What TV shows are you watching?

Thank you so much for your thorough answer! It certainly cleared up some questions!

I'm currently watching Medium - I have a total soft spot for people who ~see ghosts~ and stuff and who have emotional drama and fix it.
I'm looking to start Penny Dreadful soon, and I really want to rewatch Dexter and FMA: Brotherhood (which would be like the 1 millionth time)

I caught up with Pretty Little Liars and I'm waiting for the next week's episodes, and, gosh...the show is very frustrating right now. Should I feel bad for wanting to root for A at times?!?!!

Apparently there's going to be a time jump to the college years (or after?) and they still haven't solved the mystery by then. I also recently found out that everything that happened between the Halloween train episode and now, occurred in a span of a few months. Oh and there's the possibility of a movie, yippie!

Agreed, I really do like Hanna's storyline this season. I can relate to it as well. (Why is Caleb the only person who noticed that there is something off with her lately? Emily saw how Hanna pulled out all those beer bottles right in front of her!!)
It's not that the writers can't deal with certain issues, it's the fact that so many storylines get dropped as if they were a hot potato. That's what peeves me the most probably. Oh and those annoying, new characters who are supposedly relevant somehow.

That's a good point. I've never thought of it in that way, to be honest. I was genuinely surprised about how the girls were so willing to get dragged into this mess again, especially after it was established that Alison was toying around with them all the time and that she was a horrible friend. I also remember reading somewhere that A is apparently someone we are going to feel sorry for once their identity is revealed.

Oh, then I probably misread something. That definitely sounds a lot better than the girls still struggling around with A during the college years or even after. Ashley Benson and Troian Bellisario have been pretty vocal about not wanting to play teenagers any more as well. Eh, Marlene King has stated numerous times that a PLL movie would be her ultimate goal.

The timeline is all over the place. In season three the girls are seniors and we're onto season five and they still haven't graduated. We're also getting a Christmas episode and it's not certain whether or whether not it's a flashback episode. If it isn't, then that means that it's the Christmas before the girls graduated. I really do hope that time didn't freeze after Halloween, because that would mean that everything between Halloween and now happened in a span of a few months/weeks (Garrett's murder, Mona getting out of Radley, Toby being A, Spencer being admitted to Radley, the lodge fire, Wilden's murder, Spencer falling off the wagon, Alison being alive, the Ezra reveal, Ali's return, Mrs. D's death, New York...).

I also never watched Ravenswood, but I know what it was about and I'm a bit bummed about how it ruined Caleb's character to a certain extent. I'm not sure how the writers plan to explain his behaviour this season without bringing the supernatural stuff into PLL or completely disregarding Ravenswood (not that I would care).
And yeah, Caleb is super observant, but he seems to be one of the few people who get Hanna. He was the only person who understood why Hanna put those streaks into her hair while everyone else was just making some side remarks about it, if at all, that is.

Agreed. I also think that Ashley Benson is great at pulling off the emotional stuff. There's this scene way back in season one, where A forces Hanna to eat a box of cup cakes and reminds Hanna of how she knows how to get rid of it all. It's still haunting me and I wonder if Hanna's bulimia is every going to be bought up again, because the first time it was just glossed over and then never mentioned.

Yeah, I was worried about how the girls might have not noticed, but in a sneak peek for next week's episode there's this scene were a beer can falls out of Hanna's locker and both Emily and Spencer are concerned. It wouldn't have been the first time were the girls are oblivious to one of their own having a meltdown.

Spencer is just a ticking timebomb waiting to explode. If the timeline is really as a messed as I suggested, then a relapse would definitely make sense.

Well, I guess I'm able to understand why the girls would want to believe that Ali has changed. Season one and two was about coming to terms with the fact that Alison was, in fact, a horrible person and having closure. In season four there was the suspicion that she may be alive and all the girls admitted that they have been pondering about it, meaning that there is more to the story and obviously no closure. After the reveal we saw an other side of Alison; a more emotional and vulnerable facet and it's easier to sympathise with her.

My problem with Alison's return is that she's still so secretive and doesn't trust the girls completely, despite the fact that they have risked their lives for her time and again. Also, she dragged them all into her kidnapping lie and they are all cracking and crumbling. Aria and Spencer have distanced themselves from Alison. Spencer has to deal with the fact that her family is falling apart, Aria is still dealing with Shana's murder, Emily is caught in the middle of her feelings and is slowly regressing in terms of character development, and Hanna is having an identity crisis right now and she's the one who has to morally support Alison because Spencer and Aria keep distance. Now the kidnapping lie is crumbling and they know that and it's looks as if the girls are going to snap at each other in the next episode. (Can we also hold onto the fact that both Aria and Hanna don't take any of Ali's *beep* and stand up against her?!)

I do find Alison interesting, but I found her more tolerable in smaller doses, to be fair. In her defence, I will say that this whole 'Mona's Army' business is ridiculous and daft. What Alison did to Mona was not okay, but what Mona did to both Alison and the girls in her time of being A was probably worse. I hope there's more to Mona's history with Alison than being bullied, because right now she looks like a bitter and pathetic hypocrite, which is a shame because she's one of my favourite characters. Admittedly, the clash between Mona's Army and A does look interesting. Both have different motives and I wonder how it's going to play out in the long run.

Agreed. I also like the larger involvement of Aria in this season. Other than that she's always been occupied with Ezra and was never really involved in actually solving the mystery. Now she's going around in Radley, looking for clues and isn't solely defined by her boyfriend. Ezra and Aria are inevitably endgame, but it's refreshing to see both of them apart and actually having a life.

I don't understand why the writers bring in all those new characters that we are supposed to care about. There are so many shady characters on this show, who have been here since the beginning, but they keep on new ones who are seemingly innocent but then turn out to have questionable motives. What a shocker. I wish they would further explore existing character such as Mona, Jenna, Melissa, Noel Kahn, Lucas or Wren (is he even a real doctor?!?!).

I never understood the hostility towards Jenna, because she's never done anything against them - the same reason I don't understand why they are so scared of her. I think when Sidney asked Hanna all those questions, she realise that she actually didn't have anything against Jenna and that it was Alison who demanded the girls to be hostile towards her. But yes, an apology is long over due.

I'm also terribly sorry for this long post. I over analyse way too much and get drifted away easily.

I found the interview where Marlene King talks about the time jump and confirms that the timeline is as messed up as we believed it to be: www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/27prs2/i_am_writer_director_and_producer_marlene_king/

It's funny. The FBI were investigating way back in season one and left and never came back once they concluded that Toby murdered Alison. The only reason why the state police became involved in season four is because Wilden was a cop, and now that Alison returned and another citizen of Rosewood is dead they have more reasons to stay. I love how neither Detective Holbrook nor Lieutenant Tanner are completely clueless and actually have their suspicions.

Perhaps there's more to her story and she hasn't completely filled the girls in? I wish the girls would actually ask her questions, even if a definite answer isn't guaranteed. They don't even try. Where did the scar come from? Who is 'beach hottie'? Who is the guy who she thought that got her pregnant and was so afraid of? I also think that one of the reasons she lied to the police, besides Mona's text, is to give herself an alibi. I'm glad that she was caught on one of Ezra's security cameras, though.

I also think it's weird that Alison chose Noel to help her out. Those two didn't exactly have a peachy relationship. In season one it was revealed that she ruined his relationship with a girl he liked. It's also not clear where his loyalties lie. I wish that he'd appear more on the show, but the writers admitted that they don't have any storylines planned for him.

Aria's relationship with Alison is interesting. In the flashbacks we are shown that she didn't mind that Ali was bullying certain people. The only time she told Ali off was when the latter was bullying Hanna. She was laughing when they both ran away from Mona. Alison also managed to persuade Noel into inviting Aria to one his parties and she knew that Aria liked him, however, Aria still seems to be the least closest to Alison? Back when Ali was visiting the girls in their dreams, she told Spencer, Emily and Hanna what she loved about them and that she misses them - not with Aria, though. After Aria moved back to Rosewood from Iceland, she was the first person to realise that Alison was a horrible person and prior to the A drama she was done with Alison and the girls. She wasn't completely oblivious to Ali's lies and was the first person to be able to sympathise with Jenna. (Why is Aria the only one interacting with her?)
I think Aria has always been particularly outspoken? If she doesn't like something or his unhappy, she doesn't keep her mouth shut...for the most part. She was the first person to tell Ali off after the latter's return. I think this is the first time we get to see her shine because she was previously so wrapped up with Ezra that the audience never got so see her kick some serious butt. Also agreed on how about both are much tolerable when apart.

Right now it looks as if both Aria and Spencer are actively avoiding Alison. Spencer always shines in the B seasons, though.

I think the thing about Mona's mental illness is that it was never really confirmed despite the probability lying in that direction. I think in season three there was this episode were either Toby or Mona (I don't remember) thanked Doctor Sullivan. It came off as if she was blackmailed into giving Mona that diagnosis and thus avoiding prison. But we know that Mona was one of her patients before and in the scene where she confronted Ali, it looked as if she was convincing herself that things are getting better. Thinking about it, her vendetta does make sense. I just wish that they would elaborate a bit more on their shared history. I understand why Jenna and Melissa are part of Mona's Army, though. The others? Not so much.

I think they try to make Melissa a more sympathetic character this season? She was very apologetic in the last episode and keeps on insisting that protecting Spencer was always her primary goal. (Funny, that's the same thing Garrett said before he was killed off.) I really hope that she's not the character who bites the dust this season. The writers tend to kill off characters who display a bit sympathy. There's so much more to explore about her.
I noticed the parallels between Mona and Spencer. I find it fascinating that the writers have never touched on that. From what we've seen Spencer tends to grossly underestimate Mona and then latter puts her into the right place. Really, the only character who noticed those similarities is Mona herself. Why else was she so desperate to recruit Spencer for the A team? I liked the idea of Mona being the fifth liar, because that would have meant that both of them would work together and solve the mystery. But, nope, the storyline was dropped like a hot potato.

If anything the show does a fantastic job with portraying Jenna as a very unlikable character. Jenna is devastated about Shana's death? Make her part of Mona's Army while doing shady stuff with swimmy! Jenna wants to let Toby know that she's still cares about him? Emily blows her totally off! Jenna can see again? Oh em gee, she's totally A!
I like how Jenna's more of a morally grey character and neither a saint nor the devil himself. They definitely need to explore her and Mona a lot better. I'm also desperately waiting for a confrontation with Alison. Same with Melissa.

Oh, okay, that's cool, then. There's a lot to discuss about this show, but most people I've met are just into 'Ezria' and 'Emison' and avoid somewhat serious debates.