The Jenna Thing

Background
The Jenna Thing is the 2nd episode of season 1 of Pretty Little Liars. Its name refers to the incident involving the character Jenna Marshall, which was mentioned in the pilot episode, but we don't know what the details of the incident are until this episode.

The episode was written by I. Marlene King and was directed by Liz Friedlander. It originally aired on ABC Family on 15th June 2010.

Plot
The episode starts in the Apple Rose Grille, where the girls are discussing the text they all received from "A" at the end of the last episode. They are also discussing the fact that Jenna is back and are worrried that the truth will come out about what really happened to make her blind. This leads them onto thinking about how, although they all told Ali their secrets, Ali never told them any of hers. However, Spencer drops a bombshell, telling the others that she did know one of Ali's secrets: She was seeing someone the summer she disappeared. Jenna then enters the Grille and so the girls all awkwardly leave in silence, desperately trying to avoid coming face to face with a blinded Jenna.

The following morning Hanna and Ashley are getting ready in the kitchen. In the background, the news is on and the reports are about Alison's murder investigation. Darren Wilden, the policeman that Ashley kissed the previous night, appears on the screen. This leads Hanna to apologise about what her mum had to do to get her out of trouble with the police. Ashley also asks Hanna if she's alright going to school as the news will be all over the halls. She reminds Hanna to remember Alison as the girl she knew and not the girl everyone else is talking about.

Meanwhile, at the Montgomery's, Ella expresses her surprise at Hanna's tranformation. Byron informs the family that he will be back late from work, which makes Aria suspect that he may have returned to having an affair. She confronts him in front of Ella, who is none the wiser but finds her outburst strange, leading to her asking Byron why he really is staying late. Byron just tells her that Aria is being a typical teenage girl.

Maya goes round to Emily's house. She tells her she's sorry about Ali and asks how Emily is holding up. She also explains how difficult it is living in that house when there are policemen and people paying respects everywhere. She also talks about how it feels like Ali's still there as she keeps finding boxes of her things. Emily's mother, Pam, asks them if everything is alright and is introduces to Maya. She asks if Maya wants to sleep at their house for a few days, an offer which she gladly accepts.

As Emily and Maya head out for coffee, they bump into Spencer, who is practicing for field hockey. She is introduced to Maya and the two seem to get on well. It is mentioned that Spencer is running for varsity captain, to which Emily comments that she has already won the place because she's a Hastings. As Maya and Emily leave, Maya comments that she's intense, to which Emily replies that she would understand if she met the parents.

At school, Aria approaches Ezra and asks him to sign a form so that she can transfer out of his English class. He tries to talk her out of doing so, but she is adament that it is the right thing to do, telling him that she can't cope with calling him Mr Fitz when she knows him as Ezra. He reluctantly ends up signing the form.

Outside the classroom, Hanna and Mona are talking at their lockers, until Hanna's boyfriend, Sean Ackard, turns up. Mona then leaves, telling Hanna she'll meet with her at lunch. Meanwhile, Emily and her boyfriend, Ben, are at their lockers discussing their plans to watch a movie that night. Emily tells him she has to cancel because Maya is staying at her house, something which Ben makes a joke about.

There is an announcement at the school asking for all four girls to report to the office. They receive a text from "A" as they make their way there, saying "Dead girl's walking". Once they reach the office, they find that Detective Wilden wants to question them again about the night Ali disappeared. The girls tell him exactly what they said a year ago, leading him to believe that their answer has been rehearsed. He seems especially suspicious of Hanna, asking her if she believes what the other girls are saying, but the all stick together and tell him they've told him everything they know.

Later on, at lunchtime, the girls discuss what happened in the office with Wilden. They are worried about the fact that they lied to the police, because they know someone who might have wanted to hurt Ali: Jenna. Just as they are talking about her, Jenna turns up with her lunch and so the girls reluctantly allow her to sit with them at their lunch table. Jenna reveals that Alison came to see her in the hospital after her accident, which shocks the girls and renders them speechless. Jenna notices and asks them what happened to them.

This leads the girls to have a flashback of the night of "The Jenna Thing". The girls are trying on clothes in Ali's bedroom when she spots someone watching them through the window. She thinks that it's Toby Cavanaugh, who she suspects has watched them before. The girls wonder if they should tell someone about him, but Ali decides she rather get revenge on him. Emily is unsure, but Ali persuades her to join them. She plants a stink bomb in his shed to give him a fright. However, the girls watch in horror as the shed explodes and they run off so as not to get caught.

The scene returns to the present day with a close up of Jenna's eyes, which are covered by sunglassess, suggesting that the explosion of the shed was how she became blind. Suddenly, Spencer's phone rings and they all freeze, worried that it's from "A". Jenna, oblivious to this, asks them if they are going to answer their phone, confused. The text says: "If only she could see how guilty you look".

After lunch, the girls head to Mr Fitz's English class. As he tells everyone to take their seats, Mona arrives late. She apologises, but refers to him as "Mr Fritz", causing everyone to laugh at her. Just as the class begins, Aria walks in and silently hands Ezra her permission slip to move classes, which has been denied. They both stare at each other worriedly.

After school, Hanna and Sean are studying at the Marin's house. Hanna gets bored and starts kissing him, but he tells her to stop before it goes too far. This makes Hanna feel like he doesn't see her as a girlfriend, but as the girl she used to be. Sean assures her that that is not the case and kisses her passionately to prove it, just as Ashley gets home from work. She greets Sean and sends her apologies to his father for not going to church. As the two finish up their conversation, Detective Wilden arrives with dinner and Ashley promptly tells Sean to leave.

Spencer and her father are sat in a restaurant, discussing the extra classes she is going to take at Hollis College. Spencer reveals that she wants to take classes there for fun, not for credit, which her dad regards as a ridiculous idea. Wren and Melissa then turn up and they all order drinks, with Spencer being forced to have a non-alcoholic beverage. They all start talking and Wren and Spencer seem to have a lot in common, which annoys Melissa. Melissa quickly changes the conversation, suggesting a game of high/low - where everyone brags about themselves. Wren seems to be in agreement with Spencer in that it's not a good game and so gives a stupid answer, much to Melissa's disapproval. Also, whilst the others aren't looking, he slips Spencer some of his drink.

Later that night, Maya and Emily are sharing the bed at Emily's house. As they both fall asleep, Maya moves closer to Emily. Surprisingly, she doesn't try and push her away, suggesting she may want a romantic relationship with Maya. That is, however, until Emily receives a text from "A", warning her that he/she knows that Emily and Maya are growing close. Afterwards, Emily isn't so keen to be as close to Maya.

The episode cuts to the following morning, when Ben is driving Emily and Maya to school. Ben makes a joke about Maya getting further with Emily than he ever has as they slept over at the same house. This seems to upset Emily and makes her feel awkward, especially when Maya comments about sleeping so well with Emily by her side. Once Maya gets out of the car, Emily kisses Ben passionately to prove to herself that she still loves him. This causes attention to be diverted to the couple and Hanna has to save Emily from embarassment.

At the Rosewood Movie Theater after school, Aria and Ella bump into Mr Fitz. It turns out they are going to see the same movie - It Happened One Night. Ella embarasses Aria by telling Ezra (Mr Fitz) that she has told her so much about him, but later comments to Aria that she left out the "young and cute" part. Inside the theater, Ella persuades Ezra to come and sit next to her and Aria, leading to an awkward tension in the air between Aria and Ezra. Ella seems oblivious to the tension that has arisen in the room.

Emily is at home and is clearly upset over her developing feelings for Maya. Her mother comes to comfort her, but gets the wrong end of the stick. Her mother thinks she's talking about not being able to get over Alison, Emily is really talking about the fact that she has feelings for Maya. Pam tells Emily that because all her friends were also close to Ali, they all need to find a way to say goodbye to her together.

At the Hasting's, Spencer is studying for her Latin test in her room. Wren appears at her door and offers to give her another massage. Although she refuses, Wren enters the room and they begin to talk, with Wren offering to help her with her Latin homework. It seems as if he's trying to find any excuse to spend time with her. Eventually, Wren kisses Spencer. Although she believes it's wrong, Spencer doesn't pull away until it's too late. Melissa sees and obviously, her engagement to Wren is over. This is confirmed when Spencer sees Wren moving out of the barn the following morning.

Hanna and Mona are in the Rosewood Mall car park the following day chatting. However, their fun soon ends as they see that Detective Wilden is spying on them. Mona tells Hanna not to worry as they bought everything in their bags and so Hanna goes up to Wilden and tells him to back off her and her mother. Wilden responds by saying that he's actually watching her because he thinks she's hiding something about Ali's murder.

Later on in the day, rain begins to fall in Rosewood and Aria is left stranded outside a coffee shop. However, she sees Ezra driving past her in his car. At first, she thinks he isn't going to stop, but he does further down the street and opens the door so that she can secretly get in. He then drives to a deserted side street and stops the car, where they share a long, passionate kiss.

On the same night, Emily has a flashblack while sat alone in a restaurant. She remembers when they all met in that exact restaurant after The Jenna Thing. She pictures how Ali gave them all bracelets to represent their friendship and how Ali had asked Emily to tie hers on her wrist for her. Ali gave them the bracelets to ensure they all stayed close after the incident and so nobody found out what really happened.

Aria returns home after her kiss with Ezra in a happy mood, until she sees her father sat alone in the living room. He confronts her about her outburst the other morning, warning her that Ella now suspects something is up. Just as he is making excuses about his affair, Ella and Mike arrive with a take out meal for dinner. Aria's goes to change out of her wet clothes, but looks on happily at her family, until she receives a text from "A", warning her that her relationship with Ezra may soon not be a secret.

The episode ends with Spencer running to take her mind of her problems with her family. As she runs she comes across Jenna, who is texting using voice control on her phone. This reveals to Spencer that she can actually text and as a result, Spencer begins to consider the fact that Jenna could be "A".

Cast
Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings

Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin

Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery

Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery

Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz

Bianca Lawson as Maya St. Germain

Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin

Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery

Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields

Nia Peeples as Pam Fields

Julian Morris as Wren Kim

Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal

Torrey DeVitto as Melissa Hastings

Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis

Tammin Sursok as Jenna Marshall

Byrce Johnson as Darren Wilden

Nolan North as Peter Hastings

Chuck Hittinger as Sean Ackard

Steven Krueger as Ben Coogan

Cody Christian as Mike Montgomery

Ruben Dario as Waiter