On Monday I covered a Halloween highlight from a book/movie. Today I’ll be covering my favorite Halloween special from a TV show.

Pretty Little Liars

Unlike the Harry Potter book series and movie adaptations, the Pretty Little Liars book series and TV show are not close enough to do a comparison. So, I will only discuss the TV show for this particular post. Specifically Season 2 Episode 13: “The First Secret.” This episode is the Halloween special for season 2. But before we dive deeper, a quick summary of the series for those who have never seen it.

Pretty Little Liars is about four teenage girls dealing with the disappearance of their best friend and leader, Alison DiLarentis. Each young woman has at least one scandalous secrets that only Alison knows. A year after Alison’s disappearance, they start receiving notes, text messages, and emails from an anonymous person (“A”) who knows the same secrets Alison does. The girls spend episode after episode trying to figure out who A is, prevent their secrets from spreading, and trying to figure out what happened to Alison. 

“The First Secret” is unique because it is a prequel to the pilot episode. It’s also entirely from Alison’s point of view. Up until this episode, any scene with Alison was a memory that belonged to Aria, Spencer, Emily, or Hannah. This episode holds information the four main characters don’t know. 

It’s Halloween, and the five main characters are going to a high school costume party. Even as a grown woman in her thirties, I still love dressing up for Halloween. Every year my husband and I match. Alison dresses up as Lady Gaga, Hanna as Britney Spears, Emily as Pocahantas, Spencer as Mary Queen of Scots, and Aria as a witch. Prior to Halloween day – and the party – Alison gives viewers a glimpse of two important details: the beginning of her issues with Jenna, and the knowledge that A existed long before Alison disappeared. 

Jenna’s family moved in just before Halloween, and she is invited to the Halloween party. She is buying a Lady Gaga costume, and Alison tells her not to because that’s who she is going as. Jenna says she’ll think about it, but “disobeys” Alison anyway. Alison overlooks this problem and offers Jenna her friendship and promises popularity. Jenna declines, making Alison angry. And the rivalry between the two begins – which we know will “end” with Alison setting off some sort of firework that causes Jenna to go blind. 

A was tormenting Alison long before they targeted Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily. In this episode, Alison gets a text from a blocked number that says, “I’m watching you. – A” During the party she gets a text that says, “Dying to know who I am? You’ll soon find out. – A” 

In between the two texts, Alison plays a prank on her girlfriends that goes too well. She texts them that she’s in trouble and needs their help. The girls go running to help her in a creepy house that had been highlighted earlier in the episode. They find Alison who claims someone locked her in there under threat of death. In an attempt to get cell phone service, they get separated from Alison, who gets locked in the room with a masked man. Alison and the man fight. Alison becomes confused as the man is fighting harder than he is “supposed to.” When Alison and the girls meet up again, she tells them it was a prank and the masked aggressor was their classmate Noel Kahn.

When they return to the party, Noel apologizes for not being able to make it to the prank. Alison then realizes that whoever fought her in the house was actually fighting her. This leads the viewer to believe that whoever attacked Alison in the house is A. 

The reason why I love this episode and added it to my series of favorite fictional Halloweens is first, and foremost, the costumes. I love how much effort the costume designers put into these special episodes in Pretty Little Liars, and they did not disappoint for this one. The second reason is the trope of the prankster becoming the one pranked. While Alison did succeed in scaring her friends, she also received her own fright from A and other classmates who despised her. Alison definitely reminds viewers to be careful who you harm, you never know who will bite back. 

Check back on Friday for part 3 of my favorite fictional Halloweens!