For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls is the 22nd episode in Season 1 and is the first Season Finale. It aired on March 21st, 2011.

Synopsis
At the beginning of the episode, the girls are still in Emily's room (as they had been in the previous episode), watching the footage contained on the flashdrive. Spencer comes up with the idea of asking Jenna what she knows, before taking the information to the police to incriminate Ian. The other Liars aren't so sure; they don't think they can trust Jenna at all, but Spencer is adamant.

At the Montgomery's, Ella is over helping Byron with some parental responsibilities. He lets her know that he is planning a faculty mixer in the house for that night and invites her to join. As they speak, Aria eavesdrops before showing herself. As her mother talks, Aria glances at her text messages and sees one from Ezra, warning her that a cop had been over.

At Hanna's, Ashley tries to snap Hanna out of moping over Caleb. She is surprised to hear that Caleb never delivered the letter he had planned to give her the day before.

Meanwhile, Melissa makes plans to go the church to plan a christening for her unborn baby. And Emily is in her room, messaging Samara on her laptop. Pam enters and asks to talk to Emily. She lets Emily know that Wayne has been reassigned to work in Texas and informs Emily that the family is moving to Texas to be with him.

At school, Aria meets Ezra, extremely alarmed by his texts. Fortunately, his news is positive; Officer Garrett Reynolds had not wanted to speak to him about Aria after all; when he said "student," he had meant Spencer and had asked Ezra some questions about Spencer's connections to props in the school play (and though he doesn't say it, the fake Ian trophy). Aria actually punches him in the shoulder for scaring her so much. He also has news that he is resigning from Rosewood High School to work at Hollis College instead, rendering his relationship with Aria less problematic. Ezra plans to come to Aria's house for her father's Hollis faculty mixer, and they make plans for Aria to show Ezra her room.

After class, Hanna asks Mona whether Caleb had tried to give her anything at the Founder's Day Festival. Mona totally lies, seemingly trying to protect Hanna's well-being. Lucas overhears their conversation, and afterwards, makes a face at Hanna. He is still mad at her for treating him poorly at the dance-a-thon.

In the school music room, the Little Liars confront Jenna about the incriminating video they found of her and Toby. Jenna tells her story, how Alison had visited her at the hospital on the day that she disappeared and had threatened Jenna never to reveal the truth about the Jenna Thing or face having her inappropriate relationship exposed. Alison had played footage of her seducing Toby and used it as blackmail. Before she left Jenna, Alison had warned her never to return to Rosewood, or she would bury her. Jenna asks what the girls are going to do with the video. They assure her they’ll keep it safe – but she won’t be getting it. Jenna seems to be telling the truth, though, when she discloses what Ali said to her at the hospital, and they believe her, given how it explains Jenna's seemingly strange speech at the memorial dedication.

At lunch, Spencer presents the other Liars with an anonymous cell phone that they can use to anonymously text Ian. Hanna texts him a blackmail message, demanding $10,000 in exchange for the videos. While they plot, they spot Ian standing by the snack machine in the cafeteria. When Ian gets the text, he immediately leaves the cafeteria to take care of it. They set a place for Ian to meet, just before Mona swings by to sit with them. However, as soon as she arrives, the girls all split, leaving Mona by herself with her lunch tray. After Hanna goes, her cell phone rings with an incoming call from Caleb. Mona picks up to speak to Caleb; she tells him that she gave Hanna the letter, but she threw it in the trash (an obvious lie).

Suddenly, Mona looks up to see Lucas standing over her. He is immediately suspicious of Mona and what she had to do with Caleb leaving town. In response, Mona apologizes for always teasing Lucas, claiming that it was just a joke. She also offers him a makeover, tempting him with the prospect of obtaining Hanna, but Lucas clearly doesn't take the bait.

Next, Jenna gets a phone call from Ian and lets him know that the girls have the video footage. Ian tells her not to worry, that he will take care of it. Ian turns on his car and starts driving somewhere in the woods.

Garrett corners Emily getting out of her car near her house and offers his help, should the girls need anything. He even invites her to his family's movie night, but she declines. Emily then walks over to Hanna sitting on her stoop to return her phone. Hanna comforts Emily about her imminent move to Texas. Neither feels like being alone.

Toby and Spencer are seen in Spencer's room reading and studying, respectively, until Toby calls Spencer over to sit on his lap by the window.

In her room, Jenna complains that Alison is taunting her from the grave. She turns to Garrett Reynolds, who lets her know that he will make sure that nothing happens. He then kisses her.

At the faculty mixer, Aria opens the door for Jackie Molina and reacts awkwardly. Ezra sees her head upstairs, then realizes why. Jackie and Ezra share a smile when they catch sight of each other. Ezra finally sees Aria's room, but under different circumstances than they both imagined. Aria questions Ezra how he could have omitted telling her that Jackie would be coming and that she also works at Hollis College. She equates it to lying despite his excuses and turns from him angrily, leaving him standing there.

After a while, Spencer gets a text from her sister, saying that she needs a ride home from the church. Toby tells Spencer that he'll keep Jenna busy like she wants him to, but he wishes he was going with her. She tells him that he's helping her by finding out if Jenna's involved in all of the bad stuff, or not. She then tells him that he is her safe place to land, and that she wants him to stay safe, and they kiss again.

Meanwhile, Hanna deletes Caleb from her phone's contacts and sheds a few more tears. Next, we see Lucas and Caleb in a car together! Lucas is driving Caleb back to Rosewood, Pennsylvania (from Arizona, or however far he got) for the sake of Hanna's happiness.

Spencer goes to pick Melissa up from the church, where she has been planning the christening for her unborn child. Melissa can't find her phone and believes she left it in the church. She and Spencer agree to go back for it just when a car comes out of nowhere, colliding with the sisters. Spencer is okay, but Melissa gets injured. It seems that the accident is a hit and run, as they don't know with whom they've collided.

While Spencer is busy with the aftermath of the accident, and the baby being monitored, Hanna, Emily and Aria work on trapping Ian. They call Spencer at 7:30, but unbeknownst to them, she is at the hospital.

At the hospital, Spencer fills in Veronica on everything that has happened. A police officer approaches Spencer to hand her her bag, which has been recovered from her vehicle. She opens her phone to find unanswered texts from her friends, asking where she is. Spencer offers to go back to the church for Melissa's phone since it's only a few blocks away.

Back at the meeting point, the girls get a text from "A," warning them to prepare, though the girls aren't sure for what. Emily takes Garrett up on his offer for help and confides in him about the Ian situation. He shows up in his personal car, wearing civilian clothes. Ian fails to show. Instead, a messenger boy with a sack of cash goes in his place, and Officer Garrett corners him. He turns the messenger away without telling the girls what he has done, though the girls have already caught sight of the messenger. Ian seems to have disappeared, leaving his injured pregnant wife to cope with the stress alone.

Spencer goes to the church to get Melissa's phone. She calls out for the Reverend, then begins searching. There, Ian corners Spencer – and it’s not a good situation at all. He calls the anonymous number that was used to text him, and a distinctive ringing is heard from Spencer's bag. She tries to use the fact that Melissa was in an accident to derail him, but he doesn't go for it. So, she takes the flashdrive from her bag and holds it up. He starts chasing her, and she throws her flash drive to throw him off her trail. (It is unclear whether there is a backup copy.) She starts running up the church tower to get away from him, but he is able to corner her. When Spencer gets Hanna, Emily and Aria on the phone, they are able to hear her entire fight with Ian at the church, including his entire plan for staging Spencer's suicide. Knowing how much danger she’s in, they rush to save her and dial 911.

Ian wraps his hands around Spencer's neck and makes a move to throw her down the bell tower. Spencer catches onto the ledge before she falls. Before Ian can ply Spencer's hands free, a figure approaches. Ian seems to know who it is, as he asks, "what are you doing here?" The mysterious figure, donned in A's usual black hoodie and gloves saves Spencer by pushing Ian to what appears to be his death, as he dangles motionlessly, entangled in the church bell's ropes. The ropes envelope his neck and appear as if they have strangled him. Spencer props herself back up to a secure spot and the ledge, just as the rest of the girls arrive to see that she is physically okay, but very shaken.

Later, the girls walk out of the church together, but are stopped when Officer Barry Maple calls them back to ask if their story is a joke. He can see the confusion on their faces, so he motions the girls to follow him into the church. Inside, the see that the bell tower is indeed empty, and Ian’s body is nowhere to be found. Much of the town emerges to see what the commotion is about, and Rosewood is left to wonder just how much truth the girls have been telling.

Meanwhile, the girls all receive simultaneous messages, as "A" assures the girls that this is far from over…

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

 * Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh
 * Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers
 * Tammin Sursok as Jenna Marshall
 * Ryan Merriman as Ian Thomas
 * Brant Daugherty as Noel Kahn
 * Yani Gellman as Officer Garrett Reynolds
 * Brendan Robinson as Lucas Gottesman
 * Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings
 * Jim Titus (II) as Officer Barry Maple
 * Paloma Guzmán (II) as Jackie Molina
 * Andres Perez-Molina as Policeman
 * Tilky Jones as Logan Reed

Featured Music

 * "Time To Be Your 21" by Alexz Johnson (Hanna and Emily sit on the porch and discuss the future)
 * "Coming To" by Apex Manor (Aria opens the door for Jackie)
 * "Far Far" by Yael Naim (Melissa texts Spencer asking for a ride)
 * "Hiding My Heart Away" by Brandi Carlisle (Aria confonts Ezra about Jackie)
 * "I'm Not Calling You a Liar" by Florence and the Machine (Ian's body is missing and the girls get a text from "A")

Continuity

 * Spencer's accident with an unknown driver marks the second hit and run this season, after Hanna's accident while the girls are at Camp Mona.
 * Alison's comment to keep Jenna and Toby's video "under lock and key" is a reference to "Monsters in the End" when she gave Emily a key - that same exact key.