We knew we’d be saying goodbye to a Rosewood resident on the Oct. 23 Halloween special of Pretty Little Liars, but that didn’t make the death of Officer Garrett Reynolds any easier to swallow. HollywoodLife.com caught up with Yani Gellman for the inside scoop on how creator Marlene King broke the news to him; what it was like playing dead in a box with Lucy Hale; and when we might see Garrett, in some form, again. (Spoiler: It could be soon!)

Read on for my full interview with Yani…

First of all, sorry you had to die. I miss Garrett already.

Thanks. It’s weird to be talking from beyond the grave.

When did you first find out Garrett was dying? Some of the actors told us they didn’t know until they read the script.

I found out the week before. Marlene pulled me aside before the scripts came out and talked to me about how this all fit in with the larger story. She said how much she appreciated my work on the show, and how sorry she was that it was my character’s time to go. But it was important to move the story forward.

Have you made peace with her decision?

I’ve always sensed my character was going to have an untimely end. He was always playing with fire, and on the wrong side of the fence. Garrett’s always been a bit of a ghost, always lurking in the background, and going in and out of people’s lives. He finally paid the ultimate price.

OK, you’re fine with it now — but what about your initial reaction?

When I first signed on to be on the show, I didn’t know how long I would be on — and I ended up lasting the better part of three seasons. So it was a really great run for me. It was a magical experience, I really loved it. … But we all know what the show is, and this is the kind of thing that makes the show. So I’m really excited to have been a part of the very thing that makes this show so fun to watch. Our job is to be the best storytellers we can, and sometimes that means knowing when to exit the stage.

Thankfully, we didn’t just hear about your death; we got to see you dead. What was that like?

It was awesome. They crammed me in there with Lucy. I had to be totally motionless, with my eyes and mouth open; there’s dust falling into the crate; Lucy’s screaming in my ear; and it’s super dark. It was a surreal experience.

The viewers, myself included, don’t know who killed Garrett. Do you?

The writers and producers on the show play their cards pretty close to their chest. With big things like this, they don’t really tell us. I do have a sense, based on the conversation I had with Marlene about how my death factored into the story line, but I really don’t know. On this show, it’s better not to know, because you’re being asked all the time. I don’t want to spill the beans.

I suppose I understand…

One thing I will say is that I went to jail for a crime I didn’t committ, so someone better darn well go down for killing me.

Given the track record of the Rosewood Police Dept., I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Hopefully someone will pay.

Now, here’s the other question I’m dying — sorry, bad choice of words — to know: Will we see Garrett again in flashbacks?

I think so. Marlene talked to me about that. One of their ongoing lines is that they have a series regular in Sasha, who’s been dead since the beginning. There’s still a lot of back story that needs to be explained, so she said, ‘Don’t be surprised if you end up being a part of that.’ I could see a lot of room for something like that.

How do you feel about Garrett’s death? Do you have any clue who may have killed him? Drop a comment below!

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

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Officer Garrett Reynolds may not have fared so well on the Pretty Little Liars Halloween special, but Yani Gellman is doing just fine. In fact, he’s already popping up on another primetime series — tonight! HollywoodLife.com has learned that Yani is playing a bartender named Sam on the Oct. 25 episode of The CW’s Beauty & The Beast.

This marks Yani’s first return to The CW since 90210‘s fourth season finale, in which his character Diego was deported back to Mexico City. He also appeared on an episode of The Mentalist earlier this year.

Yani’s episode of Beauty & The Beast airs at 9 p.m. tonight, Oct. 25, on The CW.

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

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Fact: No one does Halloween like the good people of Rosewood. The Oct. 23 episode of Pretty Little Liars found our girls narrowly dodging death, while rocking killer costumes and grooving out to the musical stylings of Mr. Adam Lambert. Of course, not everyone enjoyed their ride on the “A” Train, as one character did come to an untimely end. Drumroll please…

It was Garrett (Yani Gellman). We’re not sure exactly how he died, or who killed him, but we do know that “A” trapped Aria (Lucy Hale) in a box with his corpse — which may have been the most disturbing moment in this show’s history.

But before Garrett died, he dropped a little knowledge on Spencer (Troian Bellisario): He swears he really didn’t kill Alison. Jenna (Tammin Sursok) wanted her dead, so he pretended to hit her with the lacrosse stick, then later spotted her having an intense chat with Byron (Chad Lowe) behind a tree. Seriously, you can’t even trust trees in this town!

Who’s that ghost?

But not all of the action went down on the train. Back at the Marin residence, Ashley (Laura Leighton) and that sexy priest were facing their own little dilemma: One of the trick-or-treaters, a creepy little girl in a nightgown, wouldn’t leave their house. She kept talking about how her sister doesn’t like her, and how she’s always trying to make her look bad.

Am I crazy for thinking that — somehow — that little girl was young Alison? Or young Alison’s twin, if we’re going by the original book series? Don’t forget that last year’s Halloween special opened with a huge reference to Ali’s twin sister, so unless proven otherwise, I’m not ruling that out as a possibility.

The little things:

While I enjoyed the tricks “A” had in store for us this week, I also enjoyed the treats we got from each of the couples in their quiet moments. Example: I loved the scene where Paige (Lindsey Shaw) poured her heart out to Emily (Shay Mitchell). It was a really vulnerable side of Paige that we don’t get to see very often, and she and Emily are pretty adorable together.

I also loved Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Caleb’s (Tyler Blackburn) reunion on the train. As the couple with the best collective hair on the show, they should always be standing outside in strong winds. Always.

Burning questions:

1. Who did Aria stab with that screwdriver while she was in the box? Was it Toby (Keegan Allen)? When new episodes start again in January, keep an eye out for someone with a sudden hand injury!

2. Who (or what) was crawling out of the grave at the end of the episode?

3. Does Ezra (Ian Harding) know something we don’t? He was making crazy eyes when he finally arrived on the train — like, even more than his usual “s**t, I don’t want to go to jail” eyes.

4. Do you think Byron was more ‘involved’ with Alison (Sasha Pieterse) than anyone knew?

OK, it’s your turn to talk: Drop me a comment with your personal review of the Halloween special, as well as any answers you think you may have to my burning questions!

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

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To call the Pretty Little Liars summer finale the best episode of the season wouldn’t even begin to do it justice. Some major answers were finally given Aug. 28, but after going through the comments in my recap, I noticed just as many questions were being raised. So now I’m doing my best to help you figure out who’s dead, who shot who, and what the “A” is up with Garrett (Yani Gellman).

1. Is Toby really “A?” Though some commenters insist the “Toby” we saw was actually someone else in a mask, I remain pretty certain it was Toby (Keegan Allen). My guess is that, while he is definitely a member of Mona’s “A” team, he probably got in just to figure out how to beat her.

2. Who shot Caleb? I’ve heard everyone from Nate to Paige (Lindsey Shaw) to Emily (Shay Mitchell), but I’m really thinking it was Toby.

3. Is Caleb dead? No! If you watch the promo for the Pretty Little Liars Halloween special, you can clearly see Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) devouring each other’s faces.

4. Who killed Maya? I know he never literally said, “I killed Maya,” but Nate was definitely her killer. He was her stalker at Tru North, and he found her hiding out at Noel’s cabin. Plus, he tried to kill Emily and Paige. He’s the lady killer.

5. Did Garrett make that call to Emily? Again, I assume the answer here is yes. Right before Garrett — who had been accused of killing Maya (Bianca Lawson) — showed up at the hospital, someone called Emily and said, “I owe you one.” Since Emily inadvertently helped prove his innocence, it very well could have been Garrett on the phone.

OK, I hope that took care of any lingering questions you may have had after the finale. If I missed any, or if you have a different answer, drop me a comment below!

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

More on the Pretty Little Liars summer finale:

1. ‘Pretty Little Liars’ Summer Finale Recap: Maya’s Killer Is Revealed
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3. ‘Pretty Little Liars’: Who Killed Maya? Bianca Lawson Weighs In

Rosewood’s shadiest cop has been laying low for the past few weeks, but Officer Garrett Reynolds (Yani Gellman) returned in a big way on the March 19 episode of Pretty Little Liars when it was revealed he’s been carrying on a secret romance with Melissa (Torrey DeVitto) — and Yani tells HollywoodLife.com the secrets have only begun to spill out.

“You definitely find out more about the nature of their relationship in the finale,” Yani says of ‘Garrissa.’

Of course, Melissa isn’t the only girl in Garrett’s life. Before Jenna (Tammin Sursok) skipped town for her eye surgery, she and Garrett were carrying on a dark little romance of their own.

“The reason [Garrett and Jenna] split up kind of plays into what happens next,” Yani reveals.

Yani also says that, while he was “shocked and surprised” when he found out who “A” is, the word “satisfied” might be the most appropriate emotion.

“The finale really delivers,” he assures me. “As [creator Marlene King] has been saying, in some ways it’s an ending to the mystery, but it’s also the beginning of a new mystery.”

And what kind of journalist would I be if I didn’t ask Yani how much candy he’s consumed during those classic Garrett stalking-from-a-distance scenes?

“They’re kind of like M&M’s — they’re little chocolate balls,” he says. “They’re quite tasty at first — until you’ve eaten four bags when you’re shooting a scene all day. I don’t know if him eating those is going to be a clue about something going forward, or what’s going on there. Usually, though, if you see something happening a couple times on the show, it becomes a thing in the future.”

What do you make of Yani’s little clue, Pretty Little Liars fans? Could Garrett be “A”? (Let’s not forget the badge we saw in the burning building a few weeks ago!) Cast your vote below, then share your best theories in the comments section.

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter to share more Pretty Little Liars theories

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