Season Analysis

Pretty Little Liars

Season 7 Analysis

Season Woke Score

out of 10

Season Overview

After Hanna's shocking abduction by "Uber A", the PLLs and company desperately race against the clock to save one of their own. The only way to do this is by handing over evidence of Charlotte's real murderer to "Uber A". In order to do so, the girls must decide what blatant lines they are willing to cross that they have never breached before; and once they cross that line, there is no turning back.

Season Review

Season 7 concludes the long-running psychological thriller by pushing the protagonists to new moral extremes in a desperate attempt to end their torment. The narrative's central pillar remains the enduring power of female friendship, which is consistently framed as the only stable, competent, and ethical force in the girls' lives. The town's governing structures, including the police and parental figures, are largely depicted as either malicious, corrupt, or too incompetent to solve the core mystery. A major same-sex relationship is central to the plot and is granted celebrated, aspirational closure that culminates in the formation of a non-traditional family unit. The story's focus on a murder cover-up and subsequent blackmail drives a strong theme of pragmatic moral relativism, where situational ethics supersede objective truth. The plot structure continually positions the capable female leads against male supporting characters who are either peripheral to the action or actively portrayed as toxic and weak.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics3/10

The narrative focuses on a psychological mystery and the bond of friendship rather than an explicit commentary on race or intersectional hierarchy. The main conflict is driven by personal history and shared trauma, not a lecture on systemic privilege.

Oikophobia8/10

Rosewood and its core institutions, including the police and the girls' families, are consistently depicted as fundamentally corrupt, incompetent, and abusive systems that are the source of the protagonists' ongoing chaos and trauma. The community is framed as hostile, forcing the heroes to operate entirely outside its failed structure.

Feminism7/10

The main female characters are central, proactive, and successful in driving the mystery forward. Male characters are frequently portrayed as incompetent detectives, peripheral love interests, or the source of harm (predatory teachers, manipulative fathers, or the ultimate villain A.D.), establishing a strong dynamic of capable women and flawed, toxic men.

LGBTQ+8/10

One of the main protagonists is a lesbian whose long-running same-sex relationship is given a prominent, celebratory, and definitive 'happily ever after' resolution. The couple forms a committed, non-traditional nuclear family unit with children, explicitly centering and normalizing an alternative sexuality as a foundational, aspirational structure.

Anti-Theism6/10

The plot's focus on the protagonists covering up a murder and engaging in high-stakes blackmail necessitates operating entirely within a framework of subjective morality. The story treats legal and moral lines as negotiable when faced with self-preservation and protecting one's friends, embracing moral relativism as the primary guide for character action.