Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin: Who killed Karen in episode 2?

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin

As we watched Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin season 1 episode 2 on HBO Max, we absolutely expected something big … but not Karen’s death.

Through most of the first two episodes, this character was set up to be one of the central adversaries, a young woman who was cutthroat, manipulative, jealous, and so much more. However, we also learned in episode 2 that she was a tad more complicated than we first imagined. Hence, why she felt so betrayed by Imogen over the kiss.

Despite all this, though, Karen still seemed ready to extract some vengeance on Imogen at the Spirit Week dance, only for someone to creep up and murder her! Two episodes in, and we have our first major death in the present-day. (We’re not factoring in Imogen’s mom, given that this was baked into the foundation of the show.) There’s also the introduction of the show’s new “A,” who is murderous, twisted, and ready to torment the new generation of Liars.

Speaking to TV Insider, show executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa made it clear that the motivations of this A are complicated, and it isn’t just 100% about what you are seeing from Karen in the present:

“It seems like A is trying to avenge something from the past. How does Karen fit into this? Why? Our girls have various reasons. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say Karen dies for not just her behavior in the present but also for her connection to the original sin in the past … It feels very thematically in keeping with the rest of the show. There is definitely a reason why, from A’s point of view, Karen had to die.”

As for the theories out there that it was not Karen, and rather her twin, who ended up dying … we wouldn’t rule that out entirely! This is a franchise with a legacy of big twin twists, and absolutely it feels like this sort of thing could be possible.

Related Get some more news on Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, including a look towards episode 4

What did you think about the death of Karen on Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin season 1 episode 2?

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