The Bin of Sin

The Bin of Sin is the seventeenth episode of Season 5 of Pretty Little Liars. It aired on January 27, 2015.

Summary
Caleb and Hanna fill the liars in on their latest discovery – the storage locker is in Hanna’s name. Aria thinks this is payback for Hanna confronting Alison in jail, but Caleb informs them that that it was rented a day before Mona’s murder. Hanna wants to go to the storage locker and get rid of all of the evidence and the barrel that they think has Mona’s remains in. The others advise her against touching anything in there since it would be tampering with evidence that could convict Alison. But Hanna is convinced that Alison is out to get her and wants to destroy the evidence since she was alone with Caleb on Thanksgiving Day and so doesn’t have a solid alibi as the cops will think Caleb is protecting her. The girls and Caleb think that at least, they are one step ahead of Alison since they can track Mona’s laptop. Emily believes that Ali’s helper doesn’t necessarily have to be Holbrook and could be any one of her minions, since she thinks Holbrook was reaching out to Aria. Caleb says that he will hack into the storage facility’s system and corrupt their files so that the storage unit can’t be traced back to Hanna. They can then tell Tanner that they have tracked Mona’s laptop to the storage unit. Hanna is not a fan of the plan as she thinks that if anything goes wrong, she’ll be the one in trouble. The others try to convince her that this is the safest plan but she storms out.

The next morning, at The Brew, Emily and Aria discuss the barrel. Emily tells her that she didn’t sleep all night and was up thinking about the storage locker. Aria tries to find Ezra to tell him about the letter because she is feeling guilty about it. Talia comes out of the kitchen with a pie that she made for Ezra. Emily tells her that Ezra isn’t available but Talia tells her that the pie is just a token of thanks for hiring her. Talia thinks that Emily is saying so because she’s interested in him. But Emily informs Talia that she is not interested in any guys.

At Hanna’s house, Hanna is searching for chemical-resistant gloves online when Ashley comes downstairs. Ashley tells her that she talked to Ted last night and apologized for freaking out on him but she didn’t tell him about her hook-up with Jason and doesn’t intend to. Hanna disagrees and thinks that Ted deserves the truth. Ashley snaps at her to “forget it ever happened,” and leaves.

At the Rosewood police station, Toby is going over Alison’s file. Spencer arrives and says that she needs to talk to him in private. Toby whispers to her that she was supposed to stop whatever she and Caleb were up to. Spencer tells him that she thinks Hanna is about to bo something stupid and she needs his help but before Spencer can explain further, Detective Tanner interrupts and wants to know why Spencer isn’t at school and Spencer rushes off. Toby tells Tanner that he thinks Holbrook manipulated Alison’s polygraph test. Tanner asks him why he thinks Holbrook would help Alison and he replies that “people” saw him kissing her at the dance and that his father isn’t sick either. Tanner flips out on him and tells him that if he wants to keep his job he should stop investigating his superior officer.

Ezra arrives at Aria’s house. She tells him that she got accepted to Talmadge. He is thrilled and thinks that Jackie had nothing to do with her admission and says that they will celebrate later. Although initially hesitant, Aria finally tells him that Jackie was the one who reviewed her application and shows Ezra the letter she wrote to Jackie.

Caleb stops by Hanna’s house and says that he has corrupted the storage facility’s files. Hanna lets him in and he sees that she has rubber gloves, bleach, a drill, a dolly cart and other things to break into the storage unit and she has even rented a van. She wants to burn all the clothes and other evidence, roll the barrel into the woods and call the police with a burner phone. Caleb warns her that there is no way she can get pull it off on her own, to which she replies that he is going to help her. Caleb tries to talk her out of this but Hanna complains that she will be the one going to jail if anything goes wrong and so she has the final say. He caves and agrees to help her.

Ezra finishes reading the letter, and Aria apologizes profusely. She tells him that she tried getting the letter back, but it was too late. He interrupts her and says that he isn’t angry and that it was a brilliant move, she did what she had to do to get in to college. But Aria still feels guilty and tells him that she doesn’t regret being with him and just wrote the letter because she was scared that she wouldn’t get into any college and would be stuck in Rosewood. Ezra insists that he doesn’t care what Jackie thinks about their relationship and hugs Aria – but it is obvious that he does care.

Ashley and Jason go out to lunch and she gives him all of the paperwork he needs as she is quitting. Jason insists that she doesn’t have to leave because of what happened between them, but she thinks she does. Ashley reveals that she is in a serious relationship with Ted and he proposed. She tells him that what happened between them was because Ted was away for 3 months and so she got lonely. Jason tells her that he understands, and to swing by the office later and pick up the rest of her stuff.

Hanna and Caleb arrive at the storage locker. Caleb disconnects the security cameras and they start their work. Meanwhile, Spencer tracks down Emily and Aria in a panic – she got an alert on her phone that someone is moving Mona’s laptop. They think that Hanna went to the locker after they told her not to, and is moving it. They jump in Spencer’s car and follow the laptop’s GPS signal.

At the DiLaurentis office, Ashley is packing up rest of her things when Jason walks in. Jason notices that Ashley isn’t wearing an engagement ring. She tells him that she hasn’t given Ted an answer yet since he’s a pastor and marrying him comes with certain responsibilities. Jason thinks that the reason Ashley slept with him was because she wanted a reason to say no to Ted, since everything with him was going so well, but Ashley disagrees. Meanwhile Ezra is re-reading Aria’s letter.

At the storage facility, Hanna and Caleb finally get inside the storage unit and find that it has been completely emptied. All that is left inside is the barrel. They think that Holbrook may have left the barrel because it was too heavy to carry. Hanna doesn’t want to open the barrel because Mona’s body may be in it and she can’t look. They decide to get the barrel out and leave to get the dolly cart.

Spencer, Aria, and Emily arrive at an abandoned ice cream factory where the GPS signal said Mona’s laptop is. They still think that they are tracking Hanna and Caleb and that they must have come here to hide the contents of the storage unit. The girls realize that they don’t have any cell service in there. They decide to split up so that they can find the laptop and Emily goes upstairs.

Meanwhile, at the storage unit Detective Tanner and Toby arrive and catch Hanna and Caleb while they are leaving to fetch the dolly cart. Caleb lies and says that they are looking for a unit to rent and he and Hanna rush out, making Tanner suspicious. Toby and Tanner find the storage unit and see that the lock has already been broken.

At the factory Spencer hears Hanna and Caleb’s voices. She follows the voices and finds a laptop, inside a freezer, playing video footage of Hanna and Caleb at Hanna’s house, planning to break in to the storage unit. Aria arrives, having heard the same footage. Aria and Spencer realize that whoever is in the factory is not Hanna and Caleb. Someone dressed in a black hoodie locks them in the room and turns on the liquid nitrogen and they begin panicking as the temperature drops. Emily hears sirens go off and races downstairs. She tries switching off the freezer but is unable to. She finds a wrench lying nearby and breaks the switchboard of the freezer and is electrocuted. But she recovers and breaks the valve to the freezer and is able to able to unlock the door just in time before Aria and Spencer freeze to death.

At the storage unit Tanner and Toby open the barrel, and the contents inside stinks. Tanner tells Toby to go call a hazmat team. Tanner is about to lock the barrel when she finds a drop of blood nearby.

Back in Rosewood, Ashley heads out of the office and Jason helps her load her boxes into her car. Jason apologizes if what he said earlier crossed a line but Ashley thinks that some of it was probably true. Ashley tells Jason that he should probably not work with his father because he can’t move forward if he is stuck in the past. As Ashley is leaving, he kisses her. Ashley pulls away and tells him that they can never happen again and leaves.

As Emily is closing up The Brew, she finds Talia in the kitchen cooking. Talia tells Emily to stir her dish while she cleans up. Emily receives a text from Hanna telling her that Tanner and Toby were also at the storage locker and gets distracted and the dish catches fire. Talia consoles her that such things happen and tells her to wait outside.

Aria and Ezra finish their dinner. Ezra gifts Aria a journal to congratulate her for getting into Talmadge. Ezra reminisces about the time he got into Hollis and how excited he was. He tells her that there are amazing adventures waiting for her and she should not miss out on them like she did in high school because of him. Aria tries to convince him that she doesn’t mean anything she wrote in the letter, but Ezra tells her that a small part of her must believe what she wrote in that letter. Ezra thinks that if they do stay together, she’ll grow to resent him for holding her back. She insists that she can live her life and still be with him. Ezra tells her to at least think about this and she agrees.

Hanna arrives at Spencer’s house and accuses her of telling Toby about the storage unit. Spencer insists that she didn’t tell him. Spencer tells her that Holbrook broke into her computer and recorded the conversation she and Caleb had about breaking into the storage unit and tipped the police off. Hanna snaps that if Toby was their friend, he would have warned them. Spencer defends Toby, saying that Hanna can’t blame this on Toby. She says Hanna got herself and Caleb in trouble by going to the storage facility and not listening to them. Hanna, disgusted that Spencer is defending Toby and blaming everything on her, storms out. Spencer calls Toby at work but he ignores her call. Tanner tells Toby they don’t know if the remains in the barrel were Mona’s. She tells him that if the blood found near the barrel matches Mona’s DNA, his friends will be the first brought in for questioning since Alison had help. She tells him that if there is anything she should know he should come clean now.

At The Brew, Emily is on the phone with Hanna. Emily is no longer sure Holbrook is Ali’s helper. Right then, Talia enters and Emily hangs up. Emily apologizes for ruining Talia’s dish. Emily is embarrassed about what Talia must think of her since she’s been such a mess lately. Talia admits that the comment she made about Ezra being cute was not because she was interested in Ezra, but because she was interested in Emily and wanted to see her reaction, surprising Emily.

Hanna goes to Caleb’s apartment and informs him that Holbrook recorded their conversation. He knew that they were going to the storage unit and set them up. She thinks it’s only a matter of time before he sends the video to Tanner and she is arrested. Hanna regrets not listening to him and endangering him along with her. She tells him that if they’re caught, Hanna will claim that it was all her idea and she forced him to help her. She tells Caleb to stay away from her for a while because Alison/A will find a way to trap her and if he helps her, they’ll both end up in jail. Caleb says he will not leave her side and hugs her.

At home, Aria is looking through a Rosewood High yearbook. She realizes that under her picture no clubs or activities are listed. Ashley is sitting at home alone, drinking wine, and examining the engagement ring. Spencer is lying on the couch when Toby calls her. She asks him why Tanner was at the storage facility and he tells her that she got an anonymous tip informing her that Mona’s body was in there and he only found out on the drive over where they were going and so couldn’t tell her. She demands to know what was in the barrel but he refuses to tell her and says that he can’t come over because he is busy at work, although he seen leaving the police station and getting into his car. Spencer cries as he hangs up on her.

We see Mona’s bagged up bloody clothes and phone from the storage unit. As we zoom out, it is seen that these were behind a door at the ice cream factory Aria, Emily and Spencer visited earlier. A person in a black hoodie walks up to the door and shines a UV light on it and the girls’ handprints are visible on the door.

Title and Background

 * Jonell Lennon tweeted the title on September 2, 2014.
 * The "Bin" that is referred to in the title is most likely the bin where Mona's body may be stored in the storage unit.

Main Cast

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

Supporting Cast

 * Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz
 * Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers
 * Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh
 * Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis
 * Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin
 * Roma Maffia as Linda Tanner
 * Miranda Rae Mayo as Talia Sandoval

Trivia

 * The table read was on August 20, 2014.
 * Ian Harding was unavailable for the table read.
 * Filming began August 21, 2014 and wrapped August 29, 2014.
 * The episode was watched live by 2.00 million viewers.

Featured Music

 * "Wildest Moments" by Jessie Ware - (At The Brew, Aria & Emily talk about their lack of sleep then Aria tells Emily she needs to tell Ezra about her college application letter; Emily tells Talia that Ezra isn't available).
 * "Taken" by Young Summer - (Aria tells Ezra that she got accepted to Talmadge, then shows him the admissions letter that she sent to Jackie).
 * "Joy to You Baby" by Josh Ritter - (Jason tries to convince Ashley not to quit her job just because they slept together, then Ashley tells him about Ted).
 * "Ghosts" by Laura Welsh - (Ashley & Jason finish talking; Ezra re-reads Aria's admissions letter; Emily, Spencer & Aria follow Mona's laptop signal).
 * "Hope" by HAERTS - (End Montage: Hanna & Caleb hug; Aria looks through her yearbook; Ashley contemplates Ted's proposal; Spencer grills Toby about the storage unit barrel; Toby gets in his car).

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