#ezria mention /

[buffyspeak]

aria montgomery deserved better 2kforever like. in these first two seasons, her relationship with ezra is hard to watch (in more ways than one! i sometimes find myself rooting for them not to get caught, largely because i like and have sympathy for aria but also because the actors do genuinely have good chemistry. but then i remember how fucked up it is! that’s why the romanticization of this relationship was so dangerous!) - anyway. it was hard to watch and messy but she also had like. other things in her story that at least made her feel like a more fleshed out character. and i always see people saying things about how she’s not as kind as she acts like but she literally shows so much empathy to. most people. and her role as a psuedo caretaker/fixer in her family is so nuanced and interesting and informs a lot of how she interacts with ezra (she feels like she’s been forced into a more adult role, so she courts this adult ‘romance’. ugh.) and it legitimately could have been a nuanced and interesting story about family dynamics and the pressure on teenage girls in their roles in family and how that can be connected to grooming if it had been written that way but!!!!

anyway her story just becomes more and more entangled with Only Being About Ezra from what i remember. which is one of the reasons people kept theorizing about her being A but. i just see it as isolation (not total, she is obviously still very close with her friends, but there is a sort of disconnect.) and then they get MARRIED????? she deserved better for real.

[terrifyingstories3]

on timejump and s6 aria, re: liam, ezra, healing -

no ez/ria - gone, deleted, 404 not found. i don't know what exactly happens to ezra (preferably prison or death), but he's gone.

upon leaving rosewood, aria can finally begin to process and heal from their "relationship"

she doesn't seek out a relationship - she needed to heal and needed to focus on herself to do that.

but then she meets liam, and it's casual and easy on both sides. they share a love of writing and work and it's nice. it's not this overwhelmingly passionate or consuming thing, and aria doesn't want it to be. she's not ready for that - she's still healing from ezra, from the dollhouse, from "a." it's nice to have someone, though, and aria enjoys that connection

ultimately, being with liam was healing for aria. the relationship helped a lot in terms of her learning to trust herself after ezra

it was important for her - being attracted to someone and liking them and acting on it, trusting that they're a good person and she can trust her own perception even though she's been wrong before - even though that same perception told her once that ezra was safe and good and she could trust him. trusting that her gut will tell her if something is wrong and she needs to get out even though her gut was in love with ezra and she never saw any of the signs

it was a big step for her, and even though she regrets hurting liam, she doesn't regret that.

she needed that, it was something that needed to happen for her to heal - and she learns to have compassion for herself needing that, regardless of how things panned out with liam.

she doesn't tell liam about ezra, or ever go into details about "a." he knows about "a," given the publicity of it all, but they don't really discuss it beyond that. there's something nice about that initially - getting to reinvent herself, be seen only as the person liam knows from work. but it was also lonely, and ultimately ended up with her being with someone who didn't really understand her relationship with the girls or her past traumas.

it wasn't a relationship built to last, but one aria is grateful for

and also one has trouble letting go of. there's almost this fear that admitting to liam that she isn't where he is is a form of regression. she beats herself up over it, wondering why she can't be in love with the nice, easy person who makes her comfortable at ease. does some part of her crave danger and disaster? (is she to blame for having been attracted to ezra?) it takes some time for her to come to terms with the fact that she can want a relationship that is challenging and exciting but also safe and good and stable, and that wanting passion in a relationship isn't a bad thing, nor an inherently dangerous thing. that she deserves the relationship she wants and shouldn't stay with liam because he's the person she should want and she doesn't want to hurt anyone else.

she finds that balance. i'm me because of what's happened. because of what i've done and because of who i love. i like that person. that me. eventually comes to see that even though ezra was twisted and horrible, the love she had for him wasn't. it just shows that she's capable of intense, powerful love and trust and she doesn't regret that about herself. even if it means she gets hurt. she is not responsible for who ezra is or what he did.

[vicaliciouz]

We need to talk about how the gossip girl, gilmore girls, pretty little liars, and vampire diaries fandom completely disregard DISGUSTING characters like chuck and ezra just because "he changed" yet HATE characters such as jenny and aria because "she's ____"

Why do you guys defend rapists and child predators so much? Does the thought of an attractive man being a horrible person derail your societal expectations? Does it "not count" if chuck bass tried raping jenny humphrey because "she knew what she was doing" "it didn't actually happen"

Not to mention how you poke fun at male sexual assualt, you call vile people "icons" and then turn it around and say "we cant have fun anymore."

IT NEVER WAS FUN! Your cherry picking of whats right and wrong affects people!

Little girls and boys who have gone through bullying, assualt, trauma will see this and think that it was okay, that it was normal, that they were overreacting.

Why is it valid to hate Dean yet not Jess? Up until the events of season 4, Dean was not perfect, of course, he was bratty and stubborn and had weird fucking views on how to build a household, but he was kind and polite to Rory's grandparents, he took her to a fancy restaurant for their 3 month anniversary, he made her a bracelet, he defended her at her dance, with her mother, etc.

Jess did none of that. You know what Jess did do? Jess brought Rory to a room, where he put her on a bed, went all handsy and got pissed when Rory didn't want to have sex.

But he's smart and quirky so it's okay, right?

Also, Ezra and Aria's relationship is DISGUSTING. Where is your common sense? Yes there is a power imbalance in the teacher/student relationship. But let me tell you a better reason to hate Ezria: SHE'S 16. UNDERAGE. ILLEGAL. SHE'S NOT MATURE FOR HER AGE, AND YOU AREN'T MATURE FOR YOUR AGE EITHER!

In conclusion;

Stop-justifying-men's-shitty-actions-just-because-they're-hot

xoxo

[fadeintoyou1993]

i need to find that one ian harding quote about ezria where he said back when the show premiered marl3ne had mentioned there were people talking about boycotting and etc because of "inappropriate relationship dynamics on the show" and he was like "well. i understand the sentiment, its statutory rape" and then she was like "no, not ezria, it's emily and maya." like 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[jaggedwolf]

pll rewatch 1x20-1x21

plot ramps up as we approach the finale. Caleb boards a literal bus, Paige gets on a metaphorical one, a new lesbian appears to go oh hell yes to Emily's face and as always: Spencer has a bad time

Spencer sounds most like a teenager when she whines "make them stop" to her mom about the cops searching her room. she is a sixteen year old, easy as it is to forget.

Hanna/Caleb are so domestic already - we will meet more queer women as the show progresses, but Haleb will beat all of them in the art of u-hauling by virtue of moving in together before getting together and oh god I just remembered another future Caleb line

Hanna has told the liars that she had sex with Caleb and Emily's first question is "have you had another opportunity" ok Emily

The girls all :eyes_emoji: at Paige and Sean having lunch together and Hanna reassures Emily, saying "it's okay, Sean's a good guy"

do the liars now think of Paige as Emily's friend or at least a neutral? Hanna's response here is quite different from when she called Paige a knob a few episodes back

Aria being the one to go "woah when did that start happening" cracks me up Aria you pay the least attention to your schoolmates out of everyone why would you expect to notice anything

She then accidentally sends an Ezra text to her mom instead. This bewilders me because (1) even phones of ye olde 2010 showed SMS threads by recency and I assume Ezra is at the top of Aria's list (2) does she have her mom saved as "Ella" instead of "Mom"?? (3) in a contacts list, Emily would appear between Ella and Ezra.

Ella is very understanding. and believes in giving Aria her privacy. She will not at all be rewarded for trusting her daughter. Poor Ella.

So, why does Sean think Emily would know whether Paige is dating anyone anyway? Gives Emily the opportunity to say "we swim on the same team" and that's all that really matters.

Sean describes Paige as "fun" a descriptor no one has ever used for S1!Paige. I kid, kid, she does seem more at ease and is probably less palpably full of turmoil outside of the contexts of Emily and/or swimming.

Emily's reaction to being handed a bag of full of Ezria totems is my reaction, this episode is Emily dealing with real or forced heterosexuality

Emily interrupts Paige putting up...swimming posters? Are the Sharks still recruiting team members? Anyway, here we get Paige saying "he makes me laugh" about Sean and unfortunately for our Ken Doll I think that comment is merely a trite recitation of what you are supposed to say about the boy you like

Paige tries to walk away from the conversation and Emily still follows her, like Emily, you have no reason to poke your nose into this. (Other than petty petty jealousy, but Emily would not admit such a thing when she can subsume it into generic concern.)

So what's up with Caleb not replying to any texts right when the liars tell Hanna he's sus and they all see the owl necklace/USB on Jenna? Does he know he's been caught out, is he trying to figure out a way to come clean, is he planning his bus trip out of here?

Regardless it gives Hanna time for her anger to build, and for her to figure out that 214 is Caleb's locker combination (Pick a better one, dude). This means Toby heard Caleb and Jenna mention Spencer's name. What's up with that.

I'd forgot Spencer's story about running away as a seven year old, and no one noticing. Sad little Hastings. The writers foil me by there being literally no Disney princess films released between 1999 and 2002, what re-release did she watch, and more importantly, what was each liar's favorite Disney princess as a kid?

Spoby right now are really bonding over being pariahs...Toby repeated the line about people crossing the street when they see him....my poor guy...

Hanna's slapping of Jenna felts way more violent than I remembered, those glasses flew!

At some point in this ring Aria is wearing a gigantic black ring with a pointy bit and all I could think about was how easy it would be to take someone's eye out with that

Aw, Paily's first scene in Emily's room, featuring the window seat of course.

And of course, the introduction to PLL's soundtrack of a theme literally called Guys Like Paige. Not the last time we'll hear it :D :D

Veronica is really good with Spencer this episode, helping her understand the legal circumstances, getting the police to back off, keeping Spencer in the loop...but she is still a C+ parent for not kicking Ian off her property imo

1x21 is all about the founder's festival where the people running booths range from the Ackard's church (what denomination are they, anyway), Hanna and Mona (don't even know what they're selling), and students from Sheridan Prep

+ Garrett lurking ominously in the shadows

Love the scene where Caleb tries to talk to Aria about Hanna and Ella mouths "HE'S CUTE" about Caleb to Aria. Caleb has now talked one-on-one with every liar and is the first love interest to do so. Ella is should interact with the teens instead of just her family, Byron or Ezra, it is actually pretty fun seeing her in that context

Paige is cute in this next scene, before it all goes badly. She grabs Emily by the arm because she's so excited, and she is so very smug that she got tickets to a sold-out concert and is treating Emily to them

We will never see Nick McCullers on-screen again but I'm trying to construct a picture of the type of stress-inducing parent he is and I don't think it's a micromanaging one or one who knows what Paige is up to every minute - she doesn't seem time-constrained at the karaoke or picnic dates, and he gets her these concert tickets via his connection.

Oh foolish foolish Paige. What you do is, you tell your dad you are going with your friend Pru, you go to the concert with Emily, you tell your dad that you are meeting Pru there and after, oh Pru's parents already picked her up. For bonus points, you ask Pru to cover for you without coming out to her, because the whole school already knows your dad is a homophobic douchenozzle about Emily and so it's not that weird.

Paige is too fucked up about herself to even contemplate logistics like that though, so of course she goes with bringing a guy. Though I assume Nick doesn't know the third ticket is for Emily anyway or else he'd be miffed so what's the point of insurance boy anyway.

"What even was your plan here, Paige" <- a question I will have many times

Paige I know you've been looking up how to come out to your dad but I wish you had also stumbled across how to excel at being closeted while still going on gay dates and not piss off your girlfriend lmao.

When explaining why she can't go over to Sheridan Prep's support group Paige mentions it is two (2) miles away and Emily nods understandably and I am left going wait does Paige not have a car. Did she pedal furiously on her little bike to the karaoke place. Did she fill panniers with picnic supplies for that date.

Tell me more about Paige McCullers' traveling logistics, show.

Keeping things subtle, Aria knocks Ezra's coffee onto his pants in the middle of a hallway at school and goes WOW I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT I AM SUCH A KLUTZ and. I hate this. I hate them. Just text like normal people. You are doing a worse job of hiding this than Paige is of her sexuality.

Aria then proceeds to be distressed because guys, she looked at his WEBSITE PAGE (...are they not allowed to say facebook anymore? because Aria said facebook in the second or third episode) and saw you know what? A woman! With a ring! In a photo with him! Egads!

All of the liars project on to Aria's concerns - Emily says to be honest and clear the air, Hanna says fuck it find out for yourself by befriending the girl in the photo, Spencer says sometimes people look guilty but they aren't guilty okay :(

S1 Spencer is more suffused with guilt than I expected....real guilt, false guilt, imputed guilt, all of it

Toby and Spencer negotiate no one wanting them to spend time together and being trailed by the cops, and instead of arranging to meet somewhere normal like a restaurant or a movie theatre or even in Spencer's car in a random alley, they arrange a rendezvous at the festival's creepy clown maze

Paige stands up Emily and Samara, once more causing her own problems, as Emily is intrigued by Samara and her handmade jewelry, Paige feels exposed and explodes, and it all goes to shit. Not the right time yet, kiddos.

You'd expect a scorched earth response from Ashley towards Caleb for hurting Hanna, especially considering how heartbroken Hanna sounded in the bathroom, but Ashley isn't mean to him at all, saying he reminders her of herself. Young Ashley probably hurt a person or two while looking out for numero uno.

Spencer gets fucked up in that festival maze, man, and that's before some traps her in some kind of enclosed turnstile and freaks her the fuck out. If she didn't have claustrophobia before, she definitely does now.

Spencer is so dramatic in choosing to kiss Toby in front of her family and Mrs Ackard, but well, Spencer's always had a romantic streak. She loved doing that.

Emily gets her first A text that refers to Paige - thoughtful of A to wait till it's over - leading to an Ali flashback. The day she disappeared, Ali gave Emily a snowglobe.

In that snowglobe is a key. The key opens a storage unit. In that storage unit is a Tweety Bird lunch box. In that lunch box is a USB stick. On that USB stick are videos of the girls in Ali's room.

Worst russian doll surprise ever.

[theonlyblackcanary]

Reasons why the Pretty Little Liars books are better than the show

@swifteforeverandalways

1. Allison is treated like the villain she is

2. Hanna has a clear character arc

3. Jenna is a fucking human being

4. Noel isn't a fucking cartoon villain

5. Ezria comes and goes

6. Courtney!!!! Literally just Courtney

7. Meredith is actually a good stepmom, she lets Aria and Mike get used to her slowly

8. Mike and Hanna are the best couple

9. Sara Shepard is a better writer than Marlene King

10. Emily ultimately chooses herself.

11. It's not the fucking Spencer show, everyone gets time

12. Emily actually has a bicurious arc and ends up dating a guy for awhile and even becomes pregnant with his daughter, she gives her to a family and her meeting with her daughter for the first time is

13. Aria is a fucking boss!

14. Cece doesn't exist so no continuity fuck ups

15. Mona actually dies,

16. There isn't a fucking "A-Team"

17. Toby is....not TV show Toby, he ends up committing suicide because everyone thinks he killed Ali, but his friendship with Emily is sweet and ends in tragedy, because he was actually starting to change from...things

18. No supernatural bullshit, Ravenswood is offhandedly mentioned in an prequel book.

[mugiwara-lucy]

Wait how did I miss Cruel Summer Season 2?!?!

I GOTTA see this since (while it had its flaws) I enjoyed Season 1 (it’s WAY better than Pretty Lite Liars!!) and I’m switching out PLL for Cruel Summer!!

Not to mention….the Ezria shit in earlier seasons is TOO damn cringy… 😖

[mr-frohickys-adopted-kid]

Ezria never had a good relationship with his father, and his mother was never heard from or mentioned. The last time Ezria ever saw his father was a month before the merge, when he kicked Ezria out.

Syfa never met his parents, but the people around them told them that they had died but never specified the reasons for their deaths. They still hope that the stories aren't true.

Ok I’m back with another Ninjago oc question, this one’s a little longer and in depth.

Assuming they don’t live with their parents anymore (under any circumstances) what age did they leave? And what made them leave if it wasn’t normal-style?

Toni moved out basically the moment they turned 18. His parents weren’t the most attentive people and he almost had to raise himself growing up, so he wanted out as soon as possible bc he hates his parents. If asked about it, she will go on an angry rant about how they probably don’t even know she’s gone years later. As far as leaving situations go amongst my three, Toni has the most normal.

Charlie’s mom. Uh. Died when she was 13. And their apartment complex destroyed. So Charlie didn’t really have a choice in the matter. However had the circumstances been different, Charlie probably would have run away at 13 anyways.

Kit made the choice to run away when they were 17, went and lived with a different family member for a few years before living on their own, and only found out their parents were dead when they tried to go home and make amends.

[agents-are-dicks]

PLL (Pretty Little Liars) Rewatch Thoughts

Warning: spoilers, lengthy comments, that’s about it.

S1 E1:

•

Can we talk about Spencer when the girls woke up and both she and Ali were missing?! I know it could’ve just been shock or she thought it wasn’t that serious, but the way she says, “she’s gone. I think I heard her scream” is just so cold. Like should you not be even slightly freaking out a little?? I definitely considered her a suspect at first bc it was a little sus

•

Holly Marie Combs my beloved!! I swear I love all the moms in this show (Pam took me awhile tho)

•

Forgot that Aria’s brother (Mike?) played lacrosse. It’s funny considering Cody Christian was in Teen Wolf and they played lacrosse too. Is it really that popular in schools? (Did you know pll also stands for Premium Lacrosse League)

•

Byron (derogatory) Completely forgot about him cheating tbh. I just don’t like him or his vibes

•

Not Ezra saying he tried writing but didn’t get to far while the poster of Ali is up on the wall and he knows all about Aria bc of Ali and his book 🤢 l was really about to defend him this one time but then I remembered. It’s so predatory and 🤮

•

I miss short yet interesting intros like this

•

Okay but the way Emily says “we all know she’s Dead, right?” Like girl no wonder Aria looked at you like that acting all suspicious just like Spencer.

•

Aw. Aria assuming the rest of the group were still friends just gets to me somehow. It’s almost touching in a way.

•

Yeah “Holy crap” is right Ezra, but you still ain’t gonna learn , are you?! Ya creep

•

Not being able to see Mona in the shot just before first A text is just so *chefs kiss*

•

Ah, Melissa (derogatory)

•

Wren my baby. Poor thing has no idea of what’s to come.

•

“You know what they say about hope, it breeds eternal misery” by far one of my favorite/memorable quotes.

•

Oh Ezra, you should’ve just ended it right then and there.

•

The fat shaming in this show when the characters not even remotely overweight (I don’t think anyone should be shamed for their size in general but I’m making a point) is just so toxic. It’ll be a miracle if I don’t relapse.

•

Honestly the original Ian actor was so much more attractive than the one who replaced him

•

I know what I just said about fat shaming Hannah but having her causally pick the croutons out of her salad while talking with her mom is genius. It shows she’s still struggling with an eating disorder but doesn’t focus in on it. It’s subtle. Her eating disorder isn’t supposed to be known to the audience and yet this provides a sense of consistency. It’s a nice touch.

•

Emily saying she knew Alison was back and then the coroner coming about with the body bag is just so sad. My poor baby 🥺

•

Ezra you and I both know you have no right reason to be at that funeral. Also you know damn well she was a friend of hers. Just stop, turn around, and leave town now.

•

I can’t believe Ezria used to be my OTP. It’s so hard to watch now. She is 16 sir. Not to mention your student.

•

Such a dramatic ending to the first ep. Absolutely ICONIC.

Honesty this was fun. I might do more. It just depends.

[bluebonnet-witch]

Is anyone else just like 110% sure that if Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin gets a season two it’s going to either be with Ezra as the main villain or with A hunting Ezra and Imogen having to protect Ezra to protect her baby, then finding out all the dirt on Ezra and being conflicted, Ezra being held accountable for everything from the first show etc?

Like there is no way the whole nod to Ezra and Aria at the end after having a whole subplot be paralleling theirs as a direct calllout of the og show was not intentional. It *has* to be a setup for a massive deconstruction of the og show right?

Am I putting too much faith in the writers or does this have like, alllll the foreshadowing?

[alyssaforevermore]

It’s been hours and I’m still really annoyed they decided to have Aria and Ezra adopt Imogen’s baby. Like, yes, it’s a cool nod to the OG show and a way to tie the shows together but it feels icky. PLLOS was so vocal about being anti-creepy/inappropriate/illegal relationships and then decides to have that couple adopt the baby?? Yeah, no. The baby was conceived via SA and now her adoptive father is also a statutory rapist. I hate it.

I thought after PLL ended and it had sat with people, most of us were collective in agreeing that their relationship was gross (no matter the chemistry between the actors) and to see so many people celebrating that they adopted the baby is… yikes.

I could go on forever about how messed up that ship is, but I don’t have the energy rn. Maybe another day.

[fujikoi]

@fujikoi i think a large part of that is in the way it's framed at the start. idk about DC but in riverdale/gossip girl those relationships start with the teacher knowingly dating a student--ezria begins with a chance encounter at a bar where he assumes she's an adult and then it snowballs from there. (although i think there's some weird retcon later lmfao) by the time they get married aria's like 24 though i seem to remember aria's dad punching fitz in the face at one point so while her parents did know they weren't happy about it--they just couldn't do anything about it after a certain point

@firelxdykatara

I should have spent more words on it. The teen/teacher relationship is framed differently and I think people who haven’t watched the show but they are interested in discussing teen/teacher relationship in teen shows should know that PLL is not the usual fare.

On PLL we have good girl falls in love with handsome older guy who turns out be his teacher (I wont talk about the later reveal). Poor guy. The parents are the bad guys because they’re against their daughter dating an older man that´s also her teacher.

In the other shows they avoid the child/parents conflict, we know the relationship is bad and that’s the reason they keep it hidden. From everyone. The friends are not on board either after finding out and the teens in question are not as socially isolated as the Liars. In other shows the teen/teacher relationship is way more short lived.

All of this was to say that there’s a reason people single out PLL instead of all the other shows I mentioned. The genders are different but if someone didnt watch PLL they may assume the teen/teacher relationship is explored like in all the other popular teen shows (I think maybe GG skewed a bit older but they had a big teen audiance).

Thanks to lecalcifer for that Vox article.

I've literally just been called a pedo by my teenage child, for saying that I didn't think it was THAT BAD a thing that the TV show Pretty Little Liars for showing clearly badwrong relationships.. She said, 'but this show was aimed at ACTUAL CHILDREN. How can you think that was ok??'

I said that people aren't abused because they saw a student teacher relationship on PLL. They're abused because a person in a position of power abuses them. Which got me called a pedo. We were both mutually outraged at each other. Me for the casual use of the word pedo, her at me for saying it's ok for young teens to watch things that are slightly problematic because, you know what, fiction is not reality.

--

[terrifyingstories3]

tasha’s pll verse is so rewarding. christian is being a supportive nephew because tasha’s having a meltdown about how rosewood is So Fucked Up (and other depressing things) and asked if she needed to talk or whatever and she just thought that what she NEEDED was ian thomas dead and to fight the rosewood police force and half of laura and i’s time is trying to make sure bellamy and tasha don’t find out the truth about ezra because if they did he’d be unalived and they couldn’t keep adopting all of rosewood’s most troubled teenagers

[piperslovebot]

The only high school relationship in pll that should been endgame is vandergomery

[jaggedwolf]

pll rewatch 1x09-1x10

tornado warnings and glamping, we've arrived at the end of Season 1A!

two kinds of people the night before the SATS: (1) Spencer, Hanna, and Aria quasi-studying and bantering at Spencer's place (2) Emily, very distraught and muddy, runs into her bedroom, apparently only owning one pair of sneakers

"Emily, very distraught" is the subheading of 1x09

Spencer does not want to be thought of as scary, which is very funny of her

also very funny is Hanna trying to push Aria/Noel by asking Aria if she doesn't want "someone you can scratch n sniff"

A underlines GREAT EXPECTATIONS in the text they send to Emily, just to make sure Emily understands it's a book reference

When Emily lies to Wilden that she was with the girls studying the previous night, Aria is the one to back Emily up while Hanna and Spencer look confused

did A solely send Spencer the text SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE ABOUT TO LOSE EMILY? is A also responsible for the way Spencer is about Emily?? though we'll also get a non-A example of that later this season....

Mentions of Rosewood specifically being in Delaware County, which tracks

oh god why is Aria singing I had no memory of this, at least we immediately go into an Emison flashback

Ali really does flirt/toy with Emily via quoting Great Expectations lmao - Ali's finished the book by this point, Emily hasn't

Every Ezria scene remains terrible, and I laughed at Aria dramatically saying "you told me at homecoming you got a haircut for me!"

flashback!Emily is such a pushover and holds herself smaller too, you understand why the other liars are so shocked whenever she gets snappy with them

Alison was as a awful in the locker room flashback as I remember. Poor poor Emily, not even getting the meager dignity of running away from her humiliation

Emily's letter to Alison that Wilden grabs wasn't a love letter, but a letter expressing how angry she was with the way Alison treated her. Can't underestimate Emily's anger, even back then.

Forgot Veronica's lumpectomy reveal was in this episode

Spencer is so shaken by that, naturally, but also by the fact that her mom never told anyone in the family. such is life in The Last Dynasty of Rosewood

Veronica approves of Alex btw

Pan to Lucas's muddy shoes, DUN DUN DUN

look this town is too fancy for any teen to not own multiple pairs of shoes. okay, maybe one teen, but we haven't met him yet.

Spencer getting groomed by creepy field hockey coach Ian is the flashback she's seemed the most bullyable in, with Ali taunting her about it (was Ali's reaction jealousy, given what we learn later?)

I know that field hockey team was cursed freshman year, we'll come back to that later

every other episode Spencer turns to a member of her family and goes "do you still love me/can you tell me the truth?" and they are always like UGH FINE I GUESS IF I HAVE TO

this episode it's Melissa's turn, as Spencer tries to set up Melissa/Ian again to make up for her sins that aren't really her sins

the FBI...are here....

i have no memory of this, i guess Veronica successfully scared Wilden away

the FBI also believe in talking to minors and showing them creepy videos without their guardians present

god how much money do Mona's parents make, looking at this glamping party

you can tell I'm an adult on this rewatch because I'm also saying Ashley, I know you want as little to change for Hanna as possible, but maybe the two of you should downsize from this giant-ass house to an apartment, given the financial situation?

Hanna is really trying to be a good kid ;_; she's still selling off her stuff, she refuses going shopping with Mona and even tries to beg off skipping school because Ashley disapproves

the other three have their parental complexes (oh boy @ emily almost coming out to her dad while her mom stares at the photos A sent of Emily and Maya kissing) but none of them are as of yet concerned about being a financial burden

and then Ashley robs an old lady. Ashley, you're gonna have to launder that cash!

Aria has an honest conversation with Ella about Aria's reaction to the Alison wearing Toby's sweater news - they do strike me as a mother-daughter pair that would be very open with each other, if it hadn't been for BYRON MONTGOMERY and EZRA FITZ

Speaking of Toby, my boy's PR continues to be the worst. He's officially wanted for Alison's murder, creepily rises from the backseat of Emily's BEAUTIFUL TOYOTA, and then scurries off into the woods before getting arrested at The Church (is it Sean's dad's church?)

Did one of the girls call the cops on him? Unclear

Emily and Maya cuddling on the bed but I'm worried that they were wearing shoes while doing so. SMH what kind of Asian household is this.

Forget Emily running in with muddy shoes, Pam Fields has so much to clean as it is, no one's running into her house with any shoes, I reject canon on this.

Spencer is so, so happy to be hunting down clues to A, she would love an escape room. It's enrichment for her.

Sparia vibes beginning to rise these episodes, with Aria going "A little" to Spencer whiningly asking if she's scary and also going "You're a freak and I love you" about Spencer remembering the exact number of steps to where they found the Alison bracelet

My favourite A message of these episodes was: YOU'RE AS IN THE DARK AS JENNA. LOOKING FOR ME IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES.

no one can be normal about the blind girl. who is incredibly not-normal about her step-brother. that's the rosewood ouroboros for ya.

Spencer repeatedly mutters "looking for me in all the wrong places" while making a smore and the unnamed girl next to gives her the best wtf look.

Sorry Spencer, all other kids definitely think you are scary. Probably your teachers too.

Aria's dedication to wearing her hat even under the CAMP MONA hoodie: respect it.

Aria kissing Ezra again: do not respect it

Hanna had to see that too, Hanna did not ask to see all her friends kissing! She's minding her own business when this happens

And then she gets hit by a fucking car for her trouble, literally rolling across the top of it

Hope the Marins health insurance isn't shit.

[arsenicpanda]

Sometimes trash is also treasure

See, I can't classify Pretty Little Liars as that because it is far too frustrating. The characters all act like idiots the majority of the time, and the Ezra/Aria plot drags the show down by being generally bad for so, so many reasons and also dull as dirt but also omnipresent. The show has never done the legwork to show that they should be together, which is a real problem considering all the many problems with the ship, and too many people are weirdly accepting of it. As late as early season 3 (where I currently am), Ezra has never interacted with the plot even though we have spent so, so much time with him. And it's not like it's ever added to Aria's characterization either. It's just there to be there, and it feels like a waste of time. Every second they're on my screen, which is far too often, is like nails on a fucking chalkboard, and the frequency of it makes me want to quit the show every time it shows up. Also, we've never acknowledged that Jenna raped Toby (she blackmailed him into having sex with her; that's unambiguously rape), and it infuriates me.

But that's skipping over the idiots part. Every time they get set back because they fail to back up their data and then are careless with their sole copy drives me batty. The general amount that the plot requires the characters to act like idiots is annoying more often than it is amusing, although it is at times amusing, I'll give them that. It's just three idiots and one person who is slightly better than an idiot (but not by a lot) doing their best and often failing because their designated smart friend is dead. It's so rare that they make progress against A or whoever is the current person they're chasing after, and it's generally because they act like idiots. It was especially bad in early to mid season 2, and I almost quit the show, no bullshit.

I'm in early season 3, which is dragging SO HARD right now, and the best part of the show so far was the backend of season 2 because it had minimal Ezra and as well as the characters doing their best to rub their handful of brain cells together. And they were actually making progress against A, which was nice.

Which is not to say that I don't enjoy the show; I do, although I don't think I could watch it alone. Without a friend to shout about things with, I don't think I could handle this show. Seriously, the number of times this show reduces me to capslock is ridiculous. But it provides a good amount of wtf-ery, and the characters are amusing enough, especially Spencer because she has slowly turned into a very, very intense crazy person, which is something I always love, so I do often have fun. I also appreciate that this is the third teen drama I've seen that just rips off the plot of Twin Peaks because it always feels like such a weird choice to me. It also manages to not be dull most of the time and is the kind of Trash that is perfect for watching with a friend and also requires zero emotional investment from me, which is what I've been looking for lately. I'm just not in the mindset to start something new that I'd actually care about (and neither is my friend who I watch things with), y'know?

tl;dr I can't label PLL as treasure, but it's Decent Trash (even though it sometimes dips into Garbage), so I'm going to keep watching until I almost inevitably ragequit.