Entertainment

You Can't Trust A Hastings

by Kaitlin Reilly

The late Jessica DiLaurentis told her daughter that you can't trust a Hastings, and from this family's recent shady behavior, I'm starting to believe that she's right. Despite the fact that Mrs. DiLaurentis' body was uncovered just steps away from the Hastings house, the only thing that Veronica Hastings seems particularly concerned with is when the crime scene investigators will finish up collecting the evidence. In a new clip from Season 5's fourth episode "Thrown From the Ride," we see Spencer begging her mom to talk about something other than her torn up yard — like, say, what Melissa and her father know about Mrs. D's murder — and Mrs. Hastings staunchly refusing to discuss anything related to her neighbors murder. (Except, you know, how the investigation is screwing up her gardenias.) The whole Hastings family is looking mighty suspicious in this new clip, and it's clear that they all know something that they won't reveal to their constantly-curious daughter, Spencer.

But what secrets are the Hastings keeping? We already know that Mr. Hastings and Melissa share a secret that they are keeping from the police, Mrs. Hastings, and (much to her frustration), Spencer. This secret has something to do with the night that Ali was fake-murdered — and the night that a very real girl was killed and put in Ali's place. Melissa told Mr. Hastings in the finale that she knows that Spencer didn't kill the girl in Alison's grave, and then whispered something into Mr. Hastings ear. Luckily for us, the show didn't pull a Lost in Translation , and we'll learn the secret Melissa told her father this season.

Though we expect Mr. Hastings and Melissa to be secretive, this new clip proves that Spencer's mother might have a secret — or five — hidden away as well. Is it just me, or is Mrs. Hastings reaction to Mrs. DiLaurentis' murder just a little too... calm? If I knew that my next door neighbor was murdered, I'd probably freak out. If I were Mrs. Hastings, I'd think, "Oh my God, there's a murderer on the loose. The murderer just killed a woman roughly my age with the same exact taste in men. They're clearly coming after me next! Better call my identical twin, Special Victims Unit detective Olivia Benson, for backup." But Mrs. Hastings is freak-out free, which is just a tad bizarre.

(Ahh, well, maybe that explains it.)

We already know that there is something very bizarre going on with the Hastings family, and so far most signs are pointing to Mr. Hastings as the parent more likely to murder a neighbor... but what if that's just another red herring in a show that's perpetually swimming with them? What if Mrs. Hastings calm reaction isn't just a Main Line-made lack of compassion — what if it's a clue that it was actually Mrs. Hastings that murdered her neighbor?

Images: ABC Family, sherilyn-fenn/tumblr, minddykaling/tumblr