Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Season 1 Episodes 6 and 7 Review: Scars / Carnival of Souls

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin finally starts to deliver a compelling plot this week. 

While the series continues to be plagued by some uneasy dialogue and nonsensical plot points, we are actually starting to see some consequences. The question now becomes will they last or will they will be left on the chopping block and forgotten?  

First, let’s talk about Faran’s storyline on Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Season 1 Episode 6, “Scars.” I’ve been intrigued by Faran’s scoliosis storyline from the beginning, but I didn’t entirely trust the storyline to go anywhere. Seeing Faran take center stage (pun intended) as she grapples with the scar on her back and how her scoliosis affects her as a dancer is very intriguing and I am glad they flipped the expectation with ABT. 

Add to that, the drama with her mom, and the revelation that her spinal fusion wasn’t really necessary for her health, and we are actually starting to see plot points that are compelling. Faran is dealing with the actual consequences of things that happened to her that she couldn’t control and it’s taking away something she loves to do. 

Since all of this is deeply engrained in Faran’s character it makes the moment when she confronts her mother on Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Season 1 Episode 7, “Carnival of Souls,” that much more compelling. 

FARAN: Are you for real? I did. Over and over. Dozens of times. You just didn’t want to hear me. But hear this, mom. I’m not gonna let your poor decisions affect the rest of my life. I’m going to get better the right way. 

Faran’s courage to stand up to her mother is such a powerful moment for her character. It has so much gravity given that children generally believe that their parents are doing something in their best interests.

The realization that Corey didn’t have Faran’s best interests at heart is what stings the most and it’s making Faran realize that if she wants to dance she needs to be able to do it her way and with the knowledge she has of her own body.

Her moment with Henry on the Ferris wheel is also a poignant scene. Instead of losing her temper and being angry with him over what’s happened, she acknowledges that she’s just mad at the situation. This is healthy anger, and it makes me root for Faran and Henry that much more. 

Mouse’s storyline is another compelling arc this week. After her encounter with Steve on Halloween the fact that he’s stalking her plays on some real fear. As much as the dialogue and setup around Mouse almost being taken when she was five years old at the carnival feels contrived, her fear for her safety is not a small thing to dismiss. 

What Mouse was doing and why she was doing it aren’t really played out to the extent that they provide closure. However, it does serve the storyline of pushing Mouse out of her comfort zone with her moms and starting to live her own life with Ash. 

It was definitely worth it to see Mouse and Ash have a good time at a carnival. 

Tabby’s storyline also has some gravity on these two episodes. While Tabby and Imogen are both dealing with the trauma of what happened to them, Tabby’s now also starting to think of the ways that it’s haunting her. Watching her process and think about the events of that night are some of the creepiest scenes. 

It really gives us insight into Tabby’s mind. 

I am hoping we actually get to see her completed short film on the final three episodes instead of just seeing her process and hoping that we can connect the dots. 

Overall, these episodes are the best so far. While they still feel somewhat predictable we are starting to see consequences and we’re actually building to a conclusion now. We have three more episodes in the season and as long as they answer some of the main questions it may be worth a second season. 

Stray Thoughts:

• So you build up a ballet that has this huge plot that should compliment the intrigue of this season, but we only get to see the opening number? 
• We never got an answer as to if Imogen raised the money she needed to save her house during her Halloween party. If she hasn’t taken care of that what part of spending money on a hotel stay seems like a good idea?
• Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin exist in the same universe, how? I am not a fan of this interconnection. I get that the original leaned into the gothic/spooky aspects with their Halloween episodes and Ravenswood, but do we really need these universes to connect?
• Saying a ship needs to be canon is not better than saying it’s endgame! 
• When did Chip and Imogen become a thing? This whole relationship makes me uncomfortable. It feels like it came out of nowhere and just exists. 
• Can we please just get a little more of what happened with Angela Waters instead of a couple of minutes of set-up scenes when the moms get notes? Without Eddie Lamb on “Scars,” Angela would be lost in the soup of this series by now. 

What did you think of these episodes of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin airs new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max. 

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