For once, the Pretty Little Liars have suffered a tragedy born of fate itself.

A.D. is a busy little bee, but the scourge of Rosewood was too busy tormenting the core four to spend time fashioning a real-life Christine. Although Toby (Keegan Allen) and Yvonne's (Kara Royster) accident was not part of someone's nefarious agenda, their unconscious bodies still left an unsettling exclamation point at the end of the midseason finale.

"There was nothing nefarious going on there," showrunner Marlene King told TV Guide. "The car crash was just saying that no one ever really leaves Rosewood, especially from this group. It's more of a metaphor than anything else."

Does that mean Toby is really dead? He looked pretty lifeless as the credits rolled, but Pretty Little Liars is known for slipping the noose around someone's neck only to later reveal they're wearing a safety harness.

"I don't want to talk about where it goes, but people know how much I love the character of Toby, so you can read into that," King teased. "He's one of my favorites on this show."

Now that there are only 10 episodes left in the season, however, the Pretty Little Liars writing team can kill off characters with impunity. Expect the stakes to be as high as ever when the Liars take us back to Rosewood this spring.

"The next 10 [episodes] are, emotionally, the most powerful 10 we've ever had. The actresses are having so much fun with how deep they get to go in the final 10," King explained. "We really put them through the ringer, as we tend to do, but they love it. The catchphrase is 'The End Game -- Final Game.'"

Are you ready for Emily (Shay Mitchell), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Hanna (Ashley Benson), Aria (Lucy Hale), and Alison (Sasha Pieterse) to go one last round with A? Click the video below to see a preview for season 7B.

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Pretty little liars, Television, Freeform