PLL 'A' Revealation: Satisfied or Disappointed?

13 August 2015


After five long years of waiting, enduring the longest dragged out mysteries in the history of television, it finally happened. The big bad A was finally revealed after all the tortuous horror Charles put little Allie and the Pretty Little Liars through. But was it really all we imagined the moment to be? Let's talk about this in glorious detail!


I remember when I watched the pilot episode for Pretty Little Liars almost five years ago, it was intriguing. Every inch covered in romantic escapades, family scandals, hidden secrets and shocking revelations. I loved it. The mystery surrounding the girls and A was alluring. Their struggles of their everyday present lives was entertaining. But as the show progressed past the revelation of Mona as the original A, Toby and Spencer's undercover A operation and Alison coming back to life, I - like so many of you - found myself so tired of being presented with more questions than answers. It's because of this, I gave up watching the show. I'd be 80 by the time I found out who A actually was, and ain't nobody got time for that!


So after hearing we would finally find out who A was after all, I was beyond sceptical. But who am I to deny my curiosity. Like many of you, I've invested way too much in this show not to know. And here we have it. Charles is A. Cece is Charles. Charles is Alison and Jason's brother. Jason dated Cece ... Damn. We all knew A had some serious issues to continuously haunt these girls the way they did, but for real? As emotionally thought-provoking as last night's big reveal was, it still does not answer the countless amount of questions that have been unanswered for the past five years.

Forgive me - my knowledge of the show is not up to date, so some of these questions may have been already answered. But in the context of the show, I still have no idea who killed Ian and why. (No I don't buy that Ian killed himself Marlene, he was way too self-serving for that). How was the NAT club involved in all of this? What did Garrett know that got him killed? Who killed Mrs D? What role has Wren played over the last several years - because let's face it, he is sooo shady. Even Eddie Lamb confirmed it! And Melissa - you're telling me she had nothing to do with any of this? After this big reveal, there are still so many plot-holes left boggling my mind. For an episode that claimed to provide answers, I still feel very clueless after all this time. That is not the way you keep fans intrigued, only frustrated. 



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And so here's my final theory for PLL. Marlene King tried to evoke as much mystery as she could to keep fans guessing. She did that by continuously sending them and the show on false trails that lead to nowhere, which caused the show to become a chaotic jumbled mess. So hard to see things clearly, let alone explain through on television. Seriously Marlene, you can't answer everything in a freaking article online and expect that fans will accept that. Where are the motives? How does everything fall into play? Lord knows I have a headache when I try to understand it all. 

It's possible Marlene always knew Cece was A, but didn't quite know how to get to this big reveal, especially as the network began demanding for more episodes and wishing for long continuity on the small screen. A teen mystery drama always makes good money. Either way, she created something that was so unsolvable, I don't think anyone could have really fit the bill at this point. Nothing else would have made sense. (Apart of Wren as A maybe.)

What would have worked way more effectively was by solving some of the mysteries along the way. That way there would be less to conclude in one season finale episode, and everything would begin to come full circle. It's clear to me - and so many others who've posted about the finale - that this story may have been doomed since it started. With no clear direction, the writers and producers of PLL have continued to evoke shock factor in their stories, without thinking through the bigger picture. And while this short-term thought has helped spark interest and intrigue throughout the show, it has decimated the ultimate storyline leaving a whole lot of confusion. In years to come PLL won't be known as a show with the best mystery, keeping fans guessing. It won't be remembered as a classic for it's story - but for its fashion, romance and ratings. That's not to say that Pretty Little Liars wasn't entertaining, or didn't do it's part to showcase events that affect teenagers in modern society. All of this - in my humble opinion - will be overshadowed by the fact that the big A reveal wasn't as monumental as the show had hyped it up to be, which all in all is it's greatest tragedy.

What are your thoughts on the PLL season finale? And Cece as Uber A?


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