Aria Montgomery/Season 4

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Season 4

'A' is for A-l-i-v-e

In the beginning of the season "A is for A-L-I-V-E", Aria, along with the three other Liars and Mona discovered what was in the trunk ofDet. Wildens car. After discovering it was in fact a pig, she, Spencer, and Emily noticed a couple walking their way. After getting in Emily's car, they picked up Hanna and Mona and they all drove back to Spencer's house. She joined the other Liars in a game with Third Degree to question Mona about all she knew about her time being A. The next morning she woke up along with Spencer, Hanna, and Emily to find Mona gone. They freaked out for a little bit, but when Mona came back with coffee and breakfast, Aria and friends continued their game. As the girls were driving to the Lair, they went back to the scene of Wilden's car to discover the press as all over the place. A sheet on the ground blew away by the wind, and Wilden was on the ground dead. Once at Mona's lair, Aria found a white mask identical to Caleb's from the Halloween train. It was known then that Mona was the impersonator. After discovering Darren and Melissa were the Queens of Hearts, she heard a child call out Alison's name and went outside to investigate. Later that night, Aria was studying at the Brew when Ezra walked in. Trying her hardest, she tried sneaking off, but Ezra caught her. They made small talk, and Aria ended the conversation with "Goodbye Mr. Fitz". At the school the next day, Aria was talking to Emily about Ezra. She was getting transfixed with Ezra when her Vice Principal was looking her way. Freaking out, Aria tried her best to make sure the VP had no idea she was looking at Ezra. She picked up her book and pretended to study with Emily. Soon, she was called to the VP's office and she was sent into a daydream where the VP had busted her relationship with Ezra due to an "anonymous concerned student". The VP told her he not only called her parents, but the police too. She freaked, ran down the hallway, and witnessed Ezra being arrested. After her daydream ended, the VP actually just wanted to give her documents for her mother, Ella to sign. At the end of the day, Aria attended the funeral of Det. Wilden where she and her friends saw The Black Widow. After that, she saw Ezra in the church and started approaching him until she realized he was avoiding her. After Ashley Marins cell phone was found in Wildens coffin, Aria, Hanna, Spencer, Emily and Mona discussed why the phone was in there in the first place. When the girls sat down next to Jessica DiLaurentis, Aria and friends took notice to Jenna and Nigel as well as The Lady In Black who sat behind the couple. When service was over, Aria and friends were confronted by Officer Holbrook  about the deaths of Wilden and Garrett. "A" sent Aria and friends a text, "Truth won't set you free Bitches! I'm going to bury you with it! Kisses! -A". 

Turn of the Shoe

In "Turn of the Shoe" the liars are at the Brew discussing The Black Widow and Melissa's whereabouts as Spencer tries to map out the night of the lodge fire with everyone's food.  Mona comes in and they accuse her of planting Ashley's phone on Wilden's body and Mona agrees to take the liars to the RV lair to prove herself.  When they get there the RV is gone.  Spencer and Hanna get in one car and drive away while Aria and Emily hang back to spy on Mona. When they see Mona's tail lights flashing the rush over to find she was being strangled by someone wearing an Ali mask as Mona whacks them in the heat with a flashlight and falls out of the car.  The masked stranger drives off in Mona's car before turning around and attempting to run them over.  Aria and Mona are saved by Emily who falls and injures her shoulder. The next morning Aria texts Hanna that Mona found her car abandoned behind the school and is  freaking out.  In English class Ezra offers extra credit for reading East of Eden, commenting it's for those students who haven't had enough doomed relationships.  By the look on Aria's face this comment has obviously hit her hard.  After school, Aria and Hanna are walking down the street discussing the Mona incident and A framing Hanna's mom. Afraid after seeing Mona's attack, Aria goes to a martial arts studio looking for Holden, but meets Jake instead.  She signs up for private self defense classes to start the next day.  During her class, Jake tries to get Aria to loosen up and trust him, but she is clearly agitated.  When he asks if she is concerned about someone threatening her she says shes not, she just has a lot going on including her recent breakup.  Jake is worried but she says she's not worried about her ex attacking her.  They continue with the class, even after her time is up.  After she successfully completes a maneuver she feels in control and impulsively kisses Jake and runs out of the studio embarrassed. On the way back from the martial arts studio Aria sees Mona talking to a cop in front of the police station.  Worried A will see her and retaliate she drives up and talks Mona into the car.  Mona says she was there to get information and that she overheard the police behind her talking about the lake being cordoned off as a crime scene.  They found two sets of footprints, one male (presumably Wilden's) and one belonging to a female in high heels.  

At the Hastings' house Aria talks to Spencer about Mona, the information she heard from the police, and about Aria kissing Jake.  Hanna comes in with Tippi, the bird Ali spent a lot of time with in Georgia at Grandma D's. They keep talking and they mention the high heels Mona was talking about and Hanna suspects that they were her mom's. All of a sudden Tippi says "hey board shorts, miss me?" (same guy as Beach Hottie) and then sings a song.    Aria is at home when Jake comes by to ask her out for coffee. He says "but it's ok if you're not comfortable with the whole student-teacher thing, could be a little complicated". Aria knows all to well how complicated that can be, but she agrees to go out for coffee with him. After Spencer figures out the "song" Tippi is singing is actually a phone number, Aria, Spencer, and Hanna call the number that matches the dial tone that Tippi was singing, but no one answers. The area code is in York County. Aria says they should go record Tippi singing the phone number, but when they go in the room, Tippi is missing, and the window is open. "A" stole Tippi.

Cat's Cradle

The episode begins with Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Emily at The Brew discussing Tippi and Hanna's mom. Hanna reminds the girls that Ashley didn't kill Wilden and they all agree. Spencer mentions Ella looks cozy with Zack across the way. Aria asks if it is weird to be jealous of your mother's love life. Spencer asks how things are going with Jake and Aria says she is seeing him tonight. Ella and Zack talk about Zack's upcoming trip to Vienna, Austria and he asks if Ella would like to come with him, but she says she can't because she has children and responsibilities in Rosewood. He asks her to take motherhood of the table for a moment, but Ella can't imagine picking up and moving to Vienna for a year. At the bookstore, Ella tells Aria about Zack's invitation to Vienna. Aria asks if she is considering it and Ella tells her she did consider it, but only for a second. Aria asks if she is worried about being away from Zack for a year, and Ella says yes, it is a long time to be away from someone.

Jake comes over Aria's house and they watch an old movie. Aria says she loves black and white movies, but Jake says he never watches them. Aria is disconcerted by this fact, but then Jake reveals he is kissing. He asks her why the idea they wouldn't like the same things makes her so nervous. Aria says she just wants to make sure they have stuff in common, but Jake says if they like all of the same things, it takes the surprise factor out of a relationship, and he doesn't think Aria likes dull.

The next day, Aria, Emily, and Spencer are leaving school. Aria tells them about her mom considering the trip to Austria and how she can't even imagine her mom being a continent away. Spencer tells them she couldn't find any information about the number Tippi gave them, but she's not giving up. Emily says she started going through Ali's notebooks and asks the other girls if they want to come over tonight and search them together. Emily's mom come up to them outside of school and tells Emily she's giving her a ride home. She is angry because the doctor called and asked if Emily has been taking her mom's medication. Emily denies it, but Pam says she checked the bottle and can see pills are missing. When Emily tries to walk away, Pam grabs her arm and starts yelling, making a scene, so Emily gets in the car and leaves. Aria then gets a text from "A" saying "Cleaning up Rosewood, one mean mommy at a time. Dig we must. Kisses - A", and wonders what "A" is planning for her mom.

That night, Aria helps Emily go through Alison's notebooks and she asks Emily if she told her mom about taking her pills, and Emily says yes, she had to. Aria is looking at the mask they found and she notices a second mask underneath that looks like Alison. They notice a marking on the inside - the web address of the Hector Lime, the creator of the mask. They call Hanna to come over and Hanna recognizes the mask they uncovered as the same type of mask that Mona was wearing on the Halloween train. She is not willing to wait for Spencer to call them back to decide what to do, not when "A" is intent on making her mom look guilty. The three of them decide to go to the studio where the mask was made to find some answers.

That night, Pam informs Emily that Family Services called her. They want to interview Pam about Emily because someone reported that she was "excessive" with Emily outside of school. Emily texts Aria and tells her that "A" called Family Services on her mom.

Aria gets coffee with Jake at the Brew at the same time, her mom is there with Zack. Aria goes over to her mom and encourages her to go on the trip with Zack. Ella decides to go to Austria. When Ella goes to share the good news with Zack, Jake rejoins Aria, noticing how intense the conversation with her mom seemed. Aria tells him she's going to miss her mom.

Face Time

Emily joins the girls outside the school and tells them that her father is home because "A" called Family Services on her family. Aria is concerned her family is next. At lunch, Spencer asks Aria how Jake is doing, and she says that he is fine. Hanna asks her about Ella going to Austria with Zack, and Aria says that she thinks so and hopes that "A" doesn’t have a passport. Spencer, Emily and Aria meet up at the Brew and Spencer tells them that she wants to find out what Melissa does when she comes face to face with her mask. Will she go to Shana for some reason, straight to the mask-maker, or somewhere else?

Aria goes out with Jake. As they are walking through town, Malcolm, Ezra's son, runs up to them. Malcom asks why Aria doesn't come over anymore. She awkwardly makes an excuse then tells Malcolm to go back inside the bookstore before his parents start to worry. Jake asks who's Ezra, and Aria casually answers he's just one of her teachers. Aria tells Jake about Ezra, and how she and he were dating while Ezra was her teacher and everything that happened after. Jake tells her that she needs to figure out what she really wants even though she insists she and Ezra are finished. Aria asks him if she can call him sometime, and Jake says yes.

That night, Aria and Spencer plant the mask inside of Melissa’s suitcase and spy on her. Melissa pours herself a glass of wine, then notices the luggage oddly in the living room. She finds the mask inside and looks around worried. She leaves the house quickly and Aria and Spencer follow right behind her. Aria and Spencer follow Melissa directly to Hector's shop, and they see Melissa dragging a large sack out of the shop. Spencer decides to follow Melissa while Aria goes into the shop to keep an eye on Hector. Aria walks into the shop and goes into the back room where all of the molds and masks are. She finds a whole shelf of Ali masks, and confronts Hector about them. He tries to make her leave, but finally gives up, saying that he kept the castings because Ali’s face was so beautiful. Aria asks if Ali ever came to the shop with someone else, and Hector says that she did once. In Hector's flashback, we see Ali demanding Hector give her the money he owes her. He hasn't been paid yet, so he doesn't have the money for Ali, but she is desperate and tells him to give her whatever he has on him and they can call it square. He hands her some money not even close to the amount he actually owes her, but Ali doesn't care. She just asks what the fastest way is to get to Route 30. He gives her the directions and she runs out, jumping into a mysterious black car. Hector says that he couldn’t see the driver. This flashback takes place the summer Ali disappeared. Aria asks Hector why Melissa was here, and he says that she wanted to know about the Ali masks so he made her the same deal as he did with Emily - her face in exchange for information. Outside, Aria finds Spencer on the pier where she is throwing the remaining Melissa masks into the water. Spencer tells Aria Melissa is gone. Spencer and Aria go back to the Hastings house to look for Melissa, but she is gone. They get a text from "A" saying that Melissa is not part of the "A-Team". Hanna shows up and tells them she thinks that her mom killed Detective Wilden and that "A" knows it.

Gamma Zeta Die!

After her class, on her way out, Ella tells the girls to hurry up to their next class and Aria notes that her mom has been acting strange lately. She wonders if "A" has moved on from Hanna’s mom to hers. In the hallway, Spencer, Aria and Emily discuss Spencer’s admission counselor. Aria mentions the phone number that Tippi sang, and how all they know is that it is in York County. Spencer looks through her college catalogue and notices Cicero College, a college in York County whose area code and phone number prefix match the one that Tippi sang.

After school, Aria asks her mom if anything is wrong. Ella tells her that she has decided not to go to Austria with Zack, and reveals he changed her mind Mike doesn't want her to leave, and tells Aria they can talk more about it later. When Ella is alone in her car, she is attacked by a swarm of bees planted by "A". Aria gets an ominous text from "A" that "this is only the first taste of my venom”.

Aria tells Emily over the phone that Ella was taken to the hospital, but is home now and resting. Aria is now even more adamant that Ella goes to Austria. At home, Aria talks to Mike about Ella going to Europe. She says he is being selfish for trying to keep their mom from leaving. Mike hits back by accusing Aria of only wanting her gone so she can get back together with Ezra. Aria pushes Mike in response to his rude and hurtful comment and runs off.

Hanna doesn't sleep all night and in the morning, calls Aria and tells her that Ashley’s muddy shoes are gone and that her closet is locked.

Aria finds Byron working at home and asks him to tell Ella to go to Austria. When Byron says it is not his place to do that, and that Ella can make her own decisions, Aria tears up and begins to plead with him. She knows it is an unusual request, but believes her mom deserves to be happy (and out of "A's" grasp). Byron meets with Ella at the Brew and tells her that he’s spoken to Mike and that he will no longer stand in the way of Ella leaving for the year. Since they had always wanted to go to Europe and Ella has put her family's happiness above her own, Byron tells her to take the opportunity and go and that he will take care of Aria and Mike while she's away.

At a sorority house, when some drunk girls bump into her, Spencer stumbles upon a secret door to a hidden room. It is completely empty except for a disconnected phone and a radio. She uses the phone to call Aria, who is in the middle of family night, proving that it is indeed the phone that Ali had been calling the summer she went missing. While on the phone with Aria, Spencer notices scratch marks on the walls.

Under The Gun

At the Brew, Aria expresses how surprised she was to hear Hanna had been arrested. Spencer agrees, and mentions she thinks Emily has been avoiding her since their fight that night. Aria says that Spencer and Emily need to just apologize to each other and move on. Emily arrives and tells the girls that the cops are testing the gun that Hanna found. She also tells them that Shana has taken her spot on the swim team.

A new employee at the Brew drops a tray, and Aria goes over to help him since he is one of Mike's friends and Emily needs a break. Connor asks Aria if she would help him with his English paper. Aria considers it for a moment, then agrees. Mona storms into the Brew and informs Spencer, Emily and Aria that she has been away because she has been tracking down the missing RV and declares that Toby took it, and Spencer covered for him. The other girls believe Mona is lying, but Spencer admits it. Aria and Emily go back to Emily's house and talk about why Spencer would lie to them and how it is affecting Hanna and her mom. Hanna calls Aria and before she can tell her this development about Spencer and Toby, Hanna tells her that "A" definitely set up her mom.

At her house, Aria helps Connor with his English paper. They are interrupted by Mike, who seems surprised to see Connor there. He leaves without saying much, leading Connor to believe he's mad at him, but Aria knows Mike is still mad at her for encouraging Ella to move away. Connor and Aria finish with the paper. Aria walks him to the door, wishing him luck on his next lacrosse game. Before Connor leaves, he kisses Aria, who pushes him away and tells him she isn’t interested.

At school the next day, Mike storms up to Aria, annoyed that she hooked up with Connor last night. He tells Aria he just hear Connor talking about it in the locker room. Aria marches down the hall, past Mr. Fitz, and straight into the boy’s locker room and confronts Connor in front of his friends. Aria tries to set the record straight - that nothing happened between them last night, but Connor keeps pushing the rumor, and brings up her relationship with Mr. Fitz, calling her a slut and humiliating her in front of his friends. Then Mr. Fitz appears and tells Aria that she shouldn’t be in there. He heard the whole thing. Later, Ezra approaches Aria on the stairs and tells her she can't let a stupid rumor started by a bunch of jerks get to her. Aria points out that it's not just a stupid rumor, there is some truth to it, and tells Ezra he can't be the guy who makes her feel better anymore and leaves.

At home, Aria lies in bed crying. Mike comes in and apologies for not standing up for her at school. He says he should have known that Connor was lying and promises to make it up to her. At the Brew, while a singer performs on state at open mic night at the Brew, Emily offers Aria a choice of pastries - sympathy food to help her get over the whole situation with Connor. Emily selflessly put Connor on garbage duty, which lifts Aria's spirits a bit. Spencer arrives and tells them about what has happened in Ravenswood. They notice Shana on stage, performing a violin solo. As she plays the violin, we see Ezra watching Aria from outside The Brew. Meanwhile, someone in a Rosewood High Sharks jacket smashes Connor’s car, which is parked in the alley behind the Brew. When Connor sees him, the hooded figure runs away.

Crash and Burn, Girl!

The girls are over at Hanna's house helping her deal with her mother's arrest. Emily's shoulder is still hurting her, and Spencer is still not ready to reveal what's going on with Toby and "A". Aria is glad Emily and Spencer are talking again. The three of them strategize on how to get Hanna to eat and agree to be there for her for whatever she needs.

The next day, the school is buzzing about Connor's wrecked car. Mike comments to Aria that Connor should have sold the car for scrap and gotten a new one instead driving it to school smashed and damaged. Mike is shocked when Aria seems to be defending Connor, and makes it clear that Connor is a wuss and deserves everything he got. Aria asks Mike where he was while Connor's car was getting smashed. He doesn't quite deny it, but implies he couldn't have been the one who destroyed the car. Mr. Hackett stops Aria on the stairs to ask if she knows anything about Connor's car being vandalized. She covers for Mike by saying he was home videochatting with their mom at the time. He asks if Mike is still taking his medication because he wouldn't want a repeat of his behavior last year. Aria assures him Mike is fine and he lets her go.

At home, Byron asks Aria if she has seen Mike, or if she knows anything about what happened to Connor's car. He thought Mike and Connor were friends and doesn't understand why Connor's father is pushing to have Mike expelled. Aria admits it all started when Connor kissed her and she told him she wasn't interested, so in retaliation, Connor spread a nasty rumor about her at school. Byron asks why anybody would start a rumor about her and Aria is forced to admit there has been talk about her and Ezra. Byron says Connor is the one who should be punished and leaves to find Mike.

The girls get together at Aria's and Aria says that she thinks "A" is setting up her brother. Emily rushes in and tells them to hurry up - tonight, they are breaking into Wilden's apartment. Wilden's apartment is a big mess. Spencer points out that the cops had already been there searching for clues about his murder. Aria hands out gloves so they don't leave any fingerprints behind and they split up to look around. The phone rings and spooks the girls. The girls don't turn up much in their search. They notice there aren't very many personal items or knick knacks around the apartment, though Aria points out Wilden's 'film collection' counts as rather personal. Then the girls spot a box on the floor. They open it and find a bunch of rotten steaks. There's a note inside that says, "Can't wait to see you at our little barbecue. Kisses, A".

The next day, Aria waits for her dad and Mike outside Mr. Hackett's office. Ezra walks by and asks her what's going on. She says Mike is getting railroaded in there and he didn't do it. Ezra apologizes for trying to swoop in and comfort her yesterday since it's not his place to do that anymore. Aria mentions how Mr. Hackett had questioned her about Mike's medication, then Byron comes into the hall and greets Ezra. Ezra offers his help, but Byron declines, and Ezra leaves. Byron says Aria can wait for them at home. Mr. Hackett is about to decide Mike's punishment, when Ezra walks up and pulls him aside to talk. Ezra asks if there were any witnesses or if it is all hearsay on Connor's part. Mr. Hackett says there must be some sort of punishment and Connor's family is not willing to compromise. Ezra brings up Mr. Hackett's inappropriate questioning of Aria about Mike's medication. Mr. Hackett realizes that was the wrong thing to do, but points out that Ezra is treading dangerous water by getting involved in a situation with a family he has such personal history with.

Mike finds Aria at home and mentions it wasn't smart for her to tell the Vice Principal he was videochatting with mom because they could have checked on that. Aria asks what the outcome was and Mike says that Mr. Fitz talked to Mr. Hackett and then Mr. Hackett told Connor's family he had no reason to expel Mike. Mike says if anything like this happens again, he wants to be ready. Aria slips a note under Ezra's door just as he's coming around the corner. She tells him it was a thank you note and she appreciates what he did for her brother. Ezra tells her there isn't anything he wouldn't do for her. Aria doesn't know how to respond and takes off.

The Guilty Girl's Handbook

Emily texts Spencer, Aria, and Hanna that they're okay, and also asks about how Hanna's mom is. Spencer, Aria, and Hanna are in Spencer's kitchen, waiting for Spencer's mom to come home with news about Ashley's bail. They talk about how CeCe is probably Red Coat and trying to keep them from finding out for sure. Veronica enters the kitchen and tells them that the judge refused bail and that Ashley will be moved to the state prison in Muncy to await the trial. The girls all go upstairs. Spencer and Aria try to convince Hanna none of this is her fault. They promise Veronica will win the case. Hanna allows Spencer and Aria to go to school without her.

Mike finds Aria at school and informs her that he won't be home tonight because the lacrosse team will be partying after their game whether they win or lose. Aria starts questioning him and he says he just needs to spend time with the guys because they are treating him differently since the thing happened with Connor's car and he's handling it. Aria notices Mike carrying a bag from the Tang Soo Doo studio Jake teaches at. Mike admits to wanting to learn how to defend himself. Aria visits Jake outside his studio to ask if Mike is one his students. Jake says he is and that he's really good. Aria wants to know if Mike has said anything odd, and Jake tells her Mike once said something about his teammates being against him, which causes Aria to become a little more worried about Mike. Jake tells Aria if she ever needs him, he is there for her, no strings attached.

Aria is home alone and spooked by the sound of cars driving by outside, the incident at Emily's house still fresh in her mind. She calls Mike and his teammate picks up. He says Mike's not conscious... yet, and hangs up. Concerned, Aria then calls Jake. Jake goes over to Aria's house. He is there to help Aria figure out where Mike is. Aria remembers hearing arcade sounds when she spoke to Mike's friend, and Jake knows of an arcade near the school they played, so they decide to drive over there, but then Aria's phone rings. It's Mike. He tells her he's fine, his friend was just joking about him being unconscious, and that he's going to stay at his friend Billy's house, much to Aria's dismay. Aria is upset Mike put her through all that tonight, but Jake thinks Mike will be fine, and says he'll keep an eye on him just in case he'll tell her if Mike gets out of control. He also says he's more worried about Aria, and offers to stay. Aria agrees and asks him if he's hungry. Jake and Aria watch TV in her living room. She apologizes for ruining his night, but he says he's happy to be there. They flip through channels until an Insidious 2 ad comes on. They make plans to see the movie next week. Aria nearly says it's a date, but stops herself, remembering that she doesn't feel like she's ready to start dating. But this hints at her interest in Jake. While Aria and Jake are watching TV, her phone beeps, and she seems shocked as Mona has confessed to killing Wilden. Emily, Aria, Spencer, Hanna, Caleb, Veronica, and Jake go to the police station. The four girls and Veronica all look shocked as they see Mona sitting in an interrogation room. Mona smiles at them as the blinds are closed, leaving them all to wonder what Mona is up to.

Into the Deep

Aria talks to Spencer on the phone from her porch. Jake is inside the house. He stayed overnight at Aria's house because she didn't feel comfortable staying there alone. He asks if she wants to go out for breakfast, but she says she is meeting Spencer. Jake convinces her to stop by the Brew for a caffeine fix together first. At the Brew, Jake asks if Aria's dad will be back tonight, to make sure she won't be home alone again. She says he is coming back in the afternoon and they made plans to have a family night. Ezra and Maggie are there, too, having a conversation. He steals looks at Aria while Maggie tells him that she got into grad school at the University of Washington in Seattle. Aria gives Jake a goodbye hug while Ezra looks on, displeased, only pulled from the stare when Maggie announces she plans to move there. Ezra expresses his shock and dislike of the idea, as he won't be able to see Malcolm very often if they moved away, but Maggie persistently says that the job is important for her future.

At school, Spencer and Aria discuss Mona between classes. They know Hanna wants to believe she confessed for the right reasons, but Spencer knows Mona can easily twist it around and make it seem like they forced her to do it. Mona could also try to pin Wilden's murder on the girls since she has the photo of them tampering with his car. Aria shows Spencer Emily's birthday gift - a framed photo of Paige and Emily. Then the girls come across Jenna and Shana having a hushed conversation about Alison. Jenna says "they know I'm hiding something", that she should have told the police about Alison, and also that it's "too dangerous not to say anything at this point". Shana asks to give her a little more time to figure out where "she" is. Jenna expresses her anxiety about losing her sight again, and Shana says that she won't leave her side until she takes her back to Philadelphia the next morning.

At Paige's aunt's lake house, Aria and Spencer are helping Paige set up for the party. They discuss what they overheard Jenna talking about and the possibility that Jenna knows Alison is alive. They decide they have to get Jenna alone to find out what she knows. Spencer says that Toby told her Jenna's eye-surgery had a low success rate and unfortunately Jenna is losing her sight again. Paige walks in tells the girls to hurry up because Emily will be there soon. They ask if Paige invited the whole swim team. She says yes, except for Shana, for obvious reasons. Spencer tells Paige to invite Shana, because where Shana goes, Jenna goes, and they need to talk to Jenna. The guests haves arrived at Paige's aunt's lake house for Emily's surprise birthday party. Aria tells Hanna over the phone to give her mom a welcome home hug for her. She hangs up and sees Jake walking in with another girl. The guests hide as Emily arrives at the house. When she walks in to the dark room, she asks Paige why she lied to Dominic, then everyone jumps out and yells 'surprise!' Later, Aria informs Paige that Bridget Wu is trying to make a bong out of her aunt's teapot. Jenna rushes off to deal with it and Emily tells Aria she had no idea Paige was planning a surprise party for her. Aria points out Jenna and bluntly explains that Jenna is losing her vision. Spencer notices Aria stewing in the corner and finds out her attitude stems from the fact Jake brought a leggy-blonde to the party. Aria is clearly jealous of the pair. Spencer says the girl is trying way too hard and that Aria should go talk to Jake, Aria chooses not to break up the "flirt fest" and though she clearly feels otherwise, insists to Spencer that she is not that into Jake. Spencer and Aria corner Jenna and Shana and Spencer asks about Jenna's eyesight. She says she sees everything she needs to see. In an effort to get Jenna alone, they say they are taking a big group photo outside. Shana sees through the request and says they'll go outside when the rest of the guests do. Jake approaches Aria and asks what happened to family movie night. Aria lies as says the party slipped her mind and insists she's not lying even though Jake can tell she is. She asks about the blonde girl he arrived with and Jake says her name is Kim. Aria makes some snarky comments and Jake is confused, asking why she is acting so jealous. Aria denies being jealous because they're not even dating, then her phone rings and she leaves to find Spencer. Jenna finally talks Shana into leaving. Thinking it's her last chance, Aria jumps in and tells Jenna she needs to talk to her alone. She tries to level with her and say regardless of their history, Alison was her best friend and she deserves to know the truth. Jenna refuses to tell her anything, then Paige yells that they're serving cake and all the guests crowd around. Aria and Emily look around for Spencer outside. They see Jake leaving the party and Aria talks to him for a moment. Then Emily screams 'Spencer!' because she sees a body floating face down in the lake. She rushes in and turns the body over to see that it's Jenna, not Spencer. She shouts "she's not breathing!" and to call 911.

Jake accompanies Aria back to her house. She thanks him for coming over and he expresses surprise at how complicated Aria's life is. Aria doesn't try to explain the long history between her and Mona and Jenna, but tells Jake she feels safe when she's around him. She admits to being jealous of him earlier and Jake admits that Kim is just a friend. Aria feels like her life is out of control at the moment and didn't want to drag Jake into it, but he offers to help her navigate for a while and she takes him up on it. They kiss and make up.

The Mirror Has Three Faces

The Liars are late for school because they had tried to go see Jenna at the hospital earlier, but were turned away at the visitors desk. Aria yells at them to keep it down so they can sneak back into school, but Spencer sarcastically replies that none of them are going to graduate anyway. Hanna suggests Spencer talk to Shana because if CeCe drowned Jenna, then she must know the reason, but Emily doesn't think Shana is trustworthy and Hanna doesn't trust Jenna so they are back at square one. Hanna decides she's going to hunt down Cece, even if she's been AWOL since Wilden was alive.

Aria and Jake are getting coffee and going over the photos she took of him doing martial arts. He tells her about a regional competition he is participating in tonight in Philly. Aria invites herself along. Aria leaves Jake's tournament supposedly to pick up frozen yogurt, but actually to check out the address Caleb found. Over the phone, Aria tells Spencer to check on Emily then she finds the apartment. Outside the building she sees a woman packing up and moving out, and asks for CeCe The woman responds, "Well if you find her, let me know". The woman at the apartment tells Aria that when CeCe dropped out of UPenn and left for LA, she was supposedly still paying her rent. Aria says she thought she was kicked out and the woman asks how she knows, since she wasn't close with her. Aria says she was a friend of Alison's. The woman says that CeCe referred to Alison's crew as "four other she-devils". She had assumed that the Liars were in on the frat party stunt Ali had pulled three years ago and hated them for it. Outside of Jake's tournament, Aria receives a phone call from a visibly upset Ezra. As she decides whether or not to answer it, Jake tells her his match is in 5 minutes. She says she has to take the call, but then when Jake goes back inside, Aria hesitantly declines the call. After the tournament, sitting outside, Jake apologizes for the tournament running late and not being able to take Aria out for a proper steak dinner. Aria reveals she doesn't eat meat. They banter back and forth about spicy food and Jake's injuries from the match, then make out on the stoop.

Bring Down the Hoe

The girls sit at lunch, discussing the crawlspace under the DiLaurentis home. They are sure that Cece has been camping out there. They wonder why CeCe has it out for them and Jenna, unsure what Ali may have told her about their involvement in getting her kicked out of college. Hanna arrives and tells the girls that her mom hasn’t had any luck finding a new lawyer. Lt. Tanner shows up and tells them they are still investigating who drove into Emily's house. She tells them that while they were sorting through the wreckage, they found a muddy shoe that matches the print of the shoes found at Wilden’s crime scene. When she mentions being able to test it to identify the owner, Hanna gets upset and walks away. The girls catch up to her and tell her not to worry, and that "A" probably planted the shoe there because Mona made a false confession. Spencer relays a plan to find out for sure if Cece is back in town and living in the crawlspace, in turn giving Tanner a new suspect to harrass. She tells Hanna to go shopping with Mrs. DiLaurentis while she, Emily and Aria check out the crawlspace. Jake waits for Aria outside after school. He offers her a ride home, which she turns down, and gives her the business card of an attorney he knows to give to Hanna's mom, which she also turns down. Then she invites Jake to the hoedown later that night. Aria is surprised by how easily he said yes.

In the crawlspace, Aria and Emily wait for Spencer to arrive. Emily tells Aria that she should call Ezra, but doesn’t say why. They find a black button that they think might belong to Red Coat before Spencer finally arrives. They hear someone upstairs and when Aria looks through one of the drilled holes in the ceiling, a knitting needle almost stabs her in the eye. Someone is repeated jabbing it through the holes, attempting to stab the girls, or at least make sure they don't see them, then the person upstairs leaves. Because of the incident, wants to move into Spencer’s house. Spencer, who had been upstairs, hears the question and seems not to want Emily to move in. Aria asks who Spencer was talking to upstairs. She says "Toby. Why? What did I miss?" Aria asks, “What did we miss?” Spencer reluctantly tells them that Toby thinks that his mom was murdered, and that he has been getting messages about it from "A".

At the Brew, Aria sees Ezra at another table. He approaches her and tells her that he has been trying to get a hold of her, but before they can have a conversation, Jake arrives. The two awkwardly greet each other and Ezra leaves. Aria is upset about the meeting, but Jake tells her not to sweat it. He gives her a pair of blue cowgirl boots for the dance that night as a gift.

Aria and Jake arrive at the hoedown. Aria and Jake dance, and Ezra stares at Aria. Jake takes notice of this but continues to dance. Jake approaches Ezra and tells him to back off Aria and let her move on. Aria approaches Emily and Emily tells her to go talk to Ezra. She tells her that Maggie is taking away Malcom, and Aria quickly goes to talk to Ezra. Aria talks to Ezra, but Ezra tells her that he shouldn’t be getting her involved in his life. After the hoedown, Aria goes to Ezra’s apartment and asks what happened with Malcom. Ezra says that he doesn’t want to drag her into it, but Aria insists that she isn’t leaving. Outside their door, we see a blonde hooded figure in black listening to their conversation. When she turns around, we see that it is Cece Drake.

Now You See Me, Now You Don't

News of Travis’s testimony spreads through Rosewood and is seen by Aria, Emily, Spencer and Hanna in Spencer’s kitchen. It is revealed that the cops want Ashley to be in a lineup for Travis. A package addressed to the four girls is delivered to the house. Inside are Magic 8 balls for each of them, which spell out the phrase: “If she goes free, you’ll hear from me. Kisses —A”. They worry that if Hanna’s mom goes free, CeCe will come after them.

At school, Ezra thanks Aria for stopping by the previous night. Aria says she is glad to be there for him as a friend, leaving Ezra looking disappointed. In the hall, Aria calls Jake and asks him if he wants to go to a poetry reading, but settles on a movie at her house instead. At Hanna's house, the girls receive another package. They open it and find a small white coffin, and inside is a doll that represents Mona. They get a text from A, which threatens that if they don’t find Mona, the cops will think that they killed her. Hanna calls Radley to see if Mona is still there, In the meantime, Caleb stops by and they watch the news. A sketch of a blonde woman resembling CeCe is shown and wanted for questioning about the murder of Wilden. They are now all convinced that CeCe did, in fact, kill Wilden. Off the phone with Radley, Hanna says that Mona is no longer a patient there and it is privileged information on whether she was released or moved elsewhere.

Later, Jake leaves from a movie date at Aria's house. Later, Aria runs into Ezra at The Brew, and they strike up a conversation about one of Aria’s poems about Ali amongst other pieces of literature. Meanwhile, the other liars and their respective lovers are shown. Aria kisses Ezra on the lips but they play it off. Red Coat watches from outside.

The next day, the four girls are gathered at Spencer’s house. None of them have found Mona and they are worried. Another package arrives; an empty black wooden box. However, Spencer opens it a certain way and a saw with a message appears in the box. "Watch me make a girl disappear. Kisses, - A". The girls find a magic show that is taking place in Ravenswood that very day, and they decide that it can’t be a coincidence. They head out for Ravenswood.

In Ravenswood, the girls find a sign leading them to Charlemagne’s Magic Show, an outdoor magic show hosted by a strange mime. The mime picks Aria for a disappearing act and after much hesitation, she agrees. The trick goes well, but afterwards, they notice that Emily is missing. They get a text from A that reads “leger de main”, which means “sleight of hand”. The girls realize that while they were distracted, A kidnapped Emily. They call Emily’s cell, and she is awoken by the ringing, in a box. She tells the girls that she has no idea where she is and she begins to panic when she hears a saw coming for her. The girls turn and see Red Coat running away from them, turning a street corner. The girls chase her into an old warehouse, and see a wooden coffin chained up on a conveyor belt, headed for an electric wood cutting saw. The girls race to the coffin and try to open it. They try to cut the chains, but it seems too late until Red Coat presses a button and stops the machine. The girls turn and see her leave the building, but there is another Red Coat heading up the stairs. The girls realize that there are two Red Coats, and while Hanna opens the coffin and gets Emily out, Aria chases one Red Coat while Spencer pursues the other. Aria chases the Red Coat that went up the stairs. On the upper floor of the warehouse, Aria’s Red Coat becomes cornered by Aria and a small fight ensues. Aria kicks her in the face, which dislodges her Ali mask to reveal CeCe's face. “Give it up, CeCe!” Aria screams, but CeCe kicks Aria and climbs onto a rope hanging from the ceiling, before the rope snaps. Aria tries to save her, but her coat sleeve tears and CeCe falls to the floor. Spencer returns to the warehouse, breathless, and Aria gets downstairs. They are unsure if CeCe is unconscious or dead. Aria feels responsible for CeCe’s fall. The girls turn away from CeCe to console Aria, who wants to call the police. However, CeCe is still alive, and when the girls turn back, she's gone. Spencer rushes the girls out of the warehouse quickly, saying that she needs to show them something. She says that the Red Coat she chased might have been Ali because she made sure Spencer followed her. They arrive at the apartment building Red Coat brought Spencer to. They go up to the apartment and find the entire apartment filled with blown-up pictures of Alison— portraits, candid shots and more. In one painting, a small hole is cut out, and we see that someone is watching them. There are whiteboards showing a timeline of each girl’s lives since the A text messages began, reaching all the way back to Ali’s funeral. The girls walk around the apartment and find a large computer system with multiple screens, all monitoring the police, the streets, and the girls’ alarm systems. They now know how A has been keeping tabs on all of them. The girls try to hack A’s computer system. They call Caleb for help, who says that he will get on the next bus to Ravenswood. Spencer finds A’s bank account. According to the document, CeCe is on the payroll. The girls wonder if A paid CeCe to dress up as Red Coat to lead the girls away from Ali. Meanwhile, the person behind the painting continues to watch them.

Hanna opens a wardrobe and sees multiple men’s suits and shoes. Emily picks up what appears to be a large scrapbook, filled with pictures of Ali wearing the same outfit in each one. Hanna says she remembered buying the shirt with Ali, and she had said that she'd needed it for a date that night with an older guy. Spencer guesses that it was Wren, but Aria doesn't think so, noticing that A has been keeping tabs on Wren, too. The girls wonder if Board Shorts took these photos, and if that is who CeCe is working for. Meanwhile, Aria wonders off to another whiteboard, and sees a complete timeline for Ali. While Aria examines it, the girls find a letter to Board Shorts that reveals that Ali met him in Rosewood and she lied about her age — she had claimed to be eighteen, and she was planning on taking him to Cape May. Aria calls the girls over to Ali’s timeline, and says that A hasn’t only been following the girls, but also Ali, too. He has pinned Ali to the fire at the lodge and has been following her trail to Ravenswood. The girls stare at it in shock. They see a picture on the timeline of a gas mask costume, and they also see a flier for a World War I-themed celebration of Ravenswood later that night. On the flier, written in red, is a note that says: Tonight, Alison, 11 PM. The girls realize that Board Shorts thinks Ali is going to be at the celebration. They walk out of the building. Night has fallen, and the celebration will be starting soon. They are approached by Mrs. Grunwald, who tells them that it is dangerous for them to go chasing after Ali. Spencer says that she thought she never knew Ali, but Grunwald says that she lied to protect Ali. When the girls ask for confirmation that Ali is still alive, Mrs. Grunwald says, “Haven’t you all felt it? She was never really gone”. She says she hasn’t seen Ali since that night, and says she probably won’t until she finds someone that she can trust. The girls say that Ali can trust them and she knows that, but Mrs. Grunwald says she isn’t sure about that.

Grave New World

Dressed in their costumes, Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer make their way into the graveyard party. Emily is hesitant to continue on—she isn’t sure she is ready to see Alison, but Aria says that they already have. They all walk through the graveyard’s gates. Ezra calls Aria to ask where she is and to be careful—and we see that he is at the graveyard, too, wearing a gas mask costume. at the party, the four girls are gathered in the tent, wondering why Ali would go to a party like this. They spot a strange person dressed in a gas mask costume, similar to the one they found in A’s lair. He is with a girl as well. As Spencer spies on him, Aria and Emily follow the girl as she walks out of the tent but Emily is stopped by Mrs. Grunwald. Alone, Aria follows the girl and helps her out of an empty grave, which she had fallen into. Aria questions if she was pushed by the man she was with earlier, but she says that is her cousin and that he wasn’t behind this. Her cousin arrives, tells her that the graveyard isn’t safe and the leave. Emily and Spencer meet up and briefly look for Hanna and Aria, but they all find each other.

As they walk through the graveyard, they spot Red Coat running into a tomb. They all quickly chase after her, but once they get there, she is gone. They spot an area that has no leaves, so they push away a statue, which reveals a hidden pathway of tunnels down under the graveyard. They walk down into them, and then the secret door shuts, trapping them in the tunnels. Panicked, they make their way through the tunnels, one of which is very windy. They all hold hands and stand against the wall, but Hanna gets separated from the group. Spencer, Aria and Emily make their way into the house from the tunnels, looking for Hanna. They hear what they think is Alison talking, and Spencer runs off to look for her, and Aria and Emily lose her. Aria and Emily find Spencer in the greenhouse and wake her up, and they quickly run out of the room, following Ali’s voice. They follow it into a room, and see that it wasn’t Ali’s voice at all, but just a recording. Mrs. Grunwald walks in and tells them that they shouldn’t be in there. The girls say that they think they followed Alison into the house, and Mrs. Grunwald reveals that the tape was a recording of one of Ali’s sessions with her. Six months before, the tapes were stolen, and Mrs. Grunwald gets a bad feeling—that Emily, Aria, or Spencer has touched the one Alison fears the most. They leave the house and return to their car, and they find that their tires have been slashed.

Hanna rejoins the girls just as Ezra arrives and offers them all a ride home. They drive back to Rosewood and get out of the car. Once Ezra has driven away, they spot Red Coat staring at them in the woods. She runs away, and they chase her back to Spencer’s barn, where she stops and pulls down her hood. She turns around, and it is Alison, alive and well. She looks nervous, and she greets them with shaky “Did you miss me?” The girls are all overcome with shock and joy, and Aria says that it really was her that lead them to the lair and around Ravenswood. Ali looks back into the woods and sees a light, and says that she doesn’t have much time and that it isn’t safe for her to be in Rosewood. They beg her not to leave again, and Ali says that she wants to come home, but she needs their help. Spencer asks who she is afraid of, but all Ali does is tell Hanna to remember what she told her in the hospital after she was hit by the car. They hear someone approaching, and Ali fearfully puts a finger to her lips. The girls turn. Ezra walks into the backyard, supposedly to give Aria back her cell phone. When the girls turn back around, Ali has run off again.

Who's In The Box?

After just encountering Alison moments before, the four girls now sit in Spencer’s room, visibly shaken. They are all confused and wonder where Ali has been hiding all of this time, and even question if she is A. No matter what, they resolve to try and make Rosewood a safer place for Ali to return to.

Two weeks later, they travel to the mausoleum where Ali’s body was believed to have been buried, and Hanna mentions that Caleb checked out A’s lair and it was emptied out. Spencer wonders if Ali reached out to anyone else, such as Jason. Hanna says that she has a theory: whoever was buried in Ali’s place still died, and she had to have been placed under the gazebo before it was filled with cement. This means that a girl must have gone missing around the same time that Ali did, and if they find out who, they can connect her to someone they know and solve the case. The girls realize that the body was identified as Ali because it was important that everyone believed that she was dead.

The next day, at school, Emily tells Aria and Spencer about how Jason is on a "cross-country trip", and Spencer expresses that someone needs to know where Jason is. All three girls are nervous because things have been quiet ever since they saw Ali outside Spencer’s barn. Later, Ezra apologizes to Aria for getting her involved with Malcom, and admits that he did it so that he could get closer to her again. He says that his time at Rosewood High is almost up, and that he hopes that once she has graduated that he may prove to her that he is the person she thinks he is.

At the Brew, Hanna tells Emily and Aria that she made an appointment with Tina, a friend of Sara Harvey’s, and that she doesn’t want to meet up with her alone. Emily says that she doesn’t want to go, and is mad that Ali never reached out to any of them or told them that she was alive. Hanna says that no matter what Ali has been up to, they need to bring her back to find out what has been going on.

Later, Aria calls Ezra and asks to pick her up, and they drive off. Ezra brings Aria to a small cottage in the woods, and explains that it belongs to a friend of his, but he watches over the place. Aria tells Ezra that she is seeing someone else, and Ezra gives her a key to the cottage, saying that it could be their secret. The two kiss. Later, Aria gazes outside while Ezra looks at a trapdoor in the floor.

The next day, the four girls meet once again at the mausoleum and pay their respects to whoever is buried in Ali’s grave. Hanna then pulls out Ali’s diary, and says that she was hesitant to show the others sooner because of all the stories in there about them.

Love ShAck, Baby

The girls look through Ali’s diary, and quickly realize that the stories she wrote are shrouded in pseudonyms and half-truths. Hanna is still hesitant about showing the girls the journal; because of this, Spencer and Emily lash out at her, but Aria interrupts, saying that the important thing is that they have the diary now. They decide to read the stories and weed out the ones about them, and whatever is left over they’ll investigate.

At school, Aria leaves a pen on Ezra’s desk, and Spencer openly tells her is she is still in love with him. They join Emily, who has come up with a color coding system to label the stories in Ali’s journal. Hanna arrives and asks how far they have gotten with the journal, clearly nervous. She also makes sure that Spencer takes the journal next, instead of Aria. Aria recognizes a poem has Ali has written, Ali is writing about—the Busy Bee Inn in Killingworth, and they wonder if that is where Ali is hiding. They all agree to take a ride out there. Meanwhile, Ezra watches them from a distance. Aria visits Ezra in his class, who is listing to something. He stops when she comes in, and Aria tells him that they can’t meet up tonight because she has to help Hanna with her break up. Ezra questions where they’ll be going, but Aria makes something up. After she leaves, Ezra continues to listen to a recording of Ali, who says she needs a place to hide and be someone else.

That night, the four girls leave Rosewood for Killingworth. In the car, Aria looks through the book as Emily follows her car’s GPS navigation to the Inn. Aria finds a story called “The Cradle Robber”. When Aria mentions this, Hanna quickly turns up the radio, but the rest stop her. “The Cradle Robber” is about someone who had an affair with a younger person, and the girls wonder if it is about Ali. Emily’s car stalls and Aria notices that her car’s GPS is different than Aria’s phone. The girls get outside and check Emily’s engine, but they are unsure what to do. Hanna texts Travis, who says that he won’t be able to meet them for another two hours. Aria realizes that Ezra’s cabin is not far from where they are stranded; she suggests she waits there, but tells the others that the cabin belongs to her uncle. As they walk to the cabin, the girls lose cell service. The girls arrive at the cabin, and while Hanna is in the bathroom, Spencer says that she thinks Hanna is keeping something from them. Outside, a hooded figure is seen stalking around the cabin. Hanna comes out of the bathroom and tells them that “The Cradle Robber” is about her and Mike, Aria’s little brother. Aria tells Hanna that although she would think it’s weird, she wouldn’t have stopped being Hanna’s friend, and says that Mike used to have a huge crush on her. While Hanna and Emily leave to get cell service to call Travis, Spencer and Aria go into the laundry room to get blankets, the door shuts behind them. Aria looks through the keyhole and sees a hooded figure walking around. They open a window and scream outside for help, and Hanna and Emily both hear them. They break a window to get into the cabin since the front door was locked. They open the door and let Spencer and Aria out, but discover that Ali’s journal is gone. Travis then arrives to bring them all home.

At Aria’s, she talks to Ezra over the phone, and we see Ezra wearing his black outfit and black baseball hat at a gas station. Aria then lies to Emily and says that she was talking to Jake. Emily shows Aria the note that Ali seemingly left for her, and tells her about the “dream” she had about Ali visiting her. A then sends the girls a text of the Busy Bee Inn, thanking them for the tip. The realize that they basically gave Ali to A due to all of the post-its and notes from the journal.

Close Encounters

The Liars immediately follow up on their lead by taking a trip to the Busy Bee Inn, the place where Aria's family visited frequently in the past. Upon their arrival, they are met with a mess. Alison's clothes were laying all over the place, and a window had been smashed. The Liars begin to theorize what may have made Alison leave the Busy Bee Inn. Did A finally get to Alison? Before they could come up with more theories, the door slowly closed, revealing a message from A: YOU'RE TOO LATE! -A

The next day, at Ezra's apartment, Aria looks like she's lost in space, and Ezra noticed this. They start discussing Hanna and her break up, then topic changes to Ezra going to Philly to hang out with "an old college buddy". Ezra suggests he and Aria can have a dinner date reschedule at his cabin when a text message from Jake is sent to Aria. Aria informs Ezra she's going to cut all ties from Jake because Ezra was and will always be "The One" for her. Aria goes to see Jake, and immediately notices a huge gash above Jakes eye. He laughs it off and kisses Aria. Seeing Jakes punching bag, Aria suggests that maybe it was time for him to get a new one, but Jake tells her he keeps it because it supposedly gives him good luck. He also tells Aria that he has qualified for the National Championship. Jake asks Aria if she wants to go out to eat, she says yes, but then quickly changes her mind telling Jake she needed to talk to him about something. When Aria begins to break up with Jake, he immediately realizes that Aria had gotten back with Ezra. Aria tells Jake that she and Ezra has so much history with each other and Ezra was the one for her, but she offered to just be friends with Jake. But Jake tells Aria he's going to need a lot more time to think about their friendship.

The girls are talking about what Emily and Shana had been talking about earlier that day. Emily tells her friends that Shana confirmed Alison really did save Emily from the locked up barn in Over My Dead Body. Spencer asks Emily what she and Alison talked about outside the barn, but Emily refuses to tell them saying "I want to keep that between us". They begin to theorize about Shana and Alison's relationship, still believing that Shana could just be one of A's minions.

Aria enters her house to find a box waiting for her on the table. Opening it, she finds a card and another box with a bow on it from Jake. Inside the box was piece of jewelry with a red stone and her named etched into the silver piece. Aria stops by at Jake's work to give back to jewelry he bought for her. After some awkward one sided conversation, Aria turns to leave, but Jake stops her saying, "You know I still care for you, right?"Jake reveals to Aria that he witnessed Ezra going off on the unknown blonde woman in her car outside The Grille. Aria refuses to believe it because Ezra told her he'd be in Philly all day. Jake shocks Aria by telling her he always thought Ezra was the one Aria was so afraid of. Before leaving, Jake warns Aria to just keep her eyes open.

At Ezra's, Aria was reading a magazine when Ezra walked into the door. She asks if he had fun with Curtis and Ezra lies telling her he had a great time with his friend. Aria finally confronts Ezra by telling him Jake saw him outside the Grille yelling at a woman. Ezra breaks down and tells her he went to see Maggie and his lawyer so he could get custody rights for Malcolm. Aria is confused on why Ezra would keep that from her and he states it's because Maggie almost ruined their relationship once and he didn't want Aria to get upset. Aria tells Ezra that she wishes he'd be more honest with him because she chose him. They reconcile and Aria and Ezra continue their date and eventually kiss.

Bite Your Tongue

Aria and Emily returns from a movie. Aria is seen commenting on how she missed half the movie because the dude in front of them was making sales call and that if Spencer was there she would have pegged the dude with her jelly beans. Emily gets a little annoyed to hear Spencer’s name. Aria tells Emily that she was sorry but Emily should not keep holding on to the grudge she felt. According to Aria, Spencer was “just trying to protect” Emily. But Emily thinks that Spencer was trying to control the situation like she always does and she did a mistake by trusting Spencer. They are at Aria’s front door when they hear loud music coming from inside the house. They go in and find that Mike is having a party. Aria orders Mike to get all the people out in ten minutes. She and Emily go upstairs. Aria and Emily finds Mona coming out of Aria’s bedroom. When Mona is asked what she is up to, she says that she was invited by Mike. Before leaving, Mona comments on Aria’s wallpaper and zips her bag.

The next morning, Aria asks Mike about Mona. He tells her that they met in a discussion group in the counseling center, and that they have a lot of friends in common. Aria tells Mike that she is not cool with Mona and him being friends and that she is a very dangerous person. She also tells Mike that Mona caused their parents to split up by sending Ella a letter about Meredith. Mike simply shoves her off by saying that if she can forgive her dad why can’t she forgive Mona.

At school, Aria catches Mike and Mona talking and laughing in the courtyard. After they part ways, Aria stops Mona and inquires her about her true intentions. Mona tells her that Jesse, the new guidance counselor of the school patched up Mona and Mike after Mona was thrown out of the “inner circle” of the Liars again after the charges against Ashley Marin were dropped. Before leaving Mona asks Aria to suck up the fact that she is hanging out with a different group.

Aria goes to have a chat with Jesse about Mike. She tells Jesse that her brother has befriended a certain individual who is bad news. Jesse guesses that Aria is talking about Mona. She tells him that it will be very helpful if Jesse did not encourage them being together anymore. Jesse thinks Aria is angry with Mona and asks her to join the counsel group. Aria denies him by saying that she is concerned. Jesse explains to her about how two people bond when they find common ground. Aria then leaves.

The next morning, Aria comes out of The Brew and sees Maggie coming out of her car. She goes over and tells her that it was not good of her to come to Rosewood without Malcolm as Ezra really wanted to see him. Maggie tells Aria that it is none of her business but Aria does not stop lecturing her about how she lied and screwed Ezra’s life and also blackmailed his family to pay her. Maggie becomes irritated and tells Aria that coming from her, the lecture does not affect her as Aria sleeps with Ezra to maintain her grades. Maggie starts walking but Aria grabs her hands to stop her, dropping the box in Maggie’s hand. Maggie tells Aria to leave her alone. Aria and Emily are talking about the incident with Maggie on the way to school. Aria thinks that Maggie will never let Ezra see Malcolm anymore. Emily assures her by saying that she was just acting as Ezra’s friend and so he is not going to be mad at her. Aria asks Emily to cover for her in Ezra’s class and that’s when they catch Mike and Mona kissing Aria leaves.

Later, Aria is at the Brew and she leaves Ezra a message apologizing about the interaction with Maggie. Jesse walks in. She tells him she admits she has some things to work through but doesn't want to join the group. She tells him she's worried about Mike.

After Emily's father has a heart attack, Emily is at Aria's who picked her up from the hospital. Aria assures her that her dad is in great hands. But Emily is worried that 'A' might harm him. Spencer arrives at Aria's house after receiving a text from Aria. Spencer asks Emily to not send her away. They share a hug. Hanna walks in. She explains to the others about what happened at the dentist and she thinks that she was treated by 'A'. Her lips were still half-frozen according to her. The three of them looks inside Hanna's mouth and Spencer pulls out a very small piece of paper from inside her mouth. It reads: "I told you. Dead girls can't smile. Stop looking. -A"

Hot for Teacher

The Liars walk into the Brew as Shana finishes her conversation with Alison, and they discuss whether they should trust her now that they know she is working with Ali. Emily thinks so, but Hanna and Aria disagree. Emily tells them her dad’s chest pains were caused from anemia, not a heart attack, and disagrees when Hanna says Shana was probably the one who tried to attack Emily at the school. Spencer suggests it could’ve been someone from the crew working on Ezra’s play. After A’s message at the dentist, Hanna thinks that for safety’s sake they should wait for Ali to find them instead of looking for her, and the others promise not to.

Ezra asks Aria to stay at his cabin with him for the weekend. When she says she needs to stay with Mike, Ezra says he can stay at a friend’s house, and he tells her it wouldn’t be possible to go check on him at any point. He continues to pressure her, and she tells him she’ll figure out a way to be there.

At school Aria is surprised to find out Hanna and Holbrook occasionally talk. Hanna thinks Spencer is lying to them and wants them to hang out with her over the weekend, but Aria lies to Hanna, saying she is visiting her father in Syracuse. Later, Aria visits the guidance counselor, Jesse, and asks to talk. Aria, who is still at school, tells Jesse she’s been lying to everyone and doesn’t know what to do anymore. After he asks why she thought her friends wouldn’t approve of her getting back with her boyfriend, she suddenly makes up an excuse and leaves.

At Ezra’s cabin on Saturday morning, Aria tells him that she wants to go home because she’s tired of lying to everyone. Ezra tells her that her feeling torn between her friends and him may not be a bad thing because it might mean they’re growing closer, not just that she and are friends are growing apart. He tells her, “if what we have is going to last, you have to start thinking of me as the person you are closest to, the person you want to share everything with, and I have to that with you”, then he tells her he didn’t mean to put any pressure on her with starting up the relationship again so quickly. She decides to stay at the cabin with him because she wants to make it work. Later, Ezra is cooking and says he doesn't have chickpeas, so Aria offers to go get some even though the store is an hour away. As soon as she leaves, we see a can of chickpeas in his cabinet, and he goes through the trapdoor into his basement. The contents of the his lair in Ravenswood are in there, including the tri-monitor survellience computer. On the computer he scans through pictures of all of Shana and the liars' activities that we've seen in the episode so far. After some time, while Aria iEzra is sitting in his car with a netbook and his black baseball hat, scanning through videos and images. Apparently he has multiple video cameras set up in his cabin, where we see Aria asleep in bed. Aria wakes up and goes looking for Ezra, and he startles her from behind. He says he was up late reading and forgot to lock the back door. He tells her she was right about their relationship not working if they don't tell the truth. He acts nervous and tells her he's glad she stayed.

Shadow Play

Aria and Ezra are in the car, returning from Ezra's cabin. She tells him about a story she's working on and they talk about heroes and villains and how heroes do not always win.

In Spencer's dream, as Spencer, Emily and Hanna are talking about the likelihood that Aria is probably still with Ezra, Aria arrives and the girls ask about her trip. Spencer asks her if she went to the Erie Canal Museum and Aria says that she couldn’t as it was closed. Aria asks what she missed and Spencer says nothing much. Aria leaves as the bell rings. When Mona calls Spencer telling her there's a "blonde package waiting for you" at Ezra's apartment, Spencer rushes there. He says he's back with Aria, to which Spencer warns him to stay away. He thinks they haven't told Aria about him because they aren't sure and tells Spencer she's in over her head.Later, Aria and Paige have a conversation about an old camera. Paige tells Aria about going on a canoe trip with Emily. Aria tells Paige about the time she was like a tom boy and how she eventually lost interest. Aria tells Ezra she wants to tell her friends about their relationship. He tells her that Alison is alive. Aria tells Spencer she's seeing Ezra again. She says she loves him, but seems conflicted about how things are going. Spencer is about to tell her about Ezra but Hanna interrupts to say she's found Alison. The girls go the place where the message from Alison originated and find her. She tells them to "get the hell out" and rips into Spencer for bossing everybody around. Spencer responds by charging her with trying to set them up. Alison asks Aria "has she told you?" just before a bullet omes through the window. Everybody scatters. Downstairs they hear Ezra's voice. He says "I don't know what they told you but it's not true". Nobody will tell Aria what is going on and she goes to him. When she gets there it is Toby, who says he knocked out Ezra. They get in a car and speed off. In the car Aria asks Spencer why Toby hit Ezra. Nobody has the courage to say anything. Toby asks Spencer about the Alison's diary and they argue. A light appears in the front window of the car causing Spencer to snap back to reality.

The girls decide to tell Aria about their suspicions that Ezra ia 'A' and go to Aria's place. The episode ends with them looking through the window and seeing Ezra and Aria kissing.

Free Fall

At school, Ezra tells Aria that Spencer has a drug problem and that she's taking amphetamines. During lunch, Aria finds Hanna and Emily and asks her why they are ignoring her and they rebuff her. She then tells them about Spencer's drug problem, who are concerned for Spencer. Later, at Spencer's, they confront Spencer about it. Spencer admits to taking drugs but says she's not crazy. The confrontation gets heated and to protect herself, Spencer reveals to Aria that Ezra is A. She's sure that the only reason Ezra revealed her addiction to Aria was to make her seem crazy so that Aria and the others won't believe her when she tell them he's 'A'. But Aria does not trust her because of her addiction. Even Hanna and Emily starts to doubt Spencer, thinking her theories about Ezra are fake.

Aria is at Ezra's Apartment where Aria is telling him about Spencer's crazy behavior when the liars confronted her on her drug addiction. Ezra wants to tell her parents but Aria is convinced that Spencer is strong enough to get her self out of her situation. Ezra accidentally let slip that Spencer broke down and got sent to Radley after she saw Toby' s helmet and tattoo on a dead body. Aria asks him how he knew that considering it wasn't on the police report, Ezra claims that Aria must have told him, she reluctantly agrees but still seems uncertain.

Aria, still doubtful about Ezra, goes to investigate his cabin in the woods. She finds the trapdoor, pulls it up, and goes down to find what used to be Ezra's lair, empty. Upstairs, she finds a suspicious-looking book in the shelf and opens it to find pages upon pages of information about Alison. She is still reading the draft, when she hears Ezra's car pull up outside. Scared, Aria grabs the pages and escapes out the window but she forgets her keys. Ezra realizes Aria was here because he finds her keys. Aria then realizes she doesn't have them so she decides to run into the woods. Ezra runs after her but is unable to find her. She runs to a nearby ski-lift and climbs into it just as it starts moving. Just as she is about to shut the gate, Ezra climbs in. He explains that he was dating Alison during his college years and he started writing a book on her. He says that after Alison "died", he wanted to write a crime novel about it. He admits that he knew the girls before they knew him and he had originally dated Aria for research. He stopped writing the book when he fell for her and they got serious. After Aria broke up with him because of Maggie and Malcolm, he started his research back up again and that's how he knew Alison was still alive. Aria begins crying and he says that he's never lied about the way he feels about her. He offers to burn the papers and she says she wants to read it all to see what was worth destroying everything they had for. Ezra tries to take the papers from her but they fall to the ground below.

Aria arrives home to find Mona and Mike on a date. Mona asks Aria if everything is okay or not but she goes straight to her room without replying. Mona then looks guilty and possibly sorry for Aria. Aria is then shown to be lying on her bed, crying. After noticing a poetry book she was given to by Ezra, she picks it up and throws it with huge force.

She's Come Undone

The Liars sit in Aria's living room discussing the book that Ezra is writing about Alison's disappearance. They come to the conclusion that Ezra must be Board Shorts and Aria tells the girls Ezra believes one of them tried to kill Alison. Emily still believes he could be "A", but Aria states that Ezra was purely using them as research for his book. Emily questions why Ezra never did anything to protect Aria from "A" and Aria tells her that Ezra never really loved her.

The next day, Aria lies on her bed and has a flashback to Pilot when she first met Ezra. Aria then throws up, sickened at the fact Ezra knew who she was already. At school, Aria storms in and goes to Ezra's classroom but learns he has taken time off for a 'family emergency'. Aria calls him a liar and a coward and lashes out at the girls before Emily takes her home. Aria shows up at Ezra's apartment and yells at him to let her in, but she finds it empty. She finds boxes in his wardrobe containing all the information from his Ravenswood Lair, and finds files on her and each of the girls. Inside are photos of Aria before she even met Ezra and surveillance photos she did not even know had been taken. She finds Mrs. Grunwald's missing tapes and plays them, revealing Alison thanking Mrs. Grunwald for pulling her out of the ground on the night of her disappearance. An emotional Aria finds his journal, containing many of the girls secrets and facts about Alison, such as Byron's affair and the fact Alison knew about it, The Jenna Thing and other notes such as Jason being a possible suspect in Alison's disappearance and Caleb working for Jenna. When Ezra makes a comment stating that Aria doesn't suspect anything regarding him she begins to trash his apartment, throwing his papers around the room and destroying his furniture. She also smashes his college degree and a photo of him and Aria together. Aria looks around his apartment, realizing the damage she has done. Spencer, Hanna and Emily arrive at Ezra's and find Aria sitting in the middle of his trashed apartment. The girls support her and take her home.

At Aria's house, Aria burns pages of Ezra's journal with Hanna, hoping it will help her feel better. When it does not, Aria starts to question how she did not realize what Ezra was doing. Hanna tries to be supportive, but Aria feels guilty for telling Ezra the girls' secrets. Hanna makes sure Aria will be okay and then leaves to go get food for the two of them from The Brew. Aria looks through more of Ezra's journal and finds a letter to a publishing agency about the publication of the book and his progress so far. Aria calls the agency and lies, telling that she is a colleague of his, throwing him a surprise party to celebrate the publication of his book, to try and get a publication date for the book, but the woman on the other end of the phone reveals it has not been set yet and that Ezra is currently with the agency discussing the book. Aria hangs up, shocked that he is still going ahead with the novel. Hanna drives home from The Brew but finds Aria going to Principal Hackett's house to tell him everything about her and Ezra's relationship. Hanna tries to persuade Aria not to as Ezra will go to jail, but Aria accuses her of taking Ezra's side. Hanna denies and states she wants Aria to think it through because it will hurt her and her family if the relationship is exposed. Aria realizes the consequences and decides not to tell the Principal and goes home, telling Hanna she does not want her help.

Emily goes to Aria's where she is packing to leave Rosewood. She is going to Syracuse. Emily tries to stop her but Aria tells her to get out of her way as she does not want help.

Cover For Me

At the beginning of the episode, Aria is partying at a frat house, pounding drinks, and making out with a random guy. The next day, Emily calls Aria to check on her. Aria is sitting in a park hung over, at a college campus. She tells Emily that she is in Syracuse for a campus tour. She runs into the guy she was making out with last night at the party, Riley and hangs up on Emily. Riley invites Aria to ditch the tour and get breakfast with him, she accepts his invite. Later, in Aria's hotel room, she is in bed with Riley. She wakes up and realizes it is in the afternoon and they have missed all of the campus tours. They decide to head back to bed.

The next day, Aria and Riley head out to a pond, and sit on the dock chatting and getting to know each other. He confesses to her that he doesn’t want to go to Syracuse. He wants to go to Berkeley School of Music. His parents and siblings are all Syracuse alums and so his parents aren't keen on the idea of music school. Aria admits to him that “some jerk just broke her heart”, so she came to Syracuse to disappear for a little bit. Later, Riley stops by Aria's hotel room and says he is leaving the campus tour a day early as he wants to go home and talk to his parents about Berkeley. Aria kisses him good-bye and tells him to look her up if he is ever in Rosewood.

After the college visit, Aria drops by Ezra's place. Aria tells Ezra he needs to leave town "for good". She doesn't want to ever see or hear from him again. Ezra asks Aria to read his manuscript. He says he thinks there are things that could help her. He tells her when he was in New York he returned the publisher's advance. But it's too little too late for Aria to go back to him again. Aria reads the manuscript after reaching home.

Hanna, Spencer, and Emily are sitting in Emily’s room trying to make sense of the Ali note that was left in the cop car. Aria barges in and says she read Ezra’s manuscript and there was something that she wanted them to know. Aria announces that Ezra thinks that Jessica DiLaurentis is 'A'. Emily and Hanna don’t buy it, why would Mrs. DiLaurentis want them to stop trying to bring Alison home. Spencer admits that Mrs. DiLaurentis thinks that she tried to kill Alison. Spencer confesses that she was drinking and taking pills that night and she thinks she may have went after Alison but the girls don't think Spencer could have done anything to Alison.

Aria heads home and finds Mike on the couch. She apologizes for what happened between him and Mona, and he believes her when she tells him that she didn’t try to break them up.

Unbridled

The girls are at the Brew talking about Paige exposing Ali to the police. Spencer is worried she'll be questioned when they discover the body isn't Alison's, as they also suspect Alison’s own mother to be ‘A’ and behind Spencer being a suspect. Aria and Emily think that Mrs. DiLaurentis cannot be ‘A’ as ‘A’ knows Ali is alive. But Spencer’s theory is that Jessica is trying to send Spencer behind bars, so Ali would be safe to come back to Rosewood again. At Aria's, Aria is on the phone with her mom. Ella is confronting Aria about her getting wasted in her hotel room at Syracuse. Ella asks her if it has anything to do with Ezra resigning from Rosewood. Aria tells her it’s hard to talk about all this stuff and Ella ask her if it would be any easier if she was at the foot of her bed. Ella opens the door and walks in, Aria runs to her and throws her arms around her.

The next day, at school, Aria tells Hanna her mom is asking about Ezra. Hanna doesn't think she should share too much, with which Aria is quick to agree with.

Ella is at home with Aria discussing Jessica's bridal event. Ella ask Aria to be her date but Aria declines. Ella wants to know if a bridal show brings up other issues. Ella’s phone rings for the second time and she ignores it. Aria ask her if it’s Zach calling her. Ella’s tells her it is. Aria tells her to go ahead and talk to him. Ella answers the next call which upsets Aria. Ella comes in from talking to Zach and Aria rips into her for leaving her and Mike to go to Vienna. Ella points out it was Aria who pushed her to go. Aria is not about to let her mom get the upper hand and tells her she can send her a “I told you so” card when she gets back to Vienna and storms off.

At the Brew, the girls talk about who might be in Alison's grave. Spencer thinks the person who went after Alison could still be out there. Hanna shows up and tells them sbout the clothes her mother found in the bag in Alison's room the other day. They suspect that Jessica knows her daughter is still alive. She wants them to volunteer as models at the charity event, which is at the DiLaurentis home to find out more. Holbrook walks by and mentions there could be a lot of questions for them in the upcoming days.

After the bridal show, Ella goes backstage and tells Aria when she saw her on stage it took her breath away. Ella tells Aria that the pain and heartbreak eventually go away. Ella admits to Aria that Zack proposed and shows her the ring that Zack gave her. Aria is very happy for Ella and gives her a hug.

Aria goes into Alison's room just as Emily's phone rings. It's Alison, who tells them not to talk to her mother. She says they need to come see her. Downstairs the girls realize Spencer is missing. She walks in crying and tells them about chasing down somebody she thought was Alison in the woods. She takes the corset off of her dress and they find finger bones inside. There is a message sown inside, asking "What will you do when the rest of me comes out of the grave?"

The girls arrive at the address Alison gave them. They move around and look for Ali. They find a locked door and think that Ali's in there. Spencer calls out for her. Suddenly they hear a noise and turn around. Spencer asks: "What are you doing here?"

A is for Answers

The girls have been brought to an apartment by Noel. He leaves and Alison walks in. The girls share quick hugs.The girls ask her why she trusts Noel and Ali tells them that he has secrets too. They tell her they think her mother is A and she doesn't look shocked. She tells the girls she's ready to tell them everything and if they can't figure things out that night she's going to disappear again and this time for it will be good. Alison flashes back to being with Ian at Hilton Head the morning of the day she supposedly died, when Melissa arrives and confronts him. While Melissa and Ian argue, Ian tells Melissa that Alison is just a fling and means nothing to him and that he loves Melissa. Hearing this, Alison copies Ian’s hard drive where she finds a video of Jenna and Toby’s sexual relationship. Ian and Melissa gets back together and when Ian goes back to the room, Ali is gone. Ali uses the video to intimidate Jenna into stop blackmailing her if she is doing so. After she leaves Jenna, she gets a text from A saying she was going to kill her which meant Jenna wasn't A and she cut Jenna off of her A suspect list. Alison tells the girls when she returned home she got yet another threat from A written with lipstick on her mirror. That night, Alison and Jessica got in a fight because she didn't want her daughter going to the Hastings barn and party with the girls. She warns Ali about the Hastings family. Alison takes 3 of her mother's sleeping pills while she is talking with someone on the phone. She meets the girls at the barn and slips some of the pills into their drink, hoping to cross them off if another A threat arrived. She met with Toby that night and said she knew he wasn't A, either. Ezra pulls up and Alison gets in the car. He won't let her leave.

Alison tells the girls about meeting Ezra at a pub while hanging out with CeCe. Alison tricks him into thinking she's a literature buff. Alison apologizes to Aria for "everything". The night Alison drugged the girls before meeting Toby. After she finished talking with Toby she lefts him a message to meet her at the kissing rock. A car arrives and Ali gets in it. The driver is Ezra! Ezra was mad because he'd just discovered she was actually in high school. He says he won't see her anymore. Alison then met Ian and threatened him with his videos that if she gets another text she's sending him to jail. He warns her that some of the videos could bring "everybody down, including your family".

In present day Alison tells Aria that Ezra is trying to find Alison and save her as he thinks that doing so could help him get her back. That night in the barn Spencer and Alison argue. Spencer grabs the shovel and eventually falls over. Alison sees Spencer speed pills and follows after her. Spencer cries and begs her not to tell anybody. Alison promises not to tell anybody. Later that night she meets Byron and blackmails him for money with her knowledge of the affair between him and Meredith. Alison didn't receive any more texts that night, but returns home to find her mother staring out the window. Alison gets hit in the head with a rock while her mother looks on. This seems to prove Spencer couldn't have hurt the other girl and Jessica saw who did. Jessica is seen shoveling dirt over Alison, who she maybe thought was dead.

In present day Alison tells the girls she tried to tell her mother she was alive but she couldn't speak. Alison heard her mother say "what have you done?" which means Jessica was trying to protect somebody. After Carla Grunwald pulled her out of the ground, drove her to the hospital and went to get help, Alison left the hospital alone and Mona found her walking along the road. They go to a motel under a fake name, Vivian Darkbloom, and Mona thinks that perhaps Alison should let A think she's dead by disappearing. The girls tell Alison not to leave, even though they still don't know the identity of A. She was at the lodge trying to make sure they were safe. The girls see a strange light outside. Just then a hooded figure begins shooting at them and chasing them. They flee to the roof and find themselves trapped. Ezra shows up and gets in a fight with the hooded figure. Hanna grabs the gun that fell from the hooded person’s hands when he was fighting with Ezra and asks him to take off his mask. The hooded person ends up jumping to the next rooftop. They think that it cannot be Jessica. The girls turn back and see that Ezra was shot in the exchange. We then see the Manhattan skyline. The girls are not in Philadelphia but in Manhattan!