'Pretty Little Liars' Recap: 'Game On, Charles'

The sixth-season of Pretty Little Liars premiered on Tuesday sending loyal fans into a frenzy with its most explosive opener yet.

Charles sought revenge after Mona and the PLLs attempted to escape the dollhouse. Ali, Toby, Ezra and Caleb hatched a clever plan to rescue the girls, while a huge bombshell was revealed.

Here’s a recap to get you up to speed or to help you re-live your favorite moments all over again:

The episode opens right where the season five finale left off. Mona and the PLLs are hurrying to try to escape the dollhouse; oblivious to the fact that Charles is keeping another girl prisoner in his basement. On the wall is a tally of how long the girl has been held captive. She’s blond and looks exactly like Ali did the night she went missing.

Moments later, the girls have made it outside and realize they’re still trapped, due to an electric fence surrounding the dollhouse. As the scene progresses, Charles locks the girls out, forcing them to battle the elements and wonder how long they can survive without food or water.

When the girls wake up a few mornings later, the doors to the dollhouse open and they wonder if they should go back inside. They’re all scared, but Mona seems to think their “punishment” is over, so they make their way inside. When they return, Charles appears with a gas torch and separates them from Mona, giving her a protective mask.

Cue the opening theme.

When the girls wake up, they’re lying inside a morgue, trying to process what Charles has done to them. Mona soon reunites with them and the intercom instructs to go back to their rooms. Initially, Mona refuses, though she gives up bargaining with Charles, knowing there will be hell to pay. The girls reluctantly do as they’re told, but as it turns out, their punishment is far from over.

Three weeks later, the girls are still missing and the police hold a press conference at the DiLaurentis house, where Andrew Campbell is named as the prime suspect in the case. When the reporters leave, viewers learn that the press conference was a ploy to get Andrew’s attention and lead him to Ali. If Andrew contacts Ali, there’s a good chance Rosewood PD can find the girls.

Back at the dollhouse, the mysterious blonde girl that’s been held captive in Charles’ basement slips a tray of food under the door of Spencer’s room. When Spencer mistakes her for Mona and frantically begins shouting, the other PLLs join in, asking for help. Frightened, the mysterious blonde girl runs off, ignoring their pleas.

Meanwhile, in Rosewood, Ali’s plan to find Mona and her friends comes to fruition when she, Toby, Caleb, and Ezra divert the police’s attention and make it their mission to rescue the girls themselves. Ali is playing the decoy and Caleb and Ezra are going to follow her using a tracking device they lodge inside a pair of boots. They hope this will lead them to the girls.

At the dollhouse, the intercom instructs the girls to head over to Ali’s room so they can prepare for her “arrival.” They agree not to discuss their individual torture and follow Charles’ instructions. When the girls process that the real Ali is on her way to the dollhouse, they wonder what Charles is going to do with his faux Ali, Mona. Kept captive in a hole, Charles plans to kill her.

Meanwhile, Rosewood PD is still hard at work in their search to locate the girls, as footage from the press conference indicates a potential Andrew sighting.

Simultaneously, Ali’s plan to rescue her friends takes shape with Ezra and Caleb’s help. The guys hope that their actions won’t have extreme repercussions.

At the dollhouse, the girls vow revenge when they learn how Charles has been torturing their families in their absence. Spencer also reveals Charles’ identity as a “DiLaurentis.”

Meanwhile, Mona continues to lose her sanity as she remains trapped.

At the same time, Ali reaches her destination—Tyler State Park—and her fuel tank hits empty. Roadside assistance tells to use what’s in her trunk. She finds the same outfit she wore the night she “disappeared.” Caleb and Ezra are still following behind, confused as to why they’ve hit a sudden snag. Ezra feels like something’s wrong and suggests they call Toby.

Back at Rosewood Police Headquarters, Toby grabs a lead on Andrew’s car and he and Lieutenant Tanner mobilize to try and catch him.

Meanwhile, Caleb and Ezra find Ali’s car abandoned on the side of the road with her clothes scattered inside the trunk, along with a card from Charles signed by the PLLs. The card has a message recorded; if Ali doesn’t obey Charles’ orders, he’ll kill her friends. Ali’s also left the boots Caleb gave her pointing in the direction she has gone to find Charles. Knowing this is a clue to the girls’ whereabouts, Caleb and Ezra follow Ali’s lead.

At the same time, Ali meanders through the woods, trying to find Charles, scared and alone, unaware that a hidden camera is watching her every move.

Back at the dollhouse, Spencer pops into Hanna’s room, announcing that they’re going to make another attempt to escape. The PLLs journey to Charles’ vault and set fire to some of his belongings to gain leverage. Spencer also tells Charles that the girls want Mona back, sending their tormentor into a frenzy. Charles disappears from his monitoring station and comes face to face with the girls, though they stand their ground and manage to escape, even saving Mona in the process.

Meanwhile, Caleb and Ezra finally catch up with Ali in the woods and she’s relieved that she’s not alone any longer. Thinking their search has a hit a dead end, the trio is about to give up. Then the trio sees smoke billowing out of an underground hatch, which eventually prompts the girls’ rescue. Once free, Caleb and Hanna, Aria and Ezra, Emily and Alison, and Spencer and Toby tearfully reunite and Toby cites Andrew as their lead suspect.

The mysterious blonde girl Charles also held captive is rescued, too, and identified as Sara Harvey. Emily remembers Sara as having gone missing around the same time as Ali. While the paramedics tend to Mona and the cops continue to investigate the scene, Emily asks Ali who Charles DiLaurentis is. She also thanks Ali for saving all of them.

End of episode.

Image Credit: Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com.

Pretty Little Liars airs every Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ABC Family.