The most shocking deaths in ‘Pretty Little Liars’ ranked

“Pretty Little Liars” main cast Troian Bellisario, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell and Ashley Benson.Andrew Eccles/ Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

“Pretty Little Liars” followed a group of girls who are tormented by a stalker called A.

On their long journey to solve the mystery of A, the girls came across many dead bodies.

Insider has ranked the most shocking deaths, both fake and permanent, across the seven seasons.

19. Bethany Young

Bethany (Jessica Belkin) was killed in the pilot episode.Freeform

Bethany Young (Jessica Belkin) is technically introduced in season five but we’ve seen her since the first season.

The series begins with Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse), the school mean girl, disappearing after a sleepover with her friends, Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario), Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson), Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), and Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell).

Later that episode, after a one-year time jump, Alison’s body is found and it is believed that she is dead.

As the mysteries continue across the following seasons, it is revealed that Alison is actually alive and is trying to hide from a mysterious threat. This left a big question as to who was the body that the police found in the first season.

Towards the end of episode five “Miss Me x 100” in season five, the main characters congregate around a TV to find out the answer via a police news conference.

The body was and had always been Bethany Young, an institutionalized girl who had escaped her mental institution, Radley Sanitarium.

Across the remaining seasons, we find out more about the character and the circumstances of her death. However, the death can’t be classed as shocking as we never learn about Bethany before her death.

18. Marion Cavanaugh

Marion was pushed off of Radley Sanitarium by Bethany.Freeform

Marion Cavanaugh (Karla Droege) is another death that is not shocking for the audience because she is dead before she is properly introduced.

Marion is the mother of Toby (Keegan Allen), one Spencer’s love interests.

While the character was first seen in a flashback in season four, her grave was defaced by Spencer in season three.

Toby starts looking into the mystery of his mother’s suicide at Radley Sanitarium and discovers that Bethany had pushed Marion off the roof, killing her in the process.

Story continues

17. Alison DiLaurentis

Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis on “Pretty Little Liars.”Freeform

Alison’s fake death in episode one of season one is only slightly more shocking than Bethany’s because it is the series’ first big twist.

A year after Alison’s disappearance, the Liars – Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna – start to receive messages about secrets that were shared with the missing girl from a person called A.

All signs point to Alison tormenting her friends until the end of the episode when the four girls find out that Alison’s body has been found. It was this mystery that got most fans immediately hooked on the show.

However, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a very shocking death for the audience because we still knew very little about Alison.

16. Darren Wilden

Darren’s crimes eventually caught up with him.Freeform

By the time Darren Wilden (Bryce Johnson), also known as Beach Hottie, died in season four, the series had exhibited a predictable formula of characters being killed, and Wilden had a ginormous target on his back.

There is nothing good to say about Wilden, a detective assigned to solve Alison’s murder. The man spends most of the four seasons harassing the Liars. He is shown to accept multiple bribes and alter evidence. He also dated and had sex with a minor, Alison, when he was in college.

By this point of the series, most of the antagonists who aren’t A end up getting killed off one by one. In fact, Wilden had a fake death a few episodes before his demise when Ashley Marin accidentally runs him over in fear that he will shoot her or hurt Hanna.

Hence by the time the actual death came, at the hands of A, no one was surprised or even sad. Good riddance, “Beach Hottie.”

15. Lyndon James

Lyndon ended up being Maya’s killer.Freeform

Lyndon James (Sterling Sulieman) was another character whose villainy led to his own death.

The character first appears in season three assuming the identity of Nate St. Germain, the cousin of a girl who died in the town, called Maya St. Germain (Bianca Lawson). Lyndon pursues Emily because of her romantic relationship with Maya.

It is eventually revealed that Lyndon was actually a stalker who killed Maya when she broke up with him.

Lyndon then attempts to kill Emily’s new lover, Paige. Instead, Emily kills him in self-defense.

The fact that Lyndon died wasn’t entirely shocking. But it was a major cliffhanger with the audience hearing a gunshot without seeing who was shot.

14. Archer Dunhill

Archer was the third character to be killed by one of the Liars.Freeform

Archer Dunhill (Huw Collins) was killed too late and too predictably to be incredibly shocking.

Dunhill is first introduced as Dr. Elliot Rollins in season six. He is a former lover of Alison, who is now an adult, and the doctor of Alison’s cousin, Charlotte DiLaurentis (Vanessa Ray).

After Charlotte is killed, Elliot consoles Alison and eventually the pair get married. This is when the character completely changes, gaslights Alison until she admits herself into Welby psychiatric hospital, tortures her, and steals all her money.

Karma comes in the form of Hanna hitting Elliot with a car, killing him instantly. The death is only slightly shocking due to it being so quick and brutal.

13. Shana Fring

Shana’s “A” plan led to her own downfall.Freeform

Shana Fring (Aeriel Miranda) is another character who was killed by the Liars.

Shana first appeared as a mysterious character in the series’ third season. It is eventually revealed that she was a childhood friend of Alison who was sent to be a spy for the missing girl.

Shana instead befriends Jenna Marshall (Tammin Sursok), a girl who was accidentally blinded by Alison and her friends, and thus pretended to be “A” to take revenge on the four girls.

After cornering the girls in the opening episode of season five, Shana is knocked off a stage by Aria who sneaks up on her.

The shocking part of this death is that the simple fall ends up permanently killing her.

At this point, there have been multiple fake deaths and close shaves that should have killed a person. This death seemed too simple to be true.

12. Sara Harvey

Sara Harvey was another one of Emily’s love interests to be killed.Freeform

Sara Harvey (Dre Davis) was a complicated character.

She is first mentioned in season four when the Liars are attempting to find out who could have been mistaken for Alison in the grave. They discover Sara had disappeared at the same time as Alison and as they look deeper, it seems that there are multiple similarities between the two characters.

It turns out Sara was working for the big villain, Charlotte DiLaurentis, the whole time she disappeared and assisted in A’s stalking and torturing of the Liars and Alison.

After the time jump, Sara returns to assist Jenna but this ends up leading to her downfall.

Sara falls for Emily and attempts to defend her, leading to her being backstabbed by Noel Kahn (Brant Daugherty), another ally of Jenna.

This was surprising considering that her closeness to both Emily and the villains made it seem like she would be sticking around for a little longer.

11. Noel Kahn

Noel Kahn (Brant Daugherty) and Jenna Marshall (Tammin Sursok)Freeform

Noel Kahn (Brant Daugherty), a character who receives no development other than being the shadiest character in Rosewood, creates the circumstances of his own death.

Noel isn’t really an antagonist but spends most of the series at odds with the four girls, despite technically spending all that time helping to hide their friend Alison.

However, when he returns in season seven, after not really being part of the plot for two seasons, he becomes the prime suspect for the new villain, AD.

If there’s one thing about suspects in “Pretty Little Liars,” they are either run out of Rosewood or get killed. Hence it’s not too surprising when he kicks the bucket in episode 10.

The shock value comes from how brutal the death is, Noel is pushed back into an ax and accidentally gets decapitated.

Noel wasn’t the best person in the world, but there are several characters who would deserve this sort of death over him.

10. Wayne Fields

Wayne deserved better than an off-screen death.Freeform

Wayne Fields (Eric Steinberg), the father of Emily, dies while in the army in between the time jump in season six.

While the character was not around for most of the previous seasons — Wayne was a lieutenant colonel in the US Army — he was a consistent and caring member of the Fields family whenever he did return. He was even more supportive of Emily than her mother after the character came out to her parents.

Wayne deserves better than being killed off-screen without notice.

9. Ian Thomas

Ian was the first character to be killed on-screen.Freeform

Ian Thomas (Ryan Merriman) was one of the rare characters in “Pretty Little Liars” who was actually killed in an on-screen death.

Ian was a coach at Rosewood High and the love interest, and eventual husband, of Spencer’s older sister Melissa (Torrey DeVitto).

Flashbacks in season one show that the couple had originally broken up because of his relationship with Spencer, despite her being a minor. However, Melissa takes him back and nearly has his child.

Ian eventually becomes the biggest suspect for A in season one, especially when videotapes show he had met up with Alison on the night of her disappearance.

In the season one finale, Ian tries to kill Spencer in a church because she knows too much about what happened. During the chase, Ian is pushed off a bell tower’s landing by a mysterious figure, who turns out to be Alison, and the bell’s rope is wrapped around his neck.

This was an incredibly dramatic way to end the first season and one of the most brutal methods a character was killed on the show.

8. Charlotte DiLaurentis

The big A was somehow put down in season six.Freeform

For those unaware, Charlotte DiLaurentis, also known as Cece Drake, was the original A that caused Alison to disappear.

Charlotte was Alison’s secret cousin who was sent to Radley Sanitarium. While there, Charlotte’s aunt and adoptive mother, Jessica DiLaurentis, helped Charlotte transition into a woman, concocting a fake story that the character’s previous identity had died.

Eventually, Charlotte befriends Alison as a teenager under the guise of Cece Drake. However, due to mistaken identity, Charlotte hits Alison in the head with a rock on the night of her disappearance.

Charlotte is sent back to Radley by Jessica and upon meeting Mona, she takes over as A to torment the girls until she is caught and arrested in season six.

After the time jump in season six, Charlotte is let out of her psychiatric ward but is killed on her first night of freedom, setting off the chain of events that causes the second stalker, AD, to arrive.

It is later revealed she was killed by Mona to stop her tormenting the Liars again.

Charlotte’s death was shocking because despite having multiple enemies, she seemed too manipulative and skilled to get killed herself.

However, it does make sense that the person who first allowed Charlotte to become A should be the one to stop her.

7. Wren Kingston

Wren got caught in the crossfire by final stalker AD.Freeform

Wren Kingston (Julian Morris), a doctor and volunteer at Radley, was often painted as an ally of the Liars across the first four seasons.

However, Wren was another character to have inappropriate makeout sessions with underaged girls, which means he wasn’t exactly morally righteous from the start.

After appearing again in season seven, it is revealed in the show’s finale that Wren had been working with AD since Charlotte’s death to torment the Liars.

AD is revealed to be the identical twin sister of Spencer, Alex Drake (Troian Bellisario), who wanted to punish the girls for the death of Charlotte.

Wren helps her to an extent but when he refuses Alex’s plan to take over Spencer’s identity, Alex kills him and turns his ashes into a necklace.

Wren being killed by Alex isn’t entirely shocking. However, the dramatic revelation that comes with his death makes it rank higher on this list.

6. Yvonne Phillips

Yvonne was likely killed off so that Toby and Spencer could get back together.Freeform

Yvonne Phillips (Kaya Royster) may be one of the only characters in “Pretty Little Liars” to have an early death that is not caused directly by another person.

After the time jump in season six, Toby moved on and started dating Yvonne, who is first introduced in episode 14. They later get engaged but start getting threatened by the new A due to Toby’s closeness to Spencer.

In season seven, episode 10, the pair try to leave Rosewood but on their journey, they hit a deer and crash.

Yvonne is put in a medically induced coma due to her injuries. When she awakes, the pair get married and she slowly dies in his embrace.

While the scene is devastating, Yvonne’s death is shocking because other characters have survived a lot worse, including being electrocuted.

It seems like this was just a simple way to get rid of the character so that Spencer and Toby could end up together.

5. Mona Vanderwaal

Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal on “Pretty Little Liars.”Freeform

Although Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish) faked her own death, as a former A and literal criminal mastermind, it was incredibly surprising when it seemed the character had been killed off.

Mona was originally a nerd who was bullied by Alison before her disappearance. After Alison leaves, Mona takes over as the queen bee of Rosewood High with Hanna, until Hanna rejoins the Liars following Alison’s alleged death.

Mona then becomes A to punish the girls, although the timeline for this is confusing since the girls started receiving messages before they became friends.

Throughout the series, Mona switched between ally and enemy until her alleged death in season five. At this point, it seemed Mona had proof of who the new A was and was about to tell the girls. The stalker had other plans and the Liars instead turned up at a house filled with blood and no Mona.

In a shocking turn of events, it seemed sure Mona had been killed brutally and that Alison was the culprit.

4. Garrett Reynolds

Garrett was doomed the moment he was arrested.Freeform

Garrett Reynolds’ (Yani Gellman) death in season three seemed inevitable.

He was another no-good police officer assigned to the case of Alison’s death. Instead, he started dating Jenna and assisted her in blackmailing the girls.

This leads to him being used as the fall guy for both the murder of Alison and Maya at the end of season two.

Garrett starts spilling his secrets in season three, making him a target for a lot of people in the town. When he is released, Garrett is killed by Wilden and a blackmailed Melissa in episode 13 while attending a spooky masquerade party on a train.

However, the circumstances of Garrett’s death made it more shocking. In the episode, Garrett reveals to Spencer more information about the night Alison disappeared. When she goes to find her friends, Garrett is taken away.

Then Aria, who is also at the masquerade train party, gets drugged and awakes in a crate next to Garrett’s dead body.

The scene gets even more intense when unknown people try to throw the crate off the train with Aria inside. Aria only survives by stabbing one of the people with a screwdriver, causing both of them to flee.

3. Jessica DiLaurentis

Jessica seemed too close to A to be murdered.Freeform

While many adults were killed on the show, the parents were left out of the murder spree. At least that was the case until the death of Jessica DiLaurentis (Andrea Parker) in the season four finale.

Jessica first appeared in the series pilot for Alison’s funeral but didn’t become a main character until her return in season two when she moved back into the DiLaurentis house.

From there, a lot of her shameful backstory is revealed, such as the fact that she had her son Jason through an affair with Spencer’s father and that she had a secret daughter, Charlotte.

While the Liars are in New York during the season four finale, we see a scene where Jessica is buried in a garden. This comes as a complete surprise because Jessica seemed to have no enemies nor was she an A suspect. In fact, it looked as if she helped A attempt to kill Alison.

It is later revealed in season seven that Jessica’s death wasn’t really related to A. She was killed by her secret identical twin sister Mary Drake (Andrea Parker) because Jessica attempted to kill her. Charlotte found her body and buried her body in Spencer’s backyard.

2. Toby Cavanaugh

Toby Cavanaugh teamed up with Mona to fake his death in “Pretty Little Liars.”Freeform

Toby Cavanaugh’s (Keegan Allen) fake death might be one of the most emotional deaths of the entire show and that is entirely due to Troian Bellisario’s acting.

Toby is the stepbrother of Jenna and Spencer’s on-off boyfriend throughout the show.

Towards the end of season three, a major plot twist occurs with Toby seemingly assisting A in tormenting the Liars. Spencer finds out he is part of the “A-Team” but before she can find out why she finds a dead body with a tattoo matching Toby’s. However, she never checks to see if it’s actually Toby.

Spencer is distraught and it is one of the few times the audience feels the loss of one of the characters.

The next few episodes are even harder to watch as Spencer falls into a deep depression due to the death. Toby had a lot to make up for when he is revealed to be alive in the season four finale.

1. Maya St. Germain

Maya (Bianca Lawson) deserved so much better.ABC Family/Freeform

There are a lot of characters who deserve better in “Pretty Little Liars” and Maya St. Germain (Bianca Lawson) is one such person.

Maya and her family move into Alison’s old house in the show’s pilot. Over the course of the first season, she develops a relationship with Emily and supports the character as she comes out to her parents.

However, Emily’s mother, Pam, who is originally unsupportive of Emily’s sexuality, has Maya sent to a religious rehab camp called True North.

Maya returns shortly after and the pair rekindle their relationship until she disappears again.

At the end of season two, in a similar way to the pilot, it is revealed that Maya had been killed and the police had found her body.

Unlike Alison, Maya’s death was permanent and it is eventually revealed that her jealous ex-boyfriend was her murderer.

This contributed to the harmful trope of “Bury Your Gays,” wherein a TV show or movie introduces then kills off its LGBTQ+ characters.

Maya was such an important character for LGBTQ+ representation and “Pretty Little Liars” dropped the ball by killing her.

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