Blind Dates

Blind Dates is the 4th episode in the Season 2. It aired on July 5, 2011.

Synopsis
The episode begins with the pawn shop owner expressing shock at seeing Spencer walk back through the door of his shop, just like she said she would, 48 hours after pawning the diamond ring. The owner pretends he doesn't recognize her to cover up his mistake, but Spencer has the receipt as proof. He gives her a rusty horseshoe as the item that corresponds with the number on the receipt.

Meanwhile, Aria, Hanna and Emily are waiting outside for her in the skeevy parking lot next to a dumpster, discussing the oddness of Wren and Melissa's rendezvous the night before. Spencer comes out and reports the bad news - she basically stole her sister's wedding ring. Just then, they look up to see a creepy sign for an optometrist, with eyes bearing down on them, as if someone is watching them, and they know someone always is... Just then, they get a text from "A" cluing them into who has the ring.

News flash for Aria: Now that Mr. Fitz will be no longer be teaching at her high school, her mother, Ella will be her new English teacher. Aria tries not to conceal her disappointment and struggles with the weirdness of the arrangement.

Back at the Hastings', Melissa is still searching for her ring AND for Ian's passport. She claims that it is needed to make a claim on her ring for the insurance company.

At Hanna's home, Hanna's mom requires that Hanna has a solo session with the therapist, to Hanna's chagrin of course, while at Emily's, Pam is happy as ever, celebrating Emily's inevitable acceptance into Danby. Emily's conscience grows larger.

At school, Lucas is a total mess; he is beyond nervous about his upcoming date with Danielle. He is persuaded to call it off, but Hanna pushes him not to. Lucas eventually gets Hanna to come along with Caleb, to make it a double date.

As usual, Ella takes advantage of seeing her daughter in the school hallway to exchange some words. Aria first promises she was only saying goodbye to her friends, who she is banned from seeing, and then critiques and compliments her on her first class. Ella mentions that she needs Aria to pick up her brother Mike later from playing basketball to return his keys and discourages her from spending time with her friends in the hallway, to Aria's utter annoyance.

At lunch time, Caleb follows Hanna to try and convince her to agree to the double date with Lucas and Danielle. Hanna, still disgruntled by Caleb, refuses, but then gives in her Lucas' sake, letting Caleb know that she is only doing it for Lucas. Caleb stills seems contented to be going with her.

Then, Spencer finds Wren at the hospital where he works to let him know that she saw Wren giving stuff to Melissa and to warn him that Ian had tried to kill her. He tells her that the bag contained strong pain killers, meaning Ian really is alive, though probably not in good shape. He explains that he wanted to help her because he felt responsible for Melissa getting back with Ian in the first place. In the end, Wren turns Spencer down to help track down Ian, not wanting to get involved.

At the therapist's office, Hanna is impatient and annoyed. She barely speaks to the therapist, avoids opening up to her, and leaves as soon as time is up, avoiding the therapist's request for Hanna to role play what she is feeling as if Alison were sitting there with them.

At the basketball court, Aria goes to find Mike, but only finds Mike's friends and, unexpectedly, Jason. His friends let her know that he hasn't been around in awhile, and Jason theorizes that Mike is doing things of which his family obviously wouldn't approve. Aria is worried, but grateful to Jason. For a moment, it seem that Jason is flirting when he tells her he remembers her pink hair highlight and misses her bold fashion statement. Aria is flattered.



At school, Samara is happy to hear about Emily's news (which she heard from Pam, who was gushing to just about everyone). Pam is super proud of Emily because she thinks Danby made a written committment and is especially enthusiastic about Emily because received a box of Danby paraphernalia. (The gift was actually courtesy of "A," not Danby, as Emily can guess based on the enclosed note.) Emily is immediately honest with Samara, letting her know that she authored the letter. Just then, Pam sees the two together and invites Samara to celebrate at dinner, especially since Emily won't be celebrating with her usual friends. Samara accepts, and this dinner seems like it will be very different than the last time a girlfriend of Emily's came over. Samara offers to help keep Emily's secret should her mom get too nosy about the details.

Back at the Hastings' residence, Spencer walks into the barn, door ajar, and sees a suitcase filled with men's clothing and toiletries, including shaving cream. There are pain meds and pink lacy clothing clearing belonging to Melissa. There is also Ian's passport tucked inside... Melissa is taking a shower, but runs out in her bathrobe when she hears a noise; Spencer hides, suspicious of Melissa's frantic behavior.

Spencer calls Aria to fill her in, who is also alone in her home and as equally scared as Spencer. When Mike comes home, he scares her by not speaking up when she asks who's there. She confronts him about his lies, but he brushes her off, as he is not dealing with his transitioning family situation very well. Mike says if Aria tells their parents he hasn't been playing basketball every day after school, he will tell them she has been sneaking off to see her friends.

The scene cuts to Hanna's place, where Caleb, Danielle and Lucas have begun their evening. Danielle isn't enjoying the situation and suspects Hanna of still being in love with Lucas, being that she did sell Lucas on Danielle by claiming that she was still into him. She sees Hanna as ruining their date by walking over so frequently and constantly looking Lucas' way, misinterpreting Hanna's intention to see that Lucas shows Danielle a properly good time. So, Danielle likes Lucas, but is worried that Lucas is responsive to Hanna's moves.

Surprisingly, Pam is impressed by Samara, especially her appreciation of Pam's craftiness and her sweet, polite demeanor. The subject changes to Danby, and Samara tries to make things better for guilt-ridden Emily, who seems about to confess. Samara convinces Pam that there are other schools out there that would love Emily, given her swimming stats. She dissuades Pam from contacting the Danby coach right away, as that would make them seem too eager and give other interested schools the wrong impression. Pam agrees and Emily immediately feels less pressure.

Back at Hanna's, Lucas lets Hanna in on why Danielle is not enjoying their date, so to convince Danielle that she is not interested in dating Lucas, Hanna tells Caleb to put his arm arond her. Seeing them together calms Danielle's suspicions and she reaches for Lucas' hand.

The next day, Wren calls Melissa to schedule a meeting - with Spencer by his side, convincing Melissa he must go along with her to see Ian as he is likely suffering from a serious staph infection. Later, Lucas thanks Hanna profusely, praising her for acting so selflessly and unlike Alison, something that sends Hanna deep into thought. Her thoughts take her all the way to the therapist's office, where she asks for an impromptu session to reveal her thoughts.

At Aria's home, her dad picks up on Mike's abnormal behavior, but Aria denies what she knows, having been threatened by Mike that he would tell their parents about her hanging out with her friends. Mike forces Aria to agree she saw him playing basketball today.

At the therapist's office, Hanna tells Dr. Sullivan her true feelings about Alison, in hopes of letting go. Her role playing makes it seem that Alison is really there, taunting Hanna for her feelings. She calls Alison her best friend, but also the worst enemy she ever had. Alison is condescending, but Hanna doesn't allow the mental torture to continue. In her head, Alison says Hanna wouldn't have her friends had Ali not given them to her and that Hanna can't live without her. But, mentally, Hanna lets the ghost know that she is over her, that she won't let her into her life anymore, and that she is ready to move on. Music sets in, as if Hanna has broken a spell...

At school, Samara reiterates what she said to Emily's mom the other night, and Emily happily reports that her mother has started to look at other colleges. They plan for a second date.

At night, Dr. Sullivan, returns to finds her office in a shambles. Broken glass is everywhere; it's been completely trashed. She then turns to see a message scrawled on the wall in red paint: "Nosey Bitches Die." Maybe "A" is afraid of being found out?

Wren calls Spencer, who alerts the rest of the crew to hit the road. They are going Ian hunting. Then, at Hanna's home, her mom lets Hanna in on what happened to Dr. Sullivan's office, afraid because her daughter was the last person in the office before everything went down. She asks Hanna what they discussed, but Hanna is reluctant; the point of confiding in the therapist is that it was confidential. But, Hanna's mom is not so sure... The police could blame Hanna for the incident. Hanna leaves in a huff, frustrated by all the false accusations that never stop flying around. She goes to find "answers."

At the office, the police let Dr. Sullivan know that there were no signs of forced entry, and confirm she is the only one that has a key to the office.

In the car on their way to find Ian, the girls go over how screwed they are that they can't call the police, since that only ever makes them suspicious. Emily wants to film this, so as to prove their honesty later on. From inside an old barn that Melissa led Wren to, they hear Melissa let out a gut-wrenching scream and then uncontrollable sobs. They run in and Spencer goes to hold her, for there on the floor of the barn lies Ian with dried blood around the wound on his head. He is holding a gun, and beside him lies a letter of confession that he killed Alison. Spencer and Wren exchange horrified looks and the girls stare at the awful site before them. But, is it all over? Above are horseshoes nailed to the wall, and a clear imprint where one is obviously missing. Is this a setup? Will Spencer being in possession of the missing horseshoe tie her to his death? Will Melissa take Spencer's attempt to comfort her sister as genuine?

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
Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis Kevin Brief as Roy (pawn shop clerk) Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery Cody Allen Christian as Mike Montgomery Torrey DeVitto as Melissa Hastings Claire Holt as Samara Cook Nia Peeples as Pam Fields Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers Julian Morris as Wren Kim Brendan Robinson as Lucas Gottesman Amanda Leighton as Danielle Annabeth Gish as Anne Sullivan Ryan Merriman as Ian Thomas Rickey Castleberry as Lewis (one of Mike's old basketball friends) Gatsby Coram as Policeman

Continuity

 * The billboard beside the pawn shop is very similar to the one described on the road in Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," which book has received attention on the board of Mr. Fitz' classroom in "Know Your Frenemies." In the book, the billboard showcases the eyes of Doctor T. J Eckleburg, a pair of bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes, a shady location. There is much debate over the meaning of the symbol, whether it might be the eyes of God staring down in judgment.
 * In this episode, they girls notice a similar billboard just after "A" sends her haunting text, and the girls look around to see who is watching them. They cast their eyes on another ancient looking billboard with chipped paint advertising for an optometrist, that reads "Dr. Lars Thorwald -- Someone's watching you, so look your best." On it are a pair of bespectacled eyes, at which the girls stare, hypnotized, and the camera spends several seconds lingering on the image. The neighborhood in which they stand seems pretty dodgy too.
 * In "Je Suis une Amie," "A" had been playing with the five of the six famous "Clue" or "Cluedo" murder weapons associated with the game, including the wrench, noose, pipe, knife, and candlestick. Only the revolver had been missing, and interestingly, Ian's corpse is found beside one at the end of this episode.

Featured Music

 * “Two at a Time” by Shelly Fraley (when Lucas asks Hanna to join him on his date with Danielle)
 * "Hearts” by Blair (while Caleb and Hanna talk about being “wing people” for Lucas on his date with Danielle)
 * "Hawk Eyes” by The Kicks (when Aria searches for Mike at the basketball courts and bumps into Jason DiLaurentis)
 * "Be Brave” by Shelly Fraley (during the Haleb and Ducas double date)
 * "Into the Fire” by Thirteen Senses (when Lucas stops by the Marin home to thank Hanna for helping him out)

Memorable Quotes
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