FreeformStrap on your seatbelts, Pretty Little Liars fans, 'cause the road to happily ever after is going to be a bumpy ride.
Season seven of the Freeform hit is officially underway, and with the cast and creative team touting this as the end of the show as we know it, it's safe to say it's do-or-die for the Liars, in more ways than one, including their ever-so-complicated love lives.
E! News hopped on the phone with co-showrunner Charlie Craig to get the scoop on what's ahead for all of PLL's fan-favorite pairings (as well as when we can expect the first big death of the season).
"I can say by the time that we're done the people who have been the most ardent fans and have had investments most ardently in relationships will be happy where we end up," Craig tells us of the show's relationships, "But it's a really bumpy road between here and there."
Ezria: Oh, you thought the couple's reunion in the premiere meant it was all smooth sailing from here? Bless you heart, you must be new! As Craig says, "I was watching [the premiere], thinking if I was a viewer and if I was a real Ezria fan, I would say, ‘Oh, it's great that they're together and there'd a lot of episodes between here and there and my guess is they're not just going to be eating dinner together for the next first and second season,' and I think that's a safe bet."
And while "it's been pretty bumpy over the first six seasons," Craig previews the road to happiness will only get rockier for Aria (Lucy Hale) and Ezra (Ian Harding) in season seven, but it will be worth it. "I would say anybody expecting it to be a smoother ride than it's been in previous seasons is going to be disappointed. It's going to be bumpy. Stick with it, get invested...I think die-hard shippers will be surprised yet rewarded by where everybody ends up at the end of the season."
Emison: Craig remains pretty tight-lipped about Alison (Sasha Pieterse) and Emily's (Shay Mitchell) relationship this season, but previews multiple love interests are in store for Emily, including a returning Paige (Lindsey Shaw) and "a couple of other people." But with great romance comes great danger from A.D. "It's not going to be an easy ride for Emily, along with anybody else. But I'm really excited about where Emily is going to end up.
Caleb-Spencer-Toby Love Triangle: Prepare yourselves now, people, because the Caleb (Tyler Blackburn), Spencer (Troian Bellisario) and Toby (Keegan Allen) situation is going to get "very volatile," Craig warns. "There's going to be a lot of tears, there's going to be a lot of happiness, there's going to be a lot of sexual tension, maybe even some sex, but I think we tried really hard to think of a good realistic triangle situation for those guys and then to play it out, and we're really happy with how it's gone."
Of course, it's not only drama of the romantic nature that PLL will be providing in season seven, as we know at least three or four people will die when it's all said and done. And Craig says fans can expect to see the first casualty be revealed sooner rather than later. "We did open this season with a grave being dug, right? Already we know somebody is going to have to be put in that hole, and we're going to explain that sooner rather than later," he teases. "We'll have the answer in the first half of the season as to who that hole is being dug for. It could be Hanna, it could be someone else, so that will be the first fatality of the season."
And, in case the message wasn't already crystal clear, Craig adds, "This is going to be the scariest, deadliest, hopefully most surprising season of PLL yet."
Pretty Little Liars airs tonight at 8 p.m. on Freeform.