It was a mother of a season of murder mayhem marked by beautiful bouquets of bloody roses that struck fear into the hearts of the PLLs throughout Pretty Little Liars: Summer School.
After such an incredible first episode, the season took some interesting liberties with the kill count. Still, in retrospect, it successfully kept audiences in the dark and on their toes as much as it did the pretty little liars.
The wait was certainly worth it with an ending that smacked almost entirely of Scream 2 but did it in a way that felt more real and with much higher stakes as it ended with five times the final girls and more motivation than viewers might’ve been able to follow.
If you were a little lost or didn’t catch everything that happened in the jam-packed final episode of the series, we have you covered with the ending explained for Pretty Little Liars: Summer School.
Underneath Those Bloody Bandages was a Murdering Mom Consumed With Delusional Grief
Related: Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Hell House
Let’s get this out of the way now. Go ahead and take away my sleuthing card because Mrs. Langsberry was Bloody Rose, and she didn’t even make it onto my top five suspects.
The reveal felt like a forehead-smacking moment because how was it not completely obvious that she was the “killer mother” throughout the season?
As the saying goes, “The best place to hide is often in plain sight,” and the writers certainly took that to heart by having Mrs. Langsberry appear only three times, with her previous appearance being in Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 6, “Hell House.”
By the last episode, it was clear that this season’s theme was centered around moms, which makes you think maybe the writers should have called this season “A Mother’s Love” rather than “Summer School.”
Although a “mother’s love” might not be accurate since the woman was delusional beyond belief, claiming till the end that Chip was a good boy even though the DNA of Imogen’s baby proved he was a creepy, disgusting rapist.
Even Archie Waters could see the truth, and he wears a mask with no eye holes.
I’m sorry you are nuttier than a squirrel, Mrs. Langsberry. Tabby was right. Chip got what he deserved.
I’d imagine every viewer felt a massive surge of satisfaction when Faran gave that morbid mama a swift kick to the face and knocked her out cold, ending her reign of terror to be taken into police custody. Although, she has a good case for an insanity plea.
Related: Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Final Exam
Cliched Killers Come in All Sorts of Shapes and Sizes, but Wes was the Stupid Kind of Crazy
It has to be said that Wes was also not a contender for the killer, partly because Bloody Rose was very clearly a woman and also because the self-proclaimed filmmaker was a total basic bro.
It turns out that was only scratching the surface of his misogyny and possible racism, as was made evident in Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 8, “Final Exam.”
It takes a disturbing amount of narcissism to put together his elaborate plan, all for the sake of making a real-life horror movie with no intention of getting away with it just for the glory of having his name remembered.
There’s no way around the glaring similarities between Wes and a handful of killers from the Scream franchise, except that those killers were genuinely psychotic radicals. In contrast, Wes is, in Tabby’s words, “You’re a hack. I know it. Everyone knows it.”
The only impressive aspect of Wes is that his plan was well strategized through his proxies, which finally answers the question of how Bloody Rose knew where the girls were and what they were doing at all times.
The only other thing he did that was moderately inventive was throwing the suspect spotlight on the love interests because, as a specific slasher franchise already mentioned would say, “Never trust the love interest.”
If Wes had put as much effort into a genius story rather than creating Spooky Spaghetti to radicalize unhinged residents of Millwood, maybe he would be headed to a film festival like Tabby rather than a state prison.
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The Dead Doctor Signals a Shift from the Old to the New as the Series Cleans House
Oh, Anne. She just couldn’t be a good doctor to the girls, and now she is food for the worms, all because she was ready to make a buck off the trauma of the PLLs.
Such a staunch betrayal felt contrary to the character’s persona from the original Pretty Little Liars, as she always acted as a guiding light and support system.
Quite frankly, it seems that the point of that final scene was to justify her slaying so as not to enrage viewers who had grown to like the crossover character. However, it fits the much darker and grittier themes explored in Pretty Little Liars: Summer School.
She was a strange part of Wes’s plan as it wasn’t made clear exactly what purpose her kidnapping served since the girls still thought she was a suspect even after being taken.
At best, her only beneficial aspect was building the idea that Bloody Rose was marking and taking grieving mothers, specifically those suffering from loss.
The big question is, what will happen with her book now that Archie has turned her into Swiss cheese? As seen towards the end, the publisher has her book, and all that is left is a sign-off from the girls—Fat Chance.
If the news does reach the liars in the next season, that’s a terrible way to leave a legacy, but what’s done is done.
Lies are always more believable when they’re closer to the truth, so there’s no telling what else Dr. Sullivan could’ve done. In the words of A from the original series, “The doctor is out.”
Related: Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Sweet Sixteen
The Prodigal Son Returns Home to Pick Up Where He Last Stabbed
It just wasn’t the same this season without the infamous A stalking and terrorizing the liars with cryptic messages and pointed murders.
He made such an impression in Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Season 1 Episode 1 with a body count rivaling his entire in Original Sin.
At least with Archie Waters, you knew what you were getting. He was a dark, murdering vigilante out to end bullies everywhere. It would almost be noble if he weren’t wearing a mask terrifying enough to equal Michael Myers’s.
And now that his mother has not only been killed but had the skin on her face removed, there’s honestly no telling how Archie will process this information or how bad it will get for Imogen, Faran, Tabby, Mouse, Noa, and Kelly.
His “resurrection” will also likely signal the return of all the liars’ mothers, who were almost entirely absent this time. Still, since no one knows Archie is alive after he was reported dead at the prison riot, we’re probably approaching a calm-before-the-storm situation.
This final episode of Pretty Little Liars took many liberties and influences from Scream. It’s a wonder Spyglass didn’t call Max about licensing, but the series was all the better for it because it delivered a truly entertaining experience.
What lies ahead for the liars is uncertain, but if the show gets picked up for another season, it will undoubtedly be filled to the brim with blood because the job of every sequel is to outdo the previous with more carnage.
Thank you, Randy Meeks and Tabby, for keeping viewers prepared for any possible slasher scenarios by reminding us to run out the front door and not up the stairs.
What did you think of the ending of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School? Did you have the killers pegged, or were you just as surprised as we were?
Drop a comment below to let us know, and join us again when we explain the ending of all your favorite shows!
Joshua Pleming is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow him on X.