Alison is A.D.

Okay I just finished the first three episodes of PLL: OS and I have many, many thoughts and also I am totally hooked, but what I keep coming back to is this - 

This whole twin thing with Karen and Kelly HAS to be part of this, right? I mean, Kelly has played such a relatively small role in the show so far, it’s not like she has some clear purpose in the plot as of now. And yet the writers have gone to all of this extra effort to have Mallory Bechtel film scenes as both twins, use a body double for those scenes, edit it all together…instead of just having Karen be an only child, or giving her a fraternal twin played by a different actress. Would they really go to all that trouble just for the sake of having identical twins “just because”? I don’t think so.

I also have to point out that when she first arrives at the dance, Imogen “mistakenly” identifies Kelly as Karen. But was it really a mistake? Imogen used to be best friends with these girls, how likely is it that she would so easily mix them up at this point? And Kelly’s “twin-fusion” response seemed a little nasty and out of character…a little too much like Karen.

So I think it’s pretty clear at this point that Karen and Kelly kept up their switching places trick from earlier in the episode and it was really Kelly who died at the dance, with Karen taking her place and masquerading as her, and I will die on this hill (for now).

Now I’ve shifted to believing that Karen really is dead, but that Kelly is intentionally trying to take over her life. That’s why she was wearing Karen’s leotard. That’s why she was switching over to Karen’s locker. That’s why she was making out with Karen’s boyfriend. And that might even be why people seem to be mistaking her for Karen - she’s purposefully putting on Karen’s mannerisms because she wanted to be her all along.

When Faran confronts her at the party, she says - “Why can’t I be a great dancer? Why can’t I have the hot boyfriend? Is it really so hard to believe that Kelly Beasley could be popular and talented?”

Okay I just finished the first three episodes of PLL: OS and I have many, many thoughts and also I am totally hooked, but what I keep coming back to is this - 

This whole twin thing with Karen and Kelly HAS to be part of this, right? I mean, Kelly has played such a relatively small role in the show so far, it’s not like she has some clear purpose in the plot as of now. And yet the writers have gone to all of this extra effort to have Mallory Bechtel film scenes as both twins, use a body double for those scenes, edit it all together…instead of just having Karen be an only child, or giving her a fraternal twin played by a different actress. Would they really go to all that trouble just for the sake of having identical twins “just because”? I don’t think so.

I also have to point out that when she first arrives at the dance, Imogen “mistakenly” identifies Kelly as Karen. But was it really a mistake? Imogen used to be best friends with these girls, how likely is it that she would so easily mix them up at this point? And Kelly’s “twin-fusion” response seemed a little nasty and out of character…a little too much like Karen.

So I think it’s pretty clear at this point that Karen and Kelly kept up their switching places trick from earlier in the episode and it was really Kelly who died at the dance, with Karen taking her place and masquerading as her, and I will die on this hill (for now).

“We can go back. You can be you again. I’ll be me. Just like before.”

There’s no mistaking the slackening of “Courtney’s” grasp now. “You’d switch back?” she asks. Her voice is full of suspicion. “Just like that?”

Ali takes a deep breath, feels her lungs fill up with air. The rest of her life - and the length of it - could potential depend on what she says next. “I’d switch back,” she confirms resolutely. “Just like that.”

–

(This post also includes descriptions of eating disorders that could be triggering.)

I’m currently kicking off summer by rereading my favorite of the PLL books, “Ali’s Pretty Little Lies,” and it really strikes me as funny that the book version of Alison (or at least the Alison that the girls knew) is actually in some ways a much better person than the show version of Ali, even though she’s intended to be at least somewhat of a villain and certainly not a good person.

In the books, Ali (actually Courtney) walks in on Hanna forcing herself to throw up with a toothbrush. Hanna admits that it’s something she does occasionally. Alison is pretty horrified by this, and at several points in the book tries to convince Hanna that what she’s doing is unsafe and that she should tell her mom about it. She also makes an effort to refrain from making nasty comments about Hanna’s weight or binging after finding out the extent of Hanna’s eating disorder, at least until her own life starts to spiral at the end of the book. It’s not a perfect response, by any means, but considering book!Alison isn’t exactly an award-winning friend, it was a surprisingly kind one.

Now in contrast, in the show, Alison is the one who first gives Hanna the idea to start throwing up the food that she binges on. She even teaches her how to do it. And even after, once she knows just how badly Hanna is struggling, she continues to regularly make awful remarks about Hanna being heavier, Hanna eating too much, Hanna not being as pretty as the others, etc. 

**PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!**

As if I don’t already have enough in-progress projects on my plate, I’m adding another one! For years I’ve wanted to create my own version of “Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists.” One that, at least to me, more closely represents the book series and actually follows through on some of its potential.

And almost three years later, I’m finally in the process of writing the script for the Pilot episode! As you can see from the poster I created above, we’re seeing some familiar faces from the show, as well as some new (or, I should say, old) characters. As I work on finishing up the first episode, I’ll be sharing some quick profiles for each character, which will give you some info on what to expect, and how certain roles differ from their book or show counterparts.