Well, it's time for another mid-season finale of Pretty Little Liars. The writers have already said that "the Liars face off with their enemies in a chaotic fight that ends fatally," TVLine reported. But, even without that confirmation we could have guessed someone would die or get seriously injured. If we walk through the past mid-season finales, there is a pretty obvious formula — someone finds out too much and gets hurt or killed.
In the first season's mid-way finale, Hanna (Ashley Benson) is hit by a car because "A" said she "knew too much." It looked like it might be fatal, but she survives. Noel Kahn (Brant Daughterty) is one of the first in the hospital to check on her condition. In the third mid-season finale, Nate/Lyndon (Sterling Sulieman) is killed by Emily (Shay Mitchell) as both self-preservation and revenge for Maya (Bianca Lawson) being killed — Maya, of course, "knew too much" and then was mysteriously killed by a random stalker (cough, "A" was involved, cough). In season five's summer finale, Mona (Janel Parrish) is found dead in her house after "A" decided she "knew too much" about Bethany and what went on in Radley. Well, she sure looked dead, but of course we learn a couple episodes later she is alive, but not so well.
As far as "A" or "Uber A" or "A.D." or whoever is concerned, a lot of people learned "too much" in this week's episode. Basically every character is a strong candidate for that fatal ending, but we've narrowed it down to the ones who should start savoring their breaths. We will be updating this post daily until the season 7A finale of Pretty Little Liars next week, so keep coming back to find out who we think is most likely to perish next.
12. Ezra Fitz
There are a few glaring holes in the "reveals" we've been told about Ezra (Ian Harding). First, in the season 4 mid-season finale, we learn that he had been stalking the girls and Ali. He had cameras in their rooms, and timelines that tracked the smallest details in their lives and the lives of the biggest "A" suspects, including people like Jenna, Mona (Tammin Sursok), and Noel.
Later, we learn that he was "writing a book," and all of his research led him to believe that Shana (Aeriel Miranda) was "A." That didn't make sense then, and it doesn't make sense now. If he was tracking Mona and co., wouldn't he have known they were involved in tormenting the girls? He either "knows too much," or he is lying to the girls and is a double agent. Either way, it could mean he's in over his head — and that will cost him his life.
The show has also been setting up Aria to have another happily ever after with another man — Jason DiLaurentis (Drew Van Acker). Maybe it's to help ease the pain of #Ezria 'shippers when Ezra dies?
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
11. Jason DiLaurentis
Jason has always been too involved to be some character we don't really care about, but not quite involved enough to really have a true role in the drama. Yet, he's mixed up with a lot of the Liars. He is the half-brother of Ali DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse), the half-brother of Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario), and the off-and-on secret love interest of Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale).
After spending a couple of years in Africa, he is back in Rosewood. In college, he was too drunk to really ever learn too much. His memory was hazy. Remember how he couldn't confirm if it was CeCe (Vanessa Ray) or Ali that he saw "that night"?
Well, now that he is sober, he already knows "too much." He knows that Mary Drake had a second child, and that Noel's dad was the judge presiding over the adoption of that child. Will this knowledge cost him his life? Was the whole romance between him and Aria just a set up to make us care even more when he dies?
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
10. Someone We Don't Care About
Let's be honest, we've had quite a few death reveals that left us saying "So? Who Cares?" When Sara (Dre Davis) died, the only real fan reaction was "of course she died in a shower." The writers are still trying to make us care about Nicole's death. And they spent seasons building up who the body was in Ali's grave — just to reveal that it was Bethany Young, a girl we had never met.
There is enough precedent to make us think that this death will be some random stranger. Will it be Mary Drake's other child, that we've yet to meet? Will it be some random Radley employee that happened to know a lot? Noel's brother we haven't seen in four seasons? Or some newer character that we aren't attached to, like Mary Drake (Andrea Parker), Elliot/Andrew (Huw Collins), or Marco (Nicholas Gonzalez)?
Please, please don't let the death be such a cop-out when we only have a half a season left.
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
9. Paige
Even though there are very few 'shippers of Emily and Paige (everyone wants Emily to end up with either Ali, Maya, or even the new girl Sabrina), the writers keep bringing Paige (Lindsey Shaw) back. From the moment she tried to drown Emily before kissing her, their relationship has been odd, violent, and dramatic.
Now Emily is turning to Paige again — the same girl who turned Ali in to the police last time Em trusted her. She's always tried to interfere because of her love for Emily and her jealousy of everyone else, will she butt in at the wrong time and end up dying?
I mean, the show isn't bringing her back for a true Paige and Emily reunion, right? I repeat: Nobody wants that.
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
8. Lucas
There are a few universal truths about Lucas (Brendan Robinson).
1. He has somehow been on the "A" team at multiple times during the show thanks to his camaraderie with Mona.
2. His love for Hanna has always kept him from truly committing to one side of this #WorldWarA.
Hanna is clearly in some serious trouble right now. After being kidnapped again, and not getting the help that she needs, she has decided to try to take down Noel and the legions of "A" workers herself. Will he risk his own life in order to save her?
Since Emily called him in last night's episode, he knows something is up. And, well, when something sketchy happens in Rosewood — from the body being found on the Halloween Express Train, to Black Swan showing up at the school dance, to Ali's memorial being vandalized — Lucas is always in the background somewhere. Will he be there next week, for the very last time?
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
7. Mona Vanderwall
Oh, Mona. What exactly did she put into motion when she convinced Ali to leave town eight years ago on "that night"? She may have become popular, but has all the chaos of the last few years been worth it? Ever since she was revealed as the original "A," it's been near impossible to tell whose side she is on.
Is she still playing the game as "A" but embedded in The Liars group? Or was the torment she experienced from her fake death real, and she is truly a card-holding member of The Liars now?
Just like Lucas, Hanna has always been Mona's weakness. Will she sacrifice herself to protect Hanna? Or to protect all of the girls, for whom she has become the most unexpected badass fairy godmother over the last couple of seasons? If anyone has the brain power to find out too much, it's Mona. So far she seems the most likely to get punished for "knowing too much."
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
6. Ali DiLaurentis
Ali (Sasha Pieterse) has always had a confusing relationship with Noel (Brant Daugherty). He was one of her best friends, both planning pranks with her and flirting with her the fall before she went missing. The summer she went missing, she forced Noel's girlfriend into breaking up with him, causing him to publicly denounce her. Yet, three seasons later Noel is the one who helped reunite Ali and the Liars, when Ali was ready to stop pretending she was dead.
Now that we know that Noel helped torment the girls, it seems unlikely he was ever really on Ali's side. Will that betrayal cause Ali to risk her life? Or has Ali really been on Noel's side all along, and the recent, timid Ali is some sort of act?
Back when the Liars were 15 and the phrase "just trying to survive high school" had a very different meaning — one without murders, stalking, and kidnapping — Ali was already battling "A." This whole traumatic seven-year period of torture started with her. So will it take her actually dying (since her pretending to be dead only made it worse) to finally bring some calm to Rosewood?
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
5. Jenna Marshall
In many ways, Jenna (Tammin Sursok) has always been a logical suspect to be "A." The Liars, led by Ali (Sasha Pieterse), blinded Jenna in an "accident" when they threw a stink bomb into the garage where she was. However, as time goes on, it seems more and more likely Ali intentionally hurt Jenna.
The animosity never went away. Jenna thought she and her boyfriend Garrett (Yani Gellman) were the ones who murdered Ali for a long time. The girls, because of fear or just pure dislike, have been mean to her continuously over the years, and even now make completely inappropriate blind jokes about her. Yet, Hanna did show there is a limit to their mean streak, by saving Jenna's life when Jenna was stuck in a burning house.
Will Jenna return the favor and save Hanna's life, resulting in her own death? Will her love of Toby (Keegan Allen) cause her to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or will we learn that, just like Noel, there is no limit to her evildoing, and the girls will have to kill her to protect themselves?
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
4. Hanna Marin
People have been asking not if, but when, a Liar was going to die since the very beginning. The girls have been tormented by so many people for seven years now; it would be one of the most unrealistic storylines that all of them survive. Hanna (Ashley Benson) is the prime suspect out of the girls because she has been acting particularly irrational lately, and even made a tape in case she does not survive the consequence of her new, rash actions.
She attacks, kidnaps, and ties up Noel (Brant Daugherty) according to the previews, but we also see that he escapes her grand plan. Does he come back for revenge? Was her dream about Caleb's (Tyler Blackburn) death just foreshadowing that this fan favorite couple would have to say goodbye soon?
If this happens, the real question is what will Mama Marin do? Ashley Marin (Laura Leighton) has always been the most available, concerned parent of the bunch, and I have a feeling her revenge could get deadly.
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
3. Noel Kahn
Oh, Noel (Brant Daugherty), how you have weaved in and out of so many of the show's mysteries over the years. Since he is the red herring du jour, he will not be the actual mastermind behind "A", but we do know that he is aligned with the bad guys.
Last week we learned that he helped torture the girls while they were locked in the Doll House. It's pretty easy to believe that he is the one who actually kidnapped them from the prison van, so we can add that to his list of criminal activities. The girls and their partners have every reason to want revenge, and it could get deadly on Tuesday night.
Plus, people who know too much normally die on Pretty Little Liars. Noel definitely knows too much. He dated Mona (Janel Parrish) back when she was the original "A." He communicated with Ali (Sasha Pieterse) even when she was on the run. He had some sort of relationship with CeCe/Charlotte (Vanessa Ray) during her days as "A", and he has been partnered with Jenna (Tammin Sursok) since the beginning. All of the women in his life mean that he alone might have the answers to the questions we've been asking for seven seasons, and on this show that definitely means he should be watching his back.
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
2. Toby Cavanaugh
Toby (Keegan Allen) was who fans originally thought was going to die Tuesday night. Marlene King tweeted that Spencer (Troian Bellisario) or Toby will say, "Is it alright if I kiss you?" to the other in the finale, and there were images of Spencer upset after a car crash scene. The latter could be explained by a previously aired scene in which Spencer was involved in the car crash that took Dr. Rollins' (Huw Collins) life.
That being said, Toby has always meddled in things beyond his pay grade to save Spencer's life. First, he joined the "A" team to try and get insider information. Later he joined the police force to try and stop "A." It wouldn't be out of character for him to show up and risk his life to protect Spencer.
There is also the fact that Toby was once on the "A" team. What if he never left? If he has been double-crossing the Liars this whole time, he should watch out. If knew about the dollhouse and helped build it (he was on a construction site in a nearby town at exactly the right point in the timeline) and Spencer finds out, then his time on Earth is limited.
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