Alloy Entertainment: What will we learn about A this season and will we get any significant clues about his/her identity?
JD: Yes, you will. When I think about what we’re doing over the next few episodes, it’s some of the most aggressive storytelling we’ve done. And that means we have quite a bit at stake; we want to create a good simmer before we go right for the big shocker this winter season. You’ll learn a lot – but you’ll learn it in a very unexpected way.

 

Alloy Entertainment: It’s honestly amazing what you and the writers do. You have to map out so many episodes year after year — for a serial drama no less — and you still manage to create so much intrigue and suspense.
JD: It’s always exciting, but it can also create dizziness and vertigo. [Laughs.]

 

Alloy Entertainment: As much as we hate the fact that Mona died in PLL 5×12, the flashbacks of her have been tremendous. Will we be seeing more of her and has she left the girls any significant clues?
JD: I would say yes and yes to that question. That little taste you got of her in her bedroom in the [Season 5 winter] premiere? I revisit it in episodes that I’ve done and I know others have as well. There’s a lot more to be uncovered there. As for the other flashbacks, they’re kind of like the original Ali ones seeing as there’s quite a bit of material in them for the girls to chew, decode, and figure out.

 

Alloy Entertainment: Speaking of Ali, how will life in the clink work out for her? In our personal opinion, we can picture her ruling over the joint.
JD: When I think about Ali’s situation right now, I’d say that this is not a world she’s prepared to be part of. This is somebody who only knows how to control, and ironically she’s stuck in a place where she doesn’t have any control. It’s interesting to watch Sasha [Pieterse] play the part because this a very challenged [version of] Alison. She’s in a tough environment and definitely does not want to be there.

 

Alloy Entertainment: In the Christmas special, we found out that Ali and Detective Holbrook are sort of an item. Will he be using his connections within the police department to help her out? Or is he using her the way she’s used so many other people?
JD: For the first part of the winter season, Holbrook is operating in the shadows. He’s still sort of a presence with the girls and is acting against them. But, he will make a rather dramatic return halfway through the season.

 

Alloy Entertainment: Oh goodness. He was so creepy when he confronted Aria at the Ice Ball and revealed his dark side. We were all, ‘Get outta here you!’
JD: Ohhhhh…we have darkness yet to come. [Laughs.] We are actually doing something we’ve never done before. Since the beginning [of the show], we’ve always been a little more dangerous. When ABC Family first decided to put us on the air we wondered how much they’d let us do or get away with — but they’ve been nothing short of supportive, especially in terms of the scarier, darker stuff. I think this is one of the main reasons why PLL stands out the way that it does. There’s some crazy stuff coming up and I’d say this is season you should definitely not watch the show alone.

 

Alloy Entertainment: Will Mona’s and Bethany’s murder cases be resolved in Season 5B? Or is there more to each mystery than meets the eye?
JD: We are moving towards a resolution. The perfect scenario would be if the fans figured it a half a second before we revealed the answer. So we want to play it fair and we want everyone to participate in the investigation before we share this one huge clue. There’s a lot to be revealed in this first half of the season.

 

Alloy Entertainment: The synopsis for PLL 5×16 teases that A is trying to frame Hanna for murder. Why Hanna though? Hasn’t she suffered enough?
JD: You know what, when I think of Hanna throughout the past few seasons, she’s changed so much. She truly reinvented herself. People used to like to point out, particularly when they saw Sasha [Pieterse] and Ashley [Benson] together onscreen, how much Hanna tried to be like Ali. I think Hanna at the start of the show was a bit of a victim — I’m sorry, a target rather; she was not 100% confident in herself and her abilities, but you’re definitely going to see that confidence grow. She’s a tough little cookie who’s currently trying to find the non Ali-inspired version of herself.

 

Alloy Entertainment: That’s a great way of putting it — the non-Ali Hanna. In general, the girls really seem to be breaking away from Ali this season, and they basically handed her over to Detective Tanner in “Through The Glass, Darkly.”
JD: Well, is it a betrayal or is it being true to yourself? Sometimes it’s both and sometimes it’s neither. What happened at the end of episode 5×14 is veeeery complicated and is going to keep on echoing throughout the rest of Season 5B.

 

Alloy Entertainment: What surprised us most was that Emily participated in the plot to set Ali up…only to discover that Ali maybe isn’t A after all. How will this “betrayal” affect their dynamic?
JD: When it comes to Ali, Emily never really knows what her emotions are towards this girl. She takes a step back, she takes a step forward. She’s willing to do this, she’s willing to do that, but she also questions her. I would say that basically out of the four primary Liars, Emily is least like the girl that Alison left behind. Emotionally speaking, she’s a totally different young woman. And I think Emily’s still trying to figure out what her relationship with Ali is.

 

Alloy Entertainment: Lijah Barasz mentioned that you wrote all the scenes between Emily and Paige in the winter premiere, and we just want to commend you on a job well done. They were heartbreakingly beautiful! That being said, how did the writers reach the decision to send Paige away and will she back in any capacity?
JD: Thank you so much! Shay and Lindsey were so great, weren’t they? They truly did an incredible job with those scenes. As for your question: From a storytelling perspective, people who are in happy relationships and have been together for a long time don’t provide a lot of drama — so we have to challenge them somehow. And one of the ways you challenge a couple is you separate them to see what happens. We have not come to any final decisions about what’s going to happen to Paige and Emily beyond Season 5; we have not seen the last of Paige. Basically what we all felt is that it was time to put one of the significant others at a safe distance and see how it’d all play out. And when you think about it, it’s very rare on our show that any of the girls’ love interests is actually safe; it’s dangerous to be romantically involved with a Pretty Little Liar. Any time their significant others try to help, it just creates more jeopardy.

 

Alloy Entertainment: Speaking of relationship drama, hear that tension is brewing between Spencer and Toby. What causes a rift between the two and will they be able to resolve their issues?
JD: It’s his job actually. I think he assumed that becoming a cop would allow him to assist Spencer and her friends in a way that’s not working out. The good news though is that he’s taking his job seriously and feels a tremendous sense of duty. As of now, there seem to be two main forces at play: what would work best for the girls versus what he feels would be appropriate in terms of the job he’s sworn to do. What you see [in episode 5×15] — of how he reacts to finding the knife in the woods — is just the beginning of his internal conflict.

 

Alloy Entertainment: Ezra and Aria have been going strong despite the crime novel incident. What’s the forecast on their romance? Will Aria’s college woes interfere — perhaps even, um, Jackie Molina?
JD: Wow! That’s a loaded one. [Laughs.] I can’t tease too much about Ezra and Aria’s relationship right now. You’ll have to wait and see what happens. However, I can tell you that Jackie’s return is not directly related to any of the criminal investigations.

 

Alloy Entertainment: There are so many storylines happening in Season 5. Which character, in your professional opinion, will surprise viewers the most and why?
JD: A lot of storylines? Oh brother, don’t I know it. Don’t I know it! [Laughs.] But in response to your question….You know I could be really coy and say Mona. However, I think you really have to keep an eye on Mike Montgomery. And out of the four girls? [Insert dramatic pause.] I think all of them, including Ali basically, they’re all forced to look at themselves in ways they haven’t before and this will reflected through the decisions they make. They are trying to see how they can move forward with their lives — and if it’s even possible. But, coming back to my initial response, I’m really intrigued by what’s going on with Mike.

 

 

     

AfterEllen: There is always so much at stake in Rosewood, but are the stakes higher for anyone in particular in “How the ‘A’ Stole Xmas”?

I. Marlene King: Well definitely it’s Spencer. When we last saw her, she was arrested for Bethany’s murder and she is out on parole, but it is looking like a very grim holiday season for Spencer when we see her. She’s definitely the Scrooge of the episode. She has no desire to celebrate anything happy or merry about Christmas. So the Pretty Little Liars are gifted with a treasure map of sorts that give them hope to find a way to give Spencer a merry Christmas.

AE: Have you paid homage to some classic Christmas tales for this episode?

IMK: Well we really paid homage to A Christmas Carol, but we’ve also thrown a little Hitchcock in there. I would say if you wanted to classify the episode, it’s kind of A Christmas Carol meets Rear Window.

AE: [laughs] I would expect nothing less of Pretty Little Liars. As you know, we here at AE are very invested in Emily’s happiness and love life. She and Paige have been through a lot, and at Xmas seem to have reconnected in a meaningful way. What does this episode mean for their relationship?

IMK.: Well a lot has happened with them. There’s a bittersweetness to that relationship in the episode, that I think also embodies Christmas for so many people. They have a very heartfelt moment.

AE: Obviously so much has changed since Alison came back. This episode looks to be a big turning point for her. How will Mona’s brutal death and a visit from her ghost affect her?

IMK: We will see, when we come back in 5B, if her encounter with Mona helps to shed light on where her character may be going in our world. It’s a big part of the Christmas story, and Mona’s ghost really comes to enlighten her. Janel Parrish embodies these ghosts of the several Christmases. She just had such a great time on this episode, and you just really see it in all the choices she made as an actress.

AE: There are many fierce Emison and Paily shippers out there, which is kind of unique to Emily’s situation because the other Liars haven’t really had that sort of intense triangle before. Did you ever anticipate the amount of dedication on both sides?

IMK.: You know, it’s interesting. When fans started realizing that Alison was coming back, we saw this big wave of Emison fanship starting, so I kind of got a sense that it was going to get big, and it has. And it’s interesting to watch because they are die hards, even when we see Alison at her most manipulative. It’s kind of funny that those fans still want to see these two together. They are in it for the long haul.

AE: What’s a little ax murdering between friends, right?

IMK.: Yeah, they don’t care. I get it—everybody has their favorites and that’s such a fun part about what makes this show special. I always enjoy reading their comments. I just always sort of say, “Play nice,” because that’s the only love triangle on the show where I see a lot of social media conversation happening around those two couples, and it keeps people really engaged, and usually they have fun with each other.

AE: I know you can’t give away any spoilers, but what was one of your favorite parts of this episode?

IMK.: I love the Rear Window element of the show. It’s genuinely so suspenseful and scary, and also so beautiful. Larry Reibman, our D.P. (Director of Photography) did such a great job lighting this episode, and Fred (Andrews) our Production Designer, really went all out. The whole episode just looks so different from anything we’ve ever done, and is so different from anything we’ve ever done. I think my most favorite part is how original it looks and feels. It really delivers on what I wanted from the Christmas special, and I wanted this episode since the beginning of the show. We had to do it in a way we all knew felt super special and big.

AE: Now that you’ve done Halloween specials, and a massive Christmas special, the next questions is (and people have been talking about this for a while), will PLL every try a musical episode?

IMK: [laughs] You know, we’ve talked about it a lot. I don’t know, I just don’t know. So far that answer to that would be no, but you never know. We might come up with some great idea. I fear that it would not be organic to what this show is, but I never say never.

 

 

#PrettyLittleLiars' Interview: Keegan Allen Says the Ultimate 'A' Reveal Is 'Mind-Blowing' http://t.co/HcfP44xvqB pic.twitter.com/uSboem3Anj

— PrettyLittleLiarsTV (@_PLLTV) 23 november 2014

Klicka på länken för att läsa artikeln om julavsnittet!

@PLLKristen: How long did you know that Mona was going to die?
Janel Parrish: I got the call from Marlene the day before the table read for the episode It was funny because I was really nervous, you always here that when Marlene personally calls the talent, there might be something happening. So when I got the call and they said, 'I've got Marlene on the line,' I was just like 'Oh no, am I in trouble? Because I feel like I just got called into the principal's office!' And she was like, 'No you're not in trouble but I want to tell you that in the next script you are dying. But don't worry, you're not losing your job, we're still going to have you in flashbacks.'

 

@GraceCordy10: What was your first reaction when you found out Mona would die?
JP: Well, at first my heart stopped! But then when she said don't worry you still have a job, I was like, 'Oh okay! You can turn my character into a monkey and I'd still be fine.'

 

 

@Ayyeitszemi: How did the cast react to Mona's death?
JP: There was definitely a lot of shocked faces and people asking like, 'Oh no! Wait, are you not on the show any more?!' And I was just like, 'No no no, you're still stuck with me!' I'm still here, just in a different capacity, which is fine, and I think it will actually be a fun twist on the show.

 

 

ETonline: Do you think Mona put up a good fight before being killed off?
JP: I think she put up a great fight! As you can see there are bloody handprints everywhere and the glass was broken. I think Mona fought with every last breath she had and maybe "A" has a few scratches and bruises on whoever they are because I don’t think Mona went down without a fight.

 

 

ETonline: So you think Mona definitely discovered who "A" is in the final moments before she died?
JP: She definitely saw whoever it was in the face, and now she's dead because of it.

 

 

@Louisxlie: How did you feel filming the final scene with Mona in the trunk?
JP: Honestly, it was just really hard to keep my eyes open! [Laughs] I was like okay I just have to keep my eyes open for one more second and then they'll cut, and thankfully it worked out. It wasn't eerie for me to see to see it on TV because I knew that it was just me keeping my eyes open, and I was like 'Yay! I didn’t blink!' But for everybody I know, they were upset seeing me like that.

 

 

@LifeOfThaParty: If Mona didn't die what would been her next plan?
JP: Well she was definitely planning to take down Alison. I think she would've found the girls, and found the police, and found a way to nail Alison to the crimes that she believes she found evidence to. And those were all pretty good colleges, I think she would've been just fine anywhere.

 

 

@TinyHales: Do you think Mona redeemed herself after being "A"?
JP: I think that she did and I think ultimately that's why [the liars] feel so guilty, and they feel so bad that right when they decided to trust Mona and she does redeem herself, she dies. They get this text from "A saying it's all your fault, and now they're stuck with this guilt and they're wondering if there is something they could've done to help her. If they had trusted her from the very beginning, or let her in their inner circle from the very beginning, would this still have happened?

 

 

@Fan4me: Janel, are you in the Christmas special?
JP: I actually will be in the Christmas episode and it's going to be really fun! I get to be the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future and I have to say, the costume and the hair and make-up is going to be unbelievable. It might as well be a Halloween episode because my costume is amazing, it looks like a Halloween costume. So I think it's going to be really really cool episode, and it's going to be fun and creepy. Even though it's a Christmas special, and kind of like a fantasy episode, there are still a lot of answers to correct questions on the show. I think it's important that even though it's a special, the fans should still treat it as an episode.

 

 

ETonline: Are we going to see Mike's reaction to Mona's death and do you think that her feelings for Mike were truly genuine?
JP: You will see Mike's reaction to it and he's devastated and it's so sad because Cody has got such a puppy face. And yes, I do think that Mona's feelings for Mike were genuine—I think they had a really sweet and romantic episode andf I think that also adds to the devestation to Mona's death.

 

 

ETonline: Lastly, do you have a message you'd like to give to your fans?
JP: Yes! I want them to know that I love them so much, and not to be sad for me. They can be sad for Mona, I totally get it, but don't be sad for me because I'm not going anywhere. I love being a part of the show and I'm going to continue being a part of the show as long as they want me on there, and from what I'm hearing, that's a while. I'll be on the show and with the cast just in flashbacks and I'm totally okay with that. You have not seen the last of Mona—she will still be the crazy dynamic Mona, even after death.

 

Hur känner ni med Mona's chockerande död? Är ni exalterade inför att hon fortfarande är en stor del av PLL? Kommentera nedan vad ni tycker!

 Klicka dig gärna in på länken för då kan du läsa en ny intervju med Sasha Pieterse (Alison). Hon svarar bland annat på frågor om tvillingteorin och om "Emison".

.@SashaaPieterse talks #Emison, the “Pretty Little Liars” season finale http://t.co/rFVD8XDKhe @ABCFpll #FAtalFinale pic.twitter.com/Gp8mYh9QRm

— AfterEllen.com (@afterellen) 25 augusti 2014

 

Keegan Allen (Toby) erkänner att han inte heller förstår sig på PLL vissa gånger haha.

 

"Var ärlig: Om jag bad dig att förklara handlingen i showen just nu, speciellt allt det här som händer med Toby och Betania och Jessica DiLaurentis och Radley, hade du kunnat göra det?"
- Jag tror inte att jag hade kunnat göra det. Jag tror faktiskt inte att jag kan göra det. Eftersom det finns mycket som förändras inom detta universum hela tiden. I den första, andra och tredje säsongen, hade jag kunnat jag göra det. Fjärde säsongen, har jag mindre information, och den femte säsongen är ännu mer så på det sättet.

Vilka är de bästa fan teorierna du har hört?
- En av mina favoriter är att sättet showen skulle sluta, är att i slutet är dom alla tillsammans, och de inser att tittarna är A. Att det är en person i rummet och det visar sig vara publiken självt."

 

Läs hela intervjun med honom HÄR eller klicka på bilden.

 

Läs en exklusiv intervju med Lucy Hale HÄR!

 

 

 

 

Visste ni att I. Marlene King har planerat den nya karaktären Sydney och hennes plats i serien i flera säsonger? Hmm.. vad tror ni hon har för roll?

 

Klicka HÄR eller på bilden för att läsa mer.