After spending almost their entire high school life being tormented by A, the Liars of Rosewood finally came face to face with the person who almost cost them their lives in the summer finale of "Pretty Little Liars" season 6.
The summer finale episode began exactly where the previous episode titled "Last Dance" left off, wherein Ali (Sasha Pieterse) was kidnapped by her long-lost brother Charles/ A during Rosewood High's prom. Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Hanna (Ashley Benson), Emily (Shay Mitchell), and Aria (Lucy Hale), were joined by Mona (Janel Parrish) to rescue their friend.
Ali discovered that Charles brought her to a room which looked like a jail cell, and their father was also there lying lifeless on the floor. The Liars and Mona found out that the room was located inside the Charasimi Group office building, and they saw a hidden room where they could monitor everything that was happening between Ali and A.
That is where they found out that Charles/ A is someone who they have already encountered many times in the past. Apparently, Ali's unknown brother is a transgender, and Charles DiLaurentis is now Cece Drake (Vanessa Ray).
Cece explained how she orchestrated everything after A started texting the girls, and how Charles became her over the years. She also confessed that she had already loved wearing dress up when she was small, and her father sent her to Radley when he found out.
She also said that she and Bethany became friends in Radley, but Bethany was a psycho and she constantly stole the clothes from Mrs. DiLaurentis (Andrea Parker). She also revealed that Bethany was the one who killed Toby's (Keegan Allen) mother in Radley, when Mrs. Cavanaugh accidentally discovered that the young Charles was cross-dressing at the institution's roof top.
Cece then revealed that she accidentally hit Ali in the head when she mistook her sister for Bethany, who escaped Radley to kill their mother. Mrs. Dilaurentis apparently panicked and buried Ali, thinking that she was already dead.
On the other side of the room, Mona realized that she was the one who hit Bethany in the head with a shovel, before Spencer's sister Melissa (Torrey DeVitto) buried her alive.
Also, the girls found out that Cece was not working alone as A when she took over Mona's role. It was revealed that the "Red Coat" and the "Black Widow" is just one person, and it was Sara Harvey (Dre Davis) all along.
At that time, the Liars found out that Sara returned to Radley to plant a bomb. Before Cece detonated the bomb, the Liars managed to deactivate it, and Emily knocked out Sara. After realizing that she is already on a dead end, Cece ran for the roof top to jump. But the Liars and Ali all pleaded for her to stop. Cece changed her mind, and conceded that the A game is finally over.
The summer finale ended with the Liars all bidding goodbye to each other as they embark on a new journey on their own. Ali decided to stay in Rosewood, saying that it is the only place where she belongs.
A five-year time jump was also seen toward the end of the episode, where Ali is now a teacher in Rosewood High School. But while she was about to begin her class, Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and Aria all rushed toward her to warn her about something.
In an interview with Variety, series showrunner I. Marlene King and actress Shay Mitchell gave some hints about the fate of the Liars in the second half of the season.
"They go in their separate ways for five years and then an event brings them back to town and we get to discover a lot more about who they are," King shared.
Mitchell also talked about the changes that will happen to Emily and her friends after five years of being separated. She said that the girls will return to Rosewood somehow changed because of all their new experiences away from each other. She also said that the time jump brings a big change of pace for the story.
"It's going to be really neat to play closer to my age, be out of high school, be out of the classroom, and I think it's going to be interesting because as our fans have grown now, so can we, and we're going to match sort of where they're at, which is really neat," Mitchell said. "I'm excited for everybody to see all the changes that we have. It's a fresh, new show."
The winter season premiere of "Pretty Little Liars" season 6 titled "Of Late I Think of Rosewood" is slated to air in early January 2016.
