Pretty Little Liars Series Finale Review: Top 14 OMG and WTF Moments from “Til DeAth Do Us PArt” (Season 7 Episode 20)

The seventh season of Pretty Little Liars ends in a season mix of OMGs and WTFs.

Pretty Little Liars Season 7 Episode 20 “Til DeAth Do Us Part” takes us a year into the future to the week of the Ezria wedding. It finally gave us an answer as to who A.D. is and what their motivations were, but it also gave us lots of moments featuring the characters we love.

Still, when we break down all the reveals, some of them aren’t that surprising, and when we look even deeper, a few plot points just don’t make sense.

1. The Melissa Fake Out

Did anyone actually think that they were going to show us who A.D. was in the first fifteen minutes of a two-hour finale? I certainly didn’t.

So when someone wearing a black hoodie turned around and it was Melissa, I thought: “Yep, this is a total fakeout. It has to be!”

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS – “Till Death Do Us Part” – (Freeform/Eric McCandless)
SASHA PIETERSE, LUCY HALE, ASHLEY BENSON, SHAY MITCHELL, TROIAN BELLISARIO

2. Other Couples Hook Up, Spoby Plays Scrabble

The title here really says it all because it proceeds a scene where everyone seems to be happy. Aria and Ezra are excited about their wedding, Emily and Ali have their first night out in months after having twin girls, and Hannah and Caleb are fighting but tolerating each other.

It’s the most awkward bachelor/bachelorette party scene, and I am not sure if I should feel nauseated by Ezria, happy for them, or a mix of the two.

It’s almost a relief when all the couples splinter off, leaving Spencer with Toby. After cutting between two sex scenes and Hanna with her legs in the air trying to get pregnant, we see Toby and Spencer–playing Scrabble.

It’s strange because we know they were together on Season 7 Episode 18 “Choose or Lose,” and yet no one seems to be referencing that, or think it’s odd that Spencer is acting completely different compared to that scene.

So while my suspicions grow in the direction of Spencer and her evil twin, this dichotomy feels right for Spencer and Toby. Somehow I feel like the epitome of intimacy is playing Scrabble and being able to joke about reading the dictionary for fun, so Spoby has always been my favorite couple, and this heartwarming scene is just perfect for them.

3. Mona Pulls Off Her Mask

Then Mona pulls off the Melissa mask. I am not surprised that it’s Mona. I didn’t expect Mona to don the black hoodie again, but I wasn’t surprised she was playing the game.

This is a show that has used masks before, and it’s been a common theme throughout the season, so using a mask, makes sense. You need a long memory to remember scenes like Eliot pulling off the Wilden mask, or the Ali masks from early seasons, but this was a nice little callback to those moments.

As much as I can connect the masks to early seasons, why Mona had to wear a Melissa mask just doesn’t make sense to me. A.D. says that she needed to be sure that she could trust Mona, but I fail to see how wearing a Melissa mask does that.

4. The Drunk Moms

You don’t realize how much you miss an element of the series until it appears right in front of your face at the very end. The Rosewood moms get together and drink wine, having one last drink together as they celebrate Ezra and Aria’s wedding.

Until that moment, I forgot how awesome each of these mothers are, and what great chemistry the actresses have on screen together.

Veronica made it onto our list of TV moms, but every one of these mothers could have taken it easily. In dealing with A, they were just as much a part of the story as each of their daughters, and I was very happy to see them banter one last time.

Although, the scene did leave us with the burning question: how did the moms get out of that basement?

5. The Emison Proposal

Ali has come a long way from the mean girl she was in the pilot, so watching her propose to Emily was the sweetest moment. I particularly liked how Ali was a little miffed that the surprise was blown because she didn’t want to propose in a pug sweater.

To which I say, you already have children together, Ali. While a romantic gesture is nice, you probably share more intimate moments every day that Emily will treasure for the rest of her life.

(Also, the pug sweater is adorable! Come on, girl!)

6. Spencer Meets Alex Drake

So all that weird behavior and Spencer seeming to be in two places at once was finally explained. Twins run in the family. Good thing, I was starting to think that Spencer has some weird astral projection or teleportation abilities that hadn’t been touched on. (Nope, that’s another show!)

I have to say, this reveal isn’t that surprising because there have been Spencer twin theories for at least the last year. What is surprising is how well Troian Bellisario slays these two characters.

Watching Troian act, and knowing that she’s acting against herself in these scenes, is fascinating. Some of these interactions have to go on Troian’s reel, for sure.

 7. The Twisted Tale of Alex and Wren

If there was ever a definition of a twisted romance, I think it would be Alex and Wren. As I was watching them interact, I just thought of how Alex must have been like a paper doll to him.

Here he is, seeing this girl who looks exactly like Spencer, who is Spencer’s twin, and who he actually has a shot at being with. Plus, the fact that he was with Melissa, then Spencer, then Melissa, then Alex is really sketchy. Is Wren determined to marry into the Hastings family?

Of course, now Wren won’t be a problem because he’s dead, and his ashes are around Alex’s neck.

8. Mary Drake Tells Her Story

I was not the biggest fan of Mary’s sacrifice on Pretty Little Liars Season 7 Episode 19 “Farewell, My Lovely.” I wasn’t okay with Mary Drake spending more time locked up for crimes she didn’t commit, even if it did keep the Liars out of prison.

When we see Mary in Alex’s bunker, I was very happy to see her out. I thought that she and Alex had a plan that might involve her fleeing the country similar to Charlotte’s departure.

Alas, that did not come to pass.

Instead, Mary laid out a story about how she essentially sold Alex by giving her to a doctor who was arranging for a wealthy family in London to adopt her. In exchange, Mary got half the adoption fee and bought a ticket out of Radley.

She didn’t see anything wrong with this because she thought Alex would have a Cinderella life. To this I love Spencer’s comeback:

SPENCER: Have you read Grimm’s fairytales?

If you have read Grimm’s fairytales you know that in the original Cinderella, the evil stepsisters do everything humanly possible to try to fit Cinderella’s shoe, going as far as cutting off toes. The sentiment rings true for Alex, who had Wren shoot her, just so she can look exactly like Spencer.

But in this moment, I also have to ask: why isn’t Alex angrier at Mary?

Mary took the fall for Spencer and seemed to give up on trying to find Alex. Not tracking your daughter after she runs away from a home for wayward children makes it sound like Mary gave up too easily.

When Wren finds Alex, she’s still using the name Alex Drake. I feel like there should have been a paper trail that Mary could have followed.

9. Ezra Leaves Aria at the Alter

I have been over the Ezria relationship drama for a while now, so the infertility plot isn’t something that drew me in.

Yes, it’s a real issue, and yes the struggle should be addressed in television. But when they use it here, it feels rushed.

The story comes out of left field at the very end of this series just to create a new complication for Ezria, and give a plausible reason for “leaving” Aria at the alter.

When Aria comes clean about how long she’s known that she can’t have children, I thought “of course, there will be drama! Of course they’re going to make the fact that she didn’t tell him. They’re going to fight right up until the wedding aren’t they?”

Then, when we find out that Alex has him, I am left with more questions. Why did she take Ezra? Was it just to get closer to Aria? I fail to see how this accomplishes that!

10. Jenna Figures It Out

Go figure! The top of the A suspects list would be the one to figure out that Spencer isn’t really Spencer. How does she know? Alex’s perfume!

For all the shade that Jenna has thrown at the Liars over the years, this is probably the most plausible way they could have unraveled the plot in the last fifteen minutes of the show.

11. Mona Plays to Win

If you thought Season 7 Episode 19 “Farewell, My Lovely” was the last we’d see of Mona playing the game…you’re mistaken. Mona is still playing, and she’s playing to win.

It’s highly unbelievable that the Liars would put together that Spencer isn’t Spencer, and if you look at the dialogue, they don’t. The pieces come from Jenna, Toby, and Mona.

Mona’s the one who was able to get the A.D.’s location, and the only reason that A.D. got arrested, and fans were able to see the Ezria wedding happen. So, in short, everyone owes their happy endings to Mona!

12. The Continuous Underground Bunker

How did Alex build all of that? I probably shouldn’t be surprised. She probably had the plans for the dollhouse in the flat in London. But, seriously, that’s some intricate detail. I mean, a false exit!

I almost want a short series called The A.D. Chronicles, so we can see how Alex got the skills to build the game and the bunker.

13. Mona’s French Dollhouse (and Her Dolls)

After the Liars said goodbye to one another, we are suddenly transported to Paris, where Mona has her own version of a dollhouse, fronted by a doll shop. (Clever!) Her dolls are Alex and Mary Drake.

There’s something poetic about the moment. Seeing Alex as one of Mona’s doll feels like the best retribution that anyone could hope for. A person who used everyone like puppets has become a puppet.

Of course, then I think about this scene a little more and I wonder, why is Mary there? What does Mona have against Mary? Sure, if she locked Alex up alone, then we wouldn’t have that cute exchange at the very end while Mona sips her tea, but I still don’t understand it.

14. It Starts Again

In the grand scheme of the season, I didn’t think the plot on Pretty Little Liars Season 7 Episode 12 “These Boots Are Made For Stalking” really added anything to the A.D. arc. Now, I see that adding Addison was just to keep the cycle of the missing mean-girl teenager.

The final scene with the three friends waking up in the barn to find Addison missing feels really hollow. I understand that it is supposed to call back to the pilot when Ali goes missing, and Spencer comes back and says: “I think I heard her scream.”

While poetic, it’s not a note I would have ended on with a show that brought awareness to bullying in several forms. It feels like the show is saying: “Okay, the Liars overcame their bully, but there are more out there. See, it’s all going to start again with a new generation of Liars.”

What did you think of the Pretty Little Liars Series Finale? Where you happy with the A.D. reveal? Share your thoughts in the comments below. 

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

SaveSave

SaveSave