Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... Pretty Little Liars (S07E11) Playtime Airdate: April 25, 2017 @freeform Ratings: (Check 4/20) @prettylittleliars Score: 3/10 **********SPOILERS BELOW********** The melodrama... The fandom... The 'somehow we took a wrong mother fucking turn somewhere along the way' is real with 'Pretty Little Liars'. @Phoenix82 of TVShowTime commented that the hiatus was so damn long that he forgot what was going on... Well, ditto. And honestly, it's hard to care. You take a break as long as this and you might as well just call it S19, because that's exactly where it feels like we are with 'PLL'. 'Rocking it till the wheels fall off' is a massive understatement. Anyone remember that Daytime Soap back in the late 90s/early 00's called 'Passions'? I feel like that's exactly where we are with PLL. It's just plain ridiculous, but it's lingering fandom has kept it alive, though the numbers sink and sink and sink. Many of us are here because, goddammit, we've put 4 Billion episodes of this show in and we want a conclusion already. Don't hold your breath for a great one... Remember last season when Mona was trapped in A's lair that resembled something right out of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation's Holodeck... Complete w/hilariously bad sound editing and 'bleep bleep bloops bloops'?! And then remember when I Marlene King called us all transphobic because we hated her 'big reveal'? Sorry, but I just can't shake that. PLL was once the measuring stick of Teen Thrillers, and it's still referenced, but we just don't mean it as much. I think 'Playtime' can be best summed up by Spencer's hilariously cheesy monologue when she confronted her mother...errrr...Veronica Hastings when she got back from her trip... "Allison's husband wasn't a real doctor. Turns out that he was a crook and he took all of her money. Noel Khan kidnapped Hannah, she got away... Noel Khan is now dead. Jenna Marshall shot me, probably. Toby & Yvonne were in a car crash. Do you want a glass of wine?" Spencer keeping us all up to speed, in true Spencer on Adderall fashion. Jesse from 'Saved By The Bell' would be proud... Or would she? So, Mary Drake is really Spencer's mother. Lord all fucking mighty... There are literally no more twists and turns that this show could possibly take. If there was any pleasure to be derived from 'Playtime', I must admit I got a good bit out of Allison returning to her Queen Bitch status and proverbially scratching Paige's eyes out during their school sanctioned teacher/teacher's aide meeting. Cat fight incoming, surely... And if not, it would be such a wasted opportunity. Emily is caught in the middle... But what made it so great that it was a very 'Adult caught up in a Teenage Bullshit' catfight, one Ms. Horowitz has to intervene on. This should be fun to see play out. At least it's my favorite tacky PLL subplot of the moment. A.D has gotten really clever in his or her execution... The tiny Rosewood replica equipped with iPhones, that literally looks like a giant game-board of 'The Game Of Life' is a nice touch. As usual, the girls have no choice but to play, every fucked up thing they've ever done has been recorded and filed away to be used for A.D's pleasure and amusement to get the girls on board with whatever ridiculous game he or she wants them to play. We may not know just who the hell A.D is but we do know Jenna is a close friend and A.D is smart enough to put their entire plan or 'Endgame' in Braille. Hmmmm... Thoughts anyone? Oh and... Glasses OFF, Toby. Glasses off.
