'Pretty Little Liars' TV Review: A Solid Episode, A Disappointing Glimpse of 'Ravenswood'

Pretty Little Liars didn’t disappoint last night with a crazy episode, ‘Under the Gun.’ As always, Pretty Little Liars continues to be the most addictive show on television – seriously. PLL’s insanely awesome weirdness and plot twists always keep me coming back for more, and this episode was no exception.

The Detective Wilden murder storyline is on the fast track, which sometimes surprises me considering the fact that the show is in its fourth season and we still have no clue who killed Alison. But that's neither here nor there. The entire Marin family murder conspiracy thing has been great for the show because it successfully combines the ‘A’ storyline with family drama – a clear win.

The big news in last night’s episode was that we got our first glimpse at Ravenswood! The ‘creepyville’ was, well, entirely creepy, with everybody acting like it was the 50s (the cars, the hair, the clothes…). Oh, and as if the weird grey-tinge that permeated the town weren’t strange enough, the town appeared to be 80% graveyard (and the townspeople may or may not worship a menacing looking angel statue). I have been skeptical about Ravenswood since I first heard there were plans of a spin-off. Admittedly, it’s more because I really don’t want Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) to leave Rosewood for the new show, especially if it means Caleb and Hanna (Ashley Benson) are going to break up somewhere down the line. (Speaking of, where in the world was Caleb this episode?! He didn’t even want to help Emily (Shay Mitchell) clear Hanna’s name?) And, to be honest, this sneak peek of Ravenswood didn’t really make me feel any better about it.

I can get behind the creepy townspeople and the back-in-time feel of the place, but the gravestones and the grey coloring were a little much for me. Now that the town has been shown as a place without color (except for outsiders, whose clothes apparently still retain some color in them), is Ravenswood going to be entirely unsaturated like that? If so, it might be difficult for me to watch, it’s just so obviously distorted. The whole time Spencer (Troian Bellisario) and Toby (Keegan Allen) were there (in their obviously colorful clothes), all I kept thinking about was Pleasantville (1998), a movie that has a similar color vs. black-and-white look (NOTE: if you haven’t seen it, drop whatever it is you’re doing and go watch it…I’ll wait.) The color in Pleasantville is way nicer, and has a deeper purpose than just making a place look old-timey and strange. I’m also not a fan of the hints that everyone there lives forever or in some kind of weird time loop (if you have other theories, I’d love to hear them) – I’m just not sold. On a related note, if they’re trying to set up Shana (Aeriél Miranda) as a link between Rosewood and Ravenswood, they might want to work on making her more interesting and/or likeable (i.e. stop making everything she does completely ridiculous and evil).

Also – was it just me or was the whole suicidal birds thing a nod to Hitchcock's The Birds (1963)? It wouldn't be the first time PLL has paid homage to the master of suspense – 'unmAsked', the season 2 finale, featured a recreation of the famous Psycho (1960) shower scene, and Emily works at a café called 'The Rear Window Brew' (Hitchcock directed Rear Window in 1954).

Other than the adventure into Ravenswood, the episode was excellent. I loved that Aria (Lucy Hale) finally had a run in with Ezra (Ian Harding) – I mean, uh, Mr. Fitz – and that she’s finally getting bullied by somebody other than ‘A’ for her relationship with the English teacher. That said, Ezra really let me down last night. Mr. Fitz, what in the world were you thinking when you just left Connor in the locker room? I get it, you’re secret’s out and you don’t want to be known as the teacher who had inappropriate relations with your student, but, a 15-year old boy just called the woman you love(d) a slut and you just walk away? Fitz seems to have forgotten that being a teacher means he can actually discipline students, but I’ll let it slide this time. (I am no match for your puppy-dog eyes!)

I hope the Aria/Ezra drama we saw this week means we’ll get to finally see them really have it out soon. I feel like there are so may unresolved issues in their relationship (like, is he dating his baby mama and what’s up with there whole we can’t ever talk to each other thing? Also, will we ever see him be her teacher again? ‘Cause that could be fun.)

I’m so into this season of Pretty Little Liars, and I cannot wait to find out how Ashley (Laura Leighton) gets out of those handcuffs and back into her fabulous wardrobe where she belongs. What did you think of ‘Under the Gun’? Are you excited by Ravenswood or skeptical?

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.