Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Falls Short Of Expectations

Pretty Little Liars is back with a whole new cast for Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, but with a twist. The new iteration shifts genres from drama and suspense to straight-up horror. Given the tone and themes of the show, it would seem that it’s set up perfectly to transition to horror, unfortunately, Original Sin has a few turn-offs along the way that makes it hard to stay in the moment while watching. With plenty of forced interactions and dialogue, the show misses the mark early on. Taking nothing away from the cast and crew that lead this show, but the writers need to step it up a notch.

Twenty years ago, a series of tragic events almost ripped Millwood apart. Now, in the present day, a brand-new set of Little Liars finds themselves tormented by an unknown assailant.

One of the biggest frustrations with Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin was just how hard they’re trying. The majority of the show comes off as unnatural and almost forced. The first red flag for the show was a scene set in a movie theater lobby where two characters are talking about horror films. What should have been a casual back and forth comes off as a one-up back and forth dialogue as if the writers were trying to prove they know classic horror movies. If you have to smack audiences in the face with horror knowledge, you’re putting a lot of effort into will ultimately be your defense on the choices you make in the show. Instead of showing off your horror knowledge, study those films even further and use their elements to make the show better.

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However, that’s not the worst offense. I understand that PLL uses symbolism and characters to define certain parts of the story, but with Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin the writers again took it a step too far. One of the characters on the show, who is an entitled, snobby, white female antagonist is named, you guessed it, Karen. That’s a little too on-the-nose for a show that uses a whodunit technique. To write something of that nature you have to have an intelligent approach that keeps the audience guessing. To dumb down the character with that blatant approach to an antagonist doesn’t exactly scream well thought out.

The show may get better as it goes, but so far they’re taking a horrible approach and trying a bit too hard. There are plenty of instances where they’re forcing dialogue and using lingo that appeals to a younger audience. Usually, it’s not an issue, but so far it doesn’t come off naturally, almost as if there’s a pause or emphasis on these phrases to let you know they’re there. At one point the phrase “The whole school is full of Karens” comes out and it will make you cringe. In the same episode “Why hasn’t Karen been canceled yet?”. We get it, you’re trying to be hip, but maybe put down the TikTok and focus on what made people of all ages fall in love with the original show.

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When it comes to Pretty Little Liars, the whole premise is based on intrigue and suspense. While it does have some moments, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin fails to build intrigue and suspense early on. The writers need to pivot from trying to appeal to a younger audience and bring the elements of classic horror to the show. The main problem with the show is it doesn’t quite stick it. They’re trying to honor the classic PLL and honor classic horror only it only gets halfway there on both fronts. If you’re going to approach both, you have to knock both out of the park or you’re alienating one audience or the other. Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin needs to go all-in to intrigue both horror buffs and die-hard PLL fans.