The Wrath of Kahn

Not to be confused with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
"The Wrath of Kahn"
Pretty Little Liars episode
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 9
Directed byChad Lowe
Written byJonell Lennon
Cinematography byLarry Reibman
Editing byMelissa Gearhart
Original air dateAugust 23, 2016 (2016-08-23)
Running time42 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Exes and OMGs" 		Next →
"The Darkest Knight"
Pretty Little Liars (season 7)
List of episodes

"The Wrath of Kahn" is the ninth episode of the seventh season of the mystery drama television series Pretty Little Liars, which aired on August 23, 2016, on the cable network Freeform.[1] The hundred and forty-ninth episode, it was written by Jonell Lennon and directed by Chad Lowe. "The Wrath of Kahn" received a Nielsen rating of 0.5 and was viewed by 1.09 million viewers, down from the previous episode. It received positive reviews from critics.

The series revolves around a group of five women—collectively known as Liars—, who receive anonymous messages in the form of threats from an unknown person named A.D., while they struggle to survive a life with danger. In this episode, Hanna begins her plan to kidnap the dangerous Noel Kahn, while the other Liars investigate secrets of the past and present of the suspicious Mary Drake.

Plot

Hanna (Ashley Benson) rages and ends up trying to make a deal with Noel (Brant Daugherty), and, indirectly, drug him in order to lock him up; however, her initial goal fails and she uses a plan B. Aria (Lucy Hale) joins Jason (Drew Van Acker) in a deep research inside Mary Drake's past, and she ends up recalling the past, when she had an affair with Jason years ago. Spencer (Troian Bellisario) finds herself desperate when she finds a flash drive in the Kahn's old cabin, containing videos of the girls when they were stuck in the A's Dollhouse. In the same flash drive, Spencer and the girls find out that Noel was helping Charlotte to torture them years ago. Emily (Shay Mitchell) confesses to Paige (Lindsey Shaw) that she is suffering again, and her relationship with Sabrina (Lulu Brud) plummets. Marco (Nicholas Gonzalez) tries his best to approach Spencer, and the two end up approaching when someone breaks into Spencer's house and she calls him to help her. Jason and Aria find out that someone manipulated the adoption files of Mary's second son, but, nonetheless, they discover that Noel's father, Steven, was responsible for the adoption, leading Aria to believe that Noel is Mary's second son. Aria receives a message from Ezra, who reveals that Nicole is still missing, and Aria is happy with the news, since Nicole could ruin her engagement with him.

The episode ends with Hanna hitting Noel in the head with a stick, after having tried to trick him.

Production

The episode was directed by Chad Lowe,[2] serving as Lowe's first directing credits on the season and the fourteenth credit on the series. Jonell Lennon served as the writer of the episode, making her first appearance as a writer on the seventh season.[2] The title of the episode was revealed by Lennon on June 15, 2016.[3] The table-read for the episode occurred on June 2, 2016[4] and filming commenced on June 15[5] and wrapped on June 23, 2016.[6]

Reception

Broadcast and ratings

The episode first aired in the United States on August 23, 2016, to a viewership of 1.09 million Americans, and garnered a 0.5 rating in the 18–49 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research.[7] Values from this episode had a decrease from the previous episode, "Exes and OMGs." This episode is rated TV-14. After Live +3 DVR ratings, the episode tied for the twenty-fifth spot in Adults 18-49, finishing with a 0.9 rating among adults aged 18–49, and aired to a total viewership of 1.80 million, placing in the twenty-second spot in viewership.[8]

Reviews

Paul Dailly of the TVFanatic gave the episode four out of 5 stars, saying he really enjoyed the episode.[9] Jessica Goldstein of Vulture gave the episode 3 out of 5 stars.[10] Gavin Hetherington of SpoilerTV said he "enjoyed the episode" and that "every character had some good moment".[11]

References

  1. ^ "Pretty Little Liars on Freeform". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Excited to be reunited with @ichadlowe. He's directing my next PLL episode #709". Twitter. June 7, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  3. ^ "This is gonna be a fun one". Twitter. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  4. ^ I. Marlene King [@imarleneking] (June 2, 2016). "Table read, bitches. ❤️" (Tweet). Retrieved July 7, 2016 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Chad Lowe [@ichadlowe] (June 15, 2016). "We're off and running, shooting #PLL episode #709 written by the lovely and talented @jonell_lennon. Love this cast & crew" (Tweet). Retrieved July 7, 2016 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Jonell Lennon [@jonell_lennon] (June 23, 2016). "Thank you to @ichadlowe and the best cast and crew on TV for a wonderful episode. #PLL #709" (Tweet). Retrieved July 7, 2016 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Welch, Alex (August 24, 2016). "Tuesday cable ratings: 'WWE Smackdown' ticks up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  8. ^ Porter, Rick (September 4, 2016). "Cable Live +3 ratings, Aug. 22-28: 'Fear the Walking Dead' and 'Rizzoli & Isles' lead again". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on September 5, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Dailly, Paul (August 24, 2016). "Pretty Little Liars Season 7 Episode 9 Review: The Wrath of Kahn". TVFanatic. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  10. ^ Goldstein, Jessica (August 24, 2016). "Pretty Little Liars Recap: The Dark Night". Vulture. New York Magazine. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  11. ^ Hetherington, Gavin (August 30, 2016). "Pretty Little Liars - The Wrath of Kahn - Review: "It's Close to Being Over, Bitch."". SpoilerTV. Retrieved August 31, 2016.