Halloween episodes were always a specialty of the original Pretty Little Liars, and Original Sin lived up to the hype, delivering a seamless continuation of the story while also leaning into the Halloween Michael Myers franchise.
The party Imogene threw to find a way to pay the mortgage on her childhood home so that she wouldn’t have to sell it (how much is a mortgage in Millwood if you can fund the payment by selling pizza slices?!) gathered everyone together in one place. And as you can imagine… chaos ensued.
There were also some sub-storylines that were definitely concerning for our little liars, and it goes to show that even if you think you know someone, everyone is hiding some kind of dark and twisted secret.
So, let’s break them down, shall we?
The episode kicked off with a flashback to the bully moms as they forced Angela to throw dog crap at a house as part of an “initiation.” It’s clear that they’re constantly gaslighting Angela, making her a scapegoat, and exploiting her desire to fit in and befriend them. Seeing them treat a girl like this is heartbreaking to watch—to the point that you can almost justify “‘A’s” desire for revenge, even if you don’t support the murderous tendencies to get said revenge. The moms were mean girls by the very definition, but you also have to wonder, why Angela? Was it because she wanted to fit in? Is it because they simply found someone who they could treat like less than?
We don’t get to learn any more about the moms or Angela, however, our present-day liars are making the connection that “A” is definitely connected to Angela. Imogene, especially, is determined to find out what everyone is hiding and why no one in town wants to talk about her. By the end of the episode, she gets a call from a random man who claims to have known Imogene’s mother, Angela, and Angela’s family. The man definitely seems like he has a lot of insight, but honestly, it raises a lot of red flags. Who is this man? I know Imogene is desperate for answers, but I need her to sit down and stop meeting random people while she’s pregnant.
Tabby is still reeling from Chip’s decision to film her movie scene for her as it invalidates the whole purpose of swapping gender roles. It’s clear that something else is really bugging Tabby, but poor Chip is the one who bears the brunt of her anger regardless. And he takes it all in stride because he’s smitten. Tabby doesn’t realize just how much Chip loves her, and it’s truly a shame. She’s missing out on something really great, but we soon learn it’s beyond her control as she’s dealing with a traumatic life event. Her anger festers throughout the evening as she deals with Tyler, Greg, and his misogynistic group of jock friends, and eventually, she throws a punch in front of everyone that definitely connects with Tyler’s nose. I mean, you can hear the bones breaking. Considering he made some really crude and racist comments directed at all of the girls while also calling them inappropriate names, it’s safe to say he definitely deserved it. No one was feeling sorry for Tyler… but that’s all about to change pretty soon. And it’s not going to look good for Tabby that she was the last person to have an altercation with him.
“A,” who dons Angela’s pumpkin mask to remain incognito, watches Tyler and Tabby’s whole situation pan out, and then he delivers the final blow by killing him in the bathroom while no one is watching. The whole gruesome scene is set to “Monster Mash,” which is quite a choice that lessens the blow of the murder while also highlighting just how messed up it is all the same time.
A few things are made evident about “A” in this episode. It’s clear that the person under the mask has to be a guy as. he has enough strength to not only choke out a jock but also carry his lifeless body into the van. Sorry, but I truly don’t think Kelly or Karen would be able to accomplish that. Also, since when does “A” clean up his messes?
You have to give it up to “A” for staying dedicated to the “take out the bullies” agenda, but it’s clear that he’s also someone who knows what happened to Angela. My guess is that it’s either a former classmate who knew her or it’s someone who had access to her diary where she recounted all the terrible things that the ’90s liars did to her. There’s a lot of emphasis on diaries!
Since everyone was at the party, there’s also a world of possibilities for who “A” could be, but all the liars’ male friends are definitely at the top of the suspect’s list. Shawn, Ash, and Henry all had an opportunity to sneak away and pop on the costume. Chip is even under the microscope as killing Tyler came directly after he upset Tabby. And again, with “A’s” desire to punish those who did Angela wrong, it wouldn’t completely shocking if one of the male students was secretly her child. I’m still a firm believer that she gave birth the night she died.
Imogene eventually had a heart-to-heart with Tabby where she questioned what prompted Tabby to punch Tyler, and Tabby finally confesses that something happened to her at a bonfire in the woods. This explains why Tabby has a camera set up in the boys’ locker room as she’s trying to piece together the night that I assume led to her assault. She doesn’t even need to say much as Imogene explains that something happened to her too. And it’s possible they were assaulted by the same person who is lifeless in the back of “A’s” car.
Farron continues spiraling as she digs deeper into her twin swap theory. And honestly, I commend her for sticking with her gut. I don’t understand why she brought it up to her vile ballet instructor, who essentially tells her that she has a wild imagination and that Kelly harms herself in order for her to drop it. It’s clear she’s gaslighting her, but Farron considers that maybe she’s being a little too intense about the whole thing. That is until she sees Kelly hooking up with Greg at the party. She confronts her, but, as expected, Kelly denies everything and calls out Farron for being a psychopath. The next thing you know, Farron is kicked off the Swan Lake production as Kelly gloats to her mother, who also calls her Karen, about getting the part. The teacher and Kelly/Karen seem to be in cahoots, as for Farron, well, she truly should have waited until she had undeniable proof about the switch.
Either way, “A” seemed privy to the whole conversation, so my guess is that he’s going to come after Kelly now and potentially expose her secret.
And then there’s Mouse’s whole storyline, which is a lot to unpack.
When I first saw her communicating with someone and holding up a missing photo of a girl named Rachel, I assumed she was trying to be some local her who exposes online predators, but then she actually went to meet up with this dude who bought her costumes, made her food, and took her trick-or-treating dressed as Wendy from Casper.
It became more and more obvious that Mouse was pretending to be Rachel, the man’s missing child, to fill a void. At one point, he even told her to call him “dad” before breaking down in the car and apologizing until she forgave him. He seemed to truly care about Mouse, but the whole thing was beyond strange and kind of came out of nowhere.
But it’s also a reminder that we don’t actually know these liars — and they don’t know each other. They are clinging to each other because of a shared bond, but they were never friends before they started being tormented by “A” and Karen.
When Mouse finally makes it home from the party the next day, she has a vague conversation referring to a man that is gone. We then see her look at pictures of a man, with the logical assumption being that he was her father. Based on this moment, one can infer that she connected with Steve not only to help him deal with the loss of his child, but also to fill a void following her own father’s death. It becomes slightly less creepy and a bit more heartbreaking, but until I have all the facts, I’m going to stay wary of a middle-aged man meeting up with a young girl he met off the internet. Naturally, Mouse knows that their meetings are wrong too, otherwise, she would tell people.
We’re still far away from ever learning “A’s” identity, but at the very least, the liars are making some progress in the right direction and taking the big swings to make sure that it doesn’t take several seasons to crack the mystery. But if there’s anything I’ve learned from the OG PLL, it’s that the moment you think you’ve figured it out, you actually got it all wrong and you have to start from scratch.
What did you think of the episode? Share your thoughts in the comments below!