Entertainment

These Clues Prove That Ezra Isn't A.D. On 'PLL'

by Amy Roberts
Freeform/Eric McCandless

Look, I'm as obsessed with the idea that Ezra is A.D. on Pretty Little Liars as you undoubtedly are. But, in the interest of fairness and balance, let's look at Ezra from a different perspective. There are a handful of potential clues that Ezra isn't A.D., which flies in the face of several ongoing fan theories. But everyone deserves their chance to be exonerated, and Ezra Fitz is no different.

Many fans have been suspicious of Mr. Fitz since Aria was both his student and his girlfriend (sorry, but ew). Though seriously dreamy, the character has also been a little unpredictable, manipulative, and moody, with an endless stream of secrets being shockingly unveiled about him every season. However, the truth could well be that Ezra is just a bit of a creep and an occasional crappy boyfriend and person, rather than being the grand psycho behind A.D., and all of the events that have come with that title.

So, come and look a little closer at the character, because there are definitely some aspects to Ezra being A.D. on PLL that just don't add up for him, his relationships, or his overall history. It might just be back to the drawing board for A.D. fan theories.

1

He Got Shot By Shana

On the one hand, if Ezra is A.D., then being shot by Shana would be the perfect ploy to make him look innocent. On the other hand, however, there's a strong possibility that he could actually just be innocent and have nothing to do with A.D. whatsoever.

2

He Genuinely Seems To Love & Want To Protect Aria

Theoretically speaking, even if he never directly attacked Aria as A.D. (and the character has certainly never suffered as much as her friends have at the hands of their foe), he'd still be torturing her best friends a whole lot. And, by doing so, he'd be indirectly putting this woman that he's clearly besotted with in a position where she could get seriously hurt. Does it really make any sense that he'd risk that if he feels so strongly about her?

3

Ian Harding Suggested That Fans Will Be "Satisfied" By A.D.'s Reveal

In an interview with the Huffington Post in May, Harding commented, "I think people will be satisfied to a point, and right when it seems like it’s going to be really great, it might do a little [turn]." Though fans have been quite avidly theorizing that Ezra is A.D. for a while now, there are still a lot of fans who would just prefer to see Ezra and Aria live happily ever after together instead. With that in mind, Ezra turning out to be A.D. doesn't seem like too satisfying an endgame.

4

Ian Harding Also Suggested That "The A.D." Could Be A "Place" Or A "Thing"

In the same interview, Harding also adopted some interesting language in describing the PLL finale reveal, as the actor said, "With A.D., the one juicy tidbit I could give is I was happy that this person, place or thing ― that is the AD, as I like to call them ― is not just some complete random."

That seems to indicate that A.D. might not be a singular person acting against the Liars, but rather that it could be a collective of people doing so. Ezra might make sense as A.D. if he's working alone, or possibly even in a duo with someone like Sabrina. But an entire collective doing A.D.'s work? t doesn't make much sense that Ezra would be a part of it.

5

If He Was A.D. Then He Would Have Figured Out That Malcolm Wasn't His Son

A.D. has all the resources in the world available to them. If that's the case, why wouldn't Ezra have used those resources as A.D. to fact check the legitimacy of whether or not Malcolm was actually his son? It just doesn't make sense.

6

His Family Has Absolutely No Ties To Rosewood, So Would He Have Such A Strong One?

Whoever A.D. is surely has to hold a strong history with Rosewood, and with the people who live there. Though Ezra certainly his own strange history with the town, he definitely doesn't have so much of it as to warrant A.D.'s excessive attacks against the place and Liars.

7

He Disappeared With Nicole For A Long Time While A.D. Remained Active

So, I mean, if he was still playing tricks in Rosewood during that time, then he did a terrific job of not being seen by a single person in this very small town.

8

It Wouldn't Make Sense Timeline-Wise

I'm pretty sure that Ezra was mourning Nicole during the time that Charlotte was killed and didn't seem to be affected or involved in that scenario in the least bit. Which would surely be strange for A.D., right?

9

He Never Seemed To Be Too Interested In CeCe

I mean, there's every chance in the world that he was simply playing it cool about CeCe, or that there are scenes regarding Ezra and the character that we simply haven't seen. But that feels disingenuous if it's the case, because, really, the truth appears to be that he simply just wasn't that interested. And if he is A.D., then wouldn't he have been? And wouldn't one of the Liars have found that out at some point by now?

10

If He Wanted To Take Revenge Against Certain People Then He Could Easily Do So In His Writing

Seriously. Every writer knows that the best revenge is the one you can dish out on a page. You don't waste time building traps, sending sassy text messages, and making elaborate board games when deadlines are looming and you can save all that drama for your writing.

11

If Ezria Is Endgame, Then He Definitely Can't Be A.D.

How could that possibly lead to a happily ever after?

12

It'd Be Impossible To Imagine Ezra, As A.D., Saying This Dialogue To Aria In The Finale

Would as callous and hideous a monster as A.D. really be this sweet and adorable to Aria? I think not.

13

Being A.D. Would Demand Too Much Of Ezra's Time & Aria Would Find Out

All those traps, texts, phone calls, dolls, and elaborate "gifts" to the Liars are all pretty high maintenance things to pull off a day-to-day basis. Ezra might go on a lot of conveniently timed trips, which could help some of these creations and activities as A.D., but not all of them. Ultimately, he'd still have to be doing a lot of these things while spending time with Aria in order to churn out the sheer volume of villainy that A.D. actually does. And, yeah, Aria would definitely notice that.

So if Ezra isn't A.D., who else could it possibly be? The PLL finale needs to hurry up and get here so we can all be put out of our misery.