Season 7 of Pretty Little Liars is throwing a lot of old suspects back at us. And the Liars are not immune. Most recently, Aria has been moved high on the suspect list for people likely to be Uber A. She’s joined by Noel Kahn and Jenna Marshall, so at least she’s in good company. Here are 5 reasons our beloved Aria might actually be the villain behind it all — and possibly the second child of Mary Drake.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for season 7 of Pretty Little Liars.
1. The Missing File
The biggest and most recent clue about Aria is the missing files from Mrs. D’s secret lair where she studied everyone. The Liars immediately noticed that there was a file there on every single one of them except for Aria. We then saw the mystery person holding both Aria’s file and Noel’s. They went on to toss Noel’s out and burn the evidence. But we didn’t see them doing the same with Aria’s. If we had, it might have been too obvious that this person was trying to cover up the truth about Aria.
Now it looks like that’s what they’re doing with Noel. Since Noel is wandering around Rosewood making shady deals on his own, it could also lead you to believe that was Noel burning the file to cover his own back. Or, what if it was someone ruling Noel out? This person could have taken these files to name Aria and Noel as their prime suspects, but now, they’re sticking with just Aria.
2. Eddie Lamb Recognized Her
This is a very minor detail, but it could definitely have some relevance. Remember back in season 5 when Aria volunteers at Radley? Our favorite orderly, Eddie Lamb, definitely recognized her from somewhere, and Aria definitely knew where that was from. Only the funny thing is, we’ve never seen Aria and Eddie share a scene together before this. Why would Eddie know who she is? Maybe because she herself was a patient at Radley once before. Could Aria have a split personality that was being treated at Radley? There’s a lot of evidence to back this up as well.
For starters, when the girls took counseling from Dr. Sullivan, all of their patient sheets were hand-written, except for Aria’s. Was she already a patient prior to these sessions? She never mentioned it. Maybe because she herself isn’t even aware of it. We also know that mental illness runs in her family. Byron’s brother (Aria’s uncle) has been said to have a mental illness, something Byron was worried Mike would pick up. People also look to the fact that we constantly see Aria looking in the mirror. PLL is heavy with scenes where Aria is staring at herself in the mirror. While this has been the butt of many jokes among fans, it could also be symbolic of her split personality syndrome. Another clue towards that is Aria’s fascination with two-faced characters. We’ve seen her dress up as Black Swan and The Great Gatsby‘s Daisy.
This connection to Eddie Lamb was never explained, but at the time, it led a lot of people to believe that Aria was A. Now that we know Charlotte was A, we have to come up with another explanation. Since there’s an Uber A, this could definitely tie back in.
3. MAYA KNEW
This Easter egg is an old one, but still so good. In season 3, when Mona is in Radley, she speaks everything in cryptic riddles. The most notable one was, “Miss Aria, You’re a Killer Not Ezra’s Wife,” aka MAYA KNEW. Given the details we’re learning in season 7, some fans are now looking back at this acronym as evidence that by living in the DiLaurentis house, Maya knew about all the DiLaurentis/Hastings/Drake connections, including Aria’s. How great would it be if that were the end game? Having one of the Liars be behind it all is probably the greatest way the show could wrap up.
4. Her “Secret” with Jason
When Jason returned from his travels, he shared a pretty intimate moment with Aria. After she tells him she’s engaged, she asks if he’s told anyone about them. They don’t get very specific here, but it’s pretty clear they’re trying to make us think that Aria and Jason got it on at some point in the five years since we’ve seen the Liars. It makes sense, if you think back to season 2 when they had a pretty strong attraction to each other. Only, what if that was a mislead?
Many fans are pointing to the theory that what Aria’s referring to as “us” is that she and Jason figured out that she’s actually related to him. It’s believed that she figured out that she’s actually Mary Drake’s other child and the two of them are cousins. This would make the dinner scene with Ali and Mary Drake that much more important. Jason didn’t just invite Aria over to back him up as a friend, but as family. He brought Aria to show Mary Drake that he knows about her past. This was a family affair. That hand grab between Aria and Jason could have been intimate, yes. Or just one cousin looking out for another.
5. A.D. Wants to Know About Aria
While A.D./Uber A/whoever the hell it is wearing the gloves in the POV scenes at the end of each episode doesn’t seem interested in Noel, we have to note that he/she kept Aria’s file. There could be a million different reasons that they chose to burn Noel’s and not Aria’s, but perhaps the biggest is that they want to know more about Aria. They had no interest in the other Liars’ files, but specifically Aria’s. This obviously means something. It could even connect to her secret with Jason, and this person also suspects Aria of being Mary’s second child.
What do you think? Is there enough evidence to point to Aria being Uber A? If not, who else do you think could be Uber A? Do you think it would be a satisfying ending for Pretty Little Liars to have one of the Liars be behind it all?
Pretty Little Liars season 7 airs Tuesdays at 8pm on Freeform.
(Images courtesy of Freeform)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
