So Lucas is a gambling addict? That's the reason for all those furtive glances and sneaky actions? Of all the causes for Lucas' odd behavior, a penchant for wagering other people's money was the last one I ever imagined. I mean, what an oddball red herring. But also, will Lucas have to pay for all that lake dredging and police force overtime, like he's arunaway bride, or something?
Before the girls learn Lucas isn't actually sleeping with the fishes, they unearth another A clue from the lake house: a bag of disposable cell phones and a receipt from something called a Smitty's in Philadelphia. Spencer decides to track down the establishment in question, hopping a train to the city with Aria in tow. When the scent leads to a newsstand, it looks like a dead end until Spencer spots a bunch of blind people wandering around (just go with me here...). She follows, stumbling upon a rehabilitation center—the same rehabilitation center where Jenna spent her days following the accident. Though the receptionist won't give Spencer any information (better brush up on your HIPAA regulations, S!), a nearby patient says he knows Jenna and spills how AMAZING she was to him during his own rehab. Wait, are they talking about the same Jenna? On her way out, Spencer swipes the visitor's log from Jenna's stay hoping for clues.
Meanwhile, Aria takes an earlier train home to Rosewood in order to prepare for her date with Holden. Ma and Pa Montgomery give the freshly returned-to-town hottie their blessing to ask Aria out—something she takes full advantage of, scheduling their play date for the same night Ezra was supposed to be in attendance at the stage production. The former flames do indeed run into each other in a slow-mo sequence engineered to break the hearts of a million Ezria shippers. Their moment is interrupted by Ezra's much-older date (was she a fellow teacher?), who informs Aria after the production that Ezra left 10 minutes in. To his credit, Holden's a perceptive one, noticing how distraught Aria is by the news. He tells her he gets what's going on and that perhaps they can make it work to their mutual benefit.
Awkward love connections seem to be the theme of the night, as Emily works to rekindle her romance with Maya. Except, the girl keeps getting mysterious text messages. Turns out, they're from a former hook-up...a male hook-up.
Things continue to get water-logged for Hanna, who's clearly feeling guilty for sending Lucas overboard at Caleb's surprise party. During a crying jag in the bathroom, Hanna discovers a rowboat in the sink, followed by a perfectly timed text from A. When she talks with Caleb later, he reveals that he's been getting texts from Lucas, who's "staying with his cousin" (likely story). Caleb begs Hanna to help him look for Lucas, but she refuses for reasons she won't reveal to him. But Lucas later turns up on his own accord at Hanna's house, FREAKING HER THE HELL OUT. She tries to secretly dial Caleb, and as he rushes to her rescue, Lucas spills his gambling beans (which include losing Caleb's savings). Lame. He's off the hook for the greenhouse attack with his alibi of visiting comic book stores to sell of his collectables for cash.
But all is not lost! The stolen logbook boasts a few interesting tidbits, namely that Ali didn't visit Jenna to blackmail her (as Jenna previously claimed) and that Garrett was the one who saw her on the night of Alison's murder. And that he checked Jenna out that night, probably all night.
Do all clues point to Garrett and Jenna as Alison's murderers? Did you find the Lucas storyline as lame as I did? And do you (secretly) kind of like Holden? Spill it all in the comments and on Twitter!
** Hollywood Crush Twitter