‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ Season 1 Episode 5 Recap: “The Night He Came Home”

Bailee Madison, Malia Pyles, Chandler Kinney, Maia Reficco, and Zaria in ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ season 1 episode 5 (Photo by Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max)

It’s Halloween 1999 and the original five girls are smashing pumpkins with a baseball bat as HBO Max’s Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin season one episode five opens. They convince poor Angela Waters (Gabriella Pizzolo) to throw a bag of dog poop at a house. She’s worried about being seen so Davie (Ava DeMary) gives her a scary jack-o’-lantern mask to wear while claiming this is part of their initiation.

Angela really doesn’t want to do it, but she ends up caving. As Angela reluctantly tosses the bag at a front door, the other girls get in the Jeep and drive off leaving her to fend for herself.

Present Day, October 29th: Imogen (Bailee Madison) is certain this all has to do with their mothers after Noa (Maia Reficco) tells them about the text she got from A. Imogen asks Noa what her mom did to Angela, but Noa doesn’t know. The text didn’t provide any details or hints.

Noa confesses A “went full f**kin’ Michael Myers” on her, which is a decent summary of the events at the end of episode four. Mouse (Malia Pyles) wonders if it’s time to tell someone but Imogen thinks they’re so close to finding out why this is happening (doubt it) that they can’t tell anyone.

Tabby (Chandler Kinney) has a point when she brings up that after what A did to Noa, disobeying A isn’t a good idea. She’s sure they shouldn’t tell anyone anything.

Imogen reveals Angela was never mentioned anywhere in her mom’s diaries but now they know there’s a connection. Tabby assumes the missing pages from the diary could be about Angela.

Imogen has spent hours going through all the stuff at her old house but now that she knows what she’s looking for, she feels like she needs to start over. Faran (Zaria) speaks for the group and offers their help.

Chip (Carson Rowland) realizes Tabby’s angry at him because she doesn’t say two words to him in Mr. Smithee’s class. She finally tells him she’s upset because he stepped in and filmed the rest of the scene. Tabby feels this entire project was about changing the perspective of horror films. She wanted it to be shot from a female perspective with a female director and by stepping in, he negated that. Chip apologizes; he didn’t mean for that to happen.

The girls split up in Imogen’s old house to look for the missing diary pages. Mouse retrieved old walkie-talkies from her mom’s pawnshop, and Noa seems to have gotten the short end of the stick; she’s in the attic walking through spiderwebs.

Tabby’s assigned the basement and, of course, the light switch isn’t working. Just as she discovers a chest, she’s called back upstairs.

Faran summons everyone back to the living room after finding burnt-up pages in the fireplace. Imogen doesn’t take this setback well and confesses she doesn’t want to let go of her house. Mouse suggests maybe they could take over the mortgage payments. That’s not happening as Imogen only has $400 in the bank that she’s saved from her last 10 birthdays.

Faran had asked Henry (Ben Cook) to volunteer to give Kelly a foot rub, and he reports in that she did in fact have a scar on her foot. (Karen cut her foot on a razor blade, but Kelly shouldn’t have a matching scar.) However, Henry thinks there could be several reasons she has scars and that doesn’t mean she’s really Karen.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But something very weird is going on here,” says Faran.

And now for something truly bizarre… Mouse is chatting online with a much older man named Steve (Alexander Chaplin) who wants to meet her in person. She agrees but wants to plan it for somewhere she won’t be recognized. She asks Steve if they can go trick-or-treating after they have dinner, explaining her moms have never let her go before. Steve says Rachel loved trick-or-treating. As he speaks, Mouse looks down at a missing person flyer of a little girl named Rachel.

Steve agrees to take her trick-or-treating and buy her a costume.

Friday, October 30th: Imogen’s back at her old house going through boxes when she finds a quilt and has a flashback to when her mom, Davey (Carly Pope), gave it to her after making it for the baby. Her mom suggested a baby shower and when Imogen passed on the idea, Davey warned her she was missing out on presents and cold hard cash.

The flashback gives Imogen an idea.

Oddly enough, Faran thinks it’s a good idea to let Madame Giry (Kate Jennings Grant) know she believes Kelly is really Karen. Of course, Madame Giry thinks that’s a ridiculous accusation. Instead of abandoning the idea, Faran doubles down and tells her about the scars on Kelly’s foot.

Madame Giry orders Faran to stop talking and, after closing her office door, she warns Faran she needs to stop this line of inquiry. Apparently, in the past, Kelly had a problem with self-harm. Faran’s skeptical because she doesn’t think Kelly would cut the bottom of her feet. Madame Giry brings up that people who self-harm often do it where people can’t see.

Imogen has a Hail Mary idea to save her house. She’s going to host a Halloween party at her house and charge admission. Mouse says she can’t go, lying that she has to help her moms with inventory at their shop. She thinks about it for a minute and says she might be able to swing by afterward with Ash.

Later, Mouse tells Ash (Jordan Gonzalez) about the party but when he offers to pick her up, she says she’ll meet him there around 9:30pm.

Tabby returns to the theater and asks Wes (Derek Klena) for her final paycheck. It’s the first time she’s seen him since she bailed on his dinner, grabbed the flash drive, and left his house. She tells him what he did was not okay…luring her there to have dinner, almost kissing her in his car the night he drove her home. After apologizing he promises to never put her in that position again.

Wes offers Tabby her job back and she takes it. Halloween’s going to be busy because they’re hosting their annual Halloween extravaganza, giving away free concessions to whoever comes in costume. Tabby agrees to work the day shift but at night she has Imogen’s party.

Mouse is having dinner with her moms when she blurts out that she’s going to a Halloween party with Ash. Her mom Elodie (Lea Salonga) isn’t pleased but her other mom, Shirley (Kim Berrios Lin), allows it. She negotiates her curfew to 10:30pm.

Chandler Kinney, Bailee Madison, Maia Reficco, Malia Pyles, and Zaria in ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ season 1 episode 5 (Photo by Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max)

Saturday, October 31st: Tabby’s working at the theater when Tyler (Brian Altemus) shows up and tries to walk off with free popcorn and a drink. She wants him to pay $8 but he insists it’s free. Tabby reminds him that only applies to people in costumes.

Tyler changes the subject and says, “You made that sick video about Karen.” Tabby counters with he’s the one who filmed it. They argue back and forth, with Tyler accusing her of almost getting him in trouble. Tabby reminds him she DID get in a lot of trouble.

He makes what he thinks is a joke, asking if she still has her cherry. Tabby is justifiably angry about his stupid comments.

Mouse puts a mask on and tries on different costumes, taking selfies in each one.

Faran’s not letting go of the Kelly being Karen thing and invites Kelly (Mallory Bechtel) to the local pizza joint. They have a friendly chat and Faran says she never realized how great of a dancer she is. Kelly points out she’s always been a good dancer; she just wasn’t allowed to show it. Faran asks what she means by “allowed.”

“Karen always had to be the star and if I started to outshine her, she would put me in my place,” Kelly confesses.

Kelly admits she can’t stop thinking about Karen and the night of the dance, playing out different scenarios in her head…her stopping Karen, her going up there and taking Karen’s place, both of them staying home. Faran notices a cut that’s healing on Kelly’s hand and asks if she did that to herself. (It happened the day of her sister’s funeral.) Kelly admits it’s a cliché – the ballerina who hurts herself. She asks Faran not to tell anyone and Faran promises she won’t.

Faran assures Kelly that if she ever needs someone to talk to, she can talk to her. She also invites Kelly to Imogen’s party.

The party’s in full swing when Noa and Shawn (Alex Aiono) show up as Gomez and Morticia Addams. Faran’s in the kitchen when Tyler puts in an appearance as a smurf. He’s being creepy, like usual, and hits on her. Tabby steps in and asks who invited him and he says it was his boy, Greg.

Tabby points out they must go to a lot of parties, being so popular and all. She asks if he was at a bonfire in the woods behind the school over the summer and he seems not to remember. He claims they party in the woods all the time but doesn’t remember any bonfire.

Tabby calls Tyler garbage of a person and warns him to stay away from her and her friends.

Back to that truly twisted storyline… Mouse meets Steve at a hotel and he calls her Rachel. He says he ordered breakfast for dinner, her favorite.

A crashes Imogen’s party, entering unnoticed through the basement. He opens the chest Tabby spotted earlier and it’s full of items belonging to Angela, including the teddy bear and the pumpkin mask. He puts on the mask and makes his way out of the basement.

Mouse is trick-or-treating with Steve when he suggests she can call him dad if she wants.

Imogen dumps all the cash she made from the party in a drawer in her room. As she exits her room, A is standing in front of the bathroom where her mom died. She doesn’t realize it’s A and asks what he’s doing. When he doesn’t respond she tells him there’s another bathroom downstairs he can use.

Henry and Faran talk, and he wonders if she and Kelly are BFFs now. She answers “hardly” and wonders if maybe she’s going Black Swan crazy. He suggests that maybe she has unresolved issues with Karen that she’s trying to work out now. Faran thinks she should forget about it; she is at a party, after all. Henry suggests letting him help her do just that and kisses her.

A watches them kiss.

Mouse is still with Steve when Ash texts her, worried about where she is. It’s 9:55pm and she’s late, and Steve offers to drive her to the party. She accepts but tells him he has to drop her off a block away because people can’t see them together. He begins to cry and begs Rachel to forgive him. Mouse says, “I forgive you, dad.”

Imogen gets a call and says yes, she did call about Angela Waters. The person on the other end hangs up on her.

Faran’s getting something out of the fridge when she catches Kelly making out with her dead sister’s boyfriend, Greg.

Mouse finally shows up and responds to texts from her mom that she’s fine. She then blocks her mom’s number. Ash, dressed as Freddie Mercury, tells her she looks beautiful. Mouse confesses she’s ready to close the sad chapter in her book and asks if he has gummies.

Chip finds Tabby outside and offers a beer as a peace offering. He explains that he talked to Mr. Smithee, told him what happened, and asked if she can reshoot the clips. Surprisingly, he gave them an extension.

Tabby thanks him but says they need a new Norman Bates. Chip volunteers…but he won’t do it in a speedo. Chip suggests they get out of there and offers to watch her favorite Freddy movie. She says she would, but she should stay. This night is important to Imogen.

Faran confronts Kelly about Greg, telling her that had she known she was dating someone, she would have invited them both. Kelly asks what she’s talking about, and Faran reveals she saw her kissing Greg. Faran accuses Kelly of trying to gaslight her.

“Girl, whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong,” says Kelly.

Faran points out there’s that word again. She brings up how Karen use to call her girl and that Henry says dancing with her is like dancing with Karen again. And now she’s kissing Karen’s boyfriend. (The audience can see A lurking in the background watching this.) Faran finally admits she thinks she’s Karen and that she sent Kelly up to the rafters to do her dirty work. Kelly thinks she’s losing it.

Faran says if she doesn’t want to admit it, that’s fine, but she should know her life may be in danger because maybe “Kelly” didn’t fall. Maybe someone pushed her, thinking she was Karen.

“Keep the hell away from me. I mean it, Faran – don’t you ever talk to me again, you f**kin’ psycho!” says Kelly, storming off.

Mouse and Ash are lying in Imogen’s old bed high on gummies when they kiss. She has the munchies and tells him to stay there while she gets some snacks. As she’s getting snacks, Tyler tries to hit on her. He doesn’t take the hint and says he’s going to get her a beer.

Noa comes over to support Mouse and soon after Faran joins them. Sleazy Tyler is back with a drink for Mouse, who absolutely doesn’t want it (or trust that it’s not spiked), and Noa warns him to back off or she’ll get her boyfriend to kick his butt.

Faran also tells him to go away, and Greg (Elias Kacavas) jumps in, trying to defend his friend. Tabby, who was already on edge, shoves Tyler while telling him to back up. Tyler slings a string of disturbing racist and misogynistic insults and Tabby’s had enough. She’s tired of white cis males like him going into the locker room and talking about girls they never really had sex with.

Tyler manages to make her angrier by asking what her deal is tonight and if she’s on her period. She starts in on Greg about breaking his word when it came to filming. Tyler doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut and claims Tabby will be begging for him to give it to her. And that’s the straw that broke the camel’s back. Tabby has had enough and punches him in the nose.

A’s taken in all the action and watches as Tyler runs upstairs. Tyler rips the off-limits sign of the bathroom where Imogen’s mom died, and A follows him in. Tyler uses a homophobic slur and A attacks him and strangles him to death.

The girls take a brief break from the party on the porch and laugh about Tabby clocking Tyler in the nose. Imogen seems pleased she just threw her first – and last – rager, and Noa’s happy there was no A in sight. (She has no idea he’s been mingling with the guests.) Imogen asks them to help her break up the party, and Noa suggests they can clear the house by saying the cops are on their way.

A exits the basement carrying Tyler’s dead body wrapped in a shower curtain. He places him in the back of his van.

Bailee Madison in ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’ season 1 episode 5 (Photograph by Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max)

The next morning Imogen experiences a series of flashbacks while cleaning up. She recalls hanging decorations with her mom, watching a movie together, painting each other’s nails, and what happened when she showed her mom the positive pregnancy test.

The rest of the girls start to wake up and offer to help clean. Imogen gets a call from a man who says he knew her mom – and he knew Angela and her family well. He suggests they meet.

Mouse was supposed to be home on Halloween after the party and when she finally returns home on Sunday morning one of her moms, Shirley, is waiting for her. Shirley thinks the party must have been fun since she stayed out all night. Mouse explains she didn’t mean to scare her, but she needed just one night for herself.

Viewers still don’t know what happened to Mouse but she drops a cryptic explanation of why she needed to get away. “I know what happened was scary for everybody, but it happened to me and I feel like I am constantly being punished for it. Even years later. He’s gone and he’s never coming back,” says Mouse.

Mouse is shown going through a box of pictures that she and other people are in. Is she pretending to be kids who have been lost and why?

Kelly filled Madame Giry in on Faran’s accusation and Madame Giry calls Faran to inform her that starting Monday she’ll no longer be dancing the Black Swan. Also, she will no longer speak to Kelly Beasley. With that, Giry hangs up on Faran.

Kelly shares the good news with her mom, Martha (Jennifer Ferrin), that she’s going to be the lead in the ballet. Her mom looks completely out of it and replies, “That’s wonderful, Karen.”

Kelly reminds her she’s not Karen.

Episode five ends with Imogen asking Tabby what that whole thing between her and Tyler was really about. Tabby confesses that over the summer there was a party in the woods. “Imogen, something happened to me,” says Tabby. Imogen and Tabby hold hands and Imogen replies, “Tabby, something happened to me too.”