The First Secret

The First Secret is the 13th episode of Season 2. It aired October 19, 2011. This episode is a special for ABC Family's "13 Nights of Halloween." The episode is a prequel to the "Pilot," taking place Halloween 2008 in the chronology.

Synopsis
We begin with a scary story, appropriately enough! It’s about two twins, one of whom gets mad and stabs the other in the heart with a knife on Halloween. Camera cuts to Alison telling the story to a frightened kid that Hanna (who actually looks plump! Word to the makeup artists who actually make Hanna’s face look plump too) is babysitting. The little girl goes to the asylum—“until yesterday!” and vowing to kill every kid who goes trick-or-treating.

See this is a good example of Alison being complex. It’s a really scary story, but telling it to a child is kind of—sweet, because who doesn’t want to be scared as Halloween draws near?

The Liars walk to school debating costumes—should Hanna go as bald Brittany? Way to make 2008 feel like the dawn of time! And Emily’s not out of the closet yet. And Aria has pink stripes in her dark hair. Spencer sometimes wears big nerdy glasses, because she’s smart. Noel drives up in a convertible and tells them “come prepared to be scared,” and the Liars are all excited that they get to go to the cool party (and trust me, it will be cool. Nobody in my town has ever held such an undeniably cool party since ever. I so wish I’d grown up in Rosewood, which in the opening credits looks like a toy village, with all the red and yellow trees, where everyone is pretty and parties are awesome).

There’s a kind of scary abandoned house, and Aria says, “I feel like something really bad happened here.” You know the writers had fun using every campfire ghost story ever invented. Someone opens the door, and we see a car marked “Radley sanitarium.”

Toby’s bummed that his dad has remarried, and she’s moving in with her daughter (we know it’s Jenna, but nobody else does yet).

At the costume shop (Rosewood seriously has everything), Noel startles Alison, who then tries to intimidate a new girl from buying a Lady G. costume. She succeeds, but then gets a text that says “I’m watching you,” from a blocked number. That unnerves Alison. She turns and says to someone in a creepy doll-like mask and burlap outfit, “freak.”

At Spencer’s house, she flirts with Melissa’s boyfriend Ian, who doesn’t take the bait, and comments about grandma in Georgia who was a sweater model (so we don’t forget about the whole grandma’s will plot). Melissa praises Spencer’s speech for class president, and Spencer admits her parents have already planned the party. Later Ali offers to fix the election for her when she tells Spencer Melissa is sabotaging her. And in this one, she might be truthful, though she has her own agenda.

Aria leaves a note for her dad at Hollis college and sees Meredith lying on the couch, bumping into hottie Ezra on the way. Later she sees Dad and Meredith making out in the car, walking home with Alison. Oops. And when she gets home, Dad asks her to lie to her mom, because it’s over now, and telling her would make it worse. “I don’t think I can ever forgive you,” Aria squeaks. Literally squeaks, I had to rewind it three times.

Hanna watches a scary movie in her pjs. The phone rings but nobody is there. Then the power comes on and off and when the phone rings again it’s Alison asking if she was at the costume shop and did she send her a text. A knock at the door- -but it’s not the bogeyman, exactly, but policeman Darren driving a drunken Ashley home. As Ashley falls asleep on the couch, Hanna consoles her that dad’s new girlfriend is pretty ugly. Three years ago, the parents in Rosewood, kind of sucked. The next day Darren comes by to “check” on Ashley, but Ashley lets him down. He says ominously to be careful out there. “That was a horny cop,” Ashley says, which gets the prize for best line of the night.

At school, a cafeteria scene shows Mona as nerdy trying to hang with them and being soundly dissed by Hanna—and by Aria too. And Emily’s boyfriend Ben is telling everyone they had sex, and Emily’s allowing it. Ali seems impressed, “shy on the streets, sexy in the sheets,” she says. “I knew there was something different about you.” Later Emily tells Ali it isn’t true, yet, and asks her not to tell everyone. “then why is he telling people he took the VIP tour to Neverland?” Ali wonders *the runner up prize of the night).

Ali says “I can’t figure you out,” but obviously, she does, because when she sees Emily looking hungrily at Jenna at the way too cool party, she cracks that she wants to taste her cherry Chapstick.

Ali may be a beyotch, but she isn’t stupid.

Jason comes into Ali’s bedroom, acting like a typical annoying brother. She pays him for a secret, or something, and he tosses a package that was on the porch for her on the bed. Inside is a burlap doll with a red heart and a pin, and a note that says “it’s my turn to torture you.” Spooky. Ali opens the radiator grill and puts it in the box of her things.

Ali also seems to have some weird secret about Lucas. She calls him Hermie, and asks him about the hospital, and suggests he’s halfboy, halfgirl (hermaphrodite?). Lucas goes on to hate Ali, and dresses in the same burlap scary costume at the party and shouts “bitch” at her, but though we’re being set up to think he might be A., I really doubt it. Even though he tells Mona “one day she’ll get what’s coming to her.”

Kids trick or treating, girls getting dressed in Spencer’s bedroom. Aria doesn’t feel like going. And outside the creepy guy in burlap outfit is there.

Aria wants to bag the Halloween party but Ali scolds her that she’s been an energy suck every since she saw her dad kissing that tart (the silver medal award goes to)..

The Halloween party has everyone in an actual costume—nobody in a flannel shirt pretending to be a hobo! Ali is Lady GaGa, Emily is Pocahontas, Spencer is Mary Queen of Scots, Hanna is cute Brittany, and Aria is TK. There’s a cool girl rock band.

Jenna shows up—also dressed as Lady GaGa! And Noel goes right to her. Ali offers to befriend her, saying “there’s room for one more,”but Jenna says she likes to pick her own friends. A girl in a cat suit says “you’re definitely the best Gaga.” It’s Mona, of course. Factions! We love factions!

Ali feels sulky and hands Spencer the ballot of incriminating evidence. Spencer burns it without looking, though Ali says ‘you’d be surprised to know who your friends aren’t.”

Now for the scary story! The Liars get a text that says “I’m in trouble, come alone” from Ali, to the scary house address. So they all go together (is that also somehow meant to be alone?).

Creepy person in burlap costume is there but they don’t see him. It’s abandoned except for torn lace curtains and antique dolls (really, just how long ago was this place abandoned? Shouldn’t it have an old Twister and Malibu Barbie? That would still be 40 years, you know?)

Ali says someone grabbed her and brought her there threatening to kill her with a knife. Nobody can get a signal so Ali goes out (Yes! It’s Horror Movie 101!) Then she screams but the door is now bolted and they can’t open it. Through the keyhole they see a big fight with her and costumed guy with a knife. Ali knees him and runs off, the the Liars get out through a conveniently open window. They go back in the house and Ali is rocking looking completely insane, but she says it was all a hoax. Noel was the zombie, the blood was ketchup (she offers it to Hanna, which is funny in a mean way), and that they “passed the test. I know I can count on you.”

Her friends look really annoyed. Heard about the whole boy crying wolf thing Ali? This will not end well for you.

Back at the party there seems to be mostly college kids now. Noel apologizes and Ali tells him it was perfect—but then realizes he’s apologizing because he didn’t make it to the plot, he was stuck at the party. Who was it then?

Lucas is there in an identical costume. But come on, now. Alison gets a text: “Dying to know who I am? You’ll find out. –A.”

Main Cast
Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings

Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin

Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery

Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields

Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis

Guest Stars
Torrey DeVitto as Melissa Hastings

Ryan Merriman as Ian Thomas

Brendan Robinson as Lucas Gottesman

Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal

Brant Daugherty as Noel Kahn

Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis

Tammin Sursok as Jenna Marshall Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz Amanda Schull as Meredith Keegan Allen as Toby Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin Bryce Johnson as Darren Wilden Madison Carabello as Twin #1 Miranda Carabello as Twin #2

Featured Music

 * "Just Dance" by Lady GaGa 

Trivia

 * The footage of the flashback in the "Pilot" where Aria and Ali discover her dad's affair is reused in this episode.
 * Ali makes a reference to Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" to Emily when she asks if Emily would like to taste Jenna's cherry chapstick.
 * Miranda and Madison Carabello, the actresses who play the twin girls in this episode, played Marie DuBois on the show Medium. Sasha Pieterse played 14-year old Marie on the series finale of that show.
 * The 'torture' of Ali and the doll could be considered towards Ali's sister Courtney (from the books.)