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The annual Pretty Little Liars Halloween special, “Grave New World,” finds the girls scrambling around Ravenswood in hopes of finding Alison.
It is Founder’s Day in Ravenswood, y’all, which means partying on graves in fancy gowns and tall hats… and girdles. Aria gets a call from Ezra warning her to be careful, convenient since he’s also in Ravenswood, following her, and dressed in a super cute costume. Hello there, Mr. Fitz!
Meanwhile, Caleb is on a bus to Ravenswood with some bald, creepy guy. Apparently they are the only two people interested in going to this creepy town. He dozes off and wakes to some girl who has about 15,000 questions. She’s hungry, also thinks the guy in the back is creepy, and is headed to Ravenswood as well. Her parents are dead and her living situation is complicated. Sounds familiar, eh? Looks like she and Caleb might have fallen from the same tree.
Caleb is still stuck on the bus, counseling his newfound friend about hoping for a happily foster ever after. She gets spooked by him and almost leaves the bus until she realizes creepy guy is getting off at the next stop. Viewers, meet Miranda.
Back at Founder’s Day, Mrs. Grunswald warns the girls that it’s time to hang their heads and go back to Rosewood. And this is where the girls begin to get separated. They just never learn. Aria takes off to follow someone in a white gown, who isn’t the woman they’re looking for, while Hanna is distracted by twin girls in a red dresses, who keep disappearing and reappearing. When they find one another again, they see a redcoat and chase her in hopes that it’s Ali… but she disappears.
Sidenote: Thank you to whoever at ABC Family decided to let Chris Hemsworth plug whatever it is he’s plugging. Forgive me, but when I see his face, I can’t focus on the words coming out of his mouth.
And back on Pretty Little Liars…
The girls discover a secret crypt and head underground in hopes of finding the redcoat stand in. Once inside, the door closes behind them and they’re trapped. Raise your hand if you’re surprised by this turn of events? Yeah, I didn’t think so. There are a bunch of creepy statues and magical wind… and then Hanna is gone! This is all fine and dandy until we catch up with Hanna, who finds help written on the wall in red – blood obviously – and surrounded by rats.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a girl run so fast in a ballgown in my life. She finds another door and busts inside, unaware that Gas Mask dude is in the room as well. Remember him from the PLL summer finale? Creepy! She stalks through the house, desperate for a cell connection. There is no struggle quite like trying to get bars on your cell phone, is there? The struggle is real, Hanna. The struggle is real.
When her search fails, she finds a rotary phone, which takes like an entire year to dial. If you’re old enough, you remember those damn phones. They sucked. Unfortunately, the phone doesn’t work and as if that’s not bad enough, Hanna is now trapped in the phone booth. (Really, Hanna, did you think it was going to work in the first place? Girl, get it together.)
There’s a bunch of flashing lights outside the booth and then the phone rings. Of course, Hanna answers and hears some old time music. And this is where I take a moment to point out that nothing in the first 30 minutes of this show has made any sense. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And if you think differently, feel free to argue with me in the comments. I dare you.
Meanwhile, Hanna’s boyfriend has arrived in Ravenswood with Miranda. They’ve swapped numbers and everything, so they’re like totally BFFs for life and stuff. They part ways and Miranda ends up at the very house the girls are in, unaware they’re on the other side of the house and hearing Ali saying she that her friends will find her. Little do they know that Hanna has actually found her! Ali’s face presses against the glass of the booth… and then Gas Mask snatches her away… and then Miranda opens the door. I mean, WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?
Hanna is insanely bitchy to Miranda, who is clearly non-threatening, but doesn’t bat an eye when she says her name is Hanna, interesting since she just got off a bus with Caleb, who talked about his girlfriend. Turns out they are in her uncle’s house and it looks like he’s in the coffin business. Insert random flashback to Miranda being in the same room between her parents coffins as her uncle asks for her forgiveness… and then she gets all blabbermouth and tells Hanna about it. This is just awkward and Hanna does not have time for your dead parent problems. And for the record, neither do I.
Thankfully, we move back to Aria (and Emily, but no one likes her, so I pretend she doesn’t exist), who continue to hear Ali’s voice. Emily contemplates jumping out the window and I’m all, “DO IT, EMILY. DON’T TEASE ME,” but before she can the window falls and makes me wish her head had been under it.
Oh! I just realized we lost Spencer. The girls may have mentioned that, but now that I see that she’s lost, it suddenly clicks. Gas Mask attacks her and Spencer holds her own, but ends up on the ground with him standing over her with a pair of gardening sheers.
(Hee. I honestly never thought I’d have the opportunity to use that GIF. Thank you, PLL, for making my dreams come true.)
The girls find Spencer, who is suddenly awake – how convenient. They hear someone calling for help and find a recorder playing back Ali’s voice. Mrs. Grunswald is not pleased that they’ve found it. She is not surprised to learn that Ali was in the house, which she’s a caretaker of, but says the tape of Ali’s voice was stolen. Mrs. G has a sudden OMFG psychic moment and says that one of the girls has been touched by the one Ali fears. (Hey, Ezra Fitz, Mrs. G means you!)
Meanwhile, Hanna has reunited with Caleb, but they aren’t exactly running into one another’s arms because Miranda is finding her a grave with her face on it. Hey, Ravenswood spinoff ploy. Miranda refuses to go back to Rosewood with them, so Hanna tells Caleb to stay and help her. Isn’t that just the sweetest thing ever? It’s not all sweet though because Miranda finds a grave with Caleb’s face and name on it not long after Hanna is gone. Whoa?! Say what?!
Hanna reunites with the girls back at the car, who are struggling with spare tire problems when a car pulls up – Ezra! And this is where things really hit the fan aka get totally confusing. Ezra is all heyyyy, let me drive you home and drop you off because I’m the concerned boyfriend and totally not A and totally not creepy. At home, the girls find redcoat in the woods, who turns around and reveals herself as Ali. The bitch is alive, y’all! The reveal finally happened!
Unfortunately, Ali only stays long to ask Hanna what she told her in the hospital (“Telling the truth to the wrong person at the wrong time is how I ended up where I am.”) and then disappears because Ezra comes back with Aria’s phone… and this basically confirms Mrs. G’s vision. Are the writers really going there? Are they? Pretty please with a cherry on top? PLEASE. (I still don’t believe they will. I just can’t put that much faith in the writers.)
And that concludes this year’s Halloween special. Thank you and goodnight. Pretty Little Liars will return January 7 at 8 pm ET/ST.
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