Save the Date

Save The Date is the 8th episode in the Season 2. It aired on August 2, 2011.

Synopsis
Aria, Hanna, and Spencer talk in the latter's car, while she fills them in on how she got away from Garrett in his cop car. Emily joins them, when suddenly the man of the hour parks in front of the Cavanaugh house, which is across the street from his parents' house. He could go either way, but he chooses Jenna's house, from where Toby is gone due to an errand picking up his parents from the airport. The girls trod closer to take a better look, when the light flicks on, revealing Jenna, who slowly strips to reveal the same black negligee she was trying on in the store! Garrett nears her, starts to caress her shoulders, then starts kissing her slowly, and Jenna kisses him back.

The next morning, Hanna enters the kitchen to find Emily doing sit-ups. They both reveal that they haven't slept since seeing what they did. Emily then joins Hanna for breakfast, not in the best of moods. Her muscles are still sore, so she has Hanna pass her the medical cream that she bought the day before. Apparently, she's used half the tube in less than 24 hours. Hanna thinks Emily is being way too intense for a swim meet, especially when she passes up excess orange juice lest it spike her blood sugar. Emily explains that she is concerned about the Danby scout, who is supposed to be speculating her meet today. She hopes she can make the Danby lie less untrue.

Just then, Tom enters, and Hanna plays dumb, putting on a surprise face. He starts making excuses, but Hanna makes a "yeah, right" face. Then Ashley enters, expressing her surprise at seeing Tom awake (or maybe her surprise to see him showing his face to the girls in the kitchen). She then catches sight of a pile of mail and asks about it. Emily says it was on the doormat when she came back last night (obviously Ashley and Tom were too drunk to stop and pick up a detail like that), so thoughtful house guest that she is, she brought it inside. Ashley hands Hanna an envelope addressed to her, and Hanna reluctantly admits to her mother that it is from Isabel. She pointedly uses it as a coaster for her coffee instead of opening it. But, Ashley wants to know what her competition is writing her daughter and tears the envelope to expose Tom and Isabel's "Save the Date." Curtly, she informs Tom that he is getting married in six weeks. "Save the Date". It's all awkward turtles after that.

Next we see someone viewing a classic picture of Alison on her computer. "A?" No, just Spencer. She gets up to answer the door and finds Wren with another plant entering her kitchen. But, this time, it looks like he bought the plant, and he's definitely not drunk. He says he has come to see Melissa, but she's still in Philadelphia. He drops the bomb that he is moving into Rosewood now that he has been accepted for a rotation at Rosewood Community Hospital; he had applied while he was still planning his life with Melissa. Spencer uses the opportunity of Wren's presence to pick his brain and ask whether doctors can determine what kind of murder weapons killed a victim based on a autopsy. He raises his eyebrows, and she quickly claims that it's for a school project. He answers her all the same though, and says that information such as that, at least in Rosewood Community Hospital, would be in the morgue's files. He asks for coffee, but Spencer has to go to school. He offers her a ride, suggesting they pick up coffee along the way instead, so she calls him out on coming to see her, not her Melissa. He doesn't deny it, so she lets him know she has a boyfriend. He asks for tea instead, and Spencer seems to be having a dilemma; being above cheating never was her strong suit.

On their way into school, Emily and Hanna discuss Emily's upcoming meet. They then catch sight of Caleb, conducting another shady business deal in the front yard of the school. Hanna walks towards him, and on her way, sees a man in a black sports car writing on a file with glossy pictures of Caleb attached to it. (Was that who was watching them the previous week?) Alarmed, Hanna tries to discreetly warn Caleb by suggesting conducting business out in the wide open may not be the best idea, but he rebuts her idea, refusing to work in a lowly part-time job at a fast-food establishment. She sighs as the stubborn boy walks away and the car speeds off.

While at her locker, Spencer is approached by Garrett. Her eyes open wide while he explains the reason for his presence at Rosewood High: he is here to teach the driver's ed class. Spencer tries to split when the bell rings, trying to make a beeline for class, but Garrett stands in her way and brings up their unfinished conversation. Spencer had left as soon as Aria texted her under the pretense that her mother wanted her hope ASAP. He tries to get her to continue where they left their conversation off, but she makes a bunch of excuses, namely that she can get intense like that in general. She tries to make it seem like something in her biology book got her wondering about the murder, but Garrett's attempts to dissuade her suspicions had convinced her all at once. She announces that she has to get to class again, and Garrett stares after Spencer, as she rushes off.

Later during Mike's school break, one his jock buds approaches to see what's up with his former friend getting arrested. Mike is barely communicative and is about to start a physical fight with his friend until Ella swings by in the hallway and tells them to get to class. Before Mike scrambles, she tries to talk to him, but he turns his back on her and walks away.

Alone in the pottery studio, Aria paints one of her clay pieces blue. Ezra, not surprisingly on campus at Hollis College himself, comes in and approaches her. He puts his arms around and tries to woo her, but she asks him to wait until later. He mentions that she flew past his apartment without stopping this morning - have her interests shifted? He asks, "how are things at home?" He tries to explain Mike's behavior by suggesting that Mike's friends put him up to it, but Aria informs him that he's broken into his own friends' houses too. She mentions him trying to break into Jason's place, and it dawns on Ezra that that was why she and Jason were privately whispering to each other at the failed dinner party. Aria picks up her finished piece and sets it on the shelf of pottery awaiting the kiln. Ezra picks up Jenna's candle holder and compliments it; Aria lets him know who its artist is. While on the subject, he asks how the two are coping with a shared class, but Aria reveals that Jenna had dropped the class after their incident. Ezra then asks why Aria hadn't confided in him about Mike, and she replies because it was embarrassing. He reassures her not to feel that way around him, because he's understanding. He invites her over for later that day, and she accepts the offer, telling him she'll call him. During their conversation up until this point, Aria's voice has been very subdued. Ezra is about to leave, but turns quickly on his heels and asks if Jason is a threat to him. Aria gives a little laugh and denies it. When he leaves, she doesn't bother to turn her head to watch him go.

At school, Emily is getting things out of her locker when she spots her dad in the hallway. Happily, she embraces her father to discover that her father is alone in Rosewood, while Pam is still in Texas. His flight to Texas had been delayed due to inclement weather while he was in Deleware for a training seminar. He lets her know that he has come to surprise her by watching her swim meet, and Emily panics that her dad is poised to meet the Danby scout; her whole house of cards is about to come crashing down! Her father leaves her to do her thing. Suddenly, Emily clutches her side in pain, panting hard, and falls to the floor. Garrett walks by and immediately goes to her side and calls an ambulance to come get her on his walkie-talkie.

At the hospital, Wayne tries to comfort his daughter, who is more tense then ever. He guesses correctly that it's about Danby, but his offers to call him on her behalf just stress her out more. So far, the running theory is that Emily has a stress-induced ulcer. Spencer and Hanna visit the hospital, the latter of whom is none too happy to be back in Rosewood Community so soon. She dismisses a call from Caleb, making Spencer raise an eyebrow. Hanna confesses her fear that an undercover cop is following her boyfriend. Spencer expects her best friend to say that she alerted her boyfriend to this fact, but she doesn't, and Spencer is shocked. She makes a strong argument for when she warns that Hanna could lose him either way.

At the Marins, Ashley is fingering the "Save the Date" when tom drops in, having wanted to see her in his hotel room. She offers by way of explanation the fact that Emily is in the hospital. Tom tries to persuade Ashley to go out with him, but Ashley turns him down, calling the previous night together a mistake. She tells him to go home, and he takes the bait; he sets his copy of the house key down on the counter next to the invite and leaves out the door, leaving Ashley standing alone in her foyer.

Back at the hospital, Spencer and Hanna talk to Emily. Her dad has gone to talk to the new tenants at the Fields' home. Aria then joins the party with coffee, and everyone looks on awkwardly as Aria offers the cup of Joe to her friend with a hole in her stomach, which Hanna can't get over. Emily considers telling her dad the truth about the Danby letter. Later, walking around the hospital, who does Spencer see but Dr. Wren. She goes with him to the third floor, where Emily is staying so as not to make obvious her real target destination: the morgue!

Next a juicy conversation between Jenna and Garrett ensues in his car. Garrett lets Jenna know that Spencer is onto something and questions whether Ian really killed Alison. Jenna tells Garrett they need to "take care" of this situation...What is Jenna trying to hide?



Back at the hospital, Wren meets privately with Emily to drop the bombshell that HGH, that is, Human Growth Hormone, was found in her bloodstream...so that's what "A" snuck into that healing cream of hers. He warns her of its dangers, but she denies even trying. She begs him not to tell her father what the tests show, as it could ruin her swim career. Wren chocks the whole thing up to Emily coping with her high stress position as a varsity athlete trying to land a scholarship.

Then, Hanna rides by in her car and grabs Caleb off the sidewalk, while dressed as 1930's movie starlet with headscarf and glamorous sunglasses. She drives away from the man in the black sports car, who gets out of the car to take a better look as she speeds off.

Then, Spencer pulls Aria into the laundry room to don the same pink and white pinstriped dresses that Alison wore in Hanna's hallucination - and that the hospital staff wear.

At home, Mike is on his laptop. Ella comes in trying to get answers about his behavior. When she bothers him enough, he reveals that he is waiting for her to leave the house again.

Meanwhile, Hanna takes Caleb to Spencer's family's log cabin, where they crash to avoid the man following him. They light a fire and remove the furniture slips to cozy up. Caleb says that he won't hide from him, while Hanna is worried that he is going to skip town, but Caleb insists that he is staying in Rosewood. They make out.

Back in Emily's hospital room, she asks the staff person not to take away her dinner, which has been lying on its tray for hours. After he leaves, she sees a note on soup lid scrawled by "A" along with a tube of her healing cream sitting atop the peas. She calls in Aria and Spencer, who are still dressed like hospital workers. The two try to talk Emily out of fleeing Rosewood, trying to convince her that her swim career is not over. Wayne comes in, and Aria and Spencer pretend that they are new hospital volunteers, careful to haul away Emily's dinner tray as part of their "hospital duties." Wayne then lets his daughter know that there is no pressure on her anymore to score a swim scholarship. He assures her that they can pay for college if that is the case. He is sure that she will be accepted into college, whether or not her swim record is a part of the reason. Incredibly relieved, Emily hugs her dad.

Meanwhile, in the Morgue, Aria and Spencer locate Alison's file.

At the Marins,' Ashley cleans out the fridge of all the food items she bought her father. Hanna reveals that she knows everything about her father's past romance, so she can openly argue with her mother to give her father another chance. But, Ashley insists that it is the right thing; Tom is about to marry Isabel, and now he is sleeping with another woman. She feels like their situations have been completely reversed. Frustrated with her mother's conclusion, Hanna leaves.

At the morgue, the girls discover that the murder weapon was a curved blunt edge (like a field hockey stick?). In addition, the attack with the weapon was from behind, as the injuries were in the back of her skull. And, the force of the weapon was so strong it dented Alison's skull. Lastly, her lungs were filled with dirt, meaning she was breathing in dirt when she died, as in, she was buried alive (under the gazebo).

Meanwhile, Hanna goes to the black stake out sports car to let stalker driver know that there are people in town who love Caleb and will protect him. She tells him to get lost and leave her boyfriend alone.



At the hospital, it seems the girls have swiped Alison's file for the time being to show Emily what they've found in her hospital bedroom. Aria then gets a text from Ezra, who she never called as promised. Spencer confesses her suspicion that Jason is responsible for Alison's death as soon as Aria leaves.

In the waiting room, Ezra and Aria talk. He invites Aria over, but before she responds she gets a call from Jason. Instead of picking up, she ignores and tells Ezra that it is her dad. She tells him that she has to get home, then kisses him goodnight.



Stalker in the black sports car calls someone to alert them of something, and Hanna and Caleb sit together outside of "Lucky Leon's Cupcakes" while Hanna sulks over her failed family reunion. He tries to comfort her.

Back in Emily's room in Rosewood Community, Spencer realizes that page 5 of the report is missing. Has it always been missing, or did "A" take it? We then cut to the morgue, where an oblivious cookie-munching janitor, handling the biohazardous waste no less, is oblivious to someone stirring under the covers on one of the beds. The figure then fully rises with the sheet still atop him/her, so that his/her face cannot be seen...

Continuity

 * Spencer and Aria wore the same candy striper outfit that Alison wore in Hanna's dream of her when she was recovering from the car accident in "Moments Later."
 * Emily is the one Pretty Little Liar to be a patient in Rosewood Community Hospital twice.
 * We see Jenna wearing the same black negligee that she was trying in the clothing store, where Aria, Spencer, and Hanna were also shopping in "The New Normal."
 * At the end of the episode, Caleb is comforting Hanna outside of "Lucky Leon's Cupcakes," the same place "A" forced Hanna to engorge a half dozen of the titular confections.

Trivia

 * Customarily, Save-the-Dates are sent out much further in advance than 6 weeks before a wedding. However, this detail may not be unrealistic considering 1) It is a second wedding for both parties, and hence, more modest. 2) It is a local wedding, taking place in Rosewood, so complicated travel plans need not be arranged. 3) It is a small, low budget wedding taking place in the local Rosewood Church.

Main Cast
Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis

Guest Stars

 * Tammin Sursok as Jenna Marshall
 * Yani Gellman as Officer Garrett Reynolds
 * Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers
 * Roark Critchlow as Tom Marin
 * Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin
 * Julian Morris as Wren Kim
 * Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz
 * Cody Allen Christian as Mike Montgomery
 * Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery
 * Eric Steinberg as Wayne Fields
 * Eddie Purino as Chaz
 * Ruben Garfias as Cop

Featured Music
 
 * “Alien” by Cary Brothers (while Aria sits in waiting room)''
 * “Save You” by Matthew Perryman Jones '(while Hanna tells Caleb about cop)''
 * "Ten-Twenty-Ten” by The Generationals (while Mike’s doing his homework)