'Pretty Little Liars' Recap: 'Last Dance'

On this week’s episode of Pretty Little Liars, the PLLs attend prom, but with a twist and Alison goes looking for Charles.

In a series of intercut scenes, the PLLs learn from their moms that the school board has banned them from attending senior prom as a precaution. The alternative is to host a small get-together in the Hastings’ barn, which causes some mixed feelings among the group.

Later, at The Brew, the PLLs and Ali commiserate, though simultaneously realize that if they were to attend their school’s prom, things would be awkward following all the attention they’ve been receiving ever since they escaped the dollhouse. They also wonder if Charles will show up and sabotage their alternative prom. Meanwhile, Ali still feels the after-effects of her indiscretion with Lorenzo and receives a text from Charles instructing her to go to Rosewood High’s prom alone.

Cue opening theme.

Aria tries calling Clark again when her mother and Ezra catch her off guard. Ella asks if Aria’s checked her emails; the contest judges have seen her actual photos and she’s won first prize. That means she’ll start a photography internship in L.A. It starts the Monday after school ends. Aria worries about going to L.A. since Charles hasn’t been caught and has a ton of what ifs. Ella advises that she try to live in the moment and not think about it. To help comfort her, Ezra says he’s willing to go to prom with Aria now that he knows he won’t be surrounded by former students.

Simultaneously, Caleb prepares to head to New York to spend time with his dad, which upsets Hanna, because she thought he’d be at prom with her. Caleb reminds Hanna they’re only hanging out in Spencer’s barn and Hanna simmers down. She notices a laptop among Caleb’s things and Caleb tells her he’s bringing it for his dad who’s apparently becoming a pretty big techie himself.

Emily asks Sara to prom and Sara says her old school is having prom the same night, so she’ll be attending that one.

Spencer sees Toby pull up at the precinct and offers to tell Tanner what really happened. Toby brushes her off, saying what happened was for the best. Soon, Lorenzo joins them and Spencer pleads with him to intervene, but Lorenzo also thinks it will be useless. They are suspended from the police force indefinitely and an investigation and court hearing are set to take place. Toby says he’ll call Spencer later.

Hanna wants to call Caleb’s dad since she hasn’t heard from him, but Emily advises she wait until she hears from Caleb herself. When Hanna goes outside to try and call her beau again, Emily and Ashley sharing a heartwarming moment in which Ashley tells Emily she and the girls should go all out for prom even though they’re only going to be in the Hastings’ barn. When Hanna returns, she’s learned from Caleb’s dad that he’s not in New York and is convinced he’s gone to track –A down.

At the DiLaurentis house, Ali gets a blocked call from Charles and tells him she won’t be at Rosewood High’s prom. Clearly unsatisfied with Ali’s answer, Charles disconnects the call.

At The Brew, Spencer talks to Lorenzo and tries to smooth things over between him and Ali. Lorenzo regrets getting close to Ali after he heard bad things about her. Spencer understands this, but wants him to know Ali’s changed and invites him to surprise her at the barn for prom.

The PLLs’ moms meet at the Hastings’ house to keep a close eye on their daughters and discuss updates about Charles over wine. Meanwhile, Ali passes by the barn on her way to prom and Red Coat spots her from inside the bushes.

Inside the barn, Ezra takes photos of the girls at alternative prom and Hanna pulls Toby aside to see if he can score her a favor and give her some more insight about Caleb’s whereabouts. Toby says he has no pull with the precinct anymore.

Back at the Hastings’ house, the PLLs’ moms wonder how Jessica managed to keep Charles a secret from everyone for so long and Veronica lets slip about Jessica’s involvement in hiding Jason’s true paternity.

Back in the barn, Aria notices a text confirmation for an upcoming flight on Ezra’s phone; he’s going to L.A. Simultaneously, the girls check in and look at photos from school prom and discover that Ali went there after all. Spencer speculates that Charles probably lured her.

At Rosewood High’s prom, Clark takes photographs.

Meanwhile, Veronica fills in the other PLLs’ moms about Peter and Jessica’s affair and Jason’s paternity in full detail. They’re sitting in the yard, which becomes a sore subject for Veronica since Jessica’s body was discovered there. When she goes inside, the other moms decide to check up on her rather than the girls.

The PLLs plus Toby and Ezra decide to crash prom and look for Ali. When Aria breaks away from the group to confront Clark, he says he didn’t want to rub in it her face that he got to attend her prom when she couldn’t. A chaperone soon intrudes asking Aria and the others to leave.

Ali gets another text from Charles who informs her that time is slipping away for them to meet up. From afar, Spencer and the others—minus Aria—spot Ali and decide to move in.

Back at the Hastings’ house, Veronica is drunk and upset and wishes to ask Ken if he had any involvement in Jessica’s death. Knowing she’s in no condition to go alone, the other moms agree to accompany her.

At prom, Clark hangs nearby while the PLLs confront Ali. She wants them to back off, so Charles doesn’t bail on them like he did at the arcade. Meanwhile, Sara shows up and surprises Emily.

While searching for Ken at the DiLaurentis house, the PLLs’ moms find a picture of Charles and also encounter Rhys, who’s still claiming to represent The Carissimi Group.

At prom, Spencer remains relentless about Ali not pursuing Charles alone, though Ali insists she needs to know what she did to make him hate her.

Later, Caleb surprises Hanna and she asks him if he lied about going to New York. After they dance, he tells her he got a job in New York as an Information Risk Analyst and his salary will cover her college tuition and their living expenses.

Aria tells Ezra she doesn’t want him following her to L.A. and he clarifies that his plane will layover in L.A. before heading to Thailand, where he’ll work with Habitat for Humanity. They both think they need to move on.

Toby tries to calm Spencer down after her failed attempt to reason with Ali and Spencer reveals that Toby was the inspiration for her valedictorian speech at graduation. He’s proud of her even though she and the girls have been banned from that, too.

Sara tells Emily that Emily means a lot to her regardless of whatever happens.

Having broken off into their respective groups, the girls lose track of Ali and don’t see her run off.

Back at the DiLaurentis house, the moms hear noise down the basement, and when they go to investigate, Charles locks them in. They regret not being there for their daughters the one night it mattered most and worry that Charles is on his way to the barn while trying to escape.

Ali gets another text from Charles that she’s running out of time to find him. She spots someone in a red cape and follows it, but it leads to a dead end. Soon enough, Charles shows and Ali demands to know where he’s taking her. He pulls off his mask, but the camera cuts away before his identity can be revealed.

Meanwhile, the PLLs, Toby, Ezra, and Caleb look for Ali, thinking she’s with Clark. When they find Clark alone, the guys prepare to rough him up, until he explains he’s an undercover cop. Having come up short, the search continues and Lorenzo shows, also agreeing to help. Eventually, Spencer finds Ali’s phone on the ground and realizes Charles has gotten her.

End of episode.

Image Credit: Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com

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