Just yesterday, PLL aired one of its biggest story arcs to date. Ezra (Ian Harding) and Aria’s (Lucy Hale) relationship hit a dead end when Aria found out that Ezra has been lying to her throughout their whole relationship about knowing Ali. Ian, Lucy and writer Marlene King talked to Buzzfeed about the future of the show and Ezria’s relationship.

On the Feb 18 episode we found out Ezra isn’t A. His interest in Ali and the girls stems from his true crime novel, which involved detective work to get to the bottom of what really happened to Alison DiLaurentis. Well that’s a relief… I guess.

But how did this storyline even get created?? “We play ‘What If?’ a lot in the writers room. I always thought it was fascinating that when Ezra meets Aria in the pilot, she’s staring at Ali’s missing poster. That became the perfect opportunity to explore the questions: What if Ezra knew about Alison? What if Ezra knew Aria was friends with Alison? What if that’s why Ezra started talking to Aria?” executive producer Marlene King explained to Buzzfeed.

But before going through with the story, King admits they had to answer one huge question. Can Ezra’s character be redeemed after this revelation? Honestly. Why not?!? This is Rosewood for crying out loud. We’ve dealt with crazier things. Like Mona. And Toby. And Jenna. And Garett. And Melissa. And CeCe. And Detective Wilden. I mean, I think we can handle it. Although the relationship might never be the same between the two ex-lovers.

“I don’t see that their relationship could be what it was before, but then again, with every true love relationship, you experience extreme pain and hardship that come from the other person. If you look at it through that lens, this has the potential to make them stronger, make them into something entirely different and, perhaps, more unstoppable,” Harding admits.

While the duo might not be in a romantic relationship on the show anytime soon, King admits that their relationship is fundamental to the show.  “By the end of this season, there’s a whole other set emotions that tip their relationship in yet another direction,” warned King. Ummmm, so there’s really more coming? How much more? I’m not sure I can really take this. Although there are many unanswered questions about Ezra now that we know his real motives.

Hale admits that when she first read the script she felt pretty confused, curious and relieved. “She’s confused about how she missed the signs and how she could fall for someone who was hiding a whole other life,” said Hale. “She feels used.” Aria definitely wont be the same after this heart breaking experience.

The feedback was definitely better from Harding who has played a very likeable character for four seasons despite being a teacher whose having a relationship with a student. Throughout the seasons he was never directly involved with the Ali/A drama until now.

“There’s this phrase I’ve heard: ‘You don’t truly know somebody until you know what they want.’ Over the last few years I’ve come up with my own justifications for scenes, but now knowing what Ezra wants, and has wanted, kick-started the character for me again. I like the fact he’s had this skeleton in his closet the whole time. So it changes a lot about how I perceive him and how I play him,” said Harding.

Most of this season we were led to believe that Ezra was A. We believed the same about Mona and Toby once before. You know what they say ‘fool me once, shame on you, but fool me three times, shame on me!’ Well, we’ve been fooled. But if Ezra isn’t A, than who the hell is?!?!

“Aria finding out about Ezra is a huge, dramatic moment. Our hearts will break for her, but at the same time, the end result is a new ‘A’ suspect and the mission to figure out if this person really is ‘A’ propels us toward the end of the season,” King admits. The next couple of episodes will be really important as they set the scene asking bigger questions than ‘who is A’ and offering even bigger answers. (We’re holding you to this statement Marlene!)

And you can bet that Ian Harding is now one of the only main male characters on PLL. “Ezra knows so much and that information can help the girls. I think he holds the key to bringing this journey to a close. In what capacity he’s going to help the girls next season is up for grabs, because some things happen at the end of this season that throw that possibility into question. But I’m personally excited to see if he becomes part of the investigation team,” teased Harding.

King justified his answer by teasing that Ezra holds the key to helping the girls un-mask A. While they’ve been on A’s radar, Ezra’s been able to do a lot of research that the girls will need to piece the puzzle together. Maybe that will be redemption for their relationship?? Although as much as I believe Ezra will help the girls, I think its at the cost of the relationship. In order to get info, you need to be in the loop. A.k.a on the A team. Ah, this mystery will never end.

Credit to Buzzfeed for the quotes.

Photos: ABC Family/ Pretty Little Liars