| “ | We have to solve this puzzle before the cops can solve Dunhill's murder. | ” |
Power Play is the fourteenth episode of Season 7 of Pretty Little Liars. It aired on May 9th, 2017.
Synopsis
Ali’s turn at the game forces her to face a monumental personal decision, made even more difficult when A.D. triggers Ali to remember a forgotten trauma. Spencer has a long overdue conversation with her father about his past sins and recent whereabouts. Emily continues to navigate working at Rosewood High with both Ali and Paige, especially when Ali comes to a troubling realization about her pregnancy, and Paige makes a big decision. Aria continues to question the fate of her relationship with Ezra and bristles under A.D.’s taunts. And, in the search for Mary Drake, Hanna and Spencer run into a familiar face with a shocking secret.[1]
Plot
Aria and Alison stare at the game board
Ezra enters his apartment due to Aria telling him Nicole came back to his apartment. Ezra greets her with gratitude for letting him know. Aria tells him that whatever he has or hasn't told Nicole about their relationship, Nicole is going to find out they're together because of the pictures in his apartment and her clothes are in his closet. Aria begins to leave, but Ezra tells her she doesn't have to, she informs him that she's not sleeping on the couch and leaves.
Aria goes over to Alison's house, she tells Alison and says she understands why Ezra wants to help Nicole. Alison asks Aria if she has eaten to which Aria tells her she's not hungry, but Alison says that she asked if she had eaten, not if she was hungry. Alison goes to the kitchen but is stopped by the Liars' Lament game board having been moved into her house (unbeknownst to the Liars). The game starts up and begins as if it's malfunctioned. Aria questions if it actually has, but Alison believes it's just deciding. Alison calls Spencer in the morning to inform her of the board game now being in her house. Spencer questions if the fact that it got moved to Alison's house, means it's her turn. Alison tells her that it hasn't decided whose turn it is yet.
Marco, the detective who Spencer is sleeping with, jokingly asks her if she's always up so early. Spencer whispers, "good morning" to him and Alison asks who she's talking to. Spencer lies that it's nobody and tells her she has to go but will call her back later. Alison hangs up as she stares at the board game.
Emily gets ready for work as Hanna worries about not getting her puzzle piece.
In the Hastings' barn, Spencer asks Marco how he slept; he responds he slept fine. They kiss and he gets a call from a case and is due in earlier than expected. She asks what case it is, but says he can't say.
At Lucas' loft, Hanna makes toast as she talks to Lucas on the phone. Lucas asks if Caleb is okay; she says he's doing better and got sent home last night. Lucas believes it's his fault that the meeting went wrong and so they lost the investors. However, Hanna tells him that it's not his fault as she should have been there.
Emily asks Hanna if her top smells dirty, she was supposed to do laundry but she was following Sydney until 4 a.m. Hanna informs Emily of a coffee stain on the back of the top and questions how it got there. Emily tells her that another colleague tripped in the teachers lounge and spilled coffee on her top. She takes off her top and Hanna throws her another one. Hanna asks if Sydney led them to Jenna. Emily jokes "Not unless Jenna lives in the bathroom of Greyhound bus" as that's where Sydney left the tracker Emily and Aria secretly put on her. Emily complains that A.D. is still one step ahead and she's now 40 minutes late for work. Emily takes the toast and gets ready to leave. Hanna worries about being the first one to not complete her turn. Emily theorizes that putting Caleb in hospital and hurting her business was Hanna's punishment, and tells her not to freak out on something she can't control and leaves.
Alison approaches Emily, as she's talking to Paige.
At Rosewood High School, Emily apologizes for missing a meeting and talks to Paige. She offers to take her out for lunch, but Paige declines and tells her that the University of Iowa is offering her the assistant coaching position. Emily questions this because the reason Paige came back to Rosewood is because they offered it to someone else. Paige tells her that they've changed their minds. Emily is surprised and asks if she's going to take it; Paige rhetorically questions that she would be stupid not to take it. Alison arrives and Emily greets her, to Paige's dismay, she rolls her eyes and walks away. Emily tells Alison to give her a second as she turns back to Paige, she sees that she has left, so she turns back to Alison.
Spencer listens to Peter explain that he was looking for Mary
Spencer arrives home and shouts to Veronica that she's expecting mail, questioning if any arrived. However, she sees a suitcase and inspects a passport to see that there's stamp dated for Philadelphia over a week ago. Peter calls out for Spencer and so she puts down the passport. Peter tells her that he wishes he could have been in Philadelphia sooner after everything she went through. Spencer questions if he means getting shot or finding out that Veronica isn't her real Mom. Peter tells her that Veronica is real mom because she was the one who raised her. He proceeds to tell her that he and Veronica love her, but Spencer calls him out for not flying back to her sooner as there was no emergency business deal and no issue with his passport. Peter admits he was looking for Mary. He wanted to be home sooner, but after everything he's done, he didn't want Mary to do more damage. Peter knows cheating on Veronica with Mary (thinking she was Jessica) was a huge mistake, but he doesn't regret it because he and Veronica ended up raising Spencer. Spencer asks if he found Mary, he tells her not yet but he's working with an investigator and they will. Spencer rhetorically asks if they're going to chase her away so Spencer never gets to see her again; she walks away.
Detective Furey tells Alison the case is now being treated as a homicide.
At Rosewood High, Alison tells Emily that she has made an appointment to terminate her pregnancy. Alison explains that Archer abused and controlled her, and the pregnancy makes it feel like he'll still be in control. After they're done talking, Alison opens her classroom door to see Detective Furey.
At The Brew, Ezra explains what happened with Nicole, including that her therapist wants her to gradually find out things so it doesn't all come as a huge shock, but she knows that Ezra is now engaged to Aria. Ezra tells her that he and Nicole talked for a while and that she said she wants him to be happy. He then apologizes for being a "crappy fiance," and tells Aria that Nicole now being alive doesn't change a thing about his feelings for Aria.
Back at Rosewood High, Detective Furey informs Alison that the forensic team confirmed that the finger was detached from tissue that had been decomposing for some time, possibly around the time Dunhill disappeared, and now the case is being treated as a homicide. Furey asks if she thinks anyone would have had a motive. Alison tells him that he was a con artist who treated dozens of mental patients with no medical training, so a bunch of people could have had a motive (including her). Furey informs her that Mary has gone into hiding, and due to her connection to the case, she's a person of interest.
The board game tells the girls to complete the game before the cops arrest them.
The Liars gather as Hanna freaks out about her being found guilty of vehicular manslaughter. Emily questions if this is punishment because they didn't help A.D. find Charlotte's killer, so the A.D. teams is going to help the cops find out about their crime. The board game starts up and begins choosing. It's Alison's turn -she has a mystery location to find. A question mark comes up on the phone and Spencer clicks it. The phone reads: "Solve the puzzle, get away with murder." An animation plays and it flips to another side that says: "or fail, and go directly to jail." Hanna states that this was already the point of the game, Aria informs her that now it's a race. They need to complete the board game before the cops solve Dunhill's murder. Spencer tells them that no one can screw up their turn now.
Hanna and Spencer are in the Hastings' barn searching for a watch. Hanna questions why she's sleeping with Detective Furey. Spencer tells her she was initially upset about Toby and Yvonne and that Marco is a nice person, Hanna says she only has an issue with his job considering he's working on the case that, if solved, could get them all arrested. Spencer states that she's worried too. Hanna asks how Toby is, but Spencer doesn't know because she left a message, but he hasn't yet called her back. Hanna finds a private investigator card and questions her; Spencer informs her that Peter is looking for Mary but doesn't yet have any leads. Hanna wants to call the investigator, but Spencer tells her not to as she doesn't know what to say and it's possible that she realized who her birth daughter is and ran away. Hanna clears this idea away and tells her to ask Mary why she ran away. After a moment, Hanna calls the investigator.
Paige tells Emily she's leaving because it still feel like high school in Rosewood
At Ezra's apartment, he's going through papers of the unfinished book and Aria asks if Nicole threw them at him. Ezra tells her that Nicole threw it at her parents when they came to take her back to the clinic. Aria grabs a paper and sees annotations. She asks if Nicole wrote them and begins reading one. Ezra walks over to her and takes it out of her hand.
At Rosewood High, Paige informs Emily that she's leaving today. She also tells Emily that in coming back, she thought she could make it work with Emily again, but being back at school watching Emily and Alison talking reminds her of them whispering in hallways as a teenager. Emily and Alison are still keeping secrets between them, and she decided she didn't want to feel that way again. Emily tells her it's not what she thinks it is and so she doesn't have to feel that way. Paige says she knows she doesn't, she can just go somewhere else.
Alison FaceTimes Aria about coordinates to the mystery location
Aria and Alison FaceTime and Alison tells Aria that she got latitude and longitude geographic coordinates (39.967648φ | -72.883301φ) that must lead to the mystery location. Aria offers to go with her, and asks if she's okay because she looks ill. Alison doesn't tell Aria she's pregnant just that she's had a bad stomach ache recently. Alison asks about Ezra. Aria tells her that Nicole talked to her therapist who said she's having setbacks because of the book, Alison tells her it isn't because of the book, it's because she was held captive in a jungle for two years. Aria tells Alison that the book didn't help and she's the one who convinced Ezra to write it. Alison starts to feel sick and tells Aria she has to go before hanging up to go and vomit. After Alison leaves, Aria gets a FaceTime call from A.D., they're using AI technology to remain anonymous and threatens Aria's relationship with an essay she wrote about being groomed by Ezra in high school if she doesn't help them. Aria gets angry and throws her piece off the board game.
Hanna shows Ted a photo of Mary as Spencer and Hanna look for her
Spencer and Hanna go looking for Mary. Due to Spencer's connection with Mary, she's being less aggressive in finding Mary than Hanna is and asks Hanna to be more gentle. Although Hanna is aware that Mary could be dangerous, for the sake of also looking for Spencer's birth mother, she softens her approach. They knock on another door and find Pastor Ted.
At Rosewood High, Paige sits down in the teachers lounge and spots a bag. In it, she sees an abortion leaflet. She checks to see if anyone is coming and then takes out the leaflet to read it. When she opens it, she finds a note attached that says Alison's name and the time of an appointment. Alison walks up to her, abruptly snatches the leaflet, and angrily questions what she's doing. Paige tries to apologize, but Alison is too mad to hear it. Ali grabs all of her things and storms out.
Back with Hanna, Spencer and Ted. Hanna shows Ted a photo of Mary off her phone, but he denies recently seeing her. They realize they may have written down the wrong address, but Ted expresses happiness that they did so he could see Hanna and Spencer again. He congratulates Hanna on her engagement and job in New York to which Hanna informs him that neither of them worked out. He credits her resilience when telling her that she'll figure things out. He offers them tea and a chat, but Spencer tells him they can't stay. Hanna tells him that she'll email him her contact info so they can get coffee at The Radley soon with her mom. Spencer begins to leave, but Hanna hangs back for a moment to warn Ted that Mary is dangerous and the cops are looking for her. When the girls disappear, we see Mary open the door behind Ted. He tells her he didn't say anything about her being there because she told him not to, and then asks why she's really there.
The board game instructs Alison on what to do at the store
Aria and Alison reach their destination: Darling Duck, a baby clothes and accessories store. Aria wonders why Alison is being sent there. However, Alison knows it's because she's pregnant, but doesn't let Aria in on this info. Aria and Ali begin to enter the store to find the puzzle piece, but Aria gets a FaceTime call from a blocked number and lies to Alison that it's Ezra. She tells Ali that she'll be there in a second and Alison enters the store. Aria answers the phone and A.D. lectures her for moving her piece off the game board, questioning if she wants to lose. Aria says she doesn't want to lose, she wants out. After a second, A.D. ends the call and sends her a message of a pinned location and where to meet them. She has to leave Alison and meet them now, so she does whithout informing Ali that she needs to rush off.
In the store, Alison is given a registry scanner. Before she begins scanning items, she gets a message on the game's phone telling her to scan 10 items. As she's scanning items, she overhears a conversation about someone wanting the sex of their baby to be a surprise. This provokes an emotional reaction from Alison as she continues scanning.
Paige and Emily race on bikes at night
Paige and Emily are sitting talking at night, with their bikes close by. Emily jokes that Rosewood isn't that bad and that Paige will miss the pizza. Paige informs Emily that she told Iowa she needed more time to decide; Emily is happy to hear this and asks what has changed. Paige says she's not the only one with demons and not facing hers would be like she's still in high school. Emily jokes that they could race for it as they did in college. Paige tells her that they made a lot of big decisions that way. Paige tells Emily that they're going to race to decide whether she goes or stays. Emily is confused and doesn't want to race to decide Paige's future. However, Paige is serious and tells her that Apple Rose is the finish, she toys with Emily to get her into it. They race, but Paige doesn't finish. Instead, she stops and tells Emily that she has already decided... she walks up to Emily and they kiss.
Alison finds out she's carrying Emily's baby
At Darling Ducks, Alison finishes her scanning, and is about to leave when the cashier reminds her of the personalized item she (really A.D.) asked them to put on hold for the donor. Alison is confused, and then holds up a necklace with block letters on it that spell out: "Emily." She remembers that Emily donated her eggs and then realizes that the baby is not biologically hers. She panics and almost faints and then asks the cashier where the puzzle piece is. She's confused as she doesn't know what Ali is talking about. Ali goes through the store frantically looking for it while taking objects down. She eventually finds it haning on a crib mobile, and takes it.
Aria finds a black car with the rear passenger door open. She gets in and Sydney reveals herself as an A.D. team member. Aria questions why Sydney is doing this as the girls barely know her. She also questions if it has anything to do with Jenna to which Sydney denies this. Aria then questions why Sydney is letting Aria see her now. Sydney says it's because she's desperate and she can use that. Sydney questions Aria if she really wants out. Aria admits she wants out of the game and all of it. Sydney questions if the Liars know she's meeting her. Aria says they do not. Aria checks her phone ans sees two texts from Ali and 3 missed calls. She puts her phone away and Sydney asks the driver to take the scenic route.
Ted tells Hanna he's Charlotte's father
At Lucas' loft, Ted has arrived to talk to Hanna. Hanna gives Ted a beer and he tells her that he lied to her about not seeing Mary. He tells her that she spend the last two nights on his sofa.
Back with Aria and Sydney, Aria questions how she gets out of the game. Sydney tells her there is no out, she can only join the winning team. Aria questions if she wants her to join in on torturing her friends. Aria goes to press the privacy screen button, but Sydney warns against it and informs her that leaving Alison alone and coming there was an important step to earning A.D.'s trust, but she still has a long way to go and a decision to make. Aria questions why Sydney is back helping Jenna and A.D. again. Sydney tells her that it's not fun being on the losing team.
Back with Hanna and Ted, Ted informs Hanna that Mary came back to tell him they have a child together, and that child was Charlotte DiLaurentis. Ted shows Hanna a photo of Charles and another boy, he says that 15 years ago he ran a camp for troubled boys and Charles was a camper there. Ted describes Charles as being soft spoken, sweet and smarter than the other kids. Hanna questions if Ted knows the other boy in the photo. Ted says his name was Luke or Lucas. Hanna questions if it's Lucas Gottesman. Ted questions if Hanna knows him and Hanna tells him that Ted is sitting on his couch.
Back at Alison's house, Alison informs Emily that the baby is not biologically hers and Emily's eggs were used to impregnate her. Emily tells her that it may not be true, but Alison knows it to be true as she remembers the procedure happening.
Peter tells Spencer that Mary killed Jessica and tried to frame him
Spencer arrives back at the Hastings household and Peter questions why Spencer was looking for Mary as his P.I. made him aware of her search. Spencer becomes mad at him considering he's been lying to her about her life since she was born. Peter tells Spencer that there are things about Mary that Spencer doesn't understand. Spencer gives him an ultimatum: she will walk away and won't ever come back, or he'll have to tell her what he's so afraid of about Mary. Peter tells her that the last time he saw Mary was when Spencer came back from rehab (in "Cover For Me"). We see a flashback of Mary looking at Spencer while she's looking out of Alison's window. Mary leaves as Veronica enters Spencer's room. Mary goes downstairs to leave, but Peter is in the kitchen. He realizes it's Mary and not Jessica and Mary tells him that she just wanted to see what Spencer looked like. Spencer questions, "she wanted to see me?" Peter corrects her "she wanted revenge." Peter says that Mary was unhinged, Jessica told her that Charles was dead, He says she found out that Charles transitioned into Charlotte and was alive. Mary wanted revenge, wanted Jessica dead, but Peter wouldn't help so she turned on him. She killed Jessica with his heart pills and buried her in the Hastings' back yard to frame him. Spencer realizes it means Peter knew about Charlotte before the dollhouse happened. Peter admits this and says he wouldn't let anything like that happen to her again. Peter tells her that he can live with Spencer hating him for that, but begs Spencer to let him protect her.
The girls wait for the game to land on Aria
Spencer and Hanna arrive at Alison's house; they're updated on Alison and Emily's situation. Hanna offers them tea, but they decline. Aria arrives and Emily is mad at her for abandoning Alison when she needed her. Spencer informs Aria that A.D. stole Emily's eggs from the donation bank, fertilized them and then used them to impregnate Alison. Spencer tells them that no one can imagine how confused and violated they feel and that Aria's turn is up next and they need to stick together. The game board starts up and the girls (except Alison) head over to it. The game starts deciding and it skips Aria and goes to Hanna. The girls are confused, Emily says it's supposed to land on Aria. Aria doesn't inform the girls that she asked for an "out," and pretends she doesn't know what's going on. Spencer says that Hanna might be getting a do-over because she didn't get her puzzle piece. Hanna shouts that she shouldn't get a do-over because her turn ended her career. Aria tries to calm her down telling her it will be okay, but Hanna shouts that it's not okay. Emily says that it's broken. Alison walks over and tells them the game is not broken. It knows exactly what it's doing. Hanna walks out and the girls follow her, Aria gets a text from A.D. as they all leave. A.D. aska if Aria has made a decision yet.
Notes
- This episode marks Ted's first appearance since "The Melody Lingers On."
- Detective Furey tells Ali that he received one of Archer's decomposing fingers and reveals the investigation is now ruled a homicide.
- Peter tells Spencer about the last time he saw Mary Drake: Mary (dressed up like Jessica) sneaked into the Hasting's residence and went to Spencer's bedroom so she could see her daughter all grown up. He also reveals that Mary killed Jessica for revenge for hiding that Charles was alive the whole time and that he had become Charlotte; he also knew about Charlotte's existence at that time.
- Ted reveals to Hanna that he's Charle's/Charlotte's biological father, and also reveals that Lucas was Charles' friend when they were younger.
- Alison remembers that A.D. usd Emily's eggs they stole to get her pregnant while she was a patient at Welby State.
- Sydney is confirmed to be working for A.D., and she tries to recruit Aria. She also claims that she's the one who shot Spencer and rescued Jenna in "The DArkest Knight" before Aria realizes she's wearing an earpiece.
- It's revealed that Mary Drake was in Spencer's bedroom in Cover For Me; not Jessica.
Title and Background
- The title was revealed by I. Marlene King on Twitter.[2]
- There are two definitions for the phrase Power Play: tactics exhibiting or intended to increase a person's power or influence. As well as, tactics in a team sport involving the concentration of players at a particular point.
- The title possibly refers to Aria's arrangement with A.D. to win the board game.
Main Cast
- Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings
- Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin
- Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery
- Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields
- Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal (credited only)
- Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis
Supporting Cast
- Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz
- Andrea Parker as Mary Drake
- Lindsey Shaw as Paige McCullers
- Nolan North as Peter Hastings
- Nicholas Gonzalez as Marco Furey
- Chloe Bridges as Sydney Driscoll
- Edward Kerr as Ted Wilson
- Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings (flashback only)
Trivia
- The table read for this episode occurred on August 3rd, 2016.[3]
- Filming for this episode began on August 5th, 2016[4] and wrapped on August 15th, 2016.[5]
- This is Lijah J. Barasz & Roger Kumble's last episode for the show.
- The episode's official press release was made public on April 21st, 2017.[1]
- The intro in this episode features Alison doing the 'Shhh'.
- The episode was watched by 0.91 million viewers on its original broadcast.
Featured Music
- "Don't Let Me Go (Acoustic)" by RAIGN - (Ezra returns to the apartment, where Aria informs him that Nicole is asleep upstairs and that she'll have a lot of questions about their relationship when she awakens)
- "Someday" by Banta - (Hanna talks to Lucas on the phone about the investors' meeting; Hanna gives Emily a better shirt to wear for work and Emily tells her about her night following Sydney then reassures her about not finishing her turn in the game)
- "She's Broken" by Billie Eilish - (At The Brew, Ezra explains to Aria how Nicole came to be at their place then promises, that she knows of their engagement and that she'll be gone in a few so they can return back to normal lives soon)
- "My Love" by The Bird and the Bee - (Emily and Paige race to decide if Paige should go to Iowa or not; Paige stops and informs Emily that she already decided to stay and they kiss)
- "Devil Devil" by MILCK - (The girls watch as the game begins to decide who's turn it is now then it leads on Hanna to play again; Aria receives a text from A.D. asking if she has made a decision yet)
Gallery
 Power Play has a photo gallery. |
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