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On June 10, the fifth seasonPretty Little Liars, known to stans as PLL, premieres on ABC Family. When the show first began in 2010, no one expected it to last this long or become one of the most addictive shows on television. But a strong cast of female leads crossed with a never-ending stream of twists and turns have turned the show into a social media phenomenon. The spooky series centers on four best friends and their quest to find out what happened to the leader of the group after she disappears without a trace one summer. Complicating the process is the unidentified A, who taunts the girls through texts and, on multiple occasions, attempts to destroy their lives.
If you've never seen PLL, have no fear. There's no need to binge-watch all four seasons (that's 95 episodes). We've compiled the 10 best episodes to watch to help you catch up in time for the show's summer premiere. So sit back, jack your little sister's Nancy Drew notebook, and experience the mystery that is the elusive A and the thrill that is Pretty Little Liars.
Colleen Thornhill is a Pretty Little Liars junkie who rewatched all four seasons just for this. She tweets here.
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"Pilot," Season 1, Episode 1
The opening episode of Pretty Little Liars changed what it means to be an ABC Family show. This pilot packs so much punch that it's more akin to Scandal than The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Here, we meet our show's four main liars: Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna, and their queen bee best friend, Alison. During a slumber party, Alison goes missing. Fast forward a year later, and Ali is still nowhere to be found and her friends have drifted apart.
When each girl begins receiving mysterious texts from a source named "A," the girls wonder if Ali could still be alive. At least they hope she is, because if Ali isn't sending these texts, then someone else knows all their secrets. From student-teacher affairs to breaking up a sister's marriage, these girls have secrets worth killing for.
"Keep Your Friends Close," Season 1, Episode 10
Pretty Little Liars is known for epic, "did you see that coming?!" moments that make us question if this is a show really geared toward 12-year-old girls. Episode 10 is the first of many such episodes. The girls learn the FBI has begun investigating Alison's case after receiving a video of Ali talking to someone on camera, but they can't see who it is. Could it be Toby Cavanaugh, Ali's neighbor and possible murder suspect? Or is it Ali's mystery boyfriend?
A is still taunting the girls and tells them they must go to Hanna's friend Mona's "glamping" birthday party to find her. Or him. But Hanna may come too close to finding out the truth about A, and her life is threatened. This episode has the perfect mix of the PLL humor that we love it for and jaw-dropping moments that keep us coming back for more.
"For Whom the Bell Tolls," Season 1, Episode 22
In the season one finale, the girls finally hold the upper hand—or so they think. After finding a flash drive with voyeuristic video footage of them, the girls suspect Spencer's brother-in-law, Ian, of watching them the summer Ali disappeared and killing Ali when she discovered his secret. Trouble is Ian isn't the only one who wants the flash drive back, and the girls may be trusting the wrong people for help. When Ian confronts Spencer about the flash drive and what really happened to Alison, things quickly turn deadly.
"Over My Dead Body," Season 2, Episode 12
Worried that the girls can no longer cope with Ali's death on their own, their parents make them see a therapist, Dr. Sullivan. As the liars divulge their secrets, Dr. Sullivan begins piecing together A's identity, but she does too good a job, and A kidnaps her before she can tell the truth. In order to save Dr. Sullivan, the girls must complete a series of tasks for A. Completing the tasks may save the therapist's life, but they'll destroy others.
Meanwhile, we learn that Emily's old friend Garrett, now a police officer, may have tampered with Ali's murder file, removing evidence of himself and his girlfriend Jenna from the murder scene. With little evidence and few alternative suspects, Detective Wilden turns his suspicion towards the liars.
"The First Secret," Season 2, Episode 13
Season two kicked off a PLL tradition: the Halloween episode. Filled with over-the-top costumes, a few screams, and major revelations, it's always a fan favorite. In this first Halloween episode, the liars flashback to their last Halloween with Alison. We get to see everyone as their former geeky selves, with Alison leading them on the path toward popularity.
Invited to the school's resident hot guy Noel Kahn's Halloween party, the girls get so excited that they fail to notice Alison's increasing paranoia. When a prank at the party goes wrong, it soon becomes clear that A may have started playing her games long before Ali went missing, and Ali may have been one of her victims.
"unmAsked," Season 2, Episode 25
When Jenna turns in the missing page of Ali's murder file, Garrett is arrested for Alison's murder. Still, the liars think others may have been involved, especially after finding A's phone, which contains incriminating footage of Spencer's sister Melissa. After receiving an invite from A to a masquerade ball, the girls set out to find the elusive cyberbully. Thinking she's finally discovered where A's been hiding, Spencer leaves the ball and heads to A's lair, without her friends, and gets more than she bargained for. By episode's end, so does Emily.
"The Lady Killer," Season 3, Episode 12
With Mona in a mental institution, the girls are shocked when the texts from A begin again. They wonder if Emily's on-again, off-again girlfriend Paige is the culprit, especially after Emily is found drugged next to Ali's dug-up, suddenly empty grave. Sick of her friends' judgemental attitude, Emily skips town with Nate, Maya's cousin. Fearing for their friend's safety, the liars go after her. There aren't many PLL episodes that beat this one in terms of scares and shock value. And stick around for the ending—it sent PLL fans sprilaing for weeks.
"This Is a Dark Ride," Season 3, Episode 13
The girls take a ride on the Rosewood Ghost Train to celebrate Halloween. But things turn scarier than anticipated when Garrett shows up and reveals to Spencer what he saw the night of Alison's disappearance, including Ali threatening Aria's father. When Aria goes missing and Spencer is attacked, the Ghost Train fun gets derailed as A's games become more twisted than ever.
"a dAngerous gAme," Season 3, Episode 24
After learning her boyfriend Toby may have been a member of the A team—and may be dead—Spencer loses it and enters a mental institution. She may have even crossed over to the dark side and joined the A team. Upon her release, Spencer claims her parents are throwing a party to celebrate her recovery. The girls hope to catch "Red Coat," the unknown leader of the A team, at the party. When the lodge catches on fire, the girls find themselves saved by someone unexpected, making them second guess everything they thought they knew.
"A is for Answers," Season 4, Episode 24
Season four may be the most confusing PLL season, but the finale episode tries to tidy things up for us. When the girls discover Ali isn't dead but has been in hiding with the help of Noel Kahn, they turn to her for answers about the night she disappeared. Most of the suspected Ali-killers are innocent, but the real threats come from the most unexpected people, including Ali's own mother. When someone tries to shoot the girls, Ezra protects them, but at risk to his own life.