【Cat 3 movies】

Pretty Little Liarsis poised to return Tuesday (April 18) for the final time,Cat 3 movies airing its last 10 episodes as fans say goodbye to their Rosewood besties after seven action-packed seasons.

But the final episodes aren't going to be some kind of soft-focus, sentimental send-off -- at least, not for a while. Showrunner Marlene King dished the dirt to Mashableabout all the ups and downs, twists and turns ofPretty Little Liars' ending, including the "brutal" new game A.D. is playing with the Liars.

In the premiere, A.D. sends the Liars a special delivery that "takes things to a whole new level." How can A.D. possibly escalate things even more?

That's a great question. These last few episodes remind me a little bit of when we had Mona as original A in terms of this sort of desire to divide and conquer the girls. This A.D. is very good at finding ways to force the Liars to turn on each other and that's kind of brutal to watch.

SEE ALSO: Uh oh: The 'Pretty Little Liars' series finale will have a 'huge twist'

Other than A.D., what would you say is the biggest mystery left to solve?

How the moms got out of the basement maybe? [Laughs] ... To answer your question seriously, there are mysteries that we introduce early on in these first couple episodes that will feel like big mysteries that need to be solved before the end of the show -- and they will be solved.

So there are new things in store? It's not just wrapping up what's already been happening?

There are a couple threads that we introduced last season that will turn into "quickie mysteries," I'll call them.

Are you holding the A.D. reveal for the very last episode or will the series finale be more of a sentimental wrap-up in the aftermath of the final 10 episodes?

The penultimate episode really does feel like a finale. I want to say we kind of have two finales. The penultimate episode answers a lot of questions and then the finale really feels like a movie. It was designed to be a two-hour movie event and -- I can't answer your question because I'll give something up. [Laughs.]

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Any time jumps this season?

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There is a time jump between the [nineteenth] and the [twentieth] episode.

When the show returns, Paige, Ali and Emily are all working at Rosewood High. What does that look like for them? Can Paige and Alison ever have an amicable relationship?

They have some beautiful scenes together in these last 10 episodes -- some are confrontational, but there is a scene in Joseph Dougherty's episode, I think it's nine, that's a full-circle moment for them. As we know, Ali's pregnant and she has some emotional healing to do before she can really move forward in her life.

Do you have any response to the wild fan theory that she is carrying Emily's baby since we know Emily's eggs were stolen last season?

One of my favorite Ali lines, which I will quote, is "wait for it."

Is one set of shippers destined to have their hearts broken when it comes to that love triangle?

Yes. Yes, unfortunately. That's one where everybody can't win. But I do think with the way the storyline plays out, everybody does win. It just feels like a mature, beautiful love story and one where people take the high road instead of the low road. I think it's a lovely story.

What's in store for the other Liars' relationships? Is it a pretty bumpy ride to the end?

Well, we know that Nicole is alive, Ezra's ex-love of his life, and he's engaged to Aria, so that definitely will complicate things. But you know, I'm an Ezria forever person, hint hint. And I think everybody has complications in their ships because that's what makes the show fun as we try to get to the end of the road.

Spencer seems to be the only one without a significant other right now, what can you tease about her personal life coming up? Is Toby coming back into the picture? Is she on to a new love after the Caleb heartbreak?

Actually Troian and I talked about this at length last year. We really liked the idea that Spencer was going to spend some time alone. You don't need a guy in your life to always be happy, so we allow her character to explore that for a little while.

What do you hope the audience has gotten out of Pretty Little Liarsover these seven seasons?

That's a great question. I hope it's the strength and friendship, the beauty of the friendship of these girls. For me, this show has always been about their unconditional friendship and the love they have for each other and the support they give each other, which is why this season is so fun to watch -- and brutal, because A is targeting that friendship head on.

Pretty Little Liars’ final 10 episodes air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT beginning April 18 on Freeform.

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