'Pretty Little Liars Original Sin' Recap Ahead of 'Summer School'

Editor's Note: The below contains spoilers for Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin

The Big Picture

• Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin breaks the single-season curse of previous spin-offs.
• The new liars face personal traumas and a chilling mystery orchestrated by a new "A."
• The mothers' past sins haunt the new liars, leading to a thrilling season full of twists and revelations.

Somewhat quietly, Pretty Little Liars has become a robust small-screen media franchise that started with the loose adaptation of Sara Shepard’s book series and now has three spin-offs under its belt. While Ravenswood and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists were short-lived attempts to tell stories set in the Liar’s universe, 2022’s Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin proved the formula can still be reinvigorated. Developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Lindsay Calhoon Bring, the spin-off was well-received by audiences, with Max renewing it for a second season, titled Pretty Little Liars: Summer School.

The Ravenswood spin-off debuted while the original series was still on the air; with its spooky twist and focus on Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) moving to Rosewood’s sister town, it had potential, but following its 10-episode run, the show was canceled. Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists tried to tackle a new mystery with Alison (Sasha Pieterse) and Mona (Janel Parrish) as main characters, but the show didn’t go further than its initial 10 episodes, either. With its second season debuting on May 9, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sinbroke that single-season curse. Having fewer connections with Pretty Little Liars than the other spin-offs, the show focuses on a years-long mystery that brings together an unlikely group of girls. Prior to the second season, let's get a quick refresh of the brilliant first season to remind us why this new iteration of the franchise works.

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin

An intense mystery drama that introduces a new generation of characters facing the haunting legacy of their predecessors in Millwood. A group of teenage girls find themselves targeted by "A," an enigmatic antagonist who knows their darkest secrets and forces them to confront the hidden sins of their parents. As they struggle to uncover the truth and protect each other, the series delves into the complexities of their friendships, the impact of past actions, and the pervasive influence of secrets.

The New Liars Are Worthy Successors of the Originals

The new group of liars in Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin starts as a ragtag bunch of girls who are placed in detention together, as soon-to-be single mother, Imogen (Bailee Madison), woke cinephile, Tabby (Chandler Kinney), perfectionist ballerina, Faran (Zaria), parolee, Noa (Maia Reficco), and geeky-but-fierce Mouse (Malia Pyles) share the torment of being stalked by a mysterious hooded figure and receiving cryptic messages from someone called "A." Believing this to be a ploy of Karen (Mallory Bechtel), the insufferable queen bee of Millwood High, they agree to take revenge on her. This backfires terribly, though, because when Karen tries to retaliate, she ends up being murdered by the hooded figure that’s haunting the girls.

When the stories of the girls start to unravel, their bond deepens by making clear that all of them are fighters and survivors in their own right. Imogen is coping with the trauma of seeing her mother take her own life, while Tabby gets through the predatory attitudes of the men that surround her. Faran discovers that her mother authorized back surgery on her that she didn’t even need to have, and Noa has just been released from juvenile detention after her own mother let her take the fall for the drugs she owned. Mouse struggles with the trauma of having almost been kidnapped when she was little, and even Karen’s twin sister, Kelly (Bechtel), survives the shadow of her identical sibling and their abusive father.

A New Mystery Engulfs the Lives of the Liars in 'Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin'

As if the girls didn’t have enough on their plates with their own dramas, A arrives to make their lives horrific and even more chaotic. The messages and clues that A leaves for the girls lead them to discover information about Angela Waters (Gabriella Pizzolo), a girl who committed suicide at a New Year’s Eve party in 1999. Clueless about how or why this relates to them, they become determined to discover A’s identity and what drove Angela to such lengths.

This brings forth the essence of the original Pretty Little Liars: keeping secrets from parents and police, recklessly investigating dangerous people and places, and suspecting everyone around them. Plus, this new version of A is more of a Michael Myers-type of presence that transforms this spin-off into a true horror experience. The character's ruthless killings and ability to be everywhere create a chilling atmosphere that elevates the stakes of the franchise.

‘Pretty Little Liars: Summer School’ Trailer Teases a Sun-Soaked Nightmare

The Max spin-off returns this May.

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin doesn’t shy away from tackling more serious and mature issues. One of the season-long arcs involves Imogen and Tabby coming to terms with the fact that they were sexually abused prior to the series’ start. Both of them experience trauma in their own ways, and their journey takes them through realization, anger, doubt, and sadness, but always having the support of their friends and family.

The Mothers Are the Real Villains in ‘Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin’

The complex web of lies weaved by the previous generation of liars—the mothers of the girls—comes around to torment them years later. A is revealed to be Archie, Angela’s twin brother, who is commanded by none other than Marshall Clanton (Robert Stanton), the school’s principal. Unbeknownst to the mothers, Clanton was Angela’s father. Wanting to get revenge against them, he started stalking and tormenting their daughters with the ultimate endgame of making them pay for what they did to Angela. Throughout the season, the new liars uncover clues while their mothers try to steer them away from getting too involved. In the final episode, Clanton manages to kidnap all of them, with the goal of murdering the four remaining mothers and Imogen.

But what exactly did they do to Angela? Noa’s mother, Marjorie (Elena Goode and Sarah-Anne Martinez), pressured Angela to smoke, and after getting caught, made her take the blame, while Faran’s mother, Corey (Zakiya Young and Kristian Mosley), took Angela to get matching tattoos but left her at the parlor and never got one. Mouse’s mother, Elodie (Lea Salonga and Emily Bautista), was in a secret relationship with Angela but denied everything after they were discovered. Lastly, Imogen’s mother, Davie (Carly Pope and Ava DeMary), was the group's queen bee and horrible mastermind behind Angela's bullying and eventual shunning after claiming she had been sexually abused by Davie’s boyfriend, Tom (Eric Johnson).These revelations make it clear that the girls’ mothers' actions did contribute to Angela taking her life. Ultimately, Clanton’s plan is unsuccessful, and the girls and their mothers live to see another day. Archie and Tom end up in jail, but the first manages to escape after killing the latter.

Weaving the girls and their mothers' stories together truly shows that people can evolve and change, and the show also excels in creating a chilling atmosphere in the decrepit-looking town of Millwood. It’s a delight to watch these girls meet and bond throughout the show, contrary to the original liars, who were already a tight group and whose friendship was tested at every turn. These contrasts seem to be the right formula for the franchise’s future, but for now, we'll get to enjoy the newest season, Summer School, which already has stellar reviews ahead of its release.

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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