The wAit is over. Two weeks after Pretty Little Liars left Us with an epic proposal cliffhanger, the show returned Tuesday, August 2, to deliver answers about one couple’s romantic fate, one character’s surprising past and another’s shocking death.
On the Case
The drama kicked off with the Liars sitting in the official keeper of all of Rosewood’s secrets, the Brew coffee shop. During a heated debate on if Elliott (a.k.a. Archer Dunhill, played by Huw Collins) could possibly be alive, Ali (Sasha Pieterse) walked in wearing the red jacket that Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) turned over to A.D. to save Hanna (Ashley Benson) in season 7’s premiere. After a quick quip about how the jacket was a gift from A.D., it’s safe to say that Ali was not quite over the whole telling-their-torturer-that-she-was-Charlotte’s-killer thing.
Ali quickly got a text from Mary Drake (Andrea Parker) saying that crime-solving enthusiast and elevator-makeout aficionado Detective Marco Furey (Nicholas Gonzalez) was at her house with some answers. Spencer (Troian Bellisario) went home with Ali, where she listened to her ghost of hookups past (yes, that’s Detective Furey) tell them that he believes Archer is still alive, and that Ali is in great danger. After he promised Ali that she would have 24-hour police watch, Marco left and was followed out by Spencer, who told him that their makeout couldn’t happen again.
He’s bAck
While sitting in the Brew, Hanna heard a cellphone ringing and realized it was Archer’s burner phone that she took from his car. She picked it up and heard Archer’s voice say, “Next time you bury someone, make sure they’re dead.” She later told Aria (Lucy Hale) about the call, who told her to calm down because, you know, they buried him. But if Ali’s and Mona’s pasts have taught us anything, it’s to never trust a Pretty Little Liars death plotline. They. Always. Come. Back.
Aria told Hanna that Ezra (Ian Harding) proposed, and that she told him she had to think about it. Aria explained her hesitation to Hanna saying, “I can’t promise Ezra forever when my future could be spent behind bars.” Hanna responded saying that the choice to be with a possible convicted felon was Ezra’s to make. Ah, modern romance. Hanna then threw her fake engagement ring and finally admitted she and Jordan broke up. “You didn’t want Spencer to know,” Aria said, rather than asked. If the whole trying-to-catch-criminals-who-torture-them thing doesn’t work out, these ladies should consider careers in counseling.
She’s Got a Secret
At her bar, Emily (Shay Mitchell) saw Sara Harvey (Dre Davis) going up to Jenna’s hotel room and decided to bring up their room-service order. In one of the most underrated PLL scenes of all time, she walked in to find Jenna playing the flute alone on the couch with zero explanation for this whatsoever. She used the moment to to snoop through Jenna’s computer, but was interrupted by Sara. Things quickly escalated into a screaming match as Emily yelled at Jenna, “Someone is threatening us again, and I think it’s you.” Jenna explained that Charlotte was her friend, as Jenna was once helping Charlotte find her birth mother. Sara told Emily not to come back, to which she responded that she’s not afraid of Jenna. “I’m not talking about Jenna,” Sara pleaded. “I’m talking about …” More cliffhangers, perfect.
End of Spaleb
Finally, some good news: Caleb came back! He walked into the bar and sat down with Ezra, who almost immediately asked him what the deal was with Spencer because WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH HIM AND SPENCER? Caleb mysteriously said, “I don’t know what we are right now,” which is great, because no one else does either. After a bromantic chat about their lives, Caleb left brooding Ezra to talk to Spencer and officially break up with a tear-filled goodbye.
Into the Ring
Aria goes to Ezra’s apartment and tells him about the night Archer died. He proposed to her again, and finally, she said yes. There are many lessons to be learned here, but one of them is definitely that it is possible to marry your bar-bathroom makeout six years after the fact. Anything is possible. You know what they say: in sickness, in health, for better or for soon-to-be-convicted-of-manslaughter. Love is great.
On the attAck
Hanna and Spencer met in a park late at night to sit on swings, drink beer and have a heart-to-heart, as adults do. Their conversation was interrupted as the burner phone rang. It was once again Archer, who said, “First you turn her in — then you leave her alone, stupid bitches.” They immediately called Ali, who ran outside and asked the police officer guarding her house to come in until backup arrived. The officer adjusted his humanlike face mask and followed her into the home before he quickly disappeared. Ali followed him into a dark room, where she stared at a wall reading, “Honey, I’m home.” The officer, presumably Archer, attacked her and ran away when a police siren sounded. Ali picked up a piece of his face mask from the floor and gave it to the police as evidence.
Sad Goodbye
Sara frantically packed her bags as she heard a knock on the hotel room door. She opened the with a terrified look on her face. Later, a hotel maid found her murdered in the shower.
Digging Their Grave
Hanna and Spencer went into the woods to the spot where they buried Archer, although they were now convinced that he is the one who attacked Ali. They dug up the grave to find Archer’s still body laying in ground, just as they left it.
Tell Us: How soon will Aria and Ezra get married?
Pretty Little Liars airs on Freeform Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
