Mallory Bechtel breaks down that episode 2 death.
Warning: This post contains spoilers from the first three episodes ofPretty Little Liars: Original Sin.
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sinwasted no time in claiming its first victim.
Mallory Bechtel on ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’.Barbara Nitke/HBO Max
(It would be herCarriemoment.)
EW spoke with Bechtel about playing twins, Karen’s death, and what this will mean for Kelly.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Were you familiar with thePretty Little Liarsuniverse before you joined the series?
Barbara Nitke/HBO Max
MALLORY BECHTEL: Yes, extremely.
I bought the first book when I was in fourth grade.
I remember thinking that the doll was going to come to life.
Bailee Madison and Mallory Bechtel on ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’.Barbara Nitke/HBO Max
But I bought the book when I was way too young, and was obsessed with it.
We would just go crazy trying to figure out who “A” was.
We would hold sleepovers for the premieres.
So I was obsessed with it when I was a kid.
So then you understood the twin reference!
Did you audition for twins?
How did you find out about all that?
So I originally auditioned for just Karen, but they included in the description that she has a twin.
Which, of course, everything’s about to change.
And that was when I first realized, “Oh, this character’s going to die.”
That’s how you found that out?!
I made a character profile for each one of them.
And I think it paid off.
Speaking of those character profiles, what are the big differences between Karen and Kelly, in your mind?
It really was like, “Karen is the queen of mean.
She torments our Liars.
And Kelly is her slightly nicer sister.”
Or I don’t even think they used the word nicer.
I think they said, “less mean,” so that’s really all I had.
And then I had these two scenes.
That meant a lot.
That’s who Kelly is.
Even in episode 3, you see her trying to reel her parents in a bit.
Kelly goes through the craziest journey.
And so she has to really step up to the plate.
She is the caretaker of the house.
I really loved that swing set scene with Kelly and Imogen, that was so sweet.
Oh, it’s such a great scene.
I had a completely different vision of what it was going to look like.
I thought it was going to be nighttime for some reason.
And we show up and it’s this beautiful sunset happening behind us.
By the end of it I found myself hoping that maybe Kelly will get pulled into the Liar fold.
There might be a little bit of that down the line.
Look, they all definitely seem to have a common enemy.
We can say that much.
Is this “A” as creepy in person as it is on screen?
I cannot emphasize how sweet of a man Travis Patton is.
And it’s just the grossest mask on the planet.
That’s the reaction it brought out of me.
Looking ahead, do you have a favorite episode?
Something you’re free to’t wait for fans to see?
I think episode 9.
That’s one I’m interested for people to see.
I think it’s a lot like episode 3, actually.
It’s one of the heavier, not as much happening, but a lot of emotional turmoil.
Now that you’ve filmed a season of this show, was it what you expected?
What was it actually like to be part of thePLLuniverse?
More than just being a part of thePretty Little Liarsuniverse, it was my first big job.
It was an absolute dream.
That has been so, so cool.
The response has been better than I expected.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
New episodes ofPretty Little Liars: Original Sindrop Thursdays on HBO Max.
