Another Hoodie Falls Down (Pretty Little Liars 3x12 The Lady Killer Episode Review)

On the summer finale of ABC Family's hit teen thriller Pretty Little Liars, another member of the A-Team has been revealed.

Disclaimer: If you have not seen the episode yet, please don't proceed. If yes or if you just want to spoil yourself, then read on!

Last season, we found out that Mona is the person behind the mysterious and threatening text messages that our four girls from Rosewood continually receive. At the end of the season three summer finale episode, Mona was seen talking to another person who wears the "A" Costume - black hoodie and gloves. 

So what happened here? 

Paige is still Spencer, Aria, and Hannah's suspect as A. They all believed that she was trying to take away Emily's trust towards the three of them so she can have Em all by herself. If you remember from last week's episode, Jenna left Emily a very enigmatic message: Be careful who you spend time with. We all thought that she was talking about Paige, but this is not the case. Turned out, it was Nate St. Germane - Maya's cousin. Emily decided to spend time with him on a cabin in the woods so she can linger on Maya's memories before the court declares a judgement on Garret. However, Em discovered that Nate killed Maya because he was in love with him (and he is not really Maya's cousin). For revenge, he kidnapped Paige and decided to kill her in front of Emily. Before Nate cut Paige's throat, Emily was able to run away to call for help and (for some weird reason) she ended up in a light house where Nate and her had an intense physical fight. In the end, Emily stabbed him with a knife. Caleb turned up and comforted her (too late there, friendo!) but Nate still had a few energy left to shoot Caleb with a gun.

For the subplots:

• Maggie - Ezra's baby momma from high school - visited Ezra in his apartment. But she did not tell him yet that she got pregnant with him. 
• Toby and Spencer had sex
• Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Caleb went to the cemetery where A dug up Ali' grave. The four split up and went to the nearby lighthouses to find Paige - who then they thought was A. 
• Mona was able to escape the asylum by wearing a nurse's uniform. She went to meet another member of the A Team and discussed that they have to change plans because of Nate.
• It was revealed in the end that the person Mona is talking to is no other than....... TOBY!  Yes, Spencer's loverboy and one of the very first suspects of the show is A!

The problem I always had with PLL is that they produce absurd circumstances for the characters which does not make any sense at all. Another this is if they started talking about a new character, then boom, that person will appear next episode. Just like Maggie. Also, from the 2 1/2 seasons of the show, we're already aware that new characters who are not part of the original casts should not always be trusted. Nate, Cece, Ezra's bro, etc. Although I can give out some claps for the suspense/thriller scenes, the rest of the show is becoming a typical teen drama. Predictable subplots and unnecessary romance. The only difference is that there's a killer/stalker on the loose.

Despite all of these, this episode is definitely worth watching. It might have raised a few eyebrows (like, how the f*** did Mona get a nurse's uniform and is it really that easy to escape? how come Emily did not hear a single thing when all along, Paige is locked up in the closet! Caleb, never leave an armed gun beside a murderer! ) but still, the show gave the viewers what they wanted. I might have guessed since the beginning that Nate is Maya's killer, but Toby... damn. I know he's always a suspect but I quite leaning on towards Caleb and Ezra as A. Poor Spencer. Her boyfriend is sabotaging her. Moreover, I love the fact that they changed how the second half of the season will run. Last time, the girls found out that Mona is A. But this time, they have no idea and the viewers will get to see soon how A/Toby works behind Spencer's back. 

"The Lady Killer" left us with some new questions that they might answer on the next half of the show.

• Why did A warn Emily in the cabin? Which A is this? Is it Toby, or another A? 
• Why are the A-Team scared of Garret's release in prison?
• What's the motive of Toby for joining this infamous team?
• What, in the actual fuck, is inside Maya's bag?!
• Who's going to be the next victim? (it was shown in the final scene that A is booked tickets for a horror train ride)

The Halloween special (episode 13) is set to air on October 23, 2012. The second half of the show (episodes 14 onward)  is expected to start late 2012 or early 2013 as part of the network's winter premieres.