I have been watching Pretty Little Liars since 2011, when I was 17, that's six years ago. For me, that's a long time to continue to watch a television show as I either binge watch years after the show is no longer popular or I get bored of waiting for a new episode and give up. There is only one more episode left of Pretty Little Liars, ever. This makes me sad. Like, really sad. Like, I could cry sad.
The biggest question to be answered in the finale of PLL, is who is AD? I am not 100% sure who I think AD is and I don't like to get my heart set on it being one person as I have done this in the past with A reveals and I've been super disappointed. I've came to terms with the fact that the show will end the way that the producers and directors will make it end and that I may not like it, but I do have a few ideas as to who I think could be a plausible AD. I've gathered some information that I've picked up on by watching the show and by reading online theories (which I try to stay away from!) There are some people on this list that I would be super super annoyed if they were AD and there's a couple that I'd probably be quite shocked or possibly happy if it was revealed that they were the mastermind behind the game. I'm going to list the characters that I think could be AD and I'm going to give an out of ten rating as to how likely I think they could be AD.
**Please be aware that if you are not up to date with the latest season, this blog post may contain spoilers**
Alison DiLaurentis - 5/10
I think its best to start with the person that this all started with the begin with, Alison herself. Alison has been the prime suspect for every A that has taunted the girls, they even separated themselves from her back in season 5 as they truly believed that she was the one playing the game. I think the main reason why many people would believe that Alison is AD, is the main clue of AD being the initials and Alison DiLaurentis being her name. I think the main reason that AD could be Ali is to revenge Charlottes death. I think it is highly possible that Ali could have believed that the liars would have murdered Charlotte. She put them through hell for years, and toyed with them for months in the dollhouse. Ali knows that the liars wouldn't hesitate to fight back if they were in a situation where it was either them or the other person, she knows Aria killed Shana and she knows Emily shot Lyndon, so why wouldn't they kill Charlotte if they were put in that position? When AD came on the scene, they desperately wanted to avenge Charlottes killer and Alison tried so hard to have Charlotte released so she could finally have a family at home with her sister. That was taken from her, so naturally she would want justice for the loss of her sister and what better way to get it than play a game with the girls that she knows they are terrified of. I think it would be a great plot twist and a perfect rounded end to the show if the original super bitch took over the game in the form of AD, and that the clue was there right in front of the girls the entire time. However, I don't think that Alison will be AD.
Ezra Fitz - 4/10
I am surprised that by this point, Ezra hasn't been a part of the A team. When Charlotte was A, she had the perfect opportunity to recruit him to the team, she could have used his book as leverage, knowing that it would have broke Arias heart when she found out. There's a few reasons that give a plausible argument as to why and how Ezra could be AD. Firstly, he knows how to watch people, he watched the girls for god knows how long when he was writing the book back in season 4, he would be able to follow the girls again without them knowing, just like he did the first time round. Ezra has also been 'out of town' a lot in season 7, as he was comforting his ex girlfriend who was kidnapped abroad. What if Ezra wasn't actually away? What if he was in town, keeping tabs on the girls and planting a game in Spencers barn for them to play. Also, like Alison's link to the initials AD, Ezra has links too. He may go by Ezra Fitz now, but remember when he confessed to Aria that his surname was actually Fitzgerald and he shorted it to Fitz as he didn't want to be associated with his family, Well, EzrA FitzgeralD. I would be heartbroken if Ezra turns out to be AD, his and Arias relationship has had so many bumps in the road, it wouldn't be fair to throw this curve ball at her too!
Jenna Marshall - 6/10
Jenna has had her mits in everything hasn't she? She is one person who actually has a legit reason to want to make the liars life total hell. They are at fault for blinding her remember? I don't believe that Jenna is still blind. Remember back in season 3 when the line 'Bitch can see!' was exclaimed by Aria? Well what if she never lost her sight again? What if Jenna is lying about being blind now, just like she was back then? Jenna has made no secret about the fact that she despises Alison and the other liars for the trauma that they put her through back in school, blinding her and knowing the information about her romantic relationship with her step brother, Toby. She has also been linked to a few strange characters that their role in this is yet to be revealed. She was pally with Sara Harvey, before she turned up dead in the shower, she was friendly or possibly romantically involved with Noel Kahn before he was beheaded and Sidney, who has clarified that she has worked for AD.. She was also friendly with Charlotte before she died, so she could possibly be looking for revenge for her death also. I do think that Jenna would be a character that they would chose to be AD, but I also think shes a slight cop out if they do choose her. She's been a suspect for every A there has been and she has clear motive, I don't think it would be very interesting if she was AD.
Lucas Gottesman - 6/10
I think Lucas is another character who is highly likely to be chosen to be AD. Lucas was tortured at school by Alison and he hasn't held back when expressing that the other girls just stood and watched. I think the only reason that would sway people from thinking her is AD is because of his relationship with Hanna. But what about the saying keep your friends close and your enemies even closer? It's no secret that he was in love with Hanna at school, what if those feelings never disappeared and he's bitter that she friend zoned him? Lucas also had a friendship with Charlotte when she was Charles. When Charlotte was Charles, he was stuck in Radley, why would he be released to go to a summer camp, unless the summer camp was specifically for patients at the sanitarium. Surely children who they believe to be enough of a danger to other people that they need to lock them up wouldn't be allowed to attend a summer camp full of children and bunk with them every night, right? So what if Lucas was also a patient at Radley and was Charlottes informant? There's also no proof that they didn't stay in contact after Charles became CeCe and if I remember correctly, there weren't any scenes of Lucas and CeCe or Charlotte together before it was revealed that she was A back at the end of season 5, so you can't read their body language when they were together. I think Lucas would be another cop out character, just like Jenna. Too much of a motive and too much of an obvious choice for them to make, however I wouldn't put it past them.
Melissa Hastings - 8/10
Melissa has been shady since the beginning and we still don't have much of a reason as to why. Yes, she was the one who buried Bethany, believing for years that she murdered Alison, but this doesn't explain why she was at the Masquerade Ball in season 3 dressed as the Black Swan and conversing with the likes of Jenna and Lucas, it doesn't explain why she was talking to CeCe on the night that Ali disappeared or why she lied about the date she got back into town in season 6. Melissa has motives and plenty of them. Her sister, Spencer, who we now know to be her half sister, has ruined not one but two of her relationships. And not only that, I'm pretty sure that her mother would have been pretty pissed all those years back when Spencer was brought into the family and she was the result of an affair. What if Melissa knew about this and took it out on Spencer? She could have easily had access to Spencers computer when the information about Yvonnes abortion was leaked online and it was proven to have came from Spencers IP address and I also think it's a slight coincidence that the two episodes of season 6 that Melissa was present in, devil emojis were used in the texts. Is this a hint that Melissa is AD? There has been a lot of weird situations that Melissa has been involved in, has she been a part of the A team all along? I think it's possible that they may make Melissa AD, but again, it's an obvious choice.
Mona Vanderwall - 5/10
Right up until the penultimate episode of season 7, I would have said that there was a really strong chance that Mona was AD. She was the original A, she brought the game to the table and she created the first game, the first lair, she sent the first text and for damn sake she ran over her best friend with a car! It would have been the perfect ending if Mona had taken the game back and she had been playing the liars all over again. The only issue is, I don't believe Mona has a motive this time. I think if she was to be AD, it would be purely because she's so addicted to the game. It goes without saying that Mona would be able to be AD, she's done it all before when she was A, She was powerful, she was able to persuade Toby to join the A team, she was able to hide the fact that Ali was alive and she even faked her own death. I think there could have been a chance that during her time in the Dollhouse, Mona was working with Charlotte and wasn't held captive like the liars and like we were thought to believe. Mona is smart enough to have been able to get out of there, that's a fact. There is a possibility that Mona could still be AD. Killing Charlotte was a sure way to maintain that she gets be the puppet master in the game right? But Marlene King did say that AD is somebody who hasn't been revealed yet, so that narrows down the chance of it being Mona.
Paige McCullers - 8/10
I have never liked the character of Paige. I thought she was strange right from the very start when she tried to drown Emily in the pool and then confessed her attraction for her. I think Paige has always been portrayed as a jealous character, which is obviously down to Emilys feelings for Ali. I think the main reason as to why I think Paige could be AD is for one, the fact that she despises Alison, even after all these years. She wants Emily and she doesn't like that Emily and Alison are friends. Why would she return to Rosewood, where she knows Alison is? She suggests that she was unaware that Emily was in the area at the time, but maybe she wasn't. Why would she come back to Rosewood of all places for a job? There are schools all over the country that she could have went to. She hated Rosewood when she was there, it doesn't really make sense to go back there. As with Alison and Ezra, there is also a clue in the use of the AD initials. Paige's job at Rosewood High is Athletic Department supervisor and it would make sense for her to use those initials to her advantage and hope that the liars believe AD stands for Alison DiLaurentis. It would also make sense that Paige would be the mastermind behind impregnating Alison with Emily's eggs, in hope that it would drive them apart if they didn't agree on whether to carry on with the pregnancy or not. Also, the AD that Aria was talking to on super creepy
FaceTime, looked suspiciously and sounded a lot like Paige. And need I mention anymore than the fact that IMDB had her listed as AD?! I mean, what?!
Wren Kingston - 7/10
I know that a lot of the Pretty Little Liars fandom think and hope that Wren is AD. He was a major suspect to be A when it was revealed that it was in fact Charlotte. I don't see how he would have such a motive to want to impose hurt on the girls. He wasn't around when they were younger because he didn't meet Melissa until later, he has never really had any contact with Aria, Emily or Alison and has only had contact with Hanna when Mona was in Radley. In relation to Radley, his role in Mona being A has never been revealed. Actually, I don't think any of the shady things about Wren has even been concluded like the picture he was drawing of 'Red Coat' before we found out that was in fact Sara Harvey (worst story line so far!) He's a doctor, as was Dr Rollins and he worked in Radley while Mona was a patient but will have also had access to the paperwork from when Mary Drake and Charles/Charlotte were patients and access to paperwork that AD has been able to taunt the liars with. There's also that scene with Spencer that Ezra caught them in the airport and then Spencer asked Ezra to not tell anybody about it, but I'll get into that scene a little later on! There are so many theories out there about Wren that could be legible, as we known absolutely nothing about his past. There are theories that he is the older brother of Bethany Young, that he is working with Melissa and they're Team AD and the fact that Wren has disappeared into thin air lately. I think Wren is a strong possibility, and I think this would make a lot of the fans happy.
Aria Montgomery - 5/10
I do not want AD to be Aria. I don't want any of the liars to be AD at all. It would be heartbreaking for the other girls to find that someone they trusted so much had committed the ultimate betrayal. It's been a thing all the way through the show that Aria was tied up in the A team. I mean, her name begins with an A and I just can't get the 'Hey Big A, wait up!' comment out of my head that was said by Mona way back in season 2. I think a lot of people will have retreated from going down the Aria is AD path since she was shown to be working with AD to save the statement she wrote about her relationship with a teacher being shared with the wrong people. However, in the penultimate episode, you have to agree that Aria was being so very odd when she was in the car driving. She was talking to herself, or the body in the back of her trunk like a true psychopath, and AD must be a psychopath to do the things they have done! I don't think AD will be one of the liars, but what a twist if Aria is so messed from her past that she becomes the thing she fears?
Spencer Hastings - 8/10
Spencer has been acting extremely weird in the last couple of episodes. Super extremely weird. First, that meeting with Wren in the airport. What? Why were they meeting in an airport? Why did she tell Ezra not to tell anybody about them meeting? It wouldn't be weird for her to be seen in public with Wren, he's her brother in law. I also found the way she acted when she visited Toby at the cabin to be strange, she was very wide eyed, just like she was at the airport, not very Spencer like. Then there is the whole story line that she is actually Charlottes sister as her mother is Mary Drake. She was the second child to be taken from Mary, but Spencer got to live with her father and be brought up as a Hastings. Spencer has already been on the A team once, what if she was the mastermind behind it all? What if she was Charlottes puppet master? When you think about it, she's never had any physical pain, expect from being shot which could have been an error that wasn't supposed to be made or a tactical shoot. Spencer also has a need to be in control, she's a natural leader and she was raised to always be ahead of the game, maybe she is, maybe that's how she could tell Hanna when she was held captive that she 'wouldn't let that happen' when Hanna feared she was going to die, maybe she was in control and didn't wish death upon the liars. I have a feeling about Spencer. I think this is where the proper twin story will come into play. I think introducing Mary Drake as Jessica DiLaurentis' sister was possibly to knock people off this scent and that if they had an inkling, they wouldn't go with it because the twin thing had already been done. I think with Spencer acting suspicious in the airport and asking Ezra not to mention him seeing her, what if she didn't want Ezra to tell the liars she was there because she was actually with the liars at that time? What if the Spencer we saw at the airport and the cabin was actually Spencers twin?. Toby even states when she's at the cabin that she doesn't sound like the Spencer he knows, and he knows her damn well! She refers to herself as an outsider when speaking to Toby, which she would be if she wasn't actually Spencer. I would also like to think that Spencer wouldn't be that forward with Toby, just after he has lost his wife and then hitting on him? I think there is a lot more to Spencer than meets the eye, shes not as much of a complete story like Hanna, Aria and Emily, there has been a lot more put into her character than the other three and maybe this is why. I think this would be a clever move and possibly one that not a lot of people would have picked up on. This would also be a slight nod to the books, carrying the twin story the same way the books did, just with Spencer and not Ali.
Barry Maple - 2/10
I mean, he's a cop and he's the cop at every sticky situation the girls get themselves into, he informs Ashley about Hanna being ran over, hes the one to lead the girls to see that Ians body is not in the bell tower, he tells Ella and Byron that Mike was breaking into houses, he tells Emily that Maya had been reported missing, he tells Ashley that the police require a blood sample from Hanna, Pam tells Barry about the package that Emily received from Mayas killer, he's there to comfort Mona's mum when they find her house covered in her daughters blood, he tells the police not to shoot when Charlotte is considering jumping from the roof of the Radley, he's in the DiLaurentis house when they are trying to find out where the liars are when they are being held captive in the Dollhouse and finally, his role in Wildens death, allowing Charlotte to knock him unconscious in order to escape being sent to prison for Wildens death.. Need I say anymore?
I am waiting as patiently as I can, counting down the days till the 28th when I get home from work and I can stick on Pretty Little Liars for the last time and probably cry myself dry of tears. As much as I want to know who AD is, I don't want PLL to be over. Like I've said, it's become a huge part of my life, I've re-watched from season 1 at least 5 times and I'll probably watch it another 50 before I die! I have become so attached to all the characters, I've become obsessed with their relationships and wanting them to finally be safe live a A/AD free life! Yes, I'm sad.
The finale of Pretty Little Liars airs on the 27th of June and will be available for us in the UK on Netflix on the 28th. Let me know if you agree with any of my theories or if you have some of your own down in the comments below!
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**Disclaimer: All views and opinions are my own. Photo credit: Google Images**