| “ | I'm everywhere, Hanna | ” |
— A
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Birds of a Feather is the fourth episode of Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars. It aired on June 26, 2012.
Synopsis[]
The girls are sitting at the Apple Rose Grille, discussing the validity of what Jenna said to them in the previous episode. If she's telling the truth, she cannot be on the 'A' list anymore. Is Lucas on the list? Hanna doesn't think so, because Lucas is certainly not capable of digging up a grave. They then discuss the Black Swan -- she's definitely guilty of something, otherwise she wouldn't have ran away from the party. She could possibly be working with Mona. Melissa and Veronica are nearby. When Hanna notices them, she feels Melissa could be the Black Swan, after all she was faking her pregnancy for a long time.
While this conversation is going on, Alison’s older brother, Jason suddenly bursts through the restaurant door and stomps over to Spencer’s mother, demanding why she has decided to defend Garrett. Spencer’s mother meekly says "everyone deserves a strong legal defense," but Jason is unconvinced. He storms out of the restaurant with Spencer and her friends following. Outside, he puts up a flyer announcing a $50,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of Alison’s remains. Moments later, the liars receive another mysterious text that says, "Imagine what I could do with fifty grand."
When Spencer comes home, her mother is still working on Garrett's case. She shows her the reward poster. Veronica expects Jason to get tons of calls -- mostly people trying to scam him out of his money. Spencer then asks what would happen if the person who dug up Ali's body is found. Veronica replies that he/she would get at least ten years in jail and probably a life sentence for Alison's murder.
The next day, at school, Aria tells Hanna about her dad. He's sporting a new haircut, is wearing a new aftershave which smells like baby wipes. Clearly, he's dating someone (Meredith). Hanna thinks Aria should tell her mother before Ella finds out from someone else. Following Hanna's advice, Aria goes to tell Ella, but decides against it. Instead, she encourages her mother to go out to have some fun.
Meanwhile, Hanna goes to visit Mona, but a nurse informs her that Mona has lost her visitation privileges. Hanna promises she will be there for only a few minutes and tries to go inside, but is intimidated by a guard blocking the way.
It's Emily's first day of work at The Brew. As she's beginning her shift, Maya’s cousin, Nate, comes in looking for her. Since she's busy right now, they decide to meet later. He gives Emily his number, and reveals to her that he’s going to attend Hollis, so he will be staying in Rosewood. Emily is surprised as Maya hadn't mentioned any cousin attending Hollis. Nate explains that he had applied before, but got in only recently. Before leaving, he tells her that he was really looking forward to hanging out with Maya again.
At the Marin household, Hanna is talking to Wren. As she gets off the phone, Caleb surprises her with two tickets to Bon Iver, but Hanna looks at them indifferently. When Caleb asks her what's wrong, she tells him that someone had visited Mona before her meltdown, and now she cannot see her. Hanna assumes it’s Lucas before Caleb tells her it was actually him. Hanna is surprised, but he justifies himself saying he was there only to tell Mona to stop messing with her. Hanna doesn't understand why Caleb won't trust her, after all, Wren does. Caleb argues that Wren doesn't know everything that happened. Frustrated, she tells him she knows what she's doing and asks him to stay out of this. Angry, Caleb throws away the Bon Iver tickets and leaves.
Hanna confides in Aria who advises that maybe it would be a good idea to tell Caleb about the new "A." If Aria were in her position, she would tell Ezra. Then, Hanna catches Aria looking up profiles of bald, fat men with unibrows online and learns that Aria is trying to find a date for her mom. Hanna realizes that Ella still doesn't know about her dad and Meredith. Aria says that maybe it’ll ease the blow if Ella found someone before she discovers the truth. As they are looking through profiles, Hanna’s mom catches the girls and suggests her to try mainlinemate -- a much better site.
At school, Spencer waits for Jason to get out of class. As he comes out, she asks him if he has gotten any calls on the flyer, and then encourages him to withdraw the reward as he's only going to receive calls from people looking for money. Jason tells her he knows when someone's lying, so she doesn't have to worry. He then tells Spencer that he thinks her mother is only trying to protect the Hastings name and doesn’t really think Garrett is innocent. He thinks Veronica has an agenda that has nothing to do with criminal defense. Before he can elaborate, he gets a call and leaves to take it.
Meanwhile, Aria and Hanna create a spicy profile for Ella on mainlinemate. They exaggerate everything. While trying to figure out a username, Hanna suggests "Hotmamma."
Elsewhere, Emily meets up with Nate. He shows her a picture Emily had sent to Maya when she was in True North. Then, he gives her the gift that Maya had intended to give Emily. Maya’s mom wanted Emily to have it. Nate explains that the present had arrived a few weeks after the funeral took place. When Em opens up the box, she's clearly moved, There's note saying, 'For My Girl, Love You, Em' and a T-Shirt of the movie they went to see on their first date.
At the mental institute, Hanna tries to sneak in to see Mona, but hides when she sees Detective Wilden. Wren tries to stop him, but Wilden has a court order to see Mona. As he goes inside, Wren spots Hanna and is surprised to see her.
Emily and Nate are at the Grille. She learns that Nate is a good swimmer too. They then talk about Maya. Nate tells Emily that Maya always talked about her; she was Maya's first real love. They're silent for sometime, then Emily asks him for Maya's parents' address to send them a thank you note. As he's in a hurry now, Nate promises to give it to her later. After he leaves, Emily notices that he had left behind a book.
At Radley, Hanna asks Wren the reason for Wilden visiting Mona. He tells her it has something to do with Alison's missing remains. Hanna is sure Mona isn't responsible because she has never gotten out of Radley for five months. But, court orders are not issued unless there's a pretty good reason. Hanna asks Wren to sneak her in, but Wren reveals to Hanna that he was already reprimanded for extending her visiting hours, Hanna has to wait it out.
Going to Philly
At Spencer's house, Hanna tells the other Liars about Wilden. If Mona knows that they were at Ali’s grave, they would all be in jail right now -according to Spencer. Hanna interjects that they need to find out who the Black Swan is, and pronto. They also need to find out where Melissa lost her baby, but Spencer is still on the defense. They know why Mona hated the Liars, but why would Melissa have a vendetta against them? Aria says Melissa knows that the liars have the video of her in Ali's room the night she disappeared. Also, she fits the costume. Immediately, Spencer decides to go to Philly to talk to Melissa.
Ashley is at the Brew, looking at the reward poster of Alison while waiting for her takeout. Ella comes in and notices her. They sympathize for the girls, and then Ashley asks Ella if she's meeting a date. Ella laughs, and tells her she hasn't been on date in a really long time. Ashley is surprised -- she must've met someone interesting on mainlinemate, but Ella doesn't even know what that is.
Hanna, Aria, and Emily are near Melissa’s apartment in Philadelphia. They watch Melissa leave her apartment, so Hanna calls Spencer. The plan is for Spencer to keep Melissa busy, so that the others can search her apartment. Spencer tells the girls not go inside the apartment until Melissa meets with her.
Ashley shows the profile Aria had created for her on mainlinemate. Ella is disgusted and tries to delete it, but Ashley urges her to keep it. It's not easy to find many men their age. Even if there are, they generally look for younger girls. The ladies drink wine, discuss online dating and then Ashley gets a message from mainlinemate about a guy wanting to have coffee with her. She jokes about sharing him with Ella.
Meanwhile, the girls have been waiting near the apartment for 20 minutes now. Spencer still hasn't texted them. The three liars decide to enter anyway. Inside, they search for medical records, or anything relating to the baby.
Too close!
Melissa texts Spencer that she has to quickly run back to the apartment as she forgot her wallet, so she'll be late for their meetup. Spencer texts the girls, but they don’t see it in time. They notice Melissa through the window right as she’s about to enter the apartment. As the girls quickly try to put everything back together and hide, Melissa walks in. Melissa heads straight for the closet that the girls are hiding in to grab her wallet out of one of her coats, and it’s a close one for the girls. After Melissa leaves, they begin hanging everything back up in the closet when they notice a hanging garment bag from a costume shop. It’s empty when they open it – except for one feather… which matches the Black Swan costume!
The feathers match
They show the feather to Spencer, comparing it with the feathar Hannah found at the ball. This proves Melissa's "A," but Spencer still doesn't believe it. They decide to all go to Philly again and talk to Melissa together.
When Spencer gets home, she's surprised to see Melissa there. Apparently, she's there to keep an eye on Jason after the encounter at the Grille. Seizing the opportunity, Spencer confronts Melissa about losing the baby and being the black swan. Melissa says she started faking it after Ian died, because she was so devastated that she lost Ian – she didn’t want to admit to losing his baby as well, but then she started getting "those texts." Spencer asks Melissa why she was at the masquerade ball when Mrs. Hastings walks in, wondering the same thing.
Meanwhile, Hanna is on the phone with Aria. She has decided to tell everything to Caleb. Just as she gets off the phone, Hanna gets another text message from "A," sending her a threat: "I'm everywhere, Hanna. -A" along with a picture of a guy in a Montecito EMT jacket next to a car accident scene.
Melissa comes clean
Melissa tells her mother and sister that a package came telling her to put on the dress, and that if she didn't do it, her secret about her fake pregnancy would get out. Melissa was supposed to act as a distraction for Jenna, but when Melissa saw the girls at the party, she ran away. She never received another note after the masquerade ball. Then, she goes upstairs to lie down. Mrs. Hastings tells Spencer that her father and Garrett also knew that Melissa had lost the baby. Spencer demands to know once and for all why Mrs. Hastings is representing Garrett; it turns out that it’s because the list of witnesses Garrett’s public defender was putting together contained the name of the private investigator that the Hastings had hired to watch Melissa after Ali’s murder.
Hanna is still looking at the picture when Caleb comes in. He tells her that his mother was in a car accident...in Montecito. His mom is fine, but she told Caleb she felt like someone was trying to run her off the road. Caleb tries to get Hanna to tell him what she’s been keeping from him, but she refuses. He doesn’t get why she’s still hiding things from him; there's no more "A" now. He tells her that he feels that he “only exists in half of [her] life” and that isn’t good enough for him. When she doesn’t respond with anything but silent tears, Caleb say he’s done. When Hanna asks if that means he’s breaking up with her, he tells her that she isn’t giving him much of a choice and walks away.
Ella meets Aria and asks her about her online dating profile. Aria scrambles for an answer, but Ella tells her that she knows she was only trying to help. She reveals that she knows Byron is seeing Meredith again, and that she's OK with it. Aria goes to delete that profile, but Ella lets it be there for some time.
Emily meets up with Nate again and gives him the book. She asks for the address, but Nate's sending them a package, and asks if he can put the letter in with it. She agrees and gives him the letter. Nate says he wants to transfer out of Hollis because all people can talk abot there is Maya’s death, and so it’s hard for him to adjust. Emily says that if he decides to stay, he’ll have a friend in her
As the episode closes, we see Aria comforting Hanna over her breakup, Emily getting ready for bed with Maya’s t-shirt, Caleb sitting contemplatively..., and Spencer “out for an evening stroll” as she runs into Jason. Jason asks if it’s been a rough night; Spencer replies that it’s been a rough "two years." The two sit on the steps of Jason’s house and have a little heart to heart about how Spencer can't wait to leave Rosewood when she goes off to college. He tells her that he's received over 200 calls about his reward and so he's going to revoke his reward. Spencer reminds him that the truth always comes out one way or another. Just then, Jason gets a text and abruptly ends the conversation saying he’s got to "do a few things." As Spencer walks away, Jason writes a check out to "cash" for the $50,000 reward. He then picks up his phone to tell someone to "meet him in the parking lot" in 15 minutes.
Curious much?
Spencer continues walking home, when Wilden drives by and asks her how far away her parents’ lake house is. When Spencer asks for a reason, he mysteriously replies, "Just curious."
At the end of the episode, we see "A" at the Montecito airport enjoying a cocktail and hacking into Radley Sanitarium's computer system allowing Mona to have visitors. When the airport announcer announces that the plane will leave for Philadelphia within the next 15 minutes, "A" closes her/his computer, stands up, and leaves $50 as tip for the waiters before the screen cuts to black.
Notes[]
- This is the first appearance of Maya's "cousin" Nathan. He will become relevant in further episodes.
- It's revealed that Black Swan is Melissa. Melissa said she was blackmailed (and she thinks that it was Mona) and that a note ordered her to wear the costume to the Masquerade Ball and distract Jenna.
- Hanna and Caleb break up in this episode.
- It's revealed that Melissa lost her baby right after Ian's body was found.
Continuity[]
- On the T-shirt which Nate gives Emily is the name of the movie Emily and Maya had gone to watch on their first date in "Please, Do Talk About Me When I'm Gone."
Title[]
- The title may be a reference to the Black Swan from "UnmAsked."
- The title of this episode may also refer to the saying "Birds of a feather flock together."
Main Cast[]
- Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings
- Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin
- Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery
- Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields
Supporting Cast[]
- Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers
- Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery
- Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin
- Julian Morris as Wren Kingston
- Torrey DeVitto as Melissa Hastings
- Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings
- Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis
- Sterling Sulieman as Nate St. Germain
- Bryce Johnson as Darren Wilden
Co-Starring[]
Featured Music[]
- "Pretty Little Thing Called Love" by Jasmine Ash (Aria and Hanna set up an online dating profile for Ella)
- "Lies We Live In" by Ximena Sarinana (Nate meets Emily at The Brew)
- "I See You" by Moses Blue & Katy K (Ella meets with Ashley)
- "Life Is Good" by 8mm (Ella and Ashley talk about dating)
- "Black Silk" by Emily Jane White (Emily meets with Nate at the Grille)
- "Unwanted" by The Strange Familiar (Aria consoles a crying Hanna, Emily reminisces about Maya, Spencer is walking around her neighborhood at night, and while Caleb broods over his breakup with Hanna)
Gallery[]
 Birds of a Feather has a photo gallery. |
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Memorable Quotes[]
Hanna: Right, roger that. Aria: Roger that? Hanna: What? We're on a mission. |
Hanna: Why are you looking at pictures of bald fat men? Aria: I'm looking for a guy for my mom. I don't know I just thought that she could try online dating. Hanna: She's divorced, not desperate. |
Hanna: You know what they say: if the feather fits. Aria: Hanna, it's the shoe, if the shoe fits. |
Aria [to Hanna, about a dating website]: Everybody exaggerates on this thing — I read it in Cosmo. |
Aria: I’m trying to get my mom a date with a man, not a frat boy. |
Hanna: For purposes of my head not exploding, can we just say that she is telling the truth? |
Ella: I haven't been on a date since George Clooney was on ER. |
Hanna [about Melissa]: Oh, my God. She's even more anal than Spencer. Emily: I didn't even think that was possible. |