The Trouble With #PLL

And not only that we'll never learn who A is.

So we all know about Pretty Little Liars ... four friends are reunited after one of their friends (Alison) is murdered. The four friends (Emily, Aria, Hannah and Spencer) are endlessly tormented by "A," a person (or group) who knows something about Alison's murder.

from left to right: Spencer, Hannah, Aria and Emily

That's all well and good, but here's the problem: after the first text, the show continues on for six seasons with the girls being endlessly tormented by "A." Not one, not two, not three, but SIX SEASONS!

I'll admit, when I first started watching the show in 2010, I was completely hooked and was dying to know who "A" was, but about halfway through season 2, I was getting bored.

The story repeats itself every season! Crazy stuff happens, the girls are threatened, they do what "A" says, "A" is about to be revealed, an "A" is *sometimes* revealed and then it turns out that there's ANOTHER "A!"

Just one example of the threatening texts the girls receive.

The show does have some really great aspects to it, though. For example, Emily (played by Shay Mitchell) is not only played by a person of colour, but depicts a lesbian identity. The importance of this intersectionality was recently discussed by Kerri Washington in an incredibly powerful speech at this year's GLAAD Awards.

It's awesome that Emily experiences relationships, heartbreak and love, BUT there is a major problem here, the show seems to propel and support abusive relationships. Yes, Emily and Paige were a cute couple, but did everyone forget about when Paige tried to DROWN EMILY?!

Emily and Paige being adorable.

Oh yeah ... Paige tried to drown Emily that one time. Whoops! Must have forgotten that!

And the problems don't stop there. What about Emily and Alison? Did we all forget that Alison tormented, bullied and traumatized the girls while she was alive?

Then, when it turns out that she's actually been alive the ENTIRE time, not only do the girls accept her back into their group, but Emily starts to have feelings for her again. Hello? Can someone please call the abuse hotline on this show?

Alison and Emily.

So, we've got cyber bullying (via text), abusive relationships, lack of well-developed story lines, but the problems don't stop there. What about the fact that when the girls are bullied, they just do what "A" says and don't go to the cops? What is this show teaching teen girls?

Hmm ... think I'll just sip my coffee instead of telling the cops about that text I got last night.

Moral of the story:

we all need to stop watching Pretty Little Liars because let's face it, we're never going to learn who "A" is and teens watching this show will grow up believing that it's okay for friends to treat each other horribly, that abusive relationships are great and that you shouldn't tell any authority figure about being bullied.