Single Fright Female

“	This girl once tried to drown you - I don't think that was a love dunk.	”
	— Spencer

Single Fright Female

Season: 3

Episode: 11

Information

Airdate

August 21, 2012

Written by

Oliver Goldstick & Maya Goldsmith

Directed by

Joanna Kerns

Episode Guide
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What Lies Beneath	The Lady Killer

Single Fright Female is the eleventh episode of Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars. It aired on August 21, 2012, on ABC Family.

Synopsis[]

The episode opens with Hanna trying to find clothes that will cover up her knife wound, so she doesn't have to explain to Ashley. Then she ignores a phone call from Wren, and Spencer wants to know what's going on. Spencer asks if Hanna is falling for Wren, but Hanna says she's not. Ted drops by to tell Ashley that he found a flash drive in one of the church pews. One of the videos shows the girls talking in a bedroom. Spencer and Hanna are listening from the stairs, and they realize that these are the N.A.T. videos Spencer threw to get away from Ian (in "For Whom the Bell Tolls"). Hanna tries to take the flash drive, but Ashley catches her. Ashley asks Hanna who recorded the video. Hanna says it was Mona and wants the drive back, but Ashley plans to keep it and possibly hand it in to the police.

Ezra tells Aria he's written an email to Maggie, but is worried he shouldn't send it. Ezra is scared of what Maggie's life is like now, but he doesn't think it's fair of him to interfere in her life. Emily tells Paige about kissing Nate. She believes it makes sense given their relationship to Maya and the emotion involved. At school, Aria tells Spencer she wishes she had a way to get in touch with Maggie. Spencer says it's none of Aria's business. Spencer sees CeCe and wonders what she's doing at school. CeCe is upset that Spencer completely forgot about a trunk show for her boutique that she was supposed to help with that night. Spencer apologizes and says she'll get her friends to help. CeCe calls Paige "Pigskin" and tells Spencer that Paige and Alison didn't like each other, that Alison would be appalled if she knew Paige and Emily were dating. Spencer flashes back to the girls noticing a massive bruise on the back of Alison's neck. She tells them a "psychotic" girl named Pigskin kicked her when she fell in soccer, and she is planning her revenge. Hanna asks Caleb for advice in the computer lab. She's wondering if she should try and take the drive from her mom. He advises against her trying to steal the drive. Jenna walks over to Hanna and sees her chatting with Caleb. She says other people need to use the computers and that Hanna's time is up.

Nate asks Emily if she wants to go out for dinner and a movie. She cuts him off, saying she wants them to be friends. Visibly upset, he tells Emily that he recalls Maya giving the same speech to "20 different guys." Aria pays Maggie, who is a teacher, a visit at her school. Aria says her name is Amy. Spencer asks Emily about Paige's history with Alison. Emily is upset Spencer is suggesting a dark side to Paige, and eventually yells at her. We see that someone has been eavesdropping on them. Hanna tells Jenna about the flash drive and the fact that it might end up with the police. Nate tells Hanna about Emily blowing him off, after "leading [him] on". Hanna says that Emily doesn't play games, unlike Jenna. Hanna lets slip that she had been faking being blind. Nate then yells at Jenna that he knows she can see him. Jenna ignores him.

Aria tells Maggie she's there because she's interested in being a teacher like her. One of the boys in her class, Malcolm, is her seven-year-old son. She tells Aria she was a teen mother, and Aria looks stunned. CeCe isn't thrilled that Spencer is without any of her friends. The topic of Paige and Alison comes up again. CeCe flashes back to Alison telling CeCe that she's been toying with Paige's feelings by anonymously sending her love letters under Emily's name. They spot Paige leaving a note in reply. Alison takes the note and threatens to tell Paige's father that she's gay. Paige yells at her to give it back, but Ali says, "I own you now." Alison walks away, looking slightly frightened, and barks at CeCe to drive when she gets in the car.

Spencer asks CeCe what Alison did with the letter. CeCe admits she probably did nothing, but also says that she always thought Alison was a little bit scared of Paige. While studying, Emily asks Paige about Alison. Paige says she barely knew Alison. Paige asks whether or not Emily should be questioning her friends, as Emily was the only one who was poisoned amongst the girls That Night. Emily says, "I trust these girls with my life." Paige says Emily's right, but thinks she should spend some more time with them. Aria runs into Ezra's brother, Wesley. She tells him about seeing Maggie, saying that she wanted to make sure Ezra was okay with how Maggie was doing. She tells him about Malcolm and wonders why Maggie wouldn't have told Ezra that he has a son.

While helping at CeCe's trunk show, Spencer sends a text to Hanna saying they need to talk about Paige. Her message won't go through, and we see the door being locked. There is now a snake in the room. Spencer bangs on the door as the creature tries to bite her, but nobody hears. She's let out just in the nick of time by CeCe. CeCe hits the snake over the head. Spencer tells Hanna about the snake and is starting to think Paige might be behind it, because Spencer mentioned the word "snake" when she was talking to Emily about Paige. Spencer also thinks Paige might be "A". She thinks Paige's obsession with Emily may have led her to kill Maya and Ali. Emily calls Hanna, saying she can't find the knife in Maya's bag. Emily suggests they may have dropped it at Noel's cabin. Spencer thinks Paige might have stolen it from Emily, because "who needs to sneak in when you're invited?"

Aria asks Wesley how she could go an entire weekend without telling Ezra about Malcom. Wesley says that this won't change anything between her and Ezra, but Aria is worried this might ruin their relationship. Hanna and Spencer return to help CeCe, who assures them the snake problem has been taken care of. CeCe tells Hanna to get changed in the dressing room. Spencer mentions Emily is coming to which CeCe is delighted about. When she leaves, Hanna tells Spencer that Emily is coming but that she may not stay. Caleb surprises Hanna in the dressing room. He talked to Ashley and thinks he might have convinced her not to turn the drive over to the police. Hanna tells him there may be a new person they should fear.

1134 — Spencer wants to pick through Paige's bag

Ezra comes home; Aria tells him she invited Wesley to stay for dinner to help celebrate his birthday. Ezra tells them he called Maggie and that she seemed great. Maggie told him she lives alone. Emily arrives at the trunk show with Paige. While Emily tries on a dress, Paige and Spencer talk alone. Paige says being with Emily has made her feel more confident and tells Spencer she'd like to make a fresh start with her and the girls. At Ezra's house, Wesley suggests that his mom is paying Maggie to keep quiet about Malcolm. Aria wants Wesley to talk to his mother. Spencer tells Hanna about the talk with Paige and wonders if perhaps the knife is in her bag. They snag it and quickly look through. Just as Emily comes out of the dressing room, they turn around, concealing the bag. Emily notices, takes the bag, and leaves with Paige. Spencer shows Hanna something in her hand and says they got the proof they needed.

Paige and Emily talk on the front porch. Paige comes clean about Alison torturing her for years and begins to cry. Paige says she became suicidal, but ultimately didn't want to let Alison win. Ashley tells Hanna, "I'm going to take care of it," and puts the drive into the disposal. Part of the reason is that there was a video of her and Detective Wilden on there. The doorbell rings as Ted is there for their date. He thinks they should give the flash drive to the police. Hanna saves her mother by taking credit for destroying it. Spencer shows Aria the proof from Paige's bag - the other earring from Ali's grave. She thinks Paige dug up the grave and may, in fact, be "A". Paige leaves Emily on the porch to wash her face. While she's gone, Jenna walks over to Emily and says, "I need to talk to you about your friend." When Jenna realizes that Emily isn't alone, she cryptically warns her to be very careful who she spends her time with. "Very careful." Emily watches, confused, as Jenna gets into a cab. While she's distracted, Paige declines a call from Spencer on Emily's phone.

In the last scene, a black-gloved "A" maneuvers a jukebox. They hand the key to Room A to another black-gloved "A". This suggests that "A" is more than one person.

Notes[]

Maggie kept the baby. He is seven years old and a student in Maggie's first-grade class. His name is Malcolm. That would make Ezra 25.
Spencer finds the other earring that Aria was given in Paige's bag.
2 "A"s are seen together at the end of the episode as one gives the other the room key to room A.
Jenna may have left town in this episode.
The knife found in Maya's bag was lost or stolen and hasn't been found.
This is the second time Aria has pretended to have a different name. She once said that her name was Anita in a class at Hollis, and now, she said that her name was Amy to get close to Maggie.
This is the first appearance of Maggie.
Toby has most likely joined the A team.

Continuity[]

Ted informs Ashley he found videos on a thumb drive (Which are N.A.T videos that Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery, and Emily Fields discovered in "Monsters in the End"). Spencer threw it to get away from Ian in the church; the girls thought Ian picked it up.
Jenna's line about never having a problem with her ears is a reference to Hanna's memorable words, "Jenna can't hear us. She's blind!" from episode 8 of season 2, "Save the Date". So, apparently, she was pretty aware of the girls' presence outside of her window.
Ashley volunteers the information that she did, in fact, sleep with Darren Wilden way back in "The First Secret".
Spencer makes a reference to Paige trying to drown Emily, and we learn about Paige's backstory with Ali, which gives a lot more context to that incident.

Title[]

The title is a reference to the 1992 erotic thriller film, Single White Female. The movie is about a woman named Hedra who eventually becomes obsessed with her roommate, Allie, to the point where she begins to pose as her. It is discovered that Hedra's real name is Ellen and that she suffers from loneliness due to her stillborn twin, but in reality, she actually killed her twin when they were 9 years old, and tried to kill her roommate, who was breaking up with her.

The title of this episode could be a reference to Paige, as she appears to be the only person in the series so far whom Alison was visibly afraid of.

Main Cast[]

Supporting Cast[]

Co-Starring[]

Flynn Morrison as Malcolm Cutler

Featured Music[]

"Does Anybody Know" by Us and Our Daughters (Emily tells Paige about kissing Nate)
"Speakeasy" by Anya Marina (Hanna and Spencer hang out in Hanna's bedroom)
"New Game" by Margot B. (a snake attacks Spencer in the fitting room)
"Starlight" by Jasmine Ash
"Soul Killing" by The Ting Tings
"Turn It Up" by Meghan Oliver
"Fire Escape" by Civil Twilight (Spencer and Hanna go through Paige's bag)
"She's Gonna Set Him Free" by Bosshouse
"Smiling Faces Sometimes" by The Undisputed Truth (one "A" hands a key to another "A")

Gallery[]

Single Fright Female has a photo gallery.

Memorable Quotes[]

Hanna [about the knife]: The only thing we dropped, Emily, was a pound of my flesh.

Spencer [to Emily, about Paige]: This girl once tried to drown you - I don't think that was a love dunk.

Aria [to Wesley]: You and I were learning fractions when this kid was born!

Maggie: I was a teen mom way before it was a reality show.

Wesley: Dude, you are getting old - what are we listening to, Hootie and the Blowfish?

Spencer [to Hanna, about Wren]: Look, I know that he can be persuasive. The dimples, the accent--
Hanna: Okay, can we not talk about this?
Spencer: You are not the first girl to fall for "Downton Grabby!"

Ali [about the bruise]: Yeah, I fell down in soccer and Pigskin kicked me.
Aria: Who's Pigskin?
Ali: She's just this freakazoid in my gym class. Don't worry, it won't happen again.
Hanna: Wait, is that the girl who threw that muffin at you?
Ali: No, that's Triple Nipple. She's harmless.

Ali [about Pigskin]: Once I'm done with that no-neck bitch, she won't even exist.