Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin – Chapter 4 The (Fe)Male Gaze [Recap & Review]

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Chapter 4 – The (Fe)male Gaze begins with a flashback to 1999 where we see Angela Waters smoking with a young Marjorie – Noa’s mom. Turns out, when they were caught, Marjorie blamed the entire thing on Angela, getting her in trouble. Afterward, Marjorie gave Angela an I’m sorry gift – a “Mother of the Year” bear.

Flash forward to the present day and we see Marjorie working at the hospital, where she receives the same “Mother of the Year” bear she gave to Angela all those years ago… As well as pills that the bear is holding. As we know, Marjorie is a pill addict. 

TWO WEEKS LATER – IMOGEN AND MOUSE

Chapter 4 – The (Fe)male Gaze in the present day, takes place 2 weeks after the events of episode 3. Mouse’s (Malia Pyles) friend Ash (Jordan Gonzalez) is trying to convince her to make Halloween plans! Things have been quiet on the “A” front, but Imogen (Bailee Madison) is starting to put more pieces together. 

Imogen begins placing calls to former classmates of Angela’s. When she finally gets a hold of someone, the caller refuses to discuss anything and hangs up the phone. The episode flashes back to Imogen and her mom playing with an Ouija board, which gives her an idea. While at her home trying to find the board game, a couple arrives that is planning on purchasing the house. However, Imogen can’t have that, so she sabotages the entire deal by telling them someone was murdered there. 

After convincing the girls to come over for a seance, they begin playing with the Ouija board. This is when Imogen has her Zak Bagans moment of SCREAMING at her dead mother in a very therapeutic way with her new friends around to support her. Bailee Madison acted the heck out of this entire scene! Later, Imogen finds her mother’s journal, but there are pages torn out. Why??

TABITHA

Tabitha (Chandler Kinney) is assigned the project of recreating an iconic movie scene. She pairs up with Chip and they decide to recreate Psycho, but gender-swapped using Faran (Zaria Simone) and Karen’s ex-boyfriend, Greg. While in class presenting this idea, there are so many amazing visuals like Chip drawing a line through the chalkboard. Tabitha gives a speech about how horror films are mostly about women being tortured, murdered, and/or raped by men. (Which isn’t inaccurate. Why are they like this?)

While filming the iconic Psycho shower scene, Greg is being a douchebag refusing to cover up. Tabitha gives this great speech about what Greg should be feeling – powerless, drugged, etc. However, this sends Tabitha spiraling. She goes outside to catch her breath and we see a flashback, hazy memory of a party in the woods. I think it’s safe to assume something very serious happened to her at that party. Is this why she’s filming the boys’ locker room? Is she hoping to get a confession?

Tabitha learns that Wes has the missing thumb drive. All she has to do to get it is going to his house…for dinner. I appreciate how this entire thing played out. Tabitha is smart and isn’t letting Wes take advantage of her. She sees the thumb drive and books it out of there after 10 minutes of niceties.

FARAN AND NOA

Faran is on a mission to prove whether or not Kelly is really Karen. The girl is doing a lot of sketchy things. For one, Kelly takes Karen’s dance locker. Faran’s boyfriend says that dancing with Kelly is like dancing with Karen. Faran remembers the razor blades in the pointe shoes! If she can see Kelly’s feet she can prove it one way or another. So, she enlists her dance partner/boyfriend to help her.

Noa rejoins the track team and is trying to get back into shape. The Sheriff won’t leave her alone and is constantly threatening her with pee tests and unscheduled house calls. Which I think is odd given what she has on him. When at home, Noa finds the bear with the pills that “A” sent her mother. Then, conveniently, she receives a text from “A” saying, “She never learned her lesson. Mommy was gonna throw you under the bus again – like Angel Waters.” 

While her mom is at work, Noa orders a pizza for herself. Once it arrives she heads down to get it. However, what she finds isn’t a delivery guy, but her pizza on the ground and a smashed window! So, she heads back upstairs and finds “A” trying to get into her apartment! They chase her all over eventually ending up on the roof. Noa hardcore parkours her way from her roof to the neighboring one, putting a huge gap between her and “A”. Unfortunately, this move sets her ankle monitor off on the last day she was going to have to wear it.

This is the first time we get to hear “A”’s voice when they say, “Punish the guilty”. Noa grabs her phone and makes a call to the hospital turning her mother in. The episode ends with Noa filling in the girls on her wild night and telling them that “A” is here to punish their mothers.

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: ORIGINAL SIN – CHAPTER 4 THE (FE)MALE GAZE – REVIEW

This episode was slow to start but built to a fantastic ending. I’m still confused why we’re not going to have the girls acknowledge “A” in the van at the graveyard 2 weeks prior, but whatever. Poor Mouse has had basically ZERO storylines. So, I hope that she gets more screen time soon. 

I do not understand Noa turning in her mother like that. What was “A” going to do? Have a stare-off? We all know they weren’t going to hop over to that rooftop. 

I love Bailee Madison and Chandler Kinney in these leadership roles. I keep forgetting that these girls were NOT friends before detention. So, it’s going to take a while for them to naturally be a part of each other’s lives. I appreciate the show isn’t trying to force that to happen. 

I really love Tabitha’s storyline so far. She’s surrounded by intrigue and mystery, and possibly an even darker storyline than I ever expected. Her growing friendship with Imogen is adorable and I love that they’re becoming besties. 

This whole Kelly/Karen mystery road Faran is going down gives me I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes. Is PLL: Original Sin really going to go down that trope rabbit hole or is it just a red herring to keep us distracted from what’s really going on and what’s important? I guess only time will tell!

You can stream Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin on HBO Max.

KEEP READING:

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin – Episodes 1-3 [RECAP & REVIEW]