Freeform’s mystery show Pretty Little Liars includes many “A” reveals, varying in impact, logic, and success. The soapy teen drama follows a group of teen girls named Spencer, Aria, Hanna, Emily, and (later) Alison, who get stalked and blackmailed by a black-hoodied figure called “A.” Over time, many Pretty Little Liars characters join the A-Team, assisting the villain in carrying out their nefarious plans.

Ultimately, between the original Pretty Little Liars and the Max spinoff, the franchise includes four primary “A” reveals, eight A-Team reveals, and two significant fake-outs. Each character has a unique personality and motivation that contributes to their success or lack thereof as a villain. Ultimately, all the Pretty Little Liars “A” reveals help shape the mystery and plot.

14

Alex Drake, AKA A.D.

Alex Wants To Take Over Spencer’s Life

Alex Drake, Spencer’s evil British twin, is widely considered the worst “A” reveal of all time because her story came out of nowhere and made little sense. Before the finale, Pretty Little Liars fans joked about “Spencerietta” and “Twincer,” typically as a meme. Somehow, the fans came up with better executions of this idea. In the show, Alex doesn’t have a connection to the main characters besides her genetics. Her motivation for torturing the Liars is flimsy. Her relationship with Charlotte, Wren, and Spencer feels contrived.

Moreover, the writing is lazy because they wrapped the evil Brit, evil twin, and twins separated at birth tropes into one character. There’s nothing to distinguish her from other characters with these cliches. Ultimately, the terrible A.D. reveal made the Pretty Little Liars finale the most divisive episode of the series.

13

Sara Harvey, AKA The Black Widow and Red Coat

Sara Is Evil For The Sake Of Being Evil

Other than A.D., the worst “A” reveal is that of Sara Harvey. For starters, she’s by far the most annoying character on Pretty Little Liars, making it hard to sympathize with or care about her. Additionally, Sara Harvey disappeared at the same time as Alison and miraculously met and teamed up with Charlotte, which feels like too much of a coincidence.

There’s also zero reason for her to hate the Liars, making her a character willing to torture and stalk others without any motivation or remorse. Characters who are evil for the sake of evil get boring quickly. The reveal of her as Charlotte’s assistant and two significant villains is underwhelming, to say the least.

12

Mary Drake, On The A-Team

Mary Drake Helps Her Estranged Daughter

There’s little positive to say about the reveal that Mary Drake is working with A.D. to torture the Liars. The reveal that Jessica DiLaurentis had an evil twin was contentious but at least made narrative sense. Unlike Alex, Mary Drake is also mildly sympathetic because she was on the screen for more than one episode.

Unfortunately, motivations for being on the A-Team seem muddy. She cares so much about her daughters Alex and Charlotte but doesn’t consider Spencer’s well-being. Her actions make more sense when she tortures Ali and works with Rollins to steal the money. Pretty Little Liars should’ve kept her removed from A.D.’s actions.

11

Charlotte DiLaurentis, AKA Red Coat And “Big A”

Charlotte Punishes The Liars For Being Happy About Ali’s Disappearance

The reveal of Charlotte DiLaurentis, aka Cece Drake, as Red Coat and “Big A” creates excitement, followed by one of the biggest disappointments in Pretty Little Liars. Initially, Charlotte seems like the perfect choice for “A” because she walks the line between friend and foe. She has the same manipulative and chaotic energy as Ali, making her the perfect person to betray the Liars in Pretty Little Liars.

Unfortunately, there is one significant and obvious reason why she is one of the worst “A” reveals of all time. Charlotte’s backstory and motivation for torturing the Liars revolves entirely around her identity as a transgender woman. Trans people are disproportionately represented as villains on TV and in movies, and I. Marlene King reinforced this dangerous trope without showing any positive transgender representation.

10

Archie Waters AKA “A”

Archie Wants Vengeance For His Sister

The only “A” reveal from Max’s Pretty Little Liars spinoff occurs at the end of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. Unlike most of the original villains, Archie is at least menacing. Sadly, the spinoff took a page out of the A.D. reveal. Archie has no impact because there is no reason for the audience to care about him.

He has no personality or background to invest in. His face has never even been shown because he always wears a mask. Archie’s motivations make no sense because he doesn’t even explain why he’s killing people. Instead, his father speaks for him.

9

Wren Kingston, On The A-Team

Wren Falls In Love With Alex Drake

It’s unfortunate that Wren lands low on the list of “A” reveals because the Pretty Little Liars side character has main character energy and was one of the biggest suspects throughout the show. Wren seems morally dubious throughout the show and inserts himself into the Liars’ lives. He could’ve been a great villain. Sadly, Wren is only revealed as a part of the A-Team in the divisive series finale.

His worst actions are never shown onscreen, with Alex relaying them in exposition. Pretty Little Liars also doesn’t give the appropriate amount of weight to him using his sperm to inseminate Ali. Plus, Wren is also dead at the time of his A-Team reveal, so it feels inconsequential.

8

Noel Kahn, On The A-Team

Noel’s Motivations Are Unclear In Pretty Little Liars

The reveal of Noel Kahn as part of the A-Team is mediocre, despite him being suspicious throughout nearly every season of Pretty Little Liars. The problem isn’t him playing a minor role in the action, considering he helped Charlotte torture the Liars in the Dollhouse. He actually has a more active role than most A-Tem members. The issue is that Pretty Little Liars never gives him a compelling reason to help Charlotte DiLaurentis.

Noel has an unexplained hatred for the Liars that seems to intensify randomly. The only two characters he has a reason to hate are Alison for blackmailing him and Aria for rejecting him. He would’ve had a better impact if the writers had given him a solid reason for torturing the teenage girls.

7

Shana Fring, An “A” Fakeout

Shana Has A Vendetta Because Of Her Love For Jenna

Pretty Little Liars might have teased many possible identities of “A,” but the show only includes two big fakeouts – Shana and Ezra. Shana’s big moment is better than many of the actual “A” and A-Team reveals because Shana has a connection to the characters and a motivation that feels compelling. Because she knew Jenna and Ali before coming to Rosewood, her hatred of the Liars makes sense. Shana then receives around a season and a half of character development before her reveal, giving the story a reasonable build-up.

The main reason the reveal falls lower on the list is because she wasn’t actually “A.” They also could have also given her character more nuance if they were going to make her motivation so intertwined with Jenna, Pretty Little Liars’ most complex character.

6

Darren Wilden, On The A-Team

Wilden Is A Dirty Cop Who Works For Charlotte

From the beginning of Pretty Little Liars, Darren Wilden is a dirty cop who abuses his power to manipulate others. He doesn’t care about the truth if it inconveniences him. Because the show builds up this foundational information, his A-Team reveal feels appropriate and earned. Of course, he would work with criminals to torture, manipulate, and try to kill teen girls. He’s already done it without a mask or disguise.

The only reason he isn’t one of the best A-Team reveals is that most of his actions are revealed through exposition. The audience only sees a short clip of him dressed up as the Queen of Hearts on the Halloween train, and Pretty Little Liars doesn’t show him lighting the Thornhill Lodge on fire.

5

Ezra Fitz, An “A” Fakeout

Ezra Integrates Himself Into The Liars’ Lives To Write A Book

One of the most prominent suspects for “A” in Pretty Little Liars among the fans was Ezra Fitz, the high school English teacher who has not just one but two relationships with teenage girls throughout the series. He behaves in predatory, manipulative, and unethical ways on a regular basis. Pretty Little Liars also drops repeated hints that Ezra could be “A.”

As such, his “A” reveal felt exciting and daring – especially given his relationship with Aria. The actor Ian Harding plays Ezra perfectly in the scenes after he barges into his secret apartment, adding suspicion to the mix. Unfortunately, the writers backtracked by having him write a true crime book about Ali’s murder, which is why he doesn’t rank as one of the strongest “A” reveals.

4

Aria Montgomery, On The A-Team

Aria Joins The A-Team To Protect Ezra

Across every season, Pretty Little Liars frequently hints that Aria is A, making it satisfying to finally see her in a black hoodie in Pretty Little Liars season 7. She has a clear and strong motivation to work with A.D. because of the police report she wrote but never submitted. Unlike many members of the A-Team, Aria’s treacherous actions mainly occur onscreen, adding excitement and suspense.

Aria joining the A-Team also shows a different side to her character because she’s a fully grown woman who betrays her friends, unlike Spencer when she joins the A-Team. The degree of her disloyalty and impact on the story makes her one of the best Pretty Little Liars “A” reveals.

3

Spencer Hastings, On The A-Team

Spencer Joins The A-Team To Gain Information

One of Pretty Little Liars’ most exciting “A” reveals is when Spencer pulls the black hoodie and tickets out of her pillowcase, indicating that she is now a part of the A-Team. The reveal is thrilling because it fits the character while also being shocking.

Spencer has always been desperate for answers and information, no matter how much it requires her to bend the rules, making it understandable how she would decide to align with Mona. She is also in a mentally vulnerable state when Mona approaches her again. However, Spencer joining the A-Team still feels like a cruel choice because she’s one of the most loyal Liars. This dualistic nature of the reveal is what makes it so strong.

2

Toby Cavanaugh, On The A-Team

Toby Joins The A-Team To Protect Spencer

When Pretty Little Liars reveals Toby Cavanaugh as a member of the A-Team, the show rips out the hearts of viewers everywhere. The teenage boy who is soft-spoken and misunderstood becomes a major player in the stalking and torture of the Liars. He violates the trust he’s built with the viewers and the main characters. Moreover, Spencer only learns of his betrayal on their first anniversary, which feels especially brutal.

Of course, it’s eventually revealed that Toby only joined the A-Team in Pretty Little Liars to help protect Spencer from “A” and discover the villain’s identity. Until that point, though, Toby acts in ways that feel sinister, like trying to run over Lucas with a car. It makes it difficult to tell what side he’s really on.

1

Mona Vanderwaal, The Original “A”

Mona Tortures The Liars For Bullying Her

By far, the best “A” reveal of all time is Mona Vanderwaal as Pretty Little Liars’ original “A.” Mona has a strong connection to the Liars, a reason to hate them, and comes across as morally dubious. Mona wears many masks. She’s the ultimate “it girl,” the evil villain, the manipulator, the brainiac, the wittiest teen, and the obsessive friend.

With so many different facets, it’s difficult to predict what Mona will do next. Additionally, Pretty Little Liars develops the character in a way that she’s just as sympathetic as she is sadistic. Mona is not only the best “A” reveal, but one of the best characters in the entire series.