Which characters portrayed "A" in Pretty Little Liars? Across the show's seven seasons, three different characters donned the moniker.
Pretty Little Liars was developed by I. Marlene King in 2010, based on the popular YA series by author Sara Shepard. The story followed four high school girls - Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Aria (Lucy Hale), Hanna (Ashley Benson), and Emily (Shay Mitchell) - who reunited after the death of their friend Alison (Sasha Pieterse). The details surrounding Alison's death were mysterious enough, but then all of the girls began to receive messages since someone named "A." The messages threatened to unveil the group's darkest secrets which began the series' long investigation into finding out the true identity of "A."
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The series was an absolute hit for younger audiences and, as a way to keep Pretty Little Liars viewers on the edge of their seats, the writers threw in major twists and turns across the seven seasons. This meant that there were multiple antagonists, each more dangerous than the last. Here are the three characters that served as "A" in the series.
Original "A" - Mona Vanderwaal
Mona (Janel Parrish) was the first character to portray the infamous "A" character. After years of torment from Alison DiLaurentis, Mona decided to bully her back through anonymous texts. After Alison was presumably murdered, Mona quit the charade. Then a year later, she started up again and targeted Alison's closest friends, Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Emily. For two seasons, Mona was the face behind the mysterious black hood. She stirred up a lot of drama as she pulled the strings through her threatening message. Mona even sent herself a few threats to make herself look like a victim. When her true identity was revealed, Mona was sent to Radley Sanitarium as she was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.
Big "A" - Charlotte DiLaurentis
While Mona was in Radley, Charlotte DiLaurentis (Vanessa Ray) took over as the next "A" after learning Mona's twisted tale involving the liars. Charlotte introduced herself as CeCe Drake to the girls but in reality, she was Alison's transgender cousin Charles DiLaurentis. Charlotte put together the "A-Team" which included Mona, Sara Harvey, Jenna Marshall, Lucas Gottesman, Melissa Hastings, and Darren Wilden. They all agreed to do Charlotte's bidding by tormenting her targets. Toby (Keegan Allen) and Spencer were also members of the "A-Team" for a short time, serving as double-agents by protecting their friends.
Big "A" and her team did everything they could to destroy Alison and the group through Pretty Little Liars season 6, even if that meant trying to kill them. The girls eventually figured out Charlotte's identity so she ran to the bell tower to commit suicide for her past actions. Alison convinced her not to jump and Charlotte later spent five years in an institution. She claimed to be different but she fully intended to return to her Big "A" persona. Mona found out and tried to stop her but Charlotte wouldn't give up without a fight. Charlotte was killed as Mona tried to defend herself. Mona kept it a secret in order to make it look like a suicide, but it only made matters worse for those in Rosewood.
Uber "A"/A.D. - Alex Drake
After Charlotte's death, Uber "A" was born. She was the antagonist from the second half of Pretty Little Liars season 6 up until the season 7 series finale. Uber "A", who also went by "A.D.", was actually Alex Drake (Bellisario), Spencer's secret twin sister. Unlike Mona and Charlotte, Alex ditched the black hood and hid in plain sight, often disguising herself as Spencer as a way to manipulate her sister's family and friends. She was also much more prone to violence than the previous "A" characters.
Alex and Charlotte were half-sisters and very close. After Charlotte was murdered, Alex used Uber "A" as a way to her avenge the death. She was obsessed with finding out who was responsible and also set her sights on Spencer out of pure jealousy for their difference in upbringing. While Spencer seemingly lived a perfect life, Alex grew up in orphanages throughout her childhood. Alex cooked up a plan with her mother and Mona to permanently take Spencer's place in the world. She kidnapped Spencer and revealed everything, but the plan ultimately backfired; Spencer's friends came to her rescue and Mona double-crossed Alex, kidnapping her in an effort her to never hurt anyone again. Once an "A", always an "A" in Mona's case.