“Pretty Little Liars: Summer School” Holds Up Against The Original

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School knows exactly who it is. Its self awareness truly holds itself up against the original and even stands out. The series is set in the same universe as the original series Pretty Little Liars (2010). While it still honors and pays homage in small ways to its roots, the show is able to separate itself from its predecessor. It’s not enough that the liars have to face a new ‘A‘ in Bloody Rose Waters. They also have to face every teen’s nightmare: Summer School!

Following the harrowing events of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, our Pretty Little Liars face a fate worse than death – summer school. However, Millwood High isn’t the only thing getting in the way of their fun summer jobs and new, dreamy love interests. A new villain, who may or may not have a connection to A, has come to town and is going to put them all to the test.

Female Rage

Female rage has been portrayed in media in many ways with varied expressions. I feel the true purpose of female rage is the ability to feel safe in feeling all of your emotions. This includes the dark emotions that swirl inside of us after experiencing something traumatic. There is also power in female rage that we see our liars are finding out for themselves. Tabby (Kinnney) and Imogen (Madison) are great examples of experiencing female rage in two different ways. Tabby express her female rage through her filming making. She’s discovering the best way to handle what Chip did to her was by channeling her emotions into her short film with Imogen as the star. 

Imogen, it seems, hasn’t been able to channel her female rage that she feels after her mom’s death, discovering Chip being the father of her baby, and giving up her baby for adoption after Season 1. Her performance in Tabby’s short film feels like a drop in the bucket of her emotions, not the full flood. She’s just trying to make it through each day. It is completely understandable given all she has been through in the last year and a half.  When Imogen embraces her female rage more freely, I think fans haven’t seen what it looks like through Tabby’s point of view yet.

She still has her final test. I think when we see Tabby embrace her rage, it might shock not only herself, but also the audience.

Exploring Cult Tropes

The aspect of this season I’m enjoying immensely is the commentary on cult culture. It shows two sides of the pendulum in the religious cult, like the space of Redemption House and the cult fandom that is building in those who admire and follow Bloody Rose. Both inspire a blind faith following and both can be just as detrimental to its followers. 

Redemption House shows the extremism to it. It’s claim that Redemption House is meant to show sinners another path. A second chance. Redemption House attempts to show why these sins are like underage drinking, online chatting, etc are bad they seem more hate-filled. The intention itself doesn’t seem demoralizing or harmful on the surface if you look deeper you’ll see that something more sinister is at work. It holds no real salvation just fear.

While Bloody Rose followers are preparing for the “Reckoning.” they are tasked to show their loyalty to Bloody Rose. By an act of self-harm, they show their mark on their forehead. They have to prove they really will do anything to further her cause.

Female Villain

For those who aren’t horror movie experts, it’s rare in slasher horror movies in which the villain turns out to be a woman. The uptick in female villains in horror movies has increased over the years and have gotten mainstream attention. We’ve seen female characters end up being the villain in the Scream franchise, Pearl, X, and Happy Death Day. In Pretty Little Liars: Summer School, Bloody Rose’s motivations still aren’t clear to the audience yet.

It’s been proven that Rose Waters is not Bloody Rose. Many suspect that Bloody Rose could be Mrs. Beasley, Dr. Sullivan, or Mrs. Langesberry as the obvious candidate. Plot twists have been known to happen that just might shock everyone.  Is she doing it all alone? Who do you think is Bloody Rose?

Making Mistakes

As a teenager, making mistakes is apart of the process.  That includes the choices we make when it comes to dating. Noa (Reficco) has the perfect boyfriend in Shawn. This season, we’re seeing her pull away from him to spend time with Jen (Capri). Noa has constantly enabled her mom’s habit and behavior her whole life until she couldn’t anymore. This relationship with Jen feels like Noa replaced her mom with Jen to enable her bad behavior, which is why she believes they have more in common. Noa has made mistakes, yet it doesn’t seem as if she’s learned from them. It’s a cycle that Noa will have to learn how to break. Noa seems to be wearing rose colored glasses with Jen. The only question left is: how will she undue the damage she caused to her life by blindly trusting Jen? 

Greg has, until more recent episodes, been a misogynistic, egotistical jerk who has done nothing but only serve in his own best interest. He ruined Karen and Imogen’s relationship by lying and saying that Imogen tried to kiss him after his and Karen’s first time. He never told the truth. Greg dated Karen when he truly wanted Kelly. Through Season 2 we’ve seen more of his character growth as he also seems to be evaluating who he is and what he wants. While Faran has recently broken up with Henry and is finally starting to discover who she is outside of being a ballerina, could there be a situationship on the horizon for Faran and Greg? Will it be a mistake? Most definitely. It’s also a rite of passage as a teenager.

Favorite Couple Goes To…

The one couple that is thriving through all the events of Archie Waters, A, and Bloody Rose is Mouse and Ash. Mouse has a tendency to get obsessive to her own detriment. Her latest obsession has been Spooky Spaghetti. Ash has been there to make sure she has backup and that she doesn’t go into any dangerous situations alone. Ash and Mouse are exactly what the other needs. They both deserve joy,  love, and happiness. They are the light in the darkness.

Season 2 Finale

Next week is the Season 2 finale of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School. Each episode has brought answers but even more questions. The suspect list is getting shorter. Will Christian or Johnny betray the girls? With all the pressure they’re facing cause any of the girls to break? Who is Bloody Rose? Tabby’s the last final final girl, and her test may come with a heavy price. Watch the Season 2 finale on June 21, 2024.