Pretty Little Liars: The 5 Most (& 5 Least) Believable Character Deaths

Pretty Little Liars features many deaths throughout the show’s seven seasons. As a suspenseful drama, “A” doesn’t hesitate to kill someone – torturing the Liars week after week. Many of the deaths are inevitable while others are completely shocking.

Most fans will agree that there were some death scenes that were far better than others. They loved how they were carefully planned and were grounded much more in reality. However, that’s not to say the writing was always perfect. There were some deaths that were rather cliché and hard to believe. In fact, they were so far-fetched and bizarre, that fans hated the impact the storylines had on certain character arcs.  

10 Most Believable: Yvonne Phillips

Following the show’s time jump in the sixth season, Toby Cavanaugh is in a serious relationship with another woman, Yvonne Phillips. While many fans were annoyed by the relationship simply because they preferred Toby and Spencer’s, this didn’t mean they didn’t like Yvonne.

She was seen to be a very kind and considerate person, who did love Toby quite a lot. She was also very cordial with the other Liars. Unfortunately, her character didn’t last long. In the mid-season finale of season 7, Yvonne and Toby were involved in a car crash. Yvonne’s injuries were a lot more severe than Toby’s, and, in the end, she passed away. It’s not as dramatic but it is definitely far more realistic.

9 Least Believable: Garrett Reynolds

In the infamous season three Halloween train episode “This is a Dark Ride,” Officer Garrett Reynolds is unexpectedly murdered. As many fans know, Garrett had been planning on meeting Spencer to tell her everything he knew about Alison’s disappearance. However, before he could tell her anything more, Spencer had left and decided to go looking for Aria.

Unfortunately, this is the last time the viewers see him alive as the next scene he features in shows that he has been murdered dead. It turned out that he was shot by Detective Darren Wilden, who killed him after he discovered Garrett was about to expose his corrupt behavior. This is suspenseful, but the murder on the train isn’t believable. Wouldn’t people have heard the gunshot? It’s likely people would also go exploring too. Realistically, there should have been witnesses.

8 Most Believable: Ian Thomas

Ian Thomas was the main villain of the show’s first season. The Liars knew he was suspicious and it seems he dies in the season finale. He apparently falls from the bell tower and Spencer sees his hanging body. However, his body is later missing, making everyone wonder if he’s really dead or not.

At the beginning of the second season, Ian’s body is discovered, along with a note confessing that he murdered Alison. While this isn’t true, it’s believable that Ian would have been murdered for being too close to the mystery. “A” doesn’t like people who are complicating the plans.

7 Least Believable: Sara Harvey

The show’s seventh season is the deadliest season of Pretty Little Liars. Characters die left and right. This includes Sara Harvey, a member of the “A” team who was working with Jenna and Noel Kahn to torture the Liars.

It’s shocking when Sara is later found dead in the bathtub inside her Radley hotel suite. She was murdered by Noel, but why? Did she know too much? Her death seemed too sudden and unnecessary for the show’s plot.

6 Most Believable: Detective Wilden

No one can trust Detective Wilden. As Rosewood Police’s chief detective, he’s supposed to be reliable and protect the citizens of Rosewood, but that’s not true. He’s shady and he knows just as much about “A” as the villain herself.

Wilden’s death is long and confusing. First, Hanna’s mother, Ashley, runs him over with her car and she thinks she killed him. However, this is proven to be false he soon turned up alive and well again. His death only became permanent after “A” murdered him because he threatened to hurt her sister, Alison. “A” doesn’t hesitate to seek revenge, so his death was inevitable.

5 Least Believable: Noel Kahn

Noel Kahn unexpectedly returned to Rosewood in the show’s seventh season. No one expected him to show up, but when Noel’s in town, it’s never good news. The fans’ intuition was proven right as it was soon revealed he had been working with Jenna and Sara to bring down the Liars.

It didn’t take long for tensions between the two groups to increase as they constantly butted heads. Ultimately, this came to a climax in the mid-season finale when Noel and Jenna confront the liars and he ends up getting decapitated by an old battle-ax. While some thought it was shocking, there were many who also thought it was too far-fetched, even for Pretty Little Liars. To many fans, it was a bit too farcical.

4 Most Believable: Maya St. Germain

Maya St. Germain is a very important character on the show, even though she isn’t on the show for very long. As many fans know, Maya was Emily Fields’ first girlfriend, who helped Emily build her confidence and come to terms with her sexuality. Unfortunately, this relationship ended too soon after it was revealed that Maya had been murdered.

Maya’s death was more frightening and realistic compared to the others on the show. It turned out that once Maya had returned to Rosewood, she had been followed and stalked by her ex-boyfriend. Eventually, he tracked her down and killed her. For many viewers, this was quite a heartbreaking and impactful storyline as it paralleled many of the crimes that happen in reality today.

3 Least Believable: Charlotte “CeCe” Drake

Fans have mixed opinions about Charlotte “CeCe” Drake as “A.” She wasn’t who many were expecting to be revealed as the show’s main villain. However, despite these feelings, they were still shocked when CeCe died in the season six episode, “Of Late I Think of Rosewood.”

While her death is a catalyst for the continuation of the show, it was the nature of CeCe’s death that had fans talking more. It turned out that Mona Vanderwaal murdered CeCe in the church’s clock tower out of self-defense, accidentally impaling her in the neck by a metal hook. As the show’s lead villain, CeCe’s cause of death seemed random, ridiculous, and underwhelming. CeCe’s death should have been more intense since she tortured the Liars for so many years.

2 Most Believable: Jessica DiLaurentis

No one in the DiLaurentis family is perfect, especially Alison’s mother, Jessica. She made mistakes and she had enemies. However, her death is perhaps the most shocking death on the show. For a long time, her death was an unsolved murder. However, it was soon revealed that was murdered by her twin sister, Mary Drake, and then buried in the yard.

The reason? It turns out that Mary didn’t take lightly the fact that Jessica had lied to her about CeCe. Mary was vengeful and Jessica was the unfortunate victim.

1 Least Believable: Shana Fring

Shana Fring’s death is the least surprising and most annoying death on the show. In the season five premiere “Escape from New York,” Shana reveals that she is a member of the “A” team and that she has been taunting the Liars. It may have been shocking to the Liars, but to the fans, Shana was not the right character for this reveal.

During a confrontation, Aria pushes Shana off a theater stage in self-defense. Shana immediately dies from the fall. Considering several characters have been hit by a car, shot, or fell from greater heights, it looked like a weak death scene. Especially as it’s not completely clear what killed her.

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