Pretty Little Liars Review: “Fresh Meat” (Season 5, Episode 15)

The MVP this week on Pretty Little Liars is hands down Hannah (Ashley Benson). In general, she has been one of the stronger characters on the show, but she continued to wow us tonight when her righteous indignation fueled a face-to-face with Ali. Although the idea that Ali is still calling the shots is fairly ridiculous at this point, Hannah waltzed right into that women’s correctional center and told her exactly how she felt anyway – even if she was completely off base.

It’s hard to believe that after having fake guts spill out of her teddy bear that Hannah’s first inclination (after she changed her shoes, we hope) was to pay Ali a visit, but it seems that appealing to her better side ranked high on her list of things to do. It was only a matter of time before one of the Liars cracked and went to see Ali. No matter what they say, none of them seem to be able to find a final note to end on.

It’s like they want to rehash their last conversation over and over again, except instead of doing it in their heads like the rest of us, they prefer several takes with the same audience. Standing in Ali’s way when she tried to flee the cops looked like a pretty efficient way to make their point, but just in case Ali didn’t get it the first time, here was proof that her former pals are always willing to reiterate.

College may be just beyond the horizon, but the Liars still have to make it to graduation. Judging by the way A is turning up the heat – sorry, Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) – it won’t be as easy as passing some tests and finding the perfect prom dress. A is looking to divide and conquer once again, and she/her is off to a heck of a start. It may be a recycled version of what we’ve seen before, but there’s a new level of maturity to it.

Since the fireworks, everything has the appearance of being slightly more subtle, down to the handwritten note Ali received at the end. Each gesture was lacking the normal pizazz that fans have come to expect. And, nothing came with A’s usual signature. Either A was having an off day, or something isn’t right with this picture.

Pretty Little Liars has once again sparked our attention simply by toning it down. If the Liars can wait this lull out, so can we.