I imagine you've been getting inundated with angry tweets since last night.

Ian Harding: There have been some people who were like, "Oh, no, I'm so sad," but thankfully, there have been no death threats. I haven't received packages that are questionable on my doorstep, so I think, for the most part, people are OK with how things played out, or at least excited to see how it all comes to a close.

How long have you been sitting on this secret?

IH: Since February. [Creator] Marlene [King] said, "Hey, there's a possible dynamic we want to investigate." I was like, "Great, that sounds amazing. I'm excited by that." At the time, she said I would take a "dark turn," but that's a very, very simple way of putting a whole slew of possible scenarios. So I've been excited about it and been working on it for [several] months.

Talk about filming that last scene in the midseason finale. This is the first time we've seen Ezra pissed off to that extent. What was it like to jump into that different side of the character?

IH: It's great. It's gonna open up a whole thing for Ezra, and there have been so few times when I have been actually angry and outwardly aggressive on the show — I mean, pretty much zero times. I think the only other comparable moment was when I confronted my mother in that art gallery last season. And even then, the note from the director was, "Hey, take it back. Take it back. Less aggression."

Actually, we filmed one take of me slamming the closet door shut, and I just punched it. I cracked it. And I was like, "Yeah, yeah, awesome, I'm a total man!" Except for the fact that then I really hurt my hand. I still have a scar there. And I look like a big idiot. But it's been fun.