Episode Report Card Jacob Clifton: A+ | 5 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Don't You Wish You Never Met Her?
By Jacob Clifton | Season 4 | Episode 4 | Aired on 07.02.2013
*(Spoiler Alert From the Future: I can't even believe I'm about to say this, but the show is about to drop about 87 truth bombs about this shit in a minute and it's going to be amazing.)
Emily: "I gotta go eavesdrop on my parents being appalled by my behavior, brb. They 'think they're alone now.'"
Tiffany: "I am so ashamed of our daughter, which makes me hate myself!"
Dad: "I too feel embarrassed that our family is trashy enough they called CPS."
Tiffany: "Because we know we aren't! We're awesome! Put that 'Kid In A Corner'!"
Dad: "I blame Emily. She is a pretty little liar."
Tiffany: "But really we're both just worried about her because we realize she's perfect, so clearly there is another level of shit going on."
It's nice to hear. But it brings Emily no relief! It is very sad, and very evocatively filmed: Emily looking tiny in her doorframe, half in the darkness, leaning like she's about to fall down, while the deep voices of her parents just go on and on downstairs. Poor Emily!
DR. VARGAS
Emily: "Dr. Vargas, it seems like you're a big deal suddenly. Listen, I am not being abused."
Vargas: "Your rotator cuff disagrees."
Emily: "I mean, how am I supposed to convince you I am okay and you shouldn't have called Family Services? I can tell you a million times that you're wrong, but you're just going to think I'm being servile or protecting my abuser or whatever else confirms your narrative."
Vargas: "True. Just give in. So what if I'm wrong? They'll investigate and realize it. If you can count on one thing, it's the efficiency and efficacy of American social services."
Emily: "Yeah, this sucks. I'm out."
Vargas: "One more thing. You need rest, rehab and maybe surgery for your rotator cuff."
Emily: "You know that I am 89% swimming, correct?"
Vargas: "If you ever swim again, you will die."
THE BEST SCENE
Hanna is dressed up so fine and looking so good! She comes over to flirt a clue or two out of Roma Maffia, and it becomes this incredible game of Woman Chess where their bodies and faces are having a completely different conversation than their words. Hanna is charismatic as all hell, and never lets you forget the three or four levels on which she's having to operate right now because of all the stuff; meanwhile Roma Maffia is pretty open about how she's pumping Hanna for info while they're having this talk. It all comes out pretty equable, because Hanna's clever enough to only tell Roma things that are both helpful and exonerate Ashley and the Liars but still moves the case along, while Roma describes this whole lovely arc over the scene of slowly realizing that Hanna is both playing her and also totally acting in good faith, while still wanting to grind her into the dirt to get her answers.