Blind Dates

Blind Dates is the 4th episode in the Season Two. It will air on July 5, 2011.

Synopsis
The episode begins with the pawn shop owner expressing shock at seeing Spencer walk back through the door of his shop, just like she said she would, 48 hours after pawning the diamond ring. The owner pretends he doesn't recognize her to cover up his mistake, but Spencer has the receipt as proof. He gives her a rusty horseshoe as the item that corresponded with the number on the receipt.

Meanwhile, Aria, Hanna, and Emily are waiting outside for her in the skeevy parking lot next to a dumpster, discussing the oddness of Wren and Melissa's rendezvous the night before. Spencer comes out and reports the bad news - she stole her sister's wedding ring, but she keeps the horseshoe. Just then, they look up to see a creepy sign for an optometrist, with eyes bearing down on them, as if someone is watching them, and they know someone always is... Just then, they get a text from "A" cluing them into who has the ring.

News flash for Aria: Now that Mr. Fitz will be no longer be teaching at her high school, her mother, Ella will be her new English teacher. Aria tries not to conceal her disappointment and struggles with the weirdness of the arrangement. Back at the Hasting's, Melissa is still searching for her ring AND for Ian's passport. She claims that it is needed to make a claim on her ring for the insurance company.

At Hanna's home, Hanna's mom requires that Hanna has a session with the therapist, to Hanna's chagrin of course, while at Emily's, Pam is happy as ever, celebrating Emily's inevitable acceptance into Danby. Emily's conscience grows larger.

At school, Lucas is a total mess; he is beyond nervous about his upcoming date with Daniel. He is persuaded to call it off, but Hanna pushes him not to. Lucas eventually gets Hanna to come along with Caleb, to make it a double date.

As usual, Ella takes advantage of seeing her daughter in the school hallway to exchange some words. Aria critiques and complements her on her first class. Ella mentions that she needs Aria to pick up her brother Mike later from playing basketball and discourages her from spending time with her friends in the hallway, to Aria's utter annoyance.

At lunch time, Caleb follows Hanna to try and convince her to agree to the double date with Lucas and Daniel. Hanna, still disgruntled by Caleb, refuses, but then gives in her Lucas' sake, letting Caleb know that she is only doing it for Lucas. Caleb stills seems contented to be going with her.

Then, Spencer finds Wren at the hospital where he works to let him know that she saw Wren giving stuff to Melissa and to warn him that Ian tried to kill him. He tells her that the bag contained strong pain killers, meaning Ian really is alive, though probably not in good shape. He explains that he wanted to help her because he felt responsible for Melissa's getting back with Ian in the first place. In the end, Wren turns Spencer down in help to track down Ian.

At the therapist's office, Hanna is impatient and annoyed. She barely speaks to the therapist, avoids opening up to her, and leaves as soon as time gives up, especially after the therapist invites Hanna to role play what she is going to say to Alison.

At the basketball cage, Aria goes to find Mike, but only finds Mike's friends and even, Jason. His friends let her know that he hasn't been around in awhile and Jason theorizes that Mike is doing things his family obviously wouldn't approve of. Aria is worried, but grateful to Jason. For a moment, it seem that Jason is flirting when he tells her he remembers her pink hair highlight, and Aria is flattered, but we'll see about Ezra...

At school, Samara is happy to hear Emily's news (which she heard from Pam who was gushing to just about everyone). (Pam is super proud of Emily because she thinks Danby is especially enthusiastic, as Emily received a box of Danby paraphernalia, though courtesy of "A," not Danby.) Emily is immediately honest with Samara, letting her know that she authored the letter. Just then, Pam sees the two together and invites Samara to celebrate at dinner, especially since Emily won't be celebrating with her usual friends. Samara accepts, and this dinner seems like it will be very different than the last one, where a girlfriend of Emily's came over.

Back at the Hasting's residence, Spencer walks into the barn, which has the door ajar, and sees a suitcase filled with men's clothing and toiletries, including shaving cream. There's some pain meds and pink lacy clothing clearing belonging to Melissa. There is also Ian's passport tucked inside... Melissa is taking a shower, but runs out in her bathrobe when she hears a noise; Spencer hides, suspicious of Melissa's frantic behavior to hide something.

Spencer calls Aria to fill her in, who is also one in her home and as equally scared as Spencer. When Mike comes home, he scares her by not speaking up when she asks who's there. She also confronts him about his lies, but he brushes her off, as he is not dealing with his transitioning family situation very well.

The scene cuts to Hanna's place, where Caleb, Danielle and Lucas have begun their evening. Danielle isn't enjoying the situation and suspects Hanna of still being in love with Lucas, being that she did sell Lucas to Danielle by claiming that she was all over him. She sees Hanna as ruining their date by walking over so frequently and constantly looking Lucas' way, misinterpreting Hanna's intention to see that Lucas shows Danielle a properly good time. So, Danielle likes Lucas, but is worried that Lucas is responsive to Hanna's moves.

Surprisingly, Pam is impressed by Samara, especially her appreciation of Pam's craftiness and her sweet, polite demeanor. The subject changes to Danby, and Samara takes advantage to make things better for Emily, to take the guilt off of her. Before Emily confesses, she convinces Pam that there are other schools out there that would love Emily, given her swimming stats. She dissuades Pam from contacting the Danby coach right away, as that would make them seem to eager and focused on only one school. In this way, she has released Emily from the pressure of this one school.

Back at Hanna's, Lucas lets Hanna in on why Danielle is not enjoying their date, so to convince Danielle that she is the only one interested in dating Lucas, Hanna puts up with embracing Caleb to show her she's over him. And, as a result, Danielle reaches for Lucas' hand.

The next day, Wren calls Melissa to schedule a meeting - with Spencer by his side, planning to go along and see Ian with him. And, Lucas thanks Hanna profusely, praising her for acting so selflessly and unlike Alison, something that sends Hanna deep into thought. Her thoughts take her all the way to the therapist's office, where she asks for an impromptu session to reveal her thoughts.

At Aria's home, her dad picks up on Mike's abnormal behavior, but Aria denies what she knows, having been threatened by Mike that he would tell their parents about her hanging out with her friends.

At the therapist's office, Hanna tells the therapist her true feelings about Alison, in hopes of letting go. Her role playing makes it seem that Alison is really there, taunting Hanna for her feelings. She calls Alison her best friend, but also the worst enemy she ever had. Alison is condescending, but Hanna doesn't allow the mental torture to continue. In her head, Alison is calling Hanna's friends things that Alison has given her and that Hanna can't live without Hanna. But, mentally, Hanna lets the ghost know that she is over her, that she won't let her into her life anymore, and that she is ready to move on. The twilight music sets in, as if Hanna has broken a spell...

At school, Samara reiterates what she said to Emily's mom the other night, and Emily happily reports that her mother has started to look at other colleges. They plan for a second date.

At night, Dr. Sullivan, the therapist returns to finds her office in a shambles. Broken glass is everywhere; it's been completely trashed. She then turns to see a message scrawled on the wall in red paint: "Nosy Bitches Die." Maybe A is afraid of being found out? Wren calls Spencer, who alerts the rest of the crew to hit the road. They are going Ian hunting. Then, at Hanna's home, her mom lets Hanna in on what happened to Dr. Sullivan's office, afraid because her daughter was the last person in the office before everything went down. She asks Hanna what they discussed, but Hanna is reluctant; the point of confiding in the therapist is that it was confidential. But, Hanna's mom is not so sure...The police could blame Hanna for the incident. Hanna leaves in a huff, frustrated by all the false accusations that never stop flying around. She goes to find "answers."

At the office, the police let Dr. Sullivan know that there were not any signs of forced entry, but she is sure that she is the only one that has a key to her office.

In the car on their way to find Ian, the girls go over how screwed they are that they can't call the police, since that only ever makes them suspicious. Emily wants to film this, so as to prove their honesty later on. From inside an old barn that Melissa led Wren to, they hear Melissa let out a gut-wrenching scream and then uncontrollable sobs. Spencer goes to hold her, for there on the floor of the barn lies Ian with blood dripping from his head. He is holding a gun, and beside him lies a letter of confession that he killed Alison. But, is it all over? Above him, are horseshoes nailed to the wall, but there is clear imprint where one is obviously missing. Is this a setup? Is Spencer in possession of the real murder weapon that was used to finish off Ian? Will Melissa take Spencer's attempt to comfort her sister as genuine?

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

Notes
 * The billboard beside the pawn shop is very similar to the one described on the road in Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," which book has received attention on the board of Mr. Fitz' classroom. In the book, the billboard showcases the eyes of Doctor T. J Eckleburg, a pair of bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. There is much debate over the meaning of the symbol, whether it might be the eyes of God staring down in judgment. On Pretty Little Liars, they girls notice a similar billboard just after "A" sends her haunting text, and the girls look around to see who's watching them. They cast their eyes on another ancient looking billboard with chipped paint advertising for an optometrist, that reads "Dr. Lars Thorwald -- Someone's watching you, so look your best." On it are a pair of bespectacled eyes, which the girls all stare at hypnotized, and the camera spends several seconds lingering on the image.
 * "A" mentioned in a text message to the liars that, "Every girl loves her jewelery" which means that "A" could be a girl.
 * Twisted the 9th book of Pretty Liars was publish on this episode original air-date and like the book ends the current storyline and moves on to the next

Guest Stars
Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis