‘Pretty Little Liars’ Theories: Is Aria ‘A’? Lucy Hale Claims She Has No Idea Who ‘A’ Is

The unknown identity of “A” has served as the main mystery for the past four seasons of “Pretty Little Liars.” In Season 5 fans may have believed that “A’s” elusive identity had finally and ultimately been uncovered with the death of Shana, however her black hoodie was apparently just one of many, because even after her death, “A” is still tormenting the Liars and Alison. In a recent interview with Parade, Lucy Hale who portrays Aria Montgomery on “Pretty Little Liars” revealed that she has absolutely no idea who “A” is, and due to endless frustration stopped attempting to figure out “A’s” identity. Who is “A”? “That’s the ultimate question,” Lucy told the magazine. “I kind of quit trying to figure out the story in season two just because it was frustrating for me. I thought I would have it all figured out and I thought I knew all of the answers and then I was completely wrong.”

Admittedly this could be totally off base considering the recent events of Mrs. DiLaurentis’ death, the discovery of Bethany Young and the return of Alison, but I have always believed that Lucy Hale’s character, Aria, was and is uber “A.” Mona was the original “A,” and she started her tormenting and stalking Ali due to the former teen queen’s incessant bullying and teasing. Mona would send threatening text messages signed as “A” and stalk Ali, even threatening to kill her if she didn’t leave town, then Mona conveniently assisted with her escape from Rosewood. Then “A” stopped, Ali stayed away from Rosewood, presumably dead, and all was well with the Liars. However, once Aria returned from a family hiatus to Iceland, threats from a mysterious “A” began again, these texts were presumably from Mona until she was caught in Season 2 and sent to Radley Sanatorium. While the reasoning for Mona’s threats and hatred for the Liars is unknown, during her 5-month stay in Radley, someone, presumably uber “A” picked up where she left off and has since constantly tormented and threatened the Liars, and now Alison in Season 5 with her return to Rosewood.

Most “Pretty Little Liars” fans agree that Aria has always gotten off the easiest when it comes to “A,” while the rest of the Liars have had some pretty serious run in’s with the villain lurking around Rosewood and greater Pennsylvania. There are a bunch of reasons as to why I, along with a legion of PLL fans think Aria is “A,” you can check them all out here. But one piece of evidence sticks out to me even more considering another quote from Lucy Hale from her recent Parade interview. The actress says, “So now ‘A’ is dead, but like I said there would be no show without it, so I don’t think we’ll find out who the ultimate ‘A’ is until the very end of the show, which won’t be for another couple of years—we just found out we got renewed for a sixth and seventh season! Lots more drama to come.”

Lucy has confirmed the existence of uber “A,” even though she says ultimate “A,” we are thinking this is a tomato-tomato situation. Going back to the major piece of evidence that feels all the more important now, is Aria’s nick name of “Big A.” In an early episode in Season 1, Mona she hasn’t made her first trip to Radley yet and she supposedly tried to befriend the Liars including Aria, mainly due to her close relationship with Hanna. During one particular scene, Mona sees Aria walking in the halls of Rosewood, and calls out to her, “Hey Big A! Wait up.”

Fans initially dismissed the interaction as a bad attempt by Mona to befriend Aria, but “Pretty Little Liars” show runner Marlene King lead fans to believe the “Big A” nickname means a lot more than just an awkward word flub. Following the premiere of the episode Marlene took to twitter to “answer” fans questions. One particularly lucky PLL fan wrote, “I need to know who real “A” is so bad @imarleneking maybe a hint…?” Marlene King then responded “#bigA.”