That Girl is Poison is the fifth episode of Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars. It aired on July 10, 2012.
Synopsis[]
Garret's mother is wheeled out on a stretcher
Spencer, Aria and Emily are taking an evening stroll on the scenic sidewalks of Rosewood. They consider going to Hanna's house with takeout, who is still brooding over her break-up with Caleb, when suddenly, they hear sirens. A police car and ambulance pull up to Garrett's house; Mrs. Reynolds is rolled out on a stretcher.
Aria sees an "A"-shaped shadow
Aria does the side-eye and spots somebody in a hoodie watching from the shadows. She tells Emily and Spencer, but by the time they look, "A" is gone. They suspect "A" hurt Mrs. Reynolds to get her out of the house.
The next day, Ezra is outside Lucky Leon's, buying a newspaper. Aria gets him takeout from the restaurant. He tries to pay her for the food, but she refuses. Ezra doesn't seem to appreciate the gesture. She tries to explain, but Ezra cuts her off, saying he has to go to an interview, and heads towards his car. But before Aria gets in the car, she sees Lucas banging on a storefront. He starts screaming, "Please! Just give me back my stuff!"
At school, Emily spots Paige and asks her if she wants to go the movies. Paige is surprised that Emily is asking her, since she thought Emily had been avoiding her. Emily insists that it’s been her own issues keeping her from her social life. Emily then spots Jenna sauntering down the hallway in a shower of congratulations from her peers. Seeing the surprised look on her face, Paige explains that she had more surgery before school, and now she can see. Emily and Jenna exchange glances.
At the Marin household, Hanna is still moping over Caleb. He won't return her texts. Ashley tries to console her, and to get her mind off Caleb, she wants Hanna to help her sort clothes for a church rummage sale the following night. Hanna pretends to leave for school, but comes back inside the house the minute her mother goes out the door.
Jenna hands out invitations to the Liars
Emily and Spencer stare at Jenna and wonder what made her reveal her sight. They then discuss Aria's text. Apparently, she told them she saw Lucas banging on the doors of a photography studio which is on the same block she and Hanna saw him the night Ali's body went missing. So, they suspect Lucas of taking those photos in the graveyard. Then, Spencer drops another bomb: Garrett's being allowed out of jail to see his mother. Emily's livid, but Spencer thinks "A" put Garrett's mom in the hospital so he could get out of jail. While they're talking, Jenna approaches them with envelopes to invite them to her birthday party. Spencer confronts her saying they had a deal, but Jenna says she wants to be in control of what happens to her.
Jenna and her party photographer
Emily's at work at The Brew, where Jenna is sitting nearby. Emily's boss asks her to work during Jenna's party, despite her being a guest. Emily serves Jenna who introduces her to Laurel, who will be taking photos at the party. Emily overhears Laurel talk about her firing her assistant because she caught him stealing equipment. Suddenly, Nate rushes in and makes a scene about Garrett getting out. Emily reassures him that Garrett will be with the cops and that his mother is very ill, but he doesn’t care. Emily has to get back to work, so she asks him to stay for sometime. He spots Jenna, who grins at him.
Spencer advises Aria not to baby Ezra too much. Ezra texts her that he's been invited to Jenna's party. Spencer questions the purpose of Jenna's birthday party. She also wants to find out when Garrett is visiting the hospital so she can be there to see who he's really visiting. Emily has to cancel the movie date with Paige, but they'll see each other at the party. There's a lot of tension between the two. Paige spots Emily's flask. She assures Paige "I'm done with that."
Jenna flirting with Nate
Jenna starts flirting with Nate. Emily tells the girls about Laurel shooting the party and about Lucas. They speculate whether Lucas was the one who dug Alison up and whether there are ulterior motives for Jenna's party. Hanna begs Ashley to let her leave the rummage sale. No dice. Ashley runs into a man named Ted who is the volunteer coordinator. They appear to hit it off. Ezra is surprised Aria is interested in stopping by Jenna's party. He gives her an antique camera as a gift.
Spencer is spying on Garrett at the hospital, while giving Emily updates over the phone. Strangely, Garrett writes a card for his flowers, despite the fact his mother is in a coma. Spencer runs into Wilden, who doesn't buy her bogus story for being there: "You know what? You used to be a much better liar." While Paige and Emily talk, they see Nate walk in the door.
Hanna is alarmed by something she spots in the clothes pile. She stuffs what appears to be a jacket into her bag. Ted sees this and Hanna asks where the last bag came from. He doesn't know. She calls Spencer and tells them she found Emily's jacket from that night.
Paige adding booze to her drink.
Nate tells Emily about meeting Jenna the other night at The Brew. We see Paige appears to be adding booze from Emily's flask to her drink. Ezra and Aria arrive. Aria tells him that Laurel was her teacher during the photography lessons she took over the summer. Aria asks Laurel about the vintage camera Ezra gifted her. Laurel says if the camera works, it was very expensive. She also brings up the possibility of being Laurel's new assistant and hears that Lucas' camera bag is still in the studio. Paige appears to be jealous of Emily talking to Nate. Aria pours a drink on Laurel's equipment as part of her plan to get into her studio.
Spencer and Toby
Toby drops by Spencer's place. He has no plans to attend Jenna's party and she asks him to stay. She wonders how nobody else knew Jenna was faking for so long. Jenna told their parents she was scared her sight might not return, so she didn't tell them when she started seeing shadows.
Drunken Paige falls over and hits her head.
Ezra wants to leave, but Aria talks him into waiting a little bit longer. A drunken Paige starts embarrassing herself, eventually falling over and hitting her head. Emily and Nate take Paige to the hospital. Hanna meets her there and shows her the jacket. Hanna asks if Emily left the jacket in Jenna's car. Emily thinks "A" is responsible for it getting to the rummage sale and thinks maybe she saw more than just Jenna that night. Hanna leaves the hospital. Emily sees Wilden leave and immediately sends a text.
Ezra is getting angry that Aria keeps ditching him at the party. This leads to a discussion of money and he tells her he got a new job. Laurel spots her wet equipment and Aria offers to run to the studio and bring her back dry memory cards. Inside the studio Aria finds Lucas' equipment. While she looks through it we see a shadow pass. She pulls out some film bottles and leaves. Outside, she runs into Lucas who says, "I need to get inside." He initially won't let her pass, but Ezra pulls up and Lucas sprints off.
Spencer jumps into the elevator.
Nate asks Emily about her relationship with Paige. She says she dated her in between dating Maya. Spencer drops by and wants to go upstairs to the room where Garrett's mother is in. Nate goes after Garrett, but is held back by the police. During the commotion, Spencer sneaks into the elevator.
Paige after the accident
Paige comes out with a few stitches. She doesn't remember anything, but it turns out alcohol wasn't her problem. A tox screen found traces of a sleeping pill in her system. She gives a concerned-looking Emily back her flask.
Spencer finds the note
Spencer goes into Garrett mother's room and reads the card with the flowers. There's nothing suspicious on the card. But, underneath her hospital bracelet Spencer finds a note reading: "April Rose has the proof."
The pills used to drug Emily and now Paige.
Aria calls Emily and looks as she looks at the negatives. Emily looks up the drug from her flask and finds it's a sedative used to subdue aggressive patients and inmates. One of the side effects is memory loss; Emily realizes she was drugged that night. Aria finds three of those pills in Lucas' camera bag.
The final scene shows "A" going through a purse in which there are a creased picture of Emily and a prescription pill bottle that has Maya's name on it.
Notes[]
- In this episode, there were no text messages signed by "A."
- There were no Alison flashbacks.
- This is the second episode directed by Chad Lowe, the actor who plays Byron Montgomery.
- This is Paige’s first appearance in season 3.
Title[]
The title of this episode is taken from the 1990 song “Poison” by New Edition spin-off group Bell Biv DeVoe. Here are some of the lyrics:
Girl I must warn you
I sense something strange in my mind
Yeah situation is serious
Let's cure it 'cause we're running out of time
Mm mm tell 'em Rick it's all so beautiful
Relationships they seem from the start
Yeah mm mm it's all so deadly
When love is not together from the heart
Mm mm check it out
It's driving me out of my mind
That's why it's hard for me to find
Can't get it outta my head
Miss her, kiss her, love her, wrong move you're dead
That girl is poison!
Never trust a big butt and smile...
That girl is poison poison
Main Cast[]
- Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings
- Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin
- Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery
- Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields
Supporting Cast[]
- Lindsey Shaw as Paige McCullers
- Tammin Sursok as Jenna Marshall
- Bryce Johnson as Darren Wilden
- Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh
- Yani Gellman as Garrett Reynolds
- Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz
- Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin
- Sterling Sulieman as Nate St. Germain
- Melanie Mayron as Laurel Tuchman
- Edward Kerr as Ted Wilson
Co-Starring[]
- Michael Karman as Kevin
Featured Music[]
- "Speechless" by Morning Parade (Emily sees Jenna at The Brew planning her birthday party)
- "Show & Tell" by Sugar & The High Lows (Jenna talks to Nate at The Brew before her party)
- "Satellites" by Catcall (Emily talks to Paige after she arrives at Jenna's party)
- "Take Me Under" by Gentleman Hall (Emily and Nate talk at Jenna’s party and Paige spikes her drink)
- "Slipping Away" by Barcelona (Aria looks for Emily and Ezra tells Aria that he got a new job)
Gallery[]
 That Girl is Poison has a photo gallery. |
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Memorable Quotes[]
Spencer: Everytime you "baby squirrel" Ezra, you're taking away his nuts. Aria: You did not just say that. Spencer: I did...but I don't think I meant to. |
Toby [about Jenna]: I'll wait for the 'She's Leaving-Rosewood' party. Spencer: I'm gonna throw you that party. |
Ezra: What are you doing? You leave my lime alone! Aria: It's okay, I was just petting it. |
Jenna: It's beautiful. Nate: Thanks Jenna: Are you an architecture student? Nate: We'll see -- maybe someday Jenna: Do you ever draw people? Nate: I have. But they tend to look more like buildings. Jenna: I'm impressed. |
Jenna: I feel a lot safer when I am in charge of what happens to me. |
Emily (about going to Hanna's house to console her): Should we grab a pizza and go there? Spencer: Not unless the topping is Caleb. |