How is it that the more we learn about Charles, the less we seem to understand? I don't know about you guys, but I'm just as confused as ever about A's identity and that's thanks, in large part, to Charles newest home movie, which introduced Freddy — a blonde-haired boy I think we're all supposed to assume is Charles. But given Pretty Little Liars' knack for fake-outs, I have a very strong feeling that Charles and Freddy are two different people. Yes, the two children do look similar, but if you had shown me another blonde boy of a similar build, I probably would be saying the same exact thing. That tells us that appearances alone shouldn't be the only deciding factor. But if Freddy isn't Charles, then who the heck is he?
Some viewers might argue in favor of Freddy being Charles, insisting that the name change was simply a way to hide his true identity from Jason and Alison. And while that's certainly a logical conclusion — and one that could still entirely prove to be true — I'm always hesitant to believe anything is as straightforward as PLL makes it out to be. Which is why this presents the writers with the perfect opportunity to throw us yet another curveball by making these boys two very different — but equally important — characters.
For starters, we know that Charles was known to show violent tendencies toward Ali, but the boy who appears in this video seems pretty harmless. Of course, looks can always be deceiving, but I just wasn't getting the sense that this was the same boy we met in the first home movie. But just because Freddy isn't necessarily Charles doesn't mean we've never seen this guy before. As many have already been quick to point out, the likeness between Freddy and Wilden is difficult to ignore. Could this mean that a certain detective will rise from the dead and reveal himself to be a member of the A Team? It's not as if PLL hasn't brought characters back from the dead before…
Then there's the matter of Charles' recent birthday message from a supposed "ally." What if this Freddy person is said ally? I may not be convinced that Freddy and Charles are the same person, but I do know for sure that they know each other. Where exactly? Well, the place where everyone knows your name, of course — Radley! In the home movie we see Freddy ask when he has to go back, and while the location isn't specified, the fear of dread in his voice indicates that it has to be Radley. No one wants to go back to there.
Charles met Bethany at Radley after all. Who's to say that's the only friend he made there? For all we know, Freddy could be Uber A and helping Charles to exact his revenge. Or, you know, Freddy is, in fact, Charles and this whole conversation is a moot point. But no matter how logical that reasoning may seem, I still think the resemblance is a bit off. Those eyes definitely don't look as blue (or really that blue at all) as the first video. So yeah, maybe I'm paranoid and maybe I'm in need of my own cell at Radley. But on this show it isn't safe to assume anything, and the Freddy-Charles connection definitely falls under that category.
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Images: Eric McCandless/ABC Family; prettylittleliars/Tumblr (3)
