Has Bloody Rose’s Identity Been Revealed In Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Episode 6?
This has to be the best episode of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School yet! In episode 6, the Liars celebrate Pride and get ready to take down Redemption House. But what happens when Imogen is attacked by Bloody Rose and recognizes her assailant?
After Noa’s attack by Bloody Rose, that means Imogen and Tabby are next. But it becomes even more evident this episode is focused on Imogen when we learn that Redemption House is being set up at her old house. While Kelly and the church are touting it as a second chance and a way to purify the soul, we learn through Ash what a production like Redemption House really is. It’s almost like a religious play meets haunted house where they spread hate, especially for the queer community. The girls go check it out to understand what they’re really up against. While there, they run into Chip’s mother who still blames them. I also have to say I loved the girls outfits as they walk together to go to Redemption House. The wardrobe in the Pretty Little Liars franchise is always on point.
As we get into the experience, it seems like they each eerily connecting back to things that the Liars dealt with over these two seasons. The first room connects to Mouse meeting strangers online. The second room is a callback to Noa when it comes to drugs. The third room is a house party featuring drinking, which connects back to Tabby and even Imogen. The fourth room has Greg and Henry posing as gay guys, which they get called out on by Faran. But things take a darkers turn in room five. We all know Imogen’s mother was a victim of suicide, so it’s even more sick to see Kelly portraying that in Imogen’s mother’s room. At that point, is this even really Redemption House or just showcasing their traumas? Whoever designed the production clearly design it with them in mind.
While I did think this could solidify the theory connecting Bloody Rose and the church cult, my mind was completely in a tailspin when Bloody Rose killed the pastor of the church! Now that he’s dead, I’m not so sure about that connection. I’ve been trying to figure out the connection between Bloody Rose and the kills we’ve seen this season of Nick and Sabrina, Sandy from church, and now Pastor Malachi. Are they all people who claim to be virtuous but are really sinning? Several of them also have close connections to Kelly. Imogen confronts Kelly after her sick portrayal of suicide tied to her mother’s death and promises to make her life a living hell. This is where we get more information about why Kelly is doing this. She truly feels like her sister and father are in hell and she wants to help the whole town escape that same fate by doing Redemption House. Could this tie into her being brainwashed?
To combat Redemption House, the Liars get together to put on an unofficial Pride party at the pool and make protest signs. I love the vibe and energy of the event and getting to see the girls still have fun despite being targeted by Bloody Rose. Tabby and Imogen are feeling good in their relationships and even want to make a double date in the future — plus I think Mouse and Ash are the cutest couple of the series! Meanwhile, Greg and Faran look like they could be vibing. Greg also gives us an exciting connection to Riverdale. After seeing the girls’ reactions to Redemption House, he quits, sharing that his cousin Kevin in Riverdale is gay and he wouldn’t want to hurt him. Yup, Kevin Keller!
Moving over to Noa, she is conflicted about her feelings for both Jen and Shawn and then Jen makes things even more awkward by suggesting a throuple. At the party, Noa confides in the girls who already had an idea. While I love how supportive they are of her queer identity, I’m not so sure about the cheating aspect of her reveal. Before Noa can tell Jen she does want to be with her, Jen drags her into more drama. Shawn gets into a fight with his family because Jen robbed his house and his mom thinks Noa did it, so now he’s moving out and plans to stay with Noa. She’s all he has. Meanwhile Jen can’t take one day of Noa’s indecision.
Meanwhile a repair man comes to fix the AC at the Orpheum and they find a dead rodent in it, but Tabby envisions that its Wes as he’s suddenly gone missing. Could this tease that Wes is dead or Bloody Rose’s next victim? Tabby confides in Christian and they go looking for Wes. While they don’t find him, they door find weird off brand masks that look like they’ve been used on Spooky Spaghetti. It seems as though he could be making the Bloody Rose short films we see on the website. Does this mean he could have a closer connection to Bloody Rose than it seems?
Tabby ends up coming up with the idea of turning themselves into the demons and monsters the church fears and take over Redemption House. They put on masks and scare everyone out of the house. Eager eye fans will notice a callout in one of the masks to Battie Bat the sleep demon in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. While the girls run everyone out of Imogen’s house, they let her take on Kelly in her mother’s bedroom. Instead Imogen is attacked by Bloody Rose and manages to pull the bloody gauze off her face. While we don’t get to see the reveal as viewers, Imogen drops the biggest bomb on us by sharing that her mother was under the mask. What does this mean?!
I had already been suspicious about Imogen’s mother. It all begins to add up as you look at the fact that this all started because of Imogen’s mom, the nightmares Imogen’s been having about both of them, the flashbacks throughout the season to their relationship, and analyzing the final girls poster. Is it really her mother, or maybe even a twin? At the same time, can we even trust that what Imogen saw is real? There have been plenty of moments this season where they set up that Imogen might be hallucinating or losing it or not as much of a reliable narrator. But if it really is her mother… why would she be terrorizing her daughter and her friends? It makes me wonder, what if Bloody Rose is not our main villain? At this point it looks like she might not be connected to the church, but there is a figure they were praising. Could the skull angel at the center of the final girl poster be the real villain and perhaps Bloody Rose’s “tests” are her preparing them to battle that other figure? My brain is spinning!
This was the best episode of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School so far. The summer energy, the Easter eggs, and the revelations are just *chefs kiss.* Bailee Madison continues to prove time and time again why she belongs in horror. She’s a natural scream queen!
