The Pretty Little Liars universe is the gift that keeps on giving. First originated in 2006 by Sara Shepard, the original book franchise has a whopping 16 books — with prequels, spin-offs, and even companion books. The story has also been adapted into the original Pretty Little Liars show, which ran for seven seasons between 2010 and 2017, and, later inspired a now-cancelled Pretty Little Liars spinoff on Max, Original Sin.
But in case you needed more, we always have Shepard's “almost-plot lines” series, via her social media. Since 2023, Shepard has been making videos unpacking discarded plots that did not make it — for one reason or another — into official Pretty Little Liars lore, and we have compiled them for your reading pleasure.
Below, explore the Pretty Little Liars stories that might have been in the cursed town of Rosewood.
1. A huge fight breaks up core four The Liars
Shepard has revealed she almost made the girls have a “huge” fight — no word on what the fight would have been — that would make the girls split into two teams. “Team 1 is Emily and Hannah, and Team 2 [is] Aria and Spencer,” she added.
2. Noel blackmails Aria
If you loved Noel and Aria's relationship, this one will upset you because Shepard considered making the entire thing a hostage situation. “Noel finds out about Aria and Ezra and blackmails Aria into being with him; otherwise, he will ruin Ezra's life, so the relationship is an entire shame," she revealed of a discarded version.
3. Ezra kills Noel
Unlike in the show, book Noel does not die at all, but in an early version, Shepard did contemplate having Ezra kill Noel in order to be with Aria.
4. Jason is the catalyst for the DiLaurentis family chaos
The DiLaurentis family is a handful, to put it lightly, and, per Shepard, it was all because of Jason in one of her potential storylines. “Jason was the mastermind of the DiLaurenits family. He was gaslighting Ali and Courtney to hate each other, to suspect each other, to be opposed to each other, and was basically the one who should have been in Radley,” she explained, adding that, in the potential version, Jason would have been “pretty much big A.”
5. Mona's broken heart becomes her A origin story
In her latest almost-plotline video, Shepard caused a stir saying, “Mona becomes A because she was in love with Hanna and Hanna did not reciprocate her feelings.” While some fans argued that it is implied with some queer subtext, it's worth noting this is not the first time Shepard has talked about this. “I had this idea that maybe Mona had a crush on Hanna and when she confessed her feelings for her, she gets rejected and that's when she starts being A," she previously said in another video from 2023.
TikTok content
6. Wilden does not end up alone-slash-dead
Shepard confessed that Detective Wilden ended up with Alison DiLaurentis in one of her discarded plotlines.
7. Ezra is “A”
Provided with no further explanation, Shepard also confessed she toyed with the idea of making Ezra A — and we can't say we're all too surprised, as the show teases that possibility as well. He's got the bones, after all!
8. Aria never goes to Iceland
Now, we are assuming this plot is reserved for the show, where Shepard served as creative consultant, because she revealed Aria almost never went to Iceland. “Aria had a mental breakdown after Ali went missing. Never went to Iceland. Her family did. She went to Radley and met the other DiLaurentis twin, Courtney, but never trusted it was real because of her mental state,” she explained.
TikTok content
9. Spencer ends up with Wren
Wren dates Mona and Spencer in the TV show, but he only dates Hanna in the books. However, Shepard considered having book Spencer also date — and end up — with Wren.
10. Emily never quits swimming
Emily's life would have been way easier in this version of Shepard's story, where she leaves Rosewood and never stops swimming. “She falls for a girl in her college swim team and never plays games with her and leaves Alison far behind,” the author teased.
11. Emily and Aria kiss
An Emily and Aria kiss? More likely than you might think. Shepard revealed that she “never thought of them as a couple or anything serious” but it was a plotline she toyed with for a little.
12. Ezra ends up with Mona
Though Shepard teased fans with a “you didn't see that coming” for this one, show viewers might have. Ezra and Mona were supposed to become an item in the books — and they would have been endgame.
13. Melissa is A
Shepard admitted that for a while she pondered that “Melissa could be A, and Spencer lies to the girls about it to protect her sister.” (This is somewhat explored in the show, with Melissa as part of the A-team at one point.)
14. Ali attempts to kill Jenna on purpose
Jenna's injury might have been an accident both in the show and in the books, but in another universe, it was all Ali's ploy. “Ali was in love with Toby and did the ‘Jenna thing’ on purpose to get Jenna out of the way,” Shepard confessed.
15. Hanna kills Ali
“Hanna was Ali's killer at the sleepover that night in 7th grade because she was so sick of Ali bullying her relentlessly,” Shepard explained. It's worth noting that in the books, Ali is 100% dead, while she just faked her death in the show.
16. Toby and Emily get together
In the show, Toby dates Spencer. In the books, his fate is quite different — he ends up dying by suicide. Per Shepard, she considered having Toby date Emily, which is sort of alluded to in PLL season 1, before Emily totally embraces she's a lesbian, Toby clearly has a little crush.
TikTok content
17. Spencer joins the A-team
Spencer is not really part of the A-team — she does dabble to protect Toby in season 3, but it's not full on dark-sided – but she almost was for real. “At the end of book four, [I debated having] Spencer join forces with Mona,” Shepard shared, hence she becomes part of the A-team. This tracks, as Mona and Spencer are two of the most exciting characters paired together on screen (who can forget their quiz bowl debate?).
18. The twins are both alive
Another one that didn't make the books — the twins Ali and Courtney almost made it out alive in the original story too. “Ali's body is never found at the end of book one and both twins are actually still alive,” Shepard shared in a video. In the show, however, there is no Courtney — instead both Spencer and Jason get secret twins.
19. Noel kills Ezra
In a reverse Uno card from item no.4, Noel could have killed Ezra. “When Ezra returns later in the series to try to win Aria back, Noel kills him,” Shepard said.
20. Lucas is Hanna's OTP
In the show, Hanna ends up with Caleb, but in a version of the books that never made it, she actually ends up with Lucas. (ICYMI: they only dated briefly in the first few books.)
21. Maya becomes A
Shepard admitted that “Maya was set up to be a possible A” from the get-go, but that idea never ended up materializing.
22. Ezra dated Spencer
Shepard also revealed that Ezra "originally dated Spencer instead of Aria.” Now that is one we did not see coming.
23. Emily kills Ali
In a version of the story, Shepard shared she almost made Emily kill Ali “out of unrequited love rage.”
24. Hanna dies in the car crash
Can you imagine PLL without Hanna? Well, Shepard can, because she almost killed her off. “In book three, Hanna does not survive getting hit by the car,” she revealed of yet another plotline that did not make the cut.
25. Aria's family… secret?
If you thought Aria's family was mysterious enough, you've not seen anything. “In book one, Aria's family were going to be swingers,” Shepard confessed. Now, we'd love to know how that would have affected the story.
26. Naked streaking through Rosewood
Shepard revealed that “at the end of book one, A was going to make the girls streak naked through Rosewood.” Sure!
27. Wilden dates Hanna's mom
Hanna Marin's mother, Ashley, and Wilden had a toxic relationship in the TV show in which Wilden blackmailed her and Ashley used him for valuable police information. A romance, it was not! However, Shepard revealed she did envision a plot line in the books where they became "an actual couple” at some point.
28. Hanna goes to jail
Speaking of Ashley, she almost had a major hand in reshaping Hanna's storyline into a discarded plot. Shepard admitted that, in a parallel universe, we got a version where “Hanna's mom does not bail her out from the shoplifting, and she actually goes to jail." Fans of the TV show will know she gets put behind bars for a much different reason on the show: being framed for the murder of Wilden.
29. None of it was real
Ah, the classic. After all the twists, turns, and torments, Shepard almost went there. The author admitted she toyed with the idea of making it all “Ali's dream in Radley” but ultimately decided against it. Thankfully, she's happy she did — and so are we.
