intentioned classmate who had ended up in the park after a bad trip and heard Ali talking on the phone, presumably to Cyrus. Kendra becomes a project for Ali (and an out for Hanna) Spencer and Emily convince her to talk to Ali’s lawyer.

Meanwhile, Aria embarks on a project of her own — convincing Mike not to testify. Mike feels guilty that he didn’t go to the police with information about what Mona was planning. If he had, he reasons, she might still be alive. Aria insists that if he’s subpoenaed, he should stick to three answers: “Yes,” “no” and “I don’t remember.”

Share this articleShare

Aria’s concerns are underscored when a package arrives at the Montgomery house. It contains yearbook forms and … some sort of animal tongue. An actual tongue. It’s a dark moment, but Aria lightens the mood with this unintentionally funny warning: “Next time it’s going to be your tongue on the porch!”

Aria begs Ezra to take Mike up to his cabin so he can get away from the trial and not be pressured to testify. Ezra hesitates and advises Aria to tell her parents that someone is trying to threaten her and Mike. Ella is actually present and available to talk to, a rarity in the Montgomery household. But Aria insists that a getaway is what’s best for Mike. Ezra agrees to drive him.

Also in favor of Mike not testifying is Hanna, who tells Caleb that Mike “is just a kid.” It’s hilarious because everyone on this show is (supposed to be) a kid! The conversation doesn’t sit well with Caleb, who drives up to Ezra’s cabin and waits in the dark for him and Mike to arrive. An argument ensues and Caleb convinces Mike to go back to Rosewood so he can try to help Hanna and Ali.

As Ezra tries to talk Caleb out of taking Mike back to Rosewood, Mike unexpectedly takes the car. Caleb and Ezra follow behind him and discover the car abandoned with an arrow in the windshield. Some unknown Cupid shoots arrows at them in the dark as they try to find Mike. Mike is running through the same woods, bloody and afraid. When Ezra and Caleb finally find him, he’s tied up, his mouth covered in duct tape. Before freeing him, Caleb stops to take a picture — for proof.

Neither the story nor the picture go over well with Tanner, who questions why Caleb would take a photo before freeing his friend (those millennials and their camera phones). Let’s talk about Tanner for a minute. She’s never been particularly trusting of the Liars, but her actions in this week’s episode looked like the product of a vendetta. In addition to blowing off Caleb and Ezra, she has relegated Toby to coffee duty.

Toby tells Spencer that he worked hard for his badge and is unwilling to choose between her and his job. But if Tanner is unwilling to accept that he’s a cop and Spencer’s boyfriend, she’s welcome to kick him off the force. Spoby lives! And for the first time in a long while, Spencer kisses the person she’s supposed to be kissing.

No thanks to Tanner, Mike gets home safe and doesn’t get called to testify at Ali’s trial. Despite the fact that Kendra looks like an obvious candidate for Ali’s witness list, Ali’s lawyer makes a last-minute decision to call Ali herself. She plays up an old injury of Ali’s that would have made it impossible for her to have attacked Mona, based on the forensics. Ali plays a quick game of catch on the witness stand to demonstrate that her arm was permanently weakened. It looks like there’s hope until the prosecution steps up for cross-examination with an Excellence in Archery certificate that Ali won when she was 11.

Coordinated cell phone pings reveal that only A could be behind this new development, which proves to be the result of a scheme Ali came up with at summer camp. She never actually shot any arrows.

But someone among us is a master archer. Who could it be? Andrew looks pretty good for it — after telling Aria that he was available 24/7 to help her, he mysteriously disappeared while Mike was being attacked in the woods. In giving his lame excuse — that he was struggling to fill out his yearbook form — to Aria, he reveals that he’s a Master Pathfinder. Do Master Pathfinder’s shoot perfect arrows at running targets?

I’ll be really upset if Andrew is A. Because that’s just too easy and, with the exception of the most recent episodes, would seem to come out of left field. But the archery certificate is enough to convince the jury that Ali was capable of inflicting Mona’s injuries. The verdict comes in — Guilty. Just as Ali and the girls break into tears, Tanner motions for a police officer to arrest someone in the courtroom. That someone turns out to be Aria, Spencer and Emily!

A particularly sinister glimpse into A’s world reveals doll-sized versions of the girls being transported on the bus to the correctional facility. One of the dolls gets placed behind the drawbridge of a building, while the others sit on the bus. What does it all mean?

Are these kids going down, down, down?

Lingering questions: Would Kendra really still have that floral jacket? What is Leslie’s deal? Why did Aria, Spencer and Emily get arrested? And because this is the last week I can ask this in earnest, who is A?!

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLumw9JomKuso2Kur7CMnqWtnaKprqq6zJ6lrWenpXxzfJBuZmlrX2aFcLzRnqutsV2htrXAy55kpaGRp8BuvsScmKllo5qutLvNZmxmnaCewLCwxGZpbWWZonqiecaopp1ll56%2FrXnIZpimZw%3D%3D