With every episode of Pretty Little Liars season 7, the DiLaurentis family seems to expand. Who could the newest member be?
The discovery of Jessica’s lair came with a lot of intriguing questions. The identity of Mary Drake’s second child is, perhaps, the most pressing. We know exactly one thing about this child: they’re the same age as the Liars. There are some other potential clues, however. The child was probably born in Radley, and… actually, that’s really all we have.
That gives us almost nothing to go on, but we’re still going to attempt to crack the case. We’ve assembled the top seven suspects for the mysterious child, and possibly, the A.D. mastermind. We don’t know for sure that Mary Drake’s second child is connected to A.D., but it would make sense if they were.
We know that her first child, Charlotte, had some torturous tendencies, so her sibling could follow in her footsteps. That being said, we still have no idea whether or not we can trust Mary Drake, so the same could be said for her second child.
Some of these candidates are high on the A.D. suspect list, while some could just be innocently unaware that Mary Drake is their mother. Take a look at our theories, then share your own in the comments!
1. Spencer Hastings
Pretty Little Liars fans started theorizing that Spencer might be Mary Drake’s daughter long before we got confirmation that she had a second child. There are a few pieces of compelling evidence, but most of the speculation stems from just one conversation the two women had.
When Mary Drake first came to Rosewood, one of her first stops was the Hastings household. She said that she wished to see Spencer’s parents, but she accepted Spencer’s offer of coffee because she can “never turn down caffeine.” This line was strangely emphasized and holds significance because Pretty Little Liars also made it a point to highlight Spencer’s own addiction to coffee!
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That wasn’t the only stand out line in the conversation. Mary Drake also went on to say that she’d met Spencer before, but that she was too young to remember… like when she was a baby perhaps? We already know that Peter Hastings has a soft spot for the DiLaurentis women, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he would’ve had an affair with Mary, possibly even thinking she was Jessica.
2. Aria Montgomery
The minute that Aria’s file was taken from Jessica’s lair, the “Aria is A” theorists went wild. It has been a widely held opinion in the fandom since before Charlotte’s reveal that Aria is somehow involved in the A game. Since we know that Noel was at the lair that night, it’s likely that he took both his and Aria’s files. However, the fact that he singled out Aria could mean that he’s working with her, or for her.
Aria was the only Liar absent the night of the explosion. We’re led to believe that she was with Ezra, getting ready to elope, but we don’t actually know what the timeline of these events were. The fact that A.D. made sure the Liars were locked safely in the car before the explosion could point to Aria as well. Why would anyone else care about a pretty little casualty?
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There is at least one piece of non-file related evidence that condemns Aria. Mary Drake would’ve had her second child 23 years ago, just before she was released from Radley. This means she got pregnant when she was still in the institution, possibly with another patient. A throwaway line from Byron Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars season 2 might complete the puzzle.
When Mike was going through his classic “breaking and entering” phase, his parents were, understandably, concerned. Byron mentioned that mental illness runs in his family, citing his brother, Scott Montgomery, as an example. We have no confirmation that Scott lived in Radley, but we do know that he was mentally ill, to the point of taking his own life. If he did father a child with Mary Drake in Radley, it makes sense that the child would’ve gone to Byron and Ella!
3. Alison DiLaurentis
That look of terror on Alison’s face when she discovered that her aunt mothered a second child could’ve meant many things. She didn’t have such a great experience with her last cousin, so it’s possible she was simply dreading the existence of another one. However, it could’ve been fear that she, herself, is the child in question.
All we really know about Jessica and Mary’s relationship as sisters is that Jessica has always loved to take things from Mary. That fact is driven home every time we see Mary interact with literally anyone on the show. We know that Jessica took Charlotte away from Mary, so why would she hesitate to take one more child?
It would’ve been easy for Jessica and Kenneth to gain custody over Alison, even after Mary Drake got released. They had a stable home and were already successfully raising a child, while Mary was still a wild card. If Alison is Mary’s child, it could actually lead to a happy ending for both of them. Mary could have the loving child she always wanted, and Alison could have a better shot at a family.
4. Noel Kahn
Noel has definitely proven himself to be involved in something shady in Pretty Little Liars season 7. From the burnt files (his and Mary’s), to his signature, “I see you,” on the window, to the heated phone call, he’s shown us that he’s far from innocent.
We’ve seen the most action from Noel so far, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the mastermind behind the A.D. operation. In fact, given the history of Pretty Little Liars, it almost definitely means that he isn’t.
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Throughout the series, Noel has consistently been involved in whatever sketchy thing is happening to the Liars at the time. However, he has always been the puppet. He’s never pulled the strings. He was working for Alison because he had some big secret that he didn’t want getting out, and it still hasn’t!
What if that secret was regarding his parentage? It’s possible that Noel isn’t involved in the A.D. game at all. He might just be working to uncover the DiLaurentis family secrets, which could also be his own. We heard him on the phone with a Dr. Cochran, saying he was losing time and patience. Well, it just so happens that the signature at the bottom of Mary’s paper work looked a lot like “Dr. Cochran.” Coincidence? We think not.
5. Jenna Marshall
Pretty Little Liars fans just aren’t buying that Jenna came back to Rosewood for forgiveness. Much like Noel, Jenna has never not been involved in something shady on the show. It looks like she’s at it again, because so far, nothing she’s said adds up.
When Jenna heard that Charlotte was in Welby, she just wanted to “reach out.” What? When was the last time you thought you should reach out to a convicted felon with whom you had no prior relationship? Oh, never? Exactly! The only possible explanation for Jenna wanting to get close to Charlotte would be to take down Alison, but in that case, she should’ve left once she realized Charlotte actually cared about Ali.
Of course, there could be another explanation. It looks like Jenna’s main role in her friendship with Charlotte was to help her find her mother. What if Jenna was able to do that because it was her mother too? It’s possible that Jenna even knows that Mary Drake is her mother, or has an inkling. Maybe Noel is trying to contact Dr. Cochran for Jenna because she also knows his secret (just come clean already, Noel!)
Jenna’s connection to Archer Dunhill only adds fuel to this fire. Archer and Mary were closely involved in their plot to get Charlotte’s money, so it’s possible that Jenna met Mary through Archer, or even connected them, herself. We still have no idea how Jenna knew Archer, so any possibility is still open with their relationship.
6. Sara Harvey
One Pretty Little Liars mystery that is still wide open is Sara’s involvement with Charlotte. She helped Charlotte torture the Liars for years, and we still have no idea why. What would be better than a sibling connection to get these girls working together?
We know two things about Sara’s life before the dollhouse. The first, is that she filled a very Alison-like role in her high school. If she was Alison’s cousin, it could explain why they were so similar as teenagers. The second thing, is that her mother wasn’t exactly attentive. Maybe she was adopted, maybe she just made everything up about her mom, or maybe Mary Drake was her mom the whole time!
7. Andrew Campbell
Remember that time when we were all positive that Andrew was A? Remember when we learned a ton of information about him, and then it turned out he was just being framed? One of those tidbits was that he was adopted! Pretty Little Liars loves to throw red herrings at us, but what if this one was something more?
Andrew definitely has that DiLaurentis look about him. So much so, that fans were very quick to jump on the “Andrew is Charles” bandwagon when the option presented itself. Andrew was too involved in the Pretty Little Liars season 6 mystery for there not to be a reason for it.
The video of Jessica with Alison, Jason and Charles was taken at the Campbell farm, and Charlotte very specifically framed Andrew. It’s possible that they knew they were siblings, and were actually working together to torture the Liars from day one. While Charlotte was forced to give herself over to the police, Andrew managed to remain free to continue the game when it was safe to do so.