Pretty Little Liars Has a Pretty Little Problem
Why I Find It Disturbing That Some of The Stars Defended a Predatory Relationship
Pretty Little Liars Has a Pretty Little Problem: Why I Find It Disturbing That Some of The Stars Defended a Predatory Relationship
Initially I was going to wait until next week to write another Substack article. What changed my mind is the news I’ve been seeing online about the show Pretty Little Liars. The cast and writers being interested in a revival series that no one needs. What makes this worse is some of the actors are defending a relationship that went on in the show that was predatory when it’s already bad that the show romanticized it. The comments from the actors Lucy Hale & Ian Harding I retrieved from Cosmopolitan in the link below.
What is Pretty Little Liars?
Pretty Little Liars was a popular television series that aired on Freeform (which back in the day was called ABC Family) from 2010-2017. The show is based on the popular book series of the same name by Sara Shepherd. The story has everything that a teen and young adult would enjoy drama, secrets and a mystery to be solved. A year ago, Queen Bee Alison “Ali” DiLaurentis went missing and it was her disappearance that pushed apart her friends Aria, Spencer, Hanna & Emily. The next year they are reunited when it is found out that Ali has been murdered and there’s a mysterious A out to expose all their dark secrets. A could have possibly killed Ali. One of the more disturbing secrets is Aria’s relationship with her English teacher Ezra Fitz. What makes this bad? Aria is a 16-year-old Junior in high school.
Book vs Show How They Deal With This Underage Relationship
As an 18-year-old in 2010, the show drew me in with its mystery and secrets to be exposed. I liked how bookish Aria & Spencer were because that’s how I am too. Yes, I had crushes on older guys like they did, but I knew nothing could go further than just a crush. The show made me of course want to read the book series. As a bookworm reading the books vs the show you tend to notice a lot differences, minor or major. The major difference was how the books and the show dealt with the relationship. Eventually in the books, A reported Ezra to the police and Ezra is arrested & fired. Despite Aria not pressing charges against Ezra, he’s completely kicked out of her life. (He does come back for book 10 and they try to rekindle things since Aria is an adult at that point but thank God it ends up not happening and Aria realizes Noel is the right guy for her). Aria also realizes that the relationship was messed up.
The show romanticizes fantasy. When Aria’s parents find out, her father wants to report him to the cops (AS HE SHOULD) but Aria’s mother stopped him because she was afraid, they would lose Aria if they backed Ezra into a corner. Aria then blackmails her father by threatening to reveal his relationship with a college student. The parents should have been parents and reported Ezra to the cops. While Aria’s father cheating on her mother is not okay, to give him credit at least he was cheating with an adult and not a sixteen-year-old.
I stopped watching the show around season 3 or 4 ish. I recently read up on spoilers. Apparently around season 4, it was revealed that Ezra lied about his identity and used Aria for research and stalked her and her friends for his book. It doesn’t seem to be a problem when towards the end of the series, Aria and Ezra are married.
My point is, Sara Shepherd didn’t romanticize a student teacher relationship and showed it for what it was, predatory. The series, however, made it a forbidden romance to root for like Romeo & Juliet & Tristan and Isolde. Yes Aria & Ezra’s student teacher relationship is a forbidden romance, a romance forbidden by THE LAW!
Comments Made by Lucy Hale & Ian Harding
“It was a different time,” Lucy told The Hollywood Reporter. “Would that storyline exist if it were being made now? I'm not sure, but probably not.” Showrunner I. Marlene King agreed, saying, “We were definitely probably crossing a line I wouldn't cross now.”
Despite agreeing that the relationship was “wildly inappropriate,” Ian stands by his character, adding, “I love Ezra and as an actor, you have to advocate for this person, no matter who they are.” He also said that he hoped that the fact that Aria and Ezra—spoiler alert!—get married in the end helps make the relationship “a little less icky.” As for Lucy, she's with Ezria 100%. “I stand behind their love story forever,” she said.
Final Thoughts
What ticks me off about all these comments is the constant flip flopping between yes acknowledging it was wrong, while at the same time praising it as this epic love story. Entertainment is going to portray something good and evil and many grey areas. It’s one thing to have a storyline about an underage highschool student in a romantic relationship with her/his teacher, but what’s not okay is romanticizing it for an impressionable audience. While Ian Harding & Lucy Hale had no control over the writing of the show, they have control over the kinds of role models they want to be. Ian has a son; Lucy doesn’t have any children now. Would they want their children to be in a romantic sexual relationship with a grown man or woman that could be their teacher? I would think not.
