by Alexa Duplisea
Pretty Little Liars
Rosewood is not an ordinary town. Everyone is struggling to find the criminal(s) behind the murder of townie Allison De Laurentis. In Pretty Little Liars, the hit teen drama show on ABC Family, a group of girls (Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, Spencer Hastings and Emily Fields) investigate the murder of their “friend” Allison, but the more secrets they find out, the more danger they put themselves into. Pretty Little Liars is a good show with a few minor flaws.
I found it challenging to follow along. They switch back and forth among the girls’ individual lives making it hard to understand what is happening to each girl separately. Each girl is hiding her own secret, and while watching I struggled sometimes remembering which girl is hiding which secret.
They want to make this show seem creepy and to keep the viewer chewing her fingernails the whole time, but the amount of creepy background music they play is a little too much. It makes it seem like there is a man playing the piano around every corner, “DA DA DOOM.” Not only is the background music played too much, but the darkness and mysterious look they are going for is not mirrored in the girls’ emotions.
The girls hide secrets and put on a front to do so, but they show no emotion for the first few minutes. Spencer is an example of this disappointing acting. She is so emotionless to everyone at the beginning of the show. In most shows she is smart and confident, but that isn’t really being portrayed in the beginning of this episode. Then near the end of the show it changes instantly. Despite these flaws, the show succeeds in many ways.
The events that happen are quite interesting. When they uncover the story behind Allison’s old school journal, it puts an interesting twist into the show. The four girls are surprised to see what is written, and it helps them understand Allison’s past and about her murder. The flashback in the episode shows Emily and Allison’s old friend talking. Seeing Allison in a state of anxiety about being pregnant is the first big shock. Also the flashback reveals that one of the suspects for her murder is possibly her child’s father, which is an even bigger shock.
The relationships in Pretty Little Liars seem very real. Some shows you can tell when an actor is having trouble showing love or hate to another. In this show though and especially in Hanna and her mom’s relationship, they make it seem like they have a real mother/daughter relationship. When Hanna’s mom is trying to figure out what Hanna is hiding from her, she tries to get Hanna to spill her secrets by asking Hanna so many questions. Hanna gets annoyed and strikes back at her with attitude (like most teenage girls with their moms) and walks away from her without telling her anything.
My final view of this show is that it is a real attraction to dramatic teenage girls, but if you are not in that category, then do not waste your Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. watching it. Out of five stars this show would be a 4 because I consider myself a dramatic teenage girl, and I also enjoy mysteries. This show has a good plot, but they can drag out the mystery of who “A” is (also known as the murderer) until the audience no longer cares. Each episode is a new story with new secrets, and the only way to find out what happens is to keep watching!
