after hearing Spencer's pleas, promises to keep her secret. She tells Spencer to go back to the barn and sleep. After meeting with Byron about his affair with Meredith, she returned to the barn and received no text messages. Alison then returns home to find her mother looking through the window right before getting hit from behind. Hours later she wakes up to her mother burying her in the backyard. She's pulled out by Mrs. Grunwald and taken to the hospital, but runs away out of fear. She is discovered by Mona (Janel Parrish) walking through the streets covered in dirt and blood. Mona takes her to the Lost Woods Resort motel, where she cleans Alison up and gives her the idea to fake her death and leave Rosewood. After putting Alison to sleep, Mona goes to her "A" lair and plays with her dolls. The following morning, Alison thanks her by giving her the name of her stylist, telling "You don't have to be a loser". She leaves the motel in the morning and later finds out she had been played. Production A' Is for Answers" was written and directed by I. Marlene King, serving as her fourth writing credit and second directing credit for the season. The episode also serves as King's third directing credit for the overall series. The table read for the episode began on October 21, 2013. Filming for the episode commenced the next day, October 22, and concluded on November 2, 2013. On October 23, 2013, Torrey DeVitto, who portrays Spencer's sister Melissa Hastings, confirmed her appearance on the episode on Twitter. Ryan Merriman, who portrays Melissa's deceased husband Ian Thomas, appears in the episode, marking his first since the season two episode "The Blond Leading the Blind." Other actors recurring in this episode include Brant Daugherty as Noel Kahn, Sean Faris as Detective Gabe Holbrook, Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings, Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery, Nolan North as Peter Hastings, Andrea Parker as Jessica DiLaurentis, Vanessa Ray as CeCe Drake, and Jim Titus as Barry Maple. Reception Ratings A' Is for Answers" premiered on ABC Family on March 18, 2014. It was watched by 3.12 million viewers and acquired a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic. it was the most watched episode since the season four episode "Who's in the Box?" and the highest rated episode since the season four episode "Grave New