WOW. Pretty Little Liars' mid-season finale last night was a doozy!
Here's what you've missed.
So, a few weeks back, we were introduced to Ravenswood, as Toby and Spencer came to find Mrs. Grunwald, one of the many people Alison De Laurentiis, has encountered before her mysterious disappearance. The gang came back this week to visit her and get some answers about Alison's past and CeCe Drake's involvement with all of this (as Red Coat/A).
But before that, the episode opens with news about the real killer of the late evil Detective Wilden. Last week, Travis came to the police to help clear Ashley Marin's name. He told them that Hanna's mom had already fled the scene that time when Wilden was shot, making it impossible for her to be the killer.
Spencer gets a package from the mail, containing four Magic 8 Balls with their names written on it. It says,
Hanna: IF SHE GOES FREE
Spencer: YOU'LL HEAR FROM ME
Emily: KISSES
Aria: A
Is this the start of World War A?
In class, Mr. Fitz discusses Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest, all the while looking at Aria with his super cute puppy-dog eyes as if his love and Aria's were like of Miranda and Ferdinand's. Aaaaand then the bell rings. Ezra calls on Aria to stay for a bit to have "a minute of your time". He thanks Aria for being there for him that time when Ezra needed her. Aria then tells him that she was glad to be there for him... as a friend. (Oooooh... Ouch!)
Meanwhile, at the precinct, Travis told the police that Ashley is NOT the person who shot Wilden. As Ashley, Hanna and Caleb wait for the decision of the DA, Ashley thanks Caleb for taking care of Hanna while she's in jail. How she was less worried about Hanna because she knows that her daughter is with Caleb. Caleb tells her that he admires how Ashley handled everything, without even breaking, though she never deserved any of the hardships that happened to her. And that he now knows where Hanna gets that "never settle" attitude of hers. The DA, Sidney Barnes (guest star Marcia Clark--yes, THE Marcia Clark, head prosecutor from the OJ Simpson murder trial!), comes over to Ashley to tell her that all charges have been dropped and that the real killer has finally been identified. Caleb nods a "thank you" to Travis for helping them out, as Travis nods back a "you're welcome".
Ashley leaves the girls to go on a date with Pastor Ted. Moments later, they hear a doorbell. Hanna gets the door thinking that her mom must have forgotten her keys, but instead sees another package from A. It was a coffin with a Mona doll in it. They get a text saying, "Hanna won, so Mona loses. Find her before the cops or they'll think you killed her. -A"
Hanna tries to track down Mona by calling Radley, while everyone watches the news and sees the sketch of the new murder suspect at the Wilden case--CeCe Drake. Hanna tells everyone that Mona has already been released from Radley. Spencer decides to call Wren, while Emily goes back to school with Paige, to check if Mona is there since it's French Club Friday. Aria decides on cancelling her date with Jake, but Hanna disagrees. She tells Aria to "keep Jet Li as close as you can" for protection from CeCe.
Hanna tells Caleb that she'll be out to find Mona. Caleb tries to stop her as he thinks that this is probably just some master plan that Mona is involved in. But Hanna thinks that if Mona is with CeCe, Mona is in danger, since they already know what CeCe is capable of after killing Wilden.
Spencer drops by to check Wren's place and finds no one home. All there is in the house are luggages and some packed stuff. As she leaves the porch, she sees Jenna's car outside Wren's house. She looks back and notices someone peeking through the window, then quickly hides upon noticing that Spencer has spotted her. It was Shana.
Back at school, Paige and Emily drops by the French Club and asks Jackie (Jacqueline) about Mona. She tells her that she's still not there, although they were expecting her as it was suppose to be her Welcome Back party at the French Club.
At Toby's place, he reminisces while looking at his old stuff--well his mom's actually and starts to well up. He gets a text from Spencer, asking him to call her. He dismisses it and goes at the coffee shop downstairs where he finds Shana. She was in a hurry filling up a bunch of papers. As she leaves, she accidentally drops one of the papers. Toby comes over and finds an address on a consignment for an international waybill with Wren's Rosewood address on it AND Wren's London address with Melissa Hastings as the "care of" addressee. He quickly calls Spencer and leaves a message that they need to talk.
Toby and Spencer inspect the consignment note while watching the news about CeCe's involvement in Wilden's death. Spencer tries to think of a connection between Shana and Wren. Toby says he doesn't know, but he thinks Spencer's ex-boyfriend is moving in with his ex-fiance, Melissa. Notice how Toby emphasizes on the "ex-boyfriend". Haha!
Spencer talks to Toby about him shutting her out after their fight the night before, at the hoedown. Toby says he had some thinking to do that's why he wouldn't answer her calls and texts. Spencer tells him how worried she was considering what happened to her after that time when she thought Toby was killed by A. That he could just have sent her a text saying he wants space, just so she wouldn't worry that much. Toby apologizes and tells her that when he used to feel like the walls are closing in, he would take off. But this time, he stayed for her. He tells her that she was right. That last night, he tried to break in Palmer's car and realizes that he's so desperate to get close to A. Spencer says that she doesn't want him to stop looking for answers about his mom's death. But Toby replies that he "doesn't want A's version of the truth." That it's not worth finding out.
Caleb and Hanna's having a stakeout at Mona's. At the car, the two of them discuss how Hanna thinks Mona really meant well when she stuck up her head for Hanna's mom. Caleb also tries to convince her that if Mona is really in trouble, it's not Hanna's fault.
Since Aria's date was a bust, she heads on to The Brew to check out the contemporary poet. She finds Ezra there and she asks about the reading. Ezra replies that one of the poems remind him of Aria's story about her lost cat. That he thinks it was about Aly. She confesses that she didn't realize it at first, but that it was indeed about her. The two sat down for a coffee and talked. Aria kisses Ezra, and pulls away quickly. Outside, Red Coat--CeCe watches them.
Hanna worries about Mona, and the girls get another package from A. They find a box that seems to be empty. But Spencer figures out that it was actually a "magic" box. They find a saw inside with a message saying, "Watch me make a girl disappear. Kisses, -A". Spencer tells them that A is not playing a game on them, but putting on a magic show and that they're a part of her act. She thinks that A will make Mona disappear forever. The girls look for a nearby magic show and learns that the nearest one is on Ravenswood.
Meanwhile at the Vanderwaal's Toby sends Caleb home taking his shift on waiting for Mona. He later finds Jenna's car racing out of Mona's place with Shana driving it. He tails the car, leading him to a bed and breakfast East of Rosewood. There he finds Shana meeting a very comfy Mona, knitting on its front porch.
At Ravenswood, the girls watch The Great Charlemagne at a magic show. He later on asks for Aria to assist him on a magic trick. While watching, they didn't notice A taking Emily. They receive a text from A, "Leger de main. Kisses Bitches, -A". Spencer translates the text as "slight of hand". A took Emily while the girls were watching Aria.
By the time they called her, they could hear a saw in the background and they race to save Emily. As they step out of the park, they saw Red Coat running towards where Emily is. They hurry to save her when Red Coat stops the saw. They then find two Red Coats. Aria follows CeCe Red Coat while Spencer trails the other, as Hanna helps Emily get out of the box.
Aria gets into a fight with CeCe, aaaand uses for the first time her combat training with Jake (you go Aria!). CeCe holds on to a rope to escape from Aria, but the rope tore. She tries to save CeCe, but CeCe's sleeve ripped, causing her to fall. As Spencer, Emily and Hanna helps out a shaken Aria, CeCe escapes.
Spencer tells Emily, Hanna and Aria that she thinks the other Red Coat was Aly. That she wanted Spencer to follow her so she could show the girls where A's lair is at Ravenswood. They find out that A has been documenting their every move, and that A had access to everything, from the police to their alarm systems. Little did they know that they were being watched.
Hanna tries to crack A's password, but fails. Caleb tells her that he'll on the next bus to Ravenswood. Spencer finds A's bank account and finds out that A formed a corporation. She thinks that CeCe, though, is just another person in A's payroll. Hanna opens a closet and finds it full of men's coat--that A is actually a guy. Emily finds an album full of Aly's photos and Em remembers the clothes that Aly was wearing from the photo. She remembered that Aly bought it for her date with the older guy. The girls speculated that it was Ian or Wren, but Aria notices on one of the boards that it couldn't be Wren as he, too, was also being watched. They then speculated it has something to do with Board Shorts.
As Aria checks the other side of the board, she finds out that A has been following Aly as well. They realize that Aly is still alive as they notice that A has been trailing Aly to Ravenswood. At one of the posts, they find a flyer for a party for that night at the cemetery. They think A is expecting Alison to be there.
Outside, they find Mrs. Grunwald and warns them about how dangerous it is to chase after Aly. She apologizes to Spencer for lying as she is trying to protect her. She tells her about how afraid Aly was of A. She tells her that Mrs. Grunwald had the "gift of insight". She was using it then to help Alison to see who was threatening her. That night when she went missing, Mrs. Grunwald drove to Rosewood and found Aly reaching for life. She saved her and tried to bring her to a nearby hospital, but as she ran in to get help, she returned to an empty car. Meaning, Aly's still alive. That she was NEVER really gone. But that she doesn't want to be found just yet. She tells the girls to leave Ravenswood. That they are being watched by A, so they could lead him straight to Alison. Mrs. Grunwald leaves, warning them that "he's here".
The girls plan to crash the party at the cemetery. As they enter a shop, someone from the shadows emerge. It was A.
At his lair, it was then revealed that A is Ezra Fitz, furious that the girls have finally discovered his lair. Last scene of the episode shows Ezra wearing the steam punk costume that the girls found at one of the photos at the board.
***Pretty Little Liars will return this fall, October 22, on ABC Family.
