Pretty Little Liars took its final bow Tuesday, June 27, and it was not without some major drama. There was a wedding, an abduction and, of course, the big A.D. reveal.
The two-hour series finale was interesting — and hard to digest. That’s where I come in. Here are the top moments from the finale:
Mona was in Welby
The episode opened with the girls sitting outside of the Rosewood Cafe. They talked about how they never figured out the identity of A.D. All of sudden, it started snowing. The camera panned out to show Mona (Janel Parrish) in a disheveled state looking into a snow globe of Rosewood. She was sitting on a bed in Welby, the psychiatric hospital Ali (Sasha Pieterse) spent some time at, when she got a visitor — a person in a black hoodie.
“I never would have guessed it was you,” Mona said. “Are you here to kill me?”
One year later…
The remainder of the episode took place one year after A.D. visited Mona. One scene was used to catch viewers up on the liars’ lives.
Aria (Lucy Hale) and Ezra (Ian Harding) were at a movie studio lot, discussing their book-to-movie ideas. The book they wrote together was picked up to be a movie. But that was not all they were talking about — they also discussed their upcoming wedding in Rosewood. Yay, an Ezria wedding. They are so adorable. That whole forbidden romance — though kind of a trope — was extremely hot.
The next people to be shown were Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Ali. Of course they are still happily together and with not one, but two little additions to their family. Yes, Ali and Emily had twins — Grace and Lily. But Ali was keeping some secrets. She left for work early to meet up with Pam Fields (Nia Peeples). It was unclear why they were meeting.
A couple familiar faces returned when viewers caught up with Spencer (Troian Bellisario). The first was Melissa (Torrey Devitto) who was back in Rosewood hanging out with her family. The sisters were grooming horses when a man walked up. It’s Toby. Thank God, he is alive. I had a hunch he was dead. Anyway, Toby spent the last year building wells in Africa. He was covered in dirt and very scruffy — two attributes that added to his attractiveness.
While all of the other couples seemed to be prospering, Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) showed signs of struggle. Hanna was visiting Mona and invited her to stay in the loft with them when she got out of Welby. Caleb, obviously, was not happy about that, and it caused some drama.
Addison was back for the finale
The new “it” girl Addison (Ava Allan) who most people hated was back in Ali’s classroom causing all sorts of drama. She called Ali a “lesbo” and put a doll — yes, a doll — with a knife through its heart in a deaf girl’s locker.
Ali confronted her and said, “You may think you’re winning the battle, but you’re not winning the war.”
She wasn’t the only one to say something. Jenna Marshall (Tammin Sursok), who was the new life skills teacher at Rosewood High, told Addison to stop playing games with people. Addison thought it would be funny to wave her hand in front of Jenna’s face, to which Jenna reached out and grabbed it.
“I may not be able to see, but I can smell a b*tch a mile away,” Jenna said. She was honestly the most intimidating character in the series.
Aria had a breakdown
After everyone celebrated the upcoming wedding at the Lost Woods Resort, Aria got a phone call and started crying. Spencer was the first one to find her and then the other girls joined.
“I can’t marry Ezra,” Aria said.
She didn’t say who was on the other end until the next day when she was with Ezra. She received confirmation that she could not have children. She expected Ezra to be mad, but he was not.
“We’ll do whatever we have to,” Ezra said, suggesting adoption and surrogacy.
Later in the episode she revealed that was the third doctor she went to. Ezra was disappointed when he heard that news and left Aria outside of the Radley the night before their wedding.
Lurking in the shadows
While at the Lost Woods, a person in a black hoodie was hiding in the shadows. When the person turned around, Melissa’s face filled the screen. But wait, there’s more.
After spying on the group, Melissa walked away to make a phone call. She reached up to her face and pulled off a mask. It was not really Melissa — it was Mona. Mona was recruited by A.D. Mona is upset with A.D., though it was unclear why.
So how did the moms get out of the basement?
All of the moms reunited at Aria and Ezra’s rehearsal dinner. After Ella (Holly Marie Combs) lashed out at Ezra’s mom for being unbearable — “If I didn't love Aria so much, I would strangle that woman with her own pearls,” she said — Veronica Hastings (Lesley Fera) and Ashley Marin (Laura Leighton) join her at the bar. The women drank and talked about the time they were locked in the basement saying that was the only place they had peace and quiet. They didn’t say how they got out of the basement, though it must have been a traumatic experience for them.
“Pam didn’t drink for a year after that,” Veronica said. Well, at least they somewhat addressed the basement debacle.
There was a proposal
Aria and Ezra weren’t the only ones to celebrate a milestone. Remember how Ali was sneaking around with Emily’s mom. Well, Pam slipped something into Ali’s purse and Emily witnessed it. Emily confronted Ali about it. Ali reached into her purse and pulled out a red velvet box, and inside was a gorgeous engagement ring.
“You saw a beautiful soul,” Ali said of Emily. “You make me a better woman because you searched for one.”
Of course, Emily said yes. The finale really did bring about very satisfying endings to the characters.
Toby and Spencer hooked up — maybe
Toby got a knock on his hotel door after the rehearsal dinner. Standing in the doorway was Spencer. She was very assertive with Toby, which is unlike Spencer. The two have sex, but the scene changed to show Spencer at her house.
She heard a piano playing and shouted Toby’s name to see if it was him. In her living room stood Mona. The last words Spencer heard before going unconscious was “Deja vu, b*tch.”
Twins, twins, twins
Spencer woke up on a bed in a cell-like location. She approached one of the walls she thought was reflective. She moved toward it, but her reflection did not mirror her movements. Spencer has a twin. Oh my goodness. This show sure loves to use twins.
Spencer’s twin is British, which is a little strange. But her twin is not the only one who was there — Mary Drake poked her head around the corner to see her two daughters. Spencer’s twin broke her mom out of prison. This is just insane.
An abbreviated version of A.D.’s story
Spencer’s twin, Alex Drake (Troian Bellisario), was approached by Wren at a bar in England. He thought it was Spencer. Long story short, Alex found out about her twin and fell in love with Wren.
Wren introduced her to Charlotte (Vanessa Ray) and the two became close. When she found out about her death, she sought revenge. She took over the game from Charlotte and went to Rosewood, even posing as Spencer on numerous occasions.
Alex wanted Spencer’s life, which is one of reasons she abducted her. Alex intended to take over Spencer’s life to gain a family and friends. Oh, she is also obsessed with Toby. She pretended to be Spencer to sleep with Toby. (See: Toby and Spencer hooked up — maybe).
To read a more in-depth version of the story, click here.
Who is the baby daddy?
Alex decided to take Spencer’s place at the Ezria wedding, and in the process of getting ready for the wedding, she got to hold one of Emily and Alison’s children. Alex whispers to the baby, “I knew Wren would make cute kids.”
Honestly, not a shocker at this point. Alex doesn’t tell Ali or Emily the truth, and that is probably for the better. Wren was a little creepy. Oh, and Wren is dead. Yup, Alex killed him and turned him into a diamond necklace. Alex is definitely the most absurd A in the history of the show.
Mary Drake told her side of the story
While Alex pretended to be Spencer, Mary visited Spencer. She told Spencer that she pretty much sold Alex to a family in England, but Alex had issues — obviously. The family gave her up and Alex ran away from the orphanage her family put her in.
Spencer took the news hard, so Mary opened the door to give her daughter a hug. Instead of running through the open door, Spencer stole a bobby pin so she could pick the lock.
Ezra missed his own wedding
Aria received a text from Ezra that said he would not be at the wedding. Aria is reasonably upset, but back in the bunker where Spencer is hidden, she heard a noise in the room next to her. It’s Ezra. It turned out he caught on to Alex and she knocked him out too. Alex appeared and told Spencer she intends to kill him. Come on. Give Ezra a break. Ugh.
Jenna indirectly helped the girls out
Everyone started worrying when Ezra didn’t show up the next day. The girls began looking for him and thought the worst, but a tip from Jenna proved to be helpful.
Jenna was at Veronica’s law firm to get some legal advice and Alex was sitting outside. When Jenna came out, she smelled something fishy — literally. Jenna said she smelled different which prompted a call to her stepbrother Toby.
Toby told everyone else about the tip and said, “What if twins run in the family?”
Also, Toby noticed something off about a book Spencer supposedly gave him. The book was of her favorite poems, but the copy did not have any notes in it. Spencer wrote all over that book. Toby was sure this was the work of an evil twin.
Mona was spying on them when they talked about the twin theory. She immediately called A.D. and demanded answers. Mona thought Spencer was A.D. the entire time.
Mona helped everyone figure out where Alex was holding them hostage — the house Toby built.
Spencer and Ezra tried to escape
When Alex came back — with an axe — she noticed Spencer and Ezra were missing. She went looking for them and found them in a fake town. There was a fake house with a sheet on the ceiling to look like the sky.
Alex and Spencer start fighting, and the axe is knocked to the ground. One of them picked it up, but Toby came in pointing a gun with everyone else behind him. They couldn’t tell which one was the real Spencer, so Toby asked them to recite their favorite poem from the book. Spencer did it without hesitation and Toby detained Alex.
The cops were not too far behind because Mona called them. That was a major crisis averted.
The final moments
Before the final scene, Aria and Ezra finally tie the knot in front of their friends and family. But the vows are interrupted by a text message. Don’t worry, it wasn’t A. It was the photographer’s phone who was played by PLL creator Marlene King.
The day after the wedding, the girls took a walk around Rosewood. Hanna announced that she was pregnant, and Aria said she was going to look at adoption after the honeymoon.
And the last line one of the liars said was done so by Alison, “For some reason this feels like the end of something.”
It is the end of Pretty Little Liars — or so we thought.
Mona was the real winner
The scene changed and viewers are taken to a doll shop in France. Selling the dolls was Mona. A handsome man walked in, kissed her and said he would see her at dinner. That’s when the music got creepy. She walked into her basement, down a hallway and through a door. In the room was a dollhouse. She was preparing tea for two dolls. The camera zoomed in through the dollhouse window to show two very real people behind a two-way glass — Alex and Mary. They are not in prison. Mona is the ultimate winner of PLL. That is so fitting for her character.
The next chapter?
The scene changed to a group of girls laying in a barn. It was storming and the girls woke up.
“Where’s Addison and Willa?” one of the girls said.
Sound familiar?
Willa comes out. “She’s gone.”
What about now?
“What do you mean she’s gone?”
Still not ringing a bell?
“I’ve looked everywhere for her. I think I heard a scream.”
Let me refresh your memory. This was the exact exchange the original liars had when Ali went missing. There just might be a Pretty Little Liars spin-off in the near future.
