HOLLYWOOD—Last week’s season finale of “Pretty Little Liars” delivered plenty of answers, but also opened the doors for more questions. Just when the audience thought the possibility of “A’s” identity being revealed, the masked stalker jumps the roof. After four seasons, the writers of “PLL” have continued to keep the suspense level of just who the mysterious party that has tortured our favorite liars at a fever pitch. Just who is “A?”
This is a mystery that dates back to season one. For starters, it all revolves around one of the lairs BFF and sworn enemy Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) who went missing right around Labor Day. A year later her friends who have drifted apart have attempted to put the pieces back together, but soon find themselves receiving threats from a mysterious party. At first we’re made to believe its Alison, but when her body turns up dead, the girls realize it’s not their BFF tormenting them, it is someone else. The first two seasons, played with the idea of almost anyone in Rosewood being the ladies tormentor, but it actually turned out to be Hanna’s BFF Mona (Janel Parrish).
Unfortunately, this is where things get tricky; Mona was apparently taking orders from a bigger party. Who is that person, we don’t quite know yet, but the audience has been told that it was the lady in red which could have been a number of parties, Alison, Cece Drake (Vanessa Ray) or another party, which I suspect. Note: Mona has been following orders from someone for quite some time so it has to be someone that was present in the first episode. That’s all I will say, the pilot holds the key to the answers that so many of us want. Season three toyed with the idea of Alison being alive and we kinda got that confirmation with Hanna’s (Ashley Benson) ‘hallucination’ of her BFF rescuing her. Not only did the season culminate with Mona becoming an enemy to “A,” but the ladies were being framed for the death of Detective Wilden.
Season four was highlighted as the ‘Season of Answers,’ and it truly was. Episode 1, episode 12 and the season finale delivered more tidbits than one could suspect. Mona gave out huge details in her attempt to align with the ladies, like the fact that Wilden was the Queen of Hearts alongside another party, which we have yet to uncover, but suspicion has been cast on Melissa (Torrey DeVitto). At first I thought the same thing, but after that episode where she confessed to Spencer that she has only been looking out for her sis’ best interest, I ruled her out.
Perhaps the most important piece of information for all fans to decipher is the Lady in Black. Remember, she attended Wilden’s funeral and was seen at the end of the episode wearing a mask that resembled Alison. Let’s just point out, it’s not Alison, but she is the endgame as the writers have indicated that. We were even told we’ve seen the lady in black a second time this season without their costume on. I can’t help, but suspect this mysterious party as being the mother of one of the liars. Why might you ask, the person’s physique is slender and tall, one person fits that mold Ashley Marin (Laura Leighton). Yes it hard to believe a mother would do so much harm to teens, but if it’s a whopper of a secret I can see it happening. If its not her, we can suspect Ella Montgomery (Holly Marie Combs), she has been notably MIA for quite some time and finally popped back into the mix the final two episodes.
Perhaps the biggest clues came from the season finale when Alison dished major details to the audience. For starters she suspected the lairs of possibly being “A,” but that was ruled out when she drugged them. She was also able to cross off Jenna (Tammin Sursok), Shana (Ariel Miranda), Melissa, Mr. and Mrs. Hastings, Toby and Cece of the “A” list. Which means there are not many suspects left besides Mike Montgomery, Ella Montgomery, Ashley Marin, Pam Fields, Paige, Noel, Wren, Jason and Lucas? We can’t forget about Lucas who mysteriously vanished in season three; guess what, he’s back in the mix in season five. I wonder why?
The biggest piece of information was the revelation that Mrs. DiLaurentis saw who attempted to kill Alison and covered for the person. That means only one thing: it has to be a blood relative. Many are suspecting that twin twist as noted in the books, that Alison has another sibling out there. The writers have swayed away from this idea, but at the same time have not openly said, “It won’t happen.” It’s too easy and they know it. I suspect a twin might be in play, but not Alison, perhaps Jason or Mrs. D herself. Unfortunately, we’ll never know who Mrs. D. is covering for as “A” took her out.
Another clue was the rooftop confrontation between the liars and “A.” If I was Hanna I would have fired a shot injuring the elusive party, but that jump screamed one thing: it’s gotta be a guy! Could a woman do that perhaps, and I suspected Paige as a guilty party. She was furious with Emily for dumping her, not to mention she always hated Alison, but that just doesn’t seem to lady like. So my top suspects at this point are either Wren or Jason. I think they’re working for a bigger mastermind. This may be a stretch, but I’ve always suspected theHastingsclan of keeping a whopper of a secret. I suspect there may be anotherHastingssibling that Spencer and Melissa are unaware of. To make matters worse I suspect a possible twin. That would be a surprise the audience won’t see coming. I mean what on Earth could Melissa whisper to her father to make him give her that look? Yeah, I know everyone is suspecting that she killed that girl, but her father would have a bigger reaction than that. For him it was almost something that knocked him off his feet, like his wife did it or someone we have no idea about.
At this point we’re going into season five of “PLL” we have to have some major answers like who killed Ian after he was thrown off the Bell Tower, who rescued the other girls from the lodge fire, who tried to drown Jenna, where was Jason, who tried to kill Aria on the train, who killed Detective Wilden, who is in Ali’s grave, who is the lady in black, who is “A?” Maybe that last one will have to wait a while, but just imagine if the writers did reveal “A’s” identity? Let’s say one of our liars discover the truth, but then suffer some sort of amnesia or memory loss. The audience knows, but the characters are still attempting to solve the mystery. Sets up some interesting storylines in my opinion just saying.
By LaDale Anderson
