And then too, I've long held the belief that all great friendships are first and foremost great romances, and all great romances are first and foremost great friendships. That one tells the story of the other. You fall into friendship love at a faster and more vulnerable rate; so fast a drop it's nearly silent, because you don't need to protect yourself in the same way as with a lover. And when you fall in romantic love, you'd best do it slowly, and softly, because you love the way the person's soul is like your own, and let those points of attraction and mutual respect be the ones that lead you.

There's more to both, of course, but the most successful relationships in either case, I find, are best nurtured by treating each as though it is the other. Fall madly in love with your friends, and deeply into friendship with your lovers, and you're way more likely to stay sane -- unless you are Miss Mona Vanderwaal, I guess -- because the right parts of you stay on your side of the fence. It's easier to forgive an enemy than a friend, because an enemy doesn't need forgiving, or grieving, to keep ourselves alive. It's easier to cope with Ali's death than it would be Emily's, or Hanna's, because she was always both.

Spencer: "Okay but like for real? You were omniscient and ubiquitous. You overheard shit you could not have possibly heard. I don't understand how this works. What, were you in an adrenalized state of hyperreality?"
Mona: "You are not the only genius in this car."
Spencer: "Oh shit, do you have Melissa in the trunk or something?"
Mona: "No, you asshole. I'm talking about me. You bitches have always underestimated me."
Spencer: "Listen, if you keep driving all crazy like this, we're never going to get to Lookout Point."

MASQUERADE

Aria: "I know a shortcut to there!"
Hanna: "I think I'm having a brain hemorrhage. This is really sad. Mona's A. My heart is breaking."
Emily: "Hanna, snap out of it. Mona's A. Move your ass."

Marlene King, the actual authority on this, says that all but two of A's actions were done by Mona. I mean, this show is about swallowing crazy things on the regular, so I'm not sure why this would be a particularly unbelievable dealbreaker on the show that brought you such hits as:

- Somebody Stole Thousands Of Dollars From My Lasagna
- Snowglobe, Secret Key, Talking Dolls, Storage Space, Birthmark
- I Totally Forgot That Time Our Best Friend Snapped A Girl's Neck At A Frat Party
- Lucas Though He Merely Has A Gambling Problem
- Congenital Holden Learns The Foot Fist Way
- Here's Some Hundred Dollar Bills Taped To The Paper Towels In A Random Bathroom
- While You Were Peeing I Set Up An Entire Origami Display In The Sink For No Reason
- The Noel Khan/Aria Montgomery Music Hour
- I Had These Stalker Pictures Of Your Nostrils Framed As A Gift
- Rosewood Forgets The Time A Fashion Show Was Overtaken By Demons
- Per Pennsylvania Statute, The Fine For Finding A Shovel Is One Million Hours Of Community Service
- Ezra Fitz, Well-Adjusted Heterosexual & Tenure-Track Professor
- Duncan Heinz, Teen Pilot
- Toby Cavanaugh, Teen Contractor
- Maya St. Germaine, Teen