Pretty Little Liars Review: “Close Encounters” (Season 4, Episode 16)

Pretty Little Liars is essentially a giant web of lies. The entire series revolves around the idea of picking them apart, one delicate strand at a time, and hoping that you don’t pull hard enough that someone notices, or worse case scenario, pulls back. In this case, that someone is known simply by one terrifying letter, ‘A.’

Over the last two years, the Liars have compiled a detailed (read: long) list of suspects for who might be this mysterious tormentor. Last week I spelled out a few of the more predominantly featured characters to make it to that list, and most of them had already established a pretty alarming pattern of red flags (or behavior that planted them firmly on the socially awkward side, at the very least) before making it there. Although, if Ezra (Ian Harding) is looking to jump the line, causing a public disturbance will at least put him closer to that goal.

Aria (Lucy Hale) may have thought her love life was a mess back when she was lying to her parents and giving a whole new meaning to student/teacher relations (the first time around), but that’s nothing compared to her current relationship status. What would happen if she found out that Ezra was really ‘A?’ Which is exactly what tonight’s episode of Pretty Little Liars might be setting us up for.

It didn’t win Jake (Ryan Guzman) any points in the break up, but he planted the first seed of doubt in Aria’s mind. Whether Ezra came clean to Aria with the whole truth or not, she knows he was hiding something from her and I have to admit that messing with Jake’s lucky punching bag definitely seems like a taste of ‘A.’ Who else would be fighting Ezra’s battles for him? Especially since technically he won.

And he’s not the only one. In the aftermath of her break up with Caleb (which we’re still not over), Hannah (Ashley Benson) managed to salvage part of her day with a few rousing games of pool. Who better to distract her from her post-break up pity party then the potential love interest that Pretty Little Liars has conveniently lined up for her. Although this is clearly a thinly veiled attempt to appease fans that weren’t ready to say goodbye to their favorite couple, it might be working. Travis (Luke Kleintank) is exactly what Hannah needs right now (err, throwing plates at a wall comes in a close second).

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