Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Episodes 1-2 – Review

17th May 2024

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Episodes 1-2 – Review. By Christopher Patterson.

A New Modern Horror Classic Strikes Gold On Return

It’s back. And it’s summertime. Yes, the new Pretty Little Liars has finally returned with a fun sophomore season, to put it mildly. Simply put, it is not like its previous season, atmosphere-wise. Though that is fine, since we get an emotional drama with in the background a new villain, Bloody Rose, who is not to be played with. Jeepers.

Fun. If a show ever encompassed this emotion, it would be here. For all the horrors that occur, a beautiful element is the sense of family that is felt and built. Each actress here simply embodies their character and gives phenomenal and heartwarming performances.

The cinematography here as well is simply stunning. No shot feels quickly put together; rather, it feels as though hours were dedicated to the smallest of the smallest or even the smallest details. The world feels real yet desolate in the towns gloom that was scattered over the previous season now seems to mostly evaporate with a more happy tone.

New and old are on the rise. This time, not just one, but two, it seems, villains. The antagonist from season one returns, though, their focus seems to be, as it goes on, less apparent for the new villain Bloody Rose to take form.

Help and support. If I had to describe why all these characters are so amazing, it is how they help and support each other and how needed media like this is. Simply put, these leads have each other’s backs. In one scene, not to spoil, but not to be specific, when one character has an emotional moment, instead of, like in most teen or horror media, shaming her or getting mad, they comfort and make her feel valuable. Instead of playing into stereotypes, this show innovates and shows needed perspectives. The main characters here are examples of that.

Compared to the first season, this show feels quite different. Similar horrors, yet different styles. If I had to describe last season, it was a serious drama that only switched into more goofy elements and over-the-topness near the end. Here, the goofiness and fun element takes centre stage. Instead, you have a show that is now slightly comparable to Gilmore Girls. Specifically, in the parts that feature the more mundane side. For all the horror here, there is just an amount of time devoted to characters simply hanging out and having fun. It’s like watching a life or someone just going through life.

Simply put, it is quite enjoyable to see the characters just going through life, and it is much more compelling than even the horror. A show like Gilmore Girls will have characters have normal problems with one another before resolving them, then moving on to another problem to convey mundane life. Like a show you would cut on in the mornings in the 2000s just before a morning job with a coffee in your hand before smiling, feeling great with the blue sky in the air, and moving on with your uneventful yet triumphant day. It is the least significant day yet the most important of all. In this show, it is the memories we see these characters make and the small friendships and bonds they form. It is a heartwarming feeling that you don’t see often anymore or this effectively.

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School so far has pushed boundaries that need to be pushed and tells a great story as well. Timelessness, if I had to be specific, is what this show does so well. Each episode, so far, conveys an unforgettable quality of managing both the heartfelt and the horror and balancing them to make an emotional and grabbing experience. It is a rare and hard trait to find in anything this effectively.

VERDICT

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School is another great season in a series looking to be a future horror classic cluttered with an excellent cast, stunning direction, mesmerising cinematography, and even more clever writing than the previous season to make anyone looking for a new creepy show to watch be frozen in freight.

4.5/5

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