‘Pretty Little Liars’ Finale: Keegan Allen on Toby’s Resurrection, Red Coat and Season 4

[Warning: Major spoilers from Tuesday’s season finale, “A dAngerous gAme.”]

Toby is alive!

Last night’s season finale of ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars brought back the fan favorite from the dead — after he was missing in action for weeks. In a surprising move, Toby reunited with Spencer (Troian Bellisario) in an unexpected way, revealing his main reason for joining the dangerous “A” team in the first place.

STORY: ‘Pretty Little Liars’: Red Coat’s Identity Is Revealed

Keegan Allen, who plays Toby, talks to The Hollywood Reporter following Tuesday’s episode — which drew 2.9 million viewers — about the developments of the closer, Toby’s true motives, “Spoby’s” future and clues to the new season, which is already in production.

The Hollywood Reporter: Did you always know you would return to the show?

Keegan Allen: Sort of. I wasn’t completely sure, to be honest with you, because you never really know what happens in this show, and I think that’s part of the allure. The unexpected takes place every episode. Yeah, I had no idea.

THR: When did you get the call reassuring you that Toby would be alive and kicking?

Allen: They let me know that Toby wasn’t dead and this is what’s going on, and I was like, “Woah.” It was pretty surprising, and even more surprising that Spencer joined up with Mona. I was talking to Troian [Bellisario] about that today. It’s an interesting take [with them] on the inside and finding more information out [about “A”].

THR: Can you break down the moment in the diner with Spencer and Toby’s first encounter following his “A” reveal?

Allen: There is a moment from the diner entrance when the waitress tells Toby, “Hello, Pretty Eyes,” which allowed the viewers who have been watching from the beginning another Easter egg of information that Toby was the one who went to go find the information. And in another season, I believe it was season two, when the waiter brings over apple pie, she says, “Anything else, Pretty Eyes?” or something like that. It shows that Toby was sleuthing for a very long time to get information, coming in and seeing that it was indeed Spencer, and it wasn’t the mysterious Red Coat and them coming up with a plan to figure out who was really behind all this. The “A” mystery is getting deeper and deeper and you’re starting to understand that this is a very dangerous thing.

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THR: Should we gather that Toby is not fully on the “A” team and that he’s back on Spencer’s side now, or are his true motives still unclear?

Allen: You just don’t know with the show where it’s going to go and what’s going to happen. Upon reading the first two scripts of season four, it’s surprising. The season is going to be potent with new storylines and aggressively getting to the bottom of who is in charge and why this is happening to these girls and why they keep allowing this to happen. [Whether Toby is not on the “A” team] will be explored in season four. There are a whole bunch of reasons why that happened, obviously to protect Spencer like he said, but he has a whole layer of haunted issues that make up who he’s always been. It’s not that we’ve forgotten it, it’s been pushed aside a lot, but now it’s [not].

THR: Should we gather that Toby and Spencer are back together?

Allen: They’re both very intelligent characters and very meticulous. It took a lot to get to the point at the end of the finale, where they both accepted where they were and what had happened, the sacrifices that they made to get to where they are and the choices that they made. It’s a strong relationship. The fandom was very excited, and I think it’s about exploring what happens after that.

THR: Are you aware of who knocked Toby out? Is that a question we should be asking moving forward?

Allen: Yes. There are lot of questions like that: Who knocked Toby out? What is this lighter that he found? What is the insignia? What’s in the trunk? What are the girls going to do with this car and Detective Wilden’s (Bryce Johnson) video? That will be continued to be explored in season four.

THR: How did you react when you found out that Alison (Sasha Pieterse) might be Red Coat?

Allen: I don’t really believe it, just as me watching it. Ali is such an anomaly now in the show that it’s hard to believe that she would be able to walk around in a bright red coat and not be spotted. I think it’s the fact that these girls really did care about her, and they could be projecting what they wish: that they could see Ali again. That’s my own theory about it, or it could be something even crazier.

THR: How soon does season four kick off after the events of the finale?

Allen: Moments later, so to speak, and you get to see what’s in the trunk, what the girls do with the information that they’ve acquired and how they’ve responded to Red Coat or where they go with Red Coat. Man, it’s such an exciting episode. [Executive producer] Marlene King is directing it and she wrote it.

Pretty Little Liars returns for season four June 11 on ABC Family.

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