'Pretty Little Liars' recap: 'Songs of Innocence'

Spoiler alert! The following contains spoiler's from Tuesday's episode of Pretty Little Liars. 

Some things are very different now that the girls have returned to Rosewood, but some things are very much the same. Now that the police finally believe everything the Liars have been saying for (insert how much actual time you think has passed on this show), their first obvious move is to not tell them about Charles because...reasons. Or rather, because that gives them something to do this season.

But Charles isn't really the point of this episode. "Songs of Innocence" is, for the first time in awhile, more about the girls than the mystery, which is kind of refreshing. Everyone is dealing with the fallout of being in Charles' Dollhouse of Doom (copyright on that pending...OK not really) and the girls are dealing with it in their own very particular ways. To be honest I don't think we've ever had an episode of this show where the four of them were apart for so much of the run time, which gave us a chance to catch up with the mental state of each. So let's break this down Liar by Liar:

Spencer

Oh Spencer. You would have a fight with your mother and then Alison right after getting home from being kidnapped. Not even a month under Charles' rule and being forced to torture your friends can change her argumentative side. Or her pill addiction, which rears its ugly head twice in the episode, the first time when Veronica Hastings (who, let's be real, is the absolute best character on the show) says no to Spencer's anti-anxiety meds, and then again when Spencer steals one (maybe more) from Aria's stash. She doesn't take it, but there's still time. Besides being argumentative and popping pills, Spencer is the first of the girls to start sleuthing again (obviously), trying to get Ali to push her dad harder on Charles' identity. I'm sure by next week she'll be either down the drug rabbit hole again or totally healed from her trauma and back in charge. That's the Hastings way.

Aria

Our second Liar chose the path of repression and lying, which will work out well for her, I'm sure. First she tells Ezra that she wants to "put up a wall" between her and what happened in the Dollhouse of Doom, and then she's goes to the police and lies about seeing Andrew's face under that Charles mask. Aria wants it all over and done with, but this lie will likely drag things out. (Because there is seriously no way Andrew is Charles. I mean, the police think it's true, so it has to be a red herring.) Also it's just another in her long line of "let's make the fastest and stupidest decision" mistakes, so it seems the Dollhouse of Doom didn't change her too much, either. (Also, where did the pink streaks go? Are they magic?)

Hanna

Dear Hanna has the most rational response to the whole thing, at least to me. After being trapped and tortured (by her friends) in a nearly perfect replica of her childhood bedroom, her first instinct to absolutely destroy the real version of said childhood bedroom. While Ashley Marin (who, unlike Veronica Hastings, is not the absolute best character on this show), doesn't think this is a normal response, Caleb (and me!) are totally with Hanna. If you can literally remove things that are going to make you upset, then that seems like a good option. And Ashley saw things the right way in the end (as she usually does), so the Marin house is becoming a redecorated and slightly happier place. Good job, team.

Emily

Apparently the army won't give you time off to see your daughter who was just rescued from a month in captivity, or rather, maybe they couldn't book Eric Steinberg again to play Emily's dad. Either way it's just Em and Pam in the old Fields house (remember that time someone drove a car into the living room?) and Emily is going straight for dad's gun locker. After a couple rounds at the shooting range, and a couple of arguments with Pam, Emily admits that she's not angry, she's scared. She wants to be able to defend herself, which, again all things considered, doesn't sound that unreasonable. But hey, speaking of unreasonable...

Everybody else

It's not just our four girls that are having trouble dealing with the brave new post-A world. There's Sara Harvey, remember, the girl who was trapped in the Dollhouse of Doom for two years. The girl we have no idea what the heck is going on with. And oh Sara Harvey, aren't you a puzzle. Right after getting released from the hospital she's running away from home again, bonding with Emily and casting doubt on everyone's assumption that Andrew is guilty. Considering that, again, there is absolutely no way Andrew and Charles are one and the same, we're guessing Sara's intuition, combined with Aria's big lie, are going to come to a head soon.

Oh and remember how Alison is still a part of this show? Well everyone's favorite DiLaurentis (maybe) is making eyes at Toby's shifty new partner, who I trust about as much as I trust anyone who actively decides to move to Rosewood.

I leave you with many unanswered questions, and the best and most ridiculous quotes from the episode:

• "Now you know what happens to bad little girls."


• "The Feminization of Society."


• "How could a high school boy afford all that?" "One of the things we'd like to know, and so would the IRS."


• "The stupid brain is small but it's wily."


• "Aria you're very smart. But please remember you're also very wise."