Someone Close To The Liars Is Going Down

Here we go again. Someone in Rosewood is going to die on Pretty Little Liars ' Season 5's #FAtalFinale. Which really shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, especially not a diehard PLL fan, considering we've seen a lot of death since Mrs. DiLaurentis kicked the bucket in the Season 4 finale. All good things must come to an end — including life in Rosewood, even though I'm not entirely sure that that's such a great thing at all. So, who will it be? While PLL STILL hasn't told us who "A" is for sure (but they're really hinting that Ali might be "A"), it's definitely let us know exactly who won't be dying on Tuesday night. And given us a few hints about who probably will die: Mona.

With that being said, let's start with who absolutely cannot die on "Taking This One to the Grave." The usual suspects — Spencer, Hanna, Aria, Emily — are obviously safe, I shouldn't even have to say that, but I will. And I know, ABC Family is promising "one less liar" when the #FAtalFinale is over — but who isn't technically a "liar" on PLL? That's not an exclusive title held only by the core four and Ali. No one is killing those four off of this show and, frankly, they've had a hard enough time as it is. So, really, the nicest thing PLL can do is to not make one of them die and have the others be consumed by grief. (Been there, done that with this Ali drama.) Also, everyone would stop watching if we lost a part of the carefully oiled machine that is their onscreen chemistry. But we all already knew that they were untouchables. Right, people? God, PLL has made us so damn smart, I can't even handle it.

And, by extension, it's most likely safe to assume that Toby and Ezra are safe as well. Why? Because they've both had shots fired (pun intended) at their lives since the Season 4 finale. Ezra got shot and lived — I. Marlene King clearly isn't trying to get rid of him that badly. The only love interest fans have reason to fear for is the recently returned Caleb. I know, he just came back to Rosewood, how could this be? Well, at the end of last Tuesday's episode, PLL introduced some of the mystery and menace Caleb left behind in Ravenswood to the series. Which clearly means that he didn't really leave it behind at all. Another Bustle writer speculated that perhaps Ravenswood's Pact Maker has brought Miranda back to life, and that would mean death is coming for Caleb.

While that's a great theory — I can't see PLL wasting its chance at a shocking death at the hands of "A" on Ravenswood's spooky mythology. Maybe Caleb will eventually kick the bucket, but it won't be on Tuesday night's summer finale. (Thank god.) So, where does that leave us?

Mona, Mona, Mona — oh, and apparently Mona's mother. Tuesday night's #FAtalFinale will include a new parental figure: Mrs. Vanderwaal. And while all the other parents have suffered under "A"s thumb, we've yet to see or hear about Mona's dear, old mom taking the brunt of her affiliation with the terrorist of Rosewood. Especially now that Mona's kind of gone rogue and started helping the liars — as you can see in the above, preview photo from "Taking This One to the Grave." It'd be weird for them to introduce a character just to kill them off during the same episode, but hey, this is PLL. They do some crazy shit, like locking people in pine boxes with corpses.

But what if, instead of Mona's mother suffering for her, Mona is going to take the hit? Marlene King tweeted a PLL holiday episode spoiler (nope, not Halloween this time) that insinuated that a new "queen bee" will rise during the special. So, could it be that it's finally Mona's time to exit? It'd be a real shame, considering she's been an incredible character to watch on this series — the perfect mix of total maniac and well-cultivated bitch-craft. But, it would make sense.

Mona's essentially been the "queen bee" of the "I H8 Alison Club" and if Ali really is "A," her first order of business will be taking that group down a few notches. Killing Mona would be huge, it'd be shocking, and it'd be exactly what PLL has promised us for the finale. It'd also make perfect sense — every time the liars have gotten close to someone that might have some Answers, they've died, gone crazy, or gone into hiding. If Mona's trying to switch sides, it absolutely could result in death. "A" is not merciful after all.

This is all speculation, of course. For all we know PLL could come through and kill Emily for shock-value or disappoint us by icing some minor, useless character like Sydney. But, if history is repeating itself, all signs are pointing to Mona getting the axe — mostly because she's the only HUGE character who has attempted to play both ends against the middle AND challenge Alison in the the first half of Season 5.

Images: Eric McCandleless/ABC Family (2)