PLL: Comparing/Differentiating the ‘A’ Reveals
Over the course of 7 seasons, Pretty Little Liars presented us with turns, twists, and revelations galore; all resulting in the form of 3 major A reveals throughout the shows juncture. While there’s been a myriad of differing opinions on each A and their motivations and overall storylines, each one provided a completely unique contribution to the show and a different kind of twist each and every time.
I’m going to break down each A reveal, and go into the depths of their particular strengths and weaknesses; what worked and what didn’t work; and my overall stance of each one. Mona, Charlotte, and Alex each had their own individual reasons for tormenting the girls and ‘playing the A game.’ If there is one commonality among the three, is that the game was an addiction that none of them were able to resist once the opportunity presented itself. So alas, let’s explore!
Original ‘A’: Mona Vanderwaal
There is no doubt that Mona stole our hearts as the original ‘A’ of Pretty Little Liars. It was her genius and motivation that propelled so much of what was to come on the series, all stemming from her motive to punish the Liars for the torment she endured under the PLLs queen bee, Alison, as the rest stood by and watched it happen. Not only did they watch, but ultimately they let it happen. By the time ‘Alisons’ body was discovered and the Liars were reconnecting, Mona picked her ‘A’ persona back up in order to break the girls apart, in fear of Hanna being taken away from her.
What worked: one of my favorite parts of Mona’s storyline of being the shows first A was the genuine feeling of a betrayal to both the audience and the Liars, something that was severely lacking in the following A reveals. We felt the betrayal just from the look on Hanna’s face as she discovered her best friend was the masked villain under the black hoodie who had been stalking and tormenting them throughout their junior year. You feel the emotions as the girls all huddle together in tears after Mona has just fallen off the cliff, in an attempt to recruit Spencer on the A Team goes awry. All in all, we FELT this reveal. Mona was a character who had been established from the shows pilot, and was someone’s journey we cared about. We were able to form a connection to her, and held stock in where the story took her, thus we felt just as betrayed as the Liars.
What didn’t work: while it’s liked in some ways, it most be noted that while Mona’s reveal succeeded in The Who and the why, it lacked on backstory and exploring the history of how she became A in the first place. We weren’t given flashbacks into the moments Mona had enough of Ali’s torture, and decided to take matters into her own hands. She didn’t have the intricate back stories of Charlotte, nor the long awaited twin shock that Alex Drake gave us. Mona wasn’t rooted in the deeper mythology of the show, nor connected to the Dilaurentis or Hastings family, where the true heart of all the drama began.
Alas, Mona will always be known as the instigator of the ‘A’ saga, and was first to wear the famous black hoodie. And let’s be honest, she rocked it quite well. Without her introduction as ‘A,’ there would have been no one for Charlotte to steal the game from, and then no death of Charlotte to then lead into A.D avenging her. It all began with Mona, so even without all of the intricate plot points that the other reveals had that she lacked, Mona made up for it with the simplicity of being the classic who of it all.
2) ‘Big A’ : CeCe/Charles/Charlotte
The triple name in itself shows the dynamic complexity of this character, and all of the depth that comes along with understanding the backstory, motives, and mythology of this person. When I think of CeCe, an enigma is what comes to mind. She had this allure from the first moment that she appeared on our screens. Sasha had it right when explaining in an interview before 6x10 premiered that this ‘A’ was someone who we had seen enough, but they weren’t around all the time either. They achieved the perfect balance with her scheduling, and the timing of her appearances and mentions on the show. This furthered the enigma quality of this person being so seemingly omnipresent.
What worked: Charlotte came into the show knowing everyone, and everything about them. She somehow seemed to connect into all these people, situations, and places, yet we were just now meeting her. Her Alison like persona, and striking energy made it hard to figure her out. Looking back on it, it was obvious what she was doing, but you didn’t know why she was doing it and how. Those answers were to come later, and that always only gave us enough to wanna know more about her. Her backstory was intricate and full of depth, emotion, and tragedy.
What didn’t work: the very thing that made Charlotte’s story work is also what made it not work all at the same time. Big catch 22 there. The trans twist, as shocking as it was, didn’t receive the proper care that it deserved. The death of Charlotte the very next episode only proved this point even more. As well, while her connections to everything and everyone were so important, it also created many holes and gaps in the story that needed to be properly filled in. Because the story went on for 3 1/2 seasons, and connected back to the first two seasons before her arrival, there was lots of tracks to be covered. While I commend the writers for filling in most of it with care, there were still many plot points that were left blurry or completely unattended to altogether. Many timeline and continuity errors ensued as a result. Emotionally connecting to Charlotte was also difficult to do by the time the reveal rolled around, as we weren’t made to connect with her previously on that level. They always kept her on the sidelines to keep that enigma persona up, and while that worked on one hand, it backfired upon the big reveal.
All in all, CeCe was the most dynamic reveal of all, and credit must be given where it’s do in the sense that the writers really did pull that one off. The moment CeCe turned around in that black hoodie, my jaw dropped in disbelief as it came to light she was trans, and had orchestrated all of this madness. The dollhouse was a huge milestone, and this genius of a villain pulled that off. Only in the end, we came to see what led to this damaged soul becoming villain, which made her much more human in my eyes. Even in Charlotte’s death, we continued to delve deeper into her complexity, coming to find she had a secret history with the Drakes, Jenna, Noel, and Archer. Just when you think you know her, we come to realize there’s so much more to her. Sara hit the head on the nail when saying in 6x15: “no one ever really knew all of her - Charlotte. But maybe if we put our pieces together when we can understand things a little better.”
3) ‘A.D’: Alex Drake
A.D, the third and final A of the saga, took us out with a bang, and truly landed somewhere in the middle of the spectrum; thus striking a balance needed for this type of reveal. In choosing Alex, Spencer’s secret twin, the writers gave us a reveal of someone we sort of knew with them being a twin, but not someone who was too close either. The twin twist payed homage to the book series, and thus created an even more dynamic backstory into the history of the Drakes. We learned so much more about the history of these three crazily interconnected families, and tied in loose ends that had been hanging for quite some time. The reveal was shocking, yet to the point. It was connected to the deeper mythology unlike Mona’s reveal, but it wasn’t so rooted like Charlotte’s to the point that you get lost in all the details, thus eliminating continuity errors and gaps in the story.
What worked: Unlike most, I was happy for Alex not to be connected to the pilot or beginning of the show. They tied her back just far enough to intertwine with Charlotte’s story, but not so far back that it confused the plot even more. That night was done and dusted. Much of the fan base was unhappy with the answers they were given, therefore wanted the show to create new answers to already closed cases. This would have been counter productive, and I for one am glad that they steered clear of this. Wrens involvement with this plot, and tying him into the mythology made me so happy. There were so many lingering questions surrounding him, and they really did a job well done at plugging him right into it. It was a completely organic fit.
What didn’t work: I would have preferred to have seen Alex on our screens from at least 6B on. I was pleased that we got flashbacks dating back to 4B-5A, but if we had actually met Alex initially in 6B that would’ve been ideal. We have 5 instances specifically in Season 7 that we can look back on and go “wow, that was Spencer’s twin!” - and while those were so well done, I wanted more of that! Especially since A.D took over the game right after Charlotte’s death. You can tell the writers were scrambling around in 6B with what to do story wise because the network didn’t green light Alex Drake until 6x20.
For the third A, Alex Drake delivered beyond measured. I had my small gripes, but I do feel she was the most fluid story they had presented so far in the A saga that was both rich in mythology and fact based details. It went deeper than the Mona story, but without all the clutter and messiness that Charlotte’s plot brought about. The moment Alex yelled ‘booo!’ on the other side of the glass to Spencer will forever be one of the most iconic PLL scenes! Well done, writers!