2012
Pretty Little Liars: “A” discusses what to expect in season 3, the “A team” and the fans reaction to the big “A” reveal
Pretty Little Liars: A discusses what to expect in season 3, the ”A team” and the fans reaction to the big A reveal
*********SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE IDENTITY OF “A” ON PRETTY LITTLE LIARS ************
When season 2 of Pretty Little Liars ended and “A”s hoodie came down fans of the series finally found out “A”s identity. For the last two seasons “A,” the mysterious, evil cyberbully, who tortured and practically destroyed the lives of Hanna, Emily, Spencer and Aria through text messages and evil deeds after the death of their best friend Alison.
Pretty Little Liars Season 3: "A," Mona discusses what to expect for Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars
By the end of season 2 the girls went from being the hunters to the hunted after they discovered “A” was none other than Mona, Hanna’s best friend and confidant. Hanna, Emily, Spencer and Aria believe that all is well now that Mona is locked up behind the padded walls of a mental institution, however; they will soon find out that “A” is not the only person in Rosewood out to destroy them.
Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars promises to be yet another suspenseful, drama-filled, exciting season (season 3 of Pretty Little Liars premieres on ABC Family at 8/7c on June 5th)
Recently we had a chance to get on a call with Janel Parrish who plays Mona aka “A,” on Pretty Little Liars. Here’s what Janel revealed about “A,” her reaction to learning Mona was “A,” the fans reaction and what to expect in season 3 of Pretty Little Liars.
Pretty Little Liars’ Janel Parrish, on Mona, “A,” and what to expect for season 3 of the series
Pretty Little Liars' A: Mona- Actress Janel Parrish Discusses Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars
On what to expect for season 3 of Pretty Little Liars: I do know that Season 3 the premiere will take place six months after Maya’s body was found, so it’s the second anniversary of Alison’s death. Mona will have been in the Radley Sanatorium for the last six months. She’ll get a mysterious visitor. You’ll find out more about that and there will just be more answers and connecting the dots.
On the possibility of seeing more Mona in Season 3: “I’ve just been made a series regular for Season 3, so it’s very exciting. You will see more Mona.”
On the writer’s choice to limit Mona’s screen time in the past 2 seasons of Pretty Little Liars: I think it was very effective because the fact that I wasn’t always everywhere, I wasn’t readily in the public eye, people can’t say, “Oh, it must be Mona. She’s always around.” They’re very smart with the way that they had my character kind of pop in and out every now and then and make an appearance and leave and then kind of start to build upon my character at the end showing me working my way into the group of girls before the big reveal. I think the writers have been really, really smart with that.
On discovering Mona was “A”: “ …I had an idea during the pilot because I read the books, and since I was “A in the books. I’d asked the producers if I was “A” and they were being very coy and saying that I could be “A” but things could change since we’re not following the books exactly. I’d always kind of put it in the back of my mind that I could be “A” and I found out officially the week that we were filming the finale. We got the scripts a week before we started filming it. I read it and I was super excited. It was surreal and it was really hard not to tell anyone that I was “A.”
On when she first suspected Mona was A: I started to suspect that it was me once I started getting texts from “A.” That does happen in the books and I know that Mona was sending them to herself, so I had a feeling that that’s where they were headed with it.
On clue’s about A’s identity during season 1 and 2 of Pretty Little Liars: I think once you look back now that you know who’s “A” you’d definitely find some sly little hints in there. Definitely the scenes where I’m helping Emily hack into the vice principal’s system to find out that he was bribed definitely shows that Mona had some technical skills that people didn’t know about. It also shows that she has a little bit of a devious side.
There is a scene where Mona finds out that Jenna is dating Noel and I saw in the script they wanted me to have a moment where I just looked very angry. I remember it said something like, “Mona is …, and not just in a ‘you stole my boyfriend kind of … off way,’” and that was kind of telling to me that they wanted me to show a different side. I think, yes, if you go back and watch some of the episodes you’d find some hints.
On Pretty Little Liars’ decision to follow the books in regards to A’s identity: I am not surprised that we did follow the books in that way. I like the way they did it because it is such a big part of the books that Mona is “A” that I think fans probably would have been upset if they would have changed that, but I think that the way they revealed it went a little different than the books. Obviously, I didn’t die like I did in the books. I survived and they’re taking it in another direction. I think it’s actually great because the book fans get what they have been hoping for and been wanting and expecting, but they get a little bit more of a twist to keep them excited.
On who she thought A was if it wasn’t Mona: My first suspect before I knew it was me was probably Jenna. She would make a creepy “A.”
On fan reactions after A’s identity was revealed: Yes. I’ve been on Twitter. It’s crazy. A lot of it has been great. People are very excited that I’m “A” and they want to see where it goes. A lot of them said that they knew. A lot of them were shocked. Some of them I guess feel a little disappointed because I guess they were under the impression that it would be different from the books, but really we’ve never said that “A” would be different from the books. We said that the reveal would be different and it kind of was. It didn’t happen exactly the way it went in the books. They will have nothing to worry about because there will be a lot more surprises coming their way.
On her favorite A moment during Pretty Little Liars season 1 and 2: I love when “A” sends an exterminator to their house and says that there is some type of infestation in Hanna’s basement because Caleb’s living there. I love that. “A” has done some creepy stuff.
On transforming into A from Mona: It was funny Marlene one of the first things she said to me when I was getting ready to do my first scene as “A” was, “Make sure you don’t do your sing song talk voice that you do for Mona.” I had to make sure that I completely changed my vocal inflection, which is hard for me because I kind of sing song everything anyway. It was different getting into a different mindset and I actually go to play three different characters in the finale – the dorky Mona, popular Mona, and crazy Mona. Kind of like an actor’s dream. It was really fun. It was like a workshop for me.
On putting on the A hoodie for the first time: the first time I put the hoodie on and I looked at myself in the mirror and it was like this is going to be really creepy and weird.
On Marlene King’s tweet that Mona did al the things that “A” did, except for two things: …was kind of surprised because I don’t really know what she means yet.
On the two things “A” did that she hopes Mona was not a part of: I don’t think [Mona] did the creepy massage [to Emily] because I was with Ken at the horse stable so that’s probably one of them. Maybe setting the fire on Jenna. I would like to think someone else other than her doing that, but I’m not sure.
On who she wants to see Mona get revenge on: …probably Hanna just because I feel like she’s the easiest target and she’s the most vulnerable right now. I would love to see a cat fight.
On Mona’s relationship with Hanna going forward: It’s safe to say their friendship is ruined. I kind of hope to see a showdown. I think that would be awesome. If Mona and Hanna meet face-to-face, I think it would be a very interesting interaction so I’m hoping Marlene gives that to me. It would be fun.
On Rosewood: …nothing is unconnected in Rosewood. It’s a creepy little town. There are creepy little people in it, so I wouldn’t be surprised if everything is connected in some way. I just don’t’ know to what extent yet.
On what ABC show she would like to see Pretty Little Liars crossover with: Revenge. I love that show so much.
On the Pretty Little Liars and Twin Peaks connection: I love Twin Peaks and yes, absolutely I see the correlation. I definitely think that Pretty Little Liars is like a modern slightly less creepy version of Twin Peaks and it’s great. It’s a small town. The queen bee dies. Everyone’s a suspect. Everyone has a secret, so I actually love that.
On Real Life Mean Girls: Oh, definitely. I live in Los Angeles and I’m in the entertainment business. I think every girl, especially like high schoolers, can really relate to the show because you have to deal with people bullying you and making you feel bad about yourself every day. You just have to have confidence in yourself and be strong. I think young girls can definitely relate to the show.
What are you most looking forward to seeing when Pretty Little Liars season 3 premieres on ABC Family (Monday June 5th at 8/7c)? Did you think the series made the right choice for “A?” Any guess as to who is on the “A team?” Tell us in the comments.
