Charlotte DiLaurentis

Charlotte DiLaurentis
Pretty Little Liars character
First appearance	"Crazy"
Last appearance	Charlotte's Web
Created by	Oliver Goldstick
Portrayed by	Vanessa Ray Dylan Garza (Teenager) Wyatt Hodge (Child)
Information
Nickname(s)	"A" Charlie Freddie Bitch
Aliases	"A" CeCe Drake Alison DiLaurentis[lower-alpha 1] Red Coat Vivian Darkbloom Paul Varjak
Gender	Female (MTF)
Occupation	A Former college student Stylist Businesswoman
Family	Kenneth DiLaurentis (father) Jessica DiLaurentis (mother) Alison DiLaurentis (sister) Jason DiLaurentis (half-brother)
Relatives	Grandma D. (grandmother) Carol Ward (great aunt)
Residence	Rosewood, Pennsylvania France (expatriate)

Charlotte DiLaurentis is a transgender fictional character in the ABC Family Pretty Little Liars television series adaption. She is portrayed by Vanessa Ray.

Charlotte is introduced in the season three episode "Crazy" as CeCe Drake. CeCe is revealed to be "A," having stolen the game from Mona and she's also revealed to be Red Coat, although later confirmed she was only Red Coat to lock Emily inside the Saw Mill.^[1] Charlotte revealed herself to be A in the sixth season episode "Game Over, Charles" to tell her story about how and why she became "A" and reveals that she was born as a boy named Charles. Charlotte was then admitted to Welby State Psychiatric Hospital for five years and eventually released. However, she was murdered by an unknown assailant the following day. Charlotte also appeared in the Pretty Little Liars spin-off web series Pretty Dirty Secrets.

Casting

It was reported that Vanessa Ray was cast to play CeCe Drake, who was later known to be Charlotte DiLaurentis.^[2][3] When Ray was announced to start filming again for PLL's season 4, she spoke about returning saying "It's so fun to do, and what a crazy character I get to play. She's sort of a sociopath. I think she's so weird because she's, like, 22 but hangs out with high-schoolers. It's like, 'Hey, girl! Get a life!'”^[4]

Development

CeCe Drake was characterized as a "beyond-charismatic twenty-something blonde stylist at a boutique that has one heel in the present, one in the past.”^[5] Pretty Little Liars Producer Oliver Goldstick told TVLine that she "schooled Alison in the wicked ways of the world… She taught her everything she knows!”^[2] Drake's personality is described as the sociopathic qualities: controlling, charming, seductive, dominant, and extremely intelligent.^[3] CeCe is described with her big, blue eyes, shiny blond curls, and admirable confidence, CeCe possesses a charm eerily similar to Alison’s.^[6] The girls believe CeCe is “a lot” like Alison. In fact, CeCe acted as Alison’s mentor in teaching her how to be controlling and manipulative. Like Ali, she is closest to Spencer.^[7] CeCe was also described as “off-the-wall, self-centered, bizarre fashionista”.^[4]

Storylines

CeCe makes her first appearance in the season three episode "Crazy". The girls mistake CeCe as Alison due to CeCe's being like Alison.^[8] CeCe Drake reveals that she spent what was described as an "intense" summer with Alison DiLaurentis in Cape May, New Jersey, before Alison's disappearance.^[2][8] CeCe Drake also revealed that she previously dated Jason DiLaurentis.^[2][3][8] It was revealed that CeCe broke up with Jason the day after Alison went missing. Jason blames CeCe for the way Ali acts.^[3] In the episode "The Kahn Game", CeCe reveals to Spencer and Aria that she was a student at UPenn and invites them to a party, promising Spencer that someone from UPenn admissions will be attending.^[9] Later, CeCe challenges Eric Khan to a game of "Truth or Dare".^[9] CeCe appears in the episode "Single Fright Female", in which CeCe reveals to Spencer that CeCe and Paige had a feud between the two over Emily Fields in which CeCe referred to Paige as "Pig Skin".^[10] CeCe and Alison appear in an flashback with Paige in which CeCe also revealed that she believed Alison was afraid of Paige.^[10] Later, Spencer helps her out.^[10] CeCe saves Spencer from a snake attack in the dressing rooms.^[10] In the episode "Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Inferno", CeCe remembers the photo of Ali and Cece bonding with lobsters in Cape May, NJ that Emily shows her, but she says she never knew who "beach hottie" was exactly. CeCe stated "Honestly, there were so many hotties down there that summer,".^[11][12] Ali comes to see her at Annie's Crab Shack and tells her she's late ... like two weeks late. She was using protecting, "just not all the time."^[11] In the episode "Hot Water", Hanna sees Wilden put CeCe in his car, CeCe leaves Rosewood because she is afraid of Darren Wilden because he believes CeCe told people about Wilden getting Alison pregnant.^[13] In the episode "I'm Your Puppet", it was revealed that CeCe had a visitor pass to Radley and she was visiting Mona while she was there.^[14] Mona would later admit to seeing CeCe while in Radley, though not recalling what they spoke about due to being on medication, in the episode "'A' is for A-l-i-v-e".^[15] CeCe does not make an appearance in the episode "Crash and Burn, Girl!", however when Toby and Caleb go to investigate Red Coat's flight plan, they question Nigel Wright a second time, he reluctantly reveals that he was paid to set up an anonymous private flight for CeCe to The Lodge at Thornhill on the night of the fire in "A DAngerous GAme."^[16][17] Shana reveals to Spencer that Jenna Marshall is afraid of CeCe Drake in the episode "Into the Deep".^{[lower-alpha 2][18]} It was revealed in "The Mirror Has Three Faces" that Alison was the reason CeCe was thrown out of college after the stunt Ali pulled at the frat party leading CeCe to believe that the girls are "four she-devils" that had something to do with what happened.^[19] Ali's mom described their relationship as "toxic" as they 'wore' each other's personalities.^[19] CeCe makes her first appearance in season four in the episode "Bring Down the Hoe", CeCe is seen in an apartment filled with pictures of Alison DiLaurentis and the liars, dating all the way back from Halloween 2008.^[20] CeCe, in a black hoodie, is show spying on Aria Montgomery and Ezra Fitz.^[20] In the episode "Now You See Me, Now You Don't", the Liars are convinced that CeCe did indeed murder Darren Wilden as a sketch of a blonde woman resembling CeCe is shown on the news. During a brief struggle in which her Alison mask is kicked off by Aria, CeCe is revealed to be one of the Red Coats, though this is later proven otherwise.^[1] During the struggle, CeCe attempts to escape by grabbing onto a rope, only for it to snap.^[1] Aria tries to pull CeCe up as she pleads for Aria to help her, however she proves too heavy for Aria as her sleeve rips and she falls to the ground.^[1] While the Liars are contemplating calling the police CeCe’s hand is seen twitching, and when the Liars turn around CeCe has seemingly disappeared.^[1] In the episode "Love ShAck, Baby" according to Travis, CeCe was lasted spotted in Maryland on the run from the authorities.^{[lower-alpha 3][21]} It was revealed that she made huge money deposits before Wilden died.^[21] In the episode "She's Come Undone", it was revealed that CeCe witnessed a fight between Spencer Hastings and Alison DiLaurentis the night of Ali's disappearance.^[22] Also, Jessica DiLaurentis paid CeCe to be quiet about it.^[22]

In the season four finale "A is for Answers", CeCe is detained by Detective Holbrook (Sean Faris) and questioned about Wilden’s murder.^[23] She confesses that she knows who killed Bethany Young (the girl buried in Alison's grave) and that Alison is still alive.^{[23][lower-alpha 4]}

In "EscApe From New York", CeCe is taken away by Officer Barry Maple to be sent to jail, however, at some point she knocks him unconscious and steals his cop car and heads off to New York where Ali and the Liars are. CeCe finds Ali and asks for her help. Ali gives her a plane ticket to France and CeCe leaves the country as Vivian Darkbloom. When Emily catches Alison, Ali tells her that CeCe was being paid by Ezra for information and that she asked her to dress up as Red Coat only to distract "A". Ali also reveals that CeCe did indeed kill Wilden. In "How the 'A' Stole Christmas", CeCe returns to Rosewood to comfort Ali on her first Christmas with Jessica dead. In order to remain unseen, she wears a white cloak. She gives Ali a bottle of specially made perfume and tells her that her ex-friends are there and not to say Merry Christmas, meaning she does not trust them. Alison and CeCe escape the ball unseen after Ali gives their clothes and wigs to Cindy and Mindy to trick the Liars with.

In the season six summer finale "Game Over, Charles", CeCe is revealed to be the mysterious villain 'A', as well as a transgender Charles DiLaurentis. At the end of the previous episode, CeCe (then unknown) kidnaps Ali and takes her to the Radley Sanitarium, where she is revealed to the Liars as 'A'/Charles, as well as her motives, through a live feed in a vault at the Carissimi Group. CeCe was born as a boy named Charles DiLaurentis to Jessica and Kenneth DiLaurentis. At an early age, Charles was feminine, asking her mother to buy her dresses and she also had an obsession with dolls, thinking of her little sister Ali as her own living doll. When Charles was eight, she attempted to give her then-baby sister Ali a bath, however she accidentally dropped her in the hot water causing her to nearly drown. Kenneth caught the incident and rescued Ali. Despite the fact that Charles did not intend to drown Ali, Kenneth despised Charles for being feminine, and used the incident as an excuse to send Charles to the Radley Sanitarium.

While Charles was at Radley, Jessica frequently visited her as well as her Aunt Carol a few times, and when Charles was 12 Jessica bought her a dress for Christmas. From then on, whenever Jessica bought Ali clothes, she would buy Charles the same outfit. During her stay she also befriended fellow patient Bethany Young. In a flashback, we see Bethany and Charles on the roof, daydreaming about escape plans. Charles was wearing a dress and a scarf during that conversation, so she hides when she sees Toby's mother Marion Cavanaugh come out, calling her a goody-two-shoes and believing she'd freak out if she saw her dressed in girl's clothes. While Charles hid, Bethany pushed off Marion off of the roof, killing her, however, when Charles came out, Bethany blamed Charles, and she was never the same after that. Jessica paid Detective Darren Wilden to cover up the murder and declare Marion's death a suicide.

Charles was put on medication for a few years, and was then let out to attend her own funeral. He and his mother buried "Charles", and Charles took that as a sign of her mother finally accepting her identity, however Jessica took her back to Radley—only this time, she assumed the name of "Charlotte". Charlotte was very intelligent, solving complex math problems as a way to pass her time and escape reality. As the years passed, Jessica got the board to let her attend classes at UPenn. One day, Charlotte called in a bomb threat, and went to Rosewood under the identity of CeCe Drake, where she met Jason and dated him. Jessica didn't know that Jason was dating his own sister until one day CeCe shows up at his porch to meet Jason's father before they left for summer vacation. Since there was no away around it, Jessica allowed CeCe to come on vacation to Cape May with them.

On the infamous night of Labor Day weekend, Bethany sneaks out of Radley using Charlotte's "out" privileges and went to the DiLaurentis property to hurt Jessica as Bethany discovered Jessica having an affair with her father. CeCe also snuck out, with the intention of killing Bethany to stop her from hurting Jessica. When she saw a blonde looking into the window of the DiLaurentis home, CeCe assumed it was Bethany and hit her on the back of her head with a rock. However, it turns out that CeCe actually hit Alison. Jessica saw the incident happening. When CeCe found out who she actually hit, she was distraught, crying as she looked on while Jessica buried her own daughter (alive, although at that time they believed Ali were dead). At the same time, in present-day Spencer discovers that Rhys Matthews was just a decoy that CeCe hired, who legitimately believed he worked at the Carissimi Group.

When CeCe was sent back to Radley, she met Mona. Mona was so drugged up that she believed CeCe was Alison and told her everything about the 'A' game, and gave her information about the Liars. CeCe offered Mona a deal; if Mona helped her escape Radley, then she would let Mona continue the game (with her). Next thing we know, CeCe was meeting the Liars at The Brew, and grew a hatred for them believing that they were happy Ali disappeared. In Rosewood, CeCe started to see a blonde wearing a red coat, and she believed that it was Ali, alive indeed. To confirm her suspicions, she planned to trap the Liars in the Thornhill Lodge, believing that if Ali knew the girls were in trouble, she would reveal herself to rescue them. CeCe also hired Sara Harvey to take on the identity of Red Coat, as a decoy to distract Mona and the girls. However, Shana showed up and set fire to the Lodge, messing up CeCe's plan. But she finds out that Ali did save the girls from the fire, confirming CeCe's suspicions.

It was the perfect time to end the game and leave Rosewood when the Liars believed Shana was 'A', and Aria killed her. Before CeCe was going to leave, she was going to say goodbye to her mother, however she ended up finding her dead body. CeCe decided to wear a disguise and leave for another country to begin a new life. She ended up staying however, as the game became a drug to her and she was addicted to the feeling of having power. This is where CeCe's recounting of her past ends and the story comes back to the present. Sara, as Red Coat, had begun preparing to detonate a bomb inside Radley, ending the game by killing CeCe as well as Alison. Just as CeCe was about to press her button to set the bomb off, Spencer managed to stop it from exploding. CeCe ran to the roof, where she was surrounded by police cars down below, and was about to jump off and kill herself, however, Ali and the Liars plead with her not to, and she ends up jumping back down on the roof. CeCe surrenders and declares, "Game Over", finishing the 'A' game once and for all.

In the following episode Of Late I Think of Rosewood Charlotte had spent the past five years under medical care at the Welby State Psychiatric Hospital. Despite the Liars' hesitation to testify in favor of Charlotte's release from the hospital, the girls, aside from Aria, ended up lying for Alison and stated that they were no longer traumatized by the events her older sister had put them through. The court approved Charlotte's release, however, she was found dead the following day after allegedly committing suicide by jumping off the local church's bell tower. After the funeral, the Liars were advised to stay in Rosewood, since the Rosewood P.D. ruled the events of Charlotte's death a homicide and they might be held in for questioning.

Reception

The character was well received by critics. Riley Sky of Dropkick Divas Media gave an positive review, saying "As charming and manipulative as Alison DiLaurentis was, we get to see where Ali got those sociopathic qualities in CeCe Drake. CeCe possesses a charm eerily similar to Alison’s. While Ali "may" be dead, CeCe gives us a refreshing look at how Ali's life would have looked. This beyond-charismatic twenty-something blonde stylist that sure does have one heel in the present, one in the past, CeCe leaves us wanting more".^[24]

The character's reveal as transgender and the show's main villain "Big A" was received well by critics. Entertainment Weekly's Isabella Biedenharn called Vanessa Ray "fantastic" and "compelling".^[25] The A.V. Club reviewer LaToya Ferguson wrote that the choice of having CeCe Drake being A/Charles was "the best decision" instead of choosing Wren. To her, it could have turned out worse, alluding to the Gossip Girl's reveal. Ferguson applauded Vanessa Ray's emotional performance "reminding the audience (and characters) why they were drawn to CeCe in the first place". She highlighted how CeCe manages to make her wrongdoings acceptable, almost redeeming herself.^[26]

Notes

References

External links

• ABC Family Biography