How Pretty Little Liars Ruined Its Best Villain

[@VeganBeautyGirl]

no one understands disappointment quite like a PLL fan

[@hair4571]

Riverdale

[@1cheness]

@@hair4571 Nah the show was just good for one season.

[@Poeticrebellion]

or a game of thrones fan

[@byrnetdown6076]

@@hair4571 yeah if you're a fan of riverdale you did that to yourself... i liked the first season but i was already aware of how cringy the writing was before it took the horrific turns it did later on

[@illiteratechild6544]

Game of thrones fans here

[@matcha.clouds]

PLL was ruined because they wanted to drag it out for more seasons and because they didn’t want any of the fan theories to be right

[@shifonr]

All of the fan theories were wayyy better than the actual ending smh

[@hidansektas]

And i watched many theories on youtube about Spencer's twin and i started screaming "NO GOD PLEASE NO , NOOO" when cringy Alex appeared

[@matcha.clouds]

@@hidansektas and the Charles bs! What was that nonsense? They really pulled that out of thin air.

[@char6611]

@@matcha.clouds should’ve just stuck to ali having a twin. started going down hill during season 2.

[@Einwegmensch_]

fr tho. The harder the writers of ANY series try to avoid meeting fan theories, the worse the show's gonna end up. There was a good reason these theories formed, you can't just throw that all over and expect it to still be good/make sense...

[@nerisse_]

Alison was a much more interesting character when she was “dead”. She had this whole mystery around her, she was this manipulative mean girl who had all these secrets. When she returned, particularly after season 5, she became the most bland character. She had so much potential to be an amazing villain. I think the show should’ve followed the books more closely, especially with who A was. It would’ve been an amazing ending with less plotholes, because we all know the actual ending was a complete mess.

[@carolinagoldgirl8706]

Yes!!!!! Alison was an interesting character WHEN SHE WAS DEAD!!! That was the main mystery of the show THE thing that compelled us to watch for this bewitching mystery. On season 4 the writers made a HUGE mistake to reveal she was alive....and also a teenage girl evading the police like that and detectives 🕵🏼‍♀️ 🤦🏼‍♀️ I clearly remember the first time I watched the reveal and how disappointed I was. Alison truly had a lot of potential. Also, Cece being A lame 😒 like that’s when it truly clicked on my mind how much time I had wasted on the show. I was soooo pissed cause like this video says Cece didn’t have much of a connection to the girls she was an outsider at best....the emotional impact wasn’t there like when Mona was A was!!!! I stopped watching the show after the Cece is A thing. Don’t know anything else after that. The 2 main mysteries that compelled me to watch the show had been ruined by then...A and Alison. I also remember showing this show to one of my friends....and I clearly remember her telling me how ridiculous she found this show...she said that on I think the 3rd episode of the 1st season...and it was when the liars are in the cafeteria for breakfast...and I think Emily is getting her food and she picks cereal 🥣 and in the cereal she’s suppose to get the ABC’s and she only gets A’s 😒 how would A even know how to put only A’s on the cereal Emily was gonna get?????? It just doesn’t make sense things like that. Also, the club that Jason makes with Garrett...doesn’t make sense, the Halloween special with Hannah’s mom Ashley and the “girl” doesn’t make sense whatsoever,.....

[@adrianagarza7114]

I wouldve supported even if Aria turned out to be A, but a new character that never met the liars and just had envy for spencer? It was the worst finale EVER on tv

[@carolinagoldgirl8706]

@@adrianagarza7114 thank god I stopped watching after the Cece is A thing. Like I said, right then and there I had an epiphany and truly realized how ridiculous the show was and how my friend was right. (Rolls eyes) another new character? 🤦🏼‍♀️ from the beginning of the show I thought it was Aria and would’ve preferred if they gone with that choice. There were times where I thought it was Spencer but Spencer Spencer not some twin.

[@adrianagarza7114]

@@carolinagoldgirl8706 yes!!! and also, Spencer and Caleb? like for real? There were so many stupid things that they just kept adding to make the series longer.

[@carolinagoldgirl8706]

@@adrianagarza7114 ugh and am I the only one that found Aria’s parents annoying and the mistress too???? Super annoying. Like blah. And for me it was always Caleb and Hannah. I don’t think I caught into the whole Spencer and Caleb thing but really 🙄 it’s just as bad as Blair and Dan from Gossip Girl.

[@HalliwellSon]

YES!!! I agree with all of this! Alison had so much potential to be a true villain!

[@Line...]

@Hyperactiv Gamer not the way it was written in the book

[@lostforever773]

She was a villain

[@andreia5113]

i agree but everyone suspected alison was alive and A since season 1, it shouldve been ezra or alison teaming with someone else

[@CarlaJoBros]

@Hyperactiv Gamer right, but making her back as a sweet good girl wasn't good either. Maybe finish with her being some kind of villan

[@SeyeAwonuga]

Let's be honest we all knew she wasn't dead, and it would have been too obvious that the person who wasn't around had the and planing to be A. It's not that they didn't want to it's that is would have been too obvious.

[@glowrain756]

They should've stuck to the plot in the books. Sara Shepard made her way more interesting and intimidating. I wish the books were more popular because they are so well written even Aria who is just bland on the show is really badass.

[@alexdrake1162]

Exactly! The books were so well-written and had such satisfying plots and reveals! Sara Shepard is a genius.

[@faithalexa1438]

I agree sooooooo much!

[@char6611]

i read all 16 books and the show was barely like the books- apart from mona being a

[@aicha454]

Eh, the first 8 were good and enjoyable, but then the series was dragged on for way too long, and unnecessary drama was added for no reason. I lost interest at around book 9.

[@mista6669]

@@char6611 wait a minute they’re sixteen books?!? I only read up to eight books and thought it ended. I don’t really care about spoilers, could someone please tell me what happens in the next books (I ended on the part where a house burned down and I think Allison moved to a different place)

[@PlopperPuppies]

The fact that Sasha was only 13 when she started this role is incredible to me. She's so talented! She nailed Alison's essence in the first seasons (back when Alison was a good character...)

[@sofiaj8640]

SHE WAS THIRTEEN?? omg what an icon

[@Ellen-td8ld]

@@sofiaj8640 11 in the pilot, 12 in s1. shes incredible

[@heyhi5503]

Julia Sofia Vaquez Dominguez yeah i think she lied about her age

[@ellielouise9625]

Sasha deserved so much credit for how incredibly she played Alison prior to her being revealed to be alive...

[@clairobscur1413]

What the fuuuuck??? Wow, icon. I guess it's because she's pretty tall but she really doesn't look that young, she looks like someone in their late teens

[@DiscoBewts]

I understand why the writers did change Alison's character when she became more of a main player, but instead of making her meek and "nice" they could've easily made her an anti-hero, the same way they did for Mona. She could have been an ally and a friend to the Liars while also being her same conniving self, if they wanted to go along with her not being the main villain.

[@alexwallar8608]

And have her be unfairly be treated as a villain, and no matter how many times she saved their asses they still don't trust her? I don't think so.

[@2ndKidd]

@@alexwallar8608 Mona was done the dirtiest! They didn't need to be bffs but idk how the hell they could overlook all of allison's actions but eternally blame Mona even when she saves them

[@alexwallar8608]

@@2ndKidd Let me ask you this question, and I REALLY want you to think about this. If you experienced half the things the Liars went through BECAUSE of Mona. Would you want to be in the same room as her? I know I sure as hell wouldn't.

[@2ndKidd]

@@alexwallar8608 lol I'm not saying forgive Mona Hell, they don't need to be friends but Allison literally is just as (if not, more) worse and the writers ended up making the Liars forgive her in the end. If they're gonna have some kind of moral gauge there, they should *at least*be consistent. I mean hey, it's television, but Allison literally blinded another person for the rest of her life and never faced any real consequences for it. Like this video says, the writers really dropped the ball when it came to writing/developing Allison. Like her book counterpart, she would've been a damn great villain or like op said, a well written anti-hero

[@alexwallar8608]

@@2ndKidd At least Alison never ran Hanna over with a frickin Car! Or outed Emily to her parents, or split Aria's parents, or made Spencer think Toby was dead which lead to Spencer going to Radley.

[@whiskeyblack806]

NOTHING pissed me off as much as the BS lazy ass ending to such an amazing show. I'm still livid I wasted 7yrs of my life for that garbage. I can't even bring myself to watch it all over again with that pathetic pay off

[@fairlyliterary4771]

I must really love my friend bc they got me to re-watch the show from the beginning as they've never watched it. Send help 🤣

[@AikiraBeats]

Yeah at that point they should've just left the show completely at the end of season six

[@evyantonis6891]

the last season was so fucking bad, the makers of the show wasted so much potential

[@caro12347]

i still ignore the existence of season 7

[@KoolKukumber]

@@evyantonis6891 then they thought it was so amazing that they made a sequel tv show. Like no boo, no. 🤣

[@gillamon]

If you read the books, you'd know that Alison is actually MUCH worse. She's not just a budding sociopath. She *IS* a Sociopath. Spoiler alert, but The book series actually ends in a sort of cliffhanger where Alison is plotting her revenge against the four main girls. And you know how the girls were stuck in the burning cabin at the end of season 3? Well that also happens in the books, but it was an entire forest fire started by Alison to try and kill Aria, Emily, Spencer and Hanna.

[@AikiraBeats]

Yeah the tv show really ruined her character for me

[@marciatargato8093]

Why did she want to kill them

[@lostforever773]

@@marciatargato8093 learn to read

[@thepolishreader7430]

Yeah but isn’t that Alison not the Alison that was the girls friend

[@marzipan24]

@@marciatargato8093 Hi Marcia! xD

[@totorohawkeye3109]

I don't mind them redeeming Ali, but she became such a lazy inactive victim at the end. I got spoiled about her being alive and I was looking forward to it, I was like "Yesss I hate that bitch but it is going to be way more badass and interesting, she's so gonna yeet A"... Well, nope.

[@AikiraBeats]

Right that part just got on my nerves like I understand her changing for Emily but for everyone else but that was just weird for me

[@helolange1132]

Exactly, if they wanted to redeem her at make her be the one who would make A pay for everything

[@berchyzgb4423]

I wanted that too, and I thought it's how it'll play, for Ali, together with girls, to put that bit*h in her place

[@DrummerGabs]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who had hoped Alison was going to come back and completely fuck A up

[@roza2633]

god this was exactly what i hoped for all those years ago... as someone who started to really enjoy villains partly because of pretty little liars and who loved alison as a character i was so excited to see what she would do if she actually was alive and came back. and the disappointment was HUGE

[@alex_n215]

I honestly hated that they changed her so much. Especially after Sasha’s weight gain, it’s like they didn’t even know how to dress her either.

[@ninjabrown8560]

trust me like she was a fashun icon and when she put on weight they literally found the ugliest clothes ever like cmon can Hollywood scream any louder that they’re fat phobic?!!

[@kikis.w0rld]

YES finally someone says this, they made her weight gain really noticeable (not that weight gain is bad) and dresses her so badly, Allison wouldn’t wear what they chose

[@LarrietDarling]

I honestly think they changed her character because of the weight gain. She couldn't weigh more than Hannah and also prey on her body insecurities. So they slowly started making her more meek and quiet and dowdy, changing her character's style so horribly and everything.

[@frostyskeletons8950]

It’s especially frustrating when you remember she was literally 11-13 for the first couple of seasons, so the really “skinny” version of her was just a child’s body. Showrunners should know how to dress grown women not just babies!

[@italianspaghettisauce]

@@ninjabrown8560 that doesn't exist lol

[@kimpossible610]

but can we talk about how AMAZING Sasha Pieterse did playing Alison and she was only around 13 in the first season!

[@User-gl8xd]

She was 12 lol but yeah she was amazing

[@kimpossible610]

@@User-gl8xd lmao that’s why i said around 13, but thank you i wasn’t aware

[@Lmab-qs1kr]

Her performance was incredible

[@dangalvan2484]

I wouldn't have minded the creators making Ali a good character an a friend to the liars, but only IF she turned out to be A in the end. She would have still been the bad guy but she was manipulating the girls to think she changed so she could keep them close and torture them.

[@texasbelle333]

I never finished the TV series, I got tired of them changing the villain over and over again.

[@thethingsidoforyou17]

i only like the first two A's. i hate the third one so i always skip the last 2 seasons

[@ND-nx1nt]

Same here. My nerves could not handle it.

[@fedhaamour]

@@thethingsidoforyou17 I watched it all but my favourite was Mona !!!

[@thethingsidoforyou17]

@@fedhaamour mona is extremely overhated and shes in my top 3 characters of the show!!!

[@fedhaamour]

@@thethingsidoforyou17 same !!

[@maydoubled]

I think this is why Hanna's storyline when Alison returned was the most relatable. Alison was their friend but she was also their bully. Most people, especially as teenagers, wouldn't be okay with that person returning. The other liars didn't trust Ali but they didn't really seem that bothered by her being back. Hanna went through a whole identity crisis over Ali returning and seemed a little bitter towards her. It reminds me of how Hanna reacted to therapy. She didn't like outsiders. Like I said, the other liars didn't trust Ali, but they had a stronger reaction to talking to a therapist than they did over the person that tormented them.

[@the_petty_crocker]

I liked Alison as a protagonist, but wished she had retained her bite. She had more guts than all of the Liars combined and could outthink even Spencer. I would have liked to have seen Alison come back from the dead utterly pissed off she was almost killed by her unknown sister, masquerading as her friend. Alison vs. CC? Alison would have won every time. What the girls needed was someone like Alison to protect them. I would totally buy Alison as an out of control guard dog whose loyalties shifted to protecting only the girls and killing anyone who came after them. That would have been interesting.

[@4Tom4lepus4]

Honestly, I wasn't bothered at all about Alison trying to be better, but I would like for her to just sometimes revert back to it much more because you don't just become a great person, especially when people push you. It certainly feels like they removed a lot of her agency and competence. Both Ali and Mona deserved better

[@dso2010]

PLL should’ve ended on season 2, with Mona being A and Alison staying dead. They wanted to drag it out and completely lost the plot.

[@mooglare]

it would have been awesome if they actually followed the books too

[@sk-uh1xv]

They should’ve ended it when the girls went off to college. They dragged it out a lot but it wasn’t boring. I’m almost done with season 6 and I’m pretty bored with PLL right now. It’s nice seeing the characters as adults, but it’s really unnecessary.

[@fedhaamour]

exactly

[@929er13]

yup. ironically the arc with Mona as A was the best. everything went downhill after that.

[@victoragudogomez9974]

Alison is the main villian in the books. Was a great character to s1-s5

[@13realmusic]

I feel like a more twisty turner adaptation that followed the books would've been much more convincing. The Allision as A reveal is so satisfying to read and the actress would've made it satisfying to watch. Another big change I think was for the worse was taking out the sexual abuse storylines. I don't know why they changed Jenna from an abuse survivor to an abuser and then made Toby act like he was totally fine with the trauma. And Ezria should've been given the proper light of day shaming it deserved for being an abusive relationship. Now in my mid twenties I can't imagine seeing a sixteen year old at a bar and thinking, wow they're hot. Just barf all around especially since they just up the creep factor by revealing he knew her age all along.

[@caitlindayman2469]

The fact that Ezra knew exactly who Aria was and her age, yet still went after her while also knowingly becoming her teacher is so fucking predatory and disgusting. And the show never really shows him in a bad light and ends up marrying them?? Its so gross.

[@saracoutinho3398]

@@caitlindayman2469 And the fact the he had a date with Alison before he knew Aria...

[@louisa7043]

I wish they would´ve stickeed to the Alison and Courtney one. Even though it might´ve been obvious she had a twin and all and everyone was wanting it it would´ve been better than trying to make Cece as some half Courtney thing and then have Spencer have a twin out of literally nowhere

[@frostyskeletons8950]

Agreed.

[@cocokai9661]

That was one of the most disturbing things about the series. They made these pedo relationships seem normal and romantic. I was so happy when it looked like they were going to have Ezra be evil. It would have made so much more sense. And they acted like anyone who objected to their 'relationship' was bad (like Aria's father)! It was horrible and creepy.

[@zoefinley8308]

Marlene king ruined pll. No one can change my mind. Sara Shepard deserved better

[@Notwoke90]

True

[@betsy032785]

They so should’ve made Alison -A it would of all make sense . Her change could’ve been fake and reveal her true nature at the end even after the time jump. Narcissists like Alison don’t change in real life .

[@sweeety969]

Exactly! She was clearly on some axis personality shit, but they were acting like she was this reformed lamb, even though she was still acting shady, bullying people and being toxic and stuff. She could have 666 carved onto her forehead and they'd be like "aww, is that a new scarf?"

[@DinoTechTurboCharge]

Then we wouldn’t have Mona..

[@queersquirrel]

@@DinoTechTurboCharge not true! In the books the first a is mona but the big a is alison so both can go together

[@gothboithick]

a 14 year old can't have narcissistic personality disorder. even based on when she was ~16, no psychologist would label her a narcissist, that disorder can only be diagnosed in adults at least 18 years old. kids can't have that type of condition.

[@NightRises234]

Personality traits of a teenager wouldn’t be classified as a narcissist. They’re kids, and kids change as they develop into adults. So yes, Alison changing was realistic based on the experiences she went through.

[@eldrichrylelerio1554]

I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY AGREE TO THIS!!! A 100%. She should've been the ultimate big bad because she's the #1 important part of the show that shows important motives why she became A.

[@neishawnjohnson7602]

I don't really agree with her being a villain because that would be to obvious but i hated they made her to soft she should have more bitchy moments throughout the rest of the season.

[@DrGregoryHouseIT]

She is the Major villain in the books.

[@totorohawkeye3109]

Yes

[@Noah-rq3xt]

it’s called growth lmao? her not learning anything from everything that happened to her would be stupid

[@totorohawkeye3109]

@@Noah-rq3xt there's a difference between becoming a better, nicer person (which would be growing) and becoming a lazy victim teacher...

[@totorohawkeye3109]

@The Idealistic Wanderer I know they were all victims. But there is a difference between being the victim of a crime and keep acting like a weak boring person. For example Hanna and Spencer were still strong. Even though Spencer has been through approximately the same shit as Ali has been through. Not to mention they were bullied for a year (or two, don't remember exactly) while Ali was faking her death (yeah she was with Cyrus and all that shit, but at least she was free and it was her choice to fake her death. I won't blame her for that, though, especially since without it there wouldn't have been PLL, but my point is, the girls suffered a lot too yet they aren't complaining as much as she is.) Now, again there's a difference between becoming nicer and becoming so boring. I had no problem with 6A Ali. Before she went to jail, she was badass but she still had a mean personality, she wasn't nice. But then, during the trial episodes and so, she was cool and I did feel bad for her. However, sorry but during the 7th season... Look I got it, she got pregnant, tortured and so on, but why on earth would she just stay sitting on her floor or laying on her couch and not talk to anyone besides Emily, and literally almost all her scenes showed her complaining about her awful life. I'm sorry, I found the "redeemed bitch" plot nice, but I'm kind of disgusted that a character that had all this potential to be nice but still iconic became so uninteresting. She couldn't even defend herself against 16-year-old Addison.

[@abrindocaixinha]

Honestly I think the series completely RUINED not only Alison but basically all the character's stories, as well as the main plot that was beautifully (though a bit long) constructed in the books in which the series is based. They made really crappy characters look completely romanticized in the series and brilliant characters not even exist in the screens (as well as the main plot). Personally, I chose to stick to the books plot and construction.

[@totorohawkeye3109]

I didn't read the books but I agree on some parts. I hated Emily and Aria's characters especially, they were so dumb and fricking annoying. The emison thing genuinely didn't make sense imo. Ali... Well do I even have to say how much of a lost potential she had?... Spencer was always considered as the clever one, yet she did almost as much mistakes as all the others did. Basically all the liars made their mistakes. I really liked Hanna tho, no matter how she could do the wrong things as well, she was funny and entertaining. Same with most of the boys (except Ezra who sometimes looked like quite a loser). In the end I think Mona was the most clever and interesting. And honestly I liked the -A reveals... At least Mona's and CeCe's. They should've stopped at S6 EP10 and made one or two episodes for a 5 years later episode...

[@abrindocaixinha]

@@totorohawkeye3109 agree almost a 100% with you but the main characters were completely changed from the books and that's why Emily seems so pointless. She was my absolute favorite from the books and the series made her look like she had no personality at all. Also, Ezra Fitz and his relationship with Aria were a TERRIBLE mistake that should've ended right in the first season and I think we do agree on this one. Toby was an awkward choice for an endgame ship too. Though he's not treated as a creep in the show, his character in the books literally abused his sister. It's just too weird seing him as Spencer's soulmate and treated like a good guy or even a hero. Just can't stand it.

[@totorohawkeye3109]

@@abrindocaixinha idk... I mean in the show Toby was the one forced by his sister and probably didn't push her away because he felt bad about what happened to her or so... I probably should read the books but at least in the series Toby was just a sweetheart. Ezra and Aria didn't disturb me that much once he left his job, it's just that they weren't interesting to watch. But the first seasons sure were disturbing af and I can't believe Aria forgave him so fast for writing a whole book about them and knowing they were bullied yet not doing anything, but she couldn't try to forgive Mona.

[@abrindocaixinha]

@@totorohawkeye3109 yeah you're completely right about Ezra's book and Mona. That shit was just too disturbing Anyways, about Toby I know in the series he has another story, but it's just too wrong for someone who read the books to watch the series and see that character turned into something good. It's just very very weird. If you think you should read the books give it a try, it's really interesting, just a bit long way of a journey

[@totorohawkeye3109]

@@abrindocaixinha Okay, I will give it a try then! ^^.

[@griffinjames4585]

I never understood why they tried so hard to make us think Alison was a good person in the last 3 seasons. We had already seen who she was and she had never even come CLOSE to a kind or tender person. She didn’t have any redeeming qualities, she was pure evil. But somehow became a church-going mom by the end?????? And they all just forgave her????????????? Worst character arc ever lol

[@jasonmoukala8909]

Wrong she actually changed a lot if you actually paid attention

[@NightRises234]

You do realize people change when they go from teenagers into adults right?? The mean girl act wouldn’t have worked as an adult.

[@zaddyfaye6880]

@@NightRises234 right, but alison wasnt just your typical "mean girl". she was a cunning, highly-manipulative sociopath who'd discovered how to control everyone and everything around her, and decided to use that gift for her own sick enjoyment. she literally viewed the liars as being her dolls, and (as explained by mona) meticulously-curated her friend group to provide her as much sociopathic-entertainment as possible. teenagers like alison *do* change into adulthood, but only in the sense that they learn how to mask better, and blend into society whilst still reaping all the benefits from their manipulation. as a teenager, alison was incredibly intelligent and a skilled manipulator, but she was also pretty messy in how she went ab controlling others. she made her malice and conniving-nature dangerously-apparent to all who crossed her (in even the smallest, most inconsequential ways) which came back to bite her *viciously*, as she'd accumulated a large underground of adversaries who all worked together to take her down - hence the significance of the night she disappeared. that night was every single loose end alison ever left coming back at her all at once; every enemy surrounding her from every angle, coordinating to take her down. it wouldve made much more sense for alison to have taken the night she disappeared as a learning lesson for how poorly she'd gone ab handling her business. she relied solely on blackmail and charisma to survive before, and it (ultimately) became her downfall. we couldve (and shouldve) seen alison coming back as an adult/nigh adult, playing the role of a "martyr" for what she'd experienced whilst falling back into her old habits and reinstating an even more-controlling, domineering regime that saw her being far more coy in her abuse. this couldve worked spectacularly if she'd been AD, and the liars were aware of it the whole time but unable to combat the new image she'd painted for herself. every A prior had relied on anonymity to survive, instead we couldve seen the liars cautiously falling back into alison's grasp upon her return, but being too shaken by their experiences w (both) past her and A to fully trust her or allow themselves to be made into her dolls again. alison couldve been really hamming up her victimhood, which made the girls (who are, arguably, bigger victims of A) uneasy in her broadcasting and returning-need to be the centre of attention, causing them to finally gain the courage to slowly pull away from her and their old dynamics of their own free will this time - instead of them having-been forced to abandon the dynamics, due to alison's "demise", like before. alison couldve sensed this and grown vengeful, whilst working to reclaim her role in rosewood as the HBIC, w a new possy and the liars now relegated to "nobodies" (like theyd started developing in the show, before they hamfisted her redemption). alison's impertinent need for control, domination and attention - as well as her desire to maintain power over the liars; her "dolls" - couldve manifested in her taking over the game and becoming the new, final A; AD. all the As before her relied on alison's knowledge, image, legacy and the anonymity that the "A" mantle brought them to work as the gamemasters, however alison couldve (and shouldve) been different. it's her knowledge, image, name and legacy that made A so powerful - she wouldnt need to hide as A - revamping the name to "AD" (her initials) in order to make it abundantly clear to the liars who it was they were dealing w, once she realised her new and fake image wasnt gonna work on them. she couldve fought out in the open and relied on the new, sympathetic image she'd built for herself (as well as the ample-amounts of knowledge and information she has on every person in her orbit) to protect herself and isolate the liars; pushing the ever-present narrative that they were bullies themselves and making them her fall guys, while enacting revenge on them for attempting to leave her and strip her of her control. teenage alison was a messy, domineering force that controlled the halls of rosewood high w an iron fist. she was openly-tyrannical and snide, yet her aura made it feel as though it was impossible to fight back. adult alison shouldve been the evolved-version of her teenaged-self - much like a politician, she shouldve maintained that domineering, uber-charismatic, larger-than-life personality, but w a softer and more-approachable veneer. a manic pixie dream girl, if u will; except that soft-mystique would only be a visage for an even colder and more calloused underbelly. instead of controlling the halls of rosewood high, the town of rosewood (itself) shouldve become her kingdom, like she was on her way to making it (w her progressing-abuse of adults) prior to her "death". we shouldve seen the liars cast aside to the gritty alleyways of those streets as she villainised them whilst continuing to victimise them when they were faced by her 1 on 1. our ending to such a long and arduous story shouldve involved the liars slowly growing and proving themselves to be stronger, more proactive and (finally) *honest* people to end alison's reign and liberate the community from all the lies and skeletons once and for all. instead, we lost alison, the liars and the core story of PLL to marlene king's insatiable-need to outsmart the audience. all the girls (alison included) reduced to 1D versions of themselves (and someone entirely else, in the case of ali) w A (one of the biggest and most influential villains in tv drama HISTORY) to be transfigured into an underwhelming, unthreatening nobody that had zero impact on the story. in short, there's a reason why mona remains to be such a beloved, divisive and iconic character. from season 4 onwards, she (and janel parrish) carried that show. if it wasnt for her presence, post season 4 pretty little liars wouldve been indistinguishable from every other cw drama that came before (and after) it

[@NightRises234]

@@zaddyfaye6880 you are delusional. Alison’s experiences and trauma changed her which is why she stopped playing with people’s lives. If you watch the series you can see how immature Alison was as a teen. That wouldn’t ever fly as an adult after you get life experience. And the show was very much about the girls friendship. If Alison stayed the same way she would’ve ruined every relationship in her life. She had to change or else the show loses its core element which is the bond of the girls.

[@ningyu..1740]

@@NightRises234alison was a sociopath, sociopaths don’t just change when they transition into adulthood or go through trauma , sociopaths become worse as they age and use their trauma to help them with their tactics.

[@Caeljharden]

They 1000000000% should’ve gone with the Alison-Courtney evil twin plot like the books. Alison was a PERFECT villain and going that route would’ve kept all the evil things she did while also redeeming the real Alison when we found out she actually DID did at the hands of an evil twin. But Marlene was so desperate to prove the fans wrong when we were correctly predicting where the show was going, so she changed major plot points that ultimately made absolutely no sense whatsoever. She claims she had been planning the Spencer/Alex thing from day one, but this is just simply not true and to say otherwise is an insult to the fans. Then they tried to give Alison this redemption storyline that felt so stupid and completely ruined the character the show was iconic for. They spent 5 seasons telling us how manipulative and sociopathic she was setting the entire story in motion, only for her to show back up as this pitiful character that wasn’t even 5% of the amazing character they started her off as. Bad Marlene. Very bad.

[@faithbradshaw]

She’s a psychopath not a sociopath. There’s a major difference. Sociopaths are antisocial. Psychopaths are the ones who are outgoing and make friends super easily.

[@TheTrixster690]

Actually since Season 5 Marlene and Troian were planning out the Alex Drake storyline.

[@NightRises234]

@@faithbradshawnot true. Alison is a sociopath. A psychopath is more dangerous like a killer. It has nothing to do with being social or not.

[@faithbradshaw]

@@NightRises234 alison was a killer in the books. She killed like 7 people! Shes a psychopath!

[@NightRises234]

@@faithbradshaw girl I’m talking about the tv show, not the books

[@sabrinaxk1104]

Something that really pissed me off was when for a few episodes it implied Ezra was A and (as random as it was) I LOVED it Cuz I never expected it. So I kinda wish they made Ezra at least 1 of the As.

[@miaingraudo8990]

the fact that courtney wasn’t even apart of the show is what ruined it for me. alisons pretty little lies was probably the best book in the series, because we truly got a look into one of the best characters in the series.

[@theprettyoftheodd7997]

She didn't even become fully good until the very last season

[@arthurmoreira4118]

Since season 4 she’d become a good person.

[@laurine____7543]

@Kenya Girly she didnt. She just act good but continue to Betray the girls, bullied Lucas, lied about EVERYONE and was overall bitchy and still fat shamer

[@marianaortegaguerrero3927]

@@laurine____7543 even what you said was cruel, the things that Allison Dilaurentis did in the show cannot be compared on what she did in the books. Believe me, Allison in books is really creepy.

[@laurine____7543]

@@marianaortegaguerrero3927 yeah but show Ali still bad

[@marianaortegaguerrero3927]

@@laurine____7543 of course she was bad, but again, you can´t compare the level of madness that she had in the books.. did you read the books?

[@muj3595]

In the books, Alison was an absolute psychopath. She didn’t belong in a mental hospital she belonged in a prison. I wish Alison was more evil in the show that would’ve been the best ending for the show

[@Lucy-xr9px]

I haven't read the books so I didn't know that Allson was the big A in them, but to me that makes far more sense. I totally agree with your points & they are well made.

[@gracieliz95]

She should’ve stayed dead until the very end of the series. They tried too hard to surprise us and ended up with a convoluted plot that made no sense.

[@cantspellbritt4129]

Alison being the big A would make more sense. I hated how Alison “came back” and showed her as a good person when they showed her time and time again she was rhe devils recantation! I have nothing against the actress but I could not stand watching Em falling in love with someone who tormented her sexuality. It was rough too see them turn Alison into a good gir l

[@nataliamrazova7208]

And even her girlfriend 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@croft4746]

Everything she said and did was so iconic and came across so deliberated. She was such a mysterious character that had so much power, how they went from that to the most bland character is such a shame

[@Despina687]

I always love villain characters, and Alison is the perfect villain. Once she became less of a larger than life flashback, she was so lost. My absolute favorite part of pll is when Alison tells the girls she’s A with the “did you miss me?” I think they started to change Alison because of the hate Sasha was getting for unfortunately gaining weight which was a medical issue she was dealing with. I think they wanted to make her a “softer” character but Alison wasn’t Alison after season 5 everything changed

[@bpls169]

I don't mind her not being a villain but I just wanted her to be more like herself, like, she's still just as bad as she was EXCEPT that it's not with the girls or anyone at school, it's just full on war against A, and I think that would be SO cool to see, I can really see A sweating over Ali just viciously going after her

[@23RedTechno]

Charlotte DiLaurentis (born Charles Drake: alias CeCe Drake) was a character on Pretty Little Liars, first introduced in Season 3. She is portrayed by Vanessa Ray. Her character pays homage to the book character, Courtney DiLaurentis.

[@parthsarwade1333]

After Charlotte's death they could have gone according to the book where Ali became A to finds her sisters killer . The thing of Elliot and Mary after Charlotte's death didn't make even a small connection to A . And the thing I don't understand that why did Alex torture all the liars if she just wants Spencer dead . The A thing till season 6 was great but after the leap , the A thing wasn't so strong . The only best storyline in the last season was Aria as A . It's not that I hate that Alex Drake ka story but it felt more like a Bollywood movie . Alison or any liar as the main A/AD would have been much darker and shocking

[@quezta2833]

Agreed whole heartedly! Like even bringing the original Twin story to work with Allison and Courtney would have been more satisfying

[@the_only_living_ghost]

YES THANK YOU! I get so annoyed at people who act like Allison is a person and not a monster… She’s a textbook sociopath maybe even psychopath. Anyone who ships her with anyone has serious problems

[@nelly-gu2qq]

Sociopath is worse than a psychopath

[@the_only_living_ghost]

@@nelly-gu2qq depends

[@PunkPixieStudios]

I just finished ALL the books last week. WTF! The books were WAAAAAAAAAAY better than the show

[@tiftif9826]

How many are there again? And what is their order?🤔 I just read the first one and I am confused about which one to buy next :D

[@PunkPixieStudios]

@@tiftif9826 there are 4 series. Each series has 4 books. I suggest you read only series number 1 and 2 because the other once have nothing to do with the mystery of Alison. And after you read the first 2 series, you have to read the prequel which is “Ali’s pretty little secrets”

[@tiftif9826]

@@PunkPixieStudios thank you!! Wow, so there are 16 books total, right? Okay, then I will start looking for the first two seasons. Just out of curiosity, what are the other two seasons about briefly?

[@PunkPixieStudios]

@@tiftif9826 a mystery in Brazil from what i read on the description and some KZbin videos. Nothing to do with the Alison mystery.

[@tiftif9826]

@@PunkPixieStudios hmm okay that sounds kinda strange.. but again, thank you for the advice!

[@_max79]

She should've stayed the same as in season 5 when liars kinda departed from her, she was shady af with black wig and all of that stuff and she found new group of "friends" to manipulate in which was JENNA like that was crazy, she was so scared of her that she joined her

[@BeatGoat]

I mean, the last 4 seasons of the show were a mess in general. You could tell the writers had no рlan and were making stuff uр as they went along. The majority of intriguing mysteries had weak conclusions because of that.

[@LStottmann]

Definitely agree. The show was SOOO good until you could tell the writers were writing as the show was progressing but truly had no idea what way to go with it. I mean, A is Spencer’s twin? Like, no fun...... how made up can you get lol

[@sorgii]

Alison didn't become a shell of her former self. She became the soft squishy piece of meat inside the shell, only it was ripped out of the shell and thrown across the room.

[@BaileeWalsh]

I didn't even watch the show entirely. I stopped somewhere around Season 3. I still remember for some reason I thought we were on like Season 6 because of how many episodes there are per season, but then realized it had only been a few years since the show first premiered. I thought the show became really convoluted and I had read the books previously so I felt like I already had a conclusion. It brought it characters that didn't exist in the books and was following story lines that conflicted with what I already had in my mind. One time, though, my cousin tried explaining to me what had happened on the show and I was so confused! I definitely agree, though, that she should have been the ultimate Big Bad, as you say. I thought that's how the show would go, but clearly it didn't.

[@totorohawkeye3109]

You should watch until 6x10 because, well, it's nice. If you want more you can watch the rest but honestly the only real reasons to watch it would be Hanna&Caleb, the clothes and Hanna and Spencer's hairstyles. 😂

[@tashienumber1hater]

This nails everything perfectly. To this day, I'm STILL angry about the ending of the series. I never read the book, but Alison being A made a lot more sense than Charlie and Alex... that was just so stupid. Even EZRA being A was good!!!! I was soooooo SHOCKED when they tried to spin that, man I'll never forgive them for that ending.

[@VioletEmerald]

This is such a good video analysis. And I say this as someone who fell for Ali as a character to feel sympathy for in the final seasons and shipped Emily/Alison lol. Amazing points.

[@syd2138]

Yes! I've been saying this for years. I read the books back in high school and loved them cuz Ally was so cunning and actually scary. Once they made her a damsel in distress in the show, I didn't care for her character anymore. She was way more interesting when she was mean

[@totorohawkeye3109]

I don't know how much of a good -A she would've been... But I hated how boring she got after S6. I also hated her personality from the beginning but at least she was interesting and iconic, whilst in the end... She was just not the same character anymore... And that was way too boring.

[@Art8mis]

When I heard there a twin in the show I thought it would be finally it be Courtney DiLaurentis Alison twin sister in the books but nope it was Spencer twin instead which I hated

[@d.c.7285]

I think they could've made Alison better for some time, but she would struggle a lot, and pretend to change, so she wouldn't be alone, but in the end it would turn out that she didn't change at all. It was all game. That would be a surprise.

[@aaliyahrose5992]

I prefer Shepard’s portrayal of Alison (and Courtney) in the books as opposed to the TV series but I think to have kept Alison a villain after it was revealed she was still alive wouldn’t really have made sense considering the extreme trauma she had just experienced.

[@cassidya5629]

Did she actually intend to blind Jenna? I thought that was just an accident? And she pushed Ian off the bell tower to stop him from killing Spencer!

[@laurine____7543]

She literaly placed a mini bomb of the garage knowing jenna was there, i mean i think she didnt wanted to blind jenna but to hurt her but it still horrible like she wanted to hurt her ...

[@candyc3314]

@@laurine____7543 I think it was fireworks or something that was supposed to scare her and it accidentally caused an explosion that blinded Jenna. She didn't feel any remorse though nonetheless.

[@laurine____7543]

@@candyc3314 yeah i think it was that...something for scare her , or something like that ...and too bad , it made her blind.... and yeah its horrible how she seem to HavE 0 regret...since after that , she made fun of her blindess " too bad you dont see my bronzage " as if she was happy of how the firework done to jenna....its terrifing.... the worst thing is that , on that moment of the show , jenna did nothing wrong to Alison

[@andrehill4266]

@@laurine____7543 I think that she had did it because of that scene at the Halloween party when her and Jenna first met each other. I think Alison had asked her if she wanted to be in her crew and Jenna said no and that she likes to ride solo or something, I don’t really remember

[@terran008]

She called it “A happy accident” like it’s so normal to blind someone just because he/she doesn’t want to be your friend... lol Alison was crazier than Mona..

[@joneilou5]

Great video!! Really insightful!! I agree 100%!!

[@eva-te7vp]

I read the books and was really shocked at how different they were. I liked both, but Alison as a villian would have been amazinggg

[@stormyows]

The Charlottw aspect would have worked better if Alison had came back and REALLY been killed by someone like the liars, lucas or mona.

[@ZenaidaZeal]

A big part of how Alison was so formidable was because of Sasha Pieterse's performance. I wanted to see more of pyscho Alison because Sasha was selling it so well.

[@twinkie0095]

I'm sorry but Allison as A would of been the best ending in my opinion.. The liars could've killed her off or something🤔

[@sweeety969]

I so did not buy her character change. I kept waiting for her bitchy side to show back up and say "Surprise bitch, bet you thought you'd seen the last of me" and sure enough, when she felt she'd get away with it, she continued to be bitchy which is what made her transition to 'good' character that much more hollow because you know she's only 'good' when the spotlight is on her and it's so unjust that she's getting away with it. In fact the show pretty much revealed that she was freaking A TWICE (When Mona was put in Radley after her A reveal, and she was shown to take order from red coat, who was Alison, and then again, when we find out that Red Coat is the leader of the A team and that Cece joined the A team and became a red coat to be Alison's patsy, and that she got Mona to take orders from her by pretending to be Alison. They didn't just drop the 'Alison is A' plot line when she came back, they straight up kept confirming that Alison is in control of the A team, but the liars were just painted as being too freaking dumb to figure it out which ruins their characters as well, especially considering Spencer freaking Hastings has been shown to be able to DISARM BOMBS and so on and Emily has spent YEARS of our time showing she's moving on from Alison and her bullshit and wisening up, to the point of not even giving Paige chances out of fear of being disappointed and let down like Alison has been setting her up only to let her down in the past, only to be back at square one when she returns, and constantly falling for her bullshit. Ugh. And what's worse, is the baby storyline. Any other character would have been pitied but they've made her so unlikable and so untrustworthy that you end up questioning every single part of that storyline and it completely loses its effectiveness as the ultimate wrongdoing A could impose on one of the liars, and becomes yet another "did she or didn't she?" red herring chase. For starters it makes zero sense for A to knock up Alison with Emily's eggs. If they had been dating, maybe. IF they even had a thing, yeah. But at this point, neither girl has shown interest in the other in over half a decade, and even then, they broke up and pursued other people and just remained friends. There was absolutely no interest romantically between the two of them. And yet because certain fans wanted them to screw, the writers were pushed into a corner and forced to force them together and this stupid plot line was born.

[@mickcrump7799]

mooglemania I agree. The show lost so much of its potential and I personally LOVE the character of Alison and Sasha’s portrayal of her can never be replicated. I hate to use this word bc people overuse it nowadays but the original character of Alison Dilaurentis is iconic. She’s up there with Regina George and Heather Chandler just like the video said. They are the epitome of a mean girl for each of their generations. Anyway, when it comes to Emison, I have to agree that their affection was cute at some moments bc it revealed the deeply hidden vulnerable parts of Alison but as a long term love interest. It was never there. And to have AD basically drug and violate Alison’s body in a variation of rape to implant Emily’s eggs was a disgusting storyline. It was a violation of Emily’s body and choice as well and Alex had no reason to do any of this. This was the writers idea of fan service and for a show on girl power and these girls having mostly healthy friendships, just trashes those themes to force two characters into a marriage of all things. The fact that their marriage is based around sharing children, that neither have any clue who the father is, and how all of that came to be is not love. No matter how they tried to twist it to be sweet and loving, it felt gross and it appeared as another show of support for the violation of these two women. Just like forcing Aria and Ezra on us and selling it as anything other than statutory rape through his prior knowledge of her and her family and friends and use of his position of authority with her as her teacher. The show would not get away with most of this today but these two plotlines are unforgivable to me as once the book storyline reveal was made and Aria learned EVERYTHING was based on a lie, Ezra should have been written out and Aria should have ended up with hot hot Jason. The ONLY healthy loving relationship to me where both partners brought out the best in one another was Hanna and Caleb. And I’m saying that as someone who saw the chemistry between Caleb and Spencer in earlier seasons, especially 5, and they didn’t bother me. Although I in just five years, I don’t think Caleb and Hanna would have been unable to make it work bc of a fashion designer employer after making your relationship work through homelessness, numerous near death attacks, the dollhouse, and all the other mess they went through. She even united him with his parents yet Claudia Ghecko and her outrageous demands were apparently for more formidable to their love than YEARS of the hardcore shenanigans A three their way.

[@tiftif9826]

@mooglemania I could not agree more. Seriously, you describes everything perfectly!

[@tiftif9826]

@@mickcrump7799 I agree with you as well! I really, really do not understand how some people can overlook the fact that A.D. harmed Emily's and Alison's body in such a disturbing, disgusting way only to create a storyline of them sharing the responsibility to care for children and eventually fall in love. From my point of view, Paily was the only healthy relationship in which Emily took part, but I can understand why people would ship Emaya. I liked Maya but she was too sketchy and moody at times and I didn't think she was the best fit for Emily. Also, I am so glad to see someone not being disgusted by the idea of Spaleb. I also prefer Haleb because I think the beginning of their relationship is really cute but I think intellectually, Spencer was a really good fit for Caleb and the other way around because when he was helping the girls with some technical stuff, she was the only one actually keeping up with what he was doing and sometimes Hanna lacked the shared interest.

[@sweeety969]

@@tiftif9826 !!! I'm so glad to find someone else who finds Paily to be Emily's healthiest relationship. We're very rare. The ONLY healthy loving relationship to me where both partners brought out the best in one another was Paige and Emily. Caleb didn't seemed to show Hanna the respect she deserved and there were times when it was obvious he looked down on her, such as that whole 'everyone can see your spicy tuna roll' thing, and when they first met and he was going on about smart girls and dumb girls and pretty girls and whatever. Plus he slept with Hanna while working for Jenna in a massive breach of trust. He knew they were enemies but he dismissed Hanna as just some teenage bitchy drama queen who had a 'tiff' with Jenna and went ahead and spied on her while staying in her house and eating her food, as she was putting his ungrateful, homeless ass up. I don't care if he didn't 'finish' the job, he still used her, and even went as far as to sleep with her and pop her cherry while working against her. I can't forgive him for that and I can't believe Hanna did. Or the time he bought a fucking gun and brought it to that lighthouse after Hanna told him to ditch it? Like he was gonna shoot A? And he thinks Hanna's the dumb one?!

[@tiftif9826]

@@sweeety969 Honestly could not agree more!! I would be able to accept Emaya as Endgame (if she was still alive) because they had cute moments in my opinion but nothing will ever top Paily. No ship out of the whole series is based on such pure love as Emily receives from Paige. I know, Paily is not a very popular ship which I truly cannot understand but you probably saw my other comments under all of the Paily videos so you know how much I love them :D I agree 100%. Caleb and Hanna were cute in the beginning, but I feel like just like Ezria and Spoby, a major part of their time spent in their relationship was when they were arguing and to me, all of the three ships weren't enjoyable at some point. I also don't understand how people can overlook the fact that Caleb broke both Hanna as well as Spencer; I know most people blame Spencer for Spaleb happening but honestly, Caleb seduces Spencer way more than she did and he ended up hurting Spencer really badly. I like Ezra, even though that whole stalking thing was obviously inappropriate, I feel like he ended up loving Aria and I was kind of happy they ended up together, even though I liked Nicole and Ezra and Holden/Liam and Aria. Unpopular opinion, but I am not a fan of Toby at all. How he pretended to be dead, how he joined the A team, how he made Mona look like she was lying when stealing her van, how he literally traumatized and broke Spencer with the consequence of her ending up in Radley, her friends and family concerned and heartbroken too; that was just way to much for me. He never properly apologized. He basically just told Spencer that he did it to "protect her" and they end up having sex in the hotel the same effing night, ignoring everything he just put her through... also, I feel like Spencer is wayy to smart for Toby and needs someone matching her ambition and intelligence. It is terrible how the fandom chose to forgive Caleb, Ezra and Toby but hate Paige for existing, writing comments making fun of her mental disorder and suicidal thoughts (that Alison caused) and treat Alison like a queen. I don't want to imagine what they would say had Paige stalked Emily for her book, dated Emily and idk Aria or joined the A team and never apologized. It blows my mind.

[@angiestalesfromwales1590]

alison was fascinating at first, she was a complete cruel, manipulative, nasty girl who does it for No Reason At All and that's my favourite kind of villain, the ones who are just lunatics for the fun of it. I loved her character, not what she did but just the character in general, she was interesting and they just botched her in the end.

[@mauvebassetgirl21]

I also found it completely random and unbelievable that Allison ended up with Emily. It was obvious that she just played with Emily’s feelings to psychologically torment and control her, just like she did with the other girls. Emily was such a sweetheart, she deserved a great love interest and story. But she got stuck with a gf who physically assaulted her (although I came to like Paige eventually, that was still just inexcusable) and then her bully who used her. It’s really sad

[@dancerchronicles]

I know right, I really wish that the show writers hadn't killed off Maya; because Maya was actually genuinely sweet to Emily

[@sweeety969]

I felt so bad for Emily too. Everyone else got their happy endings but she was stuck raising somebody else's kids (I'm not buying they were hers. Just look at them FFS!). And I loved Paige, and she was perfect for Emily despite the bumps in the road, and they would have been so happy together but Alison ruined that for them. None of the romantic interests were perfect, and Paige had the odd moments, especially in the start of their relationship, but honestly she was so good for her. She balanced her out and brought out the best in her, and supported her and made her so strong, but then Alison came in and forced her to be this obedient little slave again, and Paige had a chance of breaking that, and you saw it in Emily's behavior and how she could finally hold her head up high again in season seven, and heck, she literally freaking raised her head up by her chin as she parted with her, and I'll never get over how badly they got shafted.

[@frostyskeletons8950]

@@dancerchronicles Maya was the best gf by far. I was so mad when they killed her off

[@gallarinas]

how’d you like paige

[@NightRises234]

Not true. Alison did have real feelings for Emily, she just didn’t know how to properly love someone.

[@jessalynrobertson2308]

I completely agree. Someone that horrible cannot change that much! I always have thought they should have had A be Alison, one of the liars, or one of the liars parents would have been really interesting! I just feel like the ending was a cop-out, and a really bad way to end 7 seasons.

[@spiritfang36aj47]

If Alison was going to have a redemption- it would have been fine if they did it properly. But they didn’t. They could have redeemed her while she kept some of her old toxic or mean traits, like they did with mona. Mona in my eyes was redeemed yet she kept lots of her personality and psychotic tendencies. Alison however, had a complete personality flip, and it completely ruined her character. Alison was and still is one of my favourite pll characters as I think she was intriguing and interesting. I would have much rather we found out why she was the way she was so the audience could understand why she is the way she is.

[@naginoriette7857]

As the seasons went on, I seriously questioned some of the writing decisions and plot twists that were made on the show but I couldn't stop watching. I think that in the early seasons where Ali was still dead/missing, A's identity wasn't revealed, etc, it was the best. That elusive mystery and general scariness was awesome and I wish they could've kept that going.

[@holliejacobs1833]

yeah sadly as the show went on i feel like they went for shock value with their twists rather than with what would have rlly worked

[@annabethdiana5857]

Sasha’s acting capability is criminally underutilized in this show. She’s the best actor out of all of the main girls and she deserved more.

[@kaylathompson2111]

Yeah the ending totally sucked. But I didn’t “love to hate” Allison, I just straight up loathed her the whole time.

[@tiftif9826]

Sameee :D

[@kaylathompson2111]

Tif Tif I was so mad that Emily ended up with her too. 😑

[@tiftif9826]

@@kaylathompson2111 me too! I was ready to forgive Alison when she came back but she just proved that she was just as manipulative as she was before. Making the girls say they are not afraid of Charlotte when A clearly traumatized her (shout out to Aria for being honest there), bullying Paige in the teacher's lounge or dragging all of them into her kidnapping story. She was just as lying and evil as before, nothing sweet about that. I loved Paily, I enjoyed Emaya, basically anyone who was not Alison with Emily xD

[@sweeety969]

I agree with you guys so much. I don't get these 'bitchy' characters that spawned from Santana's loins. Okay, I'll give you Santana and Cheryl Blossom, cause they were actually kind of funny, and they were pretty spot on with their remarks and they played well against other characters because the people surrounding them were just as bad, if not worse (or at least annoying) but Alison was a straight up bully. She wasn't some sort of 'funny' kind of bitchy, she straight up used and manipulated people and did horrible, self-serving things and ruined people's lives. She didn't just slightly hurt their feelings and ridicule them. She maimed people, and killed them, and the show acted like she was this innocent little baby girl who'd never hurt anyone and had atoned for her sins by going to church and taking care of the needy?! And Paige was one of her biggest targets too. That's what makes the whole thing worse. Emily and Paige were both abused by her. Paige to the point where she contemplated suicide ffs. She had a whole journey to get through to feel okay with herself and love herself and accept herself, and Alison was the main setback, and after overcoming all that she did, you're telling me not only does she not get her happy ending, but it goes to her abuser instead?!

[@tiftif9826]

@@sweeety969 agree!! I am so over people loving the villain because they find them to be "relatable" or "iconic" and bringing down the hero/the normal people instead. In e.g. Victorious, everyone bullies Tori for being normal and in the best way "average" and calls jade relatable when in reality, the people who think they can identify with jade are the ones that are too shy to ask for Ketchup at McDonald's. It is just so weird when people/kids have balls on the internet and feel like bosses when in reality, they are rather like the average main characters they just tore down. Anyway, back to Alison, I agree so, so much! She is not like Squidward who is just always in a bad mood, insulting people in a harmless way and basically not caring about anything, she is hurtful, manipulative and mean and completely got away with it. She dragged all of the liars into her mess (Kidnapping story, the Jenna thing, Charlotte's release which was by far the worst to me) and expected them to follow through like minions, which stayed this way until the end. I would have loved for Paily to be Endgame, because that would show younger fans that if you truly love someone and fight for them, despite someone bullying you for your sexuality, you can make it and kill said bully with kindness. Like you said, horrible idea to make Emison Endgame. That is the reason why I don't watch season 7 again, I hate seeing Paige getting her feelings hurt once again.

[@jenna7437]

Honestly yeah I can see this. Her transition to being such a weak and soft girl was awkward and never made sense.

[@greciamedero2808]

I really would’ve loved for Ali to be truly evil. It would’ve been so chilling. Just like in the bad seed. We suspected the little girl but because the answer was too unbelievable, we did not want to accept it. But the. When the inevitable happened and she was discovered, it was not disappointed. It was terrifying. Just like it would’ve been if Alison was the evil, psycho we wish she could’ve been

[@gavinscelebi]

I just stumbled across this today and I could not agree more with you. Alison coming back from the dead was such a shock, but it really brought the show down in the end. To this day I still can't believe Alex Drake was the ultimate big bad -- what a cop out. So much potential wasted. Great video essay!

[@00ralitza00]

The show was obviously always super over the top, but I could never quite put my finger on what made it go downhill in the later seasons. This video is a pretty good explanation! The supervillians of the last seasons never felt earned (and they had ridiculous, unexplained stories). But the feeling of Alison in the first seasons was so interesting and polarizing. On the one hand, you felt bad for her, because she was a missing and "murdered" child which is in itself tragic, but on the other hand she is scary and interesting and frankly, an incredible complicated villain. By the end of the show it was extremely strange to me why they went in the direction they did with her and Emily. Nothing felt earned by the end.

[@Itsjusttjustin]

I love the show but they should have stuck to the books more, they set up season three so well for the Alison and Courtney twist but ruined it in season 4:(

[@Awjikis]

I’ve always loved the mysterious vibes this show has seasons 1-4 are amazing but I do wish Aria was A for a portion of the series her character would have fit more into that role than spencer 🤦🏻‍♀️ but anyways the writers really messed up this amazing show with them trying to hard for all 4 of the girls to end up as best friends lol

[@BFF2li]

Me too! There were so many clues too! Ugh. So much wasted time.

[@jasonmoukala8909]

@@BFF2lithere were zero clues

[@redv.402]

sasha in the pilot season will never amaze me bc she was literally 12-13 in a room of adults and giving alison LIFE. i don’t think I’ve seen the “mean girl is truly evil” trope done so well. i still hate the writers for doing her dirty 😭

[@yarelibarroso8914]

I read a theory about aria being A cause of some signals she showed about being a psychopath... but yeah Alison being A and not turning into that “sweet” persona would have been so much better

[@Tinyleslie]

The books actually explain everything so much better! I wish they just would’ve stick to what happened instead of trying to make something “better”

[@Zack-bt3mk]

Oh god you encapsulated ALL of my feelings about this show.

[@MegTalksGlee]

Honestly the main reason they change Alison is because Marlene wanted Emily and Alison to happen so much

[@zoelynnesmith]

There’s so much I want to unpack. Alison was budding evil, she created Mona, Cece, and all of the liars. She ruined families and was always in everyone’s lives at such a young age. How did she come back and everyone just accept her? How did the liars still choose her over everything? They should have made it to where when she did come back, the liars exposed her and she went mad and went to Radley where she plotted against all of them and she should’ve been the big A and had them in the dollhouse and everything. Because they were hers and that’s how she wanted it. None of it makes sense.

[@queenmoreau2098]

The big bad should have been Alison's identical twin sister, Kathrine. Alison confided in her twin sister who had to live away in an asylum cause she was mentally ill. Before Alison was killed (leaving her truly dead by the start of the series), she confided in her twin sister Katherine that nobody else knew anything about. Katherine could either be the one trying to avenge Alison or she's the one who got Alison killed. Though I like that it be a double motive. She's the one that exposed Alison's secrets to another, which got Alison killed. She was envious of Alison's life. That's why Katherine took on the persona of A. Through her own guilt, she goes after Alison's friends, trying to find the killer of her sister, knowing she's also the blamed for her sister's death as well. It'd be emotionally conflicting for the character. And that would have been a way more interesting villain than Alison herself who still had a hold on all of these people, including A. They are planning to remake Pretty Little Liars. Let's hope they redeem themselves.

[@milaanna444]

i’m still mad with how much potential alison could’ve had and with her and aria being A, it would’ve been soooo good but no, the writers decided to ruin it.

[@moonflame77]

The psychology behind Alison is fascinating. Especially considering that "sociopath" is commonly a pop psychology term that mostly refers to traits that align with Psychopathy. Honestly the mishandling of her character, that someone with these personality trait can just change on a dime, is a fundamental mishandling of how mental health works (with personality disorders like Narcissistic Personality Disorder, among others); and how psychopathy is deeply connected to alterations in neurology and physiology. I think it's interesting not a lot of people bring that up when talking about her character. I also think the show would of done way better trying to do a redemption arc to actually handle how these people, once diagnosed (which is rare) are medicated, and try to adapt to perceived "normal" behavior rather than just having her magically change.

[@jessicamontoya5661]

Yaaasssss! I completely 100 percent agree with this. I was shocked for the first A reveal. I didn't see that coming. But the two last ones were off. I forgot her name but the showrunner, shouldn't make shows. She disappoints. Even that Perfectionists show, sucked. Only watched one episode.

[@livvymarie1148]

I loved the first 4 seasons .Sarah Shepard probably was pissed over the ending . Bad writing really can kill a perfectly good show

[@Chincheckedd]

G! Alison would have been the PERFECT VILLAIN AND THE MOST ICONIC! But the only thing I don’t like is the way how Mona was treated bye the girls when they didn’t know she was A and even after she apologized for it years after she was treated like crap but she could have been one of the liars in the end maybe even in the intro but.... they messed that up too🥺

[@annitendo]

I agree with you wholeheartedly! PLL suffered from the same issue Game of Thrones suffered from where the showrunners tried too hard to always be a step in front of the viewers and rewriting their script when people were figuring out who the villain was to stay unpredictable. That was why GoT‘s 8th season was such a train wreck and why they had to invent new villains each season in PLL because their ego couldn’t bare the thought that fans were catching on to the clues the show left for them.. it’s sad

[@sparksflylove]

She should’ve stayed dead and stayed the villain. I completely lost interest after that big “plot twist”

[@ak22ak8]

Wow this is so true. I think the show's hook owes a lot to Twin Peaks, the central question is who killed the prom queen? That show went on to examine Laura Palmer without bringing her back to life and enriching her character as a complicated troubled young girl who looms over the town as a ghost. PLL did this with Alison for the first few seasons but when they brought her back as a living character the intriguing and captivating ghost girl was gone and they decided instead to make her someone good and likeable and in doing so destroyed the legacy of everything she was. It's so crazy that by the end the character who hooked us all into the show had become the most boring.

[@viper___III]

I think they really missed an opportunity here to show how Allisons behavior back in school was not acceptable and to portray her as a proper sociopath- which she definitely was! I wish they would have either left her dead and kept using her as a ghost to show how fzcked up the liars are because of her manipulative behavior in the past or let her be the big bad with no other motivation, than her just being a sociopath who thought it would be fun.

[@Deevasi]

Love your analysis about Ali. When the show starts, the flashback moments were the best to watch. It feels like I want more of that flashback to know more about this person called Alison who was a mystery.

[@mikaelemafi4618]

Read the book because it's so good!

[@AndrewReinhardt]

Yes. I agree. I only got to Season 2. I was obsessed with this show! Alison had so much potential.

[@AndrewReinhardt]

Alison and Aria were my favorite in the show.

[@endor8witch]

so much potential wasted...now it makes sense why marlene king just couldn't get much writing gigs in Hollywood. she almost turned things around with this gem....and her inability to create a coherent universe and story shows....they keep stretching the story for the sake of milking it for as much money as the show can get from advertisers and then...just lazily tie up SOME loose ends. ridiculous ending.

[@jungkookssamgyeopsal6434]

The idea of her missing and still being relevant af and unkillable was what made the show so interesting. She was literally THAT girl that could talk her shit and handle it. Manipulative, spoiled, my way or the highway. The writers did a complete 180 and killed her character actually... like the pug sweater, bangs ( no offense), she had more interesting parts when she was missing vs alive and well. It also created so more plot holes than there already were.

[@TheTrixster690]

The pug sweaters and bangs sucked.

[@lucyblvd]

It would make more sense is Alison was A because it gives hints and also Alison is the ONLY one who could’ve known those secrets cause she was there for most of them

[@TheCatsMe00w]

I love a good murder mystery, and they completely ruined it by changing her character. Sasha is also the one girl I haven't seen having a career outside PLL (I know she did Honor Roll with Megan, but that was a passion project). It's frustrating to see that her normal weight gain from a hormone condition changed her character's directory in this show and, therefore, her acting career. PLL ending with her as the Big Bad should have been the start of her Hollywood career and open up many doors.

[@Samantha-mg6ew]

this is such an amazing video!! so much lost potential :( great job analyzing it

[@Monicaelum21]

Imagine this: At some point they discover that Alison was alive the entire time, but she says that she was kidnapped by Jenna (showing proof). Jenna kills herself due to the accusations and charges. Alison restarts her life again, only so the audience can discover that she was A the whole time, setting up Jenna and causing her death, and that she returned only to have revenge on Mona (by killing her or causing a horrible condition to her). At the end Alison escapes for good and the audience discovers that Aria helped her the entire time, since they first met at Ridley (Aria had a record at Ridley which is visible in one of the episodes and it is never mentioned again), but the liars never discover that.

[@catteo2832]

Allison was so much more mysterious and charming when she was "dead"

[@24lizliz24]

I loved the books so much. I remember watching the premiere of the show as it aired being so excited. I think the only show that's ever been able to disappoint me more is Grey's Anatomy. I never even finished watching the show. I know they didn't want to just follow the books but Ali as the ultimate A would've worked the best.