‘PLL: The Perfectionists’ EP Marlene King Hints At The Professor’s ‘Bigger Plan’ & More After Epic Finale

‘PLL: The Perfectionists’ ended its first season with the introduction of a new big bad. Showrunner Marlene King breaks down The Professor reveal and all your unanswered questions in our EXCLUSIVE interview.

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists turned up the notch with the mystery in the thrilling season finale. Alison, Mona, and the Perfectionists were introduced to the new big bad, The Professor, who has big plans for all them. The Professor is watching them and has what it takes to destroy everything they’ve built. The Professor also killed Nolan. No one knows who The Professor is yet and the big bad’s identity is a big question after the finale.

HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with showrunner Marlene King all about the jam-packed finale. She revealed how The Professor compares to A, how important those 2 people who were missing at the Crimson Society meeting are, and whether or not we’ll be seeing certain characters in a potential second season. Plus, will the Perfectionists’ main goal be finding out the identity of The Professor going forward? Check out our Q&A below.

I loved the introduction of The Professor in the finale. I love the whole college element to it with the secret society. Going off of what we know, how would you say The Professor compares to A?
Marlene King: I would say The Professor is kind of an Uber A.

More or less dangerous, possibly?
Marlene King: I think more dangerous. I think The Professor has a much bigger plan than A ever had.

At the very end of the episode, we see Zach possible meeting The Professor face-to-face. Have you decided on who The Professor is? Could it be someone we’ve seen before?
Marlene King: Yes. We know who it is, and I’m just going to wait, and let you figure out if you’ve seen the person or not.

At the Crimson Society meeting, there were 2 people who didn’t show up. Will these 2 people sort of come into play in a possible season 2? 
Marlene King: One will, one may not. But we’ll find out who both of them are.

Mona ended things with Mason, but is it really over for them? Would you want to bring Mason back into the fold? 
Marlene King: I would love to see Mason in season 2 because I love Mason and Mona together.

There was also this introduction of the Luke character, whom Dylan has a past with. He bullied Dylan as a young kid and is now trying to make amends. Would we be seeing him again in season 2?
Marlene King: We have every intention of seeing Luke again.

At the very end of the episode, there’s a woman who comes out and says about Ali, “She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in.” On IMDB, it said her name was Dr. Fielder. Is she Dr. Fielder from the book?
Marlene King: Well, I’d say it’s our TV version of Dr. Fielder. We’re paying homage to sort of the name from the books, but the person is their own thing in the TV show.

Over the course of the first season, I loved the Easter eggs that you guys included with the throwbacks to Pretty Little Liars. There’s always mention of A and you’ve brought up the characters multiple times. Is there anyone that you would love to sort of bring back if it was possible in a season 2?
Marlene King: Oh, everybody. I feel like because it’s a pretty large universe, and we’re living in this Beacon Heights world of weird surveillance and people watching, there’s a way to bring everybody back. In my perfect world, we get to keep all those characters alive throughout the coming seasons.

Will we see Hayley Erin’s character again? I feel like her story is very far from being over.
Marlene King: We will definitely see her character again. She’s a big part of the show, and she’s a force to be reckoned with, I would say.

In a second season, would the whole element of Nolan’s murder be taking a back seat with the Perfectionists? Will they put that aside to try to figure out who The Professor is?
Marlene King: Well I think there’s definitely going to be moving to find out who The Professor is. I definitely think that’ll be a big part of the launching of season 2, for sure.

When you were sort of crafting the character of The Professor, were you inspired by any certain villains? Was it inspired by Uber A? What were the elements that you wanted to really include in this new big bad?
Marlene King: I guess I would say it’s sort of our Uber A-like person. Our Perfectionists are being watched for a reason. We’re not sure what The Professor wants just yet, but that story’s going to unfold in a very Pretty Little Liars way.