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Sorry, Guys. Wren Isn't 'PLL's Charles

by Kaitlin Reilly

I don't trust Wren. Not one bit. This Pretty Little Liars guy might not be around much, but every time he's made an appearance I've found myself wondering, "Oh my God, this guy has to be A, right?" After the Season 5 finale, I'm not so convinced that Wren is Charles, aka Big A. Charles was revealed as Big A in the Season 5 finale and from the look of Charles' home movies it appears that he's Jason DiLaurentis' twin as well. Of course, while we may know Charles' name and his potential connection to the DiLaurentis family, there was one major thing that the the show didn't give us, and that was a shot of Charles without his mask on. Technically any person on the show could still be A (and therefore Charles), but I'm pretty convinced that it isn't Wren under the mask — even though he's still an incredibly shady dude.

We don't know too much about Charles, but unless Pretty Little Liars is actively trying to fool us, it does appear that he's Jason's twin and not just another member of the DiLaurentis family. The home movie that was playing in Charles' lair made it seem that Charles and Jason were very close in age, and if Charles was some mysterious older or younger brother, I doubt the show would try so hard to make it seem like he was Jason's twin. Pretty Little Liars does try to throw us off course from time to time (umm... #RIPMona?!), but this reveal comes only episodes before the entire A storyline comes to a close. In my mind, that means that Charles just has to be Jason's twin — and Wren simply cannot be that person.

If we think that Wren is Charles, that means that Wren knowingly dated and sought relationships with not one but two of his siblings. (Don't forget that Jason is also the son of Mr. Hastings.) Well, it would be SUPER creepy for Wren to know that information and then date Melissa for years, while secretly macking on Spencer whenever he got the opportunity. In an interview with Time Travel Murder Mystery, writer Bryan Holdman hinted that there were some things that would be "too crazy" for Pretty Little Liars to explore, even mentioning a cross-dressing plotline that wouldn't make its way into the series because it was simply "too out there." If we're drawing the line at that, I think we can safely say that incest is off the table.

That's not to say that clears Wren of all A-related activities — Wren could certainly be involved in the A game without being Charles. We know that Wren has ties to Radley, and if Charles spent any time in there as long suspected then perhaps Wren and Charles have been in cahoots since the very beginning. We know that Wren drew a photo of a girl in a red coat on a farm (perhaps a reference to Ali's disguise of choice and the Campbell farm from the finale?) and that his painting matches one in Charles' lair, per Tumblr user ladyholidaay. As writer Maya Goldsmith hinted when I spoke to her last month, all these little clues are important, which might mean that Wren has been playing for the A team all along — even if he's not Charles.

Only time will tell if Wren really is involved with Charles, or if he somehow is Charles himself. But until then, I have my eye on this supposed "good doctor." Trust no one.

Images: ABC Family (screenshot); Giphy (2); wrenischarles/Tumblr