Pretty Little Liars is exploring a different tactic on this week’s episode, “March of Crimes.” Instead of perpetuating this false sense of unity between the Liars and Alison (Sasha Pieterse), they are moving her character further into isolation. Ali’s attempt to move the attention away from the holes in her kidnapping story by upping the urgency has backfired. And now, everyone who she has called an ally is looking for a little insurance for when things undoubtedly go sour in the future.
It’s crazy to see how wrong Ali’s plans have gone, but then again, you have to remember that she is a 17 year-old teenager who essentially ran away before she was even old enough to drive (even though, technically, she drove away – did anyone else catch that her character was only 15 at the time?). Before she left Rosewood, she had incensed quite a large number of people of all different ages. She was blackmailing Aria’s (Lucy Hale) father, harassing just about every awkward student at her high school, and scrutinizing her closest friends about pretty much everything. Ali isn’t exactly a stand up individual. But her current predicament definitely takes the cake.
Pieterse is shining in her more prominent role on Pretty Little Liars as her character struggles to find the control that she’s lost. Unfortunately, Ali doesn’t seem to know when enough is enough, and that’s what a large chunk of this episode focused on. Her friends don’t know if they can trust her, and they probably shouldn’t.
The Liars are catching on quicker than normal to something being off with Ali and are preparing for the worse. Spencer (Troian Bellisario) attempts to hide proof that Ali was lying about being kidnapped by hiding them at her lake house, which by the way, didn’t look secure whatsoever, and ran into a problem.
Noel (Brant Daughtery) has been a recurring character on the show since season one, but he hasn’t served much of a real purpose. Viewers know that he was helping Ali during her two-year stint on the run, although the details are a bit fuzzy and will probably remain as such. But, something has him spooked. In a super stalker move, he follows Spencer up to the lake house to steal back the incriminating evidence.
I’d be lying if that scene didn’t give me goosebumps, since after all, a random sheet, with a single eye hole, starting to move, on a chair in an empty house is creepy. But, his performance following that attempt to scare Spencer also made you feel sympathetic toward his situation. He should absolutely be frightened about the ramifications of Ali’s frequent change of heart when it comes to the people around her.