Ever since we learned that Charles is A during Pretty Little Liars' Season 5 finale, fans have been searching for any possible connections he may have with other characters. The two names that tend to come up the most in those theories and discussions are Jason and Andrew (with good reason), but after noticing a suspicious quote from Season 1 of Pretty Little Liars, I think Ezra and Charles are connected. My theory isn't that Ezra is Charles (though many fans are in that camp), but that Ezra has known about Charles, as well as Bethany, and is still hiding things from Aria and the rest of the Liars.
It all goes back to something that seemed like Ezra simply making a lame joke, until we met Charles and the puzzle pieces all fell into place. In Season 1's "Reality Bites Me," Aria leaves her phone in Ezra's apartment and when she goes back to retrieve it, finds out that he saw a text from A while she was gone. At this point, their relationship is still a secret, as Ezra is Aria's English teacher, so he's extremely upset to see the following text.
Lucky you, Aria!Other girls have to do their homework. You get to do the teacher... --A
The message is classic Season 1 A, but that's not the clue. Instead, we need to look to Ezra's response, which was pointed out by Tumblr user happybeetlebug.
While happybeetlebug theorizes that the ABC comment is significant for referencing a children's song, I think the letters themselves are important. Because what characters are tied up in the big A mystery? Bethany and Charles. Upon first watching this episode, the line could have easily slipped past you. Why wouldn't it? We thought Ezra's biggest secret was his relationship with Aria. But now that we know the actual circumstances of their first meeting, his past with Alison, and that whole stalking-the-Liars-for-a-secret-book thing, the meaning completely changes.
It's still not clear just how much Ezra knew about them before meeting Aria or what he learned during his "research." Ali easily could have told him more than he let on, and the fact that he suspected Mrs. DiLaurentis of being A when the Liars didn't proves that he was gathering different evidence than them. Maybe his theory about Mrs. D being A also included Bethany and Charles being on the A team.
So no, I haven't forgotten that Ezra thought Mrs. D was A, but knowing that Charles exists is different than knowing that he is A, and is obviously extremely different from knowing something about Bethany. From what he's said about Eddie Lamb, we can tell that Ezra spent a lot of time researching Radley Sanitarium, and many of its "secrets" are likely among those filling his many cardboard boxes. Bethany's time at Radley in general didn't seem to be very privileged information, as there were records of Mrs. D signing her in and out of the facility. It's not so far-fetched to believe that Ezra discovered her connection to the DiLaurentis family, and beefed up his research once her body was revealed to be the one in Alison's grave.
Since Charles appears to have been MIA between childhood and taking over the A game from Mona, many fans suspect that he also spent some time in Radley, and maybe even has his own ties to Bethany. What if Ezra found out that Charles exists and is somehow related to the DiLaurentis family and A mystery? That would explain why he associated an ominous text from A with these two other mysterious people who have a past with Alison, and could actually end up being a good thing.
Maybe Ezra really did stop researching Ali and the Liars when Aria found out about the book (and Alison returned, thereby solving the mystery of her disappearance), assuming that Charles and Bethany had been on the A team, but never suspecting them of being Big A, and putting them out of his mind. Maybe he even believes that like Bethany, Charles died.
If all Ezria knows about Charles is that he exists and may have known some of the Liars' secrets, it's understandable that he wouldn't share that with Aria and the others, instead choosing to move on from his book and put all of the DiLaurentis' secrets behind him — until this one becomes extremely important.
We know that at some point in Season 6, the Liars will escape the dollhouse, and thanks to Spencer, they know that A is Charles. If Ezra has any knowledge about him at all, hearing that name should bring it to the front of his mind and hopefully help the Liars to uncover who is behind the mask. Though I've always thought of Ezra's book as nothing but creepy, it gave him insight to A, and if he learned about "B and C" in the process, all of that research might pay off in a huge way when Pretty Little Liars returns.
Images: Eric McCandless/ABC Family; Rosewood-clues/Tumblr; Rebloggy; fanaru
