What happened to Hanna? The season premiere of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS began four days after the events of the last season finale, with the girls burying a body. And then we flashed back to four days earlier to the night that Hanna disappeared. The girls noticed Mary Drake walking into the police station to report a break-in at the Lost Woods Resort (which she now owns) and Toby learned who she was before reporting back to the others.
Thanks to a message from A.D., the group figured out that Hanna was in the church bell tower and rushed to save her. But it turned out the body they found was wearing a Hanna mask and wasn’t really a body at all. Instead, A.D. told the girls that they had 24 hours to find Charlotte’s real killer or Hanna would die.
The next morning, the group assembled at the Hastings house to figure out Charlotte’s murder. They believed that Mary Drake was A.D. and were determined to solve this mystery. It soon became obvious that Alison seemed like the #1 suspect in Charlotte’s death. Aria thought back to the night Charlotte died and hypothesized that she and Ezra had actually seen Ali that night. Mona suggested that Alison snapped, while Spencer put forward the theory that Alison killed Charlotte in self-defence. With the clock still ticket, the group split up: Mona, Caleb, Spencer and Toby headed to spy on Mary Drake, Emily went to visit Alison, and Ezra and Aria went to the DiLaurentis house.
Hanna, meanwhile, was stuck in a wooden shack, begging to be let out….a fact that her friends were soon aware of when her photo was texted to them.
At the hospital, Emily told Ali’s husband about Mary Drake (someone the fans know is actually his partner, as we learned in the season 6 finale). He, in turn, told her that Alison was suffering from tremendous guilt, which made Emily suspicious that Ali was Charlotte’s killer.
Back at the Lost Woods Resort, Spencer and Toby searched Mary’s room and found her very full passport. At the DiLaurentis house, Ezra and Aria were forced to hide in the closet when Elliot came home and they spotted him taking something out of a locked chest. Later that night, Mona and Toby followed Mary to Spencer’s house. As they waited outside, Spencer invited Mary in for tea. Mary told Spencer that she and Jessica didn’t get along and that Jessica had poisoned everyone against her. “I was born first and she was born jealous,” Mary said of her sister.
At the hospital, Emily went in to confront Alison. She told her sleeping friend that she needed to know the truth about Charlotte and was shocked when Ali suddenly woke up, asking God to forgive her.
In the midst of all this murder talk, Aria told Ezra that she needed time to think about their possible renewed relationship. And when Aria met up with Emily again, Emily lied and said she hadn’t been able to talk to Ali after all. It soon became obvious that Emily believed Ali was guilty and was torn about what to do.
Meanwhile, Aria headed to a bar near Hollis to track down an associate of Mary’s who was chatting with her on the phone. She came up with nothing, but when she heard a familiar song she went to Ezra’s house to be with him.
Soon after, Emily snuck into the DiLaurentis house and visited Ali’s room. She was conflicted about what Alison may have done, remembering the good times they had. She also noticed a box that Alison had set aside for Goodwill and found the red jacket that Ali may have worn the night Charlotte died. “Oh, Ali, what did you do?” Emily asked.
Back in the shack, Hanna dreamt of Spencer, who was really her subconscious prodding her to find a way out. Hanna remembered this when she awoke and started looking for the exit. “If there’s a way in, there’s a way out,” she said.
Spencer updated the others about Mary’s history just before Emily arrived to tell them that she suspected Alison had killed Charlotte. She also whipped out the red coat.
With 36 minutes left, the group discussed whether they should hand over Ali to save Hanna. Caleb stole the jacket and dropped it off at the Lost Woods Resort in order to save Hanna. Exactly 24 hours after issuing his/her ultimatum, Uber A arrived back at the shack to find Hanna gone. It turned out that she had escaped and was currently running through the woods. She spotted a car, but it just kept driving…at least until it turned around and Hanna spotted Mary Drake behind the wheel. Of course, she didn’t know who she was.
Meanwhile, someone grabbed and bagged the red jacket, while Elliott visited Alison to drug her again. “I know you killed Charlotte,” he whispered to her. “Just like you, Alison, karma can be such a bitch”.
In conclusion, Hanna is alive, but she’s not yet reunited with her friends. To find out what happens next, tune in to an all new episode of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS on June 28 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Freeform.