Pretty Little Liars - Recap: Alison… Dead, Alive, or Zombie?

Episode 13 of Season 4 of Pretty Little Liars, “Grave New World,” saw our four heroines in a quest to hunt down Alison (Sasha Pieterse), or whoever donned the now infamous and overplayed red coat. Also, before I forget, much of Episode 13 involved the girls continuously losing each other in the race to find Ali. Meaning, if you’re reading and wondering where Spencer’s (Troian Bellisario) friends are when she’s duking it out with a big doofy man, we don’t know. Meanwhile, that sneaky Ezra (Ian Harding), who apparently has some sort of traumatic relationship with all things old-time war hero, was on the prowl. We spent a significant amount of time with Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) and Miranda (Nicole Anderson), whom we’d never met before, but, alas, we have Ravenswood to promote, Liars! We must tune in! Of course, I can’t because I’m busy writing half-ass PLL jokes for all of you regarding this bizarre purple-hazed Halloween Special. Anyway, here it is, the Recap and Review of Season 4 Episode 13 of Pretty Little Liars, “Grave New World”!

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Why don’t we kick off this special recap with Caleb’s bus ride to Ravenswood alongside the probably plucky Miranda? Miranda is basically the female version of Caleb. They even share a hairstyle! The bus was empty save for the man we’d come to know as “creep in row 26,” but the poor sap looked more so sad that aggressive or perverted to me. God, is there any worse way to introduce yourself than by waking up a stranger amidst your scavenging for food? First impressions aren’t everything, and Miranda, an orphan who’d thus far survived the volatile world of foster care, proved to be perfectly pleasant and surprisingly resilient in the face of danger later on. Caleb would offer some sound advice. If Miranda was planning on surprising an uncle she’d never met before in Ravenswood, she should have been prepared for a massive rude awakening. Still, Caleb has certainly done quite all right in his search for his father. Pretty Little Liars made it seem as though Rivers and his dad were off to a rocky start this week, but I was under the impression that they, like, fished and stuff by now. Most important to note is that a significant amount of our time during this Halloween Special was spent on this bus, getting these two to Ravenswood in search of a missing Hanna (Ashley Benson) and some uncle. Bye, creep in seat 26. Turn that frown upside down!

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Surprise! It’s not Halloween, but that wasn’t stopping this town from throwing a Titanic-themed prom in the middle of a graveyard. For a moment there it seemed like our Liars were to be ejected from the party before it’d even truly begun, but never fear, they were asked for their names and the show simply cut away for a moment. Poof! They somehow weaseled their way into the search for Ali. I’d forgotten that the show had begun introducing us to Ravenswood residents and figured that Spencer’s suspicion that some other dude in the vintage soldier costume, sans gasmask, was slightly more relevant than it was. At least, I’m assuming he’s from Ravenswood. Aria (Lucy Hale) trailed the woman I came to simply label as “the bride” through the tombstones, eventually shrieking in fear as an unknown hand reached for her ankle from a nearby grave.

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Miss, I realize you were embarrassed that you ran and stumbled into an open grave, but don’t you think something along the lines of a “down here” would have sufficed just fine? What is this, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark? Aria helped heave the girl from the dirt before her “cousin” would step in to assist. Ugh, what a day to wear a vintage wedding dress.

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Grunwald (Meg Foster) popped up out of the blue, as she so often does, in order to frighten Emily (Shay Mitchell) out of the party. Emily had already been second guessing their decision to rescue their dead best friend, but having a psychic reaffirm her fears should have been enough of an indication, no? Meanwhile, Hanna spent her opening minutes of Episode 13 cringing at the sight of young twins in matching red coats, a pair who wouldn’t reveal their faces until the closing moments of the Halloween Special. If you recall, PLL loves twin references. Twins for everyone!

Inevitably, the foursome would catch a glimpse of “Ali’s” backside, as they so often do, eventually trailing her into an open mausoleum; however, she’d somehow vanished within mere seconds. Clearly, a secret passage was among them, and Spencer’s astute realization that a clean patch of floor in a smelly old crypt probably indicated said door. Open sesame! Meaning, heave ho and push that giant angel statue out of the way. The Liars, having opened a hidden doorway, slowly crept down the basement stairs into what I’d best describe as a series of twisted hallways that were probably built to someday lead someone to a maybe-haunted mansion. For whatever reason, the tunnel was flooded with heavy gusts of wind, at one point forcing the Liars to join hands in their effort to not blow away like the nannies in Mary Poppins. Some effort was spent on maintaining their outfits. I appreciated that Spencer wasn’t as willing to let go of her giant hat as quickly as Emily. Still, nothing would explain the fact that Hanna would disappear from Aria’s grip only to be replaced by yet another giant, and probably quite damn heavy, angel statue in a blink. Aria pleaded with the others to trust the abilities of her little grip, promising that Hanna’s hand had never left her own. Magic? Or does Aria simply know more about Ezra than we’re aware of?

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Not that any of this would matter in any case. Hanna was simply whisked away to another part of this strange domain, stumbling upon the words “Help Me” scribbled in red across a brick wall. Now, Hanna, call me crazy, but aren’t you supposed to keep your gloves on when you’re touching a note that could have been left in fresh blood? Rats! Why did it have to be rats? Hanna, desperate to escape a pretty gross rat infestation, would eventually make her way through another door and into a dusty old house. See, I yelled out loud when her first instinct was to play a note on the spooky piano, but I probably would have done the same thing. Only, I’m the kind of idiot who’d sit there and attempt to play an entire classic ragtime hit before realizing that A was most likely about. Hanna would wander for a bit before slipping into an indoor phone booth. Vintage, of course. Dusty, of course. Hanna stood idly dialing for what seemed like the entire episode before realizing that she’d been locked in from the outside. Hmm, I’m not sure exactly what happened when a candelabra floated its way to the frosted windows of the booth, split into three separate candles, and then snuffed out in a flash, but it was a scary effect! I’m sure Hanna is the type to get bored before freaked, but never fear, Marin, both Alison and that pesky “gasmask” would appear from behind the blurred glass. We’d witness this new A, Ezra, strangling Ali as Hanna stood helpless, yet was any of it real? Spoiler Alert: I don’t think so? This is the Halloween Special, so I think we’re supposed to allow Pretty Little Liars to have some supernatural fun. I’m down! Either that, or Ezra just killed Alison again. More later.

“I Didn’t Raise My Boy To Be A Solider.” That was the name of the song on the sheet music Spencer picked up once the other three Liars trailed Hanna into the house. Ezra is an English teacher, not a History teacher! People aren’t allowed to have multiple interests. Before they knew it, Emily and Aria were left alone as one of their friends disappeared in a flash, yet again. I would review the scene in which Aria and Emily considered shimmying out of a broken window in a room full of chemicals, but it was really just about the suspense. Would a giant shard of sharp broken glass fall and decapitate Aria and Emily? You can guess for yourselves.

Meanwhile, Caleb and Miranda arrived at the graveyard and took about ten minutes to say goodbye in any way they could possibly think to bid another person adieu. Luckily for Hanna, the phone booth prison she’d been entrapped in happened to be inside the home of Miranda’s long lost uncle. Freedom! Way to stay calm, cool, and collected in the face of your first sort-of A encounter, Miranda. Although, I don’t think we really needed so much background on the death of your parents just yet. R.I.P.? We spent a moment in a room full of coffins, insinuating that Miranda’s uncle is in the funeral business, before flashing back to the day of her parents’ funeral. Why did her uncle leave Miranda to fend for herself when he seemed so kind in her memory? Ravenswood, everybody! We must tune in!

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Spencer would wander through a greenhouse of sorts on her own, only to encounter A, the man we’re assuming to be Ezra, for the first time. I liked that Hastings wasted no time kicking some serious ass, even wielding a wicked pair of gardening sheers to her advantage in slicing and dicing the solider up a bit. In the end, though, Spencer would slip and knock herself unconscious. Later, Aria and Emily would discover her and rouse her back to the realm of the living. That would have been such a way to go; murdered by Ezra, in Ravenswood, wearing a ridiculous purple costume on a day other than Halloween.

Outside, Hanna would reunite with Caleb thanks to Miranda’s help. Refusing to take Hanna up on her offer to come live with her in Rosewood (Whoa, Hanna. Be my friend.), Miranda struck out on her adventure to discover her history and find some answers. Hanna, because we needed to get Caleb off of this show as quickly as possible, insisted that her beau stay behind in Ravenswood to help the girl in her search. Hmm… Where is he living? Whatever! Hanna would meet up with the other three Liars once they’d had one last encounter inside. The girls, having continuously heard Alison’s voice throughout the episode, followed the sound to, you guessed it, a recording. The Grunwald then revealed herself, informing them of her position as caretaker of the home. Lady, you seem just swell, but if you’re the one who’d supposed to be caring for that dank haunted palace of a house, you’re fired.

One of you has been touched by the one Alison fears the most!

Aria? Yeah, probably Aria. Here’s my theory. It’s a good one, I think. Remember, I’ve been calling out Ezra since day one of writing these recaps and reviews. I’m pretty sure that Ezra most likely got Alison pregnant and decided to kill her once she revealed the truth. Imagine Ezra’s family having to support two bastard children? He’d already developed a strained relationship with them to begin with. Again, more on this later. Is there anything worse than having to change a flat tire in a corset? Aria and Spencer both shot Emily a glance.

And you’re looking at me ‘cause I’m gay.

And just like that, Emily might have won the night for me. Fitz would swoop in as the knight in shining armor, aka A, to whisk the Liars, Hanna included, home to Rosewood following their ridiculous Ravenswood night. I was hoping Spencer would catch the sight of a bloody hand post-greenhouse brawl, but maybe Ezra is just great at dealing with battle wounds. He’s a soldier now, everybody! The drive back to Rosewood was next to nonexistent, but the last few minutes of Episode 13 would certainly prove to be some of the most revealing Pretty Little Liars has ever put up. Is she or isn’t she?

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Before closing out the Recap and Review, it’s also important to note, if you’re tuning into Ravenswood, that both Miranda and Caleb found gravesites with their own names engraved and pictures, old-school vintage photographs of whom I’m guessing were identical ancestors, of themselves marking the sites.

The Liars, yet again, trailed the spirit known as Red Coat into Spencer’s (?) backyard. That was that. They had her trapped. Alison Dilaurentis… is alive!!!! Not to be a downer, but who didn’t think she was alive?

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Did you miss me?

Before she could explain, Alison was forced to flee in fear again, as Ezra made his presence known once more to return Aria’s left-behind cell. Okay, let’s break this down. What does Aria know? Are these girls aware that Alison ran because of Fitz, or are they just assuming this is a part of her nature? Before leaving, Alison asked Hanna to remember the conversation they’d shared in the hospital.

Alison, if you remember (If you don't, check out the video above.), revealed to Hanna that telling someone the truth was what got her into this dilemma in the first place (Pregnant by Fitz?), and that the four Liars knew more about the night of her disappearance than they currently think they do. Also, Hanna did manage to finally catch one last look at those creepy twins from Ravenswood I told you about; however, one wasn’t a twin at all! One of them was a dwarf. Was this some sort of twisted symbolism that Alison has a secret identical twin who isn’t what she seems?

What did you think of the Season 4 Halloween Special of Pretty Little Liars, Episode 13, “Grave New World”? What is Ezra’s connection to Alison? Is this really Alison we’re dealing with or a twin? Are there still multiple A-team members, or are we dealing with solely Ezra? What does Aria know?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Season 4 Halloween Special of Pretty Little Liars, Episode 13, “Grave New World”!