@cassmaelou

An open letter to Marlene King, PLL cast/crew, and most importantly, the fans:

gold-flowing:

OK, I admit it, fellow fans – I get your frustration – for a minute I was mad at Cece as A. I was. I was married to my Wilden and Wren theories, with Melissa and Cece as BV/RC. But then I got over my ego and listened to the show. I re-watched the episode after when I was calmer. Cece’s story is heartbreaking. Which we were promised. And it makes sense. It really, really does. 

With Wilden or Wren as A, they’d have been more uber-villains. But Cece is a victim too - of neglect, abuse, and of circumstance, which has led her down this sociopathic path. She’s not inherently evil. And a show that can make you feel bad for its antagonist - and also have the antagonized feel sympathetic - after three years of insane and dark torture (yes, three, because the first two seasons were solely Mona as A - with her A-team, for those of you saying she says “they don’t know what we have planned” before she meets Cece - this wasn’t about her) is genius and sick in its own rite. 

And honestly, Cece is A theories were out there. People suspected her. And then got thrown off. I was one of them. Right after the dollhouse episode, not for the first time I theorized Cece as -A, a trans person who’d formerly been Charles. The flashback with Ali finding two dresses - this was addressed. And was one of my biggest reasons. There were others. Also, if you watch the end of UnmAsked, when Mona is locked in Radley and we hear a voiceover we assume to be her thoughts, saying “those bitches think they’re safe now that loser Mona is locked up. They’ll go home with unlocked windows, etc” it actually sounds like Cece’s voice. Even if she hadn’t met Mona yet, she’d know of her arrival. She’d have heard the whole thing. Radley is a small place. And the liars and Sullivan were right there, discussing what Mona had done. That could have intrigued Cece info going over and joining the game, working with Mona and then stealing it all. The only reason I discounted her and moved on to other theories was that I didn’t think Mar would demonize a trans person, and that Cece dated Jason. But they explained both. (If you think They hurt the trans community by her as -A I think you’re wrong - I think they did it very well and cautiously. She isn’t evil, it’s a statement about human nature and about abuse. But more so this whole show is about how good and evil isn’t black and white, and even our favorites may be a darker shade of gray than we’d want to admit. And we all have the capacity to go there when pushed. That’s what “Charles” shows the girls in the dollhouse with the fake Milgram experiment… They weren’t actually harming one another, but they all thought they were. When pushed, every single one of them was forced to go against the others and they complied). 

And for those mad it “wasn’t climactic” - you were all shocked, even if not in the good way? By both Sara and Cece reveals. I personally liked this format of basically just being talked to by -A and seeing flashbacks to understand the road they’ve been on. Anything else wouldn’t have been able to show us the same amount of answers. I did not like the Sara reveal, I’ll admit, I actually don’t like her whole character… But I’m also glad in a way her annoying existence in the PLL world wasn’t for naught. I’m excited to see how she plays into this and learn more of how she became one with Cece (come on guys, how can you not expect a cliffhanger or two, they need to set up for the next mystery…). I want to see where the other suspects are at though - at least the big ones: Melissa, Wren, Jenna… I still don’t understand the whole character of Sidney to be honest. That arch was much more of a letdown than anything else. 

Regardless of if you all need to cool down or if you won’t ever accept this “ending” (it ain’t over ‘til it’s over, guys); whether you continue watching or not… I’m sick and disgusted with the fandom who has broken the Internet more times than I can keep track of and keep a 2-season show on the air for 7 seasons, that those same incredible fans could turn so quickly just because they’re unhappy or their theories were wrong. Isn’t it fun to be part of this fandom, theorize, make bonds with other fans…? Which is what we’ve all done… (And those saying they couldn’t have theorized this and are mad it wasn’t who everyone thought… The clues were there, but even if not, didn’t we all wanna be shocked despite our incessant theorizing?) 

I started this show at 16 or 17, and at 22 still coming home from my job/college on breaks before I graduated and getting all my old friends together to watch and theorize? It’s been a major part of my social life. It’s kept friendships in tact through six seasons, even when we all moved apart. Even when we couldn’t physically watch it in the same space. And now I get to see the girls do that and be my age and be successful in the time jump… It’s emotional and amazing and I’m so happy this show exists. I’ve never been so involved or invested in anything in pop culture like this fandom… So if not accepting the future, at least treat the show’s cast and crew and creators and Marlene especially (I think you all frequently forget she’s not solo in a room making all this happen) with respect. You all are antagonizing and bullying and being so unforgiving as if this episode was a personal attack - and you’re retaliating by actually personally attacking Mar and crew. It’s sick, it’s wrong, and it’s more disappointing than any plot line or plot hole could ever be. They created this world for us, one we got hyped about and went crazy for and loved seemingly unconditionally. Love her for that and be thankful for all you’ve had because of this show. I know I am - it helped me transition to college and keep in touch, it kept me sharp as I theorized, and it gave me something to be excited about when I was at my lowest points. I had an online community when I felt like I had no one outside. It taught me about redemption and to analyze human nature. It’s been a hell of a ride. But I don’t regret it.

And honestly, those who are saying she should have seen this reaction coming (it doesn’t excuse your rude behavior) and should have gone with the obvious fan favorite theories (but what fun would that have been?), goes against the whole story of -A and the show itself. If you think she should have done something like pick her villain just because of what others wanted, and because she didn’t do that she deserves what she got – it’s like saying that Cece got what she deserved because she wasn’t a “good little boy” who ignored her own identity to be what her father wanted. Because let’s face it - had Cece not been trans, she probably wouldn’t have gotten the extreme reaction from Ken to have her sent away over what he probably knew was an accident. So basically Marlene is Cece in this scenario, just trying to create something she wanted and worked for, and all of you antagonists (who you know she loves and is so thankful for to have made this be the success that it is) are being like Ken, proclaiming her punishment and abuse is deserved. DO YOU REALLY WANNA BE KEN, GUYS? I didn’t think so.

Thanks Marlene for your truly fucked up imagination, and letting us all play in it for all of these years. <3 Here’s to the next chapter.

I hate the way that everyone is acting, but I too am disappointed with the reveal. I will eventually come to terms with it and be excited for the next part of the show. I’m a lot better than I was Tuesday night, and I’m better than I was even last night.

But when you think about it, this is basically the same thing that happened during Ravenswood’s season. Everyone was so upset that Haleb broke up that they couldn’t see the possibility of what the show could become. There were other things that could have been contributed to its downfall (genre, network, etc…), but I was seriously upset that the show basically failed because this fandom (who usually is amazing) completely decided that it wasn’t worth watching based on their favorite ship being broken up.

Theories, ships, whatever, it is the same. They all worked so hard on that show, and let’s face it, everyone (except Tyler Blackburn) lost their job. The fandom was rooting for it to fail. The same gut reactions between the two situations are there.

Between the -A reveal and Ravenswood, is this how we want our fandom to be known for?