On Pretty Little Liars there isn’t just one single “A” – there are several big reveals across the series, which is why it gets confusing.

Main “A” reveals (TV show)

  1. First “A” – Mona Vanderwaal
    • Mona is revealed as the original “A” in the season 2 finale.
 * She starts the game of tormenting Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily with texts and threats.
  1. Second “A” / “Big A” – Charlotte DiLaurentis (CeCe Drake)
    • After Mona is caught, Charlotte takes over the game as the new main “A”.
 * She is tied deeply to the DiLaurentis family and continues the elaborate stalking and traps.
  1. “Uber A” / endgame “A.D.” – (final-season villain)
    • In the later seasons, the mystery shifts to “A.D.”, another, even more extreme mastermind behind the last phase of the game.
 * This final antagonist builds on everything the earlier “A”s did, targeting the Liars after the time jump.

Why people ask “who was A?” so much

  • The show layers multiple “A” identities over seven seasons, so casual viewers often remember only Mona or Charlotte and forget the later twist.
  • Fans still debate which reveal felt most satisfying, with some loving the shock value and others feeling the later twists were too over-the-top.

In short: Mona was the first “A”, Charlotte/CeCe became the main “A” afterwards, and a final “A.D.” villain closes out the story.

TL;DR: Mona was the original “A”, Charlotte DiLaurentis (CeCe Drake) became the big “A” later, and a final “A.D.” mastermind ends the game in the last seasons.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.