Troian Bellisario Chats The Identity Of A.D. & The Series Finale Of Pretty Little Liars In New Interview

Troian Bellisario recently sat down with ELLE magazine to discuss the reveal of A.D. and the series finale of Pretty Little Liars. Highlights are below.

On when she found out about the identity of A.D.: “I was first told in the beginning of season five. Marlene took me aside and told me, ‘I have an idea, but I don’t know if the network will let me do it…’ Then she sat me down and explained this whole ending to me. She said, ‘You cannot tell anybody. It might not even happen.’ So I sat on it for over a year. Then at the end of season six, she said, ‘We’re going to do it.’ It was like the starting gun at the races.”

On purposely tipping off fans to the identity in the episode she directed: “Totally. It was the first scene in which Alex gets caught in a situation not of her making, in which someone mistakes her for Spencer. In every other scene, she’s very prepared. She walks in pretending to be Spencer; everybody is expecting her to be Spencer. But when Ezra happens upon her and [Julian Morris’ character] Wren, it’s very much not a part of her plan. We knew that the scene would be a huge tipping point for certain members of the audience. We all agreed that the people who are going to get it are going to get it. I said to Marlene, “We aren’t going to be able to control this secret until the very end, but that doesn’t mean that the audience isn’t going to have fun.” For some people, the reveal of Spencer’s twin will be a total slap upside the head, and it’ll be great. For other people, it’ll be fun to feel ahead of the game. It doesn’t take the fun out of the mystery. It makes you feel like you’re a part of it.”

On the girls’ reaction to the reveal: “There was a scene in the very beginning of the season where [Ashley Benson’s character] Hanna wakes up to a dream of younger Spencer talking to her in the cell A.D. put her in. When we came out to the cast about Alex, Ashley said, ‘Wait, you were a different person in that scene and you didn’t even tell me?’ I said, ‘I wasn’t allowed to tell you!’ She was like, ‘Man, I’m feeling really betrayed right now!'”

You can check out the full interview here.

What did everyone think of the finale?