Pretty Little Liars Team Answers 5 Burning Questions From the Perfectionists Series Premiere
Pretty Little Liars‘ new spinoff may not take place in Rosewood, but after the events of Wednesday’s series premiere, we still feel like we’re in familiar territory. Between the faked death, the steamy secrets and the existence of an all-knowing entity, The Perfectionists is giving PLL junkies the dramatic fix they’ve craved since the original series ended nearly two years ago.
But with drama comes questions, some of which showrunner Marlene King and actress Hayley Erin (aka Taylor!) were able to answer during TVLine’s recent visit to the Perfectionists set in Portland, Ore.:
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1. What happened to “Emison”? | “We’ll explore that a little more,” King says of Alison and Emily’s relationship, admitting that she struggled to come up with a reason why the fan-favorite couple would call it quits. “When we left them, they were so happy. What would truly break them apart? When we looked back at the show, the one thing they always bumped up against was trust.” It wasn’t an easy decision, but since “we only had one member of that couple to bring to this show,” it was necessary.
2. How did Mona lose the Drakes? | Though she doesn’t mention them by name, Mona implies in the premiere that Mary and Alex Drake “escaped” her Parisian dollhouse, which is a story King hopes to tell in full. “It’s not something you’re going to see right away, but as we get to breathe a little bit more and slow down the story, I’d love to see that be its own standalone episode.”
3. Is Beacon Guard the new “A”? | “By the end of the first 10 episodes, a new ‘A’-ish being comes to light,” King says. “I feel like you can’t have ‘Pretty Little Liars’ in your title without having some sort of Big Bad that has this all-knowing presence. There’s an element of Beacon Guard that’s tied to the Big Bad of this show, which is all I’ll say for now.”
4. What’s next for Taylor? | Claire Hotchkiss’ daughter may be dead to the world, but like all presumed-dead characters in the PLL-verse, she won’t stay that way forever. “Someone eventually figures it out and finds her and tries to convince her that she can reintegrate,” Hayley Erin says. “Even when you think you know Taylor’s secrets, there are secrets beneath those secrets. That’s what makes her really dangerous. You don’t know if you can trust her.”
5. How will the mystery unfold? | King won’t say who’s responsible for Nolan’s death (duh!), but she promises it’ll play out in true PLL style: “Nolan won’t be in every episode, like to the extent that Alison was around, but we do keep his character close.” In the meantime, his death will affect the relationships of those closest to him, even more than they may realize. “We’re going to explore life without Nolan. Will everyone be friends now that he’s gone? Because he really didn’t want them to be friends. We talk about that in the next few episodes.”
What are your biggest questions from Wednesday’s premiere? Grade the spinoff via our poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts.
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