Following the premiere of the first two episodes of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School, the show’s cast and creators explained why they reversed a decision from the finale of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, which involved original PLL characters Aria (played by Lucy Hale) and Ezra (Ian Harding).
In the first season’s finale of the new Pretty Little Liars spinoff, it was revealed that Aria and Ezra would be adopting Imogen’s (Bailee Madison) baby.
However, fans were *not* happy to the tieback to the original series.
ICYMI, in the original series the couple met when Aria was underage, just 16, and began dating while Ezra was her high school teacher. Despite their illegal and extremely, well, gross, relationship, the two end up together in the series and even got married.
Following the backlash, the reboot writers and creators rewrote the easter egg with one comment from Imogen, explaining to therapist Dr. Sullivan that she opted for a gay couple in town instead. Her reason? Imogen quips: “Because I got a weird vibe from that Ezra dude.”
In an interview with Teen Vogue, Bailee revealed why it was important to change the plot point.
“[Fans] were [critical], for sure,” Bailee said of the finale. “You know, here’s the thing: I think you can always go into something with a really pure intention, and I think we would also be kidding ourselves if we didn’t acknowledge that they did end up together and they’re happy. I did like them together at the end of the [show]. But you take the response, and we’re just excited to then be like, ‘We can hear you. We are listening, and here’s the little nod that we’ve got you. Loud and clear, message received, and here’s a little joke to kind of button it off.’ I’m honestly pretty happy about it because it’s given me a really fun storyline to get to play with now that the baby has gone to these adoptive parents.”
Maia Reficco, who plays Noa, also told the outlet it’s nice that “as a show, we’re taking that into our own hands and steering in the right direction. I think people are going to like the way that plays out because it was a necessary turn.”
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