Previously on Pretty Little Liars, Hanna claimed to be Charlotte’s killer in an effort to catch Emoji ‘A.’ Since the liars’ plans never go the way they’re supposed to, Hanna was kidnapped, leaving the rest of the gang 24 hours to find her. It seemed the only person in a hurry to find her was Caleb. Tick-tock goes the clock. And while Aria was hooking up with Ezra (again) and Emily was having coffee with Samara, Hanna finally realized she was going to have to escape on her own.
While the season 7 premiere seemed to get back to the roots of Pretty Little Liars, “Bedlam” slows the pace way down. Most of this episode seems centered on the characters coping with their own demons and emotional scars. Like the liars, let’s jump in head first.
Pretty Little Liars Theory: Did Alison Actually Kill Charlotte? >>>
Hanna is Rescued
After nearly running her over, Mary Drake stops to pick up Hanna from the side of the road. It’s a scene that is eerily reminiscent of the time Mona seemingly rescued Alison after her mother had buried her alive. Mary Drake wants to take Hanna to a hospital or the police station. Hanna says that she needs to see her friends first, and Mary Drake is just like, “Oh, sure! I totally understand that.” Hanna is as baffled as I am that MD gave in so easily without any questions.
Mary Drake drops her off at Spencer’s house where the gang has assembled. Spencer wants to get right down to business. She asks Hanna about Mary Drake. Being kidnapped and all, Hanna is a little bit out of the loop on Mary’s backstory. All of the gaps are filled in, giving Hanna a new Uber ‘A’ suspect. There’s a knock on the door. It’s a huge bouquet of flowers, and the gang seems surprised that it’s from A.D., like ‘A’ has never sent huge funeral-type flower arrangements. The note says, “Couldn’t have done it without you. Glad we’re on the same team.”
The End of Spaleb?
Moments before Hanna went missing, she was kissing Caleb. And moments before that, Caleb was more than kissing Spencer. Caleb’s desperation in Operation Rescue Hanna has made it clear that he still has feelings for Hanna, those “more-than-friends” feelings. Hanna is not reciprocating those feelings anymore. She spends the entire episode trying to rekindle the spark she’s been missing with Jordan.
At some point, Caleb finally remembers that he has a girlfriend who isn’t Hanna. He tries his best to be the good, caring boyfriend to Spencer. However, she’s no dummy. She knows their relationship is pretty much o-v-e-r. I love Troian Bellisario in this scene! As Caleb leans down to kiss her head before walking away, Spencer is trying her best to be in the moment. As soon as he leaves, she sheds a single tear. I don’t think she’s crying “over some dude.” I think she regrets allowing herself to be in such a vulnerable position.
Later on in the episode, she finally gets to have the talk with him. She asks Caleb if they made a mistake. His answer is, “What we had was real.” Spencer then points out his use of the past tense “was.”
Pretty Little Liars Theory: Could Spencer Be A.D.? >>>
Liam, Aria and Ezra
Liam is back in town with some big news! Before we get to that news though, Aria breaks up with him. Their whole break-up conversation sounds like they’re running lines for a play. Liam takes the break-up pretty well. He tells Aria that he’s working on the book again. Somehow, everyone thinks this won’t get weird. But then it gets totally weird.
Later, Liam sits down to chat with Ezra about his part of the book. He lays down what a lot of people have been waiting six years for. Liam tells Ezra that his character in the book (the one Ezra wrote as a reflection of himself) comes off like a predator! Ezra is dumbfounded and tries to defend the character. Yikes.
Ezra tells Aria about his conversation with Liam. She goes to talk to him. He says that through the process, he figured it all out. Aria was seduced by her English teacher. After victimizing herself, just a touch, Aria tells him that she wouldn’t change any decisions she’s made in her life. She accepts the good and all of the bad that comes with it. She owns it.
Mary Drake’s Backstory
While all of her friends are dealing with relationship trouble and recovering from being kidnapped, Emily is trying to see Alison. Dr. Rollins has upped the restrictions on Alison’s visitation list. Now only family members can get in to see her — family who’s not Mary Drake, that is.
Mary Drake is definitely bad news, but somehow Emily thinks it’s still a good idea to use her to try to get to Alison. Spencer does not like this idea at all.
Spencer is at the campaign headquarters when Mary Drake shows up. Mary has regrets about taking Hanna to Spencer’s house that night instead of to the hospital to make sure she was okay. Spencer points out that Mary was the one driving and could have taken Hanna anywhere. Mary confesses that she has an issue with hospitals. This segues into her backstory and how she ended up in Radley.
When Mary Drake was 14 years old, Jessica was babysitting a kid named Teddy. The kid was sick with a cold or something and wouldn’t stop crying. Jessica called her sister to come help. By the time Mary arrived at the house, Teddy had calmed down and was already asleep. Jessica left the house to meet up with a boy, leaving Mary to meet the parents when they got home. When Teddy’s mom went to his room, she found him dead. Jessica lied and said Teddy was fine when she left. Mary ended up taking the fall for Teddy’s death. She ended up in Radley to keep her out of jail.
Talking about Radley to Spencer leads Mary Drake to visit the current Radley. There, she runs into Emily. Emily uses this opportunity to ask for Mary’s help in visiting Alison. Mary makes this happen.
Alison is still strapped to her bed, being pumped full of drugs and fluids. She is tripping balls and talking nonsense. No one can really make heads or tails out of what she is saying. She’s so out of it that she thinks Mary Drake is actually her mother.
Dr. Rollins comes in and screams that neither Mary nor Emily are allowed in the room. Elliot asks to speak to Mary privately. She tells him that Alison was never part of the plan. Emily can sort of hear their conversation, and she can definitely see their menacing silhouettes. She alerts the group that Mary and Rollins are working together.
The episode ends with a drugged-up Alison being wheeled down the hospital hallway and through some double doors.
The previews for the next episode look amazing! Another liar (Alison) has been kidnapped, and it looks like she’s going to take down Elliot!
Do you believe Mary’s story about how she ended up in Radley? Do you hate Elliot as much as I do? And why is Lucas back? Sound off in the comments below.
Pretty Little Liars airs Tuesdays at 8pm on Freeform.
(Image courtesy of Freeform)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
