Pretty Little Liars Season Premiere Review: “A is for A-l-i-v-e” (Season 4, Episode 1)

To start us off on a new season of drama, Pretty Little Liars took it back to the beginning with an iconic sequence that you might have thought you’d seen before. The series launch point was the death of missing teen Alison DiLaurentis, who was discovered buried in the backyard of her family’s home one year after her disappearance.

When Aria (Lucy Hale) moves home with her family after their hiatus abroad, the Liars have gone their separate ways – that is, until the funeral of their best friend where they simultaneously received a cryptic text message from someone calling themselves “A.”

Since then there’s been a lot of speculation about who this “A” person really is. We thought we had it all figured out when the truth came out that Mona (Janel Parrish) had been behind terrorizing the Liars. Unfortunately, or fortunately for the show, that didn’t stop once Mona was locked away in Radley (the sanatorium). Partly because Mona was smart enough to slip out unnoticed and start recruiting cohorts, and partly because there were some new players who decided to join the fun. The entire time we were led to believe that Mona was the one calling the shots, but even the A-Team has its secrets.

The end of this episode has a similar ring to it. After the Liars attend Wilden’s funeral in an attempt to find out what “A” had on them, they head outside to be confronted by the detective in charge of the investigation.  Once he retreats, the infamous “A” decides to strike again with a text message that signals a new beginning for the Liars.

If there’s one thing on Pretty Little Liars that has been consistent, it’s that Mona is one of the bad guys. There’s a nice sob story behind her transition from goody-goody to evil-doer, but she’s been pretty much a permanent resident on the naughty list. Going into season four, it’s hard to tell where she’ll land. She received the same menacing text as the Liars which puts her squarely on the receiving end for once. Right now she seems to be on the Liars side, but she is a mad genius so this could all be one big ploy to distract us from what is actually going on. It wouldn’t be the first time the Liars were fooled.

That didn’t stop them from taking full advantage of her current step-down status. We were able to get a few of the answers to questions that have been plaguing us. This tied up a few loose ends, but presented the Liars with a full-on conspiracy situation in the process. If it wasn’t Mona behind some of those things, especially the ones early on, then who was? It’s obvious there is a new Queen B in town, and she makes Mona look like an amateur. The way she (he) wiped that hard drive remotely, despite Mona’s best attempt to counter, was startling to say the least.

Mona may have met her genius match, and with Toby (Keegan Allen) being coerced into giving up the lair, things are definitely going south – and fast.

Only one episode down and we already have more questions than we ever can expect to get answers. The mystery women at the funeral – literally cloaked in mystery – is starting this new level off with some bold moves. If she’s “A,” I wouldn’t hold your breath for a quick reveal – Pretty Little Liars excels at playing hard to get.

Who do you think killed Wilden? Was Melissa really behind the Halloween train tragedy? And, who’s the new “A?” Let us know what you think is coming on this season of Pretty Little Liars in the comment section below!

Until next episode.