TV Rundown: July 6 - 11: 'Pretty Little Liars' Celebrates 100 Episodes

Pretty Little Liars: Liar’s hit the 100 episode mark and it delivered, mainly with two fierce confrontations between Ali and the survivors of her bullying. For the first time since she returned from the “dead”; Ali stood face to face with Paige offering an olive branch. Lindsey Shaw’s magnificent performance conveyed Paige’s intimidation, frustration and pent up hurt. It was a powerful scene and Sasha Pieterse’s reactionary turn as Ali served to anchor its emotion.

The most electrifying encounter of the episode belonged to Ali and Mona, as the rivals squared off in a verbal battle that eventually turned physical. Janel Parrish’s turn as the diabolical Mona has always been one of the highlights of the series and her performance during the war of words was spectacular.

The haunted pain from a time passed sprawled across her face and in the next moment, her eyes blazed with an impenetrable detest for her sworn enemy. It was a multi-faceted performance and Mona, the poster girl for the series’ bullied movement (The A-Team) struck back. Pieterse was equally compelling as they sparred and while neither character walked away victorious, the performances by both actresses stole the show.

Witches of East End: The second season premiere kicked off in intriguing fashion. The introduction of the girls’ brother, Frederick, laid the groundwork for more family drama as his loyalties remained in question. To his credit, he started things off on the right foot by healing Joanna. Elsewhere, Freya yearned for a missing Killian, Wendy met a potential paramour and by episode’s end, Ingrid had hooked up with a bizarre creature that looked like an Avatar on steroids. It’s safe to say that it was the opener’s huge WTH moment.

Tyrant: Barry had Jamal dead to rights this week after learning about all of his brother’s horrible deeds. After laying down the law and demanding Jamal, the country's new leader, free all of the family’s enemies; one would think that Barry would pass along that good will to the widowed man, his brother had tortured. Nope. Instead, Barry arranged for the man's children to be taken care of and they were left fatherless. Why couldn’t Barry switch him out with a true criminal and set the man free to live with his boys? He didn’t deserve his fate. The final moments of “My Brother’s Keeper” were dark and disturbing with a grizzly closing act that further tarnished Barry’s character.

Teen Wolf: Good ole’ Coach was back riding rough shot over the lacrosse team and blasting Stiles and Scott, in the process. Always good to have on hand, waiting 3 episodes for his comedic relief was a longer wait than necessary. Coach is one of the human characters the show desperately needs to off-set the hum-drum heaviness of the supernatural characters.

Spoiler Alert for "True Blood"...

True Blood: In the final season and with 7 episodes left, one of the series' best characters was killed off. While, it was an understandable plot device to move Sookie into Bill’s waiting arms, it came at the expense of a character that was far more valuable to the series than in the minor role of Sookie’s intermediary lover. Alcide, one of the most promising and underwritten characters on the series never received the storyline or due he deserved and he went out with same lack of inventive care. 

Killed with a bullet to the chest by a nothing character and with no last words or dying soliloquy.  He was just over. What a disappointment. Why couldn’t they have let him live until the last episode? If they needed another death, there were several others who would’ve fit the bill.

Don’t kill off the only character left that hadn’t been fully explored. Getting through the remainder of the season just got a lot harder and after last week’s episode, things were already headed on a downward spiral. Here's hoping Joe Manganiello, the mega-talented actor who brought Alcide to life, finds a movie or series ready to show off his skills.