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[Warning: Spoilers ahead from the season-four finale.]
Another season of Pretty Little Liars is on the books.
The fourth season has been billed as a season of answers and the ABC Family drama provided just that in Tuesday’s closer, aptly titled “A Is for Answers.” Looming questions introduced at the start of the series were finally answered, among them: What happened that night Alison disappeared? Who buried Alison? Who knew Alison was alive the whole time?
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But the biggest shocks of all were reserved for the final moments of the jam-packed finale, when, not one, but two people may have joined “A’s” long list of victims. The Hollywood Reporter runs down the episode’s biggest reveals, shockers and game-changers.
— Who found out Alison was not dead? Alison’s mother, Mrs. DiLaurentis, found out from a photograph Detective Holbrook showed her as proof Alison was alive. She didn’t take it very well.
— How did Ezra and Alison first meet? Alison met Ezra the first time at a coffee shop by Hollis College, and he was reading F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s Tender Is the Night. Her lie was so elaborate that he thought Alison and CeCe Drake were college roommates. Ezra likened Alison to Audrey Hepburn‘s Holly Golightly, not exactly a compliment, but he was intrigued enough to want to write a book about her. (Hence, how Ezra’s novel came about.) The two had a flirty relationship — though nothing happened, backing up what he had previously told Aria — until he called it off when he discovered she was 16, not 21. Awkward!
–– Did Spencer kill the other girl in Alison’s grave? Nope! Though her father hired a private investigator to look into his daughter’s pill-popping — and with good reason — Alison reassured Spencer, who was hopped up on pills the night Alison disappeared (the sole reason why she didn’t originally fall asleep like the others did), that she was passed out later that evening. In fact, Alison found out about Spencer’s pill problem and agreed to keep it a secret from her parents.
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— Who knew Alison was alive all along? Mona. She was the one who brought up the idea that Alison faked her own death to throw “A” off: “Maybe you should die.” (The Lost Woods Resort room was held under the name, “Vivian Darkbloom.”) “Everything will work out exactly as its supposed to. I’ll take care of you,” Mona said at the time. As repayment for her help, Alison told Mona to treat herself to a brand-new makeover. Hence, Mean Mona was born. “Mona played me like a fool. She got exactly what she wanted,” Alison admitted in present day.
— Who witnessed Alison getting knocked out? Alison’s own mother was witness to her daughter getting hit in the head, presumably by a rock (not a shovel). But that’s not all …
— Who buried Alison? Mrs. DiLaurentis, whom Alison thinks did it believing she was dead. In one of the more heartbreaking moments, a hysterical Alison recounted to her friends her failed attempts at communicating to her mom that she wasn’t dead, but she wasn’t able to move and words failed to come out. (Mrs. Grunwald did in fact pull Alison out from the grave, Alison confirmed.)
— Why didn’t Mrs. DiLaurentis come forward about the culprit? Because she was still protecting/covering for them. It must mean it’s someone in the family or close to her … “What have you done?!” Alison recalled her mother repeating to someone on the phone.
— Who pushed Ian down the Bell Tower? This was a lingering question from season one, and it was revealed Alison was the one who pushed Ian over, bringing him to his death, in order to protect Spencer.
— What did Melissa tell her father? It’s unknown what Melissa whispered to her father at the police station, presumably the culprit responsible for killing the other girl. Other theories?
— Who did the Liars see at the end of the last episode? Noel Kahn (a curious choice), who helped reunite the Liars with Alison. Why would Alison trust someone like him, who’s proven to be untrustworthy? “Because he has secrets too,” she says.
— Is Ezra alive? Ezra was shot by “A” after a tense confrontation on a rooftop. “I know who you are,” Ezra confronted the hooded perpetrator getting shot, his lifeless body in Aria’s arms. (How poetic.) Is he dead? Is he alive? That answer will be answered in season five. (And fingers crossed that he’s OK.) But someone else’s death did stick …
— Who suffered “A’s” wrath? R. I. P., Mrs. DiLaurentis.
Pretty Little Liars returns for season five June 10 on ABC Family.
Email: Philiana.Ng@THR.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
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