Entertainment

Mona Is Too Smart To Be The 'PLL' Killer

by Lindsay Denninger

After so many years of watching Pretty Little Liars, I like to think that by now, Mona Vanderwaal has turned over a new leaf. When she was revealed to be A in Season 2, it made sense — she pretty much freaked out on the Liars. I guess I would too, if I thought they stole my best friend, had a lot of time on my hands, and was basically an evil genius. But time passed, Charlotte DiLaurentis proved to be an even more sinister A, and the Liars and Mona moved on with their lives — or did they? Now that the redeemed Charlotte has been murdered, the spotlight is back on Rosewood. Did Mona kill Charlotte DiLaurentis on Pretty Little Liars ?

Now, it’s not like Mona wouldn’t have a reason to have killed Charlotte once she was released from the mental hospital. Everyone knows that Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna were locked inside Charlotte’s underground A lair, but people seem to forget that Mona was there too. She underwent the same psychological and physical torture that the other prisoners did, but she seems to have flown underneath the radar. When it comes to a mental match, Mona is the only one who has ever been on Charlotte’s level. Both women are cunning, creative, and crazy smart, which is exactly why I don't think Mona would have killed Charlotte. She’s too smart for that. And for more on Season 6B, check out Bustle's Pretty Little Liars podcast, Taking This One To The Grave.

Season 6B of Pretty Little Liars picked up five years after Charlotte was caught and locked up. Mona, having completed college, now lives in Washington, D.C., and works in politics, like Spencer. While Mona was unsure about Charlotte being released from her psychiatric facility, it’s very clear that she wants to move on with her life just like all of the other Liars have. Every time Mona has been accused of doing something this season, whether sabotaging Spencer’s mother’s campaign or, you know, killing Charlotte, she has been insistent of her innocence.

And really, why would Mona wants to go back and relive the nightmare that was her high school experience? First, Ali made her life a living hell, and then Ali’s sister made her life a living hell. Killing Charlotte wouldn’t have really made a difference in Mona’s life either way. Charlotte had supposedly been reformed, and Mona had graduated from college, landed a good job, and continued her life. The only thing she needs now is to get back with the grown-up and presumably still hot Mike Montgomery.

Charlotte pissed off a lot of people in Rosewood, but I’m willing to bet that there's at least one degree of separation between her and her killer. The murderer is probably not someone who was directly affected by Charlotte’s plots, like the Liars or Mona. Instead, it’s most likely a loved one who worried that Charlotte could come back to hurt the one they love the most. That puts people like Ezra, Melissa, Caleb, Byron, and Ashley Marin on the most wanted list. The list of Pretty Little Liars suspects may be long, but Mona shouldn't be on it.

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