'A' is for A-l-i-v-e

'A' is for A-l-i-v-e is the first episode of Season 4 of Pretty Little Liars. This episode marks the Season 4 premiere. The episode will air on June 11, 2013.

The premiere began filming on Thursday, March 14, 2013 and ended Saturday, March 23, 2013.

Synopsis
According to Marlene King, Rosewood will never be the same (after the events of season 3 finale).

Season Notes
These are spoilers for the entire season as a whole and may not actually occur during this episode..
 * The girls may go back to the lodge to search for clues.
 * The writers are planning on having Mike to have an appearance this season.
 * Mona is now being targeted by A.
 * Mrs. DiLaurentis moves back to Rosewood with an agenda, living in her old home, alone, and will become a part of the mystery.
 * There will be some dissension between the girls as 3 of them saw Ali and the other 2 didn't.
 * Toby is not done with the A-Team as A has something emotional from his past on him.
 * Hanna will be A's main target when the show returns for Season 4.
 * The alliance between Jenna, Shana, and Melissa will be explored.
 * Lucas, CeCe, and Wren are set to return in Season 4, and Jason will return also.
 * According to Bryan Holdman, Mona was kicked from the A-Team and will somewhat become part of the group in Season 4.
 * Marlene King will pay homage to the Alfred Hitchcock film "The Birds" in season 4.
 * It was confirmed by Oliver Goldstick that Paige will be important in the first four episodes.
 * Oliver Golstick stated in a TV Guide Interview about the possibility of Alison's twin: "We're not exploring that so back off hunting for spoilers
 * We may find out who the Queen of Hearts is.
 * Oliver Goldstick stated in an EW interview that "there’s a Toby-Alison flashback coming up, which is really cool, in the beginning of season four "
 * Marlene King and Lucy Hale confirmed that there will be a season 5, after season 4.
 * Toby gets lured in by "A" the "A team" and red coat

Episode Notes

 * Toby's mother will be in this episode, wearing pajamas. There will be a flashback featuring Marion Cavanaugh, Toby's mother (deceased).
 * We will get some sort of answer as to which member of the A-Team was responsible for Ian's death in the season 1 finale according to Marlene King. The A that threw Ian off the Bell tower could be revealed in this episode.
 * The final scene of the Season 3 finale will set up the storyline and mystery that will begin in this episode - that is exploring what exactly happened on the night of Alison's disappearance. The episode will pick up immediately after the Season 3 finale.
 * The title for the episode was revealed to be 'A' is for A-l-i-v-e, which is a major spoiler and is the reason on why Marlene did not want to reveal the title.
 * A reporter will be in this episode covering a sad story.
 * We'll meet a state cop who is part of an investigation. His name is Gabriel Holbrook.
 * Jenna is back.
 * We will find out what the girls saw that was so shocking in the trunk of Wilden's Police car.
 * There is an interesting storyline for Toby. "He gets sucked back into the world of A, the web. Because A has something on him from his past that is emotional."
 * According to Marlene, in 4x01, we'll find out who killed Garrett, who tried to push Aria off the train, who attacked Spencer, and who was the 2nd phantom.
 * There will be a scene that involves the church, which could mean that a dead body was found in the trunk.
 * There will be a scene between Paige and Emily.
 * There will be another scene involving the church and Wilden's car.
 * Marlene King tweeted that there will be a flashback told from Toby's pov.
 * There might be a flashback of the girls and Mona when they were younger. However, Oliver Goldstick stated in a EW Interview that the Mini Me's are not part of a flashback.
 * The title may refer to Alison DiLaurentis, the person who "rises from the ashes" in A Dangerous GAme. Alison is revealed to be red coat, the person whom the liars think is Big A in A DAngerous GAme. Alison is thought to be dead but it is revealed that she is A-L-I-V-E.

Main Cast

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

Guest Cast

 * Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal
 * Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz
 * Tammin Sursok as Jenna Marshall
 * Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh
 * Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis
 * Sean Faris as Gabriel Holbrook (Police Officer)
 * TBA as Marion Cavanaugh
 * Andrea Parker as Jessica DiLaurentis
 * Brendan Robinson as Lucas Gottesman
 * Lindsey Shaw as Paige McCullers
 * Vanessa Ray as CeCe Drake

Trivia

 * The outline and development for the episode began in late January. Writing was complete on February 27.
 * The read-through was on March 12.
 * Shooting for the episode began on March 14, 2013 and ended on March 23, 2013.