Pretty Little Liars Season 5 Episode 14 Recap: 'A' Stands For Alison -- Or Does It?
Rosewood just hasn't been the same since Mona Vanderwaal was murdered and shoved into the back of a car with a Baby Jesus doll as her only friend, and the time has come to find out who killed her. Actually, this is "Pretty Little Liars" we're talking about –– we'll probably never know who killed Mona.
The good news is that Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, Emily Fields and Hanna Marin have finally decided to fight back against Alison DiLaurentis, and they're on a mission to make her pay for Mona's death. The better news is that Ezra "Remember When I Stalked You, LOL!" Fitz manages not to wander down a staircase dressed as a Sexy Santa for his underage girlfriend during this episode. Apparently, he got that out of his system in the "Pretty Little Liars" Christmas special. With that in mind, it's time for our recap!
Emily Plants Evidence, Spencer's Freedom Hangs By A Thread, and Toby Remains Amusingly Terrible At Being A Policeman
It's been three months since Mona was murdered by A, and so much has happened. Ezra's remodeling his terrifying shack in the woods, Caleb's moved into his own apartment, Aria's taken to blowing an emergency whistle every time she sees Ali, and Mona's body still hasn't been found. Of course the PLLs are convinced that Ali killed her, and apparently the rest of the town is right there with them –– Mona's mom even slaps Ali across the face when she shows up uninvited to her funeral!
But there are more important things at hand then Mona's disappearance: Bethany Young's parents want Spencer's bail revoked in light of alarming new information about the night she died. Turns out Mrs DiLaurentis told Officer Darren Wilson that Spencer was trolling around her yard with a blonde dressed in Ali's clothes, but fear not –– Toby is on the case...kinda. Basically, he thinks Officer Wilson was paid off to hide Mrs DiLaurentis' statement, and because he's been a policeman for about five minutes we totally believe him.
In other news, Jason DiLaurentis is back in town, which means it's time for some real talk with Spencer–– who's convinced that he's lying about Ali's alibi. Turns out he's right: Ali was unaccounted for on Thanksgiving, but when Jason confronts her, Ali claims she's being framed. Poor Jason has 99 problems and his surplus of sisters is one.
Spencer Reunites with Jason, Every College In America Rejects Aria, and A Attacks
The key to Spencer's innocence is proving that Ali is a murderer, but the problem? Ali has an airtight alibi for the night Mona died: she was celebrating Thanksgiving with her family. The solution? Planting evidence. Emily and Spencer decide to sprinkle some of Ali's hair around Mona's house, but they discover hidden cameras while they're sleuthing around. Dun dun duuuuuun. Obviously, the recordings are handed over to the police, who immediately call in Jason to see if he can identify footage of a blonde girl attacking Mona. Which he most definitely does (pssst, he thinks it's Ali).
In other news, Aria's finally realized that there's life outside of Rosewood, and she's worried about the fact that she hasn't gotten into any colleges. She decides to pay a visit to Caleb Rivers, Rosewood's resident computer nerd / bad-boy (it's a rare breed), who teaches her how to hack into Oberlin's system. Unfortunately, Caleb's computer is stolen when A decides to go on a crazy rampage and attack Aria at Ezra's place –– attempting to asphyxiate her in the process. Sigh, making memories!
Oh, and speaking of Aria and Ezra, it's time for relationship updates from the liars and their significant others, most of whom are age appropriate (cough, we see you Ezra, cough). While Hanna and Caleb / Spencer and Toby seem just as in love as ever, we're slightly worried about Emily and Paige –– mostly because Paige is moving to California thanks to her parents realizing that Rosewood is a town full of murderers, sociopaths, and perverts. We'll miss you, lady!
Alison's Arrested and –– Wait For It –– A Returns
Now, for the moment you've been waiting for: Carla Grunwald is back! This creepy old lady has escaped from the abandoned "Ravenswood" sound stage (RIP best show ever), and Hanna decides to hunt her down for help finding Mona's body. Naturally, Grunwald puts her magic powers to good use, and after clutching one of Mona's stuffed animals, she confirms that Mona isn't in Rosewood but is surrounded by "insects and cold." Uhm, well that's horrifying.
So, what happens next? You guessed it, Alison is taken down. After selling his sister out, Jason stalls the police long enough to let Ali escape –– but she's stopped in her tracks by the little liars and then promptly arrested for Mona's murder. But not before warning her former BFFs that A will be after them next! All we have is one word: DRAMA. Of course, Spencer is off the hook now that Alison's arrested (The DA decides she was being set up by Alison), which is great and everything, but there's just one problem. A sends the little liars a message via fireworks display (s/he's so creative!) while Ali's in jail. Whoops...guess they got the wrong girl.
Also, if you're wondering how Ezra spent his time this week, he painfully attempted to bond with Aria's brother Mike (who's basically having a breakdown about Mona's death) over some manly bookshelf building. Way to remain awkward, buddy!