What made the Pretty Little Liars Halloween themed episodes so iconic was just how camp the creators would get: from the costumes, the settings, the dialogue, and situations the girls would get into. Then when Halloween came around, things would go off the rails. That is saying something, considering how wild the show could get when it wasn’t Halloween season.
Take season three’s episode, ‘This Is ‘A’ Dark Ride’. The episode featured the girls on a ghost train, which becomes a dangerous ride when unwanted guests appear onboard. This would be a pretty regular episode for the show, but the writers decided to add a few extra layers of nonsense for our entertainment. Most notably the addition of singer Adam Lambert who, dressed as a vampire, spends his time on the train, performing in an undersized carriage and handing out advice to the characters. It’s this type of bizarre decision that took these Halloween episodes to the next level.
However, while this wild ride of an episode makes for great viewing, the true Halloween gem of the show is of course ‘The First Secret’. This was the shows first ever Halloween themed episode from back in season two. This episode showed the audience what would be instore when Halloween came to town. The episode featured whacky costumes such as Mary Queen of Scots and two girls battling it out in different iterations of Lady Gaga, plus jump scares to challenge a Wes Craven film. All of this showed that the creators had clearly put budget aside to make this episode an event and it was so fun to watch.
The episode featured whacky costumes such as Mary Queen of Scots and two girls battling it out in different iterations of Lady Gaga...
What made the episode even better were the reveals it gave viewers. Shows will often use themed episodes as filler and some light-hearted fun for audiences to enjoy. This wasn’t the case for Pretty Little Liars and that’s what made these episodes so great. They felt vital to the story you would watch play out before and after. When you tuned into the episode, you came for the fun, campy atmosphere, but you’d stay for the revelations instore.
