Brendan Jesus
Well, the time has come, the first season of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin has come to a close. Looking back on the whole series I still cannot help how impressed I was by it. On the whole, this does not really seem like a show that was made for me, but with interesting characters, incredible acting, a wonderful script, and some creepy-ass moments (oh, plus tons of meta genre jokes), I am walking away with a positive attitude. I don’t think this would lead me to watch the original show, I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Season 2…if the failing HBO doesn’t cancel it. Let’s take one more step, for now, into Millwood High and see what the Losers Club is up to one last time.
Episode 10 “Final Girls”
We start at the Waters House on December 31, 1999, at 10:45 PM. Much to the active chagrin of Rose, Angela makes it clear she is going to the Y2K party. Before Angela walks out of the door, she turns back for one last look and we get the mascara-streaked face we saw all the way back in Episode 1. Back to the present day, Tabby is on her quest with the list of the 66 boys that donated blood, knowing full well one of them sexually assaulted her and put a baby in Imogen. When trying to trace back the steps of the night Tabby asks Wes if he remembers the Jaws double feature, and he does. Wes mentions how packed it was and that Tabby and Chip leaving made the night difficult for him. Tabby is confused because Chip told her he was going to stay on and cover the rest of her shift.
We’re inching closer and closer to revealing who hurt Imogen and Tabby, and I have a slight feeling I will be spot on with my assumption. It’s the subtlety of Chip’s actions, or reactions, to mundane things that are happening. When Wes and Tabby are storyboarding in “Dead and Buried” or how Chip handles Tabby giving Greg the acting notes about how he should be acting to pull off being drugged in the scene. All signs point to wannabe Randy Meeks.
Faran sits down with Kelly, who I will from here on out leave out of parenthesis because they don’t do anything else with the Karen/Kelly subplot; I’m also now about 90% sure Kelly is actually Kelly. They have a discussion about the true actions of Sheriff Beasley, about how Faran’s father gets falsely arrested, about how A pushed Karen, and so much more. The conversation leaves Kelly with a murderous look in her eye, and her father is the only person she can see.
Imogen and Tabby go to Chip’s house, since he is working late at the Orpheum, and his mom lets them right down into the basement. Imogen thinks if it was Chip he might have kept the underwear she was missing when she woke up on the beach in the morning. While they don’t find the underwear, they do find a box stuffed in the back of his closet chock full of r*pe/revenge movies. It’s a bit unclear as to what the showrunners are trying to do with this statement. On one hand, it feels like an indictment on r*pe/revenge films, and how if you can’t find a film you truly want to see then make it yourself. On the other hand, the fact that he has a box of these films tucked in the back of his closet makes it feel like they are trying to portray how he stuffs those ideas deep in his mind, though they are always there. One thing is for sure, Imogen and Tabby know it was Chip. Even without the evidence to confront him, they do it anyways.
Chip is surprised to see Imogen and Tabby at the Orpheum, and they just lay it all out there. After trying to deny it once or twice, Chip confesses to it. Chip also swears he hasn’t done it to anyone else, which they rib him for. Moments after his dark and spiteful confession A pops up behind him. Once Chip notices he bounces out of there, leaving Imogen and Tabby face to face [to face] with A. Imogen tells A what Chip did to them, and A promptly exits the way Chip did. This is kind of a touching moment. We see A who knows that Angela was sexually assaulted, and when told by Imogen and Tabby what happened to them it was like a Manchurian Candidate catchphrase went off in his head.
The next day the Losers Club gets a text from A: “Your final round is about to begin. You broke our rule.” Trying desperately to figure out who A is, they all go back to Rose’s house for a good ole searchin’ montage. Intercut into the girls searching the house is each of their respective mothers getting kidnapped by A. The girls find a few clues, the most important two being a photo of Angela and another kid together, and two sets of height markings on a doorframe both having the initials A.W. After searching the house they all get a text from A again saying, “Time for the trial.” Included in the text is a photo of Millwood High and their parents tied up in the back of A’s van.
After Imogen sends Kelly a text asking for help, the Losers Club arrives at the school. Inside the entrance is a table set up with five hall passes on it, one for each and all different locations in the school. This is when things get a bit Saw-like for a few minutes. Tabby has Chip tied to a chair, with the instruction to carve an A into his chest. For Noa, her mother’s drug dealer is tied down to a bed and there are six syringes next to him. Mouse walks into the computer lab to find Steve surrounded by mousetraps. Faran heads to the ballet studio to find Madame Giry tied to a pole and is supposed to tattoo her. Imogen’s is the worst: her mother’s corpse and tombstone are on a table. Imogen has to use a pair of forceps to get something out of her mother’s mouth.
The one complaint I have with this whole setup is not a single girl, besides Imogen, follows through with the task they were given. It would have been interesting to have at least one of them do something. Maybe not Tabby because that seems directly out of character for her, but it would have been interesting to have Noa take out the man that is actively ruining her mom’s life. This pleases A, though, because he texts them, “Well done. You showed mercy. Maybe there’s hope. Gather in the auditorium. The trial begins here.” The only thing that seems wrong about that is weren’t they just given the first parts of their trial? It’s a small thing to nitpick, but it’s fairly clear those were all tests for the girls. Plus A congratulates them for showing restraint. The text could have been worded a lot better.
KILLER REVEAL AHEAD—YOU’VE BEEN WARNED
They make their way to the auditorium to find their moms all tied up to chairs. A stands behind them, menacingly. Imogen asks A if he is Angela’s brother. Out from the shadows pops…Principal Clanton! Clanton tells Imogen that yes, A is Angela’s brother, and his name is Archie. Honestly, this came completely out of the left field; Angela was Principal Clanton’s daughter. Clanton dated Rose in high school, where she got pregnant with twins. The Walters did not have a lot of money, so to avoid potential embarrassment from the town, the Clantons paid the Walters to move out of town. Clanton ended up becoming a teacher at Millwood High, and then later principal, obviously.
Kelly, this whole time, has been trying to get out of the house but Sheriff Beasley won’t let her leave. The Sheriff forces Kelly and her mom to eat dinner. All throughout dinner he has his six-shooter on the table in plain view, he even tells Kelly there are only three bullets in the gun, and no one is leaving the house tonight. Kelly calls him out for sexually assaulting Angela. Thankfully Kelly’s mom comes to the rescue and stabs him, giving Kelly her chance to escape. Kelly gets Greg and they head to the high school.
Back at the high school, Imogen asks what was the purpose of making her take her mother’s diary pages out of her mouth, and what “erase her” means. Marjorie tells them that Davie thought Angela was lying about being sexually assaulted by Tom and went so far as to tell the whole school to just pretend Angela didn’t exist…to erase her. But the final humiliation came when Davie invited Angela to the rave to apologize, and then still had everyone ignore her! That’s pretty cold. Principal Clanton tells them that the daughters will pay for the sins of their mothers, and gives Imogen a head start, to be fair. Kelly and Greg run in just as Imogen tries to make her escape, but Greg ends up getting winged in the shoulder by Principal Clanton’s gun. Tabby whacks Principal Clanton and knocks him out, giving them time to untie the mothers.
Imogen runs home as fast as she can, though it’s really no match for A as A covers the distance in minimal strides. Now the moment we’ve all been waiting for, Imogen goes into labor as she runs home. After stopping to take a few breaths, Imogen finally makes it back home. A chases her upstairs and finds her in the bathtub. Imogen gets a good neck stab on A, but he throws her down, belly first. Seeing a pregnant woman get thrown onto her belly multiple times makes my stomach hurt. It was impressive how far they took it with the amount of belly falls they gave Imogen. A scuffle in the hallway ensues, which ends up with Imogen stabbing A in the neck twice.
Everyone from the high school sprints to Imogen’s, they find the two laying there in the hallway. Imogen gives a quip about being in labor. Cut to Imogen in a hospital bed, where her baby is laying safely in a crib next to her. Sidney and Tabby inform her that Principal Clanton and Chip have been arrested, and Sheriff Beasley and A are both in the hospital.
All of the moms, girls, and boyfriends are at Tabby’s enjoying a snowy night together and celebrating life. Ash looks at Mouse and says that #Mash is cannon! My heart! Things do go a bit south when Imogen and Tabby are told that Chip made bail, but the girls are adamant about pressing charges. Corey has a friend that will work for them pro bono. The next day Imogen is going to meet with her baby’s soon-to-be adoptive parents, and Tabby asks to join. Tabby also has a quip of her own when she asks if there’s going to be a sequel. Like, yeah, I f*cking hope so!
Season 1 Episode 10 ends with A breaking out of the hospital and killing Sheriff Beasley. A’s final target is Chip. We don’t see Chip get killed, but we can dame sure hope he was.
Final Thoughts
This episode was pure unadulterated madness and a really good wrap-up, I think. It was obvious they were planning on leaving it open for a sequel all along, but with HBO’s current troubles it’s hard to tell if this would make the cut. It seems the majority of press around this show has been nothing but positive, bringing fans old and new.
The reveal seemed a little forced, and Principal Clanton would not have been my choice of antagonist if I wrote this. Yes, he’s very unassuming but lacks the charm or charisma to come off as someone who could plan this. I wish they would have done something with the Kelly/Karen body double idea, or that they would have done more with Mouse and her father. All in all, this was an incredibly entertaining show, with some wonderful moments of comedy, sadness, and delightfully executed horror.
