Mainly enjoyed as a juicy mystery, Pretty Little Liars doesn’t feel like a super serious show. When Alison DiLaurentis escaped from Rosewood, her pals Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, Emily Fields, and Spencer Hastings weren’t sure what to do next. They went about their lives the best they could… except for the fact that a figure named A was watching them.
Despite the traumas that the Pretty Little Liars gang experienced over seven seasons, the characters would make great best friends, and that’s due to the lessons they learned as a result. From a major love story to more personal struggles, PLL addressed important topics that many people deal with in real life.
An Inappropriate Romance
Ezra Fitz is a staple on PLL as the handsome English teacher who became Aria’s soulmate. When she met him, he was an incredibly inappropriate love interest for her, but by the time she was of legal age, the couple got married and started planning their family.
Many fans of PLL couldn’t help but notice the creepy nature of Ezra dating someone who was under the age of 18. This is a serious topic that the show delved into, as Ezra did try to stop it, and Aria didn’t seem to mind the difference between their ages at all.
IVF And Being An Egg Donor
Ali had twin babies by the show’s conclusion and that’s because A got her pregnant using the eggs that Emily donated. It was definitely one unexpected moment on a show that was already jam-packed with twists and turns.
While this was a wild plotline, it still brought up the complicated matter of IVF and egg donation. So many couples go this route and while hopefully, most people don’t experience what Ali did, they can at least relate to it on some level.
An Affair That Broke Up A Family
While Aria’s parents Byron and Ella did get married again, it wasn’t always a sure bet that this family would repair itself. When Byron cheated on Ella with Meredith, a teacher, A knew all about it and made sure that Aria was aware that this secret was out.
While it’s always devastating when someone is cheated on, it’s even more horrifying when they’ve been married for a long time and there are children involved, so PLL got pretty deep with this storyline. The divorce didn’t happen right away, but eventually, Ella knew she had to do it.
Eating Disorders
Hanna was always a brave person but at the start of PLL, she had recovered from an eating disorder and A was bringing all of those feelings to the surface again.
In the season 1 episode “Know Your Frenemies,” A made Hanna binge-eat cupcakes, and she was pushed to revisit her past bulimia. This was a time that the show dealt with a deep topic, as eating disorders are incredibly serious and not something that can be moved on from quickly and easily. This scene proved that even if Hanna thought she was past it, she was still on her journey.
Bullying
Some scenes in season 1 have aged badly and one of them is the flashback to “The Jenna Thing,” as the girls called it.
PLL dealt with the topic of bullying on a regular basis, as Ali definitely treated the girls horribly before she ran away from home. She was their biggest tormenter as she learned their secrets and then threw them in their faces. She also wanted to teach Toby Cavanaugh a lesson, and in doing so, she put a stink bomb in his garage. This backfired in a terrible way and Jenna Marshall lost her eyesight as a result. That never would have happened if Ali hadn’t wanted to hurt Toby and if she could focus on her own life instead of making other people miserable.
Being A Foster Child Without Family Support
As soon as they met, Caleb Rivers and Hanna felt that they were on the same emotional wavelength, and it was sweet to see their growth as a couple, as they got married at the end of the show.
Caleb’s story was a sad one, as he had been a foster child for years, and when he came to Rosewood, his foster family was only interested in making money from the government and didn’t really want to care for any kids. Through Caleb, PLL dealt with the tragedy of growing up in the system while not having any family support
Coming Out To Family
Emily’s mom supported her after she came out and Pam stood up for Paige when her parents were having trouble with her being gay.
Pretty Little Liars did a great job with Emily’s coming out storyline, as she was brave and knew that her friends and family should love and support her. This proved that while PLL could be a dramatic show about shocking deaths and text messages, it could handle more serious subjects with sensitivity.
PTSD And Alcoholism
PTSD and alcoholism are another two serious topics that PLL dealt with, as the liars were targeted by A, thrown into the Dollhouse, and constantly stalked. It made sense that they had trouble functioning for a while, as no one could process all of those horrible situations easily.
Spencer experienced PTSD and started abusing pills. She also had trouble sleeping and that led to a disorder. Hanna also struggled with her drinking on the show, and she and Caleb would often sit together and drink too much.
The Unfair Judgement Of Mental Health Struggles
Some of the characters on PLL ended up at Radley. Mona Vanderwaal spent some time there, and so did Spencer. This building is one reason why Rosewood feels so scary.
Many of the liars judged Mona for her mental health issues, which wasn’t a very compassionate way to view her story. PLL brought up a big problem with modern society: while there is more openness around mental health struggles, there is still a lot of judgment and shame around admitting these things.
Charlotte DiLaurentis
Fans had always been curious about who A really was. It turned out that the person stalking the liars was Charlotte “CeCe” Drake, who was given a different name at birth.
Some people didn’t like the way that being Charlotte’s transgender identity was handled on the show. The issue? That CeCe was seen as a “bad” person who had hurt the other characters. Yes, it wrapped up the show’s biggest mystery, but at what cost?
