The final episode of the thrilling teen slasher arrived on June 20, 2024. Pretty Little Liars series, which got bigger and badder after a successful first round, has quite a shocking ending. However, just as with Original Sin, I find the villains aren’t quite as effective as they’re meant to be. Even so, I don’t think it really matters; it’s one of those shows where the journey’s more enthralling than the destination. The big reveal in this episode was definitely more predictable than in the previous season, but the resulting violence was quite unexpected. At first, I didn’t quite like the way certain themes were explored in the show, but as it went on, I found myself appreciating the girls and their bond, which really pushed me to like the show, almost as if I was placing myself and my friends in their shoes. I suppose I can confess that I would’ve thoroughly enjoyed this one as a teenager. On a side note, if you’re at all into horror movies, then this one’s a great pick to get some education in there. But this isn’t a review; it’s a Pretty Little Liars‘ explainer, so let’s get our fingers bloody.
Spoiler Alert
Is Kelly alive?
In a shocking twist, Faran ignores Bloody Rose and decides to dive into the pool and save Kelly instead. After some intense CPR, Kelly wakes up scared out of her life. The girls all gather, just like in the previous seasons, this time to have a conversation with Kelly. Kelly tells them about how she locked her mom up in the prayer room before leaving the house, so she couldn’t be Bloody Rose. Also, I refused to believe she’d kill her own daughter after everything she’d put her through; it never made sense. The girls take Kelly home, and she spends the night chit-chatting with her mom about who Bloody Rose might be. She also promises never to trouble Kelly with the cult-like church stuff again. On the other hand, Mouse tells the girls about how her grandmother was friends with the real Rose Waters, and she visited because she had nowhere to go after the girls showed up to see her. Mouse then took her to Crazy Joe’s train car, an apparent safe haven. However, when the girls go to check on her, they only find a bed of rose petals, similar to the situation with Dr. Sullivan. Okay, is it me, or is it odd that Mouse’s moms have been on vacation this whole time? Anyway, the girls check on Tabby’s mom to see if she’s well, and nobody’s going after all the mothers in town (odd theory). The girls find a bouquet of roses in Tabby’s house, though, making their suspicion seem more plausible.
What Happens to A?
In Summer School episode 8, news breaks out that there was a riot in the penitentiary that Archie Waters was sent to, and he died in the riots. This puts everyone on edge because it somehow doesn’t seem real. On the other hand, Kelly tells Tabby and Imogen that her mom suspects Mrs. Langsberry, i.e., Chip’s mom, had some “darkness” inside of her, and she might be Bloody Rose (way to go, Kelly’s mom). The two girls then visit the woman to “suss her out.” However, they find another bouquet of roses at her place, taking her off the suspect list and potentially putting her on the victim list. Ironically, this is the moment the girls learn they’ve failed their keystone exams (second time’s the charm, amirite?) and will have to retake them. The previous night, Jen and Noa had discussed how the girls didn’t know anything about Johnny and Christian, so they should keep their eyes peeled for clues there, too. This leads to a mini-girl fight, but ultimately, as Faran says, “all for one, one for all” (okay, now let’s break into the song from High School Musical).
Are Johnny and Christian related to Bloody Rose?
Ah, the short answer is no, but unfortunately, Imogen gets a little ahead of herself, and after finding the bodies of the three people killed by Bloody Rose in the freezer, she ends up smacking him in the head with a spanner and putting him in there with the bodies too (ouch, so much for a cute love story). On the other hand, Mouse gets a “trailer” for The Reckoning on Spooky Spaghetti, which means Bloody Rose is making a movie. At the same time, Tabby finds a Davie mask in Christian’s basement, making her go, “Ugh, it’s always the boyfriends.” When she’s trying to run out of the basement to find the guy, she ends up being frightened by a knife-wielding Bloody Rose, falling down the stairs unconscious.
What Is ‘The Reckoning’?
When Tabby wakes up, she’s in a confession box, and on the other side is a dead Rose Waters with her face skinned. Tabby breaks open the door to escape and finds a strange scene. This is Kelly’s church, and it’s been decorated to look like what one could call an elaborate horror movie set. In the meantime, the other girls gather after Mouse’s discovery, but when Tabby doesn’t show up, they rush to the Orpheum. Christian is dealing with yet another air conditioning disaster. He’s just as surprised as the girls to see that Tabby isn’t picking up her calls. Mouse asks to see the server room, and there’s a note there from Bloody Rose; a movie screening awaits them at Screen 3. Just as the girls went to watch Tabby’s movie at the end of season 1, this time, they find Tabby on screen, but in a truly life-threatening situation.
It is then revealed that Chip’s mom is Bloody Rose, and Wes, dressed up as A, is her accomplice. Or, actually, I could say it’s the other way around. Wes then reveals that The Reckoning is a movie he’s working on because, for stupid white men like him, there are no opportunities because they’ve been given to people like her. He asks Tabby to confess that Chip never hurt her or Imogen, but of course, she doesn’t do so. His great plan is for Tabby to be the final girl of his film, which he’s live streaming at that moment. The girls are watching this live stream and learning where Tabby is. However, there are also proxies from Spooky Spaghetti who surround the Orpheum, doing Wes’ bidding. The girls somehow manage to escape, thanks to Christian’s help.
The final act of his great film is a chase sequence. He’s sent some of his guys to Tabby’s mom’s home so that he can freak Tabby out into doing what he wants with her. Tabby decides to jump through the window, and she’s able to fight off some guys who come after her like she was preparing for this her whole life. Finally, it’s only Wes going after her, and he thinks Tabby’s inside the makeshift cabin he made to scare the girls. Wes looks for Tabby inside, but she finds a pitchfork and follows him into the cabin. Wes doesn’t think Tabby has it in her to hurt him, but she runs towards him with the pitchfork. By the time Tabby comes out, it’s daytime, and the girls finally get to her after following the footage from Wes’ cameras. They find a shocked Tabby, who leads them to a dead Wes inside. Shockingly, they also find Dr. Sullivan in the cabin, all tied up.
Are the girls ready for junior year?
Two weeks later, the girls have their final session with Dr. Sullivan, leaving bygones be bygones. Imogen reveals that Johnny and she are no longer a couple, thanks to her little blunder, but we can still hope for some sparks there. On the other hand, this time, the girls feel like they’ve got their closure and don’t need to revisit their traumatic pasts, so they’re done with their sessions with Dr. Sullivan. Finally, it’s revealed that they’ve got matching FGE, or Final Girl Energy, tattoos to celebrate their survival (Kelly included, big shocker). The girls all passed the exam (not to anyone’s surprise) after working hard for two weeks after Wes’ dismissal. Tabby decides she doesn’t want to make another movie about their lives, but this time, she’d rather create villains inspired by the girls instead. We get a little glimpse of her vision, and it’s five people dressed as the girls and wearing plastic masks that look like them.
In Pretty Little Liars season 2’s ending, Tabby and Imogen talk about how Archie would feel, seeing that they’ve moved on and are starting afresh. We then get a scene with Dr. Sullivan talking to a man about her new book, the one that reveals intricate details about the girl and their cases. It seems like she thinks she’s gone through enough to get them to sign off on publishing this piece of work. However, in the middle of the call, she’s interrupted by a power cut, and someone walks into her office. Said someone is A, and before he brutally murders her, she tries to ask him if he killed her son. Now, we don’t know if Archie Waters is still alive or if this is a copycat killer, but hey, at least we can expect a new season of Pretty Little Liars.
