Ooh! Intense vibes from the get go! And that’s just with the music. Not to mention the bloody fingers on the boy, Dylan, with the cello. And y’all, Sofia Carson has the PERFECT voice for the intro of a suspense thriller like this!
Alison: Yay!!! Alison! Aww, and she’s got the twins on her lock screen! 💔❤️ Aww, and she places her family photo against the wall. But there’s a loose strip on the wall… I wonder if it’s got something to do with this mystery. I don’t think Nolan’s sister really killed herself. She was probably murdered. Ha! I knew it! Ali’s finding something in the wall! Ugh! An A-like message, “They’re watching.” It’s either Taylor who used to live there or Mona, because it’s so classic Mona! Of course, Alison is freaking out!
Alison and Mona: Uh oh! Someone’s creeping and Ali is obviously already feeling PTSD A vibes! Oh, and of course, it’s just Mona who shows up with a knife in her hand! 😂
Of course, Ali confronts Mona after Nolan acts like he knows her. Mona swears she didn’t anyone about anything related to Alison and admits she doesn’t believe Nolan belongs at BHU.
Ooh! Mona is suspicious of Ali now. She saw Ali with Ava and seems untrusting. So much for a fresh start, huh? Ali and Mona will only ever trust each other when they need each other.
Surveillance: Who is Mona talking to in the mirror? Herself? “Alison’s as determined as she ever was. Don’t you think?” Does this have something to do with the “security system” Alison noticed? Definitely gives A vibes…
Ooh! Ok, Mrs. Hotchkiss is in charge of the surveillance. Why? Because of the “suicide?” I really don’t think it was suicide. It was either fake or someone murdered her.
Ali meets Mrs. Hotchkiss who says exactly what he said she would say. “You really remind me of her. (Taylor)” She tells her she’s safe here. Why does it seem like this family knows more about Ali than the average person would? Does it have something to do with the surveillance…?
Uh, oh! Nolan is running off somewhere and Mona notices. He’s scanning the area for beacons! He calls someone saying, “I need to see you. We need to meet.” It’s Taylor. She’s not dead.
Okay, so Nolan is in the middle of the woods in a log cabin thing and someone’s followed him. I knew it! It was Taylor! Or maybe another Spencer-like twin? I know it’s a different show, but I don’t trust Marlene! Oh, so he slept with the other chick to make Ava hate him? Because he’s protecting her? Because surveillance is spying on a select number of students? He’s gonna ask someone for help? Ali? Mona? Ava?
Okay, so Ali is googling the family. She can’t get much info and now she’s been blocked out of the search engine? I have to admit… She and Taylor look a lot alike… Coincidence or not?
Ooh… Mona’s talking to her mirror again…. why???
Ali freaks on Mona because Ali and Taylor could be doppelgängers. Mona claims it’s a coincidence. Ali asks, “Did you learn nothing from Rosewood? There are no coincidences.”
Nolan is talking to something or someone… like Mona. Admitting Taylor is still alive…
WHAT! THE! HELL!? They’re being watched by some international cooperation or something??? “Was this our fault? Answer me damn it!” Mona asks the screens. Who is us??? Her and Ali? The lady says, “Mona. Go to your safe place.”
Ms. DiLaurentis & Kids: Ooh… So, Alison is basically the Ezra Fitz of these series in terms of being the English teacher and teaching about books that will somehow tie into the series. (Speaking of, now I have to go read Agatha Christie’s book And Then There Were None since it’s clearly going to have a role in this show like To Kill a Mocking Bird had in the original) Anyway, she starts questioning the students about their summer reading. Dylan is insightful, Ava didn’t read the book, and Nolan is a know-it-all who apparently knows who Alison DiLaurentis was before coming to Beacon Heights. How does he know about her? He clearly knows something… Ugh! And he’s such a douche! He’s like freaking Noel! 😒 He apparently has something on Dylan as he’s forcing him to do his and Ava’s homework and Dylan’s not even fighting not to do it. He’s like the Ali of the original seasons of PLL. He’s manipulative like nobody’s business.
Uh, oh! Ali knows Ava and friends have the same homework… Aww, instead of turning the kids in, she chooses to talk to Ava because she knows she may be struggling with her family situation. Her dad got in trouble for embezzlement and ran away before her mom also left her. At least her dad left her money…dirty money, but still money…
Dang though! Nolan sure does have some AMAZING eyes!
Okay, so Caitlyn’s secret is that her politician mother is cheating on her other mother with a man, so basically Aria’s story mixed with Spencer’s.
I wonder if Nolan is secretly gay or bi. He did tell Dylan’ he’s hot when he’s angry. If this ends up being like Emily and Alison, I will not be surprised.
I love that Ali notices everything. She notices Dylan. She notices that Nolan is hiding his real relationship with Ava and faking his relationship with Caitlyn. And she even admits to Caitlyn that she knows something about manipulation and that she sees through Nolan’s lies. Caitlyn admits that Nolan will do anything to make his mom believe he’s the perfect child she thinks he is.
Ali talks to Dylan and asks what Nolan has on him. Yup, Dylan and Nolan hooked up before Andrew moved in with him. He doesn’t tell her, but Ali tells him she wants to help. Just like Ava, he tells her to leave it alone, but she says she can’t. She’ll have to expel them if she doesn’t get answers soon. Of course, his story isn’t exactly like Emily’s. Everyone know’s he’s gay, but no one knows he cheated with his manipulative “friend.” All these characters are so similiar to the origial charcacters, but also so different. I wonder if they were this similiar in the book?
Yikes! Ava walks in on Nolan having sex with her model. He tells her, “It was just about the sex for me. I’m bored of you.” Heartbreak! 💔 If she doesn’t tell Ali the truth, then I’ll be surprised. He deserves it.
Ava, Caitlyn, and Dylan meet together in the woods. Ava admits Ali offered to help her and the others admit the same. And, now they’re talking about pretending to kill Nolan? Someone’s there though and they’re listening. I almost wonder if his plan is to disappear? Or he will be murdered…and these three will be blamed… or an A-like character will appear and threaten to tell the authorities that they were plotting his death… Idk…?
Ava, Caitlyn, and Dylan think they could have been friends if it wasn’t for Nolan. They turn back at each other like they’re keeping secrets or want to be friends. Nolan is standing on the clock tower like he’s gonna jump. Or not…? Maybe he’s just watching them? No… He’s talking to something or someone… Like Mona…
Ugh! I knew it! He jumped off the roof and now Ava, Caitlyn, and Dylan are somehow going to be held responsible! Poor Ali and Mona must seriously be having some PTSD in their minds right now. It’s like the scene when Maya was murdered. Like almost exactly! I swear watching this show, especially if it lasts, is going to be another waste of time, but I’m gonna do it anyway, because I can’t help but stick with characters I have an attachment to… it’s a serious problem….
Thoughts, Theories, and Favorite Quotes/Scenes:
Thoughts:
Damn it! I’m dragged in again! I wasn’t going to watch this…. but my friend said I would like it and I don’t have it in my not to continue with characters I’ve been attached to. And also my brother is watching it. I didn’t want to be dragged into this again!
Theories:
Theory One: Is Taylor really Taylor?
Theory Two: Did Nolan really kill himself? Was he murdered? Is this even really Nolan?
Theory Three: Is BHU a “The Maze Runner”/“Divergent” kind of vibe where they’re testing students to have the best, most perfect people? Is that why they’re being watched? Or is it because of Ali and Mona? Who is the “we” She was talking about? Why is she working with/for someone? It feels like the dollhouse all over again!
Theory Four: I do agree with Ali’s statement that “there are no coincidences.” So, why are there similarities between her and Taylor? And Nolan and Noel? Are we going to find out? And why does the mom clearly have Ali at the school for a reason?
I’m sure if I read the book, then I could maybe get answers to these questions, but I don’t really want the answers yet. If I’m gonna get sucked in, then I’m gonna get sucked in properly!
Best Quotes/Moments:
Mona: “It’s a lot easier to earn people’s trust when you haven’t already given them reasons not to trust you.”
Alison: “Story of my life. Emily loves me, she just can’t get past the past.”
Mona: “I thought you guys were happy.”
Alison: “We are, and then we’re not. Always comes back to trust, but I’m not giving up. I want to leave the mean girl I was in high school behind me. I really want to help these kids.
…
Ali asks, “Did you learn nothing from Rosewood? There are no coincidences.”
Brittany Alexandria 