Melissa Hastings

"Dad, Spencer didn't kill that girl."

- Melissa to Peter

Melissa Hastings (formerly Thomas) is Spencer Hastings's older sister. She is portrayed as being antagonistic towards Spencer and the Liars at times, but has seemingly been revealed to be protecting Spencer. Melissa was both the Black Swan and one of the Queen of Hearts (the other being Wilden), and both times she was apparently blackmailed. She is also a part of The Alliance. She is portrayed by Torrey DeVitto.

Series
Pilot
 * -|Season 1=

Melissa is first mentioned by Hanna and Spencer when they meet in the mall.

Melissa is first seen complimenting Spencer for her job in renovating the barn. She tells Spencer that she and her fiancée will be moving into the barn which angers Spencer because their parents agreed for Spencer to move in. Wren comes out asking if everything is okay and Spencer leaves angrily. Wren says that Spencer doesn't seem to happy with them moving into the barn, but Melissa tells him that she'll get over it.

Melissa is also seen in a flashback when she and her boyfriend at the time, Ian were in the Hastings home. Alison tells her that Spencer has something to say which Spencer quickly denies. She and Ian leave after that.

The Jenna Thing

Melissa, Wren, Peter and Spencer go out to dinner. When Spencer orders a vodka soda, Melissa tells the waitress she's joking. Melissa orders the same drink as her father. Melissa suggests that they play "High,Low." Wren is confused bit Peter tells him he'll catch on. Melissa goes on to say that it is her first week in class and she's already become President of something.

Later that night Melissa passes by Spencer's room and catches her and Wren kissing. She sees them from the oval mirror but does not confront them. The next morning she calls off the wedding and Wren moves out of the barn.

There's No Place Like Homecoming

Spencer steals Melissa's Russian History paper from when she was in school, and the essay is so good, her teacher submits it to an essay contest. Melissa eventually reads the essay and mocks Spencer for her stupidity at the homecoming dance. Melissa has been asked to chaperone Spencer's homecoming dance, and uses the opportunity to drive a wedge between Spencer and her date, Alex, maliciously telling him that the only reason Spencer dated him is to anger their father. Melissa also mocks his economic background and the fact that he works at the club and attends a lesser school than Rosewood High. Alex leaves, and Spencer suspects her sister's hand in it, though she does not know precisely what was said. Melissa is the one chosen to announce the homecoming king and queen, and she unctuously uses the platform to mention that she was crowned queen when she was a student some six years back.

It is revealed in flashbacks that when Melissa dated Ian Thomas a year ago, Spencer kissed him once, though Melissa hadn't found out. Later, when Ian returns to Rosewood, Spencer tries to mend her relationship with Melissa by hooking them up together for coffee. Melissa at first said no because he broke her heart last year and she is still getting over Wren, but with Spencer's nudge, she agrees to coffee. One coffee date immediately turns into something more serious; it seems the two have picked up where they left off. This leads to Melissa making peace with her sister, causing them to become closer and behave kindly towards one another. This bond is evident when Melissa comforts Spencer when Hanna is in the hospital after getting hit by a car.

Moments Later

In the winter premiere episode, Melissa and Ian elope.

Know Your Frenemies

They return from their honeymoon. The episode opens in the middle of the night with Melissa and Ian whispering about a secret.

One day, Melissa returns from shopping, and drops a bag. Spencer picks it up, discovering an ovulation test. Melissa confesses she and Ian are trying to get pregnant and want a big family. Ian overhears and seems a bit unhappy, saying they had "planned to keep it a secret." Melissa tells Ian that Spencer can keep a secret. He replies, "I know she can." Melissa still does not know about the kiss between her husband and her sister, or that they briefly dated after she and Ian broke up. In a later episode, Melissa announces she is pregnant.

Melissa's relationship with Spencer takes a turn for the worst when Spencer comes out with her beliefs about Ian's guilt, although Ian outwardly doesn't show such anger while in front of the Hastings family. Melissa does and accuses Spencer of being selfish, while Spencer argues that not everything she does is meant for her sister.

Spencer brings up as proof of Ian's guilt the fact that Ian stayed at the Hilton Resort, the very same place Ali stayed just before she disappeared. Melissa secretly clarifies to Spencer that she stayed at the resort with Ian when she was getting a secret abortion. Melissa explains that the abortion never happened, as she miscarried, but it makes her new pregnancy so much more important to her. Spencer is stunned at first.

Monsters in the End

When Melissa, Ian, and Spencer are chatting with Mrs. Ackard at the Rosewood Founder's Festival, the Hilton Resort is brought up by Mrs. Ackard, and based on Melissa's initial responses, it seems that Melissa and Ian stayed in different rooms while they were there. Spencer finds this very suspicious; Spencer had been the one to bring up the fact that Ian stayed there in the resort, after being annoyed by the attention paid to her as a person of interest.

'''For Whom the Bell Tolls

Spencer is driving Melissa home from the church, where she has been making plans for the christening of her unborn child. On the way, their car is hit, and the sisters are taken to the hospital. Melissa is kept longer, as her foetus needs to be monitored carefully, though it turns out to be fine. Veronica and Spencer try to get in touch with Ian to let him know what has happened to his wife, but he is preoccupied with hiding his involvement with Alison before she died, so he opts to ignore the messages instead. Spencer goes to the church to find Melissa's phone that she accidentally left there, but finds Ian instead, before the battle between the two ensues.


 * -|Season 2=

Melissa is completely distraught when Ian disappears. At first, she, like most people in Rosewood, including her parents, believe Ian to be a missing person and distrust Spencer's story. However, after a while, she reveals to Spencer that she doubts this, because he has left now that she is pregnant and especially after they had planned to name their child Taylor. She softens a bit towards Spencer, but later is seen doing mysterious things and not including Spencer on her whereabouts.

Spencer discovers someone claiming to be Ian texting Melissa, and she suspects that her sister is secretly keeping him alive. Spencer asks her sister to protect her over Ian, but Melissa snaps back angrily. The Liars later find out she has been meeting with Wren after they spy on her taking something from Wren in Hastings' parking lot. Spencer correctly guesses the merchandise to be pain killers for Ian.

In the meantime, Melissa removes her ring by the toaster one day when her fingers feel swollen from pregnancy. Spencer finds it, pockets it, and pawns it with the intention of redeeming it later and returning it to her sister. "A" buys it back before Spencer returns to the pawn shop, however. After, Melissa is seen looking around the house for Ian's passport; she claims it's for the insurance company and needs it to make a claim. However, Spencer scopes out the barn when Melissa is in the shower and finds a suitcase packed with things for Ian, including clothes, pain killers, and his passport. Spencer enlists Wren's help in stopping her sister from helping Ian flee the country.

When Melissa goes to visit Ian in his barn hideout with Wren (with the liars secretly following behind), she finds her husband sitting dead with a bullet wound, beside a gun and a suicide letter. Melissa is in total agony, and Spencer comes out from her hiding place to comfort her.

Melissa is silent and withdrawn after this, so Spencer convinces her parents to stage a funeral for Ian in order to give Melissa closure. Spencer tries to reason with her sister, but Melissa will not speak to her. After the funeral, Melissa finally softens and apologizes for picking Ian over her sister. Just as she is about to reveal something to her sister, Spencer pulls out Ian's phone, which has been planted by "A" in her purse. Melissa is beyond livid and accuses Spencer of tricking her, pretending to be Ian. She is more furious than she has ever been with her sister and exclaims that she will never forgive her for what she has done.

Never Letting Go

Melissa goes on a much needed vacation. Her father mentions to Spencer that she could have gone as well, which probably means that Melissa didn't tell her parents about what happened between the two of them.

In later episodes, Melissa is not seen in Rosewood, but is mentioned occasionally.

'''The First Secret

Melissa is dating Ian. She seems oblivious to Alison's attempts to steal her boyfriend, though she does kiss him just as Alison is trying to strike up a conversation with him at Noel's Halloween party. There, Ian and Melissa are dressed in couple costumes as Bonnie and Clyde. Earlier in the episode, Melissa is seen helping Spencer with her class presidential nomination speech. When she is gone, Alison accuses her of being insincere and trying to outshine Spencer in the eyes of their parents with her own success.

Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares

Spencer tells Toby her parents are with Melissa in Philadelphia. She has an irregular heartbeat and is being looked at by specialists.

The Blond Leading the Blind

We learn that Melissa was a counselor at a horse-riding camp in 2006.

The Naked Truth

During a flashback, we learn that Jason once gave Melissa a ride home from Philadelphia and her father caught them kissing in his car. It is later revealed that Spencer and Melissa's father, Peter, is also Jason DiLaurentis' biological father. Veronica says Melissa does not know.

Breaking the Code

Spencer tells Melissa about Jason, and she feels betrayed by her parents. Caleb sends Hanna a video and tells her to open it immediately. When she opens it, the girls see who was coming into Alison's room the night she was killed. While Garrett, Ian, and Jenna think it's Alison, it's really Melissa who runs in yelling "Where is she!?" and the video ends. Devastated, Aria, Emily, and Hanna want to give this to the police but Spencer tells them she needs to talk to Melissa first. When Melissa was supposed to go meet Spencer, Spencer sees her leave with Garrett, but at the end of the episode Melissa asks Spencer to come with her so they can talk alone.

Father Knows Best

Melissa and Spencer are sitting in the car talking. Melissa tells Spencer that she went to talk to Garrett about Ian. Melissa claims that has been very supportive and has helped her a lot but she is worried that she told him too much. She tells Spencer that she was a wreck after noticing that Alison was flirting with Ian and sent her texts telling her to "Back the hell off." At first, Spencer worries that Melissa is 'A' but her belief is quickly disproved. They also talk about how Alison might have blackmailed their father and Melissa confirms that she doesn't trust her father.





Later in the episode, Spencer finds a gift for her on the table with a note that says "Looking forward to the dance." Melissa quickly dismisses the gift by saying "It's called overcompensating. He still believes that he can use his money to shut people up." Then, Spencer says that she doesn't think that their father paid Ali, but Melissa is still insistent that both of their parents have been lying and still are.

UnmAsked

She is here as the Black Swan and among the people outside Emily's house as the coroners remove Maya's body from the scene.

Kingdom of the Blind
 * -|Season 3=

Melissa is not pregnant anymore. Melissa's mother says that Melissa has a dilemma, but it wasn't stated what. It was also stated that for sometime Melissa had been faking her pregnancy due to the fact she had a miscarriage although we are not told when. Therefore leaving the question if she was ever pregnant.

Birds of a Feather

She is accused of being "The Black Swan" because of significant evidence which was found in her closet. (The Black Swan's dress feather) Melissa then was confronted by Spencer, and Melissa admitted to the fact she was the "Black Swan," but "A" blackmailed her, or else he/she would tell everyone that Melissa was faking the pregnancy since Ian's death.

Misery Loves Company

Byron has a flashback and  Melissa is seen talking to an unknown person on the phone, out on the patio, on the night Ali died. She says "Do I need to call 911 to get your attention?" and seems upset and frustrated with the person.

What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted

Melissa is making dinner for herself and Spencer, since their parents are in London, when someone knocks on the door. She goes to answer the door and is surprised to see Wren. They have an awkward talk before she leaves to go eat her dinner in the barn. Jason would tell Emily that on the night Ali died, he saw Melissa talking to Ali. However, when he yelled Ali's name, CeCe turned around. Melissa would call Spencer to see where she is, but Wren would answer and say Spencer has food poisoning.

Hot Water

Melissa walks past Spencer's room and notices that she still there. She tells her that she's tired of covering for her (about skipping school) and the next time mom calls she's going to tell her. Melissa is on her iPad when Spencer, returns from her date with Wren, happy. She asked about what made her happy and that "No company is better than bad company". Also stating that she bought Wren that cologne, before leaving. CeCe would reveal that Melissa took the photo of Ali, CeCe, Wilden, and that she wanted them videos.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken?

Melissa and the principal are looking for Spencer at school and ask the girls if they've seen her. Later in Radley, Melissa is apologetic because she was responsible for looking after Spencer while their parents were out of the country. She says it didn't occur to her that Spencer could be crazy, she always thought she was just being cruel.

A DAngerous GAme

Emily sees a suspicious looking Melissa enter Jenna's house. Inside, Melissa and Jenna seem to be arguing with Jenna saying that "they have the tapes" and Melissa tells her that "those bitches will be at the lodge at nine." She proceeds to give Shana a copy of the invitation to Spencer's "party". The night of the "party" someone sets the lodge on fire using a copy of the invitation, trapping Mona, Hanna, Aria, and Emily inside. It is implied that Melissa, Jenna, and Shana were there and responsible for the fire, however the assailants faces were not shown.

'A' is for A-l-i-v-e
 * -|Season 4=

Mona mentions to the girls that Shana and Jenna were afraid of Melissa. She would later show the girls a video of Wilden and "Melissa" in the Queen of Hearts costumes. However, before Melissa's face is shown the video abruptly ends.

Turn of the Shoe

The Liars discuss The Black Widow and they ask Spencer about Melissa's whereabouts. Spencer says Melissa is in DC interviewing for an internship, to which Hanna replies "With Who? Satan?". It is implied Emily thinks Melissa may be The Black Widow.

Cat's Cradle

Melissa returns to Rosewood with a vengeance. Melissa and Spencer run into each other at The Brew. In a brilliant display of passive aggression they discuss Melissa's interview, potential position in San Francisco or London, along with Wilden's murder, and the fact that Melissa thinks they both need to get out of town. Later, Hanna finds what seems to be a cast of Melissa's face at Hector Lime's studio when Hanna, Aria and Emily investigate the origins of the Ali Mask. Hanna gives the cast to Spencer who is hiding it next to her bed when Melissa comes to talk to her. Melissa says she was interviewed by Detective Holbrook about Wilden, but she doesn't know how helpful she was since she didn't really talk to him after high school. Melissa intensely presses her sister to know if it was between her and someone else who would Spencer choose protect. The scene cuts away before we hear Spencer's response.

Face Time

Melissa and Veronica talk about Melissa going to San Francisco and London, and after some curt responses from Spencer, Veronica tells her to stop being jealous of Melissa. Spencer tells them that she has been rejected by UPenn. Veronica suggests that Melissa helps get her in but Melissa points out that Spencer doesn't want her help.

That night, Aria and Spencer plant the mask inside of Melissa’s suitcase and spy on her. Melissa finds her mask and looks worried. She leaves the house quickly and Aria and Spencer quickly follow her. At Hector's shop Melissa is dragging a bag of masks to the dock to destroy and throw them in the water. We find out that Melissa made the same deal as the girls - she offers her face as a mold to Hector in exchange for information about Ali's mask. Spencer confronts Melissa. She asks her about the Halloween train, and Melissa realizes that it was Mona who had on the Ali mask that night. It is revealed that Melissa asked Shana where someone could get a mask like that, so she went to Hector’s. Melissa says she wanted to know when the Ali mask was made. She says that she doesn’t know if Ali is alive or not and wondered if Ali had the mask made after she disappeared. Spencer asks Melissa if she tried to kill her on the Halloween train, but Melissa says that it was Wilden who tried to kill her. It is revealed that Melissa and the others were afraid of Wilden, and Wilden was blackmailing them to do his bidding, and that someone else was telling Wilden to do these things, and that Melissa didn’t know Spencer was going to get hurt before she got on the train. Spencer says that it was probably because it was more important to kill Garrett and asks Melissa why she didn’t warn her. Melissa yells at Spencer, saying that she has been protecting Spencer ever since before it started, not clarifying what the “it” was. Melissa says that she sent Jenna and Shana over to the lodge in order to find out who the girls were going to meet because they were suspicious that it was Ali, and that Wilden showed up and started the fire. Spencer asks Melissa if she killed Detective Wilden, but Melissa doesn’t answer and runs away. When Spencer gets back to the Hastings house, Melissa is gone.

Gamma Zeta Die!

Veronica mentions that Melissa is in London for her internship. Melissa finds the city beautiful but cold, which Spencer thinks is an appropriate comparison to Melissa.

A is for Answers

Having bumped into Toby in London, Melissa returns to Rosewood, surprising Veronica as the police execute a warrant on the Hastings house. At Rosewood Police Department, Holbrook questions Melissa, but she doesn't give much away. Out in the waiting area of the of the Station, Melissa confesses to her father that she knows who is in Alison's grave, now they know Alison is alive. In a flashback, Melissa is seen at Hilton Head confronting Ian about his relationship with Alison, telling him that he needs to end the relationship, or they're over.

EscApe From New York
 * -|Season 5=

Having arrived home from the Rosewood Police Department, Melissa wonders how long Spencer has known about Alison being alive. She believes that Alison is a “walking time bomb” and when she explodes, everyone around her gets hurt. She blames Alison for all the things that have gone wrong in Spencer’s life. Melissa truly thought it was Alison in the grave, and can't believe Alison would let her friends and family think she was dead for two years. Struggling with what she told told Peter at the Police Station, she starts to tell Veronica, but before she can, red and blue lights flash at the window, cutting her off.

Detective Holbrook informs Melissa, Veronica and Peter that CeCe Drake escaped police custody and because CeCe knows Alison is alive, Spencer may be in danger. Melissa opens her mouth to say something but Peter cuts her off, telling Holbrook they have nothing else to add.

Melissa walks downstairs in the dark to find Peter drinking in the kitchen. Melissa tells him that she can’t keep what she has a secret anymore and she wants to tell Holbrook the truth. She adds that when Spencer finds out, she’ll have a reason to come home. Finishing his drink, Peter stands, towering over Melissa as he reaches for the bottle of alcohol behind her, and tells her, “your mother… can never know what you told me”, before walking away.

As Mona congregates an Army to fight against Alison's return, Melissa shows up, telling them all they "haven't got long".

Whirly Girlie

Although not seen in this episode, Veronica mentions to Spencer that Melissa and Peter are in Philadelphia retrieving Spencer's car which has been impounded. Veronica warns Spencer not to expect any souvenirs from London, because all Melissa "brought back was attitude... and secrets".

Surfing the Aftershocks

Spencer is looking at Alison’s room from her window. Melissa comes up behind her and implies that Jason killed Jessica. Melissa wants to know why Spencer sent Toby after her to London. Spencer says that she didn’t send him and that he went on his own.

Spencer wants to know why Melissa lied about seeing Toby in London. Melissa says that she wanted to keep Wren out of it. Melissa thinks that Spencer bringing Ali home safe and sound was a mistake and she should stay away from that family. Spencer reminds Melissa that they are both part of that family.

Spencer and Peter are talking about the email Jessica sent hours before she died, when Melissa walks in telling Spencer to leave their father alone. As Spencer goes to reach for the email in Peter's hand, Melissa manages to grab it first. After reading what Jessica tried sending, Melissa rips the piece of paper up telling Spencer that Jessica was crazy as Spencer yells back, Peter steps in and tells them to stop acting like "cranky little five year old's on the way back from the beach". Melissa proceeds to tell Peter that maybe they should just tell Spencer what they've been hiding, but Peter won't have a bar of it and sends Spencer to her room.

Trivia

 * She unknowingly kissed her half-brother, Jason Dilaurentis.
 * It is unknown whether Melissa was on the A-Team and quit for the B Team due to her possibly knowing who Red Coat was and knew it was Alison and didn't tell the police.
 * However -A sent the Liars a text "Melissa is not 'A' material" hinting she was never on the team offically.
 * Melissa took the picture of Ali, Wilden and CeCe on Wilden's boat in Cape May.
 * According to Garrett, Melissa was talking to a mystery person on the phone and seemed upset the night of Ali's disappearance.
 * According to Jason he saw Melissa and CeCe talking together the night of Ali's disappearance.
 * It was revealed she, Jenna and Shana are in a group of their own, known by fans as The B-Team, but officially called The Alliance by Marlene King.
 * It is implied that she knew about the fake party at the Lodge.
 * Melissa revealed that she sent Jenna and Shana to protect Spencer and the liars at the lodge.
 * According to Spencer, Melissa once threatened to break her thumbs for using her hairbrush.
 * Melissa's actress, Torrey DeVitto, is the first of three actresses who also had roles on The Vampire Diaries to appear on Pretty Little Liars. The others were Maya (Bianca Lawson) and Samara (Claire Holt)

Book Comparisons

 * In the books, Melissa has short blonde hair and blue eyes. In the show, she has dark hair and eyes like her sister Spencer.
 * In the TV series, Melissa was married to Ian before his death. While in the books, they were just dating.
 * Melissa dates Darren Wilden in the books. In the TV series, they never did. Instead, she dated Garrett after Ian's death. Melissa does have some sort of connection to Wilden beyond simply going to high school together, but the nature of their relationship has not yet been revealed.
 * In the books, Melissa had dressed like her mother even of her young age. She had later changed her style, by request of Spencer. In the show, she has a classic sense of style, but dresses more youthfully and stylishly than her mother.
 * In the books, Melissa never got pregnant with Ian. In the TV series, she got pregnant then had a miscarriage. After losing her second baby, she lied to Spencer and everyone by continuing a fake pregnancy for months until she claimed to have had a stillborn.
 * In the books, Melissa was always a suspect, but was never really involved. In the show, she's a suspect since she's involved somehow.
 * During "This Is A Dark Ride," Melissa was one of the Queen of Hearts. She denies trying to hurt Spencer and her friends, but admits knowing about it once she got on the train and not trying to stop it. While in the books, she has been victimized by Alison like the Liars.