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A New Girl Is Causing Trouble On 'Pretty Little Liars'

by Megan Walsh

Now that Emily is working at her old high school on Pretty Little Liars, she's once again being subjected to some seriously petty high school drama. A precocious student named Addison appeared in "These Boots Were Made for Stalking" and she was giving Emily trouble at every turn, though the reasons for her attitude problem weren't really clear. What did she have against Emily that made her turn her coach into such a target? Who is Addison on Pretty Little Liars and what does she want?

Played by Ava Allan, Addison Derringer has more than a few similarities to Alison at the height of her mean girl glory. Their names are similar in sound and they also share the same initials: A.D., the very same initials that keep appearing over and over on the show. The fact that she shares that important connection with so many characters makes it seem like Addison might have something to do with the central mystery. Could she know A.D., or even be A.D.? It would be kind of fitting for the mystery of the show to start and end in high school, but it would also be random and bizarre for A.D. to be employing high school students for their nefarious plans. Then again, it worked the first time, right?

Addison was definitely being pretty shady in her first appearance. In addition to butting heads with Emily over next to nothing, she was also a major lurker, snapping pictures of Emily in private moments and listening in on private conversations. Then when she'd gathered enough blackmail material, she accused Emily of being inappropriate with her and other girls on the swim team. It was a move right out of the Alison DiLaurentis playbook, which seemed like one more hint that Addison was somehow involved in whatever A.D. was planning. She and Alison were just too similar for there to be no connection there.

Addison's suspicious behavior didn't end there, either. It looked like she was receiving texts from Jenna, who viewers know is in league with A.D., though that could have been a red herring. Two people texting at the same time doesn't necessarily mean they're texting each other — coincidences do happen. Emily was pretty convinced that Addison was part of the game, but her paranoia could've been a motivating factor in that assumption.

It was also possible Addison was there to set up for a future spinoff — Pretty Little Liars: The Next Generation. As the newest bullying It Girl in town, Addison could accumulate her own little club of Liars to manipulate for seven more years of a whole new show. It wouldn't exactly be the freshest turn of events, but it's always a possibility.