#too bad pll is garbage

[lettuce-seize-the-day]

Rewatching 13rw bc i cant watch anything new rn and the second season is literally so fucking bad like the first one was not great at all and i remember the 2nd upset me but i forgot how bad it was

bc i KNOW the third season is so much worse but wow oh my goodness. who allowed this second season to happen?? and why do they now have a SEASON 4 coming out on june 5th?????? fuck off.

[whencartoonsruletheworld]

U r right. Euphoria is basically riverdale who think they’re too cool for riverdale, also watching either of those shows means u have bad taste. ALSO euphoria wants what pretty little liars had. nd pretty little liars was also bad

have not seen pll but listen my opinion on euphoria is "the rue storyline is written, shot and acted amazingly well. everything else is kinda garbage"

[arsenicpanda]

On the subject of pretty little liars, in my opinion riverdale is already handling the time jump way better than pll did! But rivrdale is a show that works well with them as adults, in pll in only made sense with them as teens

I mean, it’s hard to handle a timeskip worse than Pretty Little Liars.  They invented a girlfriend/fiance/whatever for Ezra and then killed her off in a pretty racist way, honestly, just for...reasons?  Idk, it was bad.  And, ugh, Caleb and Hanna’s break up over the time skip was such a nightmare; it really turned me off the pairing, ngl, and put Caleb on thin fucking ice, which he fell through when he cheated on Spencer like a garbage man.  I swear, that time skip has me so paranoid about Betty and Jughead because what if they, too, turn Jughead into a garbage man?  I couldn’t bear it.  Please, Riverdale, have mercy on me.

[prettylittleliarsxxxx]

I am not defending how Marlene treats LGBTQ characters but I can kind of see what she is doing (or maybe doing). I feel like she is trying to normalize writing LGBTQ characters. She doesn't want to write on glass per say. I don't know if that makes any sense, but I just think what she is trying (unsuccessfully) to do is truly make LQBTQ characters equal to straight characters by treating them in a way that other shows wouldn't treat them. She killed Charlotte off, just like she killed Wilden.

Well see and that’s the thing, I get how she’s writing it too. She’s writing as though every character is equal and I get it. At some point, yeah, a trans character should be able to be evil because evil comes in all kinds of different forms. And I feel like it’s not necessarily that she’s normalizing writing it, it’s more that like... she thinks we’re already there. But she’s not looking at the bigger picture. Adding a trans character to your show and then killing them isn’t progressive and it isn’t representation, and honestly in today’s political climate, I feel like there should be more care to not perpetuate stereotypes that people buy into.

Now, on one hand, most people who watch this show are either lgbt or allies. But it’s like giving representation and taking it away, but in a really, really bad way. And the thing is, like, PLL is the show with the highest female LGBT death count. They’ve killed Maya -- a qwoc. Sara, bi, who dies graphically in a tub, naked. Shana, qwoc. And now Charlotte, a trans woman. For an LGBT friendly show, that’s a lot of characters who are lgbt who have died. 

And this show is far from having straight characters equal to lgbt characters. Emily’s love life has NEVER been written the same way. Her sex scenes are NEVER given the same screen time or graphicness. And like. This always ends up in my arguments but like............. Ezra is a literal predator and they’ve shown him have hot steamy sex or makeout sessions far more than Emily has ever gotten. So at that point, you gotta wonder, why is this straight cishet guy who is, legally and morally, a literal piece of garbage, get better love scenes than Emily, a qwoc? And the answer is simple. Racism and homophobia. 

She might be trying to normalize writing lgbt characters, but she’s doing a very poor job. She’s writing in a world that does not yet exist. Instead, now, lgbt people, women specifically, and poc specifically, not only get to see themselves murdered in real life, but they get to see it happen on TV. You know what I mean?

[spobyficstalker]

I loved that first scene with Toby returning to Rosewood! It really had an old-school PLL vibe to it and I loved getting to see Toby genuinely happy. I'm currently ignoring the obvious gripes I have with then treatment of his character but I loved the purity of the Spoby scenes!

I agree, it really did have a vintage Spoby feel to it. The Scrabble scene, too. I literally have nothing bad to say about those scenes. Too bad the rest of the episode was the most fucked up piece of garbage I’ve ever seen. I’m currently ignoring it, too.

[prongsmydeer]

Ayesha Liveblogs Riverdale S1 E1-6

As someone who has consistently read Archie Comics pretty much as long as I can remember I already know this is going to be weird

The Blossoms have been on screen for about ten seconds and they’ve already established a Lannister vibe

“May Jason Blossom burn in hell” who hurt the Coopers

Where is Hiram Lodge he is the only rich man I’ll ever trust 

I can’t believe that Kevin Keller waited 70 years to be introduced only to be Betty’s Gay Best Friend he’s supposed to become a Senator Archie didn’t die for this

IS VERONICA WEARING A CLOAK

Reg’s introduction is telling Archie that he’s hot and I love it

“That [Hiram]’s the devil incarnate?” WHAT DID HIRAM DO

“Betty and Archie aren’t dating but they are endgame” !!!!!

LEAVE ARCHIE ALONE MISS GRUNDY HE’S A MINOR AND YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE A SENIOR CITIZEN

Oh god is this going to be a hot-dad-rich-mom backstory for the parents of two people who are dating does this make Jughead Gossip Girl

IT IS AND HE IS

Why did you break up the Andrews what did Mary ever do to you

This show is making me remember things I didn’t even think I knew why do I know that Riverdale’s mascot should be a bulldog

“Is being the Gay Best Friend still a thing?” no

“I have moves” “Show me your moves” I can’t believe Betty and Veronica are going to fuck

You’re such a terrible person Miss Grundy you not only assaulted a minor but also you’re making his dreams harder to achieve and forcing him into moral crisis

OH MY GOD THAT WAS SUCH A STUPID FANSERVICE KISS AND I LOVED IT 

Guess Polly’s journalism career died with Hiram’s morality

“Sorry, my specialty is ice” END HER VERONICA

“Why did you defend me?” Because she’s in love with you Betty

I really hope this ends in polyamory or lesbianism 

Well I guess Hiram loves Hermione even he is morally bankrupt

Archie: NO DAD IT’S YOUR DREAM

Moose is a closeted bathroom flasher good lord 

“Who wants to tryst in the closet of love first” Betty and Veronica

“We’re not just friends, we’re best friends” At least Archie values his friendship with Betty 

Are Jughead and Archie not friends anymore oh no is this because of his grim backstory 

They replaced Moose’s Dumb Jock stereotype with a Closeted Footballer stereotype well at least they’re keeping things fresh

“It was a town of shadows and secrets” [Archie’s Weird Mysteries theme plays]

Archie would not go to jail for you having sex with a minor Grundy 

Why is Alice such a terrible person stop manipulating your daughter 

“Sardonic humour is just my way of relating to the world” you’re missing the mark Dan Humphrey 

Veronica loves Betty so much just get married 

Did Kevin just tell Moose to live his life in the closet what an ass 

Update: he actually explicitly said those words jesus chirst 

ALICE STOP

“This morning in the hallway you wouldn’t meet my eyes” Mr. Weatherbee is an amateur private investigator

Read the room Hermione 

Jesus Betty going from everyone’s angel to murder threats in 0 to 10 seconds

“She’s not like that she cares about me” she really does not

“A friend is better than a boyfriend” 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

“Betty can we make a vow?” 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

Netflix is plugging their own shows lmao 

Why are they making Chuck a player where is Nancy

“Nothing this bad was ever supposed to happen here but it did” [Archie’s Weird Mysteries theme plays]

No offense but Veronica Lodge is the love my life

Dark!Dilton Doiley unveiled 

“Because we have to claw our way into the same rooms you can just walk into” Riverdale finally doing something right

I’m so offended that there’s an investigation and Archie’s not a part of it what a disservice to Archie’s Weird Mysteries

“Polly grew up too fast I don’t want you to make the same mistake” calm down it’s red lipstick not a crate full of dildos

Chuck is an idiot Betty and Veronica just confronted him in a locker room why would they possibly want to hook up with him

I never thought I’d relate to the Blossoms but I would also punch Alice

“What made you take such an interest in my son?” Because she’s a p/edophile

Why are you attacking a teenage girl you utter piece of garbage

Betty’s a fucking psychopath yikes is this some PLL double identity shit

Ugh this is so weird will someone please just arrest Miss Grundy

Is Veronica Latina this I can dig 

Alice, literally every time she’s on fucking screen: Hi I’m here to be The Worst

You’re not even from this town Cheryl you’re from Pembrooke 

Where is Jellybean anyway 

THE OG GERALDINE GRUNDY MAKES AN APPEARANCE

“Where does this end, Geraldine?” with a prison sentence hopefully

Why do people tolerate Cheryl 

I love Kevin and Joaquin lmao they’re great

Even though Alice is a piece of shit who is awful to children at least she took down a predator so I can’t hate the scene overall

Was that meant to imply that Grundy goes on to abuse other children????

I suppose Jellybean couldn’t remain a baby forever

You know when I was reading Archie Comics when I was a kid I really did think what was missing was more absentee fathers in gangs

Fred Andrews is the only good parent in this entire town jesus christ 

Reggie is going to come off like more of an ass in this because for some reason he doesn’t seem to friends with the squad and he’s been replaced by Kevin

“Polly was trying to hurt herself Betty, that’s why we sent her away” that is not a good parenting strategy for your suicidal child

Why is there this dark history of maple syrup in this town did I miss something in the comics

The real question is where Chip Cooper is these days was he also murdered

Lmao isn’t Veronica canonically a terrible singer anyway?

Why is Josie giving Veronica shit for being privileged when her mother has unstable jobs and her father is in jail

“I was born alone, I’ll die alone” calm down Batman

Even though Jughead isn’t really a romance guy I don’t mind this bc 1) Betty deserves some good things in her life and 2) If Jughead did have to love someone it would be Betty because he is #TeamBetty all the way

“Long tails and ears for hats” KEVIN SAID THE THING

Please don’t kill Polly

"Fear that as soon as you slay one there’s another monster waiting to take its place” [Archie’s Weird Mysteries theme plays]

[lovethefinalseason-blog]

PLL 7B, Ep 1: PlayTime

Well hello former Pretty Little Liars fans. I assume you are here because you want to find out what happens on the show but you don’t want to actually watch the show because let’s be real honest, it’s an absolute garbage fire. 

So let’s recap important things you missed in 7A. Fair warning at many points throughout this recap you might think I just fell asleep and started making shit up to cover my ass but I assure you all of this really happened.  So last season Ali convinced all her friends to testify on CeCe’s behalf to get her out of her psych ward, even though she killed multiply people and stalked them for multiple years.  They succeed but before you can say what the f--CeCe is already dead. Ali is distraught but finds comfort in the arms of CeCe’s doctor Dr. Rollins, who she then falls in love with and Aria (yes, Aria) marries them in a ceremony in her backyard.  But then in a shock to no one he turns out to be not Dr. Rollins at all but a man named Archer Dunhill and he convinces Ali she’s insane by having her mother’s long lost identical twin pose as her dead mother at the window of her house multiple times.  Ali is then committed to a mental institute, and when the girls realize that ghost Mrs. D was actually a real Mrs. D named Mary Drake they save Ali but not before Archer kidnaps her (and also gets her pregnant).  The liars follow them to the woods, kill him with their car and instead of calling the police - who at this point are FULLY aware that Archer Dunhill is bad news - they bury him in the woods while crying about it.   Eventually they figure out that Noel Kahn and Jenna are behind some of this so they follow them to an abandoned house.  In a scene straight out of Final Destination, Noel gets his head chopped off by a Knight costume and blind Jenna somehow shoots Spencer.  Mary Drake comes to her rescue knocking out Jenna and comforting Spencer.  As she watches Spencer struggle for air she sings her a lullaby and tells her she’d never leave her because she’s her mother.  In the final scene you see that Toby and his fiance have gotten into what looks to be a fatal car accident and uber A (hereby known as AD rescues Jenna).  

As the episode opens, Spencer is in an ambulance with an EMT asking her what her name is and then asking her if she knows who her mother is.  Obviously she doesn’t and I don’t think an EMT would really ask this question multiple times as someone is dying an ambulance.  At the hospital the girls think the thoughts of audiences everywhere aloud and wonder how Noel and Jenna could be behind this whole thing.  As they are there Toby is wheeled in by EMTs on a stretcher.  Hanna looks over and says “Toby’s here where’s he going?”.  Surgery Hanna, he’s going into surgery. 

Cut to one week later.  Toby has escaped the fatal car accident with a scratch and a cane.  His fiance is in a medically induced coma and even though she was shot in the heart, Spencer is already out of the hospital and snooping around Mary Drake’s house.   Ezra, who I forgot to mention had gone to South America because his girlfriend who was kidnapped by “revolutionaries” a year ago was found alive, is back and he finds Aria with a suitcase leaving their apartment.  He gives her a hug and puts her bag back into their room, showing her that he’s not leaving (yet).  Hanna wakes up in bed with Caleb and tells him that they have to track down Jenna (since at no point have cops been involved at this point.  Again it’s only been one week since Noel was beheaded and Spencer was shot but not a cop in sight).  Caleb takes out her sketchbook of fashion designs and says that she once cared about this dream so much it broke them up and she can’t give up on it now.  There’s a psycho serial killer after you but what about your DREAMS Hanna.  Emily is now coaching the varsity swim team at Rosewood High School with her ex girlfriend Paige. Ali comes in and tells her that she’s “having the baby of a perfect stranger” and her life is ruined. I would think her life was ruined when her crazy half sister started stalking her because Ali was born biologically female so her parents loved her more, then her mother was murdered and all her friends were stalked by a series of psychos but no, this baby is what finally ruins her life.  No one mentions the possibility of an abortion - it’s a family show.  

Aria and Ezra have an awkward conversation in their kitchen.  Nicole (the kidnapped girlfriend) had some broken bones that didn’t heal properly so they need to be rebroken and reset. She’s recovering in NY and wasn’t ready to talk to him.  Aria receives a text from Spencer “SOS at Barn” and leaves Ezra to join the other liars.   

At the barn, Spencer who was just SHOT IN THE HEART but only just has her arm in a sling and the other liars are standing around a big black box with a red ribbon on it and a note that says “It’s Playtime - AD”.  Also instead of calling each other, now would be a good time to CALL THE POLICE. Also did anyone find Noel Kahn’s head rolling around?  These are important facts we’re causally glossing over.  The open the box and inside is a board game called “Liars Lament”.  It is an exact replica of Rosewood, in the center is a square in the shape of a phone and conveniently, taped to the side is a phone.  The phone lights up and says “Bitches.” Clever.   At this point, I’m just going to say it. Ravenswood was less bat shit crazy than this show.  Ghosts looking for their long lost love makes so much more sense than a killer who can somehow make a board game replica of their town and deliver it to their house with absolutely no one noticing.

Hanna suggests throwing it in a fire.  They discuss whether it could’ve been Noel or Jenna who sent it but decide Noel is too dumb (and he has no head) and Jenna is well..blind.  Sorry not to discriminate against the blind but its kind of hard to make an exact town replica when you can’t see the town.  They then suggest Mary Drake, who let’s remember confessed to being Spencer’s mother. Spencer claims that she’s a liar, which her own mom will prove when she gets home tomorrow.  Wait WHAT.  Spencer was shot in the heart  arm but her mom is on vacation somewhere? Ali, surprisingly the only smart one, says they should turn it into the police but Aria thinks it will blow up before they get it to them.  Spencer realizes that theres only a few steps left to play then it’s all over - to be honest, I rewound this and watched it again and still don’t get how Spencer came to that conclusion but OK.  

Aria talks to Hannah about her Ezra situation - way more important than the psycho serial killer stalking you or going to the police. So glad seeing your high school crush get beheaded hasn’t changed you Aria.  Hanna says that she should be there for Ezra.  Emily is talking to Ali about her new job. Ali is skeptical as to why they hired both her and Paige (shade at the writers much?).  Emily says she will be there for her and the baby (I should also mention that Emily and Ali hooked up last season in what seemed like a desperate 1990s attempt to get ratings - hot girls making out!).  

After the board game reveal, Mona and Hanna are at a restaurant eating lunch outdoors.  Hanna is sketching some fashion designs.  Mona mentions a competition in Philly for fashion design (convenient).  Hanna says shes not well known enough to enter, and Mona tells her you can get any job without a resume if you find the right people to trust you.  All she needs is a model for the clothes (and like...actual clothes not sketches I’d assume, but that doesn’t seem to be an issue).  Hanna is skeptical, but Mona takes out her phone and starts taking pictures of her portfolio, then tells Hanna to trust her.  

Spencer is at the police station with the hot cop she made out with last season.  He asks Spencer if she knew Archer Dunhill (aka Ali’s dead husband) knew Jenna and Noel. She says no (liar). He says they knew him when he was Dr. Rollins. She innocently asks if he thinks he’s still in France (knowing full well that he’s buried in the woods somewhere - or not, I think his body disappeared at some point).  He says he’s not sure but someone is in France. Astute observation cop.  He then takes out a gun from his desk and asks Spencer if she recognizes it and she says yes (I mean, it’s not a particularly unique gun so I don’t know how this is savy police work).  She’s certain it’s the gun that Jenna shot her with. The cop then tells her that this gun is a 45 and she was shot with a 22. Spencer is shocked that there’s another gun - but I’m shocked that no one is like..how do you know the difference between a 22 and a 45 Spencer when you were shot in a dark abandoned building.  Spencer is also shocked to learn that one gun is still missing just like Jenna Marshall and Mary Drake.  So I guess they did go to the police, which leads to more questions - why do they not have a protective detail on their house considering these girls have been kidnapped and almost killed MULTIPLE TIMES.  Does social media exist in Rosewood? Can’t they just put out a Facebook bulletin - hey look out for this blind girl and Mrs. D’s identical twin wandering around town guys, just FYI they shot me.  

Hanna and Aria are setting tables for Aria’s wedding (I literally have no idea how or why Aria’s wedding is happening already).   They are surprised Spencer hasn’t talked to Toby yet (I’m not?).  Then suddenly Holden shows up.  We remember Holden as the guy Aria sort of liked but then sort of thought was A but then it turns out that his secret was doing Korean martial arts with a heart condition …. anyway his sister owns the wedding venue and he’s the chef.   Holden is surprised she is getting married to Ezra.  He gives her a tour of this place and asks her a lot of wedding questions she doesn’t know how to answer any of them.  

Hanna meets Mona at the Radley, to meet with a Senator’s daughter, Catherine Daily.  Catherine is doing a fundraiser for her Dad and she wants to wear one of Hanna’s designs.  Mona says she should come by the studio, confusing Hanna and the rest of the PLL audience.  Mona says that she doesn’t know Catherine Daily, Catherine Daily knows me.  No word on how she got a studio or Hanna’s clothes made in 4 hours.  

When Spencer gets home her mom is there.  She’s happy to see Spencer, and asks Spencer what happened.  How? What? Spencer recaps all of last season in a minute then asks her mom if she wants wine.  Her mom looks confused, and says, how are you though?  Her mom is immediately suspicious about Mary Drake, and Spencer tells her mom that Mary told her that she’s her birth mother.  Her mom says that she’s insane, but doesn’t deny what she says is true.  Her mom precedes to tell her the story - she was working and Jessica knocked on the door and asked to borrow a lawnmower, then randomly told her about her twin sister who had problems.  She told her Mary was pregnant and they knew who the father was, and it was Spencer’s Dad- he mistook Mary Drake in a bar for Jessica.  So basically her dad got both twins pregnant.  Her mom decided to adopt her and pretend she was hers.  Spencer’s mad she stayed with her Dad. She asks if her mom was there when she was born and she says “close by” and we cut to the most awkward 1920s style flashback where her mom is handed the baby in a car outside the hospital, 5 minutes after she was born (she literally tells Spencer it was 5 minutes after she was born) 

Spencer screams “you’re not my mother” and storms out.  

Aria is still walking around town with Holden. He saw her on TV (I think after the kidnapping?) so he came back to town.  They run into a distracted Ezra who tells her he has to go to NY, then runs down the block.   Holden is concerned and asks her who Nicole is.  She stares at him - either she doesn’t know how to explain Ezra’s ex or she’s confused how Holden saw Aria on TV but not the 24 hour coverage last season of Ezra’s kidnapped girlfriend.  

Back at Hanna’s “studio” there’s a rack of clothes that were miraculously made in the last 2 hours.  Catherine is trying on clothes and tells Hanna to call her boss and set up a meeting.  Hanna is confused until Catherine says, “Mona - she’s lucky to have you.”  Caleb is also there and is mad Mona took over Hanna’s “business”.  To be fair, in one day Mona took Hanna’s sketches, rented a studio and had a rack of clothes made.  Later in the episode, Mona is happy that Catherine is buying 2 of Hanna’s dresses, but Hanna is pissed that Mona took over.  She tells Mona she could’ve did this by herself (I really don’t think that’s true) and Mona apologize, saying Hanna is the boss.  Hanna then demands business cards, which is something you would ask for from...your boss. 

Paige, Ali and Emily are having a meeting with another teacher, Mrs. Horowitz.  Ali immediately turns into bitchy Ali and says its really great that Paige is pushing her comfort zone, and talked about her as a student when she was super aggressive and competitive.  Mrs. Horowitz is clearly uncomfortable as am I - can the writers just pick a personality for Ali and stick with it.  Emily tells Ali to cut it out.  Later on Emily is pissed and tells Ali she’s distancing people who get close to her.  Emily asks “why do we have to keep showing you that we love you”  I ask this question every time I watch this show.  Ali is mad that her life is a mess.  Ali claims that all her memories are lies, which is not really true.  Then Emily asks her why she kissed her - because she wanted to or because she wanted her to leave.  She says she doesn’t know and Emily tells her not to kiss her again until she knows.  

Spencer is drunk at the barn with the board game when she gets a text from A.D. telling her to start playing the game.  The cell phone lights up and tells her to place the phone in the center.  The screen then goes black and a truth or dare option comes up.   She hesitates about picking truth then picks dare instead.  It brings up a picture of Toby (I think this is actually Toby’s acting headshot), saying “visit a sick friend, get a reward” and the hospital icon lights up on the board.   Spencer stares at the square.  Of all the dares this seems like the LEAST challenging to be honest.  It didn’t say go tell the police you hit someone with your car and buried him in the woods then made everyone believe that he’d fled to France.  

At the hospital Toby is sitting outside his fiance’s room.  Spencer walks in and they hug.  She tells him she’s sorry and they have an awkward I almost called you moment.  Toby says he talked to Marco (aka hot cop) who told him what happened.  Yvonne is not good. She’s still in a coma.  Toby blames himself for what happened. Spencer says it’s not his fault, to which Toby responds “Maybe not the rest of the world, but this is Rosewood.” Truer words never spoken.  Toby says maybe the town has to disappear before we can leave - is Toby going to bomb the town?  That would be an epic conclusion.  Spencer makes a long boat metaphor then tells him to put on his glasses. 

Spencer comes home from the hospital takes off her arm sling and drinks the rest of her never ending glass of wine.  The game lights up again.  It says “here’s your prize” and a ticket comes out like an arcade game.  It’s an envelope from Radley that says “for my child”.  In it is a single puzzle piece.  The piece fits in the square in the middle of the board game.  There’s also a letter that Mary wrote before she was born, apologizing for giving birth to her in a madhouse and hoping one day she can forgive her.  In the next scene Spencer is asleep on the couch and it appears someone is walking in over her. We are led to believe this is Uber A but it’s just her mom (Mariska Hargitay Mom, not Mary Drake Mom).  She sees the letter next to her but doesn’t pick it up or read it, just looks at Spencer and smiles - hmm suspicious much?

Emily tells Paige she talked to Ali and that Ali is not the same person she was before.   Paige tells her not to make excuses for Ali listing all the things Ali has been over the years to show that Ali is always the victim.  She says some people make a habit of being rescued, just how other people make a habit of jumping in after them. Emily gets a message.

They are all at Spencer’s barn now, mad at Spencer for playing the game alone.  She says she wasn’t thinking (i.e. she was drunk). Hanna suggests breaking open the game - she takes a knife and is about to chop it when the phone lights up and shows a video of them digging up Rollins Archer Dunhill with a note that says “can’t stop playing now.”  

In the final scene, Jenna is drinking tea in a black room with a single chair.  She hands the tea back to someone and says “you said you’d tell me today about the game”, a faceless person in scrubs drops a file on her lap. She opens it up and reads it  - luckily it’s all in braille.  She has a shocked look on her face as she scrolls over the words then whispers “End Game”.  

So is Mariska Hargitay uber A? She didn’t seem surprised by Mary Drake’s letter next to Spencer.  What about the person in scrubs? Is this a hint that Archer Dunhill, though hit by a car and buried, is still alive?  Or is it possibly...Wren?  We’ll soon find out. 

[arsenicpanda]

Sometimes trash is also treasure

See, I can't classify Pretty Little Liars as that because it is far too frustrating. The characters all act like idiots the majority of the time, and the Ezra/Aria plot drags the show down by being generally bad for so, so many reasons and also dull as dirt but also omnipresent. The show has never done the legwork to show that they should be together, which is a real problem considering all the many problems with the ship, and too many people are weirdly accepting of it. As late as early season 3 (where I currently am), Ezra has never interacted with the plot even though we have spent so, so much time with him. And it's not like it's ever added to Aria's characterization either. It's just there to be there, and it feels like a waste of time. Every second they're on my screen, which is far too often, is like nails on a fucking chalkboard, and the frequency of it makes me want to quit the show every time it shows up. Also, we've never acknowledged that Jenna raped Toby (she blackmailed him into having sex with her; that's unambiguously rape), and it infuriates me.

But that's skipping over the idiots part. Every time they get set back because they fail to back up their data and then are careless with their sole copy drives me batty. The general amount that the plot requires the characters to act like idiots is annoying more often than it is amusing, although it is at times amusing, I'll give them that. It's just three idiots and one person who is slightly better than an idiot (but not by a lot) doing their best and often failing because their designated smart friend is dead. It's so rare that they make progress against A or whoever is the current person they're chasing after, and it's generally because they act like idiots. It was especially bad in early to mid season 2, and I almost quit the show, no bullshit.

I'm in early season 3, which is dragging SO HARD right now, and the best part of the show so far was the backend of season 2 because it had minimal Ezra and as well as the characters doing their best to rub their handful of brain cells together. And they were actually making progress against A, which was nice.

Which is not to say that I don't enjoy the show; I do, although I don't think I could watch it alone. Without a friend to shout about things with, I don't think I could handle this show. Seriously, the number of times this show reduces me to capslock is ridiculous. But it provides a good amount of wtf-ery, and the characters are amusing enough, especially Spencer because she has slowly turned into a very, very intense crazy person, which is something I always love, so I do often have fun. I also appreciate that this is the third teen drama I've seen that just rips off the plot of Twin Peaks because it always feels like such a weird choice to me. It also manages to not be dull most of the time and is the kind of Trash that is perfect for watching with a friend and also requires zero emotional investment from me, which is what I've been looking for lately. I'm just not in the mindset to start something new that I'd actually care about (and neither is my friend who I watch things with), y'know?

tl;dr I can't label PLL as treasure, but it's Decent Trash (even though it sometimes dips into Garbage), so I'm going to keep watching until I almost inevitably ragequit.

[prettylittleliarsxxxx]

Right now the only thing I wish for is that AD has a true motive to harass these girls for years. Good LGBT+ representation (didn't happen), healthy relationships or even them being single (not happening), no tamperying with woc reproductive rights (already happened), not vilifying or joking over mentall illnesses (fucked up), family growing by bringing in new characters (stop it please). Just a villain who has a good motive so I can put this behind me and enjoy old pll

Yesssss! Honestly I can et past a bad reveal if the motive is good. If Charlotte’s reveal had made sense, I would have been all for it! And her motive was kind of weak too! I’m not putting a lot of hope into a good motive though honestly. I think it’d be better to have a villain who has no motive and is just evil lol because all of their motives have just been kind of garbage. The only motive that was actually kind of interesting was Ezra and they kinda screwed that up lmao. 

Like IMK has said that the best villains are those who are people that we can sympathize and feel sorry for and yeah that’s great but they haven’t been able to do that with the motives yet. I guess we’ll see -_-