The PLL: Original Sin finale was a total thrill ride from beginning to end. From the big “A” reveal to what really happened with Angela Waters to Imogen and Tabby confronting the man who raped them, the finale didn’t hold back on the shocking twists and turns. Imogen narrowly escaped with her life after an intense face-off with “A” and gave birth to her baby.
In the final moments of the finale, Imogen revealed that her baby was being adopted by Aria and Ezra from the original Pretty Little Liars. As this was happening, “A” escaped and attacked Chip, who sexually assaulted Imogen and Tabby. True to form, “A” is on the loose again and just as dangerous.
HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Bailee Madison about Imogen’s journey forward after coming to terms with her mother’s death. She also revealed whether or not Imogen got the closure she needed after confronting Chip. As for whether or not Aria and Ezra will show up in a potential season 2, Bailee isn’t ruling it out. Read our Q&A below:
Imogen has had to grapple with not only the death of her mother and being pregnant but discovering that her mother made some pretty terrible mistakes in the past. How do you feel about where Imogen is at emotionally with accepting her mother’s death and accepting everything that’s happened by the end of the season?
Bailee Madison: I think for the first time, she’s given the opportunity to heal. I think her mom with what she did was so abrupt and so painful, and I think she felt really discarded without knowing any of the information, especially with everything that she was going through. I think as much as the truth can hurt, Imogen is a big fan of the truth and honesty and revealing the truth behind something. I think now that she has this information, as painful and heartbreaking as it is, I think she’s able to reconcile with the fact that who her mom was back then is not the kind of person she is going to be. She’s not going to be that young girl in school and make the decisions that she made, but that doesn’t mean that she has to discard the love that her mom gave her. Yes, she was troubled. And yes, she had a lot of pain. But I think Imogen knows she’s not going to follow along with that and deserves better. I think it’s exciting to look at what healing and peace might feel like now that she has these answers. As heartbreaking as it is, I think it’s exactly what she needs to move forward.
On top of the mom situation, Imogen also had to deal with the fact that Chip raped her and her best friend. Do you think Imogen got that closure that she needed by confronting Chip with Tabby? I felt like that was a moment for both of them.
Bailee Madison: Yeah, it was a moment for both of them. That scene was such an important and heavily spoken about scene. Because these two girls, even though their guts are telling them that this is the truth, they don’t have any confirmation. They’re walking in there and confronting someone that in their gut they feel as if violated them and took away so much from them and took their innocence and then played with it afterward. It was really interesting because I think Tabby knew that if it was a yes from him that he did that to Imogen that would be breaking Imogen’s heart. Imogen knew that if it was a yes for Tabby, that’s her best friend’s heart breaking right there. They had to stand there with this poker face and watch their best friend be completely shattered in that moment and then watch each other feel completely shattered, but then take back that power and push through it and say everything they needed to say. I get emotional thinking about that scene because we talked about it so much. We were like, this does matter and there are so many layers and so many things that they’re fighting really throughout the whole scene. With Imogen, closure is a funny thing. She got everything taken away from her, and then the first time that she’s let a new guy in and close to her, it’s the same person that took everything away. Closure in the sense of, again, she’s a truth seeker and there’s truth there, but I don’t think that’s something that you ever heal from or that you ever forget or that you ever forgive. So that will be a part of her, but it won’t define her. I think that’s what these girls wanted. To know the truth and not let it define them.
After a fight with “A,” Imogen does have her baby. Did you know from the beginning that the baby was going to be adopted by Aria and Ezra?
Bailee Madison: No, I had no idea. Honestly, we experienced our show script by script. So whenever we were filming a new episode and got that script, we were finding out the answers in real-time like the audience was, except we were just filming it. It was a big surprise for me.
How did you react? There have been little hints and nods over the season, but this is a very clear connection.
Bailee Madison: I loved it. I think what’s so fun is it’s very easy to kind of take something that’s so loved in a franchise and then just ham it up with references and Easter Eggs for the sake of doing so. I think what our show wanted to do was respect the original and place those nods in for OG fans to enjoy and have it mean something and have it be a meaningful connection that propelled the story not just for the sake of talking about it. I remember watching the scene with Lucy [Hale] and Ian [Harding] when she’s like, “I can’t have babies.” I was just devastated and so sad for them. I cried. I love the fact that our show being in a new universe and a new experience for PLL fans, I love that we were able to kind of bring some closure and a happy ending to characters that are super loved. Knowing that that’s something that the OG liar wanted — to be a mom — and have a nod to them and have it mean something was really nice and made it even better.
So if there’s a season 2 we may see them?
Bailee Madison: You never know. I mean, I think it’s set up. The door’s always open and the support has meant so much. Also, Lucy’s a friend of mine, so that would be just really fun to work with her. But yeah, I think with what we’re able to do going forward, there’s so much that can happen.
I feel like there’s still a lot of mystery when it comes to the moms’ past. Do you think that there are more secrets between the moms? There was that moment between Imogen and her dad when he told her that her mom wrote it in her will that if anything ever happened to her that Tabby’s mom would take care of her and not him.
Bailee Madison: I think that secrets will continue to come out. I think that the moms and the daughters have always been such an essential part of PLL. The moms were as iconic as the Liars were. I remember watching and just adoring them. I think in terms of the Angela Waters storyline, I think we’ve closed that chapter, and the Liars are able to find justice and at least closure on behalf of Angela and have all those questions answered. But in terms of the moms and the daughters and what that looks like, there’s a whole lot of growing to do. Also, I love our moms but they’ve got a lot to learn still. We’re miles ahead of them with the choices that they make, and I think that will continue to push back and forth between the daughters and the moms moving forward.
“A” is still alive despite that insane fight. At the end of the finale, we see “A” show up at Chip’s door with a knife. While we don’t see what happens, we have an inkling of what goes down. “A” is still out there and now we really don’t know what Archie’s motives are now. Is it justice for Angela? With Chip, he was kind of doing something in service to Imogen and Tabby.
Bailee Madison: It’s a very interesting dynamic. I think “A” has kept people really confused because some of the things as awful that “A” has done have been celebrated online because he’s gone towards people that have been really terrible. But I think there’s there’s a lot of makeups and mockups of “A.” I think it doesn’t just have to be one person behind something. We’ve obviously met the world of Millwood. I think there are a lot of people with a lot of secrets who would be happy to tear someone down, so that would be really fun to explore. I’m still convinced the girls are going to get framed for Tyler’s murder. I’m just waiting for that to happen. I’m like, they’re going to go through a trial. A is going to frame them, and everything is going to go to sh*t.
We learned that Tom Beasley and Imogen’s mom were high school sweethearts. There was definitely a weird dynamic between Tom and Imogen…
Bailee Madison: I thought he was my dad for the longest time.
I was going to ask, have you thought about that?
Bailee Madison: I was convinced actually because I was like, this would make sense. Karen, Kelly, Imogen are all sisters. I was like, Tom’s definitely the dad, Tom is my father, and then I met my dad. But I still don’t know. I’m still a bit apprehensive about it. I’m not sure.