Producers say that our most pressing questions will be answered — but that doesn’t mean new mysteries won’t emerge. Still, producer Marlene King says, “We do have a final endgame. We’ve known what the ending was since the pilot.”
Emily, Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Mona look over the latest text from "A" in the Season 4 premiere.
Via: ABC Family
All your most pressing Pretty Little Liars questions will be answered in Season 4.
OK, not all of them — but enough that the show's producers are dubbing Season 4 the "season of answers." For those who have followed Pretty Little Liars' winding journey to this point, that's an attractive proposition.
"We have to give people answers," creator and executive producer Marlene King told BuzzFeed Monday night at the Paley Center's preview of Pretty Little Liars Season 4. "In the books, I think what Sara Shepard did the best was give us some answers but then ask new questions."
So there's the rub: yes, some of the dangling loose ends will be tied up. But don't expect to be any less confused or frustrated as Season 4 progresses. As for what will be answered conclusively, King was willing to reveal a couple key details.
"You will find out in Season 4 if Alison is alive and if she isn't," King said, referring to the ambiguous Season 3 finale. "And you will find out who 'Red Coat' is in Season 4."
Is that bird "A"? Probably not.
Via: ABC Family
There's a lot of give and take, which is to be expected with any series that has stretched out its mystery over several seasons. As executive producer Bob Levy noted, it's about finding that balance.
"There are more answers in Season 4 than there have been in previous seasons," he reiterated. "By the same token, we're looking for new involvement, new mysteries."
Levy referred to "the ghost of Twin Peaks: Once you solve a problem, do people come back?" he wondered. But Pretty Little Liars is adept at layering new mysteries on top of the old ones — and never providing that much closure.
For King, the series' smaller mysteries are a great way to keep the plot moving while still not giving too much away. It's a sustainable model that has carried Pretty Little Liars through more seasons than one might have expected from the initial pitch.
"We do have a final endgame," King revealed. "We've known what the ending was since the pilot. The beauty of the show is that although there's this big overarching mystery of what happened to Alison and who 'A' is, we have these mini-mysteries within the season."
Those mini-mysteries, she explained, could go on for "years and years and years."
