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Pretty Little Liars Season Premiere Review: “EscApe From New York” (Season 5, Episode 1)

If you thought the season four finale of Pretty Little Liars a few months ago had a lot going on, tonight's season premiere put it to shame. Any theories that finding Alison (Sasha Pieterse) would put an end to all the questions has gone right out of the nearest window. It seems like there are even more now that the Liars know for sure she's alive than there ever were when she was presumed dead. On top of that, the Liars are now going to find themselves standing between Mona (Janel Parrish) and her newly formed army of Ali hating peers (plus Melissa), and their target. Going into season five, it's clear that no one is safe and everyone is suspect.

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As cynical as it may be to admit, I doubt Shana’s death will have any greater an effect on the Liars than being tormented by ‘A’ for so long has already had on them. Which if you think about it, really is a silver lining since it looks like the Liars are going to have their hands full dealing with the fall out of Ali being alive going public. Clearly, everyone in Rosewood didn’t start feeling all warm and fuzzy when the news broke.

Not only has Melissa (Torrey DeVitto) returned to Rosewood after tucking her tail and running off to London, but she’s hiding a secret that even she thinks is worth coming clean about, and she’s aligned herself with Mona. As if things couldn’t get any weirder. I wouldn’t exactly say that Melissa was a victim of Ali’s charming personality, but she obviously wasn’t her friend either. Melissa has definitely been collateral damage, though. Ian and Garrett weren’t innocent by any means, but losing them took a toll on her, and with so much of their relationship to each other still hidden under layers of other more pressing concerns, it’s hard to tell what Melissa’s real grudge is against Ali. I’d probably bet that it has less to do with being the best big sister she can be and more with whatever went down when Ali was still “alive.”

Whatever her reasons are, between Melissa’s resources and Mona’s intelligence, having a common enemy has certainly brought them together as unlikely allies. Even with all the unanswered questions lingering in the air, it’s nice for once not to have a faceless enemy. ‘A’ has always been an enigma. A shadow behind a tree. A hooded figure in a crowd. Pretty Little Liars has never kept a secret more dearly than the identity of whoever the biggest threat was, until it was too late.

The Liars may still be in the dark about who they’re up against, but for the first time ever, viewers have the upper hand. Are you excited to finally be in the know? Let us know what you thought of the return of Pretty Little Liars in the comments section below!

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