Reddit Narrowed Down The 'PLL' Red Coat Suspects

According to a recent Instagram post from the official account for Pretty Little Liars , Red Coat's identity will be revealed during the upcoming "Summer of Answers" finale. And let me tell you, if they throw us a random name we've never heard before, then leave us hanging for months... I won't be that surprised. I generally consider myself to be an optimist in life, but when it comes to the world of Pretty Little Liars, I've developed some major trust issues and adopted Spencer's attitude that "hope breeds eternal misery." But I'm still cautiously hopeful, because I just can't help it.

Red Coat had been AWOL for quite some time before she reappeared in last week's episode "FrAmed," but her identity has been a longstanding mystery within the show. We first saw her in the Season 2 finale when she showed up at Radley to visit Mona, who cryptically told her, "I did everything you asked me to." We know that she's a member of the A team and that multiple people, including Ali, have worn the disguise. And, like every other Pretty Little Liars mystery, armchair detectives have been hard at work forming theories about her true identity. The hosts of Bustle's PLL podcast have also done some theorizing, and you can check out their thoughts below.

Now, a roundup of the likeliest Red Coat suspects, brought to you by Reddit's most dedicated sleuths.

1. Melissa Hastings

Reddit user ShadowGuy105 theorizes that Melissa is the most likely suspect, because if she wasn't on the A team in some capacity, A probably would have exposed her videotaped confession to the murder of Bethany Young, or at least used it to threaten Spencer. If fans want to look for the best in Melissa, we could assume that she's trying to protect Spencer by allying herself with Charles. And if Wren really is Charles, as many viewers suspect (and is outlined in the video below), that would increase the likelihood of Melissa being Red Coat.

2. Sara Harvey

Sara Harvey is my top suspect, and plenty of other sleuthing fans agree. Reddit user 4ilove2greens0 points out that, when the girls were rescued from the dollhouse, Sara didn't run out with them. She was probably with A, figuring out a plan for how best to infiltrate the Liars by pretending she was an innocent victim too. We still don't have an explanation for why there's no tracking chip in Sara's neck, and Red Coat only reappeared this season after Sara conveniently went to stay with a friend, instead of living with Emily.

Multiple users have also suggested that Sara could have initially been a captive who developed Stockholm Syndrome and subsequently joined the A team as Red Coat. While this is definitely plausible, I think it's equally likely that Sara has been part of the A team all along and her cell in the dollhouse was completely staged to throw off police and viewers.

3. Jenna Marshall

User youtube_Jasonwivart notes that, out of all the Red Coat suspects, Jenna has the strongest motive to hate Ali and the Liars — she was blinded because of them, and Shana's death would have fueled her hatred even more. Another user, plltwin, points out that Jenna was seen with a burn on her hand after the lodge fire and Toby found a burned red coat left behind. Jenna has been AWOL for most of this season, and it's safe to assume that she's been up to no good.

Although CeCe Drake cannot be eliminated as a suspect, the one thing most Reddit users can agree on is that it would be pretty anti-climatic if she turns out to be the Red Coat. We've seen her in the disguise before, so it wouldn't pack much of a punch.

Whoever Red Coat turns out to be, I think we can assume that her reign of terror is just getting started. After all, we may be coming to #FAceToFace with Charles and the A team, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Liars will be free of their torture.

Images: ABC Family; Giphy (2); we-love-pretty-little-liars-a/Tumblr