[Warning: Spoilers ahead from the Halloween episode.]
It's Halloween-time on Pretty Little Liars, which can mean only one thing: crAzy reveals.
This particular episode almost served as two shows in one, with Aria (Lucy Hale), Hanna (Ashley Benson), Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Spencer (Troian Bellisario) in Ravenswood as they figure out where their dear friend Alison -- who they've just found out from Mrs. Carla Grunwald (Meg Foster) may be alive -- and Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) making his way into town with new friend Miranda (Nicole Gale Anderson).
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But Pretty Little Liars saved the biggest reveal for the final moments of the episode, when they answered the question looming on everyone's minds since the start of the series: Is Alison (Sasha Pieterse) alive?
The Hollywood Reporter runs down the big moments from the Halloween episode.
8:01 p.m.: The Liars take their impressive costumed dress to the Ravenswood cemetery, because naturally that's where the town holds a Halloween shindig. Talk about creepy yet appropriate.
8:03 p.m.: Ezra (or is it EzrA) makes his first plan of attack post-"A" reveal. "Oh, it's Ezra ...," Aria says when she sees he's calling. "Don't tell him too much." Oh if the girls only knew.
8:07 p.m.: Hanna and the girls see a guy who's dressed in period garb, the same one that "A" is supposed to be wearing. Naturally Hanna delivers this gem when she eyes who they think is after Alison. "We go up to this scumbag and ask him if he's 'A'!" Hanna declares. If you're keeping count, he's not. It is, however, Ravenswood townsperson Luke Matheson (Brett Dier).
8:11 p.m.: First possible Alison sighting! They follow her through the cemetery only to lose sight of the person before they make their way down a secluded stairwell only to get locked in. They can't get a hold of anyone via those trusty cell phones because, of course, they're not exactly in prime positioning to make any feasible calls. Here's another Hanna gem: "I have minus three bars." (Didn't think that was possible!)
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8:18 p.m.: After a gust of wind, Aria, Emily and Spencer discover that Hanna's now missing!
8:20 p.m.: Hanna tries to reunite with her friends but instead comes across a "Help Me" scrawled across the wall. Is that a sign that Alison was or is here? Something tells us that wasn't a message from Alison ...
8:22 p.m.: Hi creepy EzrA, I think.
8:26 p.m.: Miranda and Caleb part ways after their lengthy bus ride, and she gives him a nudge that she says keeps bad spirits away. Does anyone get the feeling that there may be something more than friendship brewing here on Ravenswood?
8:28 p.m.: Dimly-lit hallways in mysterious towns are never a good sign. Hanna attempts to call for help in the phone booth before someone (or something) closes the phone booth door. Uh-oh. Seconds later, a screeching noise suddenly comes through, prompting Hanna to pry the phone away. Then she sees candles and hears footsteps surround the phone booth. Then, it's suddenly dark. The phone rings but the only thing playing on the other end is a static-filled old-timey song.
8:32 p.m.: The girls think they hear Alison and is Spencer missing now?
8:33 p.m.: Was that an Alison sighting that Hanna had? But it ends as quickly as it comes. Instead, she comes face to face with Miranda, who's exploring her uncle's mansion.
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8:37 p.m.: "What's the crazy part?" Miranda's one-liner following Hanna's ridiculous recollection of how she got to where she is now. Only to be trumped by this zinger: "Do you always dress like prom night on the Titanic?"
8:39 p.m.: A flashback to Miranda's tragic past, as we see a younger version grieving her parents' deaths. Her uncle asks for forgiveness before sending her away.
8:41 p.m.: Had Emily kept her head out the window as she and Aria contemplated jumping out to finally get out of the mansion, her head would've been sliced off. Yikes. It's Alison's presumed screams that save her. Whew.
8:45 p.m.: Where has Spencer been this whole time? In another dark corner of the creepy house and comes face to face with the gas mask (aka who the Liars believe is "A"). (Doesn't anyone invest in light bulbs or candles anymore?) A fist-fight ensues and with Bane-like resilience, who the girls believe is "A" knocks Spencer out. (She was thisclose to revealing "A"!) Her first words? "Where is he?"
8:48 p.m.: Miranda discovers a tombstone with her face planted on it. Is this a foreshadowing of her death?
8:49 p.m.: The Liars hear Alison's voice again and run after it. It's just a recording though ...
8:53 p.m.: Mrs. Grunwald tells Aria, Emily and Spencer that "one of you has been touched by the one Alison fears the most."
8:56 p.m.: Hanna asks Caleb to keep Miranda safe, giving him a kiss goodbye. A nice contrast to see a romance so strong that Hanna can do that without any strings.
8:58 p.m.: Ezra pulls up just in the knick of time, when the Liars are stranded without a spare to get them home. He offers to drive them back to Rosewood and of course, they take him up on the offer.
8:59 p.m.: The four words that brought Alison back: "Did you miss me?" Turns out it really was Alison and she really is alive. Seconds before Ezra comes back out to return Aria her cell phone, Alison disappears (it's still not safe for her). But Ezra isn't diminishing his creepiness factor when he peers over the girls, as if seeking out something or someone. Also, did anyone notice he kept the hand Spencer hit in his pocket? Also, where did Alison go?
What did you think of the big reveal?
Pretty Little Liars returns Jan. 7, 2014 on ABC Family.
E-mail: Philiana.Ng@THR.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
