Why can’t I stop watching Pretty Little Liars?

This has been bugging me for weeks now. It started when I’d catch the tail end of a Pretty Little Liars episode (which happened because the ever “trusty” DVR would record the last minute or so before Greek started). As fans of the show know, those last moments, as the end credits roll, are where we see “A” doing creepy behind-the-scenes stuff. Then would come the preview for the next episode. I’d say, “Nah, I haven’t watched it from the beginning; I can’t hop in now.” (Of course, that’s faulty logic, because you can always sort of catch up, even if you haven’t seen the episodes yet, but that was the excuse I was using to avoid starting to watch it.)

But one day, I caught a PLL marathon on ABC Family, and it happened! They got me. I still haven’t even seen the entire first season, but I still need to watch each week. Why? What is it about this show that sucks people in?

I think, in part, it’s because Pretty Little Liars has gotten better since it started — or, at least, since I started watching. The acting is still pretty cheesy, but the plot has been riveting and I am really stumped. Who is “A?” What is the significance of 214? Is Jenna really blind? And so on.

Here are some other reasons I think this show has got a hold on me:

• Everyone loves a mystery. Even if you think you’re the type of person who’s not seduced by the mystery genre, if you start watching, you probably won’t be able to stop until you figure it out, or until the truth is revealed.
• There are not one, but two MILFs – Holly Marie Combs from Charmed (and Picket Fences, as my husband dutifully pointed out last night while I forced him to watch PLL with me), and Laura Leighton from Melrose Place.
• There’s an ugly-duckling-turned-swan story. Hanna “used to be fat,” which, from what I’ve seen in the flashbacks, is pretty ridiculous, since she still looked gorgeous; but it always interests me when someone who was once in the shadows is now in the forefront.
• The Alison flashbacks have a dream-like quality that makes me think of the Lily Kane story in Veronica Mars. And anything that reminds me of Veronica Mars is good.
• Rich bitches, no matter how annoying, are always fun to watch.
• The Ezra/Aria relationship makes me so nervous, I’m on the edge of my seat every episode wondering when they’ll get caught and by whom. I really don’t approve of this affair at all, but I think that’s possibly why I enjoy watching them make a horrible mistake. Does that make me evil, or just weird?
• “A” is everywhere … and nowhere. And it really started getting good when he/she started pitting the girls against each other (for example, when she forces Hanna to give Aria’s mom the ticket to the museum)  instead of always sending them a mass text while they’re together.
• Jenna is one of the most disturbing characters I can think of on television right now, mostly because her blindness does not preclude her from seeming to know everything, at all times.
• It’s funny that we’re not supposed to think that these girls are really the “Mean Girls” of the school, even though they clearly are. Mona, that wretched beast, probably exists for that purpose, to make the main characters seem more “relatable.” Well, I guess Emily’s pretty nice, and Aria’s just dumb and thinks she’s an adult already, but Spencer’s pretty horrible. I used to hate Hanna, but she’s growing on me ever since she got hit by a car and started letting Caleb crash in her basement.
• This doesn’t really matter to me, but I think a lot of younger viewers enjoy that the show is based on a series of books by Sara Shepard.
• It’s like a soap opera, but the “lite” version. There’s that same piano and strings that come on when something scary or emotional happens; there’s the same shiny hair, matte foundation, and and glossy lips (but that’s sort of true of all ABC Family teen dramas); there’s that quiet whisper-dialogue with really close-up shots of the beautiful people’s faces. I don’t have the time or energy to devote to real soap operas, but I can participate in this once a week and be fine.

What are your reasons for watching Pretty Little Liars? Or, can you give me a good reason not to watch anymore? Not like I’ll listen to you, but still.

Clacked by Rachel Blum-Jose
on Feb 23, 2011 @ 10:30 EST5EDT