Please, Do Talk About Me When I'm Gone

Please, Do Talk About Me When I'm Gone is the 8th episode in Season 1 of Pretty Little Liars, airing July 27, 2010 - and the 8th episode overall.

Synopsis
Aria, Spencer, Emily and Hanna begin to prepare for Alison’s memorial. The memorial sparks memories of a summer day that the girls had spent lounging by the shore of the lake. Ironically, the girls had spoken about immortality and the fantasy of living in this moment forever. Alison had said that one could attain that only by dying young and leaving behind a beautiful corpse. Getting into it, Alison had romanticized how fabulous it would be to die in a mysterious way.

At home, the Marins' financial woes grow deeper, evidenced by one of Hanna’s credit cards being declined. Ashley lets Hanna know that adjustments need to be made until their situation improves. Hanna steps up and decides to help out in a rather unorthodox and un-Hanna way: she agrees to put up a lot of her old clothes and handbags up for auction online, at the suggestion of her new ally Lucas.

Back in real time, they must contend with Alison’s older brother Jason arriving in Rosewood a changed man – the formerly gawky and Gothic outsider is now as polished as a preppy politician, and he’s got plenty of plans for the memorial of his own sister. Jason surprises the girls with news that Jenna has asked to speak at Alison’s memorial, and he’s agreed to let her much to their chagrin.

At school, Aria flashes back to her last conversation with Ezra before he disappeared and tears down an outdated Homecoming poster. Meanwhile Hanna and Sean have made up, though Sean is still wary of her hanging out with Lucas, even if it is for yearbook. Hanna lets Aria know that Sean's friend, Noel, wants to ask her out and tries to convince her to double date after school. Things progress with Maya and Emily as well, as Emily musters the courage to ask Maya out on a date for dinner and a movie. More good news for Emily is that her father's unit in Afghanistan is returning to the United States, meaning that Wayne is coming home.

In her room, Spencer looks at Alison's name bracelet for inspiration in writing her speech for Alison's memorial. She flashes back to who else was at the beach that day. Jenna had come to start a barbecue, wearing her now familiar shades then taking them off. Alison expressed her annoyance, and Emily commented on Toby's conspicuous absence. When Alison responded by mocking him in conversation, Spencer rolled her eyes and pointed out how typical it was of Alison to taunt others. But, she softened when the girls all agreed that this day was perfect and then shared their dream that they would be friends until they grow old. Back in real time, Spencer receives a text from "A" threatening her to do the memorial right.

After Aria recalls how deeply she used to crush on Noel, she accepts Hanna's date offer. She flashes back again to that same summer day and remembers how she and Alison had spotted Noel with a girl named "Prudence." Alison had torn into her too, suggesting that she was anything but chaste with Noel and provocatively suggested that she had gotten a boob job. Aria had ogled at Noel applying sun block on her enviously. As if reading her mind, Alison asked if she would "also" do something like that to get Noel's attention. She then teased Aria for falling for brainy guys. She also called Noel immature and simultaneously perfect for Aria, flustering her. Ali said she preferred more more mature guys.

Meanwhile, Officer Wilden returns, visiting Hanna while she works on yearbook. He tries to intimidate her into revealing Toby's whereabouts, which he suspects she might know being Emily's friend. The possibility is far-fetched, and it is revealed that Officer Wilden is desperate to make progress in Alison's murder investigation. Jason's return has put extra pressure on the Rosewood Police Force to finally solve this case. Hanna coolly responds to his harassment, threatening to mention to Jason how Officer Wilden used to parade around her house in a towel.

In the library, Spencer corners Jenna to try to feel out what Jenna is thinking in volunteering a speech for Alison's upcoming memorial. Jenna is snide towards her, preying on her fears of having "The Jenna Thing" made public. The conversation shifts from civil to menacing, and Spencer warns Jenna not to make a debacle out of the solemn ceremony for her beloved friend. At this, Jenna lets Spencer know that while she may have loved Alison, Alison had been through with Spencer at the time of her death; mysteriously, she had told Jenna so in the hospital during the summer that she disappeared.

While Lucas is helping Hanna, she remembers who else Alison had picked on that summer day. When Lucas had run in front of them to pick up his toy motor boat, she had incessantly made offensive comments to him. Finally, Hanna had exclaimed "hey" as if to stand up to Alison and stop her from teasing him, but she recoiled and sat silent. Alison then turned on her, warning her to never let a moment pass, as Lucas trudged away.

Later, Byron visits Ashley at home to give her money. At first, Ashley balks at the thought of Hanna discussing their financial matters with Aria, but relaxes when she realizes that it is only for the memorial. Ashley then commiserates with Byron on his marital woes.

Back at school, Spencer and Emily talk to Jason about Alison and the memorial. Detective Wilden and some other police officers rummage through Toby's locker. Clearly, they have received a search warrant. Jason walks over to frazzle Detective Wilden and accuse him of having zero leads in the murder investigation. Desperate to defend himself, Darren reveals that Toby had called Alison the night she disappeared. Jason tries to appear impassive, but the girls are stunned by this detail.

That night, Emily remembers more of Alison's snide remarks that memorable summer day. As she puts on Maya's gift scarf on before the mirror, she recalls how Alison had commented on the pair of Noel and Prudence heading to where assumed was The Kissing Rock. She had matter of factly informed Emily that people had gone there to kiss for hundreds of years. She then looked Emily daringly in the eyes and asked her who she would like to take to The Kissing Rock. Emily had just smiled shyly while staring back.

Later at Hanna's house, Hanna pushes an uneasy Aria closer to Noel Kahn. Whether for reasons of missing Ezra or family issues, Aria is distant during dinner. Noel confronts Aria about her cold behavior, suspecting Aria of being stuck on a boy in Iceland. Aria plays along, as the truth is close enough, and realizes aloud that she needs to move on (from Ezra), as that relationship will never be what she wants it to and can only end badly. Aria mentally lets go and gives Noel a chance. Then, Lucas briefly stops by, giving Sean pause. Hanna claims it is for yearbook, but really, Lucas has dropped off the cash proceeds from Hanna's old handbags. When Ashley comes home, she is stunned to see a fully stocked fridge and is upset to learn that Hanna sold her belongings. She expresses appreciation, but asks Hanna never to do it again, as it makes her feel inadequate as a provider.

At the Rosewood Movie Theater, Emily and Maya enjoy their first official date. It isn't long before the two of them start making out during the film.

Next, Spencer speaks to Jason alone, discussing Alison and the prospect of putting away her killer. Jason confesses that he thinks that imprisoning the killer would not provide closure, as nothing can change the fact that his 15-year-old sister was murdered. But, Spencer thinks justice is worth something. At the mention of justice, Jason balks, accusing Spencer of being a hypocrite, when Ali had told him that she instigated "The Jenna Thing" and was the one who threw the stink bombs and threatened Toby into silence. Later, Spencer remarks the convenience of Alison's cover up to her friends; Spencer had threatened to expose Ali if Alison exposed Spencer's relationship with Ian. If she could convince people that Spencer was the guilty one, Spencer's threats would be rendered ineffective. The girls feel less closure than ever, knowing that Ali had created so much lasting trouble for them.

At the memorial, the girls are stunned by the sudden reappearance of Ian, Melissa’s ex, but even more surprised when Jenna takes the stage. As they wait with bated breath and anxiousness as to what she will say, or worse yet, spill - in the end, she offers quite possibly the kindest words for their dearly departed friend. Whether her moving speech was actually sincere, the Pretty Little Liars can’t be sure, because it could just as easily be another trick up Jenna’s sleeve.

After the memorial, Jason stops by Spencer's house to thank the girls. Knowing what Spencer has told them, the girls are now wary of him, but they do accept his gift - the "Alison" friendship bracelet Alison had been wearing the day of her death. The girls quickly realize that the beaded "Alison" bracelet that they had found must have been a fake, fashioned by someone like "A." At the end of the episode, Alison's memorial is being badly trashed by someone in black. "A?"

Title

 * The title is a play on the 1930 song "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone," sung by Sam Stept (in which the singer requests the listener say nothing negative after their breakup).

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

Guest Stars
Tammin Sursok as Jenna Marshall Chuck Hittinger as Sean Ackard Brendan Robinson as Lucas Gottesman Brant Daugherty as Noel Kahn Parker Bagley as Jason DiLaurentis Bianca Lawson as Maya St. Germain Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz (archive footage) Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin Ryan Merriman as Ian Thomas Bryce Johnson as Darren Wilden Shane Schoeppner as Memorial Attendee

Featured Music

 * "Will You Catch Me Then" by Garrison Starr (flashback with Alison and girls by lakeside)
 * "Faster Babe" by 2AM Club (Ali mocks Lucas in flashback)
 * "Car Dance" by Leah Andreone and Kevin Fisher (girls talk about Jenna in flashback)
 * "So This Is Progress" by The Status (flashback with Alison and girls by lakeside)
 * "I'm Not Over" by Carolina Liar (Lucas sells Hanna's handbags online)
 * "Every Summer" by US Royalty (flashback of Ali and Emily)
 * "Under The Umbrella" by Company Of Thieves (double date)