Pretty Little Liars Review: “Whirly Girly” (Season 5, Episode 2)

Pretty Little Liars is taking a walk on the dark side in “Whirly Girly,” and it looks like this is the level of creepy that fans can expect from season five of the ABC Family hit series. The tone of the show has gone from mysterious with a touch of teenage normalcy inserted every now and again, to tragically depressing. As Alison (Sasha Pieterse) returns home to Rosewood still cloaked in a mask of deception, the Liars aren’t the only ones that need to watch their backs.

Alison’s former glory days have paved the way for an onslaught of whispered speculation and malicious intent. Mona (Janel Parrish) may have been the one who profited the most from Ali’s departure, but she isn’t wasting any time with thank yous. Instead, she is bent on securing her position as queen B now that the real queen has returned. After Mona’s stint in Radley, she has slowly but surely climbed her way back up the social ladder and she’s not ready to fall from grace a second time just yet. With Ali’s own poor life choices working to benefit Mona’s cause, it hardly seems like Mona has anything to worry about with her posse of equally shamed Ali-haters, but then again, it’s Ali we’re talking about.

Even when Ali is backed into a corner, she seems to have the uncanny ability to find a way out. Unfortunately for everyone, Ali isn’t just backed into a corner – she’s at an emotional turning point. Although fans of Pretty Little Liars were well aware of the reasons behind her mother’s absence, the characters within the realm of the show were not privy to that same information.

Thanks to an ironic twist of events, the dog that Jason (Drew Van Acker) tried to give back, ended up solving the first part of this mystery – where was Mrs. DiLaurentis? What makes this so detrimental in the larger scheme of things is that not only will Ali never get the chance to see her mother again, but she’ll also never have the opportunity to confront her. The truth of what happened that night, or at least a crucial piece of it, is dead and buried.