Season 4 of Pretty Little Liars is basically the moment the show stopped being a cute teen mystery and turned into a full-blown fever dream. If you watched it live back in 2013, you probably remember the absolute chaos of that mid-season finale. One minute we’re wondering if Ashley Marin is going to prison for popping Detective Wilden, and the next, we’re staring at Ezra Fitz in a dark hoodie looking like he’s about to commit a felony.
Honestly, it was a lot.
The fourth season isn't just another batch of episodes; it’s the bridge between the "Mona is A" era and the "Wait, is everyone A?" era. It’s messy. It’s high-stakes. And frankly, it’s the season where the Liars—Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily—finally stop being reactive and start actually hunting for the girl in the red coat.
Why Season 4 Is the Turning Point
For three years, we were told Alison DiLaurentis was dead. Buried. Done. But season 4 shifts the entire reality of Rosewood. It starts with a literal bang—or rather, a dead pig in a trunk—and ends with the Liars standing on a rooftop in New York City looking at a very much alive Ali.
The pacing here is unhinged. You've got the introduction of the Ravenswood plotline, which felt like a weird backdoor pilot (because it was), and then you have the gut-punch of the "Ezra is A" reveal. Except, as we later found out, he wasn't the A. He was just a guy with a really creepy obsession and a book deal.
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The Ezra Fitz Predicament
Let’s talk about Ezra for a second. The reveal in "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" was arguably the most effective cliffhanger in the show's history. Seeing the "nice guy" teacher slam a wardrobe door in a secret lair filled with surveillance tech? Pure gold.
But then the writers did that thing they always do. They walked it back. By the end of the season, we’re told he was just writing a true-crime book about Ali. It’s a polarizing twist. Some fans felt betrayed—they wanted him to be a villain. Others were just relieved their "Ezria" ship wasn't sinking. Regardless of where you stand, his presence in season 4 as a shadow-stalker added a layer of genuine dread to the show.
The Mystery of the Girl in the Red Coat
If you were confused about Red Coat, you aren't alone. Season 4 basically tells us that being Red Coat is like a uniform for a sports team—multiple people are wearing it.
- CeCe Drake: She was the one the girls caught at the sawmill. She was the "A" version of Red Coat, the one doing the actual damage.
- Alison DiLaurentis: She was using the coat as a disguise to move around Rosewood unseen. She was the one who pulled the girls out of the fire at the lodge.
- Sara Harvey: (Though we don't fully get her deal until later, the seeds are planted here).
The search for Red Coat leads the girls to Ravenswood, a town that looks like it’s stuck in a permanent funeral. This is where the show really leans into its gothic noir roots. Spencer, fueled by way too many "study aids" (speed pills), starts piecing together that Ali might actually be hiding in plain sight.
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What Really Happened "That Night"
The finale, "A is for Answers," is basically a massive info-dump, but it's the info-dump we needed. Alison meets the girls in NYC and finally narrates the night she disappeared.
It turns out her own mother, Jessica DiLaurentis, watched her get hit in the head with a rock. And then? She buried her own daughter alive to protect whoever did it. It’s dark. It’s messed up. We also find out that it wasn't a shovel that hit Ali—it was a rock. And the person in the grave? A girl named Bethany Young.
The tragedy of season 4 is that just as the girls find Ali, they lose someone else. The season ends with the image of Jessica DiLaurentis being dragged into a shallow grave herself. The cycle of Rosewood violence just keeps spinning.
Major Revelations in Season 4
- Ali is Alive: Confirmed in the Ravenswood graveyard during the Halloween special.
- The Diary: Hanna steals Ali’s diary, which contains a lot of "coded" stories about the girls and their families.
- Toby’s Mother: We get a deep dive into the mystery of Marion Cavanaugh’s death at Radley, which "A" uses to manipulate Toby.
- The Board Shorts Mystery: The girls spend half the season looking for a guy Ali called "Board Shorts," thinking he's her killer. Turns out, it was just Ezra’s nickname because of his choice in swimwear. Talk about a letdown.
The Evolution of the Liars
Watching these four in season 4 is like watching soldiers get battle-hardened. Spencer goes through a legitimate mental breakdown, landing herself in Radley (the very place she was trying to investigate). Hanna deals with the trauma of her mom being framed for murder, which forces her to grow up faster than any of the others.
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Emily probably has the hardest time. She was the one who loved Ali the most, and finding out Ali manipulated that love—even from the "grave"—is a lot to handle. Aria, meanwhile, is stuck in the Ezra whirlwind, which culminates in her finding his manuscript and realizing her entire relationship might have been research for a book.
Is Season 4 Worth a Rewatch?
Honestly, yes. Even with the weird Ravenswood detour, season 4 has some of the best atmospheric tension in the series. The "Shadow Play" episode, filmed in black and white, is a visual masterpiece that captures the show's obsession with 1940s film noir.
It's the season where the stakes felt the most real. The police weren't just bumbling idiots anymore; Detective Holbrook and Lieutenant Tanner were actually competent, which made the Liars’ secret-keeping even more stressful.
Actionable Tips for New Viewers
If you're diving into season 4 for the first time, keep these things in mind:
- Watch the Halloween Special: "Grave New World" isn't just a filler episode; it’s where Ali is officially revealed to the girls. You'll be lost if you skip it.
- Pay Attention to the Shoes: Seriously. The show uses footwear—from muddy heels to combat boots—as major clues this season.
- Don't Trust Ezra: Even when the show tries to redeem him later, remember the surveillance lair. It’s hard to unsee.
- Track the Yellow Top: There were multiple yellow tops that night. Knowing who was wearing which one is the key to the entire mystery of who is in the box.
The best way to experience the madness is to just lean into it. Don't worry if the logic doesn't always track. In Rosewood, "dream logic" is the only logic that matters.
To get the most out of your rewatch, start a spreadsheet for the "That Night" timeline. Comparing Alison's story in the season 4 finale to the flashbacks in season 1 reveals exactly where the writers shifted the narrative. It's the only way to keep the different versions of the truth straight before you move on to the "A" reveals in season 5 and 6.