This 'PLL' Finale Trailer Is So Telling

If you're watching Season 7 of Pretty Little Liars, there's likely one big question on your mind: what is up with Noel Kahn?! After spending a season completely missing in action, the former Rosewood High party boy is back, and with an agenda viewers still can't figure out. What we do know is that this agenda somehow involves the now-deceased Sara, the equally as dead Charlotte, and her alive-but-shady mother Mary. The episode "The Wrath Of Kahn" revealed that Noel's dad was the one who was the judge involved in the adoption of Mary's second child, which led the Liars to think that it's Noel who is both A.D. and Mary's kid. The Canadian promo for "The DArkest Knight" suggests Noel and Charlotte do have a connection, but we may not want to start calling this guy "Noel Drake" just yet.

If I were the Liars, I would definitely be sold on the idea that Noel is the guy they should be afraid of, and a secret Drake sibling. However, the one thing the Liars don't know — because they're television characters, rather than viewers — is that the show still has way more to reveal. One thing that won't be revealed in Season 7A is the identity of Mary's second child. According to Entertainment Weekly's interview with showrunner I. Marlene King, the identity of Mary's son or daughter will remain a mystery going into the second half of Season 7, which means Noel can't be the kid in question. That being said, the Canadian promo for the Season 7A finale hints that Noel does have an important connection to Charlotte, even if he's not her brother:

In the promo, Noel says "The one thing she taught Charlotte and me... was how to smell fear." Immediately, my brain went to Mary: who else but a mother would be teaching mastermind Charlotte anything? Of course, knowing what we know about Noel and his lack of relation to Mary, there's a chance that the "she" he's referring to isn't actually Mary at all, but another person. My theory? That the person Noel is referring to is the real person the Liars should be afraid of — the real A.D., and possibly Charlotte's sibling and Mary's child. If Noel's not actually Charlotte's brother, perhaps he's a friend, boyfriend, or ally of them.

There's also another possibility: that Noel thinks he's Mary's son, but that it was a lie constructed in order to make sure that Noel was on Charlotte's side. Noel was a powerful ally to Alison when she was on the run, so perhaps Charlotte needed a way to make sure that he would help her out with the A game. Convincing Noel that he was her sibling would certainly make him think twice about working against his own sister.

Oh, Noel... what's your deal?!? Hopefully we'll find out when Pretty Little Liars airs its Season 7A finale. This guy can't be a question mark forever.

Image: Freeform; Giphy