Who would have ever guessed that, among the Rosewood Four, Spencer would be the weakest link? With her school-book smarts and level-headed demeanor, she seemed the least vulnerable to A's games. But then came Toby, and everything changed.
Last night's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" began with Spencer still missing, holed up in Radley after being discovered wandering the woods. But, oddly, the youngest Hastings didn't realize where she was until a kindly orderly told her so. "Compared to county, this is Vegas," he mused, explaining what the "302" on her chart meant (psych hold instead of jail time) and that a doctor would be in shortly to examine her. But instead of Wren (as I was sort of expecting), Dr. Sullivan showed up. (Doesn't Radley have its own team of physicians? Why would they call someone in?)
Spencer told Dr. Sullivan that she knew who she was all along, but that it felt good not to be herself, even if only for a couple of hours.
"What happened in the woods that made you not want to be Spencer?" Dr. Sullivan prodded.
"Toby Cavanaugh is dead," Spencer replied. Or is he? Dr. Sullivan wasn't sure whether to believe Spencer's version of events, especially considering she didn't actually see Toby's face.
Outside of Radley, Hanna and her mom received their own unexpected visitor: Officer Wilden! He's alive, having taken a few days off for a "fishing trip." However, methinks the Ladies Marin aren't off the hook just yet. (Fishing...hook...heh.)
Aria, meanwhile, was trying to finagle another Hollis job out of her father on Ezra's behalf. And for some reason, he agreed to look into it. But nothing was open, leading Ezra to apply to substitute teach in the district. Leading Aria's vice principal to ask about her relationship with Ezra. Leading to a very awkward denial from Aria.
Spencer continued to sweet talk her orderly, whom she discovered was the real E. Lamb (the alias Toby used to sneak into Radley). He confided in Spencer that there had been a "problem" with the employee IDs and that the system had to be revamped. Hmmmm... He also revealed that Spencer was in Mona's old room. Which made her discovery of the phrase "Will the circle be unbroken?" on the desk extra meaningful.
Flashback: Spencer and Ali were in church, where Mona was over-enthusiastically singing that very hymn. After the service, Ali revealed that she was keeping diaries (specifically for Spencer) that had all of the information she would need after she was gone. (Morbid much?) Now, unless Mona has supersonic hearing, I doubt she heard the girls' discussion and that the "circle" phrase would hold such significance. This felt like a rather large logical jump (even for "Pretty Little Liars").
Back in the present, the orderly told Spencer that he knew a Toby once, a boy whose mom was a patient at Radley. But before he could elaborate, some official-types came into the hospital, and he scurried off. Cue Mona showing up with cookies, which Spencer wisely refused. But that wasn't the only offering Mona brought: How about samples from Ali's diaries!? Ali was never pregnant, Mona explained adding, "I have the answers to questions you haven't even thought of." But it will take Spencer allying with Mona to get her hands on the journals.
Following the Officer Wilden revelation, Ashley was hesitant to leave Hanna behind to go to a training session in New York (which could lead to a full-time relocation to the Big Apple), but Hanna insisted. And because Ashley seems to take all of her life advice from her teenage daughter, she went. And, surprise! Just seconds after she dropped Hanna off at Emily's, Officer Wilden pulled up. He told Hanna he'd leave her and her mother alone if only she told him where his police car was. What exactly is in that vehicle that he needs so badly?
And in the episode's closing moments, we witnessed a truly heart-breaking moment: Spencer in group therapy, letting go of her final vestiges of sanity, succumbing to hallucinations.
Oh, also, Missy Franklin made a cameo (and not as a hallucination) in Emily's coffee shop.
What did you think of last night's "Pretty Little Liars"? How will Spencer return to normalcy? Is Hanna going to fess up about the cop cruiser? How creepy is the new A-mobile? Tell us everything in the comments and on Twitter!
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And then there were seven. "90210" is ending its five-year run this May, and there are only seven episodes left for fans to enjoy.