A Kiss Before Lying

A Kiss Before Lying is the 18th episode in Season 2 of Pretty Little Liars.

Synopsis
In the Hastings' kitchen, the girls, minus Hanna, gather round Caleb's laptop as Caleb hacks further into the files from "A's" phone. After one too many requests, Caleb asks them to back up. One by one, each of them gets a call from Hanna, which they all decline. Eventually, Spencer answers her phone and says she is with her family to prevent Hanna from coming over. However, Emily accidentally breaks a glass, and Aria shouts out her name in surprise. Hanna is hurt, thinking the girls are mad at her, but doesn't force the subject. Caleb manages to get a clear picture of the things in Alison's box, which includes a fake ID of Alison with dark brown hair.

Aria and Spencer sit alone in Spencer's kitchen, and Spencer asks Aria to sleep over, as they both need the company, but Aria already made plans with Holden. Spencer is surprised as Aria had only been hanging out with him in order to spend time with Ezra, and as far as Spencer knows, Ezra never showed up to meet her and their relationship is over. Aria notes that Toby's truck has gone, and Spencer says she took it back to Toby's house, and begins crying reminiscing about him. Aria comforts her and Spencer says she doesn't know how Aria is holding it together. Spencer asks if it is her fault they are lying to Hanna about Caleb, but Aria assures her that there are certain situations in which someone must lie to their friends, no matter how much they hate it.

Later that night, Ezra and Aria drive to an unknown location in Ezra's car and discuss their situation. Aria hates having to lie to her friends. He tells her she doesn't have to, but she recalls being "burned before." The good news is her mom seems to be slowly coming round to the idea of them dating. The bad news is her dad will probably never come around.

In the Marin's kitchen, Hanna and Ashley eat dinner in silence, when Ashley asks about the elephant in the room. Hanna says that Kate isn't an elephant, but a snake who is going to ruin her life. Ashley assures her that Tom made it clear to Kate that if there was any problem between her and Hanna, there would be consequences. Hanna isn't convinced Kate will listen, but Ashley gets her to promise that she will do everything she can to make Kate feel welcome in Rosewood.

Aria and Holden are picked up by Byron, who leaves the car for a minute to use the ATM. Aria apologizes for being late, as she and Ezra got lost when trying to take a shortcut. They quickly coordinate their stories about what they ate that night, and Aria realizes that it's the third time they have gone out this week and wonders what people will think. Holden says that they should keep them guessing.

At school the next day, Hanna asks the girls what they did the previous night, and they lie that they were studying. They remember that it is Kate's first day at Rosewood High, and Hanna is worried and keeps looking around for her. As they walk back to their table, Hanna notices Spencer is wearing a man's undershirt, and Spencer admits that it is Toby's. Kate approaches them, looking a little nervous and awkwardly makes conversation with the girls. Spencer asks Kate if they have met before. Kate says it was at the wedding, but Spencer thinks it was somewhere else. Hanna shows Kate to her next class, and gets a text from "A," who warns her to keep Caleb out of their business or they will expose Ashley's theft of the money from the bank.

A little later, the other girls watch Noel from across the way and wonder if he is Jenna's replacement for Garrett. Hanna returns and asks them if they know anything about Caleb still investigating the files from "A's" phone. The girls brush it off and quickly leave, but Hanna confronts Spencer, saying that she knows they are annoyed she destroyed the memory drive, but they shouldn't just push her away as she was only doing it to protect Caleb and would do the same for each of them.

Emily and Maya are lying together in Maya's bedroom, where they jokingly discuss sabotaging the swim team for refusing to let Emily rejoin. Emily gets a text from Pam, who is returning for a visit tomorrow. Emily says she is a completely different person and Maya says she will believe it when she sees it. They begin making out on the bed.

At school, the girls are eating lunch with Kate, who is being disturbingly nice. Spencer asks Kate if she has ever been to Maine, along with many other questions, trying to figure out where they had met, clearly making Kate uncomfortable. When Kate leaves to meet her teachers, Hanna tells Spencer to back off because Kate might tell her dad her friends are grilling her. Spencer insists she knows Kate from somewhere, but doesn't know from where.

Emily returns to her locker, wary because she sees a mysterious note taped to it ("Did you miss me?"). Pam then suddenly appears, revealing the note is from her. Emily is surprised Pam is home ahead of schedule, and they make plans to have dinner. Pam asks if any of Emily wants to invite her friends, and Emily says that she would like to invite Maya. Pam agrees it is a good idea, wanting to give Maya a second chance.

In the locker room, the girls change for gym class. Hanna is still distressed about the text, and stuffs her phone into her bag before leaving with Aria. Spencer ties her shoelaces, and notices Kate is having trouble with her locker combination. Spencer reveals that she finally figured out where she knows Kate from - a horse camp during the summer of 2006, where Melissa was a counsellor and Kate attended. Kate says Spencer wins and asks her what she wants. Spencer assures Kate that she wasn't going to tell anyone, but Melissa sent her pictures from that summer, and if her being nice to Hanna is a charade, she'd better keep it up.

Emily and Pam meet Maya at the Grille, where Maya is talking to Noel. When he leaves, Emily asks about him, and Maya says he just helped with her phone, and that he is really sweet. Emily assures her his smile is deceiving, and the three go to their table, but not before Maya makes a comment about Pam's rapport with the waitstaff.

Aria and Holden enter an arcade, where Aria reveals that her plans got canceled and she didn't want to ruin Holden's night, so she planned to hang around until they get picked up. Holden reveals his plans got canceled as well, and didn't want to ruin Aria's night. Instead of going home, they decide to spent the night together. Holden orders a pizza, remembering Aria's favorite topping, and challenges her to a game of air hockey.

Meanwhile, Emily, Maya and Pam's evening isn't going very well. They discuss music, and Maya says that she doesn't think Pam is the type of person who listens to jazz, hinting jazz musicians were all stoners. Maya gets a text, and says it's from her stalker. Pam is surprised, and Maya quickly says that she was joking, and it's just from a guy she dated who is having trouble letting go. Emily is displeased with the way Maya is acting.

Hanna and Spencer hang out in Spencer's house, preparing to watch a movie. Spencer nixes The Notebook, Hanna's suggestion. Hanna is still worried about Kate, sure that her nice personality is just an act. To convince Hanna that she has nothing to worry about, Spencer shows Hanna the photo of Kate from camp, covered in bug bites. However, Hanna's good mood suddenly shifts when she finds the picture of Ali's fake ID on Spencer's phone. Spencer confesses that Caleb is still working on the information from "A's" phone, and they kept it a secret from her. Hanna is furious. She says that while she was worried about Kate backstabbing her, she didn't realize Spencer was the one holding the knife and storms out.

Emily, Maya and Pam finish up dinner. When Pam goes to pay the bill, Emily accuses Maya of trying to aggravate Pam by making jokes about drugs and mentioning the guy she dated in New York. Maya says she wanted to start over with Pam by being honest, and asks if it's Pam who has a problem with Maya dating guys, or Emily.

At Hollis College, Ezra chats with a professor, who says that he has recommended Ezra for an associate dean's position at the new Hollis satellite school. Ezra is flattered, and surprised when he learns the school is in New Orleans. When he asks for a few days to think it over, he is told the only reason he is even being offered the position is because Byron Montgomery so strongly recommended him. Byron looks on ominously from across the room.

Hanna waits for Caleb outside her house. She confronts him about going behind her back. He says that he knows she is trying to protect him, but he is worried about her. Hanna says he isn't the only one she is trying to protect and tells him the last year was really hard on her and Ashley. She confesses that they had serious money issues and almost lost their house, and Ashley stole money from the bank to support them. Hanna says she never told anyone that before, and Caleb thanks Hanna for trusting him. Hanna says someone else knows and is holding it over her. Caleb asks if it's Jenna, but Hanna says she doesn't know, and that it is this unknown person's phone that Caleb is working on.

Back at the arcade, Aria and Holden are having a lot of fun playing air hockey. Holden asks about Ezra, but Aria says she doesn't want to talk about him then challenges him to another game.

Meanwhile, Caleb storms up to the Cavanaugh residence to talk to Jenna. He gets no answer and turns to leave, when a police car pulls up. Garrett Reynolds gets out and demands to know why Caleb is there. Caleb says he is there to tell Jenna to stop threatening Hanna, but Garrett says Caleb needs to be a lot scarier if he wants Jenna to take him seriously. Garrett tries to scare Caleb by almost hitting him with his car before driving away.

Spencer goes to Hanna's to apologize, and says that going behind her back wasn't an act of betrayal; it was desperation. A has taken everything from her and she can't lose Hanna too. Hanna hugs Spencer and says that she hasn't lost her.

Aria and Holden are getting ready to leave, when someone accidentally knocks Holden into the table. Aria gets a glimpse of a nasty-looking bruise on Holden's stomach, but Holden says it's nothing to worry about.

In Hanna's room, Hanna says that she has seen Ali with dark hair before. Flashback to a chubby Hanna entering a hair salon and being sat next to a dark-haired girl named Vivian Darkbloom. Hanna recognizes Ali's voice and is surprised to see that Vivian is actually Alison! Ali says she is pretending to be someone else and asks Hanna to play along. When Hanna asks why, Ali says she does it all the time because she is bored and suggests Hanna do the same sometime. Ali hints she gets sick of being herself sometimes, and pulls off the wig.

Spencer does an internet search for Vivian Darkbloom, which she finds to be an anagram of Vladimir Nabokov, the Russian author who wrote 'Lolita'. Hanna realizes she still has Ali's copy of that book and grabs it off the shelf. Spencer finds a claim ticket inside.

Emily goes to Maya's house early the next morning to tell her she does have a problem with Maya dating a guy, but not for the reason she thinks; she has a problem with Maya dating anyone othr than herself. Maya assures Emily she has no competition, and she was rude at dinner because she was still mad at Pam for getting her sent to rehab. Then, Maya shows Emily her room, which decorated to make it feel like they are underwater. Emily is stunned, and Maya tells Emily she loves her. Emily returns the sentiment, and they lie down on Maya's bed and passionately kiss.

Outside school, Spencer calls the number on the ticket, and discovers that whatever Ali stored is still there waiting.

Inside, Noel approaches Hanna and thanks her for making his day. Hanna is confused, but Noel just grins and walks away. Emily, Spencer and Aria come up to Hanna, shocked that she would do such a thing, asking for an explanation. Hanna asks what she did, and Emily shows Hanna her phone, which displays a picture of Kate naked in the girls locker room. Hanna is horrified and insists she didn't send it to them, but Aria says she didn't just send it to them, she sent it to her entire contact list. As they look around, everybody stares at Hanna, disgusted by what she has done. The girls don't need to guess who the real culprit is.

In Peter Hastings' study, a black gloved figure snoops around, and takes a gun from the desk drawer.

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
Nia Peeples as Pam Fields

Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin

Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers

Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz

Yani Gellman as Garrett Reynolds

Natalie Hall as Kate Randall

Bianca Lawson as Maya St. Germain Shane Coffey as Holden Strauss

Rob Welsh as Stylist

Featured Music

 * "Only You" by Matthew Perryman Jones (Aria and Ezra talk in his car)
 * "Get Some" by Lykke Li (flashback of Hanna and "Vivian")