As expected, the season three “Pretty Little Liars” finale was full of twists and turns. Premiering on March 19, this episode answered several questions, but also provoked multiple new ones. The season finale, entitled “A dAngerous gAme,” left viewers a balance of both satisfied with the information that was revealed, and also wanting to know more about knew secrets that were introduced.
The episode opens with Hanna, Emily, and Aria sitting in Spencer’s kitchen, waiting for Spencer to come downstairs. Spencer has been released from Radley, and her parents are throwing a party on Friday to let everyone know that she is better. Spencer seems to be back to her usual, well-dressed self, and she explains her complete recovery by saying that she was tired of letting herself be the victim, so she pushed through her rough situation at Radley to get better.
Jenna, who has not appeared on the show in quite a while, is back. She meets with Shawna in the woods and they discuss a plan that they have for Friday, when the girls will all be together. Apparently, Shawna is on the bad side; secret meetings with Jenna are never any good. Meanwhile, Ezra takes a job as a substitute teacher in the Rosewood school district, and Aria calls things off because their relationship has become too complicated—goodbye “Ezria.”
Spencer arranges a meeting with Toby—yes, Toby!—but Toby does not know he is meeting with Spencer. Mona had told Spencer that Toby was still alive, and Toby would be her “prize” for delivering the girls to Mona at the party on Friday. Toby is shocked to see Spencer in the black ‘A’ hoodie, and he tells her that he started working with Mona to keep Spencer safe. Spencer has similar intentions, as she says that she joined Mona in an attempt to keep Emily, Aria, and Hanna safe. Toby tells Spencer that he does not know the identity of “Red Coat,” the unidentified girl who is calling the shots for the ‘A’ team, and Toby and Spencer decide to work together with Mona, but secretly against her. Toby tells Spencer that what they had together when they dated was real, and Spencer is very quick to forgive and forget, as she trusts Toby quickly and they sleep together that day.
Hanna babysits Malcolm as an opportunity to ask him what the “Alison” who picked him up from karate class in the last episode looks like. While babysitting, Hanna gets a text with a picture of Alison and Spencer, and Malcolm identifies Spencer as the girl who picked him up. Emily is out on a run when she sees Jenna, Shawna, and Melissa meeting in Jenna’s house and holding invitations to Spencer’s party, which is suspicious. The girls know something is up, and they know that Spencer is part of the ‘A’ team.
The next day, Hanna wears a red coat so that Spencer will follow her to see who Red Coat is, and Hanna lures an unsuspecting Spencer into the girls’ bathroom, where Aria and Emily are waiting. The girls decide that Spencer is still on their side because she does not know who “Red Coat” is. Spencer tells the girls everything, including the truth that the party is a set-up, Toby is still alive, and she and Toby are on the good side. Spencer says she sent Hanna the picture so that the girls would try to contact her without Mona knowing. All four girls decide that they are going to be one step ahead of “Red Coat” at the party on Friday, and they will be waiting for her when she arrives.
Friday comes around, and Spencer and Toby meet Mona at the venue early. They tell Mona that the girls are on their way and don’t suspect anything. Little does Mona know, Emily, Aria, and Hanna are sneaking in a window upstairs. Mona sends Toby and Spencer outside for Toby to kill Spencer. Spencer acts horrified, but she and Toby are just acting. They go outside and try to see “Red Coat” arrive in her helicopter—everyone knows things are serious when someone arrives via helicopter.
Hanna, Aria, and Emily come downstairs and surprise Mona, but someone locks them all inside and sets the building on fire. In a panic, Mona admits to the girls that even she does not know who “Red Coat” is, but she is certain that “Red Coat” can do anything and she has complete power over the girls, including Mona.
Outside, Spencer goes to Red Coat’s helicopter. Spencer catches a glimpse of “Red Coat” and thinks that she is Alison. Toby had gone off in another direction, following a girl with a flashlight. The girl with the flashlight is about to turn around and face Toby when someone hits him from behind and knocks him unconscious. A lighter is dropped next to Toby, most likely to frame him for starting the fire. Toby later regains consciousness, but viewers do not see him for the rest of the episode.
Mona, Hanna, Emily, and Aria wake up outside, and Mona says that Alison dragged them out of the fire. Hanna says that she also saw Alison, as does Spencer. The five girls come to the conclusion that Alison is alive, and that she is “Red Coat.” On the ride home, Mona says that the night Ali’s grave was dug up, Red Coat was wearing a mask that looked just like Alison, so Aria suggests that “Red Coat” could have been wearing a mask at the fire, too.
While Emily is driving everyone home, the girls see that Wilden’s cop car has been pulled out of the lake and is abandoned on the side of the street with the lights flashing. The video of Hanna’s mom hitting Wilden is still playing, but there is more footage at the end this time. The video shows Shawna and Jenna helping Wilden up after he is hit. All five girls, including Mona, then get a text that says, “You’re mine now, Kisses. -A.” Spencer calls the girls over to the trunk of the cop car, and when they open it, all the girls gasp in shock; unfortunately, the viewers do not get to see what is in the trunk.
The episode ends with a hand sticking out of the ground, and someone helps pull the buried person out of the dirt.
The season three finale was by far the most intense episode of “Pretty Little Liars” to date. Toby is alive, but it may be too soon for Spencer to trust him—he is definitely good at lying. If “Red Coat” really is Alison, then this new discovery creates so many new questions. Whose body was found back in season one if it was not Alison’s? On a different topic, Shawna seemed like such an irrelevant character until now. Up until this episode, she was just an employee at a costume shop, but apparently she is connected to Jenna, Melissa, and Wilden?! Also, it seems like Mona is now a part of the group with Spencer, Emily, Aria, and Hanna, which is confusing because about 20 minutes ago she was planning on handing the girls over to “Red Coat,” knowing that they were likely to die. Hopefully these questions will be answered when “Pretty Little Liars” returns to ABC Family for season four on June 11.
