Pretty Little Liars: Fandom or the FBI?

"Pretty Little Liars", a television show that ran from 2010 to 2017, garnering 7 seasons, millions of fans, and tons of theories as to to who the mystery identity of "A" was, an anonymous villain that through text messages and murder, tortured the 5 main characters. 

Pretty Little Liars
Season 6B Poster (3)

Background

The show follows Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Emily Fields, and mean. girl Alison Dilaurentis, and their journey figuring out who the persona behind A is, while avoiding all traps set up. Based off of the best selling books by the same name written by Sara Shepard, the show became extremely popular and ran for a total of 7 seasons, while also producing 2 spinoffs. 

Theorizing on Tumblr 

Being apart of this fandom when I was younger, I will never forget the experiences I had through the entirety of the fandom. From theorizing about who A is together, sharing other theories, and even interacting with the cast, there was so much to go off of. The biggest platform to find the fandom is definitely Tumblr. On Tumblr, users are able to post mini blogs, or even full length blogs, on whatever topic. One Tumblr user that I followed closely was thebestplltheories (8). This account re-blogged countless theories made by other users, while also conjuring up their own. This was by far the biggest PLL fandom account on Tumblr, as they were even interviewed by WetPaint when they correctly predicted the ending, specifically the name behind the new villain "A.D." in the last season (the article has been taken down for unknown reasons, but here's a screenshot from thebestplltheories)(7). Entertainment Weekly also did a feature on the fandom, where they mention several Tumblr users, thebestplltheories included (10). 

Fan art from Deviant user senniferreira (5)

To put it simply, the PLL fandom was more than just sharing memes and screengrabs of the show, they were more so detectives. Analyzing every episode, holding discussions after to collectively figuring out what hints were dropped to the identity of A, and analyzing every interview with members of the cast to figure out if what they said held any double meaning. 

YouTube Analyses and Fan Art

YouTube is another platform where members of the fandom would share theories, in video form. However, on YouTube, there were more videos relating to opinions than theories. For example, videos discussing each character, specifically how PLL could have better made use of them (4). 

Other videos feature a style analysis of the characters (2), non members of the fandom watching only the first and last episode of the series (9), and even compiling clips throughout the show to put together one scene that was crucial to the plot, but spread out over the show (1). 

Reddit and DeviantArt were the platforms where most members of the fandom would share their own art. From versions of their own posters, to even art that depicted characters that they shipped together, the art was endless. 

Fan art by Instagram user @maaya_kitsune
found on Reddit (6)

Conclusion

Overall, "Pretty Little Liars" for many, brought out the true detective in them. As said earlier, I was very much into this fandom while the show was running, and will never forget staying up late to read the countless theories that other fans made, and putting all the pieces together. From the F.B.I. level theories on Tumblr, the videos going more in depth into the plot and characters, and the amazing art posted on Reddit, it is truly a complex fandom, almost as complex as the show itself. 

Works Cited

1.) *UPDATED* the Night Ali died - PLL. (2013, June 12). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://youtu.be/w-2-kl5reNU

2.) Alison dilaurentis style analysis: Pretty little liars. (2020, November 13). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://youtu.be/aKZ6tRI4rYs

3.) Davies, T. (2015, December 16). The new ​Pretty Little LIARS​ poster is serious style goals. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/pretty-little-liars-season-six-poster-style

4.) How pretty little liars ruined its best villain. (2019, February 23). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://youtu.be/w1TfcxpijBI

5.) Pretty little liars, unmasked all by seniferreira on deviantart. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.deviantart.com/seniferreira/art/Pretty-Little-Liars-unmAsked-All-547728130

6.) R/Prettylittleliars - cute sparia fanart. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.reddit.com/r/PrettyLittleLiars/comments/95zykp/cute_sparia_fanart/

7.) Thebestplltheories. (2017, July 01). See, that's what the app is perfect for. Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://thebestplltheories.tumblr.com/post/162453282708/well-that-was-fun-thank-you-so-much-caitlin-this

8.) Thebestplltheories. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://thebestplltheories.tumblr.com/

9.) Watching only the first and last episode of *PRETTY LITTLE LIARS*. (2021, March 09). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://youtu.be/QlKM7O1E5Es

10.) We are... the pll army. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2021, from https://www.eonline.com/videos/250051/we-are-the-pll-army