On Tuesday’s season 5 finale of “Pretty Little Liars,” the Liars found out that A was even sicker than previously believed, all leading to an ending few could have seen coming. Here are the most important things to know about “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” the 25th episode of season 5.
The episode began with Hanna, Spencer, Aria, and Emily, arrested as accessories to Mona’s murder, were handcuffed in orange jumpsuits and being transported in a van, after an anonymous tip about a plot with Alison led the jail to decide to separate the four from her. Just after vowing to stick together, the van was in an accident and a hooded figure opened the back door and gassed the girls, leading to their disappearance. Detective Tanner demanded the abduction stay quiet, believing it was actually a planned escape and that they were fugitives, and Toby only informed Spencer’s parents, who were suspicious of Ali being behind it, despite her being locked up.
Each Liar woke up in a replica of her own bedroom, only to discover they weren’t at home and could not escape. They were in A’s dollhouse. Over a sound system, a voice “welcomed” them and instructed the girls to “follow the lighted pathway” (see photo above). They were led to a room where they thought Ali was playing piano, until a mask was removed to reveal it was MONA, *pretending* to be Ali. It became clear that the formerly believed-to-be-dead Mona was alive, but not necessarily well, as she was being held prisoner and forced to act in A’s twisted play. When Aria refused to partake in a game to find “prom dates” and Hanna mouthed off to a surveillance camera, an alarm sounded before the girls were re-locked in their rooms. Mona later broke out the women, explaining there is a 3-minute window each night where everything shuts down, but she’s been unable to find any exit during that time, and instead has been tortured for trying.
As Toby, Caleb, and Ezra banded together to investigate the kidnapping, the Hastings’ confronted Ali in jail, where she broke down in tears upon finding out about her friends’ disappearance. Ali explained to Spencer’s skeptical parents that a new A took Mona’s place after Radley, raising the stakes and killing her mom and (presumably) Mona, and insisted she was telling the truth because now seemingly in jail for life after being convicted of Mona’s murder, she had nothing else to lose. Viewers then saw A watching surveillance of all the girls as they slept, and in a dream, Spencer figured out an anagram from the often-seen blocks of letters, and woke convinced that “IT has a name,” and that name was Charles.
The next morning, Toby gave Tanner evidence that the girls were kidnapped, but Tanner was convinced Caleb was involved and knew where Hanna was hiding. After he got back to work with Ezra and Caleb, the Hastings showed up to help, but Ezra warned messing with A will lead all their secrets to come out, too. When the police showed, Caleb went willingly, just as Mrs. Hastings appeared to get a call from Melissa, before viewers saw Andrew listening into the conversation through his laptop.
Meanwhile, Mona continued to play Ali for A’s cameras, and discovered a gift from A: a gas mask with the note, “Because you’re my favorite – A.” Each girl was then assigned roles for “prom”, and they realized they were being forced to recreate the “Phantom of the Opera”-themed dance they had years ago, which Ali attended with Ian. Mona was convinced that the gas mask was to keep her alive as A killed the other girls during the prom, and Spencer devised a plan in hopes of stopping that from happening. The scheme included a fake fight between Spence and Emily to distract the surveillance cam, and rigging a disposable camera.
At the police station, Mrs. Hastings demanded Caleb be charged or released, and the teen said he could lead Tanner to the girls if she only let him access the cop computers. Tanner gave in, and Caleb’s investigation led them to 1423 Clark Road, the location of the van. At the nearby old Campbell farm (like Andrew Campbell?!), Toby and Tanner discovered what appeared to be A’s underground lair. Tanner watched footage of the girls in A’s dollhouse, but she and the police had no idea where they were located. At the same time, the Liars showed up dressed for their “prom” in a sea of mannequins… with one of them seemingly A/Charles in disguise.
After Mona made her grand entrance as Ali as prom queen, the girls announced to Charles that he should be prom king. When he stepped forward, Aria clicked the camera, which made all the lights explode so they could make their escape. Spencer, however, went investigating, and found a home movie that showed Mrs. DiLaurentis with a baby Ali and TWO little boys — it seems Jason had a TWIN, and Charles was that twin! A, or Charles, caught Spencer watching, but disappeared when Mona walked in. When the girls all then broke outside, they discovered they were trapped by an electric fence, as A blared an old-time-y song through speakers. The camera then panned out to reveal the girls were literally being kept in a deep forest in the middle of nowhere. And THAT was the end of the season 5, and the #BigAReveal is that #AIsCharles.
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