Pretty Little Liars: Why Troian Bellisario was the perfect one to play Alex Drake (A.D.)
I can sit here and say it was just a TV show but in all honesty– it wasn’t. Pretty Little Liars was an escape from your everyday life and into the lives of 5 girls who went through things we couldn’t imagine. However, for one it turned out to be a living hell from the beginning, then turned worst by the middle and by the end– poor Troian Bellisario has lost her mind. All thanks to Alex Drake aka A.D.
I remember watching as Aria joined Team A and thinking that Spencer would have been the better choice. Not because Troian was a better actor then Lucy Hale but because Troian needed it.
Aria already had a little mean streak to her so for Lucy to sorta play a villain wasn’t too far off. And when her character turned evil for a brief moment you saw the regret she had. But Spencer, she was different from the rest. Her character was closed off it seemed from the rest of the world. The way she dressed, spoke, loved and everything else about Spencer was just– different.
To make Troian A.D. was a stroke of genius. If it had to be one of the girls– why not be the one no one saw coming in the beginning?
Spencer played it cool. She has a temper but what she displayed in ‘Til DeAth Do Us PArt‘ was great. The entire twin theory we saw coming a while back, however, what we didn’t see coming was the way Troian Bellisario would portray Alex Drake. As we were giving flashbacks into Alex being Spencer we saw the “Normal” Spencer. But when she awoke in the fake Rosewood basement– this was Troian at her best.
With Spencer being so uptight– Troian got a chance to let her hair down.
She was quick with the jokes, jabs, and threats but the accent was on point. How many times have we seen Spence laugh over 7 seasons? With Alex– it was all the time even if it was a cynical smirk. It was a breath of fresh air to finally see Spencer step out of character so-to-speak. For all the heat that Marlene King received over the finale of Pretty Little Liars, one thing that’s unfair has been the criticism towards Troian. She did a marvelous job at being someone else. She clearly stepped out of character, nailed the performance and proved her acting range.
For 7 seasons we doubted her, talked about her style of dress, her conceited demeanor but we failed to applaud when she changed our perception of her. Hats off to you Troian Bellisario for your role as Spencer/Alex Drake/A.D.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
