Hi friends! In today’s pod we discuss episodes 3.06, “Remains of the A”, and 3.07, “Crazy”. Season three remains a struggle as the show demonstrates its typical ableism, anti-Blackness, and transphobia. We attempt to reckon with our past as Jason apologists. This episode introduces us to Charlotte and Ken, and the Liars continue to be terrible at placing memorabilia in Ali’s grave. We ponder if the Zack storyline is a deflection from all the other abusers in this show. Deepa thinks about Radley in the horror context, and Cameron is uncharacteristically wrong about more than one thing. It’s important to remember that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards bisexuality!

Theme song by Ashok R. Chandran and website by Rainbow Forge.

Chickpeas Oh My Gosh!
Deepa’s Literary Analysis
  • The title of episode six is a play on The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, which is not only a great book, but may be the first literary work PLL references that is by a writer of color! Yay? 
  • We recommend two other books by Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World and Never Let Me Go
  • Also, turns out that Ishiguro was born in Japan but grew up mostly in England, which Deepa kind of got wrong in the episode
  • Aria has a bunch of books by her bedside, including one called Straitjacket & Tie by Eugene Stein, which is both about schizophrenia and internalized queerphobia
Asylums and Haunting
  • Pennhurst Asylum was one of the most infamous psychiatric institutions in Pennsylvania that was shut down after decades of horrific abuse inside; this article talks about how it has since been turned into a super-sensationalized and exploitative haunted house attraction
  • This paper has an interesting analysis of why haunted hospitals and asylums are compelling to us in general
Things We Referenced Related to PLL
  • According to the PLL Wiki Timeline, Charlotte is just a few months older than Jason (because we forgot she’s not actually Jessica’s daughter, oops)
  • Ali wearing the dress Jessica wore to her funeral to Jessica’s funeral
  • Ezra being called Board Shorts in Ali’s diary
  • At the time these episodes aired, massugar.com used to go here; now it just redirects to Freeform’s homepage
  • The shot of the diner in Emily’s flashback is a visual reference to Edward Hopper’s painting Nighthawks
Things We Referenced Completely Unrelated to PLL
  • The Toast no longer exists (😢), but Daniel Lavery talks in this interview about his series on men who are lesbians, like Ryan Atwood from The OC
  • Fuck the Blue Angels (a “flight demonstration squad” of the US Navy) – you can sign this petition started by one of Deepa’s coworkers asking Seattle’s Seafair to end their partnership with them
  • How to Get Away With Murder (of course) and Frank thinking Annalise and Eve are endgame
  • Midsomer Murders’ too-meta Hamlet episode
  • Cameron thinks Toby’s growly face is like Teen Wolf
  • Unpacking the Eerie’s two-part asylum episode
  • The Criminal Minds episode on gay conversion abuse camps
  • The Boom Boom Room, which basketball legend Lisa Leslie apparently doesn’t know is the room in the reality dating show Are You The One where people go to have sex 
  • The Ultimatum: Queer Love season two, because why not (here’s an interview with season one’s Mal Wright, who now works for Autostraddle)
Fashion Analysis

We both loved Mona’s blue dress and pink belt in the flashback scene with Hanna, and Cameron thought it looked similar (in a good way) to Emily’s dress for the church social. Deepa also enjoyed Spencer’s romper and scarf that was kind of tied like a necktie, because of course Deepa did

For worst, Cameron disliked Spencer’s peplum top with a weird collar and ugly pants, but even Cameron admits it pales in comparison to Deepa’s worst, which was just us having to see Ezra in pajamas with his FEET OUT, EW

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