Pretty Little Liarsran from 2010 to 2017 onFreeform(formerly known as ABC Family), and starredLucy Hale,Troian Bellisario,Shay Mitchell,andAshley Bensonas four teenage girls grieving for the missing best friend, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) They were also being stalked by the ever-mysterious “A” that knew everything about them and was prepared to make them pay for it. As the series went on, the Liars kept on lying, leading them to some terrifying places and dark secrets… but one thing stood out most about the show, which was the friendship between Aria (Hale), Spencer (Bellisario), Emily (Mitchell), and Hanna (Benson). These girls stood by each other at every corner, albeit not without some fights along the way, and continue to be one of the most prized examples of friendship on the small screen.
We’ve whittled through the 160 choices and picked the 25 best episodes ofPretty Little Liars. Whether the focus falls on the mysteries, the girls’ personal lives, or whatever else Rosewood may hold, there’s no shortage of delectable drama and show-stopping performances… but some may have stood out a bit more than others, especially if escaping without becoming the victim of A’s plot holes.
RELATED:‘Pretty Little Liars’ 10 Years On: How Freeform’s Twisty Mystery Informed a Generation of Teen TV
“Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)
To this day, there’s no feeling like going back to watch the Pretty Little Liars series premiere which started this story so innocently (for the most part). Beginning with Alison’s disappearance, we flash forward to one year later, as the girls have fallen out of touch and have yet to discover the truth about what happened to their friend. Taking quite a bit of inspiration from the books, it’s an interesting starting point to see how things change, both in terms of the plot and for the girls as characters.
“The Perfect Storm” (Season 1, Episode 9)
When it’s time to take the SATs at Rosewood High School, a storm arrives just in time to make the continuation of test day questionable. While there is certainly nothing shocking about “The Perfect Storm,” it’s a beautiful episode. Particularly because we see Emily officially coming out to her best friends and confessing her love for Alison. Additionally, it’s a wonderful moment that shows another side to the relationship between Spencer and her mother, Veronica Hastings (Lesley Fera), as Veronica has a devastating confession that is even more heart-breaking considering the reason why she had never told a soul.
“Keep Your Friends Close” (Season 1, Episode 10)
In what was technically the first finale, but later deemed as a mid-season finale, “Keep Your Friends Close” finds the girls stepping up their game to find A. After having her relationship with Mona (Janel Parrish) torpedoed by, well, Mona in secret, Hanna secretly attends Mona’s glamping birthday party, determined to discover the identity of their black-hooded foe. Hanna being hit with a car was just the tip of the iceberg, as the girls’ futures are drastically changed from here on out with the knowledge that A is an enemy capable of more than just exposing their secrets.
“For Whom the Bell Tolls” (Season 1, Episode 22)
The Pretty Little Liars Season 1 finale set the bar for what was expected from the finales over the years. The discovery of Ian’s (Ryan Merriman) pervy videos perpetuates the girls' suspicion of his involvement in Alison’s disappearance, while the girls finally have leverage to use against Jenna (Tammin Sursok), who has been a thorn in their sides since her return to Rosewood. The girls’ active suspicion has a cost though, as Ian is desperate to stop them from spreading lies about him around town, and he’s willing to go to great lengths to stop them. Just as Ian is about to murder Spencer in the church, a hooded figure pushes Ian and saves Spencer but when the girls return to the church with the police, Ian’s body is gone, and this still remains as one of the show’s most shocking moments.
Things are shaken up for the viewer as “Over My Dead Body” begins with three of the girls—Aria, Hanna, and Spencer—sitting in an interrogation room at the Rosewood Police Station, covered in dirt. What happened? Well, A began their most dangerous game yet with the Liars: Using dolls with pre-recorded messages to make them tell the truth, no matter the consequences. Considering what they had been hiding, the girls lives are about to change drastically… and was that Alison?
“Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares” (Season 2, Episode 14)
The Season 2 mid-season premiere picks up a month after the girls have been arrested for finding the real murder weapon in the Alison DiLaurentis case, but things have changed. Emily is on the outside with the other girls, as part of an ingenious plan to trick A into thinking Emily has been completely ousted from the group. There’s something clearly different about this episode when you’re watching, later revealed to be the beginning of the countdown to the first A reveal. It’s a fun episode that sees the girls getting the upper hand… for once.
“The Naked Truth” (Season 2, Episode 19)
At Rosewood High, it’s “Truth Up” day, a school-wide workshop that has the students come together to try to call out and improve upon the bullying issue that has been spreading. With this, we see some unusual dynamics explored for the first (and, in some cases, last) time, like Aria and Hanna’s boyfriend Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) or Emily and Mona. “The Naked Truth” really leans into the dynamics between all of the characters instead of getting distracted by the mysteries at hand, which is quite refreshing.
“If These Dolls Could Talk” (Season 2, Episode 24)
The girls are getting closer to finding out who A is with every episode, and “If These Dolls Could Talk” leads them further down Alison’s presumably final steps, to a town called Brookhaven where Alison was set to meet A according to the newspaper clippings Spencer found of them communicating. Meanwhile, Aria hits her breaking point over the situation with her boyfriend/teacher Ezra (Ian Harding) and her parents when she finds an application to a boarding school in her father’s things. (Her parents were right about Ezra, but I digress.) The tension is rising, the answer so close to fruition, and the drama at an all-time high. It may not be the finale, but it certainly is in that league.
“unmAsked” (Season 2, Episode 25)
Not a lot of episodes live up to the Season 2 finale, “unmAsked,” which revealed that Mona had been the girls’ tormenter, spending her free time causing them unjust pain. Plus, in truePretty Little Liarsfashion, this accompanied a masquerade ball that saw milestone moments for the show’s beloved couples, had the girls chasing clues to get to the truth at the Lost Woods, and introduced twist after twist that ensured they were not going anywhere despite revealing their first black-hooded baddie. The episode ends on a truly tragic note as Emily’s girlfriend Maya’s (Bianca Lawson) body found after she had been missing for weeks, ending the episode with a devastated Emily crying into Spencer’s arms.
“It Happened That Night” (Season 3, Episode 1)
Three months have passed since the events of the Season 2 finale, which saw Mona unmasked as A and Maya’s body finally found. After a summer full of new and quiet adventures, the girls reconvene in the barn where it all started… and all happens again. This time, Emily goes missing, found at the local graveyard with Alison’s body dug up and gone - who stole it? Meanwhile, Hanna’s visiting Mona at Radley Sanitarium, desperate for answers about how her so-called best friend could’ve done this to her. It’s senior year, a new start for the Liars, but how much has really changed in Rosewood?
