Pretty Little Liars - Season 6 Summer Finale 'Game Over, Charles' [Recap + Review

Pretty Little Liars - Season 6 Summer Finale 'Game Over, Charles' [Recap + Review - SPOILERS]

We all knew this day was coming. The day when Pretty Little Liars (created by evil genius Marlene King) would have to answer some serious questions and finally explain what the hell has been going on for the last 3 seasons. Ever since Mona was outed as A in the season 2 finale 'unmAsked', we have been on a metaphorical roller-coaster that just refuses to stop. There have been almost-sawing-in-halves, fires, attempted freezing and melting-to-deaths, snakes, burials, even more deaths and a whole lot of text messages - all of which have gone unanswered...and, spoiler, some of them still don't reach a conclusion at the end of this episode. As always, first up will be the incredibly spoiler-filled recap, so skip ahead if you haven't seen it (although really, what are you even doing on the internet right now?).

RECAP:

After starting off with Ali being kidnapped by A (black hoodie) in the penultimate episode, 'Game Over, Charles' starts us off with the Liars in the aftermath. Quickly, the group (Spencer, Aria, Emily, Hanna & Sara) decide to ignore Toby and Caleb's warnings to stay put and eventually run into Mona. Mona reveals she has traced a call to the Carissimi Group, and they all high-tail it on over there. Reaching a locked room, Spencer tries multiple combinations until Sara magically reveals that A used to give her a cupcake on September the 7th every year. Seriously, you only know thought that might be helpful?

And Alohomora, the door magically opens. Now we have stepped into something off of Tron Legacy and everything is stainless steel and high-tech, and oh look, a massive red button on the table. The group turn round to find that Sara hasn't gone inside, when the door magically shuts again, trapping the rest of the girls inside.

The futuristic screen lights up and Alison is shown to be at Radley with both her semi-conscious (and paralysed) brother, Jason, and father, Kenneth. But wait, who's that in the background? Mona zooms in and the person in the black hoodie turns round as is revealed to be none other than...........CeCe Drake.

I mean, really, we all knew it wasn't a guy (have you even read the books?) and this is the closest thing to realistic the writers can come up with (get off with your Wren theories everyone!). CeCe aka Charles aka Charlotte used to be a boy but is now a transgender woman and technically Ali's sister. And extra shocker, she never actually wanted to hurt Alison, just help her (yeah, we've head this story before). She was just trying to help Alison by almost drowning her in the bath, and to her, Alison is her very own special doll.

Oh, and she was allegedly never going to kill the Liars too, as they are her dolls too and she loves them. At this point, Ali says what everyone is thinking and brings up the multiple attempted murder incidents: fire, freezing, sawing in half, crashing a car into Emily's house etc etc., and CeCe's response is that they are still alive, aren't they?

Well, CeCe then begins to tell her elaborate tale about how her dad always wanted to get rid of her, and her mum is basically a manipulative bitch and told her all about lying (is anyone surprised she's so fucked up?) and that she got sent to Radley and used to be good friends with Bethany. That is, until Bethany pushed Mrs. Cavanaugh to her death and then blamed Charles/Charlotte/CeCe. Jessica pays off Darren Wilden to ensure that Mrs. C's death is ruled as suicide (poor Toby).

Later, Charles was diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (the very thing that Bethany actually has), due to the incident with Mrs. C. One day, Charlotte was let out of Radley for her own funeral as 'Charles' and Mrs. D dug the grave symbolically (except, she still told Kenneth that their kid was dead, go figure that one out). After being sent back to Radley and excelling in math, Charlotte was allowed to attend Penn State (University of Pennsylvania), but didn't find the lessons enjoyable as she already knew everything. One day she called in a bomb threat to cancel classes and took this opportunity to visit Rosewood where she ran into Jason at the yearbook photos and started a relationship with him...despite being his sister.

She does however state they never had sex and that was why Jason was sexually frustrated all the time. However, soon Mrs. D found out and wasn't all too happy but didn't stop the relationship and the whole DiLaurentis family went to Cape May together that one summer where Alison and CeCe grew closer. But everything was ruined when Bethany found out, and that Jessica was having an affair with Bethany's dad. Bethany stole CeCe's clothes (as she had leaving privileges) and masqueraded as her (although we know that Alison had intended to lure Bethany there to kill her herself and fake her death). CeCe follows, and seeing someone dressed in the clothes Bethany was wearing, hits them over the head with a rock...only to find out that it was her beloved Alison instead.

Mrs. D buries Alison with CeCe crying in the background. Mrs. D then again pays off Wilden to say he found CeCe wandering about near Radley and not in Rosewood. Meanwhile, Mona hits Bethany over the head (thinking it is Alison) and Melissa subsequently buries her alive. When Charlotte got back to Radley her leaving privileges were taken away and she was alone until Mona arrived (having been caught as A) and the two exchanged conversation and CeCe/Charlotte/Charles decided to play the game with Mona. CeCe knew she could never trust Mona however as she had hit her one true friend, Hanna, with a car, previously.

CeCe was angry at the Liars because Mona had said they were happy that Alison was gone, and decide to get revenge. When the doctors started weaning Mona off her meds Charlotte stopped visiting, as Mona would recognise that she wasn't talking to Ali but to her instead. CeCe had Mona help her escape from Radley, and during her plans had begun to see a Red Coated girl following the Liars, and thought if it was Ali then she would come to help save the Liars. On the night of the fire, CeCe had Sara Harvey dress up as Red Coat and distract Mona so she could target the Liars.

Emily is understandably distraught. But, when Shana turned up, everything got messy. In the heat of the moment, Charlotte missed Alison but was given hope when she overhead Mona and Hanna saying they saw Ali. Charlotte almost ended the game when she went to France (as Vivian Darkbloom) but came back as the game was addictive and she enjoyed being good at playing. Charlotte attacked Alison in her home (much to the irk of Alison) and captured the girls and put them in the dollhouse. Charlotte also killed Wilden because he found out that Alison was still alive and would never let her return home to tell her story.

She then sent Sara Harvey as the Black Widow to his funeral to double-check he was dead. Before CeCe said goodbye to Alison in New York, she went home to see her mother only to find out she was dead (killer unknown). Meanwhile, the Liars have been watching but quickly leave to escape the room (through a passageway identified by Spencer and helped by Mona) and arrive at Radley to see Sara Harvey (in Red Coat) about to detonate a bomb as planned by Charlotte to kill her and her sister. Charlotte hits the switch but much to her surprise, the bomb doesn't go off, and it is revealed that Spencer has disarmed it. Emily then proceeds to punch Sara in the face for deceiving her and breaking her heart.

This is possibly one of the most satisfying moments of the episode. Alison quickly finds the girls and says that CeCe is on the roof, they follow her there and try to stop her from jumping, saying they understand. CeCe decides not to jump and says 'game, over'. Some time later, Sara has been released from Radley and CeCe is presumably still in prison. The Liars' mums are presumably not still in the basement from the previous episode, and the girls are all going to college (bar Alison, who remains in Rosewood). Five years later, Alison is seen writing a new name on a chalkboard (Mrs., in fact, hinting she is married) as a teacher, when the Liars arrive and tell her that someone is coming after her and they have come back for her as a group, hinting that the game may not be over.

REVIEW:

(Notice: Names of important reveals i.e. 'A' have been blacked out to maintain anonymity, highlight with mouse to reveal answer). Well, 'Game Over, Charles' was quite the episode, and one where some much needed answers were finally given and some loose ends tied off. Whilst CeCe may not have been the fan favourite for A-Reveal, she is possibly the one that makes the most logical sense as she has motive and opportunity to pull the A-antics off. Tying off some elements at this point allows for some sort of clarity and for the story to progress in a way which was not possible before. The shift in time jump (5 years) also allows for the Liars to achieve their potential as fully-fledged characters who pursue their own dreams and desires despite the circumstances, and ones that are not limited by their seemingly-never-ending high school years. The jump allows for some character development and maturity, and offers the chance to gain more depth on the situation and freshen things up a bit.

With a potential new villain on the horizon, things look decidedly more thrilling for the latter part of season 6, which has often felt a bit haphazard and drawn out (in the big up to the big reveal). 'Game Over, Charles' however, is a switch from this never-ending narrative, drawing together pieces of the puzzle that before seem unconnected. The performance of A is inspired in this flashback-heavy episode, and Vanessa Ray is truly captivating as the scorned and abandoned Charlotte, and despite her motives being a little far-fetched and extremely sociopathic, she makes the narrative believable with her convincing performance. This has been one episode where the main focus has not in fact been on the Liars but on A and Alison herself, offering a chance for a new perspective and direction for the episode, which is refreshing to see when we spend so much time involved in all of the Liars' personal business. Sasha Pieterse is as striking as ever as Alison DiLaurentis, and certainly feels like the Queen Bee throughout the entire episode, although Mona (Janel Parrish) does possess a few winning lines.

Emily (Shay Mitchell) has also regained some of her fighting spirit and shows off the more feisty side that we had lost for the beginning of the season. Overall, the episode is undoubtedly going to frustrate, shock and devastate a few but it remains one of the most memorable to date and is delivered with conviction from its impressive cast.