Aria & Wren Could Be Working Together As 'PLL's A

Being a new recruit to the Pretty Little Liars fandom brings its own perks and challenges. It's amazing to see so many insanely brilliant (and let's be honest, some just insane) theories out there in the universe, proving that the PLL love stretches far and wide. But then again, because of the sheer number of these hypotheses, it's hard to form my own opinion being so late to the game. So aside from attempting to find answers in each new episode, I'm enjoying the idea of either supporting or debunking the theories that do exist. For example, I am certainly on the Wren is Charles DiLaurentis Pretty Little Liars train at the moment. But a fan theory I recently discovered by YouTube user KaylaSwEet06 takes it even further and suggests that Wren and Aria are cousins and working together as Big A.

Now, I'm all about finding different ways that the series connects its characters. When it was revealed that Jason is actually Peter Hastings' biological son, I was fascinated by the twist and I liked how it brought Jason closer to the girls and the series' big mysteries. But suggesting that Wren and Aria might be cousins who are working together feels like too much of a reach, especially considering all the things Aria went through with the girls in the Dollhouse. Still, many people believe in the theory that Aria could be working with A, so anything is possible. Maybe a connection could exist. There are plenty of arguments in support of the Wren and Aria theory, like some made by Tumblr's sophiesprettylittleliarstheories, and I'm going to break them down bit by bit. And for even more on Wren's shadiness, check out Bustle's Pretty Little Liars podcast.

Their Families Have A History Of Mental Illness

Pro: Byron mentioned that his brother Scott had a history of mental illness when talking to Ella about Mike's depression. In the same episode, we learned straight from Wren himself that his father was schizophrenic and had to be institutionalized for years. Wren tells Hanna that when he was 10 his dad was institutionalized and "traded [his] family for the chaos inside his head." Could Wren's dad and Scott be the same person? If so, then maybe Scott had an affair with Jessica DiLaurentis and had Charles, aka Wren, aka "Freddy"?

Con: This sounds like a decent enough theory, until you take into consideration one question: If Wren's biological father is Scott, why would he call Kenneth "Daddy" in the birthday invite he sends to the DiLaurentis house? I think it makes more sense for Charles' parents to actually be Kenneth and Jessica, no matter who his alter ego may be.

Aria & Wren Share No Scenes Together In The Series

Pro: Wren definitely has spent some quality time with both Hanna and Spencer, but we never see him interacting with Aria. Sure, Wren doesn't really share a lot of intimate moments with Emily either, but the two at least have one scene together after Emily is hospitalized for her ulcer. The only time Aria really even talks about Wren (aside from with Spencer) is to quickly debunk the idea that he could be A, when she points out that the Ravenswood lair shows a picture of Wren at Radley. However we now know this was Ezra's photo, so it doesn't actually prove anything. Could it be that Aria and Wren are family/working together as A, and if they are seen together in the public, someone might be able to figure out their connection?

Con: More than likely, Aria just hasn't needed to interact with Wren. Spencer never really dated him, so she didn't bring him around the Liars. Aria also doesn't volunteer at Radley until after Wren has left his job at the institution, so there's no real overlap there. But it is also possible that they could be avoiding each other in public because they are working together, but they are not family. Because if they were seen in public together, it would be strange given their lack of connection.

The Resemblance Between The Montgomery Family & Wren Is Hard To Ignore

Pro: Wren and Mike in particular do share a lot of similarities, as does Byron. It's not difficult to believe they could all be related, especially since Wren looks a lot more like the Montgomery family than he does the DiLaurentis family.

Con: But if we're going by looks alone as our deciding factor for Charles/A, it's important that Wren doesn't really look like the DiLaurentis family, which Charles is obviously a part of in some way.

Aria Overall Has Been In Less Danger By A

Pro: Aria was locked in the Dollhouse with the other girls, she was chipped, she was forced to sit outside the dollhouse by the electric fence with no food or water for what seemed like days, she was gassed, and she had to deal with that siren. We saw all of these things happen. But we still don't know exactly what happened when the girls were shut in their rooms for weeks. We know Charles/A made Spencer believe that she may have hurt someone. We know that Charles left Mona in the hole. All we really see of Aria's torture is that Charles/A cut her hair because she wouldn't dye it.

Many people have also pointed out that through the years, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer have all been the victim of repeated intense physical and psychological torture from A. But Aria? Aside from a few times A hurt her relationship with Ezra, she hasn't had to deal with nearly as much torture as the others.

Con: We still don't know exactly what happened in the Dollhouse, but we do know that the girls were at least psychologically tortured by having to pick which of their friends deserved to be harmed (thankfully none of them actually were). I can't really debunk this theory aside from saying that what we know Aria has been through and the things she's dealt with along with her friends are bad enough to make me think that she wouldn't want to do this much to herself unless she's totally crazy.

The Family Has Intense Violent Streaks

Pro: Wren says that he once threw a bowl across a room to see his dad in the mental institution. And we all remember how Aria trashed Ezra's home after she found out he used her to write a book about Ali. Then there's Mike's outbursts, including one where he hurt his mother and another when he knocked over a coffee table out of anger at Aria. Even Byron has shown violent tendencies when he forcefully grabbed Meredith's arm to keep her from leaving his home.

Con: Who hasn't been violent on PLL at this point? Spencer, Hanna, and Emily have all had varying levels of physical and emotional anger. Toby, Ezra, and Caleb have shown some violent moments as well. They can't all be related, so using violent outbursts as evidence of a biological connection is weak. You can watch KaylaSwEet06's whole video below.

In the end, only time will tell who Charles is, and yes, it is about damn time for that reveal. But let's be really honest with ourselves, isn't it still kind of fun to guess?

Images: Eric McCandless/ABC Family; Giphy; prettyliarsrosewood, nathanshales/Tumblr