Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather is the fourth episode of Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars. It aired on June 26, 2012.

Synopsis
The girls are sitting at the Apple Rose Grille, discussing the validity of what Jenna had said to them in the previous episode. If she is telling the truth, she cannot be on the "A" list anymore. Is Lucas on the list? Hanna doesn't think so, because Lucas is certainly not capable of digging a grave. They then discuss about the Black Swan -- she is definitely guilty of something, otherwise she wouldn't have run away from the party. She could possibly be working with Mona. Melissa and Veronica are nearby. When Hanna notices them, she feels Melissa could be the Black Swan, afterall she was faking her pregnency for a long time.

While this conversation is going on, Alison’s older brother Jason suddenly bursts through the restaurant door and stomps over to Spencer’s mother, demanding why she has decided to defend Garrett. Spencer’s mother simply brushes it off as "everyone deserves a strong legal defense," but Jason is unconvinced. He storms out of the restaurant with Spencer and her friends following. Outside, he puts up a flyer announcing a $50,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of Alison’s remains. Moments later, the liars receive another mysterious text that says: "Imagine what I could do with fifty grand."

When Spencer comes home, her mother is still working on Garrett's case. She shows her the reward poster. Veronica expects Jason to get tons of calls -- mostly people trying to scam him out of his money. Spencer then asks what would happen if the person who dug up Ali's body is found. Veronica replies whoever took the body would get at least ten years and probably a life sentence for Alison's murder.

At school, Aria tells Hanna about her dad. He's now got a new haircut, new aftershave and smells like baby wipes. Clearly, he's dating Meredith. Hanna thinks that Aria should tell her mother before Ella finds out from someone else.

When Aria sees Ella, she encourages her mother to go out to have some fun.

Meanwhile, Hanna tries to visit Mona, but it’s a bit intimidating with a guard blocking the way.

Elsewhere at the coffee shop, Emily has gotten a potential barista position. Let’s see how long that lasts. Maya’s cousin, Nate, comes looking for Emily on her first day on the job. He reveals to Emily that he’s going to attend Hollis.

At the Marin household, Hanna finds out that someone had visited Mona before her meltdown. Hanna assumes it’s Lucas before Caleb tells her. Caleb assumes that Mona is messing with Hanna, but Hanna assures him she isn’t.

Hanna confides in Aria, and her friend advises that maybe it would be a good idea to tell Caleb about the new "A." Hanna catches Aria looking up profiles of bald, fat men with unibrows online before Aria says that maybe it’ll ease the blow if Ella found someone before she discovers that Byron is seeing Meredith.

Hanna’s mom catches the girls and suggests a better dating site, where Aria and Hanna create a spicy profile for Ella.

Spencer waits for Jason to get out of class to encourage him to withdraw the reward. Jason tells Spencer that he thinks that her mother is trying to protect the Hastings name and that she really doesn’t think Garrett is innocent.

Elsewhere, Emily meets up with Nate, who gives her a gift that Maya had intended to give Emily. Maya’s mom wanted Emily to have it. Nate explains that the present had arrived weeks after the funeral took place. When Em opens the box, she's clearly moved: Maya bought her a fan shirt of the movie they went to see on their first date.

At the mental institute, Hanna tries to sneak in to see Mona, but when she sees Detective Wilden with a court order to see Mona, she asks Wren the reason. Hanna asks Wren to sneak her in, but Wren reveals to Hanna that he was already reprimanded for extending her visiting hours, Hanna has to wait it out.

Hanna tells the other Liars about Wilden. If Mona knows that they were at Ali’s grave, they would all be in jail right now, so Spencer says. Hanna interjects that they need to find out who the Black Swan is pronto.

Aria says that they need to find out where Melissa lost her baby, but Spencer is still on the defense. We know why Mona hated the Liars, but why would Melissa have a vendetta against the Liars?

Hanna, Aria, and Emily are heading to Melissa’s Philadelphia apartment, while Spencer is supposed to be a distraction, so that the others can search Melissa’s place. Spencer tells girls not go inside the apartment until Melissa meets her. When Spencer hasn't texted 20 mins later, the three liars decide to enter anyway.

So when Melissa forgets her wallet at her place and returns, the girls scram to hide. The search was not pointless, however, when the Liars discover a feather from the Black Swan costume in a garment bag inside Melissa’s closet.

Although Spencer is still hesitant about talking to her sister about this, she does so before Melissa breaks down not only in front of Spencer, but also in front of their mother. Yes, Melissa lied about her pregnancy for that long, but the question that both Spencer and their mother demand to know is why Melissa was in that Black Swan costume.

Interestingly enough, Melissa tells them that a package came telling her to put on the dress, and if she did not do it, her secret about her fake pregnancy would get out. Melissa was supposed to act as a distraction for the Liars, but when Melissa saw the girls at the party, she ran.

While Spencer's dealing with another family secret, Hanna gets another text message from "A," sending her a photo of Caleb’s mother’s car in bad shape and the threat: "I'm everywhere, Hanna. -A". Hanna realizes that she has to keep quiet about the possbility of there being a new/another "A", since Caleb would be in danger. Right then, Caleb comes into Hanna’s room to tell her the bad news.

Hanna pretentds not to know, but when Caleb prompts Hanna to tell her the news Hanna had intended to tell him, she shuts down on him. It’s an all too familiar scene for Caleb, and for Hanna it’s a tearful surprise that her boyfriend wants to break up with her.

In the end, Jason spots Spencer taking a stroll. Jason tells Spencer that he’s going to withdraw the reward even though he’s not when he receives a message. Jason writes a check and is ready to meet this mysterious person.

As Spencer continues her stroll, Spencer runs into Detective Wilden, who asks Spencer how far the lake house from Rosewood. Is Wilden catching on?

At the end of the episode we see "A" at Montecito airport, enjoying a cup of cocktail, and hacking the computer system of the Radley Sanitarium allowing Mona visitors. When, the airport announcer announces that the plane would leave for Philadelphia in the next 15 minutes, "A" closes her/his computer, stands up, and leaves $ 50 as tip for the waiters before the screen cuts to black.

Title

 * The title may be a reference to the Black Swan from unmAsked.
 * The title of this episode may also refer to the saying "Birds Of A Feather Flock Together."

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

Guest Stars
Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin Julian Morris as Wren Kingston Torrey DeVitto as Melissa Hastings Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis Sterling Sulieman as Nathan St. Germain Bryce Johnson as Darren Wilden Michael Karman as Kevin Sarah Zinsser as Nurse