Editor’s note: The below article contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 6 of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.Life in Millwood is anything but ordinary for residents Imogen Adams (Bailee Madison), Tabitha “Tabby” Haworthe (Chandler Kinney), Noa Olivar (Maia Reficco), Faran Bryant (Zaria), and Minnie “Mouse” Honrada (Malia Pyles) on HBO Max’sPretty Little Liars: Original Sin.The girls are being hunted by the infamous A, while A brutally murders those around them at an alarming rate, and they’re tasked with finding the terrible people in town that have gotten away with despicable crimes for far too long.
So far, everything leads back to Angela Waters (Gabriella Pizzolo) and her mysterious death back in 1999, so the girls are focusing their attention on learning more about Angela and her family. While digging into Angela’s family history, particularly in the years after her death, the girls discover that Angela’s mother Rose was taken to stay at the Radley Sanitarium in Rosewood, Pennsylvania — a nod to the original show. But, they also find out that the Radley Sanitarium has been shut down a few years ago, and a hotel has been erected in its place. Still, Imogen and Tabby go on a road trip in Episode 6 to find longtime Radley orderly Eddie Lamb (played byReggie AustinonPretty Little Liarsand recast asCharles GrayinOriginal Sin). For fans of the original, this is a well-understood nod to the impact of the Radley Sanitarium on the original series. For those maybe new to the universe, let’s break down the long, dirty history of the Radley. Because, as the original instilled so deeply in viewers, all roads lead back to Radley.
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On Freeform’sPretty Little Liars, the Radley doesn’t come into play until the beginning of Season 3. After Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish) is revealed to be A, she is taken to the Radley Sanitarium for treatment of her perpetual state of hyperreality that caused her to be seemingly everywhere and all-knowing. However, the Radley wasn’t exactly known for its security. We later learn Mona had been sneaking out unnoticed on a regular basis to continue stalking and torturing Aria (Lucy Hale), Hanna (Ashley Benson), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), and Emily (Shay Mitchell). After Mona is released, Spencer checks in at the end of the season after she finds a body that she believes to be her boyfriend Toby (Keegan Allen) in the woods, causing her a great deal of emotional distress after weeks of being heartbroken and on edge after learning Toby had been working with Mona on the A-Team. While at Radley, Spencer starts to search for clues and information, namely about Mona, and discovers that the Radley is not a place you ever really leave; a part of it will always haunt you.
From the beginning of the third season to the middle of the sixth season, Radley is a mainstay onPretty Little Liars. So many of the mysteries come from within those walls, as do so many tortured souls… like the Liars’ next tormentor, Charlotte DiLaurentis (Vanessa Ray), who spent the entirety of her childhood locked away in Radley, being consistently mistreated and misdiagnosed, with little to no visitors for years at a time. Another mystery is that of Toby’s mother, Marion Cavanaugh (Karla Droege), whose untimely and unexpected suicide during her stay at Radley inflicted such a great deal of pain onto Toby. Later, it’s revealed that Marion was pushed off of the roof by another inmate, Bethany Young, and the staff at Radley covered it up to keep Bethany — and themselves — from having their names dragged into the mud. The beginning of the series with Alison’s presumed death is even tied back to Radley in the end, as Bethany ends up being the girl identified as Alison, escaped from Radley for the evening with Charlotte and killed by happenstance. However, after the girls are kidnapped and held by Charles for three weeks, we return to Rosewood in the Season 6 premiere following a three-week time jump… and Radley has been sold. The patients have been sent to other facilities, and the now-vacant building is just sitting there as an eyesore for Rosewood citizens. Of course, it isn’t long before the girls end up back there to stop Charlotte from killing herself after finally learning the truth of her identity and hearing her story. But, then, a five-year time jump brings us back to Rosewood to see that Hanna’s mother Ashley (Laura Leighton) has converted this prime piece of real estate into a luxurious hotel. (Though she had to exorcize all the ghosts first.) Still, the girls cannot escape it, as the goings-on of their lives brings them back within the walls to investigate.
First, their attention falls on antagonist and A’s former helper Sara Harvey (Dre Davis), who is staying at the Radley and, as we later learn, has been scoping out the in-between spaces and underneath the hotel to find Charlotte’s hidden “treasure” within the remnants of the sanitarium. Poor Sara didn’t realize this was just a file with records of Charlotte’s true parentage. Then, the Liars are tasked with figuring out Mary Drake (Andrea Parker), secret twin sister to Jessica DiLaurentis (also played by Parker), who spent more time at the Radley than anyone else on the series. Drake ended up in Radley after Jessica blamed Mary for her own negligence that cost a little boy his life. Of course, this is just Mary’s version of events as she ensured nobody could ever ask Jessica when Mary killed her at the end of the fourth season. During Mary’s off-and-on time at Radley, she gave birth to Spencer and her long-lost twin sister Alex Drake (played by Bellisario), the latter of which become the girls’ final stalker as she sought revenge for Charlotte’s death. While Spencer went to live with Peter (Nolan North) and Veronica Hastings (Lesley Fera), Radley’s shady practices allowed for Alex to be sold to a couple across the pond, and Mary used the money to finally get away from her sister.
All roads lead back to Radley because it’s a place that leaves a mark on those that are unfortunate enough to stay there. The ghosts haunt Mona and Spencer for years, even though Spencer’s stay was only for about a week and Mona’s for six months. The dirty history of the Radley helps us to understand the villains like Charlotte, who are so completely lost in their mental illness because Radley didn’t actually pay attention and properly treat them. Radley became a jail for those that society couldn’t be bothered to deal with.
Throughout these seasons, we come across Eddie Young multiple times. He becomes the face for the secrets that Radley has kept. Having worked at Radley for quite a long time, he knew Marion, Mona, Charlotte, and began to grow closer to Spencer during her stay there. He helps Spencer learn more about the sanitarium, even dropping cryptic comments about Mona now and again as he starts to understand Spencer’s motivation for staying there. After Spencer’s stay, the next time we see him is when Aria begins to volunteer at the Radley to attempt to learn more about Bethany Young. Shortly thereafter, Eddie completely disappears, leaving his job and Rosewood behind to never be seen again. However, his story is a little different onPretty Little Liars: Original Sin. While he did indeed still work at Radley for years, adding Rose Waters to the long list of patients he helped to care for, he stuck around. Instead of vanishing completely after being pressed for answers about Bethany, this version of Eddie never had that dilemma and continued working for Radley until it closed, then working in maintenance for the hotel. It doesn’t matter much as Eddie was never a vital player in the original series, but it does raise questions about whether the spinoff will continue to make slight tweaks to the original’s history.
