Pretty Little Liars: Is Mona Still Alive?

One of the things that always bothered me about Mona’s murder is the fact there is no body. She was presumed dead simply because there was a lot of blood found in the room, something that, with some pre-planning (something Mona is good at) is easy enough to stage.

The problem I have about the no body part of this (and, yes, I'm purposely ignoring the fact it did look like Mona's body was in the trunk of a car) is there is no real motive to hide it. Typically, a killer is going to hide a body to hide evidence of a murder. But, if that were the reason behind this decision, then I would expect at least a partial effort to clean up the crime scene too.

And, while they did technically find a body in the last episode, the fact it was destroyed beyond recognition just raises a big red flag for me. That’s the kind of thing someone does when they don’t want you knowing who the murder victim was, which, in this case, would be a much more likely scenario if someone wants to hide the fact it isn’t really Mona in the barrel.

The most compelling evidence against Alison this season has been the video from the secret video camera in the vent. While the fact there was a camera there isn’t necessarily odd given Mona being somewhat paranoid, the video footage just doesn’t look right.

In particular, Mona’s assailant, who walked into the room without wearing a mask or any other sort of disguise, conveniently keeps her (if it really is a woman) face hidden throughout the struggle. This is a strong indication the attacker knew the camera was there the whole time.

Granted, Alison knows Mona’s tricks pretty well and simply might have guessed at the camera being in the vent. But, if that were the case, then why not wear a disguise, kill her in a completely different room or simply remove the camera when she was done? The fact her attacker kept her face hidden from the camera and made sure to show off her blonde hair makes it much more likely the murder was staged with the intention of making Alison look guilty.

Oh, and it’s also worth mentioning that Detective Holbrook (Sean Faris) was the officer that declared Mona dead at the crime scene. A lot of people (including the PLLs) think he’s working for Alison. I personally think he’s a double agent that is actually working for Mona.

The most compelling piece of evidence in all of this came this past Tuesday, when Emily (Shay Mitchell) discovered the almonds in that old factory (by the way, what is up with all the abandoned factories on this show?).

Mona has, on at least one occasion, made sure to mention she eats almonds on a daily basis. So, either she’s continuing that habit from beyond the grave or someone is going through a great deal of labor to place a random clue like that just to make it look like she is. I think it’s more likely the former than the latter. I’m just curious if Emily is smart enough to realize the importance of that clue.

Mona Vanderwaal has proven, time and time again, she cannot be trusted and, if there is anyone on the show that can stage a murder scene and pin her fake death on her mortal enemy and her enemy's friends, it is her.

Granted, until we see her alive and well, I could be wrong. But, if she isn't secretly still alive and pulling the strings then there is someone out there going out of his/her way to make it seem that way. And, if that's the case, that person is devious enough to make me really pity the PLLs.