Is Ali "A" Or Not?

The age-old Pretty Little Liars question continues to haunt us: Who the hell is "A?" Because, while myself and all of the liars (can we talk about Aria blowing a rape-whistle when Ali touched her?) seemed to believe that Alison is "A," it's entirely possible that this evil genius isn't locked up in a cell. On Tuesday night's Pretty Little Liars Season 5B premiere, "Through a Glass, Darkly," all of Rosewood seemed convinced that they'd figured out the "A" mystery. Heck, even the Rosewood police arrested Ali for killing Mona and possibly Bethany Young because they thought they'd figured this whole mess out. But could Alison really be "A?" It almost doesn't seem like it anymore.

Yes, Alison DiLaurentis started acting very "A"-like in the episodes leading up to PLL's summer finale and in its recent holiday episode. Heck, she was acting suspicious during Tuesday's premiere as well but, while I'm not doubting that Ali hurt Mona (WHY ELSE WOULD SHE TRY TO RUN AWAY FROM THE COPS???), I'm starting to doubt that Ali's been "A" this entire time. Why? Because that'd just be way too easy and I'd like to think that, after almost five seasons of leading us in circles, I. Marlene King has something much better in store for us when PLL finally reveals "A"s identity. I mean, it'd be a total "we got ya" moment if it were Ali and we'd all figured it out before PLL could reveal it, but would we really be satisfied with that?

As far as I'm concerned, with the firework display that ended Tuesday night's episode, PLL revealed that all of the clues that pointed directly towards Ali being "A" were just more red herrings. Which, yes, is infuriating, but seeing the fear in Ali's eyes as she laid in her prison bunk didn't lie. She's scared for herself and maybe she's even scared for her former friends — that's not an emotion we'd ever see pass across the face of someone who spent so much time tormenting Rosewood. It's just not.

Image: Eric McCandless/ABC Family