Unbridled

Unbridled is the twenty third episode of Season 4 of Pretty Little Liars. It aired on March 11, 2014.

Summary
We open with Spencer in a wedding dress wandering around the woods following someone. While running she trips and falls on the ground. Spencer gets up and starts pursuing the anonymous person, when she hears a noise and abruptly stops in her tracks.

We go back 48 hours earlier. The girls are at the Brew talking about Paige exposing Ali to the police. Spencer is worried she'll be questioned when they discover the body isn't Alison's, as they also suspect Alison’s own mother to be ‘A’ and behind Spencer being a suspect. Aria and Emily think that Mrs. DiLaurentis cannot be ‘A’ as ‘A’ knows Ali is alive. But Spencer’s theory is that Jessica is trying to send Spencer behind the bars, so Ali would be safe to come back to Rosewood again. Spencer and Emily leave after a discussion about Jessica being A and Jessica not being ‘A’.

Outside Emily and Spencer see Jason and call out to him. He ignores them and drives off, leaving Em and Spencer confused behind. In Spencer's car they find a series of pictures with the face covered. There is a message at the end of the long picture that reads: "You know me, Spencer. You killed me."

Ella comes back from her trip and surprises Aria. They talk about her breakup with Ezra.

The next morning, Dean tells Spencer she needs to provide a urine sample before leaving the house. She wants to see Jason while he is shifting boxes into his house, but Dean does not allow her.

Ashley is helping Jessica with a charity bridal show. Hanna talks to her mother about not trusting Jessic. Her offering Ashley a job seems weird to her, because they were never friends. Ashley tries to brush it off, but Hanna tells her mom that she does not trust Mrs. DiLaurentis and she shouldn't either.

At school Spencer tells Emily she wasn't able to see Jason, because of Dean and his obsession with Spencer’s bladder. Paige walks into the ladies room and Spencer leaves them to talk.

Emily is furious with Paige for telling the police. Paige explains she isn't concerned with Alison and says what she did was only to protect Emily, but Emily is convinced she was taking revenge for Ali for bullying her.

Aria tells Hanna her mom is asking about Ezra. Hanna doesn't think she should share too much, with which Aria is quick to agree with.

After Hanna spots Travis and starts up a conversation. Travis got a job working for the school library. Hanna apologizes for leaving during their night out and asks for another date, but he turns her down.

Holbrook stops by the Dilaurentis house. He informs Jessica he's got a court order to exhume the body in Alison's grave. A broken bone of Alison's never showed on the coroner's report. Jessica urges Holbrook to put her daughter to rest, but Holbrook says that he wasn’t there to ask her permission.

Jessica had been working with Ashley on the charity event. When she goes back inside she catches Ashley looking inside a shopping bag in Alison's room. They contained clothes for a girl which were purchased the day before. A pissed off Jessica drives Ashley out of the room.

Emily is on the computer, having no luck with the email address she found in the envelope. She sees Jason and asks him about blowing her and Spencer off. She knows he saw them. He talks about needing to avoid Spencer, since her relationship with his mother is so complicated. A flashback to Jason overhearing an argument between Jessica and Alison about Spencer possibly picking on her, reveals that   she was advising Alison to aggressively go after Spencer. She says Spencer has enough reason to go after their family.

While Ella and Aria talk, her mother takes a call from Zack. Aria isn't happy.

Spencer gets a text from Emily confirming her feelings that Jessica "has it out for you." Dean walks in and the two talk about a book he's reading. He knows she isn't sleeping and doesn't feel safe. He's reading a book about a professional boxer and offers to read her a few passages.

When Ella comes back in, Aria complains about Zack being more important than her and Mike. She seems to think her mother left for too long. Ella is confused, Aria 'basically packed her bags' and pushed her out the door.

<p class="MsoNormal">Veronica comes home to find Spencer and Dean asleep together on the couch. It looked like nothing intimate, but Veronica explodes and fires him.

<p class="MsoNormal">The girls talk about who might be in Alison's grave. Spencer thinks the person who went after Alison could still be out there. Hanna shows up and tells them what her mother found in the bag that day. They suspect that Jessica knows her daughter is still alive. She wants them to volunteer as models at the charity event, which is at the DiLaurentis home, so they can look for the address. Holbrook walks by and mentions there could be a lot of questions for them in the upcoming days.

<p class="MsoNormal">Spencer yells at Veronica for not trusting her with what happened the summer Alison went missing. Veronica references an "incident" between her and Melissa and we flashback to her talking to Alison in their backyard. She is picking up the pieces. Veronica is emotional, unsure what is happening with her daughter. Alison walks away and sees Spencer. The two exchange a glance. Spencer admits that she doesn't remember this story. Veronica tells her to forget about that summer and leaves. Spencer looks out the window in her room and sees Jessica staring at her.

<p class="MsoNormal">Travis is working at the bridal show parking cars. Before the show starts Spencer runs into Jason and they talk about her and him being in rehab. She asks him if he's sure it was CeCe that Melissa was talking to the night Ali disappeared. Dean stops by to say good-bye and Jason leaves. Dean informs Spencer that the rehab facility Jason said he had been attending has been closed for two years.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jessica isn't happy to learn Ashley has her daughter and friends modeling the dresses.

<p class="MsoNormal">As the show begins Spencer looks outside and sees Jessica hand something to a person she can't see. She follows the person into the woods.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hanna, in her wedding dress, asks Travis for help getting upstairs. He creates an issue to discuss later with Jessica, which should give them time to snoop. They kiss.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ella goes "backstage" to talk to Aria about Ezra. She then tells her that Zack proposed. Aria is happy for her mom and hugs her.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hanna and Emily look through Alison's room but the shopping bag is gone. They use the name of a restaurant on a poster they find in Ali's closet to get into the email account from the envelope. Emily sends a message to Alison.

<p class="MsoNormal">We return to the scene from the opening. Spencer's train gets caught in a bear trap and she runs off.

<p class="MsoNormal">Aria goes into Alison's room just as Emily's phone rings. It's Alison, who tells them not to talk to her mother. She says they need to come see her.

<p class="MsoNormal">Downstairs the girls realize Spencer is missing. She walks in crying and tells them about chasing down somebody she thought was Alison in the woods. She takes the corsette off of her dress and they find finger bones inside. There is a message sown inside, asking "What will you do when the rest of me comes out of the grave?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Paige comes to Emily's house and asks for forgiveness. Emily doesn't think she can trust her anymore and breaks up with her just as the other girls pull up.

<p class="MsoNormal">The girls arrive at the address Alison gave them. They move around and look for Ali. They find a locked door and think that Ali's in there. Spencer calls out for her. Suddenly they hear a noise and turn around. Spencer asks: "What are you doing here?" We never catch the person’s face.

<p class="MsoNormal">In last scene of the episode, A is renting a room at a hotel. While the employee at the desk leaves, A takes the guestbook and searches for CeCe's name to confirm she's there. Then A calls the Rosewood Police Department.

Title and Background

 * A bridle itself is a piece of equipment for horses.
 * Maya Goldsmith shared a sneak peek of the script that implies that someone in Rosewood might be tying the knot. Though a “bridle” refers to the headgear used to control a horse, we doubt the similarity to the word “bride” was unintentional. Is the bride in question in some sort of danger?
 * As for the actual definition of “unbridled,” it means to be unrestrained, to literally or figuratively be free of the thing that controls and binds you.
 * Now, the question is: who has been set free? Is it “A,” who perhaps has abandoned all pre-tense at a plan and decided to launch everything he/she has at the Liars?
 * Is it Alison, who has thrown off the shackles of her fake death and gained her freedom?
 * Or could it be the Liars, who have somehow gained control over their situation, perhaps eliminating the threat of “A” or finding a way to control their masked bully?

Main Cast

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

Guest Cast

 * Andrea Parker as Jessica DiLaurentis
 * Sean Faris Gabriel Holbrook
 * Nathaniel Buzolic as Dean Stavros
 * Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin
 * Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery
 * Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis
 * Lindsey Shaw as Paige McCullers
 * Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings
 * Luke Kleintank as Travis Hobbs

Trivia

 * The table read was on October 15, 2013.
 * Filming began on October 16, 2013 and ended on October 22, 2013.
 * In 4 seasons, this episode is the lowest-rated episode ever with 1.95 million viewers in the United States as well as the only episode to go under 2 million viewers.