Alison is A.D. And she has been A since the beginning, above Mona and above Charlotte. This has been her game all along.

First we’re going all the way back to 2x13. While getting ready for Noel’s party, Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna all notice someone in a baby burlap costume standing outside in the yard. By the time Ali goes over to the window to look, they’re gone.

But later in the episode, when she’s telling them about the person who “kidnapped” her, she says, “I’m telling you, it was that guy who was watching us at Spencer’s. He was wearing the same costume.” How would she know the costume of the person at Spencer’s if she never saw them? This is a clue that she was doing more than just testing their loyalty that night. She was already messing with them.

In 2x12, Alison pulls Emily out of the barn, saving her life. A nice gesture, but something she said during their conversation is alarming, according to her story that she dedicated herself to keeping the girls safe during that time. “Do you know who A is?” Emily asks, to which Ali replies, “Of course I do.”

If Alison knew that Mona was the one tormenting the girls, why wouldn’t she tell them and end it? Keeping that secret wasn’t going to help them end the game…unless she didn’t want the game to end.

Next, the masks. When the girls visit Hector the mask maker in early season four to ask about the Alison masks, he explains, “She asked me to make them. She said she wanted masks for all her friends so they could look like her.”

What? First of all, why would Ali want masks for her friends? What was the point of that? And as far as we know, the Liars never got any sort of mask from her. But who are the only people who have been seen with Alison masks that she was supposedly making for her “friends”?

Members of the A team.

The entirety of “Grave New World” implies that Ali is still playing games with the Liars. They spend the entire episode chasing her around Ravenswood, only to end up back in Spencer’s backyard. Why would she make them come to that party and follow her around the graveyard and creepy house, when she could have revealed herself to them anytime she wanted? At this point, she was clearly still playing games, and enjoying making the Liars do her bidding.

A pivotal example of this is when she appears to Hanna through the foggy phone booth window. Almost immediately, someone grabs her and yanks her away, and the man, possibly Ezra but possibly someone else, peers in through the window as well. Only moments later, Miranda opens the door, and no one else is around. If A had really gotten a hold of Ali so roughly, why would they immediately let her run away? I think this was a repeat of the set up in 2x13. Alison wanted it to look like she was being chased and attacked, so she orchestrated a scene for Hanna to see.

In 5x03, Alison goes to visit Ezra. She demands to know where the rest of the research from his book is, that she needs to see it so she can “stay alive.” At this point, the girls all thought that A was Shana, and Shana was dead. Why would Ali be so afraid of staying alive if they all believed that A was gone? And this was after she figured out the truth behind the “New York minute” text as well.

Did Ali really want all of Ezra’s research and information for her own safety? Or was she afraid that he had some kind of proof that she herself was behind it all?

Somewhere around this same time, Ali nearly sends Emily a very interesting text:

Several episodes later, in 5x07, Spencer spots Ali sneaking around in her yard on the security camera meant to spy on Melissa. What was Ali doing, running around at night dressed suspiciously similar to A? The girls never asked her, and we never got an answer.

Ali’s attitude toward Cyrus is also indicative that she’s lying about their time together. She spent much of 5A acting afraid of him, discussing her scar and the man who gave it to her with fear and intimidation. But when they have their meeting in the woods at the end of 5x10, she’s singing a very different tune: “I should have left you for dead when I found you.” Her attitude of condescension and power toward him implies that she’s still lying about the origins of that mysterious scar.

And in that same scene, why was she dressed as Vivian Darkbloom? He knew her as Ali when she was on the run, and even refers to her by that name: “The way you’ve used it, Ali?” There was no reason for her to be in disguise during that scene, unless perhaps she was on her way to do something more nefarious.

Finally, Alison has referred to herself as A.D. several times throughout the show. In season two, the girls discover newspaper correspondence between Alison and A, in which Ali signed her messages with “A.D.” Also, in season four, Emily sends money to her using an address to “A.D. Incorporated.”

Those are only some examples of Alison’s suspicious behavior throughout the show. I believe that she’s been orchestrated the A game since the beginning, and is going to be our final, Uber A.