Covering their trAcks. Elliott may be dead, but the trouble on Pretty Little Liars is only beginning. As Hanna (Ashley Benson), Aria (Lucy Hale), Emily (Shay Mitchell), Spencer (Troian Bellisario) and Ali (Sasha Pieterse) tried to cover their crime in the Tuesday, July 12, episode, they were forced to deal with cheating, lying and one character’s shocking return.
WhAt to Do, WhAt to Do?
The episode opened with Aria, Emily and Spencer digging Elliott’s grave. Aria pleaded that they should go to the police, but was quickly shut down by Emily and Spencer, who said that no one would believe them. After six seasons of these girls literally always being the victims, it might be time for Rosewood PD to start listening, but more on that later.
Memory Lane
As Spencer, Hanna and Emily cleaned themselves off, Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) came to the door to try to recover his relationship with Spencer. As you may recall, the last time they spoke he tried to blame kissing Hanna while he was dating Spencer on the fact that it felt like they were in a time warp. Needless to say, it didn’t end well.
When Spencer refused to unchain the door, Caleb began an emotional speech in which he detailed a romantic night they spent in Washington D.C., unaware that Hanna was standing 10 feet away, sobbing. In case worrying about killing the man who was torturing her best friend wasn’t enough, Hanna had to end her night by listening to the ex she’s (possibly) (probably) still in love with profess his love for her best friend.
The Truth Comes Out
Ali and Aria went back to the mental institution in order to sneak Ali back in. Once Ali was safely in her bed, Aria finally asked if she was the one who killed Charlotte. Ali explained that she and Charlotte got into a fight on the night of her murder because Charlotte found out that Ali and Elliott were together. At Charlotte’s request, Ali left Charlotte alone in the church, where she was killed.
Hot Hookup
Before they set their part of the plan into action, Spencer sat at Emily’s bar, talking about her sadness over Caleb. “I know it’s not easy with an ex,” she said in reference to Toby (Keegan Allen) and his recent engagement. When Emily’s shift ended, Spencer decided to stay at the bar because drinking alone while wondering if your current boyfriend loves his ex-girlfriend, and also thinking about your ex-boyfriend’s new fiancée will probably (read: never) end well. Within seconds, Spencer received a drink from a regulation hottie (Nicholas Gonzalez) at the other end of the bar. After some initial hesitation, Spencer sat and flirted with the man until she decided she had to go — to, you know, handle that whole hiding-a-dead-body thing.
After a sexual tension-filled check dance, the two end up going into the elevator, where Spencer pushed the “stop” button used for emergencies, such as making out with sexy strangers. After a few moments of what was arguably one of the hottest hookups in PLL history, Spencer caught a glimpse of her reflection and decided she had to go. If this show has taught us anything, it’s that if one of the Liars hooks up with a random hot guy in a bar, he will probably be back (looking at you, #Ezria).
Missing Piece
Hanna and Aria went back to the woods to find the car. The thing about the woods is that nothing good ever happens there, and these ladies need to stop going into them alone. Sure enough, they found that the car was missing. After a few minutes of sheer panic, they saw the car pull up next to them — being driven by Mona (Janel Parish), who seemed to actually want to help the Liars as she pointed out that they needed to find Elliott’s burner phone.
Guess Who’s bAck
The next day, Aria, Mona, Spencer, Hanna and Emily went to brunch, as you do when you’re plotting how to cover up an elaborate crime. As they began to discuss who could possibly be working with Elliott, Jenna (Tammin Sursok) walked in. She said that she came back to celebrate Toby’s engagement, which seemed odd because of that whole step-sibling romantic-jealousy plot line between them in season 1, but who’s counting? After dropping enough specific details about the girls’ current lives to make it clear she’s been keeping tabs on them, Jenna says she’ll pay Ali a visit to “return the favor from so long ago.”
Hanna and Spencer had a moment away from the mimosas and Bloody Marys to talk about Caleb. Hanna told Spencer to go to Caleb and tell him about last night — meaning, of course, about the murder, and not the fact that Spencer secretly cheated on Caleb with the mysterious guy in the bar. Spencer went to Caleb’s but found him, and all of his belongings, gone.
Later, Mona and Hanna had a heart-to-heart about Hanna’s broken engagement when Hanna realized she’d left her bracelet in Elliott’s car. For girls who seem to always be covering up crimes, we would think they’d have some kind of checklist for these things by now: phone, keys, money, anything that could possibly trace their DNA to a murder. You know, the basics. They returned to the car and got her bracelet — and found Elliott’s burner phone. They answered the phone and heard, of course, Jenna on the other end, asking for “Archer.”
Not Quite Out of the Woods
Aria and Emily went to visit Ali and saw Toby with the police. He informed them that the real Dr. Elliott Rollins had been dead for 15 years and promised that “the truth will come out.” In Ali’s room, Mary Drake (Andrea Parker) hovered over Ali’s bed. When Ali reached for the button to call a nurse, Mary grabbed her hand and said, “No need to call for the nurse, dear, I’m in charge now.”
Tell Us: Can the Liars can trust Jenna?
Pretty Little Liars airs on Freeform Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
