'Pretty Little Liars' Finally Concludes by Revealing Who A.D. Really Is
After seven seasons, the hit TV series "Pretty Little Liars" has finally aired its final episode.
"Pretty Little Liars" withstood seven long years, several cliffhangers and even a network rebrand, all the while keeping the identity of its main antagonist a mystery. In fact, it took seven seasons, or 160 episodes, for the show to finally reveal who the real enemy is, and it's none other than Spencer's evil British twin, Alex Drake.
The show went out with a loud bang on June 27 and surprised everyone when it confirmed a long-standing "A.D." fan theory. "A.D." actually stands for Alex Drake, who happens to be Spencer's long lost twin. Spencer and Alex (both played by Troian Bellisario) are the identical twin daughters of Mary Drake (Andrea Parker), who had sold her children for adoption so that she could buy her way out of Radley Sanitarium. While Spencer went to live with the Hastings, Alex Drake was sent to a wealthy family in England, but unfortunate circumstances and an unfavorable personality caused her to be sent to an orphanage where she endured a life filled with hardships.
After a chance meeting in Europe with Wren (Julian Morris), who thought she was Spencer, Alex became obsessed with Spencer and the great life she had. This set into motion the birth of the "A.D." persona that continued where "A" left off.
Alex started to takeover Spencer's life. When Hanna (Ashley Benson) was kidnapped, it was Alex and not Spencer who comforted her and she was the one who had sex with Toby in the cabin. Alex was so desperate to become Spencer that she even had Wren shoot her in the same location as Spencer's gunshot scar.
Not only that, it was her who orchestrated Alison's (Sasha Pieterse) conception of Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Wren's child. When Wren clearly could no longer take what Alex was doing, he killed him off too and turned his ashes into a diamond necklace.
In the finale, Alex kidnapped Spencer and then Ezra (Ian Harding), which caused the latter to miss his own wedding with Aria. But it was Jenna (Tammin Sursok) who was the first to notice that Spencer isn't actually her and informed Toby (Keegan Allen) of her suspicions. With the help of Mona (Janel Parrish), who was on their side the whole time, they were able to track down where Alex was keeping both Spencer and Ezra, arriving just in the nick of time as Alex was about to kill her captives.
The finale definitely caused quite a stir, with some fans even reacting negatively towards the ending. But in an interview with Variety, series creator I. Marlene King revealed they had been planning the series ending for two years and that Bellisario was the first to find out.