Dana Booker has officially put herself in the Vanderwaal crosshairs, and odds are she’ll be sorry she did. You can’t play a game against the master.
Throughout Pretty Little Liars, the big bad was always some version of “A.” In the series’ final season, they tacked on an extra letter with A.D., but the gist was the same.
In Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, the problem seems to be B – as in, Booker. This week, it all comes back to the disgraced FBI agent, who the Perfectionists have decided to call “A” anyway, having gotten a glimpse of Ali and Mona’s past life.
“Okay, we have to google these guys,” Ava decides, once Mona lets a “dollhouse” reference slip out. The Perfectionists writers are shrewd though; since Ali and her friends were minors during the events of PLL, the records are sealed. The new gang will have to settle for breadcrumbs.
It does seem odd though that Ava wouldn’t know anything. Nolan made it clear in the pilot that he knew all about Ms. DiLaurentis’s past. He was good at keeping secrets, but that’s a pretty juicy one. Would he really keep it from the woman he supposedly loved?
It’s true, he took Taylor’s secret to the grave. Ava, Caitlin and Dylan were all genuinely shocked when Ali dropped the news of Taylor’s return on them.
There’s something about Ava though. We can’t ignore the multiple times she’s been referenced as A already – i.e. the text she sent Caitlin, the conversation she had with her model while prepping for the fashion show – nor the many, many red coats she’s worn so far.
But that’s a theory for another day. For now, the focus is squarely on Dana Booker. She seems to relish taunting the perfectionists, particularly in public. She’s determined to finish the game they “started.”
The question is, why target Mona with the cupcakes? If Taylor’s mini-Beacon Guard is right, and Dana Booker is the one who’s been skulking around Mona’s apartment, she must have a bone to pick.
Ali would be the more expected target, given how much she’s helped Ava, Caitlin and Dylan. Until the final moments of this week’s episode, Mona has kept herself firmly on the outer rim. She never was much of a joiner, remember.
Then again, Dana Booker is a former FBI agent. Would she really leave herself so open to getting caught? This is the beauty of Pretty Little Liars and I. Marlene King; you can go round and round in theories and questions.
No matter what, she’s poked the Mona Bear, and I’ll be happy to see Dana Booker get taken down.
But for anyone who’s experienced in the PLL universe, signs point to there being a much bigger, yet-to-be-introduced villain – like Jeremy, perhaps. The gorgeous, British doctor thing didn’t work out so well in the original PLL. He says he never knew Taylor, but how can we know that for sure?
Welcome to the “PLL Paranoia.” Tread lightly.
The only identity we know for sure after this week is Bad Bishop’s. It’s Mason! He’s no murderer, he’s just a stressed out, strategy-minded, secretly musical chess savant. And, going forward, he could very well be Mona’s love interest. The age gap isn’t that wide.
Overall, things actually went pretty well on the romance front this week! Caitlin and Jeremy finally got to have their first public date, and Andrew came home to Dylan. The latter won’t be without their struggles though.
Dylan has become a skilled liar; all Andrew wants is total honesty. Dylan’s latest move may not be as bad as cheating on his boyfriend, but cheating on a midterm project can’t be anything Andrew would be thrilled about.
With just two episodes until the season finale – that came up quick – it wasn’t an episode that made a lot of progress, but it certainly made for good theory fodder.
Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Freeform.