Once upon a time summer ushered in a fourth-month dry spell on TV, replete with repeats and re-hashed made-for-TV movies, but with the advent of mid-season replacements and an abundance of alternative networks and a handy DVR it’s become a breeze to remain inside as a lazy-ass pop-culture junkie year round. That said, last week brought my favorite guilty pleasure Pretty Little Liars back for its second season so that I –and millions of other PLL addicts – could disappear into the comfort Rosewood, Penn. with all of its pretty little trappings.
Since Rosewood’s resident lesbian Emily’s gay storyline came in with a whimper during last week’s season premiere I opted to forgo my “gay-cap” but this week’s episode offered more promise for recently out Emily, who happens to be going through the ladies like a regular little lothario.
The Goodbye Look: Ep. 2.2, SPOILERS
For those of you keeping up you may recall that Emily’s (Shay Mitchell) love-life appeared to have petered out with her romance with bully-turned-lovable-whacko Paige becoming a big flop along with Paige’s attempts to come to grips with being gay. But toward the end of last season Emily did make a connection with Samara (Claire Holt), a cute, proudly out jewelry maker who’s deeply involved with the GSA at nearby Sheridan Prep. However, during the first season finale Em’s mama Pam (Nia Peeples) dropped the bomb that Em had to move to Bush Country for a year because her military papa would be stationed there for another year, and that sort of put a crimp in Em’s style.
You may also recall that the writers / producers went to some length to suggest that Samara is Emily’s “type,” and therefore not unlike her first crush, the former Regina George of Rosewood, Alison. The Pretty Little Liars’ collective blackmailer ‘A’ even texted Em to suggest to her that she has a type, which caused Em to recall an interlude with Ally that then helped lead to discovering the missing key the girls had been searching high and low to find. So, despite ‘A’s’ portent, like any good young lez sowing her coming out oats Emily’s about to dive neck deep into something with Samara that could spell trouble.
Speaking of diving, the producers dug out a stock photo of promising athlete Em diving into the school pool and recycled that to signal Em was back in the swim of it and kicking ass at a meet – although there’s no mention of where her swim teammate / occasional make-out partner Paige had gotten off to.
Cut to Em leaving the locker room and Samara just happens to be there as her biggest, latest, greatest fan.
“Wow, you were one with the water. That was amazing,” Samara says, hugging Emily, who just looks like the prettiest drowned rat ever with her post-pool hair.
“I did okay,” says a humble Em, who then expounds that she did not beat her personal time despite winning the meet.
“So, you want to grab something to eat?” Samara asks, but Em blows her off saying she has to help Mama Pam pack.
But what Em does not realize is that Samara is one tenacious little lesbian. “Okay, how bout tomorrow night?” Samara offers. “Something to eat…maybe see a movie,” she adds, but Em seems speechless.
“What? You don’t like movies?” Samara teases.
“No, I even like the black and white ones,” Em says, endearing her even more to my inner film geek.
“But I’m moving Samara. I don’t want to start anything that I can’t finish,” Em adds.
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Not to be deterred Samara says, “Well, it is just a movie so if you don’t want a big commitment we won’t get the large popcorn.” Well, that would be the deal breaker for me right there. The popcorn’s the best part.
Little Miss Emily laughs at Samara’s joke and Samara asks if she’s been misreading Em’s signs.
“No, you’re not. Let’s do tomorrow,” Em says. But no sooner does she say yes to a first date with Samara than a scout from the fictional Danby University approaches Em about a possible athletic scholarship. This may also be Em’s ticket to sticking around Rosewood!
So our little Em gets scouted AND cruised at the same meet. Good for her.
The next day, following a brief swim montage the PLL producers are fond of running, Em meets with the scout who tells her she’s indeed a candidate for a scholarship but that he’s heard she may be leaving town. Em’s eyes glisten upon hearing the word “scholarship” juxtaposed with a brief discussion of her moving. Her wheels are definitely spinning.
“Do you know when you’re moving?” the scout asks.
“That’s not definite. There’s some talk about it. I’m going to finish school here,” Emily says, lying through her perfectly straight, white teeth.
Next up, Emily’s back in her room selling her Danby pitch to Mama Pam, who’s open to discussion. But pragmatic Pam wants a commitment from the university, which may take some wrangling on Em’s part, although she says it will be, “no problem.”
Cue Em and Samara at the movies and Em is gleeful about the prospect of a scholarship combined with the opportunity to ‘finish what she starts’ with Samara.
“All I need is a letter. Just something in writing and I won’t have to move. I can finish at Rosewood,” Emily tells Samara.
“That’s great,” Samara says.
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“Beyond great. I feel like I can breathe again,” Emily says, before her mind wanders. But that Samara doesn’t miss a beat.
“What is it? You went some where just now. What was it?” Samara asks. Emily tries to blow it off but while she’s very “pretty” she’s a bad little “liar,” and Samara is not fooled.
“Did you come here with someone?” Samara asks. And it just so happens that Emily and Maya had been to the movies in that same theater, which I’m guessing is just about the only one in sleepy Rosewood. Samara asks if Em would like to go somewhere else but Emily replies that she’s okay if Samara is okay.
“I don’t know,” Samara says. “Ghosts of first girlfriends make tough competition.”
“What sort of competition would I be looking at?” Em asks. “I mean, for the sake of argument.” Oh wow. This is a slippery slope. Sometimes it’s just better not to know Emily!!! Cuidado!
“Well, I don’t kiss and tell,” Samara says, just before she tells about her first girlfriend.
“I had a Maya. Everybody has a Maya, if they’re lucky,” Samara says. At Emily’s gentle nudge Samara opts to wax nostalgic. “Her name was Marion Genari (sp?)… Sophomore English, one row over, two seats down. She always wore her hair up, and I kept looking at the back of her neck."
“What happened? Em asks.
“We had a study date one night and she let her hair down,” Samara says, brandishing a Cheshire Cat grin.
Thank goodness the movie starts up as it’s just bad form to talk first love on a first date. But I have to hand it to these two tank-top wearing moviegoers. They are committed to looking cute on their first date despite the common knowledge that movie theaters are effing freezing and require a sweater or hoodie year-round.
But uh oh, there may be a kink in Emily’s little plan to stay in Rosewood. It seems the recruiter can’t promise her a slot at Danby. He can only promise that the university is interested, which may fall short of what it takes to satisfy Em’s parents.
“So, all I can get is a maybe letter?” Em asks.
“That’s what I can do now,” The recruiter tells her. He walks off and Emily looks truly crestfallen for the first time this episode.
And that’s about it for this week’s gay-cap. I wish Em were interacting with her besties Hanna, Aria and Spencer a bit more, but alas, their shrink, played by the lovely -- early crush of mine from Mystic Pizza -- Annabeth Gish, has suggested the girls would be better off spending a little time apart. So at this point, the liars are only engaging in the occasional clandestine meeting in an undisclosed scary-ass location to discuss ‘A’s’ latest shenanigans.
Check back next week to follow the Emily / Samara story!
Screengrabs by Boo.
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