Praying Little Liars
I remember all too well what it was like scrolling through the trenches of Tumblr in the 2010s, and surely all who were active on that hellsite at the time remember the plethora of aesthetic tags whose pages went on for miles. As a chronically online child, I never reserved myself to a specific niche; it was always more interesting to see what other communities were up to rather than staying in my own bubble. One of the consequences of my scrolling habits was that I was able to recognize a lot of pop culture icons, but I knew nothing about them outside of greyscale screencaps and GIFs that’d been overly saturated. I’d come across the character Alison DiLaurentis countless times between photos of Lana Del Rey and text posts of different Lolita quotes. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I thought to watch Pretty Little Liars and see what all the fuss was about.
Looking back now I can absolutely see why little-me was so apprehensive, the show is an absolute behemoth with a terribly convoluted mystery. Pretty Little Liars, to put it simply, is about the disappearance and suspected murder of Alison Dilaurentis and the aftermath of her vanishing as it pertains to her four closest friends: Spencer, Aria, Hannah, and Emily. Throughout the series the girls are terrorized by texts from someone who seemingly knows all their secrets…including Alison’s. Pretty Little Liars defied my nonexistent expectations with some of the themes the show explored. Specifically, the religiosity, and I don’t just mean the character’s relationships with religion. I’m also talking about how some of the characters are actually imperfect representations of popular figures in Christianity and how that greatly effects the story being told. Now I understand if I just gave you whiplash, especially if you’ve already seen Pretty Little Liars, but hear me out!
Alison DiLaurentis is undeniably an incredibly flawed Christ figure. She’s the leader of a friend group she carefully put together for their strengths and ability to follow and affirm her every whim. Instead of piety her gospel preaches vitriol for anything she doesn’t like, and relationships built out of her warped perception of love, secrecy, and fearful necessity. Ali is like a sheep in wolf’s clothing, calcifying herself around other people’s insecurities for her own protection because she knows she can’t rely on anyone else. This idea is punctuated consistently, but it’s in full form when the audience gets their first glimpse of what really happened the night she disappeared. Alison is unknowingly bludgeoned with a large stone by her sister, Cece Drake (in homage to the story of Cain and Abel) and is promptly buried by their mother in order to protect her other child. Abandoned and barely conscious, Alison wonders why her mother would leave her for dead. After being entombed, she is pulled from the Earth by a psychic who envisioned the young girl’s demise, thematically resurrecting her. Alison decides to leave Rosewood, fleeing persecution and leaving her disciples with no one to follow.
The aftermath of Ali’s disappearance came with incredibly mixed reviews. Most were either mourning out of true loss or social etiquette. Others silently celebrated their freedom from Alison’s cruelty. Throughout the show it became increasingly clear that Ali’s peers were growing tired of her. This culminates in Spencer, Aria, Hannah, and Emily discovering that Alison was receiving the same kinds of threatening messages they were prior to her vanishment. The one behind the messages always signed off as ‘A’. The ever-present judging eye that follows the show as they taunt, stalk, and harass the girls for years. Their tormentor always seems two steps ahead, knowing things about the girls that not even they’re aware of. ‘A’ has an uncanny resemblance to the God of the Old Testament; jealous, meticulous to a fault, and quick to anger, hungry for attention and admiration from the very subjects they threaten to destroy at any given moment. The girls’ subjugation isn’t merely implied or suggested, but a very literal act with ‘A’ viewing them as nothing more than dolls.
The moniker ‘A’ was shared among three characters, all who represent the Holy Trinity interchangeably. Each took judgment into their own hands by manipulating the world around them through various elaborate forms of sabotage, blackmail, and threatening. There is no right or wrong in the universe of Pretty Little Liars, no set moral code or savior coming to free everyone from damnation, there is only judgment, punishment, and Reconciliation. For Spencer, Aria, Hannah, and Emily, ‘A’ is an omnipotent being capable of any and everything. Haunted by the phantom who delivers retribution with unknown motive or endgame the girls are put through hell for their past transgressions against others during their time as part of Alison’s clique.
When one of the ‘A’s is found to be a fellow student and formerly trusted ally, Mona Vanderwall, the girls are forced to reckon with the knowledge that their actions directly lead to their own suffering. Neither Mona nor the other ‘A’s were alone in their endeavor. Their conspirators, who were often victims of Alison herself, cooperated with vehement (if not forced) loyalty. In fact, most of Rosewood high school had been a casualty in Alison’s war against herself, and the girls remained apathetic no matter how brutal Alison became. In a flashback during the pilot of the series Alison and Aria are seen purposely running away from Mona. While the girls giggle about successfully alluding her, karma immediately smites Aria as the two stumble into witnessing her father cheating on his wife. This whole scene is a microcosm of the rest of the show as all the girls wrestle with the guilt of their complacency. Rather than seek revenge or aid Alison’s victims, the girls resign themselves to suffer their deserved punishment, the show’s version of an Act of Contrition.
Throughout the years of me watching and rewatching Pretty Little Liars I haven’t been able to find many articles, posts, or comments about the religious tones of the show, but honestly with the absolute spectacle that is the plot it’s easy for things to be chalked up as campy teen drama nonsense (which, in fairness, it is). Even cheesy moments like Alison “dying” and being brought back to life through psychic means of all things is historically significant considering other shows that were just as popular during the time like Teen Wolf and Vampire Diaries. I don’t think a lot of viewers catch these themes simply because there’s a lot going on. I know that it may seem odd for a show that’s akin to a children’s soap opera to have such complex views and imagery surrounding Christianity. However, this is the best of both worlds for a queer person like me who grew up Catholic. It’s refreshing to see religious and secular concepts interacting in ways that are homogenous yet thoughtfully combative.
Now you’ve come this far and some of y’all may be wondering how I feel so confident talking about the religiosity in Pretty Little Liars of all things. How do I know I’m not just overzealously assuming the intentions of a show meant for teenagers in the 2010s? Well, lucky for me, I have the power of God and Lesbians on my side. Marlene King, the showrunner (and my favorite contributor to Pretty Little Liars), is also a queer woman who comes from a Christian family. King’s involvement is vindicating and explains why the religious themes are so seamlessly woven into the greater narrative. In one of the first examples of Alison’s faith being a considerable part of her personality, a flashback during the episode "Will the Circle be Unbroken" depicts Alison and Spencer leaving church one morning, Alison making fun of Mona who’d also attended the service. Spencer (rightfully) questions why Alison even attends church if she’s so content on being a public menace, Ali responds by saying, “I like to hedge my bets.” Narratively this scene serves to give the audience an idea of who the three girls are, but the very real concept of ironically believing something “just in case” is all too familiar for a lot of watchers who grew up in religious households.
At the risk of sounding like I’ve lost the plot, Pretty Little Liars is actually one of the most realistic TV dramas I’ve watched because of its depiction of religion within the show. It’s equally as relatable as it is demonstrably over-the-top and dramatic. It’s one of those situations where the watcher doesn’t have to clock these themes to be able to experience the work as intended, but the existence of them in the show is imperative and without them the series wouldn’t be able to tell the story it wants. In all, Pretty Little Liars answers the brave question; what does it look like when a group of chaotic creatives are allowed to work through their religious trauma?
