The Destruction of Ezra's Character - Redeeming Ezra and Reuniting Ezria
Dear Marlene King and the PLL Writers:
As you may know, I’ve been a loyal PLL and Ezria fan since the pilot. I’ve enjoyed tweeting with you and the cast/crew since early 2011. This show and fandom, especially Ezria, has gotten me through some extremely challenging times in my life. I have such admiration for your mind and writing and I hope to find that success one day. That being said, I don’t want you to see this letter as an attack. It’s meant to be purely constructive and I hope you have the time to read and consider.
Recently, my job as Captain of the Ezria Ship has become rather difficult—partially because I don’t know what I’m supporting anymore. However, Ezria mean a lot to me and I’m not ready to surrender. I think (and truly hope) you plan on redeeming Ezra and reconnecting Ezria, but I really want you to know what you’re fighting against. You’ve done a lot of damage to Ezria’s relationship, possibly more than you’re aware of.
We've heard several stories behind why you hired Ian Harding to play Ezra. You wanted to find someone who wasn't creepy. You wanted to portray this relationship and LOVE STORY as GENUINE. Which means you knew how fragile it was, and yet you seemed to forget that this season.
In my opinion, here are three instances where you went wrong:
1. Ezra knew who Aria was when they met. People are now labeling him a “pedophile” for hooking up with a teenage girl. (His relationship with Alison, brief or not, does not help this.)
2. Ezra’s language towards Aria in the first episodes of 4B can be considered manipulative. Ezra has NEVER acted like this in three and a half seasons. He always put Aria first and allowed her to make her own decisions. The relationship was UP TO HER. Unfortunately, because of seven episodes, many now see him as emotionally abusive.
3. Spying on the girls for a novel? That's just horribly wrong and extremely creepy and you owe us a huge explanation for that one. He needs to be another, more noble, motive behind it. Why was he doing that?
I understand the complexity of Ezra’s behavior and his desperation when he thought he was going to lose Aria. Ezra’s behavior is also explained with the novel. But just because you can EXPLAIN something, doesn’t mean you can JUSTIFY it. Ezra may redeem himself in an epic way, but is it enough?
No, it’s not. You need to do more than that.
Ezria have lost so many fans during 4B and I am constantly bullied for supporting them, as if I’m supporting Justin Bieber’s recent shenanigans. So, when you go into season five, PLEASE take this into consideration. PLEASE understand that there is a large population of fans—including Ezria fans—who see this relationship as abusive. I cannot condone that behavior and it would be a shame to see this beautiful relationship become toxic because of a few episodes that were only meant to trick the audience into thinking Ezra was A. You need to tread carefully through this. You meticulously handled the controversial nature of Aria and Ezra’s relationship in season one. You did it once and I have faith that you can do it again.
If Ezra really loved Aria, why would he continue writing the book after they broke up? Why would he deceive and spy on them? The only explanation I can contrive is that he couldn’t tolerate NOT being able to help her (like when she was being called a slut in 306.) Maybe, perhaps, he thought that by figuring out who A was, he could ultimately help Aria and her friends abandon some of the pain they’ve been experiencing. But this wasn’t explained, so everyone still believes it was purely selfish. PLEASE have him explain this.
I think we can both agree that we want Ezria go down in history as this beautiful relationship and not what people are labeling them right now. (Pedophilia, abusive, toxic.) Remember what Ezra said in episode 1x13? “Even though this doesn’t look right, it has always felt right, and I will not let him turn this into something that feels wrong.”
Please make it feel right again.
Let me know your thoughts.
Thank you,
Lyndz (on behalf of Ezria fans)
P.S. Please don’t give Aria another love interest in season 5 while she reconnects with Ezra. I think it’s time for some compensation for this heartbreak. And she's allowed to be single for once in her life, too.
Comment