As fans entered the finale season of Pretty Little Liars there were countless questions still hanging in the air, chief among them being, "No, seriously, guys, who is A.D.?" But, there was one theory everyone seemed to agree on: the fan-favourite couples would end up together by the time series finale "DeAth Do Us PArt" ends. The latest episode of season 7B, "Choose Or Lose," proved everyone right, with an end-of-episode scene that has definitely launched one million Tumblr GIFs already. The instalment offered us a perfect, intimate wedding, a long-expected romantic reunion, and two beloved couples hooking up. With the Liars seriously looking at possible jail time, there was no better way to spend their prospective last night of freedom. So, let’s go through this “Stand By Me”-tuned montage that plays so deeply to the fandom, it could have appeared on FanFiction.net.
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Of course, we need to start off with Hanna Marin’s major "Choose" milestone since the Liar is now a married woman. In last week’s "Driving Miss Crazy," Caleb Rivers (Tyler Blackburn) proposed to Hanna (Ashley Benson) in a way so roundabout, she needed to double check with him hours later if his sentiments were the real deal. They were. While Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale) has been torturing herself over her upcoming wedding to Ezra "I Manipulate High School Girls" Fitz (Ian Harding) since the beginning of time, Caleb and Hanna enjoy the shortest engagement in TV history. As police lieutenant Linda Tanner (Roma Maffia) closes in on the Liars, Caleb decides it’s now or never to marry his longtime love. He chooses "now," and surprises Hanna with a trip to Rosewood City Hall for a courthouse wedding complete with a surprise appearance from her mom Ashley (Laura Leighton) as maid of honour-slash-witness and justice of the peace Caly Johnson, who’s clearly getting her overtime checks.
Some girls might hate this low-key idea, but in this moment it’s the mostly sweetly romantic option possible. In true Liars’ fashion, there is a bit of legal evasion in Caleb's strategy too, as he tells Hanna,"“If we’re married, we can’t testify against each other." But, as you watch the newlyweds share their vows, it’s obvious they’re ridiculously in love too.
In the same way that this quiet set of nuptials was a long time coming, so was the inevitable Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) and Toby Cavanaugh (Keegan Allen) sex scene. Earlier in "Choose," the pair chat after Toby has a meeting with Tanner. During their extremely casual and in no way chemistry-ridden conversation, Toby invites his ex-girlfriend to hang out at his cabin in case she needs to get away for a while. When A.D. demands the Liars choose one person to take the fall for the death of Archer Dunhill — freeing the rest of them — the young women decide to pick no one, effectively agreeing to all go to jail. This terrible bind drives Spencer straight to Toby’s cabin. Now that Toby’s confirmed he’s starting to get over the trauma of his wife’s death earlier this season, Spencer feels comfortable slowly inching her way towards Toby’s body on the couch. In the least unsubtle move of the century she asks, "Do you remember that kiss we shared? That was nice wasn’t it?" In seconds they’re ripping each other’s clothing off, pausing only when Toby notices Spencer’s bullet wound. It’s a reminder they’re both such different people than the last time they were together, and, yet, they’ll never be able to quit each other.
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Speaking of not being able to quit each other, Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) and Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) have their magical hookup in the woods. The scene looks like it’s out of a fairy tale or an especially romantic Bachelor date, and they deserve it. There are candles, enough wicker baskets to make Pier 1 jealous, and champagne flutes for two — all set up by Ali. "If this is our last chance at freedom, let’s make the most of it," Ali tells Emily before the two share an emotional kiss. Out of the three sex scenes, the Emison one is clearly meant to be the sweetest one.
On the other side of Rosewood, Aria also falls into Ezra’s arms, thinking it’s the last time they have sex. Of course, Ezra found out about the police report Aria almost filled out about him. Surprisingly, he doesn’t care, meaning her lengthy betrayal against the Liars was literally for nothing. Aria then pledges to tell her fiancé about "everything," but first she needs to do one thing. That thing is Ezra, so, the couple has sex to the tune of “Stand By Me,” just like everyone else.
The Liars may not have chosen freedom, but they definitely picked the PLL fandom-approved loves of their lives.
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