This week, things are heating up for the liars as tempers flare and red coats fly.
Emily: explains to the girls about the person living underneath the DiLaurentis’ house over lunch. However, their lunch date is soon interrupted by Lieutenant Tanner who tells them that a muddy shoe was found in the rubble of Emily’s house. She says that the shoe matches the footprints from the night of Wilden’s murder, but they have yet to find its owner. Later, Paige asks Emily if she’s going to that night’s western-themed dance, but Emily is unsure. Their relationship becomes even more strained when Emily shows Paige her recommendation letter from her volunteer supervisor, Zoe, who Paige thinks is into Emily. Emily brings her recommendation letter to Ezra, worried that it’s “too glowing,” but Ezra snaps at her because he’s still upset over his baby mama drama. He apologizes and explains his situation and promises her not to tell Aria about it before he can. Later, Emily packs her stuff in the DiLaurentis house and thinks of a time when Ali told her that Ali got a gun pulled on her when she broke up with one of her friend’s boyfriends for her. Emily tells Spencer that when she saw the picture of Wilden, Ali, and CeCe, she always thought that Wilden was dating Ali, but she now thinks that maybe CeCe was dating both him and Jason at the same time. She thinks that maybe CeCe killed Wilden because he was trying to get back with her and she needed to get rid of him.
The episode stops and CeCe is finally revealed, talking on the phone in her lair full of Ali pictures and a red coat. She tells the person on the phone that she isn’t going to wait forever and that there’s no way she’s returning to Rosewood.
Later at the hoedown, Emily sees Paige, who didn’t know Emily was going to come to the dance. While she looks on at Paige and her friends, Emily sees a flash of a red coat on the balcony. She tells Spencer about her red coat sighting and they go outside to find her. Adding to their long list of petty crimes, the girls steal a hay truck to follow Red Coat, but she hops into the bed of the truck and moves closer to the girls. Quietly, the girls get out of the truck and Emily grabs a hoe and starts beating the hay with it, hoping to hurt the unknown person. However, they are unsuccessful because the bed of the truck is suddenly empty. Back at the hoedown, Emily tells Paige that she’s still invested in their relationship, so they dance together.
Hanna: rushes off after hearing Lieutenant Tanner’s shoe discovery, afraid that her mom is going to be found guilty. The other girls try to console her, but she just lashes out at them. After the girls leave, Hanna stands in the hallway, still upset, while a mysterious young man observes her. Later, Caleb greets Hanna and tells her that they are going to the dance because Hanna’s mom wants them to have fun. After he leaves, she finds an envelope from Diva Dish, CeCe’s former work, full of money with a note saying “Maybe this can help your mom.” The mystery man stands in the hallway, observing her again. At the Brew, Hanna confronts him but he says nothing even though there is definitely time for him to respond before she walks out the door. Later at the hoedown, the mystery man asks Hanna to dance and tells her that it was him who put the envelope in her locker. He tells her that his name is Travis and he knows that her mother is innocent because he was at the lake that night because he was supposed to tow Wilden’s car. He says he doesn’t know who shot Wilden but he saw someone, possibly blonde, running through the woods. Hanna wants Travis to go to the police with his testimony, but he says that he doesn’t want to because he’s afraid of what could happen to his family. He says he found the money sitting on the seat of his truck after he left it at the lake because he freaked out when he heard the gunshots. Hanna then explains what Travis told her to Caleb, who is skeptical. Hanna knows that she can’t completely trust Travis, but tells him that she may not have a choice. Outside the dance, Hanna confronts Travis and tells him that he can’t escape his blackmail unless he goes to the police and tells them the truth. Later, Travis gives his testimony to Lieutenant Tanner, while Hanna waits nervously outside.
Spencer: wants to investigate the crawl space unde the DiLaurentis house with Aria and Emily. Later, Spencer and Toby argue in his truck when a CD plays “Every Time” sung by Toby’s mom. The CD reads “There’s more where that came from,” so Toby wants to talk to Dr. Palmer about other possible CDs. Spencer tells him not to because she thinks that A is just playing him. Toby gives her an ultimatum saying that he’s going to meet Dr. Palmer tonight with or without Spencer. Spencer pleads with Toby to be careful and finally convinces him to wait a little bit. Then, Spencer joins Aria and Emily in the DiLaurentis’ basement where they have found a small, black button. After investigating the DiLaurentis’ house, Spencer leaves the room to call Toby, and the girls accuse her of living a double life. She confesses to them that Toby is trying to find out if his mother was murdered. Meanwhile, Toby attempts to contact Dr. Palmer but is denied until he receives a picture message of the doctor’s car from A. Later, Toby and Spencer dance at the hoedown while he tells Spencer about the message from A. Toby wants to go find Palmer’s car, but Spencer doesn’t think he should. Spencer accidentally tells him that she told the girls about his mother, and he leaves angrily thinking that A is going to help him anymore and that Spencer chose her friends over him.
She runs to Caleb and asks him to follow Toby. Caleb finds Toby breaking into Dr. Palmer’s car and tries to stop him. However, Toby only stops when the police pull up and the guys flee. Back at the hoedown, Spencer and Emily investigate the red coat from the truck and find that it’s missing a button.
Aria: is ambushed by Jake in the high school parking lot, so she asks him to the dance. She is surprised by how easy it is to date him. While investigating the crawl space, Emily tells Aria that she should call Ezra, but Aria says that she couldn’t do that to Jake. The girls hear footsteps upstairs, but it’s not Mrs. DiLaurentis. Aria looks through one of the drilled holes in the floor and is almost blinded by a vicious knitting needle pierced through the holes. That evening, at the Brew, Aria, Jake, and Ezra have an awkward run-in, which is made only more awkward after Ezra leaves and Jake bestows a gift of cowboy boots on Aria. They attempt to have a Cinderella moment, but it just doesn’t cut it. Later at the hoedown, Aria and Jake adorably two-step together, while Ezra watches longingly. Jake confronts Ezra and tells him to move on. However, after Emily explains Ezra’s situation to Aria, she finds him and apologizes for not being responsive to him. Ezra tells her that it’s okay and that she should get back to Jake. However, Aria later goes to Ezra’s apartment to talk to him about Malcolm, but he says he doesn’t want to drag her into it. She tells him that she’s not leaving so he might as well tell her about it. Outside of the apartment, Cece listens in on their conversation.
The Final Scene: The trademark black gloves knit a green sweater for one of five dolls who bear striking resemblances to the liars and one girl wearing a black hoodie (possibly Mona or CeCe). The black gloves hold a knitting needle high in the air and then stab one of the five dolls, although it is not shown which one.
Reader’s Digest Version: Do we know who A is? No. Will we forever have negative associations with knitting needles? Uh huh.