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‘Pretty Little Liars’ Season 4, Episode 7: 'Crash And Burn, Girl!'

Kathy Zerbib |
July 23, 2013 | 7:44 p.m. PDT

Film Editor

Team Boyfriends, AKA Caleb and Toby, are teaming up to figure out who "A" and Red Coat are, once and for all (ABC Family).
Team Boyfriends, AKA Caleb and Toby, are teaming up to figure out who "A" and Red Coat are, once and for all (ABC Family).
Last week on "PLL," things heated up in Rosewood with Ashley Marin's arrest. But did she kill Officer Wilden? No, probably not, but "A" or someone else is intent on framing Mama' Marin for it. How will Hanna cope? Let's jump right in to tonight's episode and see...

As expected, Hanna is a mess. She was calm when she was arrested, but that was only because she knew she was safe. Hanna knows her mother looks bad, so she's freaked out.

Emily and Spencer are washing dishes at Hanna's house and being awkward together. The tension is put on hold because of how devastated Hanna is. Aria comes in and they decide to stick together for the night for Hanna. She needs them all.

Meanwhile, Caleb is on the phone with Hanna swearing his allegiance to her. When he gets off the phone, we see him with Toby. Team Boyfriends is linking up to figure out "A," once and for all. This bromance has been necessary for a long time now. The boys even have their own board to assess everything. So cute!

Emily's mom wants her to get injections to help her daughter's shoulder heal. Hopefully, it gets Emily out of surgery... But it's costly. Pam is hoping insurance will cover it, but a "PLL" fan knows the situation will over-complicate soon enough. She also wants her daughter to ease up from Hanna, considering Ashley's arrest.

At school, Aria is inquiring about Mike's whereabouts the night Connor's car was wrecked. Mike insists he's innocent. Not everyone is convinced, though. A school official later stops her and asks about her brother's meds and his past acts of retaliation. Theft, a fist fight, and now vandalizing a car? Things are not looking good for the Montgomery family, either.

Hanna visits her mom in jail. Orange isn't her color, but she's working it the best she can. Hanna is trying to play it casual, but Ashley has her mind on her trial. Hanna tries to make her mom promise she'll make plans with her. Too bad Ashley doesn't have as much optimism. But Hanna is definitely a soldier. She faces the stares and sneers at school to get her stuff. Ezra even cuts her some slack on an essay she didn't do. Sidenote: Seeing Ezra act like a professor and not a lover makes us feel so... dirty. We love it.

Our beloved Team Boyfriends is trying to track down the plane from the night at the lodge. They find a hit online and go off to investigate. Caleb bribes an employee there, Nigel Wright, into showing them a flight plan. They leave with nothing to work with. Once they're out the door, Nigel hops on his cell phone. Oh, producers of "PLL," bless your abilities to make anyone, not matter how insignificant, seem suspicious.

Aria finds herself in yet another awkward situation. She has to explain to her dad about the Connor problem. Her dad tells her Connor's father is trying to get Mike expelled. Yikes! Mike's brotherly protection is turning out to be quite short-lived.

Hanna is forging her mother's signature, as of late. Spencer comes over and shares that Ashley is not doing well. She may face 20 years for voluntary manslaughter... or first degree murder for life. Curse you, "A." Curse you for killing a great family unit.

Emily is at the police station for paperwork for her injection therapy. While her mom is preoccupied, dearest Em snatches the key to Wilden's apartment and brings it back to Aria and Spencer. They break in with cute little gloves on and keep the lights off. The phone rings as they're snooping around. What a coincidence. They stumble on a box. A rotten meat box, to be exact. The note says it's from "A," who can't wait to see Wilden at the "barbecue." The fire at the lodge, maybe?

Toby and Caleb figure out the lighter found at the lodge may belong to Nigel Wright. He was Jenna's date at Wilden's funeral, remember him? Neither does anyone else. The compass on it might be for a pilot, insinuating Nigel might have been the one who flew the plane and knocked Toby out that night. They go back to the flight office and confront Nigel. He tells them Cece told him to fake a flight plan, but that's not the whole story and Team Boyfriends knows it. Nigel pushes the guys over and flees, but not before Caleb snags his cell phone. Go Team! We know Cece was visiting Mona in Radley, but what if she is also the "blonde girl" who visited Toby's mom?

Back at school, Aria is waiting outside of the principal's office as Mike and Connor's dads duke it out. Ezra comes up and talks to her, but the two are dispersed by Aria's dad Byron. Welp, it's looking like a reunion between these two is inevitable and Papa Montgomery knows it. Ezra decides to play hero, anyway. He questions Principal Hackett's way of handling things, who in turn questions Ezra for his personal bias. But it works. Mike is off the hook due to lack of evidence. The men are owning this episode! 

Back at the police station, Emily is back with the key. She wanted to sneak it back before anyone noticed, but unfortunately everyone already find out it was missing. Her mom is in a lot of trouble for losing that key. Pam is even suspended from her job for it and we feel for her. Pam goes home and rages at her daughter for skipping out on her injection appointment. "A" drops a message for Emily that her life is about to get more hectic because the Liars broke into Wilden's. Ugh, "A" knows no mercy.

Hanna is back at the jail trying to convince her mom to plead self-defense. She'd prefer her mom face 20 years and not life. Ashley is not willing to plead to a crime she insists she didn't do. Ashley is probably wondering what happened to Hanna's confidence. 

Nigel is at the office. He makes tea for someone he calls "Babe" and tells her he's sorry he screwed up. He names Caleb as the one who took his phone. The camera cuts to a pair of sunglasses next to the cup of tea. Jenna? No, that's too expected... Cece, maybe? Alison?

Emily overhears her mom on the phone with her dad. They're discussing their financial struggles now that Pam has been suspended without pay. Emily sneaks down the stairs to get a better listen. Mrs. Fields is pacing around the living room when bright lights focus on her. In half a second, a car comes flying through the house and stops really close to Pam. Emily and Pam freak out and run off, but hello?! Does no one think to check for the driver and see who it is? Maybe check to see how hurt they are? Another case of ignoring a simple way to solve a mystery...

The last scene is "A" buying the Fields family a $50 gift card for home repair. How sweet. What are the chances the Liars will go to the store, check to see who bought the gift card, and trace it to "A"? Slim to none. Sigh.

That's all for this week, tune in to next week's recap for more "PLL" goodies!

Reach Film Editor Kathy Zerbib here; Follow her on Twitter here.



 

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