FreeformsPretty Little Liarswas an absolute sensation when it aired on the channel during the 2010s. Based on the Sara Shepard novel series of the same name, the show follows a group of teenage girls a year after their friend Alison DiLaurentis (played by Sasha Pietrse) mysteriously disappeared during a summer sleepover party.
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After the police finally find Alison’s remains a year later the girls Aria Montgomery (played by Lucy Hale), Spencer Hastings (played by Troian Bellisario), Hanna Marin (played by Ashley Benson), and Emily Fields (played by Shay Mitchell) begin to receive mysteriousgifts and text messages from someone named Awho tries to hurt the girls and threatens to expose their biggest secrets throughout the series. Throughout the seven seasons ofPretty Little Liars, more thanone person holds the title of A, but some do it better than others.
9Alex Drake Aka A.D
The reveal of Alex Drake (played by Troian Bellisario) in the show’s series finale was one of the most controversial moves made in thePretty Little Liarswriters room. Finding out that Alex Drake was Spencer’s evil British twin shocked the PLL fanbase, but it was anything but loved.
Itwas slammed for lazy writing, lacking sense, and rightfully so. The show’s final big bad being a character who fans didn’t know and someone who didn’t really have any connections to the girls, definitely making it the worst reveal ever done on the show.
8Mary Drake
In the spirit of evil twins Mary Drake (played by Andrea Parker) takes the next spot. It was revealed that Mary Drake was actually Spencer’s birth mother and out of rage from having Spencer taken from her, she killed her sister Jessica DiLaurentis (played by Andrea Parker).
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She also assisted Alex in her schemes in the wake of Charlotte’s (played by Vanessa Ray) mysterious death.Both evil twin storylines in the serieswere elaborate, and they ultimately fell flat causing the later seasons ofPretty Little Liarsto be weak.
7Sara Harvey Aka The Black Widow
Sara Harvey (played by Dre Davis) was introduced in the later seasons of the show. During an attempt to find out who could be in Alison’s grave Emily met up with a girl whose friend Sara Harvey disappeared around the same time Alison did. The storyline seemed like filler, but when A kidnaps the girls Sara is also revealed to have been in the bunker as well.
She is however later revealed to beworking against the girlsand for A when she is revealed to be the Black Widow at Officer Wilden’s funeral. Sara was also revealed to be one of the Red Coats as well, which just doesn’t make much sense either. However, Sara has to be one of the most confusing of all since she doesn’t have any real reason to hate the girls or help A when she wasn’t even a resident of Rosewood.
6Shana Fring Aka A
Shana Fring (played by Aeriel Miranda) is another example of lazy writing on Pretty Little Liars. As seen before in the series, the writers constantly arebringing characters in who don’t have anythingto do with the main plot and making them a big bad. It feels cheap, and the reveals aren’t rewarding at all, and the characters not having concrete reasons for being bad makes it even worse. Shana shoots Ezra and reveals herself as A at the beginning of season 5 before Aria kills her in self-defense.
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Her reasoning was to get payback for Jenna (played by Tammin Sursok) who Shana had fallen in love with during her short time living in Rosewood. However, Shana also reveals she only moved to Rosewood to help Alison, which makes this reveal even more confusing, and it just feels like another cop-out in the writer’s room, a character that the fans knew and loved being revealed wouldhave evoked more emotionand would have felt like more of a loss. Shana was a weak and lazy choice.
5Noel Kahn Working For A
Noel Kahn (played by Brant Daughetry) is the handsome bad boy of Rosewood. During the show, he has brief relationships with Aria, Mona, and Jenna. His character is later revealed to maybe have something to do with the A team when he starts spending more time with Jenna, and he’s always been shady. He ultimately led the girls to Alison, but when she comes back and lies about why she disappeared he keeps photos and recordings thathe could use to blackmail heras “insurance”, in case Ali turns on him.
However, it’s revealed during the time jump that Noel actually helped keep the girls kidnaped in the dollhouse and that he worked as a sort of henchman for Charlotte. Noel was one of the more interesting characters in the show, but he lacked actual motive. Alison and the girls never did anything to him for him to be angry enough to kidnap and torture them and his motives are never further explained. This one had the potential to be so much better and even a sinister reveal,but it lacked plot.
4Charlotte DiLaurentis Aka A And Red Coat
Charlotte DiLaurentis (played by Vanessa Ray) also known as Cece Drake was introduced about halfway through the show when she shows up in Rosewood and runs into the girls where they compare notes, discovering they were all friends of Alison. The girls begin to develop a friendship with her as they try to uncover more about who could want to hurt Alison. However, things take a major turn when it is revealed in the later seasons of the show following A’s dollhouse kidnapping stunt that Cece had been behind it all and was actually Alison’s sibling, who was assigned male at birth but transitioned to female during her early childhood. Cece alsofound herself in Radley (a mental institute)at a young age due to her parents thinking she could be a danger.
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This reveal just doesn’t work due to the fact Cece claims all she wanted was to be a part of her family, but she spent years torturing Alison’s friends and was one of the main reasons she had to remain away from Rosewood. It was also revealed Cece buried Jessica DiLaurentis when she found her murdered by someone else, following this as A, Cece sent Alison a video of her burying the body which makes zero sense if Cece was alsohurt by the death too. This, although not the worst reveal on the show, was definitely one of the most disappointing, and it marked the point where many viewers started to lose faith in the show’s writers.
3Aria Working For A
Aria was blackmailed into working for A in the last season of the show, and it’s not too bad. During a fight with Ezra Aria filed a police report against him, since he started dating her when she was a minor, but she never turned it in. However, A finds this and threatens to turn it in if she doesn’t help A, so she does. When the girls realize it’s Aria they are shocked and kind of forgive her too quickly.
In a show that’smain messages surround friendship and unbreakable bonds, it’s sad that Aria would turn on her friends for a guy, but that’s what makes it work. It takes a character that fans enjoy, and it raises the stakes by turning the audience against someone they’ve grown to love. It evokes real emission and makes the watcher feel like in a way they’ve been betrayed as well. Although not the best on the show it’s one of the better reveals the fans get.
2Toby Cavanaugh Working For A
The reveal that Toby (played by Keegan Allen) was working for A was one of the most shocking moments in the series, considering he was in a committed relationship with Spencer andhad a very strong bondwith Emily too. Spencer finding out Toby was A was extremely emotional and drives Spencer to even join the other side as well.
However, it falls short when the writer made the decision to have his reasoning be that he was trying to get information to keep Spencer safe. It lacks luster and feels like a lazy way of keeping the couple together.
1Mona Vanderwall Aka OG A
Mona Vanderwall (played by Janel Parrish) was tortured for years by Alison and labeled “loser Mona” for years. When Alison disappeared Mona finally shed that title andbecame a Rosewood “it girl”. The moments leading up to Mona’s reveal as A are and always will be the best in the series.
The little breadcrumbs placed throughout the season, like gum wrappers and shopping bags make the moment when Spencer realizes its Mona so much more rewarding than the others. And in comparison Mona has the most valid and realistic motive to want to hurt the girls who bullied her for years, making Mona the best bad guy in the entire series.
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sinpremieres on HBO Max on June 01, 2025.
