Warning: Spoilers ahead. The season finale for Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin premiered on August 17, 2022, and it was … A lot. Let’s just say, the reboot to the iconic Pretty Little Liars series on Freeform definitely did not disappoint! Keep reading to uncover who “A” is in PLL: OS!

What Happens in PLL: Original Sin?

OK, to put it simply: PLL: Original Sin is similar to PLL in that it follows high school girls as they are subjugated to anonymous texts threatening to spill all their secrets by a mysterious “A” figure. In the original series which lasted for 7 seasons, “A” was a number of people — there was even an “A”-team at one point! Likewise, in Original Sin, it is revealed that there isn’t one singular “A” — but more on that later.

Original Sin stars Bailee Madison as ImogenChandler Kinney as TabbyMaia Reficco as NoaMalia Pyles as Mouse and Zaria as Faran. The unlikely group of friends become close after realizing their mothers were involved in the murder of a student named Angela Waters in 1999. It’s revealed that their mothers bullied Angela when they were in high school, which eventually lead to Angela ending her own life at large-scale party in front of her classmates.

In OS, “A” is supposed to represent Angela, who is now punishing the group of friends for their mothers’ wrongdoings back in 1999. Unlike Pretty Little Liars‘ “A,” Original Sin‘s “A” is far more frightening — murdering anyone who gets in their way. Throughout the season, he or she shows themselves to the Liars, threatening violence or worse if the girls do not do exactly what “A” tells them to.

Who Is ‘A’ in PLL: Original Sin?

In the season finale of Original Sin, “A” texts the Liars that it’s time for the moms to go “on trial” at the school. There, the girls are put through obstacles of horrors to exact revenge on the people who have harmed them, but they all choose against doing so. They enter the auditorium where they find their moms tied up and we discover … Principal Clanton! He reveals that “A” is Archie Waters, his son and Angela’s twin brother.

He explains that Rose Waters and himself grew up in Millwood together, fell in love and Rose got pregnant with twins: Angela and Archie. Rose and her family left town with the twins, only to move back when the kids were older so Angela could go to Millwood High. Rose insisted on keeping Archie at home because he had a “face only a mother could love.” After Angela’s death, Clanton wanted to exact revenge on the people who bullied her: the moms.

Since Davie, Imogen’s mother, is dead, Clanton believes that the “sins of the mother must fall upon the child.” He gives Imogen a head start to run before “A” a.k.a. Archie comes after her. “A” and Imogen have a brutal fight at her house, where she manages to get the upper hand and stabs “A” multiple times. It’s later revealed that “A” survives the stabbing, but he later escapes after killing Tom Beasley.

Until (hopefully) next season! -A

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