For five and half years, the ladies of "Pretty Little Liars" have worked tirelessly to solve the mystery of "Who is 'A'?" They and fans will finally have their answer when the ABC Family drama wraps up the first half of its sixth season on Tuesday, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The mystery series has teased the reveal of "A" in previous seasons, but Lucy Hale promises this time the real answer will come out.
"So I know every time we have a finale or premiere, we're always like, 'We're going to tell you who A is.' I promise this time you actually do [find out]," Hale said during an AOL Studios Q&A session this week. "It's a really big episode. It's really exciting."
"Pretty Little Liars" will then skip ahead when the show returns in early 2016 with a five-year time jump. Bypassing the college years, the audience will catch up with Aria, Emily, Spencer and Hanna in the year after they graduate school.
"We made that decision so they would have a year to finish school and firmly root themselves into their desired careers, so their wardrobe and hair and makeup and styles reflect where they are professionally in their lives," showrunner Marlene King told EW.
After the time jump, the four young women are living a life where they no longer have worry about being "tortured or tormented" by the anonymous cyber bully. They can go to yoga class and enjoy other activities without having to look over their shoulder constantly.
Unfortunately, the emotional trauma from the years of stalking and cyber bullying will leave its mark on the ladies, even five years later.
"They still suffer from post-traumatic stress at times and we will hear as we go into the next season some stories about how what they've been through has still haunted them and affected the decisions that they make," King said.
The creator added, "Something like that really does change you and it's probably helped them all make decisions that they might have not made had that experience not happened to them. Maybe they take greater risks and maybe they can handle pressure more easily than someone who hasn't been locked in a demented dollhouse."
The ladies may be older but they're still the same people. They also have many more mysteries ahead to solve and "a lot more story to tell," King said.
"Pretty Little Liars" will air its midseason finale on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 8 p.m. on ABC Family.
