[Warning: Major spoilers from Tuesday's "Misery Loves Company."]
Pretty Little Liars went all-out for executive producer Marlene King's directorial debut with "Misery Loves Company," an episode that is the epitome of the term "game-changer."
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Gut-wrenching. Heart-breaking. It was a matter of time before Toby's (Keegan Allen) "A" connection would come to light. Not only does this revelation rock Spencer (Troian Bellisario) to the core, but it will also fundamentally change the usually subdued, trusting, straight-laced teen for the rest of time. How did she come to find out about her boyfriend's extracurriculars?
Here's how it all went down:
The anniversary of Toby and Spencer's relationship is looming, and Spencer uses another dinner gig as her excuse for why she can't spend an evening with him, but it's all a ruse so she can plan their romantic evening together. This after Mona (Janel Parrish) reaffirms to Toby that the Liars need to "understand that she's in charge." Toby: "Then I'll take care of it."
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Hanna (Ashley Benson) visits Corin's store, which the girls find out moved a month ago to its new location, and it's oddly filled with unclothed mannequins. Before she knows it, a hooded figure ("A") appears in the store and pushes a row of mannequins into Hanna before she can react. A text appears on her phone seconds later: "Next time you'll be left faceless." Is that a threat? But this "A" isn't quite so slick: Hanna recovers a dropped key with the suspicious "A" label on it.
On the evening of the anniversary, Toby says that he may be able to drop by after work after all. Toby slips into a darkened Hastings house looking for something before Spencer appears behind him, asking, "Is this what you're looking for?" And the truth comes out. When Toby appears in front of her -- among his first words are "How long have you known?" -- Spencer rightfully reacts with the slap heard around the world. It's his Radley ID that gave him away.
Spencer's mom comes home to an irate Spencer, but within a flash, Toby's gone. Later, Spencer goes to Toby's apartment, crying and asking the questions viewers have wondered about, too, but as the camera pans over, it's Mona enjoying the romantic dinner Spencer set up.
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This was a big episode for the ABC Family drama. Not only is Spencer finally in on Toby's true intentions, but there were also significant moves made for the other three Liars and their respective storylines. Here's a brief rundown of the rest:
- Hanna catches Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) on a questionable phone call, and when she probes him about it, he lies, telling her it's his mother on the other end. Hanna isn't buying it, tasking Emily (Shay Mitchell) to tail him to get the truth. Emily leaves after she sees Caleb at a coffee shop, but it's revealed that he's with Paige (Lindsey Shaw) -- and they're teaming up to take down "A" because they believe the core Liars group are "sitting ducks"!
- Meredith's (Amanda Schull) nice act with Aria (Lucy Hale) isn't everything it seems to be. Emily and Hanna spy her having trouble getting a refill for drugs to "treat" anxiety/sleep, and it all becomes clear. Meredith was drugging Aria so she could find Alison's diary pages. However, creepy Meredith turns out not to be a huge threat; Byron (Chad Lowe) admits to Aria later that the night he saw Alison was nothing more than a meeting, of sorts. At the moment, Byron and Aria are on better terms (Aria burned the diary pages in a gesture of trust) but is he to be trusted? One of the evening's biggest shocks came when crazy Meredith appeared out of nowhere in Aria's bedroom and when she smacked Aria upside the head.
- It's a throw-away line, but Emily gets warmer and warmer to the "A" mystery, teasing the idea that it's an "A" army behind this all.
It's safe to say Toby and Spencer are done. What are your thoughts on how Toby's secret came out? What are your thoughts on "Misery Loves Company" as a whole?
Pretty Little Liars airs 8 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC Family.
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