| “ | You are not the only one who could use a little team Sparia. | ” |
— Aria to Spencer
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Hot Water is the twentieth episode of Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars. It aired on February 19, 2013.
Synopsis[]
Spencer not looking good
The four girls talk about the latest developments with respect to Jason, CeCe, and the picture of Alison with CeCe and Wilden on his boat. Spencer receives a text and becomes very distracted. Hanna spots that it was a text from Wren, but Spencer gives a very streamlined version of what happened between them. Wilden shows up, and Hanna brings up his boat ride with CeCe and Alison. He sinisterly tells Hanna, "See ya round."
Wilden pushes Cece into his car
At home, Aria notices that Wesley folded all of his sheets and left the book he borrowed from Aria neatly in a pile. While Hanna and her mother walk, they spot Wilden pushing CeCe into a car. Wilden gives Hanna a dirty look, and Ashley notices. Hanna tries to play it off, saying the girls know the woman he got into the car with. She says that she and the girls have suspicions about Wilden having a past relationship with Alison, and the information came from CeCe, but she assures her mother that they're done with their suspicions. Hanna promises not to speak with the girl again.
How much longer will I have to cover for you
Melissa is having to lie to their parents about Spencer skipping school and spending most of her days in bed. She tells Spencer she won't be covering for her much longer. Emily tells Hanna that Jason is lying low at a friend's place for a while. Hanna wants them to speak with Paige to make sure she told them everything. Hanna tells her about Jamie and the five-dollar bill, and Emily says it's probably just a coincidence.
Aria finds out Ezra is back
As Aria is walking into Ezra's apartment, she tries to get a hold of Wesley to talk about their kiss, but instead she finds Ezra is back. She's upset he never made contact, but he says he was too busy thinking about their relationship and assures her that he wants her to remain in his life. He agrees it wasn't fair for him to think about their relationship and how everything will work with Malcolm, and says Maggie kept Malcolm a secret because his mother paid her. He invites her to go to dinner with him, saying, "I never would have said this before meeting you, but I've actually been craving vegan takeout."
They all need Spencer
Spencer is sitting alone in Mrs. Montgomery's classroom when Ella walks in. They talk about Mona, her breakup with Toby, and her recent behavior. Ella tells her she knows that Spencer is the kind of person who can pick herself up from a huge disappointment and keep going. She assures her that the door to her classroom is always open. Emily and Hanna see that Paige is about to visit the Rosewood Costume Shop to check on past purchases of the Queen of Hearts costume. They say they're going with her, to Paige's reluctance. Spencer spots Aria in the hallway and turns immediately around and heads to the bathroom. Aria chases her down and speaks to her through the stall door. Aria tries to pry her out of the stall and makes it clear that they all need their friend, but Spencer doesn't budge.
Emily looks herself
At the costume shop, Shana isn't thrilled that Paige didn't come alone. She tells Paige she can't give out information on past rentals. While Hanna and Paige distract her, Emily can get on the computer and send herself past credit card transactions related to the costume. Ezra's mother pays Aria a visit at the coffee shop. She thanks her for anything she might have said to help Wesley, who is reportedly back at his old school, and sits down. She tells Aria that her past actions against her have been in Ezra's best interest, but Aria says she thinks Ezra should have been involved in the decision. Emily wonders to Hanna if Toby might have cheated on Spencer. She also admits to being worried about Paige having some relationship with Shana. Aria tells the girls about Ezra being back and that she saw "Mrs. Fitz-scary."
Wilden makes himself at home
Wilden, having ordered her a glass of wine, sits down with Ashley at a restaurant. He says that an accusation like the one Hanna is making would be "the end of me." Ashley refuses the drink and tells him to leave. Wren and Spencer talk. She apologizes for using him to get back at Mona when all he did was care about her feelings and try to help her. Wren admits he only came to help her because he knew about her breakup with Toby and thought he might have had a chance with her. He apologizes for jumping in too soon. She rejects him but says that being with him was "nice." Aria talks to Hanna and Emily about the fact that her relationship just got very, very grown-up. She's still bothered by the fact that Ezra never called while he was away and admits there was a brief moment of attraction for Wesley.
Spencer goes back in for seconds
Wren tries to kiss Spencer. She pulls away, but then goes back in for a long make-out session. It looks as if somebody witnessed this. Aria goes to Ezra's for dinner and walks into an argument between Ezra and his mother. There's a gift basket for Malcolm on the table. He says he's not going to apologize for loving Aria and kicks his mother out. After she leaves, Ezra and Aria kiss. Paige admits that she had a brief relationship with Shana while Emily was working in Haiti over the summer. Paige says Shana was just a substitute for Emily, and assures her that she has nothing to worry about; they kiss. Spencer spots someone with a red coat and blonde hair following her, but they hurry away before she can get a closer look.
Wilden follows Ashley
Hanna misses a call from her mother while listening to music and looking at her computer. Ashley leaves a message saying she suspects there is more to the story with Wilden than Hanna is telling her. She gets into her car and is followed by Wilden. Melissa smells Wren's cologne on Spencer. She tells her, "No company is better than bad company," and that she was the one who bought Wren the cologne. Ezra and Aria are enjoying each other's company and are about to watch a movie when Maggie calls to say that Ezra's mother is now trying to sell her condo out from under her. Wilden pulls Ashley over and asks her if she's been drinking. Spencer gets into the sauna, and as she's sitting in it, we see a hooded figure walk past the door.
Ashely runs Wilden over
Wilden warns Ashley about keeping Hanna quiet. He grasps her arm, and she argues with him, calling him out for threatening a child. She wrestles her arm away from him and gets into her car, but Wilden stands there to keep her from leaving. He says that if she won't keep Hanna quiet, then he'll do it himself, and reaches for his gun. In a moment of panic, Ashley runs him over and drives off. Emily goes to CeCe's apartment, where CeCe reveals that she's leaving Rosewood for "anywhere, fast," because of Wilden. She tells Emily that she thought she could keep the secret about Wilden and Alison. Emily tells her about the sailboat picture, and CeCe says that Alison thought he was cute, so she asked him to take them on a ride. Emily asks CeCe why she lied then, and CeCe replies that she doesn't have time to talk about it.
Emily presses her further, and she says she thought Wilden got Ali pregnant and killed her to keep it a secret. She says she doesn't know if it's true, and that Wilden is going out of his way to deny it - and "if there's one thing Ali could do, it's tell a good lie." Since Wilden has friends in the police force, CeCe couldn't turn him in. Emily says Jason told her that he saw CeCe at his house the night Ali disappeared. CeCe says that Ali called her that night and was freaking out about some videos that "everyone wanted," Melissa more than anyone. When CeCe showed up at the DiLaurentis house, Melissa begged her to talk to Ali. After she did, Ali left to get the videos, and the next day, she was missing. Before CeCe leaves, she tells Emily that Melissa took the picture of them on the sailboat.
Getting too steamy
Spencer's sauna temperature rises higher and higher, and someone has locked the door from the outside. Written on the glass is a message from "A": "Steamy with Wren, steamy with me." Spencer is saved by Aria, who comes to her rescue just before she loses consciousness. Ashley tells Hanna, "I think I might have killed Detective Wilden." Spencer tells Aria that what happened was revenge for making out with Wren. She tells Aria to contact Emily and Hanna because she's ready to tell them who's helping Mona. Ashley and Hanna return to the scene of the accident. Wilden's car is still there, but he's nowhere to be found. We see that Wilden's car is recording the whole thing. In the end scene, "A" plays the song "Steam Heat" and chops some pink roses off their stems. "A" places the roses in a flowery wreath and drapes a ribbon over it, which says, "With Deepest Sympathy."
Notes[]
- The Liars confronted Detective Wilden about his history with Alison and what happened in Cape May the summer she disappeared.
- Detective Wilden is hit by Ashley Marin with her car after he makes threats about Hanna. The "A" team stole Wilden's car's camera footage to later use it as blackmail.
- Spencer was trapped in a steam room by "A" (Possibly Toby, because of the message written on the mirror), which could be a reference to the title of the episode.
- Melissa Hastings took the photo of Ali, CeCe, and Wilden at Cape May.
- Aria tells the girls that whenever they find something important, they need to document it on their phones.
- This is the third episode to be directed by a cast member. In this case, Chad Lowe, the actor who plays Byron Montgomery.
Featured Music[]
- Easy Fix by K.Flay (Paige, Emily, and Hanna in the costume shop)
- Kiss Kiss Kiss by Danica The Morning Star (Paige getting into the car, getting ready to go to the costume shop)
- Dreams in Ashes by Amanda Abizaid (Wren talks to Spencer at the Brew)
- Glitter and Gold by Rebecca Ferguson (Hanna listening to music in her room)
- All Those Pretty Lights by Andrew Belle (Ezra and Aria sitting on the couch when he gets a call from Maggie)
- Steam Heat by Patti Page (End scene, A plays this on the vinyl player)
Gallery[]
 Hot Water has a photo gallery. |
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Title[]
- Hot Water is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse. The story takes place at the Chateau Blissac, Brittany, and recounts the various romantic and criminal goings-on there during a house party.
- "Hot Water" could also be a figure of speech for being in a lot of trouble or in a dangerous situation.
- "Hot Water" could also refer to the scene in which Spencer is locked in the steam room.
Goofs[]
- In the costume shop, when Emily is sending an email of the previous purchases of "The Queen of Hearts" costume to herself from the shop's iPad, the iPad screen is in a different window when the camera switches its view from the iPad to behind Emily with the iPad in the background as the shop's phone rings.
Main Cast[]
- Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings
- Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin
- Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery
- Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields
Guest Cast[]
- Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz
- Lindsey Shaw as Paige McCullers
- Julian Morris as Wren Kingston
- Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery
- Aeriel Miranda as Shana
- Vanessa Ray as CeCe Drake
- Mary Page Keller as Dianne Fitzgerald
- Bryce Johnson as Darren Wilden
- Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin
- Torrey Devitto as Melissa Hastings