There wasn’t anything similar on TV when Pretty Little Liars aired back in 2010, which is why it looked engrossing especially to those who like mystery-slasher genre.
It had mixed elements from movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream, and Jawbreakers while maintaining the YA vibe. Although it become convoluted down the road, the first few seasons I saw were good.
Fast forward 12 years (and two spin-offs) later, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin premieres on HBO. I would have been completely oblivious to this (mainly because the premise isn’t appealing at all) had I not seen somewhere that Lea Salonga would be part of the cast.
So I watched.
The latest spin-off follows (another) group of girls (Imogen, Tabby, Mouse, Noa, and Faran) and their not-so-harrowing ordeal in the hands of an anonymous tormenter who goes by the name of “A”.
These protagonists don’t start out as friends. Their mothers, however, used to hang out during high-school–a fact that these young ladies didn’t know initially, along with other secrets they’re soon to discover.
Lea Salonga plays Elodie Honrada, mom of Mouse, and one of the former bullies of Angela Waters, the object of the unknown tormentor’s revenge plot.
I was hoping to see more airtime for our kababayan since the storyline revolves around a dark secret involving their younger characters. While she (and the rest of the moms) had enough screen time to establish their characters, it felt like we could use more.
The premise had a huge potential to become this extremely terrifying story especially since there are two layers: the dark secrets of the past that evidently had ramifications to their relationships with their daughters and the horror and trauma introduced to their daughters who have absolutely no idea what’s going on.
These are enough to create a tension so intense jump scares won’t be necessary to elicit shrieks. (Jump scare was utilized so much in this season that it sometimes made things very predictable).
Imagine the internal turmoil these petrified ladies would have had had this been further fleshed out–enough to make for spine-chilling episodes. The jump scares would then serve as reinforcements.
Sadly, not enough time was given to this. We spent more time watching Imogen and Tabby on a whodunnit journey it felt more like a Nancy Drew case file.
The few deaths weren’t even that impactful; there was one that didn’t feel like it helped push the material forward.
However, what’s notable in the series’ first season is the extreme thought and care that went to ensuring the show addresses societal issues properly: sexual abuse, substance abuse, domestic violence, bullying, and suicide.
The ensemble cast, from the veterans to the younger actors, is impressive. What little fright I’ve felt throughout the series can be attributed to the collective performance.
The material has a lot of promise, but somehow, despite the great cast and a commendable technical aspect, something’s missing that caused it to not come close to being terrifying.
And that’s what disappoints. This series could’ve been frightening; I was hoping it was frightening.
Obviously, there’s a second season, based on the last scene. Let’s hope it fares better.
The only win for me here is seeing Lea Salonga.
