Consistency and follow-through has never been Pretty Little Liars greatest strength, so it’s not surprising that after an episode that strongly advances the Bloody Rose mystery, the show slams on the brakes for a celebration of all things queer.
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“Chapter Sixteen: Hell House”: After discovering that Kelly’s church is using her former home, Imogen springs into action, while Mouse and Ash plan a Pride pool party in protest.
It may seem like a complaint that the show basically sidelines its own murder mystery for the majority of the episode, but considering “Hell House” more or less exists to give the Liars an opportunity to be outraged about religious hypocrisy and throw a makeshift Pride, this is a fun diversion.
After spending more than half of the season wondering what’s going on with Kelly (Mallory Bechtel) and her wonky Redemption House theatre, the truth is finally revealed…and it’s pretty darn horrible. Not only has Our Mother of Holy Grace rented out Imogen (Bailee Madison)’s old house for their performance, but they’ve (inadvertently?) created “Hell House” rooms that directly mirror the trauma of each respective Liars.
As staged by returning director Alex Sanjiv Pillai, the actual content of the rooms is less horrific than the slow motion reaction shots of the girls. It’s clear that everyone is going through their own traumatic memories – from Mouse (Malia Pyles)’s experience being exploited by an older man online to Imogen and Tabby (Chandler Kinney)’s sexual assaults.
Only Zaria‘s Faran comes out unscathed, so it makes the most sense that she’s the one who absolutely rips into her ex, Henry (Ben Cook), and her co-worker, Greg (Elias Kacavas) before Imogen takes a shovel to the fuse box and cuts the power.
But seriously, there’s something incredibly satisfying on how much airtime “Hell House” gives to everyone’s vitriolic response. Faran and Imogen confront Kelly before the show and the former references “Scared Straight”; Imogen goes to Kelly’s house the following day and flat-out tells the religious girl that her father and twin sister are in hell (!) before leaving with the Noa (Maia Reficco)-worthy line: “Pray on that, bitch.” It’s all very catty and enjoyable.
But it’s the responses from queer characters (and cast) that are the most impactful. Ash (Jordan Gonzalez) initially raises the alarm about “Hell House,” telling Mouse it’s those kinds of places that cause trans teens to die by suicide. He’s aghast because his own request for a Pride party permit was rejected, and, later, he’s stricken by the realization that he’ll have to sacrifice Pride in order to protest the hateful bigotry of “Redemption House.”
It’s that comment that prompts Mouse to rally the group for one of PLL‘s infamous all-in-a-day events: a Pride Pool Party. It looks bigger than WeHo, seemingly attracts every teenager in town, and has better costuming than a gay Halloween party (seriously: where did Greg get his low cut Pride flag mesh tank top?!)
It’s all very fabulous and properly celebratory for a Pride-month episode of a queer-friendly, feminist teen slasher series. Kudos to Pretty Little Liars: Summer School for understanding the assignment (and your target audience!)
Other Observations:
- It cannot be stressed enough that everyone looks excessively amazing/hot at the pool pride party.
- I want to be invested in Noa’s dilemma about choosing between Jennifer (Ava Capri) and Shawn (Alex Aiono), but the former just keeps stealing! Writer Delondra Mesa tries to play it for laughs when Noa says “It would not be a bad idea to stop robbing people’s houses,” but, like, STOP ROBBING HOUSES, JENN!
- Tabby and Imogen seem excited for a double date, but there’s enough chemistry between Johnny (Antonio Cipriano) and Christian (Noah Alexander Gerry) at the party that they should be more worried about other things. Just sayin’.
- Henry and Greg truly look like they’re channeling the gay football players from Heathers, right up to the cheesy production values with the projected flames over their naked torsos. If the Church thinks this isn’t hot…well, they’re just wrong.
- Just in case you thought there was weird sexual tension between Faran and Greg, this episode basically confirms that it. is. on. Easy money is that they’re already dating by next episode.
- Orpheum manager Wes (Derek Klena) is definitely *actually* dead, though, right?
- Finally, the stinger is that Imogen rips off Bloody Rose’s bandages, she discovers that the killer is…her mom? I guess that’s why we had the flashbacks to Carly Pope last episode?
Pretty Little Liars: Summer School airs Thursdays on Max