Family reunions shouldn't be this fraught. But, considering this is ABC Family, we shouldn't have been too surprised.
On "The Lying Game"'s mid-season finale, Sutton finally found her way back to Phoenix—in time for her birthday and to royally screw with Emma's life. We thought Sutton was a spoiled brat before, but she clearly crossed into mega bitch territory last night.
As I mentioned, it was Sutton's (and Emma's!) birthday, and the Mercers woke the latter with a birthday breakfast in bed. Emma blew out the candle announcing her "bogus wish," which was to runaway and never come back. Even for a "bogus wish," it was a bit ominous. Ethan made his window appearance, wishing Emma a happy birthday, as well, and telling her he was ready to hit the road with her whenever Sutton returned. But Emma wouldn't have any of it; she would stay and confess her secret to the Mercers.
Except, it wasn't that simple. Emma had a moment alone with Kristen, in which the well-meaning mom extolled the virtues of trust, honor and loyalty, and it was all just too much for Emma.
Apparently, Sutton didn't share the family mantra, because when she returned to an empty house, she accepted a video chat from Ethan. Posing as Emma. Ethan admitted his true feelings for Emma, even going so far as to use the L-word. "I want to say it forever," he declared, adding that he never loved Sutton. Yeah, pretty harsh. Sutton asked Ethan to meet her at the cabin—the place he and Emma first met.
Meanwhile, Derek attempted to patch things up with Char, but before he could get much more than a sentence or two of his mea culpa out, the police descended on the house, telling him they received an anonymous tip and needed to search his car. Apparently "anonymous" is Alec's new alias. Whatever they found brought him to the police station, with Char in tow professing his innocence. But it's going to be an uphill battle considering the DA and the police are in cahoots. (Dan, how could you?)
As Sutton fled the Mercer house in her pretty party dress, ready to meet Ethan at the cabin, she ran into Kristen, who was still all gooey inside from their earlier mother-daughter chat. But, you know, since that was Emma and not Sutton, S was her usual withdraw self, leaving Kristen pretty confused. Sutton met Ethan at the cabin and proceeded to stick her tongue down his throat, just in time for Emma to walk in (Sutton had left a message for her "from Ethan" telling her to come to the cabin too). And here was where Sutton's true colors came out, as she railed against Emma for stealing her life, which let's be honest, Sutton forced her to do while she played detective (and doctor with Thayer) in L.A. Sutton stormed out of the cabin, headed for her birthday party and to reveal Emma's true identity. But, she didn't make it there as planned. A hooded figure emerged from her backseat as she drove, scaring her so much that she drove into a lake!
After a pep talk from BFF Lexie, Emma decided to face her fate, and showed up at the party where Ethan, Char, Mads and her whole family were waiting. And, where Alec showed up late. Hmmmm... Things got real awkward when, after blowing out her candles, Emma told the room she had to tell them who she truly was. She stopped mid-confession, however, when another hooded figure appeared outside the hall. She saved herself with some mumbo-jumbo about loving everyone, and ran outside to track down Sutton. Except, it wasn't Sutton at all but Annie!
BECAUSE SUTTON IS IN A SUBMERGED CAR FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE.
Do you think Sutton will make it out of that car? Was Alec the mysterious figure in the backseat? Or was it Annie? How much did you hate Sutton last night? Sound off in the comments and on Twitter!
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