Tell-Tale TV Panel: Pretty Little Liars Season 7

Gotta secret, can you keep it?

For seven seasons, we’ve kept up with the town of Rosewood and the surprising amount of secrets it holds. The Liars have been through a lot in seven years, and they made it out in one piece.

Below, we discuss the best and worst of Pretty Little Liars Season 7, the conclusion of the series, and more. Join the discussion by leaving your thoughts in a comment at the bottom of the page.

Our panelists are:

• Shadia Omer, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Lauren Busser, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Jamie Steinberg from Starry Mag

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the final season overall?

Jamie: Rating it an 8. There were a few episodes that I found boring and without substance. I didn’t like the ones that really went nowhere (Hanna [kind of] becomes a fashion designer. Spencer’s mom runs for Senate. Lucas ends Hanna’s fashion career.)

Lauren: For me, it’s a solid 7. There were some episodes where I was excited and really engaged, but I think that there were some plot points that could have been stronger. They built up and presented the final season really well, but it just didn’t strike a perfect cord for me.

Shadia: I’d give it a 7. The last ten episodes were okay. Some parts felt too dragged for me.

Are you happy with the ending?

Jamie: I’m VERY happy with the ending. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and so excited to see that everyone found themselves in a happy place (despite Sasha’s weird hairstyle). I’d like to think they all end up living happily ever after.

Lauren: After thinking about it for a couple of days, I am satisfied with the ending. I think it was really well done, but I still keep asking myself: “Why?!!!!” when I think about certain plot points.

As far as the Liars are concerned, I am glad they all ended up happy, but my biggest issue was the final tag with Addison and her group of her friends. Why open that can of worms? I get that it’s poetic, but still why? They couldn’t have just left us with Mona?  

Shadia: Not as satisfied as I thought I would be, but I’m glad the Liars got their happy ending. But the whole new generation of liars? C’mon now!

What was this season’s biggest mistake?

Jamie: Too many twists that my head was spinning! Wren is the babies’ father? Wren was willing to shoot Alex to help her con the Liars? I’m still confused as to what role Archer actually played other than falling for Charlotte. Also, why did Alex think Toby would just love her?

Lauren: I have a tendency to fall for characters that are outside of the main set, so it didn’t surprise me that one of my favorite characters this season was Mary Drake, but when I look back at her storyline, I don’t think she was a mistake so much as an underutilized character.

When they set up the Season 6 finale with the hashtag #TwinonPLL, the surprise was blown for me for a shadow in Ali’s hospital room. Then they dragged out her storyline until they revealed she was Spencer’s mom, then never really did anything more than provide an entrance for Alex.

Andrea Parker is fantastic, and in comparing her portrayal of Jessica and Mary, I just wanted to see more of her as a whole.

Shadia: Too many unnecessary plot holes. Like the whole Nicole storyline? Paige coming back? Eh. There was just a lot of dragging on that kind of wasted the final season.

What was the biggest surprise of the season?

Jamie: Obviously, Alex Drake! While the rumor was out there (in the last week) that Spencer may have a twin, but boy did Troian smash her performance! She did an amazing job at a cockney accent, and I completely bought her intensity!

Lauren: I am with Jamie here; the Spencer twin theory had been around for a while when I encountered it, but I love how Troian smashed her performance. I also loved how we now have to kind of question when it was Spencer and when it was Alex in certain scenes.

Shadia: I think I was one of the few people who was not convinced that Spencer had a twin, but man are their fans so good with their theories. I didn’t think it was true. Troian’s performance was phenomenal!

If you could change one thing that happened throughout the course of the show, what would it be and why?

Jamie: Well, I would be remiss in saying that every other couple ended up romantically linked, so I was a bit bummed that Toby just ended up sticking around and not officially became endgame. I also would have liked to have seen Hanna as a real fashion designer. She would have smashed it!

Lauren: I would have also liked to see Hanna as a real fashion designer. I think she definitely would have smashed it, and I think she deserves to have her dreams realized. We never did see her overcome that “stolen design” controversy.

Shadia: This still bugs me until now because I have no idea what came to the writer’s mind when they came up with this idea, but it’s…the random pairing of SPENCER AND CALEB.

What was that? I was offended as a fan of Haleb. That whole thing was so out of place, definitely did not have to happen. I think that’s one thing I would change.

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