Today we cover the season one finale, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”! We start by reading “reviews” of the podcast. We’re still upset with Hanna, we feel bad for Aria, and we’re glad Spencer gets a nap. We speculate about the period of time between Ian’s deaths and what Noel Kahn is up to. We spend some time reflecting on the season overall and our podcasting process. The podcast is taking a short break, but we’ll be back before you know it, bitches!

Content notes: Apart from stuff in PLL itself, which we don’t usually warn for, we discuss age of consent laws and sexual abuse of minors from 14:55 to 20:50, including specifically the show Broadchurch beginning at 17:40 that includes discussion of murder of a child in the show by his abuser.

Chickpea Recipe
  • Kale Ragout, but don’t forget to replace the cannellini beans with chickpeas!
Deepa’s Literary Analysis
  • “For whom the bell tolls” was originally a quote from a poem by John Donne, then the name of a novel by Ernest Hemingway, but it’s probably unrelated to the episode except for the belltower
  • Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac is the novel that Toby is reading in one scene, and Deepa appreciated this scathing review of it by Irving Feldman
  • The quote “pretty girls make graves” from Dharma Bums (which became the name of a song by the Smiths and a band) did feel very PLL
Things We Referenced Related to PLL
Things We Referenced Completely Unrelated to PLL
  • Dharma and Greg (and Criminal Minds because of the actor who plays Hotchner)
  • Clue and Yvette’s death being the scariest
  • Broadchurch and its fucked up perspective on what sexual abuse/violence is or isn’t
Fashion Analysis

We didn’t get a lot of outfits this episode, and our best and worst are both Aria’s! We loved Aria’s outfit at the Hollis faculty mixer even though we loathed literally everything else about that scene…

Far shot of Aria serving food during a party at her house. She is wearing a dark, short-sleeved, floor-length, form-fitting dress.
Far shot of Aria serving food during a party at her house. She is wearing a dark, short-sleeved, floor-length, form-fitting dress.
Close-up on Aria answering the door - we can now see that the dress is black and lacy and worn over a dark green shorter dress. She’s also wearing a long necklace with a thin chain and pendant.
Close-up on Aria answering the door – we can now see that the dress is black and lacy and worn over a dark green shorter dress. She’s also wearing a long necklace with a thin chain and pendant.

…and we hated Aria’s weird bird (?) necklace and shirt with feathers on the shoulders

Close-up on Aria, looking concerned. She is wearing a long-sleeved white top with black horizontal stripes and light brown feathers coming off the shoulders. She’s also wearing a large chunky necklace that appears to look like an abstract bird, with a pendant that is a chain with large, visible links.
Close-up on Aria, looking concerned. She is wearing a long-sleeved white top with black horizontal stripes and light brown feathers coming off the shoulders. She’s also wearing a large chunky necklace that appears to look like an abstract bird, with a pendant that is a chain with large, visible links.

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