Mike Montgomery

"I'm going to make it up to you, okay?"

- Mike to Aria

Mike Montgomery is Aria Montgomery's younger brother. He is portrayed by Cody Allen Christian.

Biography
He suffered a lot as a result of his parents' divorce along with Aria, which involves several violent episodes. He also sneaks around his parents, keeping secrets that Aria is aware of in general, but not privy to. He also suffered chronic depression which seems to be under control now, with the help of a therapist and medication. Mike wasn't physically present for the entire third season, but returned in season 4 where he and Aria seemed to have become closer. He in an on and off romantic relationship with Mona Vanderwaal, which ended with her death in Taking This One to the Grave.

Series
Pilot
 * -|Season 1=

Mike is first seen telling Ella Montgomery and Aria Montgomery that he needs a ride to lacrosse practice. He goes downstairs to search for his equipment. He complains to Ella that his stuff is in a hundred boxes and she suggests they look in the basement. After finding it, he leaves with Aria. When they arrive, he tells Aria what time to pick him up then goes to practice.

The Jenna Thing

Mike comes home with Ella bringing Chinese takeout. Mike, Ella and Byron start eating while Aria goes upstairs to change her clothes.

Reality Bites Me

Mike approaches Aria with his concern about Byron and Ella fighting, feeling vulnerable, but Aria tells him that it isn't their business. Later Aria makes dinner for the both of them and they watch TV together. The Homecoming Hangover Mike deals with his parents separation badly and gets into a fist fight with another guy in the school hallways. Aria and Sean break up the fight, and Mike responds angrily to Aria, pushing her away.

Know Your Frenemies

At breakfast, Byron reveals that he and Ella have decided to see other people. Mike is angered by this and storms off.

To Aria's dismay, Mike starts hanging out with Noel after Aria has broken it off with Noel. Mike innocently reports that Noel is planning to out Mr. Fitz's relationship with a student—at the dinner table in front of a horrified Aria and her father, who reacts by scolding his son for making unsupported allegations that could ruin a man's career. Mike assures them that it is true as Noel said he saw them and was going to the principal's office the next day.

Someone to Watch Over Me When Byron finds out that Aria has a secret relationship with a boy, he pries in Aria's room, looking for clues. He almost discovers the truth, but Ella stops him in an argument, overheard by Mike. When Aria returns home, Mike scolds her for keeping a secret from her parents that is causing them to fight again; he blames her for their fight. Things were starting to improve between their parents' relationship.

Aria and Mike had agreed to make dinner for the parents as a way to a family date night, but due to the argument, Ella cancels, leaving the three to eat dinner alone. Mike is very upset, as he wants his parents' relationship to stabilize again, or better yet, go back to the way it was before.

Even though Mike was the one who wanted his parents to get back together the most (and for Ella to come home), he is not contented with the situation and upset by how much has changed. Ironically, Aria is the one enjoying the return, not Mike.
 * -|Season 2=

Blind Dates

Aria goes to find and pick up Mike at the basketball courts, as per her mother's request, but only finds Mike's "old" friends and even, Jason. His friends let her know that Mike hasn't been around in awhile, and Jason theorizes that Mike is doing things his family obviously wouldn't approve of. When Mike comes home, he scares her by not speaking up when she asks who's there. She also confronts him about his lies, but he brushes her off, as he is not dealing with his transitioning family situation very well. Aria's dad picks up on Mike's abnormal behavior at home, but Aria denies what she knows, having been threatened by Mike that he would tell their parents that she has been hanging out with her friends which her parents temporarily forbid her to do because of the attention the town gives to the girls.

The Devil You Know Jason watches Mike trying to break into his house and brings him home, without calling the police, saying that there have been enough police around that house (it was the DiLaurentis' old home). When Aria begins lecturing Mike about breaking into people's house, he says he will return all the stuff he stole from Emily's garage if it makes her happy. Aria pauses, and then begins to figure it out, asking him if he's the one who body-checked her in the Hastings's house. He admits that he was, saying he felt really bad about it.

Surface Tension

Officer Barry comes to the Montgomery residence to reveal that Mike had been arrested for breaking and entering. When his parents pick him up, Mike avoids his parents questions by walking away silently. Byron tries to force explanations out of his son, but Ella stops him, letting Mike go into the car so that she can talk to her husband. She argues that talking to him while being angry won't help their cause. Obviously, Mike's behavior is indicative of a bigger problem, which they need to discover, and they won't be any closer at finding out what it is if they lash out at him. When Mike comes home, Aria accuses him of stealing from Jenna, but she is thrown for a loop when he tells her it was stolen from Garrett Reynolds' (or as Mike calls him "Officer McFriendly") place; he claims to have actually stolen from a cop because he was looking for a gun. Aria is skeptical, but Mike assures her that he vividly remembers stealing the piece from Garrett's place, not Jenna's.

Picture This

Mike's behavior closely mirrors that of someone who is clinically depressed. He sleeps in his room in the middle of the day and is barely communicative with his parents when they speak to him (or to anyone in general). He has fallen out of touch with his friends and no longer engages in the activities that he used to, having abandoned lacrosse and basketball altogether. Ella finds out from Mike's school teachers that Mike does not seem to "be there" when in class, that he's completely checked out, probably because he is no longer able to concentrate. Ella's approach is to give Mike time and space until he is ready to communicate with them, but Byron wants a hardline approach and wants to force Mike to attend school sooner and behave properly again. When he visits Mike's room, he is shocked to find him in bed with the door locked. He scolds his son for breaking the rules by locking the door, but doesn't mention Mike's attending school the way he had planned. Later, Byron reveals to Ella his concern that Mike is behaving the way that his brother Scott did...Did Scott commit suicide? Scott's fate is left vague, but Ella firmly denies the comparison, and the parents are left troubled by their son's confusing behavior.

I Must Confess

It is revealed that Mike has been diagnosed with teen depression. His father believes that medication is the correct form of treatment, but Ella insists on him speaking to a psychologist. While Byron is at Hollis, Aria goes into Mike's room to tell him to go downstairs. Mike gets annoyed and tries to shoo her away, but she refuses to leave, trying to reason with Mike to open up to his family. Then Ella comes in to insist that Mike turn off his computer and make dinner. She firmly shuts the computer, but Mike gets violent, tries to get the computer back, and leaves his mother with a bruise from the quarrel before angrily walking away. Ella insists that Aria keep the shocking incident a secret from her father. Later, Mike is again alone in his room. Aria passes and sees that her brother is teary-eyed. He confesses to being worried about his mother and later goes downstairs to face the family, outwardly apologetic for the first time in a while. Aria has also informed her parents that Mike's break in that led to his arrest was not the first isolated incident.

Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares

After Ezra and Aria come clean about their relationship to her parents, Mike punches him in the jaw causing him to bleed and leave immediately. Later, he apologizes to Aria for punching him. He tells her that he did it only because he was scared Byron might do it first. He also shows her an escape route so that she can go to the greenhouse to meet the other Liars.

Father Knows Best

Mike tells Aria that he knows she is still seeing Ezra even though their parents forbade it. He doesn't understand why she just doesn't let him go, and she tells him when you love someone, it is worth fighting for, no matter what the odds. After this, he also talks to their father about Aria's relationship saying that maybe he has been too hard on her.

Although Mike didn't physically appear during season 3, he was mentioned by Byron, Ella and Aria during several episodes.
 * -|Season 3=

Cat's Cradle
 * -|Season 4=

A photo of Mike was seen in this episode.

Gamma Zeta Die!

Ella wants to go to Europe, but tells Aria that she has decided not to go to Austria with Zack, and reveals that Mike is not comfortable with Ella leaving. Aria talks to Mike at her house about Ella going to Europe. They begin to fight and Mike says that Aria only wants her gone so that she can get back with Ezra. Aria pushes Mike in response and runs off. Byron tells Ella that he’s spoken to Mike and that it is time for Ella to enjoy herself. Since they have always wanted to go to Europe and Ella has always done things for everyone else, Byron tells her to take the opportunity and go and that he will be fine with Aria and Mike.

Under The Gun A new guy that works at the Brew breaks something, and Aria goes over to help him. He is Connor, who is friends with Mike. Connor asks Aria to help him with his English paper, to which Aria hesitantly agrees. Aria helps Connor with his paper but is interrupted by Mike, who seems mad. He leaves the house. Next day, in the school, Mike tells Aria that Connor is telling everyone that she and Connor hooked up and Mike believes him. Later that day Aria lies in bed crying. She has been getting text messages from boys at her school about the incident. Mike approaches her and says that he should have known that Connor was lying and apologizes. He tells her that he'll make it up to her and they hug.

Crash and Burn, Girl!

After Connor's car is whacked like a Pinta. He's the main suspect and is almost expelled from school until point is brought up by Ezra that nobody has proof that Mike 'did it'

The Guilty Girl's Handbook

Mike gets back in the lacrosse team's good graces which worries Aria.

Whirly Girlie
 * -|Season 5=

Mike knocks on Aria's bedroom door as she's on the phone. She quickly hangs up and lets her younger brother in, where he asks if Alison really is alive and back in the DiLaurentis house. He also admires Alison for being "tough", although he his surprised she didn't kill her kidnapper with her "bare hands". Having overheard Aria's phone conversation to the hospital, Mike then asks why Mr Fitz is in the hospital.

The following day, Mike spots Mona outside the Brew, picking up a large box, and runs over to greet her. Upon asking if she needs help, to which she declines, Mona tells Mike she has bought whistles for every girl in school, so they can protect themselves, in case Alison's rumoured 'kidnapper' is still out there". As Mona leaves for her meeting with Principal Hackett, Mike tells her that he misses her. That night, Aria arrives home to find Mike and Mona sharing a pizza. Mike offers to take Mona home, but before he does he gives Aria her iPod back, saying he needed it for social studies, and he was the one playing the violin music the night before.

No One Here Can Love or Understand Me

Sitting on the floor of the Montgomery living room, Mike listens as Mona tells him that everything about the Manhattan Project is fun and it’s the place where the Cold War started. Laughing, Mike says that he doesn’t think he can put that in the report. Looking up when Aria irritably says hello, Mike and Mona greet her. Mona asks Mike if he wants some more hot chocolate and he tells her sure.

In the movie theater, Mike notices Aria arrive and as he comments that she made it, Aria apologises for being late.

As the film is showing, Mike looks adoringly towards Mona. After Aria has whispered something in Mona ear, Mona whispered an excuse me in Mike’s ear. Looking over his shoulder as Mona gets up and leaves the theater, Mike turns towards Aria who just shrugs and focuses back on the movie.

Looking towards the back of the theater, Mike turns back to the movie. After checking the doors for a second time, Mike leans over to Aria whispers that Mona has been gone a long time, and Aria says that she’ll go and check on her.

Book Comparisons

 * In the show, Mike acts out due to his parents' problems. In the books, this never happens.
 * In the books, Mike dates Hanna. In the show, they only had a short fling.
 * In the show Mike and Mona date for a short period of time, however in the books they barely interact.
 * In the books, Mike is known as the popularity-obsessed and dirty-minded younger brother of Aria. In the show, Mike has completely different personality and was never seen trying to become popular.
 * In the books, Mike and Noel are really good friends, but in the show they are only seen talking to each other once.