It's Alive

It's Alive is the 1st episode in the Season Two. It aired on June 14, 2011.

Synopsis
Season 2 picks up in the aftermath of the Ian-Spencer chase in the church. Officer Garrett Reynolds takes the girls in his cop car to the police station, but shadily stops at an undisclosed location on the way to "straighten the girls’ stories out." He conveniently orders them to remove his participation from the retelling and not to mention blackmailing Ian at all. He claims that he is hiding the money the messenger brought and he won't be giving them any trouble. Most importantly, he asks them to keep the videos a secret. They head towards the precinct without noticing the figure standing close to where the girls were standing - Jenna!

The next day, the girls chill out in Spencer’s room to review the events of the night. They are confused about "A|A’s" motives in saving Spencer’s life. They go downstairs to make coffee and find all of their parents standing in Spencer’s kitchen. The parents seem skeptical about the girls’ story. They call Spencer’s accusations an "obsession to pin Alison’s death on Ian." The girls are completely defensive and their parents insist on them seeking therapy.

Just then, at an already tense moment, Toby stops by to see Spencer. Spencer’s dad sends him away in an attempt to prevent his daughter’s reputation from further damage. The rude remarks to Toby send Spencer and the others flying back up the stairs, sans coffee.

That night, Jenna and Officer Garret are together in a car staking out the former DiLaurentis house, questioning why Jason would move back there. They mysteriously allude to "a Jason thing" and wonder if he’s looking for something that they won’t refer to aloud.

Back at school, Aria is chatting with her mother in the hallway. They discuss the family situation, and Ella announces she plans to move back home.

Meanwhile, the rest of the school is abuzz with rumors about the girls’ story. Mr. Fitz erases a damning hangman meant to spell out “LIARS” drawn on the board. Then, Noel waltzes back into class, rudely remarking about the drawing on the blackboard. Aria and Spencer exchange pained looks.

In the hallways, girls gossip about Hanna, while practically standing next to her. But, Mona comes to the rescue and disses the girls for their gossip mongering.

Ezra beckons Aria to speak privately in the classroom, but Aria is uncommunicative. Ezra tries to apologize about Jackie, but Aria is mostly unresponsive and leaves their relationship status in the air.

After school, Spencer visits Toby’s house, but Jenna answers the door and slams it in her face, claiming her parents won’t allow him to see Spencer.

Meanwhile, just as Emily is re-watching the Jenna and Toby video, a real estate agent named Mr. Mendes comes into appraise the room, putting the Fields' house on the market, with the anticipation of the family's upcoming move to Texas. He basically criticizes anything that makes the room feel like inhabited and homey, and Emily is heartbroken.

Back at the Hastings’ residence, Officer Garrett is speaking with Melissa and her parents regarding Ian, a missing person, not a murder victim. He is trying to locate Ian for her; he returns her cell phone previously left in the church. Spencer than blasts her parents for not believing her story; she re-declares Ian dead, despite her mother’s protests. She blames them for siding with Melissa as usual.

In the therapists office, the girls sit silently. Hanna walks in late, hoping to have missed the whole appointment, but to her annoyance, the girls have ‘politely’ waited for her. When they finally do get to talking, they speak minimally. Aria is the most tempted to confide in the inviting Dr. Sullivan, especially about that thing, but their cellphones go off, scaring them with reminders of "A" finding anything out. They leave, thereby leaving Dr. Sullivan completely in the dark.

Outside, Spencer sees Toby escorting Jenna into a car. He smiles at Spencer, but doesn’t walk over. Then, the girls catch sight of a picture of themselves blasted on the town newspaper, with the caption, "What really happened?" The newspapers theory is that Ian skipped town. Despite Officer Garret’s promises, Ian’s money and a suitcase were found near his car at the end of town. "A" uses their shock as prime time to send one of her own: "I spy liars."

Later that day, Hanna returns home with shopping bags full of her day’s dealings. She rambles on about the sales until she catches sight of Caleb, seated quietly in her kitchen beside her mother. But, Hanna isn’t thrilled and she treats Caleb coldly, even when he makes eyes at her. She learns that Caleb tried to give her a letter and say goodbye. He has come to apologize, but Hanna does not forgive. He says, "I love you," but her mind is made. When he leaves, she cries.

At the cafe, Hanna expresses her hurt to Mona for lying to her about Caleb and the letter. Just then, Noel arrives to bestow a kiss on Mona, thus displacing Hanna. Now Mona is upset.

Spencer is trying on different outfits, set to meet Emily (and Toby) until Melissa walks in, suddenly civil towards Spencer. She apologizes for screaming at Spencer before and confides in Spencer the name they plan to give their child. She then asks Spencer to retell the story of what happened to Ian; she has changed her mind about Ian lying, knowing that Ian would never skip town on her like that. Spencer’s date with Toby is canceled, but we don’t know if Melissa will believe her anyway.

Toby hangs out in Emily’s room, disappointed that Spencer won’t join, but happy to be rekindling his friendship with Emily again. He uses his carpentry skills to remove Emily’s childhood height markings on the wall, so that she won’t lose the memento forever, even though they must be gone for the house sale.

Meanwhile, Aria does decide to make an appearance at Ezra’s place. There, shirtless Ezra assures Aria he believes her story. He offers his support to Aria. Aria is curious to hear more Jackie details, and Ezra assures her that he is totally focused on Aria. Just when they seemed to have patched things up somewhat, Aria receives a text, containing a picture of Ezra’s desk in his apartment. A claims something is missing...Aria instinctively looks under the doormat to find Ezra’s key gone...Will she let him know he needs to change his locks?

We next see Lucas rolling Caleb back into Rosewood. Lucas protectively warns Caleb not to hurt Hanna again.

Aria informs the crew at Emily’s place, and they consider A’s compulsively violent tendencies and violation of their personal space. They bring up Dr. Sullivan, who is sworn to confidentiality, and Emily and Aria are the loudest proponents in favor of cluing her in on their secrets. Spencer agrees, and even Hanna, the most unwilling to see a shrink, is in, as she approves of Dr. Sullivan’s fashion sense - a clear signal to Hanna about her character.

At Dr. Sullivan’s the girls are ready to tell all, until they catch sight of Ezra’s Bachelor certificate on the wall, a subtle hint from "A" that she is privy to everything they say. They had scheduled the appointment impromptu, yet they suddenly cancel, leaving Dr. Sullivan completely baffled and frustrated with the lack of communication. She had noticed that their decision to turn back, once on the brink of telling her, stemmed from one of the girls and slowly spread to the other four, but can’t figure out why. She believes that the girls are frustrating their attempts at therapy by coming as a group and so recommends to their parents to have them separate for a while, both within sessions and without. The girls turn devastated as their parents inform them one by one.

Just then, Spencer hears someone hanging outside her house, and so locks as many doors as she can, but is too slow to lock them all. Whoever it is finds an open entrance, so Spence grabs a knife, shuts off the lights, and hides crouched behind the counter. Her stops beating so fast when she discovers Toby, and the two embrace.

Meanwhile, as Dr. Sullivan leaves her office, she feels the creepy sensation that she is being followed and even sees a shadow figure just behind her. But, when she turns, she sees nobody.

While the realtor is showing Emily's room to a so-called prospective buyer, the client deletes Emily's entire hard-drive, while wearing the familiar black leather gloves.

Back at the Hasting’s residence, Spencer glances at her sister’s beeping cell phone, which has just received a text from a restricted number, saying “Melissa, I’m sorry, but it’s not safe yet. Can’t talk yet.” Is this from Ian? Is he really alive?

Spencer alerts the girls, who must sneak out of their homes to rendezvous in the middle of the night. They meet in the greenhouse, to discuss the possibility of Ian being alive and texting Melissa. They test the texter to see if he/she knows the name Ian and Melissa agreed upon for their unborn child. The texter answers correctly. The girls are spooked, but is the hooded figure watching overhead messing with them? Spencer did utter the name out loud BEFORE said texter gave the reply.

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
Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh Brant Daugherty as Noel Kahn Annabeth Gish as Dr. Anne Sullivan David DeSantos as Mr. Mendez, the realtor Nia Peeples as Pam Fields Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin Nolan North as Peter Hastings Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings Torrey DeVitto as Melissa Hastings Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal Yani Gellman as Officer Garrett Reynolds Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers Brendan Robinson as Lucas Gottesman

Trivia

 * This episode aired on Lucy Hale's 22nd birthday.
 * The title is a reference to the famous quote in Frankenstein, "It's Alive," as well as to the Pretty Little Liars thinking Ian is alive.
 * Anne Sullivan is named after Hellen Keller's famous mentor.

Featured Music

 * 1) Scars On 45 "Heart On Fire"
 * 2) Peter Bradley Adams "Between Us
 * 3) Allie Moss "Corner"
 * 4) Right The Stars "You Know The Way"
 * 5) Christina Perri "Jar Of Hearts"

Memorable Quotes
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