If you’ve watched Pretty Little Liars, you know the real main character isn’t Aria, Spencer, Hanna, or Emily. It’s the hoodie. That black, ominous hoodie, paired with a burner phone, became the show’s most iconic character. From the pilot’s first cryptic text to the twisted final reveal, “A” was the shadow behind every secret, every betrayal, and every perfectly timed jump scare.
And while the Liars changed outfits, boyfriends, and hairstyles, “A” remained constant. Just not the same person. Over seven seasons, Pretty Little Liars banked on the mystery of “A” by turning it into mythology. The show kept us guessing with fakeouts and enough red herrings to fill Rosewood’s entire police department (which, let’s be honest, wasn’t exactly known for solving crimes). Some were masterminds, some were pawns, and a few were just trying to survive. But every one of them wore the hoodie, sent the texts, and made the Liars question everything.
Here’s every person who became “A” on Pretty Little Liars, in order.
Mona Vanderwaal
The Original “A” in Seasons 1 & 2
Mona Vanderwaal kicks off the “A” legacy. Introduced as Hanna’s quirky best friend with a liking for fashion and a thirst for popularity, Mona’s transformation from sidekick to mastermind is one of the show’s earliest pivots. Her season 1 arc is shrouded in mystery, but season 2 peels back layers of manipulation, jealousy, and brilliance. Her motivations stem from feeling abandoned when Hanna rejoined the Liars, and that sting of rejection fuels a psychological warfare.
Mona is the one who turns anonymous texts into a full-blown surveillance operation, using disguises and voice modulators to get her own twisted justice. Her reveal in “UnmAsked” is so good. Spencer confronts her at the Lost Woods Resort, and Mona’s crash-out into Radley Sanitarium only expands her influence. She’s the first to show that “A” isn’t a person, but a persona that can be inherited, evolved, and weaponized.
Toby Cavanaugh
Joined the A-Team in Season 3
Tony’s entrance into the A-Team is less about betrayal and more about shifting loyalties. As Spencer’s brooding boyfriend with a tragic backstory, Toby’s season 3 arc flips the script on his quiet personality. When he is revealed to be working with Mona, it sends shockwaves through the group because Toby’s own motives are murky. He is not driven by malice; he’s just trying to protect Spencer from danger by infiltrating the enemy.
It’s a risky move, and it puts Tony in morally grey territory, allowing the show to use that ambiguity to build subtle tension and lead to bigger emotional fallout. Tony’s time in the hoodie is short-lived but memorable. His dialogues, the glances, and every cryptic message feel loaded with double meanings.
Spencer Hastings
Briefly Joined the A-Team in Season 3
Spencer’s mind has always been her sharpest weapon and her greatest weakness. In season 3, after a crushing breakup with Toby and a spiral into grief and paranoia, Spencer makes a move that shocks even the most seasoned Liars. She joins the A-Team. It is not a long-term allegiance, but a calculated surrender. Her time in Radley and the wreckage of Toby’s betrayal pushes her to the edge, and Mona, seeing the frailty of the situation, offers her a lifeline.
Spencer’s decision, however, isn’t impulsive. She is desperate, but she thinks it through. What makes her brief tenure as “A” so compelling is how it reframes her obsession with solving puzzles. She is trying to understand “A” from the inside, and that’s why, seeing her balance deception with loyalty to her friends is intense. It’s also a rare moment where Spencer’s intellect becomes a liability. But her exit from the A-Team is as deliberate as her entrance.
Ezra Fitz
An “A” Fakeout in Season 4
Ezra Fitz’s season 4 twist is one of Pretty Little Liars’ most divisive and misleading moments. The beloved English teacher and Aria’s longtime love interest suddenly find himself under suspicion when surveillance equipment and secret files point to some hidden agenda. For a few episodes, Ezra wears the mast of a villain, and the tension is palpable.
But the truth is more complicated. Ezra isn’t tormenting the Liars, he is researching them. His obsession with Alison’s disappearance leads him to embed himself in their lives as a writer chasing a story. It is a meta twist that plays with the audience’s expectations. Ezra’s fakeout as “A” is all about misdirection, and the series uses the paranoia to let viewers believe that Ezra’s charm has always been his cover. Which is a cliché, sure, but it works.
Shana Fring
Another “A” Fakeout in Season 4
Shana Fling first enters the narrative of Pretty Little Liars as a mysterious newcomer connected to Janna and later reveals ties to Alison’s past. Her role expands in season 4, where she is positioned as a wildcard. She works at the costume shop and moves through Rosewood with such precision that it feels wrong to doubt her. Shana’s motivations rise from her loyalty to Jenna, whom she believes was wronged by Alison and the Liars.
Shana has a warped sense of justice, but it’s what drives her to take matters into her own hands, and now, she’s simply out for retribution. Her climatic moment comes in the season 4 finale, when she corners the Liars at the Fitzgerald Theater with a gun, declaring her intent to end Alison’s story for good. It’s a bold move that backfires when Aria knocks her out, and Shana dies on the spot.
Darren Wilden
Secretly part of the A-Team in Season 4
Detective Darren Wilden always felt like trouble. From his first appearance, he sends out authority, but has a sinister undertone, and he often uses his badge to intimidate rather than protect. His entanglements with Alison, Ashley Marin, and the DiLaurentis family paint him as morally compromised, but it’s only after his death in season 4 that the full scope of his involvement comes to light.
Wilden wasn’t just a corrupt cop, but also a part of the larger machinery behind the torment, operating under the alias “Queen of Hearts” during the infamous Halloween train incident. After the reveal, suddenly, his aggressive interrogations and shady alliances make sense because they were actually part of a coordinated effort to destabilize the Liars. Wilden’s connection to Jenna, Shana, and Melissa Hastings suggests a network of operatives working under Big “A.”
Wren Kingston
Involved with the A-Team in Season 4 & 5
In Pretty Little Liars, Wren Kingston is the kind of character who always seems to know more than he lets on. He first shows up as a handsome British doctor with romantic ties to Melissa and Spencer, and his presence is mostly soothing. Until it isn’t. By season 4 and 5, his connections to Radley Sanitarium and his suspicious behavior around Mona and CeCe begin to raise eyebrows.
While Wren is never officially unmasked as “A,” his involvement with the A-Team is heavily implied, especially through his medical access and quiet complicity in covering up key events. But what’s interesting is that he is never overtly evil. His relationship with Alex Drake (later revealed as Uber “A”) and his eventual fate (being killed and turned into a diamond by Alex) is one of the show’s most surreal twists.
Noel Kahn
Helped the A-Team and A.D. in Season 5 to 7
Noel Kahn is the quintessential high school golden boy with a dark streak. Popular, confident, and always lurking just a little too close to the action, Noel’s role changes from flirtatious side character to a proper accomplice. By season 5, his connection with Charlotte DiLaurentis and the Dollhouse operation becomes clear, and his involvement deepens as he assists A.D. in the later seasons.
Noel’s motivations are slippery, too. Unlike Mona or Charlotte, Noel doesn’t seem driven by trauma or revenge. He is in it for control, thrill, and maybe a bit of chaos. His partnership with Jenna Marshall adds another layer of evil, and his final arc in season 7 is brutal. The Liars discover his role in the Dollhouse and confront him in a cabin, where a violent showdown ends with Noel’s accidental death.
Charlotte DiLaurentis (CeCe Drake)
“Big A,” also Red Coat in Season 6
CeCe Drake enters the scene with this fascinating knack for blending in, but beneath the designer clothes and social expertise lies Charlotte DiLaurentis, Rosewood’s most meticulous puppeteer. Her reveal in season 6’s “Game Over, Charles” offers a glimpse into years of torment. Born Charlotte DiLaurentis and raised in Radley under the family’s shadow, Charlotte’s identity was shaped by isolation and obsession.
Her transformation into CeCe is strategic as it allows her to move freely and manipulate the Liars. Charlotte’s reign as “Big A” is the most expansive because she turns surveillance into an art form. She orchestrates the Dollhouse, a psychological prison that pushes the Liars to their limits, and uses personas like Red Coat and “Varjak” to stay one step ahead. She believes she is protecting Alison, and yet, her actions blur every moral line. CeCe is later revealed to be responsible for the “death” of Alison and Wilden, and she’s admitted to Welby State after coming clean.
Sara Harvey
Red Coat and The Black Widow in Season 6
Sara Harvey is one of Pretty Little Liars’ most captivating additions. She is introduced as a missing girl who eerily mirrors Alison’s disappearance, but is later revealed to be a double agent with layered allegiances. Her role as both Red Coat and The Black Widow makes her a key operative in Charlotte’s empire.
Initially presented as a victim, Sara’s true loyalties emerge in season 6, where we find out that she was working for Charlotte all along and helping her execute some of the show’s most iconic stunts, including the Thornhill Lodge fire and the masquerade funeral. Her involvement in the Dollhouse and her betrayal of Emily are moments that make her manipulations feel more personal than part of a bigger game. When Sara dies in season 7, Pretty Little Liars closes one of its most elusive chapters.
