Blood Is The New Black

Blood Is The New Black is the second episode of Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars.

Synopsis
The episode opens with Spencer, Aria and Emily in English class. Mrs. Montgomery is talking about the play Hedda Gabler, telling her students to simultaneously take down notes. Emily sorts through her bag as she sits down and finds a necklace adorned with what looks like human teeth along with the words "DEAD GIRLS CANT SMILE." Terrified, she asks to be excused and hurries out of the class. Spencer and Aria follow her. In the corridor, Hanna spots Emily rushing out of the class, and follows too.

The girls gather in the bathroom, their unofficial meeting place for important discussions. There, Emily shows them the necklace. Hanna knows they are real teeth because of that time she worked in a dentist's office and saw them everywhere. The girls think they might be Alison's teeth. Just then, they hear someone coming into the bathroom and rush into one of the stalls. There, while trying to decide whether to give it to the police, they drop it in the toilet. Spencer tries to grab it slowly, but the sensors turn on, and the toilet flushes away their evidence.

In the courtyard, the girls discuss about the necklace and "A". They ask Hanna to go back to Radley Sanitarium and talk to Mona and find out who she has been working with. Hanna is reluctant at first, but ultimately agrees and leaves. Spencer, Emily and Aria then see Jenna coming into the courtyard. They speculate that Jenna might definitely be connected to Lucas and the Black Swan as they were talking to her at the Masquerade Ball. Just then, Jenna bumps into another student, spilling drink all over him. Aria feels she has become "blinder" than the last time they saw her.

Hanna visits Caleb in the computer lab. The school has enlisted him to fix some problem in the computer. He notices that Hanna looks troubled and asks if everything is all right. Hanna lies that she has to help her mom and so asks for a rain-check on their dinner date. Though Caleb seems suspicious, he does not question her.

Meanwhile, Emily needs to take four make up tests because of the time she spent in the hospital. Listening to this, Aria asks her to enlist Ezra as her tutor for English. She feels this could benefit both of them. Emily is hesitant, but Aria insists. Just then, Aria spots Meredith Sorenson in the corridor and confronts her. She learns that Meredith has applied at Rosewood High for a teaching position.

Troubled, Aria rambles about this to Ezra in his car. Ezra tries to comfort her saying that she didn't get the job yet. The topic then shifts to Byron, who is still having trouble, accepting Ezra. Aria feels they are going backward, but Ezra reminds her that at least her mother is coming around and that is an improvement. Aria gets a call from Emily. She immediately asks her to call Ezra and ask him to tutor her.

Spencer goes to visit Garrett. He asks if her mom is ready to defend him, but Spencer asks for a better reason. He again says that he didn't kill Alison or Maya, and something snatched away from the grave that night would have proved it. He says someone close to her has her completely fooled. People lie, but medical records don't. When Spencer asks who he is talking about, he leaves, without answering.

Then, we see Hanna in Radley, talking to Mona. She tries to tell her about the happenings in school, but Mona is silent as ever. Frustrated, Hanna screams at her and throws a chair across the room. Hearing the noise, Wren Kingston rushes inside and immediately takes Hanna away.

Emily meets Ezra at the Brew for her tutions. An awkward situation befalls, as Emily calls him "Mr. Fitz." Ezra asks her to call him by his first name, Emily says she can try. Ezra tries to make small talk about Maya, but Emily doesn't want to talk about it.

Hanna is still at Radley, talking to Wren about Mona. Hanna admits that she just did it in the heat of the moment. Wren says he has done worse. His father was also in a mental institution, and he's thrown around more than the chair Hanna tossed in Mona's room. Wren explains to Hanna what she's suffering is ambiguous loss - the person she cares about is still there, but she's lost them anyway.

Spencer is with Toby in her house. She asks him about Jenna. She tells him that the music camp Jenna went to ended many days before she came to town. Then where was she for so many days? Toby tells her that he moved out of the house before she went to camp, so he doesn't know. Spencer looks tense, so Toby calms her down by kissing her. They begin to make out on the couch, but stop when Veronica Hastings enters the room. Veronica asks if Toby will have dinner with them, he agrees.

At school, the girls congregate around Aria's locker, talking about Emily's tutions. Aria finds another grave present in her locker; an earring. This makes her flash back to the time she and Alison had broken into Byron's office after finding out about his affair with Meredith. She had found those earrings on the couch, proving that her dad was still seeing Meredith despite him promising otherwise. Enraged, they had destroyed his office and made it look like Meredith had done it. After Alison's death, when her mom had asked each one of the girls to put a keepsake in her casket, she had put the earrings.

Emily continues her lessons with Ezra, but seems very distracted and nervous. Ezra tries to calm her down. He asks her what she did before a swim meet, she has faced pressure during those times too. When she tells him that listening to music calmed her down, he asks her to do the same before taking her test.

Aria is getting out of school when she gets a text from Ezra. Jenna, who is close by, asks if it is Aria, it seems that she recognised the ringtone. She requests Aria to be her accompanist for the assembly next week. Aria tries to dodge it, saying she is not very good, but Jenna assures her that it will be easy and asks her to come over the next day for practice. So, Aria lies that her father is waiting for her across the street and goes away.

That night, at Hanna's house, Caleb brings dinner. As they sit down, he notices that Hanna is very distracted. Caleb asks if she needs to be somewhere else, but she assures him she doesn't. But Hanna keeps looking at the time. Frustrated, he confronts her and asks for the truth. So Hanna reveals that she has to go see Mona. Caleb is shocked, but Hanna says she is still her best friend. Caleb still doesn't get it, but Hanna writes it off saying she's having an "ambiguous loss." Caleb is surprised to hear her use such big words, but ultimately agrees to go with her to the Radley the next day, not wanting them to sneak around each other.

Veronica confronts Spencer about the trips she has been making to the Rosewood County to see Garrett. She wants them to stop immediately, but Spencer needs answers. Veronica counters that answers will be given during his trial. But Spencer believes that Garrett might have help outside because he was still locked inside when Ali's grave was dug up. Veronica sees it is more reason not to see Garrett because people might think it's her.

In her room, Aria is looking at the earring when she gets a good night message from A threatening to take the other earring to the police if she doesn't tell her dad the truth. She also hears the bushes rustling and the hinges creaking outside, as if someone is trying to get away. When she hides the earring inside her drawer, we also see the shadow of somebody running.

The next morning, Aria confesses to her dad that it was she who had thrashed his office a few years ago, not Meredith. Her father is extremely disappointed and mad at her, but she justifies herself saying that she already had hurt their family, so she did it. Byron decides that Aria has to apologize to Meredith for her actions.

Before the test begins, Emily listens to music, like Ezra suggested. She now seems much more calm and confident than before. Then, Ella distributes the test papers and gives them general instructions about the test. Emily starts answering the questions.

Hanna goes to Radley with Caleb. He waits outside while she goes to see Mona. Inside, Mona is as still as ever. Hanna tells her she is not going to throw more chairs around the room; just want to return a favor. With that, she takes out a compact and some mascara, ready to give her a makeover.

Meanwhile Toby has done some investigating on his own. He meets Spencer in a cafe and shows her two bottles of eye drops he found in Jenna's bathroom. One of the bottles was bought very recently. So, if the surgery didn't work, why is Jenna renewing the prescription?

Emily is still writing the test. Just then, she sees a student sitting in front of her put a clip in her hair. It is strangely similar to the way her captor had, in the car on the way to the graveyard. She now remembers who the person was. Jenna was driving, and had pulled her hair in the same way. This new piece of memory leaves Emily disturbed, and she finds it hard to concentrate. As a result, she leaves the test incomplete. Ella notices the sudden change in Emily and asks if everything was alright. But, Emily answers vaguely and leaves the class in a hurry.

Aria meets Meredith at the Brew. She wants to go someplace more private, but Meredith refuses. Aria begins to recount the night, but Meredith already remembers the details vividly. So, Aria blandly apologizes. Meredith then tells her that she and Byron made lunch plans for the next day. Disgusted, she tells Meredith that she found her earrings in her dad's office that night and now wants to return it. Meredith looks at it and says the earring isn't hers, shocking Aria.

Spencer goes to meet Garrett but the guard says he is meeting with his lawyer. So, she decides to wait outside. She is examining the eye drops again, when suddenly, she hears her mom's voice. Then she sees Veronica come out and immediately hides. Why was she here?

At Radley, Caleb is playing something on his phone to pass the time. Wren spots him and introductions are made. They talk about Hanna's visits to the place. Caleb learns that Hanna has been talking to Wren for a while now. He parrots the same "ambiguous loss" talk Hanna had mentioned to Caleb earlier. Caleb is left wondering why Hanna is so easy to tell the truth to Wren but not Caleb.

Spencer finally gets to meet Garrett. She asks him about her mother's visit, but Garrett brushes it off saying "his new attorney" has asked him not to say anything to anybody. Spencer is shocked because she never asked Veronica to help Garrett. When and why did she change her mind? Instead of answering, Garrett abruptly gets up and leaves.

At night, Ella is grading the test papers at school. She sorts through the test papers and takes out Emily's paper. She finds that Emily has left the paper unfinished. After giving it a thought, she takes a pen and finishes the test for Emily. Just then, she hears a noise outside, as if somebody is watching her.

Hanna has finished giving Mona a makeover, complete with eye shadow, foundation, and mascara. Mona looks indifferently at her reflection in the mirror. Hanna gets mad again but remains calm. She tries one more time to make Mona talk. Just as Hanna is leaving, Mona speaks for the first time since Hanna's visits. She says,"You're getting them again, aren't you? The texts?" Before Hanna can get anything out of Mona, Caleb interrupts, saying visiting hours are over. In the pretense of packing, she tries to talk more to Mona, but she's turned mute once again. So, Hanna is forced to leave, but assures her she is coming back for more. Alone in her seat, Mona slides tweezers out from under her and pricks her finger with it, allowing a drop of blood to bloom.

The next day, Ezra visits Ella in her classroom. He wants to talk about Emily. He admits that he has been tutoring Emily and wants know how she performed the test. Ella tells him that Emily did fine. Ezra seems unconvinced as after the test, the previous day, Emily seemed pretty distraught. He asks if Emily could take the test again, Ella assures him that it is not required.

All four girls are seen arguing in the bathroom about what Mona said. Spencer wants Hanna to go back to Radley and get more information out of her, Hanna retorts saying it's not so easy; Caleb is repeatedly questioning her. Aria brings up the earring; if it's not Meredith's, whose is it then? Emily tells them what she remembered. She was in Jenna's car and Jenna was driving. Just then the bell rings and they decide to meet again at lunch to talk about this.

As they come out, they see Jenna heading towards the bathroom, so they quickly go back in. Getting a sudden idea, Spencer leaves the earring above the sink to see what Jenna's reaction would be. With two girls hiding and spying per stall, they see Jenna come in and head toward the sink. When she spots the earring, she takes her glasses off and inspects it. The girls' suspicions are now confirmed that Jenna is not blind. Jenna leaves the earring in its place and exits the bathroom. The girls come out and argue over Jenna's sight. Emily, Hanna and Aria are furious and immediately want to confront Jenna, also Hanna asking if she can slap her again, but Spencer stops them, saying that they could use this against her.

At a weapon store, someone dressed completely in red is seen buying various black hoodies. Apparently, the person wants many pairs of gloves too, but they are out of stock. The cashier bills these items, he says, "You buying this for a team?"

Continuity

 * When the Liars are in the bathroom before spying on Jenna, Hanna asks if she can slap her again. She had previously done it in "Someone to Watch Over Me," and coincidentally this happened in the same bathroom.
 * The girls find out by spying on Jenna that she lied about her eye surgery failing in "If These Dolls Could Talk." It also confirms Spencer's suspicion of Jenna after Toby gave her Jenna's eye drops earlier in the episode.
 * Jenna was the one who drove Emily to the graveyard in "It Happened 'That Night'," as Emily later recalls in this episode.
 * In a flash black its revealed Aria and Ali trashed up Mr. Montgomery's office after Aria discovered her dad having a affair with Meredith in "The First Secret."
 * The mysterious person wearing the red coat who visited Mona in "UnmAsked" after she was sent to Radley Sanitarium appears again in the final scene buying something for a "team." Furthermore in UnmAsked, Mona asked Spencer to join The 'A-Team' saying, "You had to earn it, the right to be a part of it." It's highly implied the person in the red coat is the mastermind or least the second A the girls have run in to.

Goofs

 * When Ella and Ezra are talking to each other, Ella rubs something off the chalkboard. In the next shot, it appears untouched.

Trivia

 * The scene where Alison & Aria destroy Byron's office is a reference to the movie, Fatal Attraction.
 * Alison & Aria destroy Byron's office and let him believe that it was Meredith in a fit of rage over not being able to have him.
 * The woman in the movie has an affair with a married man, and when he ends it, she doesn't take it well and stalks him and threatens to kill him.
 * Alison calls Meredith a "vindictive, home wrecking bunny-boiler", the woman in the movie killed the family's pet rabbit and left it in a pot of boiling water.

Title

 * "Blood Is the New Black" is an obvious twist on "Red Is the New Black," the idea that something modern could replace a classic trend. This could be a hint that the new "A" will be worse than Mona.
 * Black was the color of the hoodies that A wore. Blood may be referring to the red sweatshirt the new A wears.

Main Cast

 * Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings
 * Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin
 * Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery
 * Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields
 * Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis

Guest Stars

 * Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal
 * Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh
 * Yani Gellman as Garrett Reynolds
 * Tammin Sursok as Jenna Marshall
 * Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers
 * Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery
 * Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery
 * Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz
 * Julian Morris as Wren Kingston
 * Amanda Schull as Meredith Sorenson
 * Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings
 * Rolando Boyce as Guard
 * Josh Covitt as Sales Clerk

Featured Music

 * "Say Goodbye" by Norah Jones (Aria and Ezra talk in Ezra’s car)
 * "Gone" by Lianne La Havas (Spencer and Toby make out in her house)
 * "Lean On Me" by Bosshouse Music (Emily meets up with Ezra for a tutoring session)
 * "To Have It All" by Bosshouse Music
 * "Mind Games" by Leagues (Aria meets up with Meredith to apologize)