The main thing stopping me from getting hooked on the new Pretty Little Liars was not immediately falling in love with any of the characters. It felt like there were just so many to get to know. It took more than three episodes for me to feel connected to any of them. But now I’m on board, which I’m glad for because PLL: Original Sin is more like a horror show than the mystery show the original one was.
I was already intrigued with Tabby Hayworthe (Chandler Kinney) because of her knowledge and passion for horror movies. I also love how she stands up for herself and her friends. What made me fall for her was the episode “The Fe(Male) Gaze.” For a class assignment, she wanted to film a scene from Psycho from the female gaze where the woman kills the man. And a woman was directing it too. This was amazing. I love horror movies, and I continue to enjoy them (though it has been a while since one has scared me). Having a female killer would be an exciting twist to the trope. There is also a scene in “The Night He Came Home” where she’s a badass. But I won’t spoil that for you.
“The Fe(Male) Gaze” also had a classic horror movie chase scene. In the first five episodes, there have been numerous horror references. Plus, there have been classic stalking scenes, but this is where it turns into a true horror genre. Not to mention what happens at the Halloween party. It’s unclear what the body count could be by the end, but I hear that this was the first chase scene. So, we have more of A running after the liars to forward to.
Plus, this PLL goes a step further than text messages and gifts. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is upping the intensity. As I said in my first review, it seemed like PLL was perfect for a horror genre, with how creepy it could get. And this is not only going to reference horror. It’s going lean into it. The horror references and the stalking kept me around to get the know the characters long enough to like them. That, and since this is a PLL show, I wanted to give it a chance since I loved the original so much.
Imogen Adams (Bailee Madison) and Faran Bryant (Zaria) remind me a lot of Spencer Hastings. Imogen is relentless in her search for the truth. Faran has this in her, too, but she’s also not afraid to call out what she sees, which can get her into hot water. I’m intrigued to see Faran’s storyline unfold. I think, just like Spencer was a lot, is correct. And this brings an interesting call back to the original series. You’re just going to have to watch to see what I mean.
In my last review, I also said that I was waiting to see why the writers made Imogen pregnant. We still don’t know exactly yet, but there is a purpose for this. And it’s a dark one — just like it should be in the PLL world. Tabby also has a secret she’s been holding on to of something traumatic that happened to her. Mouse Honrada (Malia Pyles) also has a traumatic past that episode “The Night He Came Home” hinted at. She also had a strange storyline that I believe was related to that, but it just creeped me out. I’m sure the pieces will come together. I wasn’t a fan of the final PLL season while watching it. It wasn’t until the series finale that all the details came together that I thought it was terrific. This could be similar because there are so many pieces to put together of these young women.
Noa Olivar (Maia Reficco), we know the most about her situation, but it should be interesting to see the consequences of what she did in “The Fe(Male) Gaze.” The question for me was, did she have a choice? It probably didn’t feel like it at the moment.
So, it took until the fourth episode for me to get hooked. After the fifth episode, I just want more episodes now. And I love good Halloween and high school party episodes. And it was incredibly titled “The Night He Came Home.” Hello Michael Myers. It raises a lot of questions about how the title relates to A.
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is streaming on HBO Max, releasing new episodes on Thursdays.
