Being one of worst episodes this season, 'To Plea or Not to Plea' showed us obvious things that we knew would eventually happen, nothing new or impressive. Hope the big revelations are waiting at the end of the corner of the season finale, if not, the show's on big trouble.
When I see PLL, I expect to be impressed or shocked as I'm always being used to this past few years, sadly it did not happened on this week's episode. Since everything obvious happened; Ali didn't took the plea, one of the liars was imprisoned for Mona's murder, Colin & Spencer kissed, Aria & Ezra are done with each other, the lawyer is related to whatever the hell 'Varjack' is & of course, 'A' covered his/her tracks, making impossible to reveal what he's/she's been up to.
About the 'Varjack' connection, I truly hope it leads somewhere, because I'm used to see the girls follow trails of evidence that most likely lead them nowhere.
It's worth mentioning, that the writers need to understand that we already know some of the tricks they pull, they cannot fool us anymore with separations of fan-favourite couples (Aria & Ezra, Emily & Paige, Hanna & Caleb, Spencer & Toby). They always break them apart, so they can introduce new potential love partners, but end up reuniting the long.lasting couples. The former Toby-replacement used to be the guy that lived on the barn, but a new one has arrived & that is the annoying British guy Colin. Aria used to be with Ezra, when they broke up, she started a relationship with the martial instructor, then he got back with Ezra, but now that they are giving each other some time, Andrew appeared to fill in his shoes (Brandon Jones, the actor that plays him, is very talented, since he accomplishes a lot with the little character development he got from the writers). Also, since Paige departed, Talia was introduced to us.
In my opinion, this kind of things need to stop, the main focus should be on trying to figure out who 'A' truly is & fixing the problems each of the girl has. The constant use of relationship problems is such a tired move, because they keep creating new characters to flirt with the liars & when they make peace with their loves, the writers write off the characters for good, most likely without a chance to return.
The show's currently in a position in which they have to act carefully, since a lot of fans are tired of the long-lasting mystery of the series. Every season finale, we are supposedly getting the revelation of A's identity, but the anonymous stalker keeps being around. I believe it's vital for the course of the series to follow the path of discovering the identity of A & the exploration of his/her motives, without interruption from vague relationship sub-plots.
The verdict from 'To Plea or Not to Plea' reflects the impact it had on me as a viewer, as well as plot-related issues.