The episode that made everyone stop liking it - Pretty Little Liars (2010) Discussion

[–] Mrsstarshock990 8 years ago

A Dangerous Game. Season 3 was hit and miss. REALLY good episode, followed by 2 not good ones, repeat. Then they amped up the momentum in 3b and I thought "Okay, now we're getting somewhere."

Then, "A Dangerous Game". "JK THE BIG TWIST IS UNDONE IN A SINGLE LINE!" Spencer instantly forgives Toby, the whole thing is like it never happened, voila. What was with that Jenna/Shana/Melissa thing? We still don't know. Plus, between the lodge burning down and the trunk tease, it really proved that PLL now relied on cheap gimmicks and stupid cliffhangers.

The thing about season 3 being the turning point though mostly comes from retrospect. They built up a lot of stuff in season 3 that was then dropped completely or totally retconned or handwaved with dumbass explanations.

The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters.

reply

[–] bobcat667 8 years ago

this is the most accurate it can get. season 3 at thevery least provided a really good build up to its final arc, similar to season 2s buildup to the finale.

but the dangerous game let us know that we werent ever really going to get anywhere. every big mystery turned out to be absolutely nothing along the way to more nothing, and that even the character development (which was perhaps its strongest in season 3) was going to be let go.

*when life gives you lemons*
Sara: are you a sour lemon?

reply

[–] Brookiee124 8 years ago

I agree with A Dangerous Game but also at the end of unmAsked when Mona tells Cece "I did everything you asked me to..." Like WTF? And then season 3 started and it felt like a totally different show than the first 2 seasons.

reply

[–] Mrsstarshock990 8 years ago

Yeah they wanted to be "Darker and edgier" which would have been fine except for they never actually committed to being darker OR edgier. They'd do something dark/edgy and then take it back 5 episodes later.

The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters.

reply

[–] perfect_lover2012 8 years ago

Yeah we all tried to understand the season 2 finale and we tried to give them another chance because we assumed we would get an explanation for Mona's psychoesque scene. Then we see the season 3 finale and that's when I was livid with the show for the first time. I completely checked out in the season 4 halloween episode because I held on to the characters at least and then for them to pull the fake A card again in 4B was ridiculous. Long story short you're correct the season 3 finale was the beginning of the end.

"When life gives you lemons"
Jessica D: sleep with their fathers and have secret lemon children

reply

[–] bobcat667 8 years ago

I feel like
>season 2 finale marks the beginning of the decline
>season 3 finale marks the beginning of its death
>season 4 halloween special was the final twist of the knife.

RIPLL

*when life gives you lemons*
Sara: are you a sour lemon?

reply

[–] thehalloweencollection 8 years ago

Why the Season 2 Finale?

reply

[–] bobcat667 8 years ago

like others said, the redcoat set up, and its eventual retcon. the episode itself wasnt bad but it also didn't quite deliver, Mona was only considered a good -A reveal in hindsight.

*when life gives you lemons*
Sara: are you a sour lemon?

reply

[–] mrmrs2005 8 years ago

The Charlotte reveal was the episode that changed everything for me. It was so underwhelming, poorly written, didn't directly involve the main Liars, and was basically a one-woman show for 90% of the episode! While I didn't care for Marlene's choice to make Charlotte 'A', I could have been persuaded to get on board with that theory if they could have made me believe the back story and how it tied into ALL of the other seasons. Also, I know I am in the minority here, but I just don't think Vanessa Ray had what it needed to pack the punch needed for such a big reveal. Her acting, combined with the decision of the writers to just have her talk through her reveal was such a disappointment for me. I haven't seen her in anything else, so she could be a wonderful actress elsewhere... but I just didn't think she was a good fit for such an important role on PLL.

After that reveal, my outlook of the show completely changed. Now I watch the show because I want to finish the story, not because it's my favorite show on TV.

You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.

reply

[–] perfect_lover2012 8 years ago

I think her portrayal during the reveal was a little too campy given the usual show reveals. They're over the top of course but it came off like she was acting out a reveal for an audience so I saw Vanessa playing Cece instead of just seeing the character. The writers and directors just really messed it up. I didn't like that Cece was revealed only to Alison because the plls don't matter and Jason and Ken weren't given a chance to react to the reveal either. Missed opportunities galore.

"When life gives you lemons"
Jessica D: sleep with their fathers and have secret lemon children

reply

[–] thehalloweencollection 8 years ago

I agree. Her acting wasn't the greatest. I liked her more as mean CeCe

reply

[–] vafla9 8 years ago

For me it was the finale of the 3rd season. The winter finale had a good build up in terms of a red herring and then a plot twist but what came after and was concluded in the season finale felt unsatisfying and cheapened the rest of the season, setting the tone for future disappointments that the show delivered.

reply

[–] marco-47826 8 years ago

The first seconds of season 4 premiere. When it turned out, it was a *beep* pig, in the trunk of the car. I knew the story would go nowhere, for a long long time...

reply

[–] Moonlightbabe 8 years ago

I still like the show but after the terrible sason finale where cece was A, I started to not like it as much!!!

♡Live,Laugh,Love♡

reply