20 TV Storylines We Can't Believe Are Real

11. A - Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars Spencer
Warner Bros.

Yes, this list features yet another absurd twist centring around a mysterious mastermind with a single-letter alias. What are the odds?

In Pretty Little Liars, Spencer and her friends are terrorised by A, an anonymous figure who threatens to expose their darkest secrets. 

Across 160 episodes, Pretty Little Liars stretches this mystery to its limit, using elaborate misdirection, double-crossings, triple-crossings, and endless dead ends. Just when it feels like the truth is within reach, the ensemble finds themselves back to square one.

Annoyingly, fans had to wait until the last episode for the penny to drop. Not only that, Pretty Little Liars culminates with the laziest twist imaginable, since A is revealed to be (get ready for this) Spencer's long-lost evil twin, Alex.

The "secret evil twin" trope is so overused that it's been parodied in a multitude of TV shows. As a result, seeing a modern drama play this cliche completely straight is bewildering, especially when there wasn't an ounce of foreshadowing.

Most viewers didn't expect A's true identity to live up to expectations, but few could've predicted the unveiling would be this poorly handled.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows