When the television show came out in 2010, fans of Sara Shepards book series Pretty Little Liars were ecstatic. The books tell a thrilling story of how a group of teenage girls is being stalked and blackmailed by an anonymous villain only indentifying themself as A. It is a great premise for a young adult series and has a pretty large fan base, which only grew when ABC Family decided to create a television show of the same name based on the series. The TV series was released at an opportune time, when the story in the books had slowly started to become convoluted and repetitive. Fans now turned to this new medium to get their weekly share of Aria (Lucy Hale), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Emily (Shay Mitchell) all of whom are more endearingly known as The Liars onscreen. Currently in its third season, however, the television show seems to be on the brink of turning to the same mistakes as its book counterpart.
So far this season, it remains unclear in which direction I. Marlene King the shows creator and developer plans to take the show. Currently, several different plot lines are being drawn out in each single episode as part of a tactic that is already confusing to audiences. Additionally, in each episode since the season premiere, there have been a number of cliffhangers and plot twists left unanswered. One of the aspects of this show that makes it so creepy is the succession of eerie, haunting endings of each episode. Every instalment ends with a snippet of the stalker, A, doing something horrific or creepy, such as burning a tree or looking at a wall covered in pictures of all the liars. In earlier seasons, these endings would always have something to do with the episode they were in, or at least with the episode that followed. In this season, however, they seem to just be filling time until the end of the shows 43 minutes.
The shows confusing cliffhangers and redundant plot twists are not the only things that leave viewers in a muddled daze after each episode. The fact that there are a million different possibilities for who A is A is sometimes even referred to as The A Team has so far left viewers annoyed and baffled. Every single person that could be A is either being killed or has disappeared, while the writers of the show keep bringing in new characters that could possibly fill As creepy stalker shoes. It is highly likely that even the writers have no idea who A is and thus are just taking their viewers down a path with no current destination.
Nevertheless, the show still succeeds in portraying very strong relationships within its long-term characters. Arias relationship with Ezra (Ian Harding) hasnt remained an illicit student-teacher relationship, but has instead blossomed into a fairly adult relationship that has caused both of them to mature pretty quickly. King is not only taking time to create some really fleshed-out romantic relationships between the girls and their various paramours, but is also developing their friendships and familial relationships. This is one of the aspects of the show that creates a loyal fan base, as viewers empathize and sympathize with the characters. Even if the storyline is beginning to die, viewers will stay and watch just because they are committed to the characters and their relationships.
Besides, it is safe to say that all the drama, climax and cliff-hangers make for a very entertaining 43 minutes. There isnt a single dull moment in an episode because there are things happening anywhere and everywhere that will keep your brain engaged and your thoughts churning.
Currently in its third season, ABC Familys Pretty Little Liars seems to be getting more and more convoluted and complex. There is simply no clear storyline or pathway that viewers can follow. As the season nears its end, however, and if past seasons have been any indication, we can probably expect some huge revelations in the final two upcoming episodes. Who knows? Maybe theyll actually reveal who the new A Team is.
