Pretty Little lawsuit: how the hit show glamorises predatory behaviour
Jesse Cetrola ranks Pretty Little Liars’ top four most problematic couples.
Content warning: This article discusses sexual assault.
Let’s all take a moment to remember our favourite high school memories! Making out with our teachers, finding dead people buried in our backyards, breaking into psychiatric hospitals... oh, you can’t relate?
Well, the four teenage protagonists of the hit show ‘Pretty Little Liars’ (PLL) can! The story follows the unbreakable bond between 16-year-old high schoolers Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily living in Rosewood as they conquer their arch nemesis ‘A’ whilst mourning the supposed death of their friend Alison. As a 15 year-old fan of the show, I rooted for the seemingly dysfunctional yet endearing relationships. But a lockdown-induced rewatch has made it abundantly clear that myself and millions of other naive viewers were manipulated into venerating blatantly predatory relationships.
PLL consistently romanticises the older men / teenage girl relationship dynamic. Teachers with students, policemen with youth offenders, even doctors with mentally ill patients are all portrayed in these ethically questionable and even downright illegal relationships. The writers make these immoral dynamics seem enticing and mysterious, as if young people, who are their target demographic, should envy that their love can conquer anything… even the law.
Here are the top four most problematic relationships in PLL. Spoilers within.
4. Pretty much all of Spencer Hastings’ (16) relationships
With the exceptions of Toby and Alex, Spencer has a variety of concerning relationships that imply victim-blaming by portraying her as the instigator. Yet this belies the reality. For example, Spencer’s older sisters’ boyfriends, Ian (25) and Wren (22), both make the first move in an attempt to kiss her.
Despite both her parents being lawyers, police are never involved. Rather, they believe she needs psychological help. In her sister’s words, Spencer “always wants what I have”, reinforcing the show’s victim-blaming in its portrayal of abusive relationships.
3. Wren Kingston (24) and… everyone
I don’t blame you if the British accent has you initially spellbound. Wren’s appearance embodies a neglected puppy-dog yearning for attention from teenage girls, despite the fact he is estimated to be around 24. He also becomes Melissa’s boyfriend in Season 1, only to find himself making out with Spencer a few episodes later: an act which he defends by saying “I might’ve fallen for the wrong sister”.
Wren also tries it on with Hanna, just to really bring it home that he feels somewhat obsessed with impulsively kissing underage girls when they're off-guard and acts hurt when they, at various times, tell him to back off.
Enough said.
2. Alison DiLaurentis (15) and Ian Thomas (24-25)
This relationship is the definition of messy. Alison and Ian shared intimate moments despite the fact he is dating Melissa at the time. They sneak off to the ‘Kissing Rock’ and joke about the amorality of being together, but not because she is a literal minor… because he doesn’t want Melissa to find out.
Ian’s fascination with Alison builds in the secrecy of his double-life and forceful demands for her to stay silent about their intimate encounters. This pushes a dangerous message of staying quiet in times of need, and glamorises the illegality of inappropriate relationships through their mysteriousness and secrecy. Ian is eventually accused of Alison’s murder, only for Alison to attempt to murder Ian, as Ian is attempting to murder Spencer.
1. Ezra Fitz (22) and Aria Montgomery (16)
The pinnacle of the show’s predatory relationships is no doubt Ezra and Aria’s. The director, Marlene King, chooses to diverge from the source material by prolonging their relationship across the full seven seasons, calling their romance the series’ “endgame”.
But let me fill you in. First, they meet and hookup in a bar. Ezra then becomes Aria’s English teacher. They fight, they love, and, more questionably, bring to light, must I say in a very nonchalant fashion, the issue of statutory rape. In Season 2, Episode 26 ‘If These Dolls Could Talk’, Aria loses her virginity to Ezra in a romantic bedroom scene that does its best to make audiences somehow forget she is only 17.
Ezra’s distinct characterisation as a humble, caring male figure pivots the blame of his predatory inhibitions onto Aria who is depicted as being ‘mature for her age’. PLL’s failure to uphold opportunities to address issues such as statutory rape and predatory behaviour are dismissed in its naive messaging that ‘‘true love triumphs all’.
Did I mention Ezra also had a relationship with Alison, who was 15 at the time?
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Honourable mentions go to Jason and Cece’s unknowingly incestous relationship, and Jenna, who forcibly attempts to have relations with her step-brother, Toby.
Let’s just hope there is no spin off series set in the future, so we never have to hear Ezra and Aria explain to their children how they met.