'PLL' Characters That Could Have Been A

The Big A mystery is over. Pretty Little Liars had been building towards the reveal of the person behind the black hoodie for three seasons, and in the Season 6A finale, we finally figured out just who has been torturing the girls. To say that the reveal floored fans would be an understatement: few fans would have ever suspected that Cece was Big A. While some fans were thrilled at the shocking reveal, others weren't so happy that CeCe was the one tormenting her sister and her friends: after all, there were plenty of other A suspects that would have made sense. Could there have been an alternate ending to Pretty Little Liars' seasons-long mystery?

Technically, the answer to that is no: according to Entertainment Weekly's 2015 interview with showrunner I. Marlene King, the writers have been setting up the Big A mystery for over three years. Like it or not, CeCe was always supposed to be A, even if there were plenty of red herrings along the way. Of course, that doesn't mean that a few other suspects wouldn't have made at least some sense: a few characters were just shady enough to been appropriate candidates for the black hoodie-wearing big bad.

Here are the other suspects that could have been A, even if CeCe nabbed the title way back when.

1. Detective Holbrook

Every so often, Pretty Little Liars will throw a character as us that makes us wonder what their true purpose was. That seemed to be the case for Holbrook, who seemed like a stand-up Rosewood policeman for a while there... until he wasn't. Holbrook went from "nice guy" to "shady AF" in about two seconds, and even chased down Hanna in his cop car to threaten her after he got busted for helping Ali. Holbrook is also one of the few (living) characters on the show who fits the age Big A, and is one of the few people who hasn't lived in Rosewood his entire life — it would have been completely believable for Holbrook to be Big A living under an assumed identity.

2. Garrett

Bustle's very own Samantha Rullo pointed out nine clues that seemed to hint that it was Garrett who could be Big A, and when you see all of these clues together, it actually would have made plenty of sense for Garrett to be the man behind the hoodie — even if it would have meant that he faked his own death. Like Holbrook, his age matched Big A's perfectly, and, as a cop he had plenty of access to surveillance and information that could hurt the girls. Plus, what would be more shocking than a character that has been dead for over a season to come back as the biggest villain on the series?

3. Marion

This theory actually would have held up midway into Season 6A, when the girls thought that A could have been a person seeking vengeance on CeCe's behalf. Toby's mother was a patient at Radley and therefore would have known CeCe, giving her a reason to seek revenge on the people she believed hurt her. Marion could have taken up the A game as payback on the DiLaurentis family. It certainly would have tied together the mystery of her "death" and the Big A game.

4. Wren

Ah, Wren: he was definitely the top suspect for Big A — but alas, it seems that all of those tiny clues hinting at his A-involvement were nothing but red herrings. The doctor would have had plenty of access to medical records, body parts, and Radley — plus, he could have easily faked a British accent in order for people to not suspect that he was a secret DiLaurentis. Wren is so suspicious that I'm convinced that he could be the show's next big bad: I'm not giving up hope that this guy is up to no good just yet.

All of these characters would have made excellent "As" — maybe one of them can grab the game from CeCe in Season 6B. After all, we're currently in desperate need for another villain.

Images: Eric McCandless/ABC Family