"Unmasked" is the

season finale A season finale (British English: last in the series; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will try to ...

and the twenty-fifth episode of the second season of ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'', which premiered on

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

on March 19, 2012. The forty-seventh episode overall, it was directed by

Lesli Linka Glatter Lesli Linka Glatter (born July 26, 1953) is an American film and television director. She is best known for her work on the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' and the Showtime series ''Homeland'', for which she's received eight Primetime Emmy Award nomi ...

and written by series creator and showrunner

I. Marlene King Ina Marlene King is a writer, producer and director. She is best known as the executive producer and showrunner of the Freeform teen drama series ''Pretty Little Liars'', based on the book series of the same name by Sara Shepard.Friedlander, Whi ...

. The episode yielded 3.69 million viewers and a 1.6 demo rating, an increase from the previous episode. It received widespread acclaim from critics, with many noting the satisfying reveal and climactic final scenes, and is often noted as one of the best episodes of the series. In particular, the performances of Janel Parrish and Shay Mitchell received critical praise. Set chronologically in April 2011, the episode revolves around the Liars approaching to the truth of who's behind " A"'s mask, while the identity of the stalker shocks the girls and a dead body is found.

Plot

Local news report that Officer Garrett Reynolds was arrested for

Alison DiLaurentis Alison Lauren DiLaurentis is a fictional character in the ''Pretty Little Liars'' book series, its television adaptation, and the spin-off series '' Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists''. The character was created by American author Sara She ...

' murder. Rosewood P.D.'s theory is that Reynolds joined the police to destroy evidence which linked him to the crime scene. Spencer, Hanna,

Aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

and Emily watch the program as the narrator reveals that the page five of Alison's autopsy was founded; Spencer then tells the girls that

Jenna Jenna is a female given name. In the English-speaking world it is a variation of Jenny, which is itself a diminutive of Jane, Janet, Jennifer and is often used as a name in its own right.Katie Martin-Doyle, ''The Treasury of Baby Names'', Worth Pre ...

is the one who delivered the paper to the P.D. Hanna notes that two members of the N.A.T. Club are still out there:

Melissa Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". ''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Me ...

and Jenna. Melissa then suddenly appears and says she knew all along that

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

hadn't killed Alison. She states that she know who Jenna got blind, just like Garrett do, and that this could be why he murdered Alison. Melissa leaves with Aria's ice cream, as they receive a message from "A" and invitations for the Masquerade Ball. The girls discuss outside the school about how smart and untrustworthy Melissa is. Mona approaches, wanting to go with them to a little shop to buy costumes, but they dodge her. At Ezra's apartment, they rummage Alison's bag and discover about the Lost Woods Resort, the connection between the clues they found lately. That evening, they drive to Lost Woods, where they meet the innkeeper and rent the Room 1. Spencer sings their entry as Mary Smith. Emily gets a call from

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...

and leaves the room in order to catch a better signal. Spencer and Aria sneak into the reception to read the guestbook; they discover that Alison has checked in twice as Vivian Darkbloom. "A" enters the room and Hanna almost sees him/her. The next morning, Spencer and Aria returns the guestbook, and they decide to leave, as "A" watches them through a peep hole. Back in town, Spencer apologizes with

Toby Toby is a popular, usually male, name in many English speaking countries. The name is from the Middle English vernacular form of Tobias. Tobias itself is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew טוביה ''Toviah'', which translates to ''Good i ...

, but he refuses to talk about Jenna. As Spencer leaves, he receives a call from Dr. Sullivan. Meanwhile, Jenna meets with an unknown person, where it is revealed that she can see. At the masquerade, they split to investigate "A" separately. Mona reveals to Spencer that before Ali's disappearance she saw Ali dressed strangely and spying on someone at a vintage shop in Brookhaven. In the flashback, Ali hands Mona a

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

with a phone number on it in exchange of keeping Ali's

secret Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

. Jenna texts Aria, and the latter enters a maze and Jenna follows her. However, Aria finds Ezra in the end of the maze. Ezra and Aria have their first dance in public.

Caleb Caleb (), sometimes transliterated as Kaleb ( he, כָּלֵב, ''Kalev'', ; Tiberian vocalization: Kālēḇ; Hebrew Academy: Kalev), is a figure who appears in the Hebrew Bible as a representative of the Tribe of Judah during the Israelites' ...

and Hanna also dance together, while Paige and Emily talk about their relationship and decide to be friends. Meanwhile, Mona and Spencer drive to the Lost Woods Resort in order to discover what's in Room 2. Arriving there, Spencer discovers "A's" lair, where costumes, hoodies, pictures, and other parachute reside. Spencer finds Ali's diary and solves the puzzle: Mona is "A". But before she can do something, Mona knocks her out with a flashlight. Hanna, Emily and Aria get curious about the Black Swan and follow her, but they only get a feather of the costume. Spencer wakes up in the car with Mona driving. The girls try to call Spencer, and when she secretly answers it, it is revealed to the girls that Mona is "A". Hanna is shocked, and Spencer cleverly leaves a clue of where they are for the girls, who run off to find her. Mona says she admires Spencer and invites her to join

the A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court marti ...

. Mona reveals that she became "A" because she hated them for stealing Hanna's friendship from her. Spencer asks Mona to stop, encouraging her that Hanna is still her friend. Spencer pulls the car's emergency brake and manages to leave the vehicle. Mona gets out of the car and is almost run over by Hanna. Mona pulls Spencer up and tries to push her off the

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

; they fight and Mona falls instead. The girls approach Spencer and help her. Shortly after, the authorities appear and it is revealed that Mona is still alive. Dr. Sullivan says Mona blackmailed her by threatening her son, which is why she disappeared. Dr. Sullivan diagnoses Mona with a

personality disorder Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the individual's culture ...

which caused her to experience a sense of

hyper-reality Jean Baudrillard ( , , ; 27 July 1929 – 6 March 2007) was a French sociologist, philosopher and poet with interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as wel ...

and

omnipresence Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a religious context as an attribute of a deity or supreme being, while the term ubiquity is generally used to describe ...

. Mona is sent to a mental institution and Dr. Sullivan states Mona can be helped with treatment. The doctor then reveals to Spencer that Toby convinced her to come back to Rosewood; outside, Spencer and Toby

kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

. Afterwards, the girls drive to Emily's house, and they discover that Maya's body was found, and Emily gets distraught. Meanwhile, Mona is visited by

someone Someone may refer to: Literature * ''Someone'' (Edwards novel), a 2014 novel by A.M. Edwards * ''Someone'' (McDermott novel), a 2013 novel by Alice McDermott Songs * "Someone" (Lee Greenwood song), 1987 * "Someone" (The Rembrandts song), 19 ...

in a red coat at Radley Sanitarium and tells the figure that she did everything they asked her to do.

Reception

Teresa Lopez of ''TVFanatic'' gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating, "What really bothered me about the finale was that despite getting an identity for A, even that revelation wasn't 100% certain. As one of my friends very rightly pointed out, the problem with the show is that it can be so manipulative without being fully satisfying." Louis Peitzman of

TV.com TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...

gave the episode a favorable review, calling it "''Pretty Little Liars'' at its finest," and writing, "The build-up to the reveal of Mona as 'A' was appropriately suspenseful. Like the Halloween episode, the finale delivered on the creepy factor: that motel, the

Norman Bates Norman Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch as the main antagonist in his 1959 thriller novel '' Psycho''. He has an alter, Mother, who takes from the form of his abusive mother, and later victim, Norma, wh ...

wannabe, the lair where 'A' did all her dirty work. The ''Psycho'' references were heavy-handed, to say the least, but they were also pretty fun. For those of us who appreciate soapy teen thrillers and

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

, it was nice to see a little overlap." "Unmasked" was watched by 3.69 million Americans and scored a 1.6 Nielsen rating/share in the adults among 18–49 demographic. It was up both viewers and adults 18–49, respectively, from the previous episode, "If These Dolls Could Talk", which netted 2.47 million American viewers and a 1.0 Nielsen rating/share.

References

External links

* {{Pretty Little Liars episodes Pretty Little Liars episodes 2012 American television episodes Fiction set in 2011 Television episodes directed by Lesli Linka Glatter