Today we cover episodes 2.18, “A Kiss Before Lying”, and 2.19, “The Naked Truth”. We talked about lying (surprise!), Noel Kahn’s thesis on gender, Hollis College trying to colonize New Orleans, and the Jason reveal we’ve been waiting for. We once again get very sad and mad about Maya’s storyline. In this house, we believe that bees are not animals, glaciers melt faster now, and MMA is gay. 

Content notes: discussion of Lolita from 40:30 to 57:35, which includes discussions of rape of a child by adults, victim-blaming, and a brief mention of sadomasochism 

Theme song by Ashok R. Chandran.

Chickpeas Oh My Gosh!
Cameron Gets Academic On Us
Deepa’s Literary Analysis
  • Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita has a lot of relevance for PLL, and Vivian Darkbloom is not only an anagram but a very minor character in the book who is… the writing partner of an abuser
  • Everyone in Agatha Christie books has an office gun
  • We didn’t discuss this in the episode, but A Kiss Before Dying is in fact a crime thriller novel about a man who scams and murders women
Things We Referenced Completely Unrelated to PLL
  • The episode of New Girl called “Girl Fight” (lol)
  • We hate John Mulaney and his bit about teenagers bullying him or whatever
  • Floodlines is a really good eight-episode investigative podcast about Hurricane Katrina and anti-Black racism
  • “Glaciers, gender, and science: A feminist glaciology framework for global environmental change” (Carey et al. 2016) is probably the only climate change thing Deepa will discuss on this pod
Fashion Analysis

We had a worst outfit so unanimous that we made ourselves say at the same time: Aria’s horrendous poncho? sweater? and fascinator headband

Aria in the school courtyard looking caught off-guard. She is wearing a very large sweater than almost looks like a poncho - the top half had a black background with a deep red pattern of alternating hearts, while the bottom is tan and flared out with a couple buttons. There are also tan wings coming out of the shoulders. She is also wearing a deep red fascinator headband.

For best, Cameron liked Hanna’s top with some transparent parts, while Deepa enjoyed Aria’s gray dress with flowers and neon matching belt and platforms, even though we both dislike the necklace

Hanna on the phone looking upset; she is wearing a blue vee-necked blouse with stripes and transparent parts
Hanna on the phone looking upset; she is wearing a blue vee-necked blouse with stripes and transparent parts
Hanna sitting at the dinner table talking to her mom while wearing the same blouse, her arms crossed
Hanna sitting at the dinner table talking to her mom while wearing the same blouse, her arms crossed
Spencer, Aria, and Emily are walking in the school hallway and talking. Aria is wearing a gray dress with patterns of flowers in coral, black, and dark blue, with a neon yellow waist belt. She also has a necklace with large chunky pendants that may look like a bird
Spencer, Aria, and Emily are walking in the school hallway and talking. Aria is wearing a gray dress with patterns of flowers in coral, black, and dark blue, with a neon yellow waist belt. She also has a necklace with large chunky pendants that may look like a bird
Aria and Holden in a classroom putting up a large sheet of paper on the wall. Aria’s back is to the screen, and we can now see that she is wearing neon yellow platform heels that match her belt
Aria and Holden in a classroom putting up a large sheet of paper on the wall. Aria’s back is to the screen, and we can now see that she is wearing neon yellow platform heels that match her belt

Some other outfits we mentioned: Deepa disliked how Hanna’s red zipper dress stuck out so much at the top, but liked Aria’s sparkly date outfit, black belted dress, and Hanna’s other red outfit that turned out to be neither a halter nor a top. Also, Spencer wore a bee shirt

Hanna looking annoyed at Aria, Spencer, and Emily; Hanna is wearing a fire-engine red sleeveless dress with a zipper that is open at the top, the flaps sticking out, and the shoulder straps also appear to be too high
Hanna looking annoyed at Aria, Spencer, and Emily; Hanna is wearing a fire-engine red sleeveless dress with a zipper that is open at the top, the flaps sticking out, and the shoulder straps also appear to be too high
Aria talking to Holden at an arcade; she is smiling brightly and wearing a very sparkly black long-sleeved top with a leopard-print belt visible beneath it
Aria talking to Holden at an arcade; she is smiling brightly and wearing a very sparkly black long-sleeved top with a leopard-print belt visible beneath it
Hanna, Emily, Spencer, and Aria are in the school hallway staring towards the camera and looking concerned. Hanna is wearing a red sleeveless dress with ruffles and a part that is tied around the neck. Aria is wearing a black sleeveless dress with a black wide waist belt and a dark gray leather necklace
Hanna, Emily, Spencer, and Aria are in the school hallway staring towards the camera and looking concerned. Hanna is wearing a red sleeveless dress with ruffles and a part that is tied around the neck. Aria is wearing a black sleeveless dress with a black wide waist belt and a dark gray leather necklace
Close-up of Spencer looking concerned; she is wearing a white long-sleeved shirt that has little bees on it
Close-up of Spencer looking concerned; she is wearing a white long-sleeved shirt that has little bees on it

Listen to More Episodes

Close-up shot of Aria looking annoyed. We can see just the shoulders of the black lacy short-sleeved dress that she is wearing. Her hair is in a ponytail with some strands artfully arranged around her face. She is wearing red lipstick and dangly earrings with some kind of quartz-like stone on them

Episodes 1.14 & 1.15: “The Rich Girls Steal and the Pretty Girls Lie”

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Old, worn billboard with a giant pair of disembodied eyes with glasses, reading “Dr. Lars Thorward, O.D.”

Episodes 2.04 & 2.05: “Nosey Bitches Die!”

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Spencer looks very concerned while watching Toby speak to someone offscreen. Spencer is wearing a blue-green top patterned with tiny owls, tucked into dark jeans, with a white light jacket over it that has large metallic buttons.

Episodes 2.02 & 2.03: “Your Family Has the Worst Apples”

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Mona is wearing large knitted teal hat and a knitted cardigan of the same color, over a top of the same teal with little silver mirrors or plating on it. She is also wearing silver hoop earrings that have long, thin, silver chains hanging from them.

Episodes 1.20 & 1.21: “I Used to Love Algebra”

ByChickpeas Podcast

Today we’re covering episodes 1.20, “Someone to Watch Over Me” and 1.21, “Monsters in the end.” We discuss dolls, ableist violence, dentist gossip, and being “allies” in our high school GSAs. We try to remember things about the Jackie storyline and lament the fact that the N.A.T. Club doesn’t actually have anything to do with…

Emily is sitting at a table in the cafeteria, looking concerned. She is wearing a green long-sleeved top and white-ish vest, but more importantly, she is wearing a knitted gray/off-white beanie that is huge.

Episodes 1.16 & 1.17: “I Like Complicated”

ByChickpeas Podcast

We have a special guest on to discuss episodes 1.16 “Je Suis Une Amie” and 1.17 “The New Normal”! Our conversation goes all over the place and covers water sports (lol), homophobia, the benefits of journaling, the lack of ginger representation, and power dynamics between Hanna and Caleb. Even if you try, we don’t think…