Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Hell House
Joshua Pleming
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Things have certainly been taken up a few notches for the girls in Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 6 when Kelly's church puts on their production of Redemption House.
It's probably too late for a trigger warning as if you're here, then you've likely already seen the episode, but it wouldn't hurt for Max to put one out there for viewers who have had their own bouts with religious trauma.
That being said, it was an exciting shift in perspectives and priorities, as this episode almost felt self-contained beyond the Bloody Rose plot; luckily, the decision worked, for the most part, storywise.
That being said, I'm just going to get this out of the way now and ask how cringey was that scene of the girls going back to Redemption House with the monster masks?
It was the only part of the episode that really required suspending belief.
No one in this day and age would run screaming from a haunted house because they saw a girl in regular clothes wearing a scary mask.
If that scene were more realistic, the girls would've been pretty much ignored, and the only reactions they would've gotten would have been some teenagers laughing at how ridiculous they were being.
Scary demon masks in a haunted house meant to scare patrons with the horrors of hell? It's clearly been a while since the writers have talked to a teenager.
If you want to scare them, make the haunted house a blackout zone with no Wi-Fi or signal. That would definitely send them running into the streets toward the safety of TikTok.
With only two episodes left for the season, the show took some big swings and possibly laid more clues about Bloody Rose, regardless of Imogen's discovery at the end.
Things have really mellowed out for Mouse since Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, as she's just about rid of all her vices despite her claim of Spooky Spaghetti addiction.
Mouse: Yes, there are horrible people out there, but there are good people to trying to make the world better.
Ash: I love you, Mouse.
Mouse: I love you, too.
With her mom gone, she's had almost total freedom.
She's spending time with her grandmother and is closer than ever to Ash. If anything, he went through more in this episode than his pretty little girlfriend.
You wanna hear the sickest part? Redemption House is the kind of thing that makes trans kids hurt themselves or even worse than hurt themselves. It's a nightmare.
Ash
Maybe it was a good thing she was attacked by Bloody Rose first because it seems like the killer doesn't bother with the liars once they've been tested.
Mouse: When either of you gets the call, or a note, or whatever, what are you going to do?
Tabby: Only thing we can do. Everything in our power to survive, like you guys did.
It seems like the Pretty Little Liars: Summer School universe is trying to balance things out because each girl's life seems to get a pick-me-up after their Bloody Rose tests.
Look at Faran. She went from being scared of anyone finding out she could dance again and hiding it from her church boyfriend to being calm, collected, single, and beating boys at arm wrestling.
Related: Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Friday the 13th
Speaking of arm wrestling boys, what is up with Greg?
Is he going through the classic trope of the school jock douche who suddenly becomes a good person due to a change in perspective?
It's fine if he is because Greg has come a long way since he and his letterman jacket showed up in Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Season 1 Episode 1.
He hasn't been involved in either season's slayings, but things are still looking up for Greg. Along with Kelly, he left the ways of the church world behind, and you'd have to be blind and deaf to miss the sparks that were flying between Faran and Greg at the end.
I quit Redemption House. I heard what you said. And more than that, I finally saw what we were doing, and there's no excuse. Long story short, I walked away from the church and from Kelly.
Greg
Honestly, Faran and Henry always felt like a weird pairing.
It wouldn't be too much of a stretch for him to become involved with Kelly now, as they're both part of the same borderline cult.
Since we're already on the topic of boyfriends, this season has had me shaking my head at my favorite pretty little liar, Noa.
Whenever it seems like she might do the right thing, it's always one step forward and two steps back.
It's so hard to root for her when she is being the worst girlfriend to Shawn. The same guy who took her in when her mom went to rehab.
The same guy who lent Noa two grand to get Jen out of jail. The same guy who defended Noa to his mom.
Oh, Noa. What are you doing, girl? She has been on a downward spiral since Jen arrived in Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 2.
She's having all these heart-to-heart conversations with Jen when she needs to have one big one with Shawn. It seemed like Noa was headed in that direction, but once again, she chickened out.
Listen, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings for you. I do, and then some. I just -- I need to hit pause. Jen, I'm juggling a lot of heavy shit, as you know, and I can't make a decision right now about anything. Let alone something as important as this.
Noa
Don't worry, though. Apparently, Noa is capable of making confessions, but not to the right people because she told everything to the girls.
I can't take it anymore. Jen and I weren't just friends in juvie. We were together. Like, together together. While I was with Shawn. And he has no idea. And Jen and I hooked up again recently.
Noa
That part of the episode also felt cringy since the liars focused entirely on Noa liking girls and didn't bat an eye at Noa secretly cheating on Shawn with the intention of possibly breaking up with him.
Boy problems abound through the liar group, but Tabby at least seems to be moving in a healthier direction, or at least, it seemed like she was before Wes suddenly went missing and she hallucinated his dead body.
Related: Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 4 Review: When a Stranger Calls Back
Wes is a character who is squarely in the grey area because he's attempted moves on Tabby but never done anything.
He's very encouraging of her film pursuits but harbors a small amount of jealousy and resentment toward her. Oh, well. If he's gone, he won't be missed.
Before we get to the most shocking and important part of the episode, it's worth noting that Bloody Rose is back to her killing ways, as Pastor Malachai found out in the basement of Redemption House.
This begs the question, why is Bloody Rose attacking and killing the church-going folks as she did with Kelly's church rival earlier in the season?
In fact, Bloody Rose hasn't attacked or killed anyone connected to or close to the liars apart from testing the girls themselves.
Kelly's church associate doesn't count because this episode pretty much solidified that Kelly isn't one of the liars—not to the audience or the girls.
You're wrong about Redemption House. This isn't about inflicting suffering. It's about releasing people from their suffering.
Kelly
And Imogen isn't playing friends with her anymore after that truly despicable suicide portrayal.
Save your crocodile tears, Kelly, and let me tell you this. For someone who is so terrified of going to hell, get ready because I'm about to make your life a living, breathing hell on Earth every God damn second of the day. Pray on that, bitch.
Imogen
Finally, let's talk about that crazy last-minute reveal at the end of the episode when Imogen said the face under the Bloody Rose gauze was her mother's.
Faran: Who was it? Who was under the gauze?
Imogen: My mom.
Right away, that has to be some misdirection since Imogen's mother is very clearly dead despite her body being dug up in Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Season 1 Episode 9.
The most likely occurrence is that Imogen either hallucinated her mother's face or whoever is making all these scary maks managed to make one that looks like Imogen's mom.
We will undoubtedly find out soon enough, as there is only one more episode before viewers get the conclusion and answers to this ironically bloodless season.
Do you think it was Imogen's mom under the gauze or another mask?
Now that he's revealed his more progressive side, are Faran and Greg headed for a coupling?
Drop a comment below to let us know, and join us again when we review the next episode of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School!
Joshua Pleming is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow him on X.
