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| “ | Pretending not to love you was the hardest thing I've ever done. | ” |
Toby Cavanaugh is a major supporting character in the Pretty Little Liars television series on Freeform. He was portrayed by James Neate in "Pilot", and by Keegan Allen starting from the second episode of the first season.
The former lonely boy who became a police officer. Toby was the first suspect in the disappearance of queen bee Alison DiLaurentis, seen as a stalker with the girls of Rosewood, until it was discovered that he was the victim of his stepsister Jenna Marshall. He is the son of the deceased Marion Cavanaugh and the widow of Yvonne Phillips. He is currently married to Spencer Hastings.
Biography
Toby Cavanaugh is a shy person who was blackmailed by his step-sister Jenna to have sexual relations with her, saying that she would tell their parents that Toby had been forcing her and that they would surely have believed her. Alison told the Liars that she saw Toby spying on them from his tree house and watched them change clothes, and they believed her. Alison and her friends tried to get revenge on him by throwing a stink-bomb into the Cavanaugh's garage, which set the garage on fire and accidentally blinded Jenna, in the process. It is unknown whether anyone else was inside the garage. Alison blackmailed Toby into taking the blame for Jenna's "accident", by saying that she would tell the whole town about their affair.
Commemorating September 1, the day he became free of Jenna, and coincidentally the same day Alison DiLaurentis went missing, Toby got a tattoo: "9/01 Free At Last". This (at the time), fueled the Liars beliefs that Toby killed Ali. After a year in reform school (in Maine), Toby returns to Rosewood where he is treated as a social pariah, and suspected of being an "A" - by The Liars - and also Alison's murderer (by the whole town). He convinces the girls otherwise, starting with Emily Fields when he befriends her. He helps Emily to come out and tell people that she's gay, something that she's forever grateful for. Toby maintains his innocence in Alison's murder, is eventually cleared, and even begins a long-term relationship with Spencer Hastings. (See Spoby.)
When Mona Vanderwaal is sent to Radley after the events in the Season 2, the girls receive a text, "Mona played with dolls, I play with body parts". It can only be assumed that this message and the other escalating threats of Season 3 were from Toby. At the end of The Lady Killer, it is revealed Toby is a part of The A-Team alongside Mona. Spencer finds this out on their one-year anniversary, and ends their relationship because of it. Spencer is heartbroken and, throughout the season, this becomes increasingly obvious. Later, Spencer reveals to the Liars that Toby is a member of the "A-Team", and she has known about it for weeks.
In Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Spencer follows Mona into the woods, where she finds a body on the ground surrounded by camping gear. The person is wearing a biker helmet and a leather jacket. Spencer doesn't realize who this could be until she recognizes a tattoo on the mystery person's side: "9/01 Free At Last". Thinking the body is Toby's, Spencer breaks down and begins to cry; however, before she can lift the eye guard on the helmet for confirmation, Mona calls out from the woods, "He's dead," taking Spencer's attention away from the body and prompting her to chase Mona. Whether or not the body in the woods was actually Toby's was debatable and —at the time— unknown. However, in A DAngerous GAme, it was revealed that Toby is alive and that the body Spencer found was a John Doe. Toby meets Spencer at a diner (thinking she is Mona) to say that Hanna got the babysitting job. Spencer says "I know" and raises her head to look at him. Upon realizing it is Spencer, he confesses that he joined the A-Team to protect her, stating: "Everything I've done is so I could protect you." They reunite and Toby is kicked out of the A-Team.
In Season 4, Toby's storyline centers around the fact that he wants answers about his mom's death. "A" tortures him with information about his mom's supposed suicide, in which he makes deals with the devil. He gives the RV to "A" and Spencer is upset because it could have given them information. There is a strain put on his relationship with Spencer because she told the other Liars about him making deals with A. However, he comes to his senses in Now You See Me, Now You Don't, stating that he doesn't want A's version of the truth.
In Season 5, it's revealed that Toby went to London to find answers about Melissa for Spencer. His relationship with Spencer strengthens and scenes between them show that they are very much in love. Toby also becomes a cop; however, his graduation is put on hold when he gets into a car accident in Taking This One to the Grave, in which he breaks his leg.
Series
Pretty Little Liars
The Perfectionists
In Sex, Lies and Alibis, Mona talks to Hanna on the phone and is surprised to learn that Toby and Spencer eloped in secret.
Appearances (91/160)
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Season 5 (13/25) |
Season 6 (9/20) |
Season 7 (10/20) |
Relationship
Spencer Hastings: Married. (See "Spoby")
First Relationship:
- Started: "A Person of Interest"
- Reason: They develop feelings for each other and kiss.
- Ended: "Over My Dead Body"
- Reason: A threatened Toby's life and Spencer figured the only way to keep him safe is by ending the relationship.
Second Relationship:
- Started: "unmAsked"
- Reason: Toby had been secretly working to help Spencer take down A and they reunite in the town square.
- Ended: "Misery Loves Company"
- Reason: Spencer found out Toby was the second 'A'.
Third Relationship:.
- Started: "A DAngerous GAme"
- Reason: Spencer finds out Toby is alive and joined the A-Team to protect her.
- Ended: During the five year time jump.
- Reason: Toby and Spencer were living too far from each other.
Fourth Relationship:
- Started: "'Til Death Do Us Part"
- Reason: Toby knew who the real Spencer was, despite Alex Drake impersonating her.
Yvonne Phillips: Married until her death in Hold Your Piece.
- Started: During the time jump
- Reason: They both had feelings for each other.
- Ended: Hold Your Piece
- Reason: She wakes from her coma but is still very weak. She accepts Toby's idea that they marry that very day despite her being in the hospital bed. As Toby celebrate, they discuss where they want to go for their honeymoon. She tells Toby that she is happy before she breaths her last breath, dropping her flowers in the process and leaving Toby devastated.
Caleb Rivers and Ezra Fitz: Friends and Allies.
Trivia
- Toby was the second member of the A-Team to be revealed. He was joined the team under false pretenses to protect Spencer.
- Toby faked his death twice in the run of the series.
- When Toby's motorbike was found in "The Homecoming Hangover", he was supposed to die. Creator Marlene King said in an interview that she changed her mind in regards to Toby dying.
- "A" fakes Toby's death force Spencer into Radley, whereas Toby only learned about the plan after the fact.
- He was mistakenly credited as Toby Marshall in the Pilot episode.
- Toby is the only male character in the PLL Universe who was sexually assaulted and/or raped multiple times during the course of the series. He had a coerced sexual relationship with Jenna Marshall that lasted for an unknown amount of time. He was later tricked twice into having sex with Alex Drake, who was posing as her twin sister Spencer Hastings at the time.
- He is not the only male character to be sexually assaulted via a case of falsified or stolen identity. Mary Drake tricked Peter Hastings into having sex with her under the rouse of Mary being her twin sister Jessica. However, Mary's motives came from a place of wanting revenge on her sister, while Alex wanted to replace Spencer and usurp her life.
- Toby was likely the "A" person who met Dr. Sullivan in the diner at the end of "Over My Dead Body". A waitress called him "Pretty Eyes" in "A DAngerous GAme," the same nickname she gave the person sitting across from Dr. Sullivan in "Over My Dead Body".
- Spencer loses her virginity to him in "The Lady Killer," the same episode that the viewers find out he's on the A team.
- In "'A' is for A-l-i-v-e," it was hinted that Toby had a crush on Alison and almost kissed her.
- Toby gives "A" the RV for information on his mother's death.
- Toby is among several character to have multiple actors portray the role. James Neate portrayed Toby "Pilot", but the role was recast to Keegan Allen from "To Kill a Mocking Girl" onward. The reasoning for James Neate's firing was never revealed.
- Ian Thomas, Malcolm Cutler, Jason DiLaurentis and Kate Randall were among characters who were recast after their initial appearance.
- Toby correctly believed for most of his life that his mom did not commit suicide, despite her death report stating otherwise.
- He and Spencer are the first characters to go to Ravenswood.
- He decided that he wanted to become a police officer in Scream For Me.
Book Comparisons
- Toby and Emily dated for a while in the books; in the show, they talked a lot as good friends in Season 1, but they never dated.
- Toby dies in the woods after he ran away; in the show, he faked his death twice, but he is very much alive. After being involved in a second car accident in The DArkest Knight, he appears to be dead, but he is later revealed to have survived and fully recovered.
Quotes
Toby [to Wren]: I may have broken my left arm, but my right arm is fine. |
Toby [to Spencer]: You know I could come with you, and I could rub your shoulders between rounds and wrap your knuckles and hold your spit bucket. |
Toby [to Spencer]: There are things I can't know about. Things that you can't say out loud! |
Gallery
 Toby Cavanaugh has a photo gallery. |
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