Entertainment

Did Andrew Kidnap The 'Pretty Little Liars'?

by Kaitlin Reilly

Trust no cute boy on Pretty Little Liars. You would think that the girls would have learned that by now, but alas, it seems that Aria has fallen for yet another dude who could very well be A-adjacent. Andrew Campbell might be working with Charles, at least according to a new sneak peak from the Season 6 premiere of Pretty Little Liars . In the clip, shown below, we see Ali hold a press conference about her missing friends, whom have now been MIA (and with A) for an entire month. Right before Ali speaks, we see a news reporter give an update about the situation, which includes a call for information about Andrew, who is the prime suspect in the case and presumed to be dangerous. So did Andrew really kidnap the Liars? It certainly seems likely, though his reasons may not be as diabolical as expected.

Andrew's been a background character for a few seasons now, but Season 5 was the only time he really became entangled in the A game. Fans first became suspicious of the Rosewood High student when he started romancing Aria. Sure, he seemed protective at first, but it wasn't long before Andrew appeared to be following the girls around and keeping a "close watch" on them... whether he was asked to or not. Then it seemed likely that it was Andrew who almost skewered Mike in the woods — he had the archery skills and was conveniently out of service when Aria's brother was hunted down. But the biggest clue to Andrew's involvement was when we saw him wire-tapping a message between Melissa and the Hastings in the Season 5 finale. The hell was that, Andrew? Watch the preview below in which a news reporter shares similar concerns about him.

The easiest explanation is that Andrew is super evil and either is Charles DiLaurentis himself or working closely with the recently revealed Big A. But since this is Pretty Little Liars, I'm not so sure that the easiest explanation is right one — at least, not the evil part. Instead, I think that Charles has something very big over Andrew, something that might make Andrew do his bidding despite the fact that he is actually a decent guy. It's happened before with Toby and could very well happen again with another love interest.

It's a quick reference in the Season 5 finale, but the farm where the DiLaurentis home movie was shot is actually the Campbell farm — as in Andrew Campbell. This is also where Caleb tracks the van used to transport the girls and finds it abandoned. If Andrew really was A, why would he send the police right to his family's farm? The answer is, he wouldn't, but A might be setting him up to take the fall by blackmailing him and involving him just enough in his master plan.

Andrew is a ruthlessly ambitious student, so it's interesting that two of the girls currently trapped in A's lair are Andrew's so-called "competition" in the smarts department. I. Marlene King even teased to The Hollywood Reporter that the three "brainiacs" might be connected. Could Andrew have been tempted by A to take down Spencer and Mona in order to remain a top student? Alternatively, could A know something big about Andrew that would ruin his future plans? If so, it wouldn't be that hard to manipulate Andrew into doing his bidding — desperate people have gone over to the dark side before on Pretty Little Liars.

Ultimately I think it's just way too easy for Andrew to be the mastermind behind this whole operation. Would PLL really reveal the endgame A suspect in a sneak preview? Highly doubtful. Andrew might be a player in this operation, and he may have even played a direct role in the Liars' kidnapping as the police suspect, but there's no way he's running this game.

Images: ABC Family; randombenzo/Tumblr