‘A is for Answered’… Those Pretty Little Liars

On the surface, Pretty Little Liars is another cliché driven, mundane teenage drama. But delve a little deeper and the reality is obvious; an intricately written show, with compelling, multi-faceted female leads. Following Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer’s fight against A, the anonymous foe that threatens to reveal their darkest secrets, and the foursome’s attempts to unravel the mystery surrounding the murder of Allison, their best friend. Getting past the I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Gossip Girl exterior, the show centres around an enigmatic story that is dark, unpredictable and more complex than anyone could have imagined when the series first premiered back in 2010.

Season 4 recently finished across the pond in America and the finale was arguably the most explosive to date. Throughout the four years, it is hard to find a character that has not been suspected of being the elusive ‘A’ that plagues that main protagonists and despite characters such as Mona, and more recently Aria’s love interest Ezra, being in the frame, the main culprit is still at large. The entire episode hinged on Allison’s account in order to reveal what ultimately happened that fateful night. Through copious flashbacks, it was revealed that her own mother was involved and that Spencer, in her amphetamine-fuelled haze was not, as previously thought. Mona, who was revealed to be on the ‘A team’ back in season two, turned out to know all along that Allison was alive, and actually helped her to escape that night. The standard of acting and writing was exceptional, as the case always is with Pretty Little Liars, proving its worth as not just a television show about pretty, imperfect people.

the show centres around an enigmatic story that is dark, unpredictable and complex

Despite sometimes dipping into the slasher film realm, the show really excels in drama fuelled scenes, which in this episode came in the form of the five girls on a New York rooftop running away from a gun-wielding hooded figure. Ezra, in a character-redeeming act of sacrifice, ultimately took a bullet, despite presumably not being fatal, it poses an interestingly development for a character that has been demonised in previous episodes.

The finale answered key questions of what happened on the night of Allison’s disappearance but left many unanswered such as who was working with Allison’s mother, and who killed her in the episode’s closing moments and why. The killer of the girl buried in the place of Allison, revealed to be known by Spencer’s sister, Melissa who made a startling revelation to her father, is also still unknown to the viewer. The identity of the hooded figure is an additional enigma to be solved in season five, with theories already being constructed online by fervent fans. Some viewers were, however, disappointed that an episode titled ‘A is for Answers’ still left the most prominent questions neglected and opened still more doors. Despite being one of the most tweeted about shows and still attracting millions of viewers for ABC family, the show is becoming frustratingly secretive as the copious plot twists are in danger of merely delaying the inevitable reveal of A instead of advancing the narrative or developing the characters.

It was, overall, a satisfying finale although a problem that the show now seems to face is that it is increasingly difficult to live up to previous levels of drama. This is, however, not the worst issue that a show faces going into their fifth season. Answering significant questions but leaving plenty for the future, Pretty Little Liars seems to have bountiful potential storylines to explore with Aria and Ezra’s relationship given hope as he collapsed in her arms, Allison apparent permanent return to the group and additional enigmas sounding the involvement of numerous characters such as Jason. Season five of Pretty Little Liars, following another unpredictable finale, is sure to only grow in popularity as the infuriating hunt for A and rollercoaster that is Pretty Little Liars continues.