Teen drama Pretty Little Liars proved to be a massive hit among fans, running for a successful 7 years. The show followed the lives of four teenage girls, who are brought together after their friend goes missing and they begin to receive threatening texts from ‘A’.
However, ‘A’ is not the only person the Liars should have been worried about as they seem to find enemies lurking in every corner. Yet, their motives were not always clear. From the family rivalries to the revelation of Big A, here are 5 of the best rivalries as well as 5 that made no sense.
Best: Melissa & Spencer
Are you even sisters if there isn’t a friendly competition between you now and then? Of course. However, this didn’t apply to the Hastings children as Spencer and Melissa’s relationship hit a new low when they were involved in two love triangles.
The first including Ian Thomas - Rosewood High’s field hockey coach. The second being Wren Kingston, Melissa’s ex-fiancé, who was also a doctor. The siblings fell out both times after it was revealed that Spencer kissed the two men whilst they were dating Melissa. At least this ended on a happier note.
No Sense: Ezra & The Liars
One of the most far-fetched storylines in the history of Pretty Little Liars had to be Ezra’s sinister storyline. In season 4, fans were shocked to see a darker side to the English teacher as he lashed out after the Liars found out his secret (creepy) lair.
It turned out that Ezra had been writing a true crime story about Alison and was using Aria and her friends to get more information. This then made the controversial romance between Aria and himself even more inappropriate when the English teacher revealed he knew of her identity the whole time. Still, he was acting this sketchy…over a book?
Best: Alison & Paige
Of course, there was going to be a rivalry between Alison and Paige. The two had never seen eye-to-eye, even after Alison returned from the dead. Their conflict first began after Alison relentlessly tormented Paige for her crush on Emily, often referring to her by the name “pigskin”.
The rivalry became even more estranged when a love triangle formed between Paige-Emily-Alison. Eventually, the two reached a stalemate in season 7 when Paige left Rosewood, satisfied that Alison had changed and Emily would be with someone who truly loved her.
No Sense: The DiLaurentis & Hastings Family
Do you believe the family feud in Romeo & Juliet was bad? That’s nothing compared to the DiLaurentis/Hastings rivalry that was ingrained throughout the series. Beginning after Peter and Jessica’s affair resulted in the birth of Jason Dilaurentis, the infidelity hung over both families like a dark cloud.
The Hastings family argued when Melissa and Jason kissed. Spencer and Alison would come to blows because of their differentiating personalities. Let’s not forget the icing on the cake when it was further revealed that Spencer was Jason’s half-sister and cousin after their father had an affair with Mary Drake. Who knows why it took 7 years for this truth to come out, considering Alison knew well before she disappeared.
Best: Darren Wilden & The Liars
The rivalry between Detective Wilden and The Liars was instrumental to the plot at the beginning of the series. Wilden was the primary detective on Alison’s case, interrogating the girls about her disappearance and going as far as to accuse them of murder. Funnily enough, Wilden knew Alison was alive the whole time which made his motive to frame the Liars for murder suspicious.
The corrupt cop became even more sinister when he tried numerous times to kill the Liars - including Aria and Spencer when they were on the Ghost Train. Maybe this was because Big ‘A’ was blackmailing him over being Beach Hottie or because of his corrupt nature, but Wilden did whatever he needed to ensure his secrets didn’t get exposed.
No Sense: Sara Harvey & The Liars
One of the most pointless characters on Pretty Little Liars has to be Sara Harvey. Introduced in season 6 when the Liars were kidnapped by A, Sara appeared to have Stockholm Syndrome. She is later befriended and dates Emily, who bonds with the teen after helping the teen readjust to society.
However, it is soon revealed that Sara was also working for the new A, claiming herself to be Red Coat and The Black Widow. The Liars are then forced to run to Radley Sanatorium to stop her from setting off a bomb, with Emily punching her in the process. This rivalry soon ended when she was killed by Noel.
Best: Jenna & The Liars
Out of all the people in Rosewood, there was only one person who deserved to hold a grudge against the Liars and that was Jenna. Especially since the teens all agreed to keep Alison’s secret when her stink bomb caused an explosion that inadvertently made her go blind.
In return, Jenna decided to join many alliances with other residents, designed to take down the Liars. At first, Jenna was seen to have ties to the N.A.T. Club and later, she eventually became the leader of “The Alliance”. Both groups were tasked to torture Alison and torment the Liars. It seemed like a never-ending cycle.
No Sense: Alex & Spencer
For 7 years, fans waited to find out the identity of the elusive “A”. However, the revelation in the final series had to be the most disappointing of all. Especially when the fans were forced to accept that Spencer had a twin sister, who was now coming to steal her identity.
It would have made sense if they didn’t crowbar it all into the final episodes of season 7. In “Til Death Do Us Part”, Alex kidnaps Spencer and tells her sister her origin story. She also reveals how she murdered Wren when he tried to stop her from coming to Rosewood to steal Spencer’s life. It was just a shame that this was the last big twist.
Best: Mona & The Liars
Of course, the best rivalry on the show belongs to Mona and the Liars - it was the conflict that had us hooked from the beginning. For two seasons, fans watched as the group received anonymous and threatening texts from the elusive “A”. The perpetrator made life hard for everyone, blackmailing several people into doing their bidding.
However, it is revealed in the season 2 finale that ‘A’ was Mona. Mona tells Spencer that she wanted revenge on the group for stealing Hanna’s friendship from her. The shadiest move she ever made was to convince Alison to leave town and fake her death so ‘A’ wouldn’t get her. Her goal was to split their group up and it almost worked. You’ll never find another character who was perfect for the role of ‘A’.
No Sense: CeCe & The Liars
Fans were not happy when the writers named CeCe Drake as the new ‘A’ - especially as she never had any close ties to the Liars in the first place. When fans were introduced to Charlotte, she said she was Alison’s close friend. Occasionally, she would help the Liars on their quests but would raise suspicion when she would disappear without notice.
Turned out that CeCe had an agenda of her own when season 5 revealed that she was the tormentor of Rosewood. She planned to torment the Liars after Mona said the teens were pleased about Alison’s death. She then upped the ante when she kidnapped the group and framed Alison for Mona’s murder. Charlotte was going to restart the game after she got out of Radley but couldn’t as she was murdered. To this day, fans are still disappointed with her reveal as Big A since her motives didn’t seem justified enough to warrant a revenge quest on the Liars.
