Which of these faces is hiding behind "A's" black hood? "Pretty Little Liars" ABC Family Tuesdays at 8. (Image courtesy of ABC Family)

Last season’s revelation that Hanna’s second half Mona was responsible for “A’s” anonymous attacks rocked the town of Rosewood. Although some fans saw the twist coming (with Mona being the culprit in the books as well), this season has successfully established the second rule of the “A” regime, and this time the suspects are limitless. Could Melissa Hastings be the real hater? Or is Ezra Fitz just a little too fishy? Luckily, to aid in our detective role-play, ABC Family assembled a 12-character lineup from which to choose the betrAyer. As designated “PLL” recapper/ plot line conspiracy theorist, I’m here to present the evidence for and against each of these accused “A”ccomplices. Which one of these suspects do you think is the face behind the hoodie?

Aria Montgomery. Even though Aria is one of the four girls being targeted by the “A” team, she has historically gotten off easy. Unlike Hanna, Spencer, and Emily, “A” has never physically attacked/ trapped/ tried to kill Aria. Also, she never seems to be around when “A’s” scariest shenanigans go down (i.e. the snake attack at CeCe’s boutique, Hanna and Emily getting trapped in Noel’s cabin). Mona seemed awfully wary of revealing information to Hanna when Aria was around, even going so far as to speak in code. Could she have been trying to send a warning? However, it is hard to dispute scenes of Aria receiving texts from “A” by herself. And her panic attack in the girl’s bathroom earlier this season was pretty convincing that Aria is little more than the most fortunate of the four most unfortunate girls in town.

Ashley Marin. Why, oh why, would Hanna’s mommy work to hurt her own daughter? My only guess is that she did so unknowingly. Last season, “A” manipulated Hanna into wrecking her father’s engagement, which could have benefitted the jealous ex-Mrs. Marin had she been more opportunistic. She knows plenty of information about Hanna; maybe she let the wrong thing slip to an enemy in disguise? Hence betrayal? Really, it’s a stretch. Mona targeted Ashley more than once last season, first by stealing the money she stole from her job, and then by trying to reveal her controversial affair with Officer Wilden. Last episode, Ashley destroyed “A’s” flash drive of blackmail videos… she’s not doing the “A” team any favors at all.

Byron Montgomery. Aria’s dad has clearly demonstrated that he doesn’t take his moral commitments too seriously, especially when it comes to his family. After cheating on his wife with a college student, would we really put it past him to target Aria’s relationship with Ezra so aggressively? One of the things “A” bullied Aria about long ago was her dad’s affair, and who would know better about that than participant Byron? But, as with Ashley, this is a bit farfetched. A father’s first instinct would be to protect his daughter, not throw her and her friends under the bus…repeatedly. Byron wouldn’t really have any lingering anger towards Ali, and wouldn’t plausibly stand to gain anything from “A’s” antics. I’d say he’s as detached as possible… but wouldn’t that make his involvement an amazing twist?

Caleb Rivers. First of all, who knew that was Caleb’s last name? Second of all, Hanna’s boyfriend is in the perfect position to maneuver all of “A’s” technological attacks against the girls. He has already demonstrated an extensive knowledge of theft and working his way into secret information. Doesn’t this just sound like the perfect résumé for “A”?  Caleb snuck into the dressing rooms of CeCe’s boutique, so who’s to say he didn’t hide the snake there for Spencer earlier? He’s involved himself in Hanna’s investigation into the second “A” – a perfect way to monitor the girls’ suspicions and divert them from himself. Next week’s betrayal is supposed to be brutal, and what could be worse than Hanna not only losing a best friend, but a boyfriend to the “A” cause as well? Buuuut, Caleb really seems like a genuine guy. He hacked the girls into Maya’s website, and visited Mona to keep her from hurting Hanna… does that sound like something “A” would do? Caleb is definitely a force to be reckoned with in Rosewood, we’ll just have to wait and see whether he uses his talents for good or evil.

Emily Fields. Ever since Maya’s untimely demise, Em has become a much darker character. It seems that she is almost always the one who is on the outs with her friends; maybe she took their torture into her own hands? It is perfectly plausible that Emily drugged herself to distract the liars from the real “A” digging up Ali’s grave. All that fear when she was trapped with Hanna? Acting. And it’s kind of hard to ignore this subtle, but incriminating clue a “PLL” fan posted to Twitter. But, this is Emily we’re talking about. She is absolutely heartbroken over Maya’s death, would she really help out the people who were (in one way or another) responsible for it? I think not. She told Paige last episode that she would trust Spencer, Aria, and Hanna with her life; clearly she has no reason to try and ruin theirs.

Ezra Fitz. Behind those big blue eyes does a true killer lie? Ezra would seemingly be the perfect “A” – having gained the absolute trust of one of his targets (Aria), but removed enough from their past with Ali to avoid suspicion. There have always been hints, like a typewriter in his apartment the same day Mr. Montgomery received a typewritten note from “A”, or this clue, so deftly discovered in the Twittersphere. He’s been extra sketchy this season with the sock drawers of money, and now this hidden past with his family. Could Ali have figured into that somehow? But, unless Ezra and Ali had some secret past, he has absolutely no motive to sabotage his girlfriend and her friends. Unless, he’s doing it for money…?

Hanna Marin. Hanna seems to be targeted by “A” more than the rest of her friends, and she has 0% of the vote on the online Suspect Tracker, and she’s shown hysterically crying outside a police crime scene next week. So, yeah, long story short – no way it’s Hanna.

Lucas Gottesman. Lucas, on the other hand, is most definitely involved in “A’s” shenanigans. Earlier this season he all but admitted this much to Hanna when she saw him leaving the Psychiatric Hospital from a visit with Mona. And then there is the case of the runaway camera bag, where viewers were led to believe that Lucas was the one snapping photos of the girls in the graveyard the night Ali’s body went missing. He definitely hated Ali enough to terrorize her followers after her death, but would he really want to hurt Hanna? Sure, she has rejected his feelings more than once, but it seems like Lucas is more interested in trying to save Hanna Banana than hurt her. Popular speculation is that he is being blackmailed into being a member of the “A” team, hmmmm….

Melissa Hastings. It’s almost too easy to find motive for Melissa to torment her sister and her friends. First of all, she hated Alison and sent her threatening text messages because of Ali’s fling with Ian. Even Melissa’s parents believed she killed Ali, hiring a private investigator to follow her for the better part of a year. Sure, she has anger issues and puts the B in bitch, but does Melissa really have nothing better to do than spend hours stalking her sister’s friends? Sure, she admitted to being the black swan – only because “A” blackmailed her into it – but Melissa has lied before (many times), what’s to stop her from lying again?  

Paige McCullers. Emily’s girlfriend has been acting sketchy for a while, and after Tuesday night’s episode “Single Fright Female”, she shot to the top of the suspect tracker, with 43% of fans declaring her guilt. She definitely hated Ali and Maya, and after Spencer smack talked her all over Rosewood, she probably has it out for the girls as well. And, she had Meredith’s second earring in her pocketbook. Now what was that doing there PAige? However, the show is trying so hard to incriminate her, she can’t possibly be guilty. The shocking betrayal wouldn’t be shocking at all. Besides, “A” has worked to incriminate some of the girls’ other leads (Lucas, Ian, Garrett…), so it is likely that the same thing is happening here with Paige.

Spencer Hastings. I know, I know, Spencer is the most enthusiastic of all the characters hunting down “A”, and with wits like hers, she may just outsmart the other girls with her constant accusations and clues. It seems that the younger Ms. Hastings is always the first to point fingers; maybe she is doing so to keep attention off herself? Besides, it would have been way to easy for her to slip Meredith’s second earring in Paige’s purse when Hanna wasn’t looking. It’s unlikely though, since Spencer is way too smart… and normal to trap herself in a dressing room with a snake. There’s dedication to your cause, then there’s crazy. I wouldn’t be holding your breath for Spencer’s turn to the dark side anytime soon.

Toby Cavanaugh. Toby hasn’t been around this season, and to me it seems that his attempts to find a job and move out of town coincide perfectly with “A’s” scenes of getting a new apartment. He’s always seemed like the moral compass of the show, but that would only make it a better twist when he’s revealed to have been working with “A” all along. However, if we rewind a season, “A” deliberately set Toby up to take a nasty tumble off of some scaffolding, landing him in the hospital with a broken arm. Unless his moral compass reads due bat-shit insane, he’s probably not our betrayer.

None of the above. ABC Family is teasing us with the prior list of 12 possible suspects, but maybe they’re playing it like “A” and leading us astray. CeCe definitely has the knowledge of Ali’s secrets to hit the girls where it hurts the most. And she knew about Hanna’s shoplifting incident, which happened a year after Ali’s disappearance. As for Nate, he is seeming less and less like Maya’s cousin, and more like her ex-fling/ stalker from juvie camp. It seems Jenna’s afraid of him, so should we all be? What about Wren? Handsome and charming on the outside, but in the perfect position to monitor Mona inside the hospital. And after two failed attempts to get close to the girls, doesn’t it seem like he wants their affections just a little too much? But the possibilities are seemingly endless… who’s to say Pastor Ted isn’t the “A”ntichrist of Rosewood?

Think you’ve got it figured out? Post your suspicions to Twitter or Facebook to help boost the winning team in the ratings. Come Tuesday night, don’t you want to be able to scream “I TOLD YOU SO!!!”?

Check out a frightening promo from this Tuesday night’s summer finale. Did I count 2 body-bags, or 3?