Pretty Little Liars Season 5 Episode Guide

Episode 5.01 “Escape From New York” (Written by I. Marlene King, Directed by Norman Buckley)

Moments after where the season four finale left off, Aria and the Liars are reeling from Ezra’s shooting at the hands of “A.” The five girls quickly realize that as the one person who truly knows A’s identity, Ezra is in grave danger. While Aria stands watch over Ezra at the hospital, Alison and the PLLs lay a trap to finally flush out “A” but are shocked by who is ensnared.

Meanwhile, Holbrook steps up his efforts to find the girls and puts the Hastings family on alert. And as news of Alison’s resurrection spreads, Mona is not pleased.

Episode 5.02 “Whirly Girlie” (Written by Oliver Goldstick, Directed by Joanna Kerns)

With the events of New York behind them and back in Rosewood, the Liars are unsettled to still be living under a cloud of secrets. Aria is haunted by the recent past events, while Emily, Hanna and Spencer try to wrap their head around the new normal. Alison, on the other hand, is still sleeping with one eye open as she is forced to stay at home with her family – who she doesn’t trust.

Meanwhile, Jason’s odd behavior and Kenneth DiLaurentis’ search for Jessica starts to raise eyebrows about her disappearance.

Episode 5.03 “Surfing the Aftershocks” (Written by Joseph Dougherty, Directed by Chad Lowe)

Now being forced to live through Ali’s latest lie, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer try to cover their tracks, while simultaneously trying to piece together what happened in New York. Hanna and Aria have to close loose ends with the two people who know the truth about Ali’s story – Mona and Ezra. Spencer and Emily try to find out the truth about Jason and his whereabouts the night they were in New York.

Meanwhile, Hanna starts to examine who she really is – Hefty Hanna or Queen Bee Hanna – now that Ali is back.

Episode 5.04 “Thrown From the Ride” (Written by Maya Goldsmith, Directed by Janice Cooke)

With Ali now back in Rosewood, she attempts to regain the role of leader of the group, but she finds her four friends are not as willing to blindly follow her every whim as they once were. Besides feeling the pressure from Alison, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer are also feeling under the microscope at school with the high school focusing their attention on the Liars. While most kids are morbidly curious about what happened to Ali, some are more focused on planning for Ali’s return to school.

Meanwhile, Aria’s depression continues to spiral, and she looks for comfort from an unlikely source.

Episode 5.05 “Miss Me X 100” (Written by I. Marlene King, Directed by Norman Buckley)

The day has finally arrived – Alison’s first day back at Rosewood High, and neither the PLLs nor Alison are really ready for it.

Determined to put on a brave face, Alison returns to also help heal the damage she did years ago.

But are apologies enough for those who Alison has hurt in the past? Not if Mona and her army have anything to say about it.

Episode 5.06 “Run, Ali Run” (Written by Jonell Lennon, Directed by Norman Buckley)

Ali becomes spooked after the most recent Rosewood “accident” and wonders if she should have come back at all. Meanwhile, Spencer looks to Eddie Lamb for some answers, and Hanna tries not to let Ali get in the way of her relationship with Travis.

Episode 5.07  “The Silence of E. Lamb” (Written by Bryan M. Holdman, Directed by Joshua Butler)

Aria begins her volunteer work at Radley and quickly gets down to business finding any answers she can about a patient of interest to the Liars. But she quickly hits a snag when she comes across an aggressive patient that may be the key to what the Liars are looking for. Also searching for answers, Spencer takes a note from Ezra’s play book by borrowing some of his spy equipment to keep a closer eye on the home front.

Meanwhile, Hanna is caught at odds when Ali and Caleb butt heads, and Emily seeks help from her friends when her mom invites Ali over for dinner.

Episode 5.08  “Scream For Me” (Written by Oliver Goldstick & Maya Goldsmith)

Hanna’s insecurities and current situation continue to plague her when Alison moves into the Marin house while her Dad is out of town. Now forced to live with the one person she is trying to avoid, Hanna retreats further into abusing alcohol and ends up in a sticky situation.

Meanwhile, Aria drops the ball on her maid of honor duties when Ella returns to town to plan her wedding and Spencer and Emily pursue a dangerous lead, trying to solve the mystery of the dead girl in Alison’s grave.

Episode 5.09 “March of Crimes” (Written by Oliver Goldstick & Maya Goldsmith)

the episode will see Hanna’s drinking getting out of hand. But as she continues down her boozy path, with the help of Caleb, her friends can no longer stand by and watch her self-destruct.

Meanwhile, following her last encounter with Hanna, Aria starts to take note of Zach and wonders if Hanna – while drunk – was telling her the truth.

And while Emily tries to find information linking Alison to Noel, Spencer makes a surprising discovery at the eye doctor.

Episode 5.10 “A Dark Ali” (Written by Lijah J. Barasz and Directed by Arlene Sanford)

The pressure is on for Alison to identify the man police have in custody for her kidnapping, but the Liars know if she does it would be sending an innocent man to prison and possibly walking right into an “A” trap.

With Emily trying to convince Ali not to play into “A’s” hand, Spencer comes up with a plan B in case Ali decides to make the wrong decision.

Meanwhile, fed up with all of the Ali drama, Hanna tries to lead a “normal” teenage life.

Episode 5.11 “No One Here Can Love or Understand Me” (Written by Joseph Dougherty and Directed by Larry Reibman)

Melissa finally tells Spencer what she knows regarding the night Ali disappeared. But what is Spencer supposed to do with the knowledge? Knowing something is off about Alison’s story, Emily is on the hunt for answers on her own. She enlists Ezra’s help in finding out more about Cyrus and his past connection to Alison.

Meanwhile, Hanna asks Spencer and Toby for help with Caleb’s drinking problem.

Episode 5.12 “Taking This One to the Grave” (Written by I. Marlene King, Directed by Ron Lagomarsino)

The girls join forces with Mona to figure out why Ali reached out to the police. Alison’s actions put Spencer in the cross-hairs of Bethany’s murder investigation. Mona reveals the truth about Ali, resulting in a devastating loss.

Episode 5.13 “How the ‘A’ Stole Christmas” (Written by I. Marlene King & Kyle Bown and Directed by I. Marlene King)

Christmas is quickly approaching, and all of Rosewood is full of merriment, except for Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer, who aren’t feeling much holiday cheer after the loss of Mona and Spencer’s murder charge looming over them. But when an opportunity presents itself with the chance to get evidence to clear Spencer’s name, the girls and their partners devise a plan to get justice for Mona and finally bring Alison down. If the plan is successful, it could be a very Merry Christmas after all.

Meanwhile, Alison gets a glimpse at the past, present and future by a ghostly presence.

Episode 5.14 “Through a Glass Darkly”

Three months have passed, and Mona’s friends and family are still mourning their loss and more adamant than ever that Alison had something to do with Mona’s death. Ready to put “A’s” game to an end and get justice for Mona, the PLLs ramp up their search for evidence that could prove Alison killed Mona. But with Alison claiming her innocence and having a seemingly airtight alibi, the Liars may have to resort to more shady tactics to put Ali away.

Meanwhile, Emily and Paige reach a crossroad in their relationship, and Aria starts to worry about her future.

Episode 5.15 “Fresh Meat”

Toby’s new position in the Rosewood police department was to give the PLLs an upper hand on finally closing the door to Ali/”A’s” game. But when a surprising bit of evidence show’s up, Toby is put in a difficult position with his job and with Spencer. Not one to trust the police or evidence “surprisingly” showing up, Spencer tries to convince Toby to stray from his moral gut reaction, which puts stress on their relationship.

Meanwhile, Emily and Aria take drastic measures to keep control of situations that are out of their hands and that could affect their future.

Episode 5.16 “Over a Barrel”

Secrets are hard to keep, especially when you are keeping them from a loved one. Spencer searches for Mona’s missing laptop with Caleb’s help but where the search leads them could cross the “Toby approved” line. Aria tries to get up the courage to come clean to Ezra about her lie when she gets diverted by a possible goose chase. And Hanna is stuck in the middle having to cover Ashley’s secret when Pastor Ted returns with big news.

Meanwhile, Emily has to put up with Talia’s annoying suggestions at work, as she struggles to come to terms with the end of her relationship with Paige.

Episode 5.17 “The Bin of Sin”

Suspecting that Alison/”A” is out to frame her for Mona’s murder, Hanna is not willing to just sit by and let it happen.
When Caleb and her friends try to come up with a safe plan to get Hanna off the hook, it isn’t good enough for her. Taking her fate into her own hands, Hanna strikes out alone to clear her name.

Meanwhile, relationships are tested when Aria comes clean to Ezra and Spencer’s shady actions continue to put Toby in a bind at work.

Episode 5.18 “Oh, What Hard Luck Stories They All Hand Me”

Spencer lets down her guard as she spends more time with Jonny, and Emily continues to try and figure out Talia as she keeps getting mixed signals from her co-workers.

When Mona’s friend Lesli shows up in town, Hanna is tasked to get her back story and find out if Lesli is really who she says she is.

Are the girls wise to keep an eye on everyone, or can they allow some comfort room without worrying it is an “A” trap?

Meanwhile, Aria becomes concerned about Mike’s recent behavior and Holbrook returns to town.

Episode 5.19 “Out, Damned Spot”

Senior high school students focus on their future college careers and feel the high pressures that come along with it, and Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer are no different. With a grade contingent acceptance, Aria needs to buckle down to improve her grades and looks to Andrew for some tutoring help. Also having college acceptance anxiety, Spencer decides to take a break and help Jonny with a new project. Hanna is doing just fine on her college acceptances but finds out that she has been turned down for financial aid and turns to her dad to help.

Meanwhile, Aria and the girls concerns about Mike increase after an incident at the school blood drive.

Episode 5.20 “Pretty Isn’t the Point”

Determined to get college tuition money without the help of others, Hanna pushes forward with her quest to win the local beauty pageant and hires a pageant coach to ensure her win. Quickly learning that you have to be more than a pretty face to win the grand prize, Hanna turns to Emily for help. Also needing a little help, Aria asks Andrew to help keep tabs on Mike, whose increasingly suspicious behavior suggests a chilling connection to Mona’s death. What Aria ultimately discovers makes her blood run cold.

 Meanwhile, Spencer decides to help Jonny on a less than legal adventure. 

Episode 5.21 “Bloody Hell”

Equipped with their new information about Mona, the Liars decide they need to speak to Alison. But once the truth is out there, Aria quickly learns that Mike’s involvement with Mona and this new revelation could have serious repercussions for her family. Determined to keep Mike safe and get Ali out of jail, the Liars intensify their search for information on “A.”

Meanwhile, Spencer heads to London for an important college interview, and Alison looks to someone surprising for help with her murder trial.

Episode 5.22 “To Plea or Not to Plea”

Aria, Emily and Hanna keep looking for a way to prove Ali’s innocence without incriminating Mike. But when the D.A. proposes a plea bargain agreement for Ali that includes naming one of the PLL’s as her accomplice, the girls intensify their search – not only to save Ali but to save themselves. Will Ali stick by her story of innocence, or will she give up one of the PLLs to save her own skin?

Meanwhile, not knowing what is happening back in Rosewood, Spencer gets a much needed break from all the drama with a night out on the town in London.

Episode 5.23 “The Melody Lingers On”

Alison’s trial is about to begin and the once-confident Queen Bee is not so confident about her fate, as testimony reveals not only her lies but the lies of those close to her.

Meanwhile, Spencer, Aria, Emily and Caleb search for information to clear the imprisoned Hanna following a string of clues that might have been left by Mona or possibly planted by “A.”

Episode 5.24 “I’m A Good Girl, I Am”

Alison’s trial is coming to a close, and the outcome looks even more bleak when the prosecution calls a surprise witness that not only paints Alison in a bad light but also the PLLs and Mike. Desperate to find any evidence or witness to save their friends, Aria, Emily and Spencer race to find someone or something that can prove Ali’s innocence and put an end to this nightmare.

Meanwhile, Mike becomes a target of “A” when it looks like he might be called to testify, and Ezra and Caleb have differing opinions on what he should do.

Episode 5.25 “Welcome to the Dollhouse”

“A” has always had fun playing with Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer, but now “they” have the biggest game to date in store for the girls. As shocking secrets come to light and the biggest clue to the “A” mystery is revealed, is this one plAydate the Liars can survive?