Chasing Life Recap - "The Big Leagues" (S01E16)

The episode starts with April getting asked out by a high school student, Julian, in the hospital waiting room. He says he recognizes her from her article in the Post and said shared that he has testicular cancer and asked her to do a story on him for her column. He also tells her that when he found out about his cancer, he made a promise to himself that he would ask out any girl he thought was pretty.

April and her mom see the doctor who lets her know that she is still in remission. April asks her (after her mom steps out) if she is ok to have sex and the doctor gives her the green light. April tells Beth who hilariously dumps a huge box of condoms into April's purse. April arrives at work and notices that a few of the condoms are sticking out so she grips her bag tightly as Danny and Dominic step into the elevator with her. Her phone begins ringing and they tease her about why she won't answer it.

That night, Leo has dinner with the Carver ladies and April practically rushes them all out. Once they're alone, April and Leo sleep together.Which leads to an awkward morning when they are caught by Sarah sneaking out. Sarah is casual about it, but April is embarrassed and ducks out to go to work. Leo stays and has breakfast with Sarah, talking to her about his life and how unsure he is about his future now that he knows he has one. He's scared of what is to come because he has nothing to fall back on and he is tired of just being Bruce Hendrie's son.

At work, April makes a bet with the sports writer that she can get the inside scoop from baseball player Richie Miranda about his contract negotiations. They shake on it and the loser has to bring the winner tacos for a week. April finds out that a popular girl said yes to Julian and he asks her to come to his dance and interview him so he doesn't embarrass himself in front of her. April agrees and then finds out the dance is the same night as the event she is trying to meet Richie at. She thinks she can make both. Leo heads to one of his father's job sites and is embarrassed to have to ask about money. He finds out a guy he went to high school with is working for his dad.

Meanwhile, Greer is acting up at school and dyed the tips of her hair purple. At first Brenna and Ford think it's cool. Greer meets them at Alchemy where Brenna is working with Kieran and invites them to go on a trip to her vacation home. She insists that Kieran give her a tattoo and he refuses since she is underage which is illegal. Greer flips out and she over hears Kieran tell Brenna she's acting like a psycho. Greer locks herself in the bathroom and Ford leaves. Brenna talks Greer down and they have a sleepover with Kieran at the shop. She shares that she has depression and she is on medication for that and anxiety. She also says she doesn't like taking the medication so she took herself off of it. Greer opens up about feeling like she has this dark side that she has to hide and be ashamed of that no one knows about. Brenna then shares that after her dad died, she slept with a senior from their school and got pregnant and the guy gave her a check to have it taken care of. She also says that she told 1 person, Ford, who drove with her to Connecticut where it can be done without a parent's permission. Brenna shares that she and Ford have been close ever since. Kieran shares that he got a tramp stamp.

April and Leo go to the club first and he goes to have a drink. He gets upset when someone refers to him as Bruce Hendrie's son and asks about his cancer. Leo drinks and April sees the sports reporter get turned down for the VIP room. April tries to get back there but ultimately lies (makes them think she's pregnant) and as soon as Richie sees her, he recognizes her. They sit and she shares about what happened and basically thanks him for saving her life. He gets pulled away before she can ask him about his contract negotiations. April gets a text from Julian asking where she is and she decides to give the Richie story one more shot before leaving. She walks back into the VIP lounge and sees Richie and Leo snorting cocaine.

April and Leo have it out, coming to the conclusion that cancer was the only thing they had in common. April wrestles with whether or not to tell the story. She runs into Dominic and mentions what happened, leaving out Leo's part in it, and says she doesn't know what to do. He gives her credit, saying that her job is tough and she has a hard choice to make and her respects her for doing it. Ultimately April shares the story in the paper (excluding Leo's role) and it makes the television news. Everyone in her office is celebrating her accomplishment and her boss is very pleased.
















Original air date 2/16/15

Once Upon A Time - Review

Once Upon A Time is about Emma Swan who is brought to the small town of Storybrooke, Maine on her 28th birthday by her 10 year old son, Henry, whom she had given up for adoption when he was born. She is shocked that Henry found her and concerned about the fact that he went to Boston by himself. She decides to take him back to his town and on the way she notices a story book he is holding on to. He informs her that she is in the story book. Henry tries to convince her that she is the Savior and everyone in the town is actually a character in his storybook and that they were brought to this land because of curse enacted by the Evil Queen in an attempt to get revenge on Snow White. He tells her that she is the daughter of Snow White and the Prince and that only she can break the curse and set them all free. Henry insists that no one knows who they are and time is frozen in the town. Of course she immediately thinks he is crazy.

She takes him to his house where she meets the town Sheriff and his mother Regina Mills, who is also the mayor. Regina is grateful to Emma for bringing him home, but Henry is upset and insists that his mother is the Evil Queen. Emma prepares to leave, but she wants to make sure Henry is ok. After seeing another side to Regina, she decides to stick around for a while and get to know Henry better. This infuriates Regina who is the only one in town who knows Emma is the Savior- or so it seems.

While all of this is going on, flashbacks are occurring to the Enchanted Forrest where storybook characters Snow White, the Prince, the Evil Queen, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Rumpelstiltskin, Belle, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, the Mad Hatter, King Midas, and more live. In these flashbacks, you see how they lived their lives and all of the events that led up to the curse being enacted.

Main Cast (through season 4):

• Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
• Ginnifer Godwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard
• Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina Mills
• Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
• Josh Dallas as the Pauper/Prince "Charming" James/David Nolan
• Robert Carlyle as Rumpelstiltskin/Beast/Crocodile/Mr. Gold
• Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Wolf/ Ruby
• Emile de Ravin as Belle/Lacey
• Colin O'Donahgue as Captain Killian "Hook" Jones
• Michael Socha as Will Scarlet/Knave of Hearts/White King

Recurring Cast & Guests (through season 4):

• Raphael Sparge as Dr. Archie Hopper/Jiminy Cricket
• Jaime Dornan as Sheriff Graham Humbert/Huntsman
• Eion Bailey as August Booth/Pinocchio
• Michael Raymond James as Neal Cassidy/Baelfire
• Sarah Bolger as Princess Aurora
• Julian Morris as Prince Phillip
• Jaime Chung as Mulan
• Sean Maguire as Robin Hood
• Lee Arenberg as Leroy/Grumpy
• Gabe Khouth as Tom Clark/Sneezy
• David Paul Grove as Doc
• Faustino Di Bauda as Walter/Sleepy
• Mig Macario as Bashful
• Mike Coleman as Happy
• Jeffrey Kaiser as Dopey
• Beverley Elliott as Granny/Widow Lucas
• Keegan Connor Tracy as Mother Superior/Blue Fairy
• David Anders as Dr. Whale/Dr. Victor Frankenstein
• Tony Amendola as Marco/Geppetto
• Sebastian Stan as Jefferson/Mad Hatter
• Rose McGowan and  Barbara Hershey as Cora Mills/Queen of Hearts
• Rebecca Mader as Zelena/Wicked Witch of the West
• Georgina Haig as Elsa
• Scott Michael Foster as Kristoff
• Elizabeth Lail as Anna
• Rose McIver as Tinkerbell
• Brighton Sharbino and Elizabeth Mitchell as Ingrid/Snow Queen
• Joanna García Swisher as Ariel
• Gil McKinney as Prince Eric
• Stephen Lord as Malcolm
• Robbie Kay as Peter Pan/Pied Piper
• Christie Laing as Maid Marian
• Sonequa Martin-Green as Tamara
• Jessy Schram as Ashley Boyd/Cinderella
• Tim Phillipps as Sean Herman/Prince Thomas
• Chris Gauthier as William Smee
• Anastasia Griffith as Kathryn Nolan/Princess Abigail
• Alan Dale as Albert Spencer/King George
• Giancarlo Esposito as Sidney Glass/Genie of Agrabah/Magic Mirror
• Zak Santiago and Tony Perez as King Henry
• Benjamin Stockham as Owen Flynn
• Ethan Embry as Greg Mendell (Owen's older alias)
• Kristin Bauer van Straten as Maleficent
• Merrin Dungey as Ursula
• Yvette Nicole Brown as Ursula's voice
• Victoria Smurfit as Cruella De Vil
• Alex Zahara as King Midas
• Quinn Lord as Nicholas Zimmer/Hansel
• Karley Scott Collins as Ava Zimmer/Gretel
• Nicholas Lea as Michael Tillman/Woodcutter
• Eric Lange and Richard Schiff as King Leopold
• Eric Keenleyside as Moe French/Sir Maurice
• Amy Acker as Sister Astrid/Nova
• Noah Bean as Daniel
• Rachel Shelley as Milah
• Jorge Garcia as Anton
• Eva Bourne and Rena Sofer as Queen Eva
• Freya Tingley as Wendy Darling
• William Ainschough and Matt Kane as John Darling
• Benjamin Cook and James Immekus as Michael Darling
• Christopher Gorham as Walsh/Wizard of Oz/Flying Monkey
• Alexandra Metz as Rapunzel
• Sunny Mabrey as Glinda/Good Witch of the South
• Matreya Scarrwener as Dorothy Gayle
• Tyler Jacob Moore as Prince Hans
• Robin Weigert as Bo Peep
• Ava Marie Telek and Pascale Hutton as Queen Gerda
• Nicole Munoz as Lilith "Lily"
• Timothy Webber as The Apprentice
• Bailey Herbert and Sally Pressman as Helga

Overall review: a MUST watch (pay close attention as it all intertwines)

Tune in Sunday nights at 8 PM EST on ABC

Pretty Little Liars Recap - "Bloody Hell " (S05E22)

The girls (minus Hanna) went to visit Ali in prison and apologize. They told her what Mike had told them. As they were leaving, Aria asked Ali not to tell her defense attorney about Mike and she promised that they would find A. Ali started to protest but Aria reminded her that they had been going after A's henchmen and not A. Ali promised Aria she would hold off as long as she could because she didn't want to hurt Mike.

Aria continues to worry about her brother and misses a study session with Andrew. He asks her to a movie and she clarifies that it can't be a date because she is still "sort of" with Ezra. They agree to go as friends and Andrew says it's a movie about "a dark figure in the shadows who sends messages and knows everyone's secrets." Creepy!

Mrs. Hastings is angry at Spencer for visiting Alison. She hands her a plane ticket to London so she can go for an interview at Oxford University. It's made clear that Spencer has no choice but to go. Meanwhile, Emily finds out that the pageant is much more of a time commitment than she previously thought, but she is committed to winning it for Hanna. Hanna and Aria go over to the Hastings to see Spencer, and Aria asks for a minute of Mrs. Hasting's time and legal advice. Mrs. H. warns her that they aren't under lawyer client privileged so she might be forced to share what Aria says even if she doesn't want to. Aria hands her a dollar and asks her to be her lawyer for an hour. Mrs. H. agrees and listens to Aria, telling her that the person in question (Mike of course) could face some serious penalties for withholding valuable information in a police investigation.

Aria begs Hanna to go with her to see Cyrus aka Hank Mahoney who is in the hospital. She explains how she tracked him down and how important it is for them to see him. Hanna agrees to go with her and Emily tries to make arrangements for her pageant schedule.

Mrs. H. pays Ali a visit in an effort to find out why the girls saw her. Alison swears to her that she is innocent and wants a trial by jury so she can have a chance to tell her side because "for once it's the truth." Mrs. H. warns her that is probably not a wise idea since everyone is aware of all of her lies and it would be hard to convince the jury that she is telling the truth. Ali asks for advice and Mrs. H. says she doesn't know what to say and Ali says, "what would you say to Spencer? she was almost in this chair." That really hits Mrs. H., who tells her that she is going to have to have a good coach. Ali asks her to do it and Mrs. H. leaves without giving an answer.

Spencer arrives in London and is greeted by Wren's flatmate who informs her that Wren and Melissa are gone for the weekend at Wren's bosses home. He talks on as she is mindlessly preoccupied with her phone. Hanna and Aria go to the hospital claiming to be Hank's cousins and the nurse makes them gown up before seeing him in the burn unit. He is severely burned and he insists to them it wasn't an accident. He writes down "Varjack" on a gauze wrapper before the nurse makes the girls leave.

Spencer is in an interview with Oxford that she is completely nailing, until the professor notices her bag is leaking a red substance all over his chair. She freaks out and looks in her bag, finding a brokwn vile of blood. She grabs her bag and apologizes profusely before running out of the office. She calls Aria and freaks out about what happened and Aria tells her that Cyrus was attacked and left them a note that said "carjacked." Spencer says she wants to come home but she is scared to because she doesn't know if a put anything else in her luggage and that she was lucky TSA didn't find the vile. Aria tries to reassure her but has to hang up to keep Hanna from getting into the fight with a nurse. In the elevator they realize he wrote "Varjack" and wonder if he was referring to Paul Varjack, the character from Breakfast at Tiffanys noting that Ali loved the movie and even posed as Holly's likeness for her fake passport photo. They wonder if A is using the name to taunt Ali. They also realize that he misspelled the name which means he hadn't seen it written so he must have spoken to A. The camera shows a burn victim get up from their bed and approach Cyrus which means he is probably dead thanks to A.

Spencer continues to flip out in London and Wren's flatmate is concerned and totally calms her down again. Meanwhile, Emily is working hard in the dance studio on her routine when Talia interrupts. She tells Emily that she and Eric had a long talk and they are breaking up. She is going to stay in a motel for a while until Emily offers for her to stay at the house. They dance together until Talia breaks down and Emily slow dances with her. Then her pageant coach walks in and tells Emily she might want to drop out because of her friends. Em and Talia immediately assume she is talking about their gay relationship, but the coach insists she means Em's friendship with Ali. She claims that the sponsors of the show are afraid that their relationship will taint the show. Talia threatens legal action and suggests that they either let Em compete or their sponsors send Emily a check for school.

Hanna find out her mom and Pastor Ted are engaged and this leads her to visit Ali. She apologizes for what she said and Ali tells her it's ok. She apologizes for how she treated them as well. She insists she thought she was helping them by telling them what to wear, eat, date, etc., but now that she is in their position and no one is listening to her she realizes how terrible it feels and she's sorry. She asks to start over and Hanna says she isn't sure, but that can try. Also on the Ali front, she wrote "Mona" in dust on a table and when she returned she saw someone had written "told everything" underneath it. She also recieved a mini doll in an orange jumpsuit with a note from A that said "Now that you're over the barrel how would you like to be in one."
Mrs. H. calls Spencer after looking over Ali's case file and leaves her a message telling her to stay in London.

Aria is at home and looking for Mike's schedule because she assumes he is at a game. She sees it on his dart board so she climbs up to get it, using his bench press for support. Andrew is calling for her downstairs and she says she's coming. The screws in the bench press give way (because A tampered with them), and Aria falls to the floor, hurting her head and ankle. Andrew rushes in to help her and notices the wrong bolts were on the screws. He says that if Mike had gone to use it, it would have crushed his skull. This really shakes Aria up and she begins to cry quietly as Andrew examines her foot. He tells her that "for a petite girl you bring on a lot of chaos," and that he "likes problems and doesn't mind them." He's clearly vying for her. He mentions that she should see a doctor for her foot and he looks up to see her crying. He sits next to her and offers his shoulder for her to cry on. He assures her that she'll be ok. They look at each other and he leans in, and THEY KISS!

Original air date 2/24/15

Pretty Little Liars Recap: "Pretty Isn't The Point" (S05E21)

The girls search Mike's room for clues and they find a necklace in his gym back that has Morse code on it saying "I'm with you". They are suspicious and assume the necklace is for Ali. 

Hanna hires a pageant coach to ensure that she wins the pageant. Quickly learning that you have to be more than a pretty face to win the grand prize, Hanna turns to Emily for help when she claims that dancing is her talent. 

Emily meets Talia's husband Eric when he comes to work looking for her. She realizes that Talia told him that she was just a one time thing and he believed that he would be with Talia forever. While she's waiting for Hanna, she asks Ashley for advice on what to do. Caleb meets the girls in the dance room and informs them that Hanna's stepsister Kate has signed up for the pageant as well which completely infuriates Hanna. 

 

When she performs her dance with Emily for her coach, she gets infuriated at Kate and ruins her chance. The coach tells Hanna she isn't pageant material and she shouldn't go through with it. Hanna disappears into the hallway and overhears her coach invite Emily to join because she thinks Emily would win. Hanna gets upset and runs away. Emily goes after her but is stopped by Talia. She tells Talia that she and Eric talked and she can't do this with her. She goes after Hanna and tells her that she didn't accept the offer, but that she's going to and she is going to win for Hanna and give her the money for college because that is "what you do when you love someone."

 

Mike interrupts a study session between Aria and Andrew by yelling at his sister accusing her of snooping in his room. Andrew excuses himself and steps outside before Mike flips out on Aria telling her that if she goes in there again she'd regret it. He flips the table before leaving the room and Andrew rushes in seeing a shaken up Aria. She asks Andrew to help keep tabs on Mike and he agrees. Andrew follows Mike into the woods behind Mona's house and sees him leave something in a tree. He tries to find what it was, but he thinks he hears Mike coming back so he leaves.

 

Andrew meets up with Aria at the cupcake shop and tells her what happened. He offers to go back and find out what Mike left and she insists on going. He offers to go with her but Aria declines insiting that she will be fine on her own. He's clearly worried about her staying at the house alone with Mike, but she insists that it will be ok because her dad will be back that night.

 

 

 Spencer finds out that Jonny vandalized Hollis and hadn't been hired to paint the mural. She flips out on him and informs him that she had been arrested for murder and even though the charges were dropped she can't afford to mess up again if she wants to go to college. She reaches out to Melissa, asking if Wren could help her get into Oxford University. Jonny and Spencer make up and go to the college where Toby sees them talking. He's not happy about it and leaves. While Spencer and Jonny are walking down the street, he sees some of his art work from the mural in a gallery window. The gallery owner says that someone brought them by from the school so he owns them and Jonny has no claim to them. When Jonny finds out that one is sold, he decides to get them back. Spencer is determined to help and since he won't let her get her mom involved, she decides to drive his getaway car. She picks the lock for him and brings him cutters for the chains holding up the paintings. While he's getting the last one down, he trips the alarm and the two speed off. While at a gas station, Toby shows up to arrest Jonny. He and Spencer have a heated argument where he tells her to walk away because Tanner is still watching her. She leaves and calls her mom who posts Jonny's bail and kicks him out of the barn. When he returns to the house he tells Spencer what happened and she's upset about him having to leave. After she gives him some packing tape, he kisses her.

Aria goes into the woods behind Mona's house and finds the tree Andrew had told her about. She finds a package in the spot he mentioned and pulls a vile of blood from it. Mike shows up and yells at her causing her to drop the vile and run. She gets in her car and races home, running the house hoping her dad was there. Mike comes in after her and she threatens to call the police if he got any closer to her. Mike tells her the truth about Mona's death. He informs her, that he walked in on Mona taking her own blood and she showed him all of the viles of her own blood that she had been storing. Her plan came from A and she had to fake her death, frame Alison, and then she planned to double cross A when she found out who he/she/they were- then she'd set the record straight and come back and then Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily would be safe and free and Mona would be their hero. Mike was against it and they argued about it but he eventually agreed to keep quiet. Mike was concerned that A had double crossed Mona though because she hadn't shown up to any of their meetings and he visited Ali to see if she knew anything about A or the plan. He broke down crying that the blood was all he had left of Mona and that she had given it to him. Aria held her brother before meeting with her friends to share what he told her.

The girls decide that they need to talk to Ali, and try to figure out what's going on.

















Aired on 2/17/15

Pretty Little Liars Recap: "Out, Damned Spot" (S05E20)

The episode starts with the girls donating blood during a drive that Hanna's mom, Ashley, is putting on. She's upset because no one from the church has shown up and she is grateful to Aria, Hanna, and Spencer for donating. Emily was unable to donate because of the volunteer work she had done in Haiti during the summer. While the girls are talking, a commotion ensues they see Mike getting caught stealing cookies by the refrigerator full of blood. They share their concerns that maybe Mike stole their blood for A which upsets Aria.

Aria is freaking out about school and her grades because she has a grade contingent acceptance to SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), Aria has to improve her grades and make honor roll. While she's studying Mike's phone goes off. She sees that a blocked number is calling so she answers. A recorded message plays asking if she would like to accept a collect call from "Hank Mahoney" at the women's correctional institute. Aria accepts and asks if it's Alison, but the caller hangs up. Aria angrily confronts Mike who flips out and tells her not to answer his phone ever again. She panics while taking a math test and ends up cheating off of Andrew who realizes what she is doing and offers to tutor her. Aria reluctantly accepts his offer and he comes over to her house.

Also having college acceptance anxiety, Spencer decides to take a break and help Jonny with a new project. He takes her to Hollis College where he paints a mural on the roof of a building. He encourages her to help him and to do something she loves not because she's good at it but because she loves it. Spencer helps him and the two of them bond over the mural.

Hanna is doing just fine on her college acceptances but finds out that she has been turned down for financial aid not because of her mom but because her dad makes to much. She finds out that her mom accepted Pastor Tedd's marriage proposal and she also confessed to him about her night with Jason which has led him to think about their relationship. Ashley insists that she will figure out how to pay for Hanna's tuition and tells her daughter not to involve her father. Of course Hanna doesn't listen and she goes to visit her father at his work. During their meeting he expresses that he is proud of Hanna for making it into such good schools and that he had no idea she had even applied to them. Hanna asks him for help paying the tuition. Her father informs her that is "all comes down to dollars and cents" and that he promised his wife Isabel, that he would take care of his stepdaughter Kate going to Dartmouth so he can't help Hanna. Hanna is devastated and storms out.

Emily and Talia go for a bike ride and come upon the spot where Talia had her first kiss. She shares the memory with Emily and the two talk. Emily kisses her and heads back to the New Brew where she casually informs Ezra of Aria's acceptance to SCAD, assuming that he already knew. She sees Talia's file out and wonders why she has a different last name. Ezra then informs her that Talia is married to a man named Eric. Emily leaves and sees Aria's brother Mike withdrawing a large sum of cash from an ATM. She gets a hold of the receipt and rushes over to Aria's. She interrupts Aria's tutoring session and tells Aria what she found.

They see Mike leave in the car and they need a way to follow him. Aria asks Andrew to take them which he does. On the way, he asks why they're following Mike and Emily covers by saying that they think Mike is taking steroids. The end up at a sketchy diner and Andrew (sweetly) offers to go in with them, but Aria and Emily insist that they will be fine and Spencer is on her way so she will be able to take them home. Once they are in the diner, they see Mike and he is approached by a man who Aria believes is Hank Mahoney but Emily informs her that he is actually Cyrus Petrillo (the man Alison paid to pretend he kidnapped her). Spencer gets there and the girls spy on the guys from outside. They wonder why they can't get a hold of Hanna but she tries calling Aria from Ezra's phone and it gets ignored. The three of them get a text from A with a picture of 3 blood viles with Spencer, Aria, and Hanna's names on it thanking them for donating to A's get-into-jail fund. When they look up the guys are gone and they see Mike driving away. They wonder where Cyrus went and they look for him. He rides his motorcycle right at them backing them against a wall. He questions whether they were spying on him or Mike and informs them that he doesn't like being followed. The girls say they know he has something of theirs and just as they're getting ready to make a deal, Andrew shows up with a baseball bat demanding that he leave them alone. Cyrus leaves and Andrew smiles proudly at Aria.

Hanna ends up at the New Brew looking for Emily but she only finds Ezra. He tells her she can talk to him if she needs to and she opens up about what happened to her dad. She confides in Ezra telling him, that she just wanted her dad to tell her "I knew you had it in you." She says she was trying to find out where everyone was but she left her phone at her dad's office and won't go back. After failing to get a hold of Aria on Ezra's phone she decides to go home. Before she leaves Ezra tells her, "I know it's not the same, but I was your English teacher for a while and I always knew you had it in you." [such a sweet moment!]

As she's leaving, Hanna sees a flyer for a beauty pageant where the prize is $20,000 that she can use for tuition. At home Hanna fills out the application and encourages Ashley to fight for the man she loves.
They all meet at Spencer's and try to figure out what A is going to do with their blood. When Spencer leaves to get another blanket, Mike is seen outside one of her windows.

Aired on 2/10/15

Pretty Little Liars - Review

Pretty Little Liars is set in the town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, and it follows the lives of four girls, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, Emily Fields, and Spencer Hastings, whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader, Alison DiLaurentis. One year later, the estranged friends are reunited as they begin receiving messages from a mysterious figure named "A" after Alison's funeral, who threatens to expose their deepest secrets, including ones they thought only Alison knew. At first, they think it's Alison herself, but after her body is found, the girls realize that someone else is planning on ruining them.

The main cast includes:

• Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery
• Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin
• Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields
• Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings
• Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis
• Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz
• Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin
• Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery
• Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery

Recurring cast includes:

• Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal (promoted to main cast)
• Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers (promoted to main cast)
• Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh (promoted to main cast)
• Lindsey Shaw as Paige McCullers
• Torrey DeVito as Melissa Hastings
• Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis
• Tamin Sursok as Jenna Marshall
• Nia Peeples as Pam Fields
• Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings
• Brendan Robinson as Lucas Gottesman
• Brant Daughtery as Noel Kahn
• Julian Morris as Wren Kim
• Cody Christian as Mike Montgomery
• Nolan North as Peter Hastings
• Yani Gellman as Garrett Reynolds
• Bianca Lawson as Maya St. Germain
• Bryce Johnson as Darren Wilden
• Ryan Merriman as Ian Thomas
• Sean Faris as Gabriel Holbrook

Guests include:

• Andrea Parker as Jessica DiLaurentis
• Roark Critchlow as Tom Marin
• Aeriel Miranda as Shana Fring
• Roma Maffia as Linda Tanner
• Vanessa Ray as CeCe Drake
• Ryan Guzman as Jake
• Chuck Hittinger as Sean Ackard
• Luke Kleintank as Travis Hobbs
• Eric Steinberg as Wayne Fields
• Edward Kerr as Ted
• Jim Titus as Barry Maple
• Annabeth Gish as Anne Sullivan
• Paloma Guzman as Jackie Molina
• Chole Bridges as Sydney Driscoll
• Larisa Oleynik as Maggie Cutler
• Sterling Sulieman as Nate St. Germain
• Shane Coffey as Holden Strauss
• Amanda Schull as Meredith Sorenson
• Brandon Jones as Andrew Campbell
• John O'Brien as Carter Hackett
• Miranda Rae Mayo as Talia Sandoval
• Will Bradley as Jonny Raymond
• Reggie Austin as Eddie Lamb
• Diego Boneta as Alex Santiago
• Jim Abele as Kenneth DiLaurentis
• Steve Talley as Zack
• Claire Holt as Samara Cook
• Natalie Hall as Kate Randall
• Teo Briones as Malcolm Cutler
• Meg Foster as Carla Grunwald
• Gregg Sulkin as Wesley Fitzgerald
• Jake Weary as Cyrus Petrillo
• Heather Mazur as Isabel Randall
• Wyatt Nash as Nigel Wright
• Sydney Penny as Leona Vanderwaal
• Nathaniel Buzolic as Dean Stavros

<sup>Overall Rating: a MUST watch (but not alone or in the dark)

Catch Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family Tuesdays at 8 P.M. EST</sup>

Urban Decay 'Naked On the Run' Palette Review

Urban Decay has released another palette in the 'Naked' series. This one is different from its predecessors because it is a complete look and not just eyeshadows. The On the Run palette has 5  all new eye shadow shades, a bronzer, a blush, an all over highlighting shade, a new eyeliner shade, a new lip gloss color, and a travel size mascara.

The eyeshadows include:

• Dive (metallic rose w/golden micro-shimmer)
• Fix (soft taupe matte) 
• Resist (medium metallic taupe) 
• Dare (medium brown matte) 
• Stun (metallic bronze w/light gold micro-shimmer)

The bronzer is a medium matte bronze and the blush is a vibrant pink with a slight shimmer.
The highlighting shade is is called: 50/50 (cool bisque satin)
The eyeliner is called Stag (deep brown satin)
The lip gloss is called Sesso (rose with pink shimmer)

PROS:



Overall, I really like the colors in this palette. I love all of the eye shadows (I use Dive and Resist almost every day). They are all very flattering colors and they go on really well. I am also a fan of the 50/50. I swipe it on my eyes in the morning when I don't feel like doing much with my eyes or if I'm in a hurry. The eyeliner is such a pretty brown color, I love it. I usually don't wear brown eyeliner because I don't like the way it looks with my brown eyes, but this one is so pretty.

The mascara, Perversion, is really nice. I haven't had a problem with flaking or anything like that which is nice. I haven't gotten to use the bronzer much, but I do like how it goes on. The blush is such a pretty pink. It gives you this naturally flushed look which I am a fan of. As for the lip gloss, it is surprisingly pigmented and I think it looks really pretty. I'm used to sheer glosses but this one packs a punch when it comes to color.

CONS: 

I do wish, however, that the packaging wasn't so bulky. It's kind of big and annoying if you want to carry it on the go. It also does not include a brush which I find really annoying. The palette is advertised as a "travel-ready kit comes loaded with EVERYTHING you need for a complete Naked look,"  but it's hard to put on makeup with no brush.



Also here are the fill weights:

• Eyeshadow: 5 x 1.4g POIDS NET/WT 5 x 0.04oz
• Blush Bronzer: 8.5 g POIDS NET.WT 0.3oz
• Naked Ultra Nourishing Gloss-Sesso: 4ml / 0.13 fl. Oz
• Perversion Mascara: 4 ml/ 0.13 fl oz
• 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil: 0.8 g POIDS NET/NET WT. 0.03 oz

Like I said before, I do like this palette a lot and I would recommend it, but if you're going to be using it somewhere other than your home- make sure you have your makeup brushes.


If you're interested in purchasing this product you can get it at either Sephora or Ulta.  

Marvel's Agent Carter Recap: "The Iron Ceiling" (S01E05)

In this episode, Peggy decodes a message sent by the mysterious typewriter. It turns out that the message includes coordinates in Russia and suggests that Howard Stark would be there. Chief wants Agent Thompson to go with a team and retrieve Stark. Peggy insists on coming along, but neither of them want her too. She then contacts the 'Howling Commandos' and requests their assistance. When she informs Chief of the Commandos assistance, he allows her to go to Russia.

Peggy is forced to change into her tactical suit in the men's locker room and while she is in there Thompson plays a trick on her and Sousa. He asks Sousa to retrieve something from him on the other side of the room (he had no idea Peggy was in there) and he walks in on her half dressed. She turns around and he sees her bullet wound scars which he recognizes from the picture of the mysterious blonde.

Agents Carter and Thompson head out with 2 other S.S.R. agents to Russia where they meet up with the 'Howling Commandos' who express how much they've missed Peggy. During a talk around the fire, Peggy learns how Agent Thompson received his navy cross during the war and she begins to look at him a little differently. The next day, Agent Carter leads the team into what looks like a warehouse where they find a classroom where a projector is playing a cartoon that is filled with subliminal messaging. As they make their way through the building they find a room full of beds with handcuffs on them. In the room, a little girl is crying and Dum Dum Dugan is stabbed by her. The knife really only gets his vest but she manages to kill Junior before disappearing.

They realize they have to get out of there and on their way to find an exit they run into two men in a cell. One is a scientist and the other a doctor. They show the agents the blueprints they were given by Leviathan's men which are from Stark Enterprises. They were tasked with building the object. Peggy and Thompson free them as they try to make their escape. The four of them end up getting cornered by soldiers, shooting at them. Thompson freezes in a moment of PTSD while the imprisoned scientist holds one of the Commandos hostage- offering him to the Russians. Peggy tries to calm him down but the doctor shoots him. As Peggy fires back at the Russians, the Commandos' burst through the wall to get her and Thompson out of there. Peggy grabs him and tells him to break out of it and focus. They escape-barely- and take the doctor back to the States with them. Peggy says her goodbyes to the Commandos and on the plane ride home she learns even more about Thompson. He tells her that the soldiers he killed were actually coming to surrender and that he buried the white flag before anyone else saw it. He told Peggy about how guilty he felt about what he had done and once they returned to the office, he took her out for a bourbon.

Original air date 2/3/15

Marvel's Agent Carter Recap: "The Blitzkrieg Button" (S01E04)

Ok so in the latest episode, it was revealed that one of the "weapons" that was stolen from Howard Stark is a vile of Steve Rogers AKA Captain America's blood. Howard came back to town and hid in Peggy's apartment, while tasking her with retrieving the vile. He lied to her about it and claimed the object was something that could shut down the entire city if she opened it. Peggy figures out that Jarvis is lying to her about the object, so naturally she opens it after switching it out with a fake one in the SSR lab. Naturally, she is devastated and ends up punching Howard, throwing him out, and telling him that she is done working for him. Peggy keeps the vile and hides it in her room.

 Meanwhile, the new woman on the floor, Dottie, killed the man who sneaked in to kill Peggy- that was a twist NO ONE saw coming. I thought Dottie was this sweet naive girl, but it turns out she's an assassin of some sort. So now Dottie has a revolver, and Peggy has quit her mission.

Also in the episode: the chief heads off to interview a former Nazi and leaves Agent Thompson in charge which went about as great as you'd imagine. He demands they find out where Howard Stark is and Agent Sousa decides to go to the docks to try and get a finger print from the phone that called in the anonymous tip. While he's there, he sees some bums and brings one of them in for questioning. He and Thompson battle it out and eventually get some information from the guy. He tells them he saw a dark haired woman and a well dressed man. In the midst of the interrogation- Sousa opens up to the homeless man about his time in the war while Thompson listens on. Naturally Thompson was cruel and callous with Sousa.

 Peggy runs into Thompson while attempting to sneak out with the vile- and he asks her why she even works there and informs her that women will never have a place other than secretary in the work place. After the chief returns, Sousa looks at the picture of the blond woman and starts coloring her hair in dark. Is he figuring out it's Peggy? Also, the transmitter that the police found starts typing something on the typewriter. I'm afraid that Agent Carter will be mentioned....




(also, Stan Lee was in this episode getting his shoes shined with Howard and Jarvis)

Original air date 1/27/15

Chasing Life - Review

Chasing Life is a show about 24-year-old April Carver, who is a smart and quick-witted aspiring journalist who is trying to make her way at a Boston newspaper. April tries to balance her career with her family – her widowed mom Sara, rebellious little sister Brenna, and her grandmother Emma. April finally lands a big interview for her paper. In order to get the interview, April donates blood (so she can talk to the interviewee) at her estranged uncle's hospital. She passes out but scores the interview, and a date with her hot co-worker Dominic. Her uncle visits her to inform her that they ran tests on her blood and she has leukemia.

Just as everything in April's life has started to come together, this news is devastating and she must find a way to deal with the news, tell her family and friends, as well as fight this cancer. In the midst of all this, April finds out that her father had an affair and has a daughter who lives in Florida.

Now I know a show about cancer should be a major bummer, but surprisingly- this one isn't. While every episode is bound to make you cry (or bawl if you're like me), you are also guaranteed a laugh, and this heart-warming feeling of encouragement. This show makes you want to fight and to appreciate every minute of your life, because it is a beautiful thing. Another thing I like about this show is the family. The Carver family is so relate-able- they are perfect. No matter what happens, they stand by each other and they fight for one another.

The main cast includes:

• Italia Ricci as April Carver
• Mary Page Keller as Sara Carver, April and Brenna's widowed mother and a therapist
• Richard Brancatisano as Dominic Russo, an arts reporter at The Boston Post and April's love interest
• Haley Ramm as Brenna Carver, April's rebellious teenage sister
• Aisha Dee as Beth Kingston, April's best friend and the first person April tells about her cancer

 Recurring cast members:

• Steven Weber as Dr. George Carver, April and Brenna's paternal uncle, who has a romantic interest in Sara
• Scott Michael Foster as Leo Hendrie, the son of a famous politician and a cancer paitient
• Rebecca Schull as Emma, Sara's mother/April and Brenna's grandmother
• Abhi Sinha as Danny Gupta, April's co-worker and friend
• Augusto Aguilera as Kieran, Brenna's boss at an art gallery/tattoo parlor/love interest
• Dylan Gelula as Ford, Brenna's rebellious friend
• Gracie Dzienny as Greer, a popular girl from Brenna's school, who is a lesbian and a love interest for Brenna
• Shi Ne Nielson as Raquel Avila, April's supervisor/rival
• Jessica Meraz as Natalie Ortiz, April and Brenna's paternal half-sister. She is younger than April, but older than Brenna.
• Todd Waring as Bruce Hendrie, Leo's father and a famous politician
• Rob Kerkovich as Graham, Dominic's roommate and Beth's boyfriend
• Merrin Dungey as Dr. Susan Hamburg, April's doctor
• Andy Mientus as Jackson, a fellow cancer patient from April and Leo's cancer support group
• Tom Irwin as Thomas Carver, April, Brenna and Natalie's father and George's brother
• Laura Harring as Olivia Ortiz, Natalie's mother and Thomas' mistress
• Vondie Curtis-Hall as Lawrence, April, Dominic, and Danny's boss at The Boston Post
• Stephen Schneider as Aaron, April, Dominic, and Danny's boss at The Boston Post, who replaced Lawrence

Overall Rating: a MUST watch

Tune in on Monday nights at 9 PM EST on ABC Family











*additional information from Wikipedia