Alison tells her friends that Charles is her brother. He was born 15 months before Jason (so they aren’t twins). Charles was troubled at an early age. His parents took him to the best doctors and therapists, but no one knew what was wrong with him. When Alison was one year old, her parents decided that it was too dangerous for Charles to stay in the house. They had him institutionalized at Radley Sanitarium.
No one in Rosewood knew about Charles because the DiLaurentis family moved to Rosewood after he was admitted to Radley. All roads lead back to Radley. They kept Charles a secret so that Alison could have a normal childhood without the distraction. They hoped Charles would get better at Radley.
Alison told her dad that Charles got worse. He set her up for Mona’s murder and he kidnapped and tortured her friends. However, Alison’s dad is certain that Charles didn’t do that. He tells Alison that Charles is dead.
Charles killed himself by overdosing on pills when he was sixteen years old. He never left Radley. Alison’s dad was out of the country when it happened. Alison’s mom had the body cremated.
Hanna thinks Alison’s dad is lying about Charles committing suicide. With no body or no grave, there is no proof that Charles is dead. Besides, Alison’s dad lied about Charles even existing. Why should they start believing him now?
Alison defends her dad. Her dad lied before because he was ashamed of what he did. But he wouldn’t lie to protect someone who tortured and kidnapped the Liars.
Regardless of whether they can trust Alison’s dad, the Liars know that “A” responds to name ‘Charles’. And the home movie of Charles and Jason at the Campbell farm clearly meant a lot to “A”. They can’t rule out Charles being “A” until they can find proof of his death. The girls want to get answers at Radley, but Radley has already been shut down.
Hanna finds Caleb waiting for her in her bedroom. Hanna’s mom said he could spend the night. Hanna isn’t too happy when Caleb stays up all night instead of sleeping, though. Caleb was worried that “A” might come back. He noticed that the police stationed outside Hanna’s house were sloppy when they switched shifts.
There was a ten minute gap between the time the first police car left the house and the next police car showed up. Instead of getting some sleep, Caleb goes out to talk to the cop outside. He wants to know if that cop showed up late or if the other cop left early.
Sara Harvey is still crashing at Emily’s house. She isn’t sure about her new short haircut, but Emily likes it.
Emily’s mom has arranged for both Sara and Emily to see Dr. Sullivan. Sara tells them that she has to take a shower and quickly leaves the room.
Emily’s mom can’t force Sara Harvey to see Dr. Sullivan, but she can force Emily. Emily’s mom is extremely concerned about Emily’s state of mind, especially after Emily’s visits to the shooting range. Emily needs to speak to someone about the kidnapping.
Aria does some Internet searches for Charles DiLaurentis’s death record and Charles Dialurentis’s obituary, but she doesn’t find anything.
Aria’s dad, Byron Montgomery, checks in on Aria. He tells her that Lt. Tanner wants to speak to her now that Andrew has been released. He told Lt. Tanner that Aria needs more time.
Aria dad wants her to talk to him, but she doesn’t ever want to talk about the dollhouse. Aria just wants to move forward and get on with her life. Since talking is out of the question, Aria’s dad asks suggest that they catch a movie or play some mini golf.
Aria isn’t interested. She’s planning to use the dark room at Hollis to develop her photographs. Aria’s dad wants to drive her there, but Aria tells him that he doesn’t have to.
Spencer reads that an investment firm purchased Radley Sanitarium. She calls to find out how to get patient records. Some patient records were transferred with the patients who went to a new facility. Other patient records are being shredded at a data center.
Ezra talks to Spencer about The Brew’s new baker, Sabrina. She reeks of weed (she uses it for her migraines). She makes great pastries, but she’s clumsy. Sabrina spills a drink and Spencer flashes back to a dollhouse memory.
In the dollhouse, Spencer woke up covered in blood. She panics when she sees the blood all over her hands, shirt and the floor.
The Liars formulate a plan to get Charles’s Radley patient file. The file should say if Charles died or if he was released. The data center where the Radley patient records are is twenty minutes away, so they can go check. They’ll asks for Spencer’s medical records to find out if the Radley files have already been shredded.
Hanna says that Caleb can drive them to the data center, but Emily insists that Hanna keep this a secret from Caleb. Emily is worried that “A” will hurt Sara if they talk to anyone. Hanna doesn’t care, since she doesn’t even know Sara. Emily won’t back down, so Hanna agrees to lie to Caleb.
Aria notices that Spencer has trouble opening her water bottle. Spencer asks Aria if her anti-anxiety medication is helping her. The pills gave Aria headaches, so she threw them out.
Spencer is so desperate for pills that she ends up digging through Aria’s trash to find the medication that Aria through out. She can’t find the pills in the trash, though.
Alison asks her dad what he did with the ashes after Charles was cremated. Alison’s dad wasn’t there, but Alison’s mom scattered the ashes on the lake. They didn’t have a funeral for Charles. Alison’s dad admits that he was relieved when Charles died. He didn’t have to worry anymore.
The Liars sneak into the data center while a truck is being loaded with boxes. Aria finds the Radley patient file for Charles, but it is only paperwork on him from when he was 13-16 years old. The last thing written was that they increased his medication for severe depression. It doesn’t say if he killed himself.
The visitors log shows that Charles was visited by his mom and Carol Ward. Emily remembers that Carol Ward is Alison’s great aunt. Unfortunately, it looks like that’s a dead end because Carol Ward died when the Liars were in tenth grade.
The Liars all have someone waiting to confront them when they leave the data center. They find Caleb waiting outside to confront Hanna. Turns out Caleb put a tracker on Hanna’s car. Hanna is furious and demands that he take it off. Caleb wants to protect Hanna from “A”, who is still out there and could kidnap the Liars again. Caleb was so scared when Hanna was in the dollhouse, but there was nothing he could do to help her.
Aria comes home to find her dad panicking. He went by the photo studio on campus and didn’t find Aria, but she also wasn’t at home. She wasn’t picking up her phone, either. He thought something happened to her. It’s his job to keep Aria safe, so he is going to drive her to the Hollis photo studio tomorrow. He has to know where she is at all times. Aria apologizes, but her dad isn’t trying to punish her. It’s just how things have to be from now on.
Emily’s mom found Sara Harvey on the roof while Emily was gone. She was afraid Sara was going to jump, but Sara was just staring up at the sky. She went up on the roof to watch the sunset. Emily’s mom regrets letting Sara stay with them. Clearly Sara needs help. Sara doesn’t want therapy, but Emily’s mom doesn’t know how they can help her.
Emily is sure that she can help Sara. Emily’s mom knows Emily hasn’t been sleeping and jumps at any noise she hears. Sara was in the dollhouse for over two years. Neither Emily nor her mom know what Sara really needs right now. Sara eavesdrops on their conversation.
Spencer goes back to The Brew and introduces herself to Sabrina. She asks Sabrina to sell her some pot brownies. She needs something to calm her nerves. Sabrina tells Spencer that she isn’t a drug dealer and she can’t sell pot to her. She doesn’t mind sharing, though. She promises to make a package for Spencer and leave it for her to pick up.
Jason is upset that his family has been lying to him for years. His entire life he was told that something he remembered wasn't real. It made him doubt himself. He has a hard time believing that no one else in their family knew about Charles. Alison tells Jason that Aunt Carol knew. She visited Charles in Radley many times.
Jason remembers something weird about Aunt Carol’s house. Last year, after Jason got hurt in the elevator he went to Aunt Carol’s house. He wanted to hide there, but was surprised to see him mom there. His mom decided not to sell Aunt Carol’s house.
However, Ms. DiLaurentis wouldn't let Jason come into the house. She told him that there was a plumbing issue. Jason thought it’d be okay for just one night, but his mom told him to go back home. He heard a banging noise coming from inside the house, but his mom said it was just the wind.
Alison and Jason wonder if Charles was living in Aunt Carol’s house.
Emily wakes up to find Sara gone. She later meets up with Sara at The Brew. Sara left Emily’s house after overhearing Emily’s mom talking to Emily. She didn’t want to cause any problems. She went back home, but things still aren’t good with her mom.
Sara knows that she needs therapy, but she doesn’t want to waste time getting analyzed. She wants to do simple things like walk on the beach or swim in the ocean.
Jason, Spencer, Hanna and Alison check out Aunt Carol’s house. It doesn’t look like anyone is living there. The electricity has been turned off in the house.
Aria develops her photos in the darkroom at Hollis College. Aria finds a message from “A” that says “You’re MY doll, bitch – A”. Aria has a flashback to being in the dollhouse and we see how Aria got her pink highlights and short hair. “A” gave her pink hair dye and a message that said “Use it or you’ll get a surprise”. Aria threw the hair dye and yelled “I’m not your doll”. Aria later woke up to find out “A” cut her hair while she was sleeping. There was a new message that said “Dye it now or lose it all”.
Aria tries to leave the darkroom, but the door is locked. She bangs on the door and screams for help. She is rescued by Clark, a photographer who tells her that the door was wedged shut.
Spencer asks Hanna if she remembers everything Charles made her do. Hanna does, but Spencer confesses that she doesn’t remember everything.
Spencer could barely sleep in the dollhouse. Every time she fell asleep a loud buzzer would go off. One night the buzzer didn’t go off and Spencer could actually sleep. When she woke up, she was covered in blood. She had no idea whose blood it was and the next morning the blood was gone. The blood had been smeared across the floor like a body was dragged out of the room.
Hanna tells her that it must have been another one of Charles’s mind games. It was probably fake blood.
Spencer isn’t convinced. She is afraid that she really hurt someone, but she doesn’t know who she could have hurt.
Clark shows Aria some of his photographs. He tells Aria not to be afraid to show her photographs and get some feedback. She’d be surprised by how much it can help.
Jason and Alison find Charles’s grave outside. The tombstone is engraved with the words “Charles DiLaurentis Beloved Son”. Hanna thinks “A” could have planted the tombstone to throw them off the Charles trail. Hanna grabs a shovel and starts digging to prove that there is nothing buried there, but Jason stops her. Roots are wrapped around the headstone, so the headstone must have been there for years.
Spencer and Hanna wonder who “A” is if Charles is really dead. “A” must be assuming Charles’s identity, so “A” has to be someone who knew Charles. Charles was institutionalized his whole life, which means that “A” is someone Charles knew at Radley.
Emily takes Sara swimming. Sara tells Emily that no one has ever looked out for her before the way that Emily does.
Aria has refused to talk to anyone about the dollhouse, but she finally decides to let her dad in. She shows her dad a photograph she took of her bedroom and tells him that it looks exactly like the room “A” kept her in. The only differences were the dirt wall behind the window and there wasn’t a closet behind the door. Aria breaks down crying. Her dad holds her close to him.
Hanna comes home and Caleb immediately starts asking where she was and why she has dirt on her clothes. Why does she keep lying to him?
Caleb plans to stay at Hanna’s house for a while, but Hanna doesn’t want him to. He’s suffocating her. His constant need to keep tabs on her makes her feel like she is still locked in “A”’s bunker. She needs some space.
Ezra catches Spencer picking up her pot cookies at The Brew and he worries that she’s using drugs as a way of ignoring her problems. Ezra knows that it can’t be easy coping with the kidnapping. He isn’t judging her, but the effect of the cookies will wear off and the things that are bothering her will still be there.
Spencer doesn’t take Ezra’s advice. She can’t sleep because her mind won’t shut off. She needs to find some way to quiet the noise.
When Alison goes home, her dad finally explains why they had Charles institutionalized. When Alison was eleven months old, her dad put her in the crib for a nap. He went outside to turn on the grill. Alison’s mom was in the garden with Jason. Alison’s dad ran back to the house when he heard Ali screaming. He saw Alison in the tub. The water was scalding hot and rising fast. Charles was just standing there, watching as Alison slipped under the water.
Alison doesn’t want to hear any more. She just wants to let Charles rest in peace.
“A” has some sort of tracking device on the Liars. On his computer, he can see where Hanna, Aria, Emily and Spencer are at all times. (He isn’t tracking Alison?)
So do you think Charles is really dead? Just because the tombstone has been in the ground for years doesn’t necessarily mean a body is buried there or that Charles is dead. If he is really dead, who is “A”? Why is Charles so important to “A”? And how shocked were you to learn that Charles tried to drown Alison when she was a baby?
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