A is For Answers.. And Most Of Them Are Illegal (broken laws+ recap of PLL Episode 4×24)
This episode begins with the PLLs sitting in a room still wondering where Alison is. We learn that the mysterious person who met the girls instead of Alison is Noel Kahn. He tells the girls to wait there, and the girls wonder if they made a mistake trusting him. The girls wonder if this is a prank, and Spencer makes sure to correct Hanna after Hanna says that they’re just sitting there waiting like ducks. “It’s lame geese, Hanna!” She also reminds her that geese honk; they don’t quack, because that’s obviously the most important piece of information right now. Thanks, Spencer!
Alison walks in when she hears the girls wondering why she would trust Noel Kahn. She says it’s because Noel has secrets, too. Then Hanna gives Alison a warm greeting by telling her that she wants to hug her and slap her at the same time. Alison winds up getting hugs from everyone except Spencer. Spencer asks Ali why she wants her there if she’s the one that she can’t trust, and Alison says that she needs help from Spencer and all of the PLLs. Now that the police know that Alison isn’t the one buried, she knows they will start looking for her. She explains that she can’t come back to Rosewood until she finds out who “A” is. The girls fill Ali in on their theory that they think Mrs. DiLaurentis stole the game from Mona. Ali doesn’t seem at all surprised that her friends suspect her mom. Ali tells the girls that she’s ready to tell them everything about the night she disappeared, but if they don’t find out who “A” is tonight, she’ll have to disappear forever.
At the police station, Holbrook has CeCe Drake in an interrogation room. He starts asking loaded questions about Wilden, but CeCe still does not admit to killing him. She does, however, agree with Holbrook that Wilden was a jerk. Holbrook doesn’t think he’s going to get any answers from CeCe, but she surprises him by saying that she knows who killed “that girl.” She goes on to say that she knows that the girl in the grave is not Alison DiLaurentis, and that she can prove that Ali is alive. This gets his attention. CeCe tells Holbrook that the person who killed that girl is the same person who tried to kill Ali, and that the person is still trying to hurt Ali.
Meanwhile, Alison starts telling the girls her story. She says that it all started in Hilton Head, where she went with Ian to get a reprieve from the threats from “A.” She had been getting the threats since Halloween. Alison might also be the only person to use the word “reprieve” out loud.
We see a flashback from Ali’s point of view from that night in Hilton Head. Melissa followed Ian there and she knows that he is with Alison. She tries to get into the room, but Ian stops her. Ian assures him that he only was with Ali because Melissa wanted a break and he was just “killing time waiting for her to come back.” What a standup gentleman! While Ian and Melissa go from fighting to kissing, Alison sees Ian’s creepy video of Jenna and Toby. She steals his flash drive. By the time Ian returns to the room, Ali has already left.
In real time, Alison explains that she took the flash drive because everyone she suspected of being “A” was in some way compromised on Ian’s videos. Jenna was her number 1 suspect, because as Alison so eloquently put it, even though she was blind, she had her “little dog, Garrett” to do her dirty work. She then takes us to a flashback of her visit to Jenna in the hospital. Ali told Jenna that if she ever got another threat or if Jenna ever came back to Rosewood, Ali would bury her.
In real time, Ali explains to her friends that she had assumed that this would stop the threats, but as she left the hospital, she got an “A” text that said “Bitch can’t see you, but I do. Tonight’s the night I kill you.” Creepy much?
Legal Note 1:
If Alison had threatened Jenna more than one time, her behavior could have amounted to a crime, it’s unlikely that sole threat would have gotten her into legal trouble.Meanwhile, at the Hastings’ house, Veronica watches as Detective Holbrook collects objects from the house as evidence. Veronica comments, firmly, that if Holbrook would tell her what he was looking for, maybe she could help him find it.
Legal Note 2:
When police officers have a search warrant, under the 4th amendment of the United States Constitution, the warrant must be clear as to what exactly the police are looking for and where exactly they will be searching. Veronica’s comment struck me as odd, but since we don’t know what permissions Holbrook had on his warrant, I can’t confirm that he broke the law here. Something about this search does not seem right, though. However, Veronica Hastings IS a lawyer, so for now I’ll assume that she was on top of things!Not at all surprisingly, the PLLs’ parents have no idea where to find them. When Veronica asks Holbrook what he thinks that the girls are guilty of, he says that they may not be guilty of anything, but he has probable cause to believe that they know the whereabouts of a missing person. He shows Veronica a picture of the girls with Alison that was taken recently. Veronica seems stunned to learn that Alison is alive. Suddenly, the Hastings’ door opens, and Melissa walks in and says “surprise!” She can say that again! Where has she been for the entire season?
Meanwhile, Ali continues her story. She tells the girls that upon getting home, she went to her room and found a note from her mother accompanied by the yellow shirt that she was wearing on the night she went missing. When she tried it on, she found a terrifying “A” message on the mirror, written in lipstick. It said, “I’m everywhere. And soon you’ll be nowhere. –A”
As we continue in Alison’s flashback, we learn that she overheard her mother on the phone with someone and she sounded very worried. She was asking the person on the other end of the conversation, “How could this happen?” We don’t find out what Mrs. DiLaurentis was talking about, but whatever it was had her concerned enough to tell the person on the other end of the conversation to send someone immediately. Mrs. D then told Alison that she couldn’t go out that night. We all know that Alison didn’t heed this request, but as we continue on in the flashback, we learn something new. Before Alison snuck out, she stole her mother’s prescription sleeping pills and used them to drug the PLLs! Does this behavior sound legal to you? I hope not!
Broken Law # 1 Alert!
Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act (35 P. S. § § 780-101—780-144) (in relevant part)(a) The following acts and the causing thereof within the Commonwealth are hereby prohibited:
“…12. The acquisition or obtaining of possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge.” –stealing from her mom
“…16. Knowingly or intentionally possessing a controlled or counterfeit substance by a person not registered under this act, or a practitioner not registered or licensed by the appropriate State board…” –possessing
“…15. The sale at retail or dispensing of any controlled substance listed in Schedules II, III and IV to any person, except to one authorized by law to sell, dispense, prescribe or possess such substances…” –dispensing/giving drugs to the girls
(b) Any person who violates any of the provisions of clauses (1) through (11), (13) and (15) through (20) or (37) of subsection (a) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and…shall, on conviction thereof, be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding one year or to pay a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both…”
Alison definitely is not allowed to steal her mom’s prescription medication. There are no “I’m Trying To Figure Out Who ‘A’ Is” exceptions to the law!
In the flashback, Ali’s mom suspected that Spencer was the person bullying Ali. Armed with her mom’s prescription medication, Ali headed to Spencer’s barn. This part of the flashback is familiar; it’s the beginning of the girls’ sleepover from the pilot episode, but this time from Ali’s point of view. After Ali walked in and scared the girls, she spiked the infamous red cup the girls were drinking from with her mother’s drugs. No wonder she wanted them to drink it so badly! “Friends share secrets; that’s what keeps us close,” she encouraged. However, she really wanted all of her friends to pass out so that she could rule them out as “A” suspects. She planned to see if she received a text from “A” while the girls were asleep. That’s an interesting method; instead of telling the girls about “A” and/or confronting them about the threats, Ali chose to drug her best friends instead! Since instead of sharing secrets, Ali really wanted her friends to share sleeping pills, her behavior is against the law.
Broken Law # 2 Alert!
Even if Alison didn’t intend to hurt her friends, she put the girls in danger by putting drugs into their alcoholic beverages.18 PA Cons. Stat. § 2705. Recklessly endangering another person.
“A person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree if he recklessly engages in conduct which places or may place another person in danger of death or serious bodily injury.”
Speaking of alcoholic beverages, during this sleepover, the girls were around 15 years old and therefore not allowed to drink.
Broken Law # 3 Alert!
Underage Drinking (in Relevant Part) 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6308 (a) :“A person has violated the law against underage drinking if she is under 21 years old, attempts to purchase, consumes, possesses OR knowingly or intentionally transports any liquor or malt beverages…For a first offense, this is a “summary offense,” the lowest level of crime in Pennsylvania.
Penalties: Fine of up to $500.00, but the maximum fine for a first offense is $300, License Suspension of 90 days (1st offense) (an occupational limited license may be available for a first offense).”
Next, in real time, Alison recounts getting a phone call with Toby and meeting up with him outside the barn. The girls take a small break from Ali’s blast from the past, and they go downstairs to a jazz club/coffee house. The girls are shocked that Ali drugged them. Emily tells Ali that Toby wanted her to know that she did him a favor. Alison tells Spencer that she understands what she sees in Toby. This does not explain why she spent her junior high years referring to him as “Freak Toby,” but it’s a start. Ali explains that when she met up with Toby, he thanked her because his time in juvie got him away from Jenna. This is when Ali ruled Toby out as an “A” suspect. Of course she fails to bring up that in the future, Toby did wind up joining the “A” team. Spencer points out that Alison’s plan didn’t work because Spencer didn’t sleep through the night. Thank you, adderall addiction! Alison uses one of her famous remarks as she tells Spencer to “wait for it.” When Hanna asks Alison if she works at this club, Alison says that the owner travels a lot and she watches his place when he’s gone.
Next, we return to Ali’s flashback. It’s right after she met with Toby, and she’s still wearing his sweater. She fills the girls in on the part of the story that Toby didn’t know; he had told Spencer, back in season one, that Alison got into someone’s car but he didn’t know who it was. We learn that Ezra was driving the car. He showed up to confront Alison because she lied to him.
Back in real time, Veronica Hastings is in an interrogation room at the police station being questioned by Detective Holbrook. He asks a few questions about Spencer’s whereabouts last week, but when he tells Veronica that she’s free to leave, she’s a lawyer and she understands that, that means, SHE’S FREE TO LEAVE. She grabs her purse and gets ready to bolt, but Holbrook fibs that there’s a “sea of reporters” outside and she might want to wait until they can clear a path for her. She agrees to wait, but says she wants to call her husband to find out what’s taking him so long to get there. We find out that Peter Hastings really is already there and Holbrook knows and hasn’t told Veronica the truth.
Legal Note 3:
While this conduct might seem outside the law, police are given some leeway in the things they say to further their investigations. I looked up this conduct and found nothing illegal. Veronica wasn’t under arrest, was free to leave, and nothing Holbrook said seems to have crossed a line where it would be against the law. PLEASE NOTE that there are certain things police are NOT allowed to lie about, and if he had taken this further, it could have meant trouble.When Holbrook leaves Veronica to wait in the interrogation room for the fake reporters to leave, another officer approaches him and informs him that he got a warrant to track the Spencer’s car and the girls’ phones, and the results should be in within the hour. It’s likely that Holbrook felt that Veronica might interfere with this process and that could be why he lied to her.
Holbrook then goes into another interrogation room where a different police officer is questioning Melissa Hastings. Melissa says that she has always looked out for her sister, so when she saw Toby in London and he said that Spencer missed Melissa, she came home. The cop asks Melissa if he can record their conversation, but she replies that she should probably ask her mother about that first. These officers are messing with the wrong family if they’re trying to trick the Hastings family into giving them answers! Holbrook goes into another interrogation room next; this is like a weird version of musical chairs. This time, we see that Peter Hastings is in the room, which is interesting since Holbrook said that Peter was still on his way. Please see the note above for my reasoning for not citing Holbrook’s lies as broken laws.
Holbrook also lies to Peter and says that Veronica is on her way. Peter asks Holbrook if Veronica knows he’s there, but Holbrook interrupts to ask him if he knows where Spencer is. Peter gives Holbrook a snarky reply: “If I knew where she was, would I be sitting here talking to you?” Holbrook then calls out law students everywhere by asking Peter if he learned in law school to answer questions with questions. I still am wondering if the PLL writers were blasting this blog a little bit! Peter makes it clear that the only reason he’s there is because he wants to know where Spencer is and to keep her safe. We also see that Jessica DiLaurentis is at the police station. Party at the Police Station, everyone! This is nothing unusual for the characters of “Pretty Little Liars.” Some of them should be paying the police station rent for how much time they spend there.
Surprisingly, for once, the PLLs are not included in the group of people at the police station. They’re still with Alison. They watch Noel Kahn give Ali a passport. He tells her that they need to leave for the airport in an hour. The girls talk amongst themselves; they don’t want to let Ali leave again but they realize that they need to put the pieces together. After figuring that out, Aria decides to completely sidetrack the putting the pieces together process to question Ali about Ezra. She wants to know if he told her the truth.
Ali begins explaining how she met Ezra, and we’re taken into another flashback from her point of view. This time it’s of the day she met Ezra. It happened at a bar near Hollis. Alison lied to Ezra about her age, and just about everything else they talked about the day that they met. She said she was CeCe’s roommate at UPenn and she pretended that the book Ezra was reading was one of her favorites. However, in the flashback we see Alison looking the book up on her phone; she didn’t know anything about it and was using it as an excuse to strike up a conversation with Ezra. It worked for awhile; Ezra believed Ali’s lie about her age up until the night she went missing. Ali tells the girls that Ezra wanted to write a story about her, then she apologizes to Aria for everything.
Next, Ali goes back to her flashback of the night she disappeared. We learn about the conversation she had with Ezra that night. He was angry that Alison lied about her age and he told her that he actually liked her and didn’t want her to get hurt. Alison was sure to mention that she and Ezra “didn’t do anything,” so her age shouldn’t have mattered. It mattered to Ezra, though. When he left, he made it clear that he wouldn’t be seeing Ali again.
Note: we haven’t seen any REAL flashbacks of Ezra and Ali “doing anything,” so while I find this a bit hard to believe, I will only cover confirmed broken laws for now.
After leaving Ezra, Ali met Ian at the kissing rock. Ian wanted to end whatever their relationship was on a good note, but Alison didn’t share that viewpoint. Alison mentioned that she and Ian had “some goodbye kiss,” then went on to say that Melissa and Ian deserved each other because Melissa is “such a bitch.” When Ian tried to calm Alison down, Alison went on to tell him that he was going to jail. He clarified that they never had sex, but Alison explained that she meant that he was going to jail because of his creepy videos that he made with the NAT/Need A Therapist club.
In present time, Alison explains to her friends that this meant that according to her plan, if Melissa or Ian had been sending her “A” threats, the threat of the videos getting out would stop them. Alison is correct that Ian could have gotten in a lot of trouble for those videos. Ian also seems to have gotten confused regarding Pennsylvania law; he and Alison clearly did SOMETHING, enough to warrant them getting a hotel room. Ali tells the girls that Ian was very freaked out after they met at the kissing rock, and he was right to be freaked out!
Broken Law # 4 Alert!
Alison was around 15 years old when her fling with Ian had, meaning she was below the age of consent in Pennsylvania, which is 16. Ian would NOT be off the hook for his relationship with such a young girl.Indecent assault – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3126 (in relevant part)
“Offense defined.–A person is guilty of indecent assault if the person has indecent contact with the complainant, causes the complainant to have indecent contact with the person… and… (8) the complainant is less than 16 years of age and the person is four or more years older than the complainant and the complainant and the person are not married to each other…”
Definition of indecent contact:
“Any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of the person for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire, in either person.”
Ian and Melissa are at least 5 years older than the PLLs, which means that this law would apply to Ian’s behavior.
Another problem for Ian is the fact that he was taking these weird videos without the people on the videos knowing about them and/or consenting. If Ian was still alive, it’d be about time for HIM to strike a pose for his mugshot!
Broken Law # 5 Alert!
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 7507.1. Invasion of privacy.“(a) Offense defined.–Except as set forth in subsection (d), a person commits the offense of invasion of privacy if he, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of any person, knowingly does any of the following:
(1) Views, photographs, videotapes, electronically depicts, films or otherwise records another person without that person’s knowledge and consent while that person is in a state of full or partial nudity and is in a place where that person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
(2) Photographs, videotapes, electronically depicts, films or otherwise records or personally views the intimate parts, whether or not covered by clothing, of another person without that person’s knowledge and consent and which intimate parts that person does not intend to be visible by normal public observation.
(3) Transfers or transmits an image obtained in violation of paragraph (1) or (2) by live or recorded telephone message, electronic mail or the Internet or by any other transfer of the medium on which the image is stored.
(a.1) Separate violations.–A separate violation of this section shall occur:
(1) for each victim of an offense under subsection (a) under the same or similar circumstances pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct whether at the same or different times; or
(2) if a person is a victim of an offense under subsection (a) on more than one occasion during a separate course of conduct either individually or otherwise.
(b) Grading.–Invasion of privacy is a misdemeanor of the second degree if there is more than one violation. Otherwise, a violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the third degree.”
NOTE I included section 3 of part (a) just in case Ian did send the videos to other people. We have seen other people, such as “A,” in possession of the videos, so I put it in this entry in case anyone was wondering about this.
The entire NAT club would likely go to jail for this, but they seem to be getting killed instead! No wonder in the flashback, Ian “ran out of there like a plucked peacock” like Alison said.
In real time, Alison tells Aria that Ezra’s still looking for her, but it’s no longer for his book; he thinks that if he can help bring Alison back to Rosewood, Aria will take him back. Ali knows that she treated people poorly, but she believes that she deserves a second chance. When Spencer asks Ali what happened when Ian left, we go back into Ali’s seemingly never-ending flashback.
In the flashback, Alison returned to the barn and was greeted by a scary, angry Spencer who said “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Back at the police station, Holbrook continues attempting to get answers out of Peter Hastings. When he starts asking questions about the PI Peter hired the summer Alison went missing, and about Spencer’s drug use, Peter decides that he’s going to exercise his right to stop answering questions until his attorney is present. Holbrook still fails to tell Peter that his wife is at the police station.
Holbrook speaks with Jessica DiLaurentis, then an officer informs Holbrook that they’ve located Spencer’s car and it’s in Philadelphia. Peter confronts Jessica and tells her that the police are asking a lot of pointed questions about Spencer and asks Jessica if they still have an agreement. Jessica responds that she just found out that her daughter is alive and that’s her only current concern. This conversation quickly ends when the police ask to talk to Jessica again.
Next, Melissa approaches Peter, and Peter is shocked to see her. Melissa tells him that she and her mother have been at the police station for an hour and that they were questioned separately. She also explains that Toby came to London and told her about Spencer’s relapse. Melissa wants to know what’s going on. Peter tells Melissa that despite everything he did to try to protect Spencer, the police know. He doesn’t elaborate, but Melissa clarifies a little when she says that Peter thinks that Spencer killed “that girl.” It sounds a lot like they’re referring to whoever really is in Alison’s grave, especially considering that Jessica just told Peter that Alison’s alive. It seems like Peter and Melissa already knew that, though.
Next, Alison and Spencer discuss what happened between them the night Ali disappeared. In real time, Spencer explains that she’s been remembering things, but she can’t tell which memories are real. Alison clarifies that she was trying to get Spencer to tell Melissa about Ian because she really thought Ian liked her and wanted to break them up. Spencer mentions the “ugly” fight she and Alison had in the kitchen.
We then see the infamous Spencer holding the shovel flashback, but this time it’s from Alison’s point of view. In the flashback, Alison looked absolutely terrified when Spencer held the shovel up to her, and for a second it DID look like Spencer was going to hit her with it. It’s clear that at the time, Spencer was at least trying to scare Ali. Before anything too crazy could happen though, Spencer was saved by the pills! When she dropped a bottle of adderall, Alison realized what was going on. She promised Spencer not to tell anybody and demanded for Spencer not to take anymore pills tonight and to never take them with alcohol. At least Alison was advocating against the speed/alcohol/sleeping pills cocktail. Even though it turns out Spencer’s flashback of hitting Ali with a shovel was incorrect, her behavior cannot be ignored. Most of the time when friends fight, the fight doesn’t involve threatening people with shovels, and that’s for a reason.
Broken Law # 6 Alert!
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2701. Simple assault (in relevant part)“(a) Offense defined.–A person is guilty of assault if he:…
…(3) attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily injury;…
…(b) Grading.–Simple assault is a misdemeanor of the second degree…”
Walk away, and put the shovel down, Spencer!
NOTE** Since we learned in the show that Spencer used to have a prescription to this medication, I’m going to assume that the bottle she dropped belonged to her, but if it didn’t, see broken law # 1 of this entry. If these drugs to not belong to Spencer, the same law I applied there to Alison would apply to Spencer here.
After Alison recounts her crazy altercation with Spencer, she tells the girls that she had one last “A” suspect to confront that night, and it was Byron. We get a brief flashback of a conversation that we’ve heard about already, Alison threatening to tell Aria’s mother about Byron’s affair if he refused to pay her more money. I covered this in the episode when it happened, but since this is an episode of flashbacks, I won’t ignore the illegality of Alison’s threats to Byron here.
Broken Law # 7 Alert!
18 PA Cons. Stat. § 2906. Criminal coercion. (in relevant part)(a) Offense defined.–A person is guilty of criminal coercion, if, with intent unlawfully to restrict freedom of action of another to the detriment of the other, he threatens to:..
…(3) expose any secret tending to subject any person to hatred, contempt or ridicule…
…(c) Grading.–Criminal coercion is a misdemeanor of the second degree unless the threat is to commit a felony or the intent of the actor is felonious, in which cases the offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree.”
In the flashback, Alison said that Byron “made his own bed,” but really she was making hers!
Alison continues her story. After she saw Byron, she went back to the barn and waited for another text from “A,” but she never got one. For some unknown reason, Alison then decided to ditch her friends and leave the sleepover. She headed home thinking that “she’d won” and that she’d “silenced ‘A’.” When she approached her house, she saw her mom through the window. All of a sudden, someone (we don’t know who) snuck up from behind her and forcefully threw a rock at Alison’s head. She fell to the ground next to a rock covered in her blood. In the flashback, we see Mrs. D watch this happen and gasp in shock.
Legal Note 4:
Whoever threw the rock at Alison would likely be guilty of attempted murder, but as usual, in this blog I only discuss crimes when we know the identity of the guilty party. I’m sure it will come out soon and we’ll discuss it further!When Alison continues her story, she and the girls assure Spencer that she didn’t hurt or kill anyone that night because she had gone to sleep already. Emily puts it together that Mrs. DiLaurentis saw whoever hit Alison with the rock. When Hanna asks why Mrs. D didn’t call the police, Alison reaches a terrifying part of her story. She tells the girls that Mrs. D is the person who buried her alive. According to Ali, Mrs. D thought she was already dead. I hope nobody reading this thinks that what Mrs. D did is consistent with the law. There are various crimes that she could have gotten nailed for, so I will call them potential broken laws. Feel free to weigh in and tell me what you think about this!
(Potential) Broken Law # 8 Alert!
Attempted Murder:18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 901. Criminal attempt.
“(a) Definition of attempt.–A person commits an attempt when, with intent to commit a specific crime, he does any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that crime.
(b) Impossibility.–It shall not be a defense to a charge of attempt that because of a misapprehension of the circumstances it would have been impossible for the accused to commit the crime attempted.
18 PA Cons. Stat § 905. Grading of criminal attempt, solicitation and conspiracy. (in relevant part)
Grading.–Except as otherwise provided in this title, attempt, solicitation and conspiracy are crimes of the same grade and degree as the most serious offense which is attempted or solicited or is an object of the conspiracy.”
18 PA Cons. Stat. § 2502. Murder.
(a) Murder of the first degree.–A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the first degree when it is committed by an intentional killing.
18 PA Cons. Stat. § 306. Liability for conduct of another; complicity. (in relevant part)
“(a) General rule.–A person is guilty of an offense if it is
committed by his own conduct or by the conduct of another person
for which he is legally accountable, or both.
(b) Conduct of another.–A person is legally accountable for
the conduct of another person when…
…(3) he is an accomplice of such other person in the
commission of the offense.
(c) Accomplice defined. (in relevant part)–A person is an accomplice of
another person in the commission of an offense if:
(1) with the intent of promoting or facilitating the
commission of the offense, he:
(ii) aids or agrees or attempts to aid such other
person in planning or committing it…
…(d) Culpability of accomplice.–When causing a particular
result is an element of an offense, an accomplice in the conduct
causing such result is an accomplice in the commission of that
offense, if he acts with the kind of culpability, if any, with
respect to that result that is sufficient for the commission of
the offense.”
And/Or
(Potential) Broken Law # 9 Alert!
18 PA Const. Stat. § 4303. Concealing death of child. (Attempted- since Ali wasn’t really dead)“(a) Offense defined.–A person is guilty of a misdemeanor of
the first degree if he or she endeavors privately, either alone
or by the procurement of others, to conceal the death of his or her child, so that it may not come to light, whether it was born dead or alive or whether it was murdered or not.”
She’s definitely guilty of something! “Like mother, like daughter,” describes Jessica and Alison DiLaurentis perfectly.
Alison tells an emotional story of trying to cry out to her mother that she was alive. She couldn’t get the words out and Mrs. D thought Alison was dead. Alison could hear Mrs. D screaming at someone, “What have you done?” We don’t know who she was talking to, but Spencer figures out that whoever it is, that’s the person who Mrs. D has always been protecting.
As if Ali’s story isn’t enough already, she tells the girls what happened after she got out from being buried alive due to her magic breath holding powers. We go into more of Ali’s flashbacks. This time, she was running, terrified, when Mona drove up to her. Mona took care of Alison and helped her with her wounds at the infamous, creepy Lost Woods Resort. To Alison, Mona seemed shocked that someone would try to kill her. Mona helped her come up with a plan to disappear and allow “A” to believe that she was dead. Mona also checked into the room using the name that Alison requested, Vivian Darkbloom. Before Alison ran away, Mona suggested that she get some rest. Then, we see a flashback to the room next door to Alison. We see Mona playing with a doll that looks like Alison in her original lair. This scene is incredibly creepy.
The following day in the flashback, Alison got ready in her Vivian Darkbloom disguise, with help from Mona. Mona made Alison promise to stay away and stay safe. Alison gave Mona beauty tips to help her become popular. Right when Alison left town, Mona gave her signature, creepy, “A,” smile.
**Note: Once we get exact confirmation as to what Mona did to Alison, we will be discussing a multitude of crimes including stalking and harassment. This entry would never end if I did all of this now.
In present time, the girls realize that this means that Mona has known Alison was alive this entire time. Ali explains that Mona “played [her] like a fool and got exactly what she wanted.”
Meanwhile, at the police station, Melissa insists to her father that Spencer did not kill “that girl.” She whispers something in his ear that causes Peter to get a crazy look on his face. We don’t hear what Melissa said to him, but it’s clearly a big secret. It’s also clear that Jessica, Peter, and Melissa have been keeping secrets from the police, which is not legal. This brings us to:
(Potential) Broken Law # 10 Alert!
Hindering apprehension or prosecution – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5105 (in relevant part)“(a) Offense defined.–A person commits an offense if, with intent to hinder the apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of another for crime or violation of the terms of probation, parole, intermediate punishment or Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, he:…
(5) provides false information to a law enforcement officer.
(b) Grading.–The offense is a felony of the third degree if the conduct which the actor knows has been charged or is liable to be charged against the person aided would constitute a felony of the first of the second degree. Otherwise it is a misdemeanor of the second degree.”
I labeled this one as a potential broken law, just because we don’t know exactly what Peter, Melissa and Jessica’s lies are, we just know that they concern a murder investigation.
In present time, the girls beg Alison not to disappear again. They want to figure out who “A” is so that she can come back home. Ali explains that it was easy to stay hidden until Mona hit Hanna with her car. Then Ali says that she did her best to stay one step ahead of “A” so that she could protect her friends. She’s still too scared to go home until they figure out why her mother was willing to bury her alive. She gives the girls a shocking example of a time she protected one of them; Alison reveals that SHE was the person who pushed Ian on the Bell Tower.
Legal Note 4:
Alison would not likely get in trouble for this since she used the force necessary to prevent Ian from killing Spencer. However, Ian definitely wasn’t allowed to try to kill Spencer. If he were still alive, he could be charged with:Broken Law # 11 Alert!
Attempted Murder (see potential broken law # 8 of this entry).Alison also tells the girls that Ian did not die as a result of her push; she was hiding and saw him leave the Church, very much alive. We still don’t know who killed him! Alison also answers the girls’ questions about the night of the fire at the lodge. She reveals that she saved Hanna, but the rest of the girls were already saved by whoever landed the plan that night. We still don’t know who that is either.
The cops trace Spencer’s car to Philadelphia, but when they arrive there, they find the car, but not the girls. The girls are still with Ali, whose storytelling gets interrupted when they hear a noise outside. We see “A” wearing a mask and aiming a gun at Alison. “A” shoots at the girls and the girls run away, realizing that they can’t call the cops because Noel took their phones. The girls run out onto the fire escape. “A” comes outside. Surprisingly to everyone, Ezra shows up out of nowhere. He announces that he knows who “A” is and that the police are on their way. “A” shoots in Ezra’s direction. Ezra starts fighting “A,” causing “A” to drop the gun onto the ground. Hanna picks up the gun and aims it at “A.” The girls demand for “A” to take off the mask. For a second, it looks like “A” is going to obey this command, but then “A” jumps off of the building and grabs onto the ledge like Spiderman. Hanna concludes that “A” cannot be Alison’s mom based on this crazy action.
The girls decide against shooting “A,” so “A” runs off and escapes. When Aria approaches Ezra, the girls realize that he has been shot and begin screaming for help. When we see the view that Ezra’s admiring, we realize that the girls have been in New York City all of this time! At the very end of the episode, we see a mysterious figure dragging a dead Jessica DiLaurentis across the lawn, then burying her in the exact manner that Alison was buried. What a crazy episode! I can’t imagine everything I’ll have to cover after the hiatus!