Pretty Little Liars
Summary
This article includes discussions of predatory behavior , racial discrimination , genial vilification , and queerphobia .
Pretty Little Liarsprovided seven season of whodunit and dramatic twists , but there are harsh realities about watching it back five days after the show cease . Between 2010 and 2017 , the Freeform dramatic event seriesPretty Little Liarsran on TV , garnering a large fandom . The series follow four friends – Aria , Spencer , Emily , and Hanna – who get blackmailed and tortured by a mysterious anatomy called " A. " Throughout the serial publication , otherPretty Little Liarscharacterslike Alison and Mona join the Liars in their mischance as well .
Pretty Little Liarsis one of thebest teen dramasin recent history for multiple reasons . The main characters are mostly well - developed and compelling to watch out . They may make badly - advised decisions at times , but that only reinforces the fact that they are teen . to boot , the series weaves together an intricate whodunit with multiple crimson herring . Despite this , many aspects ofPretty Little Liarshaven’t aged well , making it difficult to watch five years after the series finale .
10Aria And Ezra Teach Young Viewers Teacher-Student Relationships Are Romantic
The Real-World Impact Of Ezria
One of the ab initio beloved couplet inPretty Little Liarsis really disturbing and predatory . Even though Ezra is Aria ’s instructor , Aria and Ezra nobble around and date each other . They keep their romance throughout the entire series , asserting that their bookman - teacher family relationship does n’t matter because they ’re in sexual love . No matter how purportedly in love they are , a teen like Aria can not accept to a family relationship with an adult in a position of power over them . Moreover , it is Ezra ’s obligation as an grownup to set a boundary with Ariaand enforce it . By actively pursuing a kinship with his student , Ezra is a intimate predator .
The writers ofPretty Little Liarshad multiple opportunities to repair the issue with Aria and Ezra ’s kinship . Still , instead , they leaned into the span , make them marry in the serial finale . Unfortunately , problematic storylines like this have substantial - world consequences . Pretty short Liarsteaches waxy teenage viewer that it is romantic and desirable to " day of the month " a teacher . After all , Aria does it and ends up marrying her teacher ; therefore , it ca n’t be wrong . This harmful impression might stop teenagers who are prey on from recognizing the problem and seeking aid .
Pretty Little Liars is available to stream on Max .
9Charlotte Perpetuates The Trans Villain Trope
The Only Trans Character In Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars , season 6 , episode 10 “ Game Over , Charles ” reveals Charlotte DiLaurentis , aka Cece Drake , as Big A. The problem with this reveal involves the backstory and motivation provided in this episode . Charlotte ’s entire villain spark centers on her identity as a trans char . The show inculpate that Charlotte would never have manipulate , tortured , and killed others if her family had n’t refuse her for being transgendered . In world , hatful of trans masses get rejected by their families and never go on to intentionally suffer others .
8Pretty Little Liars Fails Their BIPOC Characters
Racist Stereotypes In Pretty Little Liars
A detectable issue when rewatchingPretty petty Liarsis the fact that they treat their BIPOC characters awfully . Some examples of this are the recur role Maya , Nate , and Shana . Pretty Little Liarsboils Maya down to being a drug user and corrupting influence on Emily . Nate and Shana are both stalkers and attempted murderers , though Nate bring home the bacon in vote down one of his targets . These three charactersreinforce the antiblack idea that Black people are all untrustworthy , vilification drugs , and devote vehemence .
The problem with pen character of colour also extends to Emily Fields . Emily noticeably appear onscreen less than the other four Liars . When she at last gets her own storyline , Pretty small Liarspaints her as helpless , naive , and one - dimensional . After explore her identity as a lesbian , her role development flatlines , offer few moments of growth . Except for Maya , her love involvement consist of bullies and significantly older women . Despite these issues , Emily is still loveable and meaningful to fans . However , she deserves better than what she got .
Mona is the exception to this issue since she has well - compose character arcs and storylines .
7Emily And Alison’s Relationship Is Toxic in Pretty Little Liars
The Negative Implications of Emison
The toxic nature of Emily and Ali ’s relationship becomes extravagantly percipient when watchingPretty Little Liarsfive yr later . In every flashback , Ali makes play of Emily for her attraction to missy . The queen bee flirts with and kisses her admirer , but then she gaslights Emily into trust she made up Ali ’s feelings . This is not a beneficial foundation for a relationship .
After Ali return from the dead , she continues using Emily ’s dearest as a control manoeuvre . Despite this , Pretty Little Liarstreats their love as glad and healthy . Because video depict so rarely center faggot love , Emily and Alison ’s relationship has a negatively charged real - world impact . Impressionable pansy viewers learn that this is the kind of relationship they should emulate , set them up to accept toxicity and abuse .
Related : The 10 well Pretty Little Liars Episodes Ranked
6Almost Every Adult Man Preys On Young Girls In Pretty Little Liars
The Normalization Of Predatory Behavior
Looking back onPretty Little Liars , almost every humans in the show quarry on at least one teenaged daughter . The most obvious example are Ezra , Wren , and Ian pursuing more than one teen girl . The Liars also identify the universe of the N.A.T. Club , which consists of Garrett , Ian , and Jason recording younger girls . Less discussed examples include Holbrook and Wilden ’s fling with Ali and Jason ’s calf love on Aria .
This gets easily overlooked when watchingPretty Little Liarsbecause most thespian are in their late 20s and former 30 . As such , the character depend years - appropriate for one another even if they are entail to be five to ten years aside . However , as soon as it ’s comment , the predatory workforce are impossible to ignore . Except for Wilden and Ian , most of these men are n’t paint in a spoiled light due to their demeanor . None of them actually look consequences for preying on teenager , with many of the female child getting shamed for pursuing the grown man .
5Pretty Little Liars Used The “Bury Your Gays” Trope Repeatedly
Poor LGBTQ+ Representation
ThoughPretty Little Liarstried to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ graphic symbol , they ultimately go down into the “ entomb your gays ” trope . Out of the 11 fag recurring or main characters , four of them decease , and two others have last faux - outs that last for more than one episode . slight Liars include higher dying counts than most harm ; however , the routine of rummy graphic symbol dying is disproportionately high . This contradict many of the positive aspect of LGBTQ+ agency , like Emily ’s coming out story and key fruit acting as a equal mentor .
refer : Pretty Little Liars : Original Sin , 10 Changes That Made It good Than PLL
4Alison Getting Impregnated By Emily’s Eggs Against Her Will Was Sexual Assault
Confirmed In Pretty Little Liars Season 7, Episode 14, “Power Play”
When Alison believe she ’s pregnant by her scurrilous ex - husband inPretty Little Liarsseason 7 , she perceives this as him still make a postponement over her body . As presently as she learns that A create the embryos from Emily ’s eggs , her feelings of violation seem to frivol away apace . The story brushes over the fact that Ali feel intimate assault when A engraft the embryos against her will . The character reference seem happy about Emily and Ali having a baby without recognizing the disturbing cause . This storyline inPretty Little Liarsis specially poignant five years later because hoi polloi with uteruses have had their bodily autonomy de jure stripped away .
3Pretty Little Liars Stigmatized Mental Illnesses
Misrepresenting Mental Illness And Treatment
On a taxonomical level , Spencer , Mona , and Charlotte all spend clock time in a corrupt genial facility called Radley . This is the only courtly discussion essence establish throughoutPretty Little Liars , making it worrying thatthe doctors and nurses do n’t seem concerned about patients . In real biography , the mental wellness domain is fill with competent professional person who want to help others heal . When it comes to individual depiction of mental illness , there is much more variation . Hannah ’s eat on disorder is seen as a choice rather than compulsive demeanour . Spencer ’s friends and family shame her for her stimulant use disorder . Mona never seems to recover despite treatment .
Only two examples of mental illness inPretty Little Liarsstand out as prescribed . Mike goes through clinical impression in time of year two , and the depiction is harrowingly accurate . Aria ’s soliloquy at Charlotte ’s hearing also absolutely draw the brat of a PTSD installment . These two positive moments of mental representation make it all the more thwarting that the rest ofPretty Little Liarsstigmatizes genial illness .
2The Liars Only Became Friends Because Of Trauma
How The Liars Became Friends
Friendship is deliberate the heart and soul ofPretty Little Liars , but the Liars ' connexion formed from injury . When Alison first bring the Liars together , she continually manipulates and love - bombs them . These mannikin of genial abuse bond the Liars to both Ali and one another . Unsurprisingly , they lose touch afterAlison vanish inPretty Little Liars . The mathematical group only comes back together because they start getting harassed , tortured , and attack by A. It ’s probable they never would have rectify their friendly relationship if A had n’t targeted them . The Liars have very picayune in commonoutside their injury , displaying immensely different personality and interests .
1Mona Was The Only Good “A” In Pretty Little Liars
Lackluster “A” Reveals
One of the worst A reveals inPretty Little Liarscomes from the serial finale in which the show expose that Spencer has a British twin named Alex Drake who wants to take over her life . Audiences have rightfully lambast this storyline , calling it ridiculous and poorly written . However , watching the series back , there isonly one A reveal with good writing and narrative development – Mona . Every other A reveal inPretty Little Liars , whether it be the big badness or a extremity of the A - squad , is either poorly written or walked back , making it less impactful .
