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Exclusive: Sasha Pieterse talks Emison and the deadly “Pretty Little Liars” season finale

When Sasha Pieterse first appeared on our TVs during the Pretty Little Liars pilot, her character seemed like another Regina George. Alison DiLaurentis was just your classic mean girl. But over the course of five seasons, Pieterse has given life and breath and and layers to Alison that we never expected. One of our favorite developments this season has been her relationship with Emily Fields. Is it love? Is it lust? Or is it just your standard “teenager rises from the grave and manipulates her lesbian friend into being her guard dog while she takes secret meetings in the woods wearing a wig and a mask of her own face”? Whatever it is, we’ve certainly never seen it on TV before.

Sasha Pieterse was awesome enough to take some time out of her weekend to talk to me about Emison, her passionate fans, and about the death that’s going to rock our world on tomorrow night’s Pretty Little Liars summer finale. AfterEllen: First of all, congratulations on a fantastic season of Pretty Little Liars. Alison’s return from the grave breathed such an exciting new life into the show. Did you know all along that Alison was going to be alive, or were you surprised when you found out? Sasha Pieterse: A little bit of both. Because of the books, I kind of figured that Alison would be alive or her twin would be alive. And Marlene [King] reassured me that something was going to happen, that I was going to be back on the show in some way. We cancelled out the twin theory – and shortly after, they told me Alison was going to be alive, which was awesome. I’m so glad it worked out this way. It has brought a unique flavor to the show, and I think the writers are happy, too, because this is a whole new world and dynamic for them. And it’s really fun for me because I’ve been able to kind of redevelop Alison’s character.

AE: How much of Ali’s story did you know going into this season. Did you know how it all would play out, or were you finding out with each script, sort of like the audience? SP: I had a feeling that Alison was going to be the way she is. She’s trying to fend for herself, to protect herself, and there are only two ways Alison knows how to do that. So I kind of knew she was going to end up this way, but I think the fans are going to be really interested to see how Alison plays out her story you’re about to find out about. I think they’ll be surprised and, well, maybe not so surprised. I’m really excited for this season finale; I think it’s one of the best.

AE: One thing I have really enjoyed watching since you’ve been on the show full time is the outpouring of love that you have received and Alison has received. Our society likes sweet, uncomplicated female TV characters, and Ali is the opposite of that, but people still really love her. SP: You know, when I first started the show, I was kind of worried. There wasn’t a lot of color to Alison in the beginning and I thought that maybe because Alison was and kind of a bitch, I was going to get a lot of backlash, but actually it was the complete opposite. A lot of that is a testament to the books. There’s something you really love about Alison in the books and our writers have played on that to a degree that really spoke to the fans. I’ve gotten nothing but support and I’m so thankful. I know a lot of fans have a love/hate relationship with Ali, but I think we’re starting to see a lot of sides to her and that has created a real empathy for the character.

AE: Do you have a favorite version of Alison to play? She’s so complicated and she has so many different motivations that you’re sometimes playing a different character in every episode. Do you love to inhabit one more than the others, or do you love all the Alisons equally? SP: Oh, I love them all. I love that I’ve gotten to do so many things. I really love the mean Alison that kind of shows everyone up. There’s something so fun about that. I think everyone wants to play that mean girl at some point in their career because you’re not just being sweet or being a victim. And our writers have such a wonderful, distinct way of writing Alison. I’m so comfortable with it now. I love where we are with her.

AE: Mean Ali is my favorite too. Do you have a favorite nemesis you like to play opposite of? SP: Troian [Bellisario] and I have so much fun when Spencer and Ali go at it because there is so much history between those two characters, and we love doing that stuff together. And, of course, Mona and Alison.

AE: What’s funny about Spencer and Alison is fans can never seem to decide if they want them to fight each other or make out. Ever since they had that dance in the basement of Radley… SP: [Laughs] I had forgotten about that!

AE: The internet never forgets. SP: That is so true.

AE: OK, let’s talk about Alison and Emily. When did you become aware of what was going to happen in their relationship? SP: There were always touches of it throughout our show. You know, in the locker room and in the library; in the books, as well, there has always been a feeling of connection between Alison and Emily. But what really brought it home this season is that Alison is alive and there’s actually a chance for it, and I don’t think the audience can tell if Ali is genuine or if she’s playing Emily to get close to her or if she just wants Emily’s protection. I wasn’t sure at the beginning of the season where they were going to go with it, and how the fans were going to react.

AE: Do you think Alison is for real? SP: I think Alison is so scared to show her real feelings that we never really know what’s true and what isn’t. I can’t tell you too much about that, but you will be able to see more. I think the writers do a really good job of finding that balance, and even though these characters live in a heightened reality, there’s still a trueness about being that age and not being sure what you’re feeling. Alison hasn’t really had an opportunity to figure out who she is. Emily has had such a journey with it and she’s grown into herself. You will see more of Alison figuring herself out, and I’m excited to see how the fans react.

AE: How dialed in are you to Emison fans? You’re on Twitter so you’ve obviously seen a whole lot of love. SP: Oh my gosh, it’s crazy! I’ll tweet something that has nothing to do with the show and people will tweet me back with hashtag Emison. It’s really cute. On our show, fans go nuts for all the relationships, so I think it’s great that there’s been a hardcore push for Emison.

AE: I really love how fans of Pretty Little Liars are as passionate about the same-sex pairings as they are about the opposite-sex pairings, and I love how you guys go all in on it. SP: Me too. I know Shay [Mitchell] has talked about this a lot before, but it’s really just organic the way our writers bring it into the show. It’s just the way it is. They’re not trying to shove something in there; these relationships are just so natural. And I am glad it comes across that way because that’s exactly what we’re trying to do.

AE: Will you give me an awesome tease for tomorrow night’s summer finale? SP: All of our promotions have been #fAtalfinale, and that’s exactly right. Someone is going to die. It’s really funny to see everyone’s guesses and theory. It’s someone important to the show, I can tell you that. And it was a shocker to us. How they do it in our world is they call your management and then you get The Call. The person who got The Call was naturally upset, but no one on our show really dies. You will see this character again. Also, the way this character goes out is intense. There’s no real satisfaction to this. We made this a good cliffhanger and it really runs into our Christmas special, which is a great episode. It’ll tie into the rest of the season and the rest of the show. And it really tells you how serious this game is. It’s actually really scary. Fans who get scared easily will have to sleep with the lights on.

AE: Whoa, that really was an awesome tease. One more quick thing. Emison fans were tweeting me like crazy this morning and they really just want you to know how much they adore you and how much that couple means to them. SP: Aww. Well, I want to shout them out and tell them thank you so much for the support and love. I love their great attitude. Our show really would be nothing without our fans, so I really do just want to thank them so much for that.

Pretty Little Liars‘ summer finale airs tomorrow night at 8:00 pm.

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