Alison DiLaurentis
| Alison Lauren Dilaurentis | |
|---|---|
| Pretty Little Liars character | |
 Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis. | |
| First appearance | "Pilot" (episode 1.01)[1] |
| Created by | Sara Shepard |
| Portrayed by | Sasha Pieterse Isabella Rice (child) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Vivian Darkbloom Red Coat (disguise) Marnie Winter Rebecca Kelly Holly Varjak |
| Nickname | Ali Ali D. Queen Bee Queen of Mean |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | High school teacher |
| Family | Kenneth DiLaurentis (father) Jessica DiLaurentis (mother) Charlotte DiLaurentis (sister) Jason DiLaurentis (half-brother) |
| Spouse | Mr. Rollins |
| Relatives | Grandma D. (grandmother) Carol Ward (aunt) |
| Residence | Rosewood, Pennsylvania |
Alison Lauren "Ali" DiLaurentis is a fictional character in the Pretty Little Liars book series by Sara Shepard, and in the ABC Family television series adaption. She is portrayed by Sasha Pieterse in the television series.
Throughout the first three seasons of the television series, Ali mostly appears in flash backs and hallucinations. The character of Ali plays a more prominent role from season 4 onwards.[2] Alison has an alter ego named "Vivian Darkbloom" whom she uses to spy on "A."
Casting
The Hollywood Reporter noted that Sasha Pieterse along with Torrey DeVitto landed recurring roles in the pilot which The Alloy website later confirmed that Pieterse would be playing Alison DiLaurentis.[3]
Development
Characterization
Alison was the former "Queen Bee" of her clique and the most popular girl in school before her disappearance and death. Although she cared for her friends, she enjoyed using their strongest secrets against them to keep them together. Charming and manipulative, Alison was skilled at finding ways to get back at everyone, and many people hated her.[4] She knew everybody's secrets, but since she's been gone her friends are beginning to realize they actually knew nothing deep about her.[4]
Sasha Pieterse (the actress that portrays Alison DiLaurentis) confirmed that Alison's character and personality have drastically changed; Ali has to "figure out who she is. She's been hiding for so long, and she's a victim now".[5] "Alison's a totally different person, so to see the way they treat her is going to be very interesting and to see the way that she gets affected by it is also going to be very interesting," Pieterse says.[6] I. Marlene King, the creator of the show, confirmed that Alison is an "outsider" in her own group and that really is thematically; she also said "The girls are talking about something very light and simple and Alison can't relate to it because it's not the world she's been living in".[7]
Relationships
In an effort to escape “A” for a little while, Alison headed to Hilton Head with Ian. But their weekend rendezvous was ruined when Melissa showed up, angry for Ian’s betrayal with Alison.[8] Overhearing Ian’s conversation and reconciliation with Melissa, Alison chose to escape through the balcony, but not before stealing some files off of Ian’s computer.[8] Besides a video of her, the Alis discovered a video labeled “Jenna & Toby.” “There's nothing wrong with us,” Jenna says in the video as she wraps her arms around Toby. “We’re not even related.” Before her disappearance Ali and Ian met up at the "Kissing Rock" in which she said, after hooking up with Ian, “This is just me killing time while I’m waiting for something better to come along … You and Melissa deserve each other. She’s such a bitch.” Alison threatens to send him to jail if he or Melissa doesn’t stop with the threatening messages, leaving Ian to stalk off.[8] Signing the end of the relationship.
Alison has been romantically linked with Ezra Fitz.[8] Ezra became fascinated with her after meeting her at a pub near Hollis, and while the pair didn’t have a sexual relationship, Ezra was set on writing a book about her.[8] On the night of her disappearance, Ezra pulled up unexpected, confronting her about her lies. Turns out Alison told him that she was a 21-year-old student at UPenn and roommates with CeCe. “God help me, Alison, I actually like you,” he told her. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”[8]
In Season 6, Alison befriends Toby's new partner on the police force. Alison quickly takes an interest in Lorenzo. Lorenzo agrees to protect her, and asks her to be in a relationship with her. She agrees, but the relationship is later rejected by her father. They breakup when Alison goes behind Lorenzo's back, and uses his key card to sneak into the police station and look through confidential items. Alison is heartbroken, but Lorenzo is persuaded by Spencer to take Alison to the prom. He agrees, but does not get to meet her there, due to Alison and Charles meeting for the first time.
Five years later, Alison marries a man with the last name Rollins.
Rivalries and friendships
Alison is known for her rivalries with Jenna Marshall, Mona Vanderwaal, Toby Cavanaugh, Byron Montgomery, Melissa Hastings, Paige McCullers and often with friend Spencer Hastings.[9][10] Alison originally offered Jenna to join her clique, but was rejected leading Alison and The Liars to blinding Jenna, which later became known as "The Jenna Thing".[9][10][11] Alison is known to be cruel as she bullied Mona Vanderwaal leading her to become obsessed with, stalk and cyberbully Alison leading her to become "A".[1][10] Alison became enraged with Toby Cavanaugh when he kicked her out of his house leading Alison to blackmailing Toby to take the blame for "The Jenna Thing", though he would later thank her due to Jenna wanting to have a sexual relationship with him.[9][10] Alison would take the opportunity to blackmail Aria's father, Byron Montgomery, after seeing him cheat on Aria's mother, desperate to keep Ali from telling Ella the truth, Bryon paid Alison to keep quiet.[10] Spencer's sister Melissa became enraged with Ali after finding out Ian was cheating on her with Alison, Melissa was also in Ali's bedroom the night she "died" as well as joining Mona's army against Alison.[10]
Disappearance
After recalling her many false “A” accusations (first Jenna, then Toby, then every member of the PLLs), Alison revealed what actually happened the night she went missing, including all the people she encountered along the way.[10] It was eventually revealed how she was buried, after Ali was hit over the head by her sister, Charlotte, who thought it was Bethany Young. Mrs. DiLaurentis, whom saw the whole thing, buried her alive in order to cover for Charlotte.[10] The night Alison disappeared, Aria, Hanna and Emily later wake up from their sleep and realize Spencer and Ali are both missing.[1] Spencer then returns to tell the other girls that she looked for Ali everywhere and thinks she heard her scream.[1] After Carla Grunwald pulled Ali out of the ground, Ali eventually ran off where she was found by Mona. That’s when Mona concocted the whole plan for Ali to “die” in order to unmask “A.”[10] Following this, the girls narrowly escaped a masked assailant; unfortunately, Ezra was shot while trying to save the girls.[10][a]
Return in Rosewood
Alison returns to Rosewood in Season 5, after the police discover she's alive. However, Alison ends up in prison, after Mona, who claimed to have proof that Alison was "A", is supposedly murdered by a blonde.[6] Alison's charges are eventually dropped after the police discover Mona is actually being held captive by "A", who is revealed to be Alison's older brother Charles. Charles is later discovered to have transitioned into a female, CeCe Drake.
Reception
Following the events of "A is for Answers, Autumne Montague of TVOvermind lauded Pieterse’s character for her self-awareness in having admitted to not be a good friend, calling it "refreshing from a girl who in flashbacks seemed simply self-absorbed." [12]
Notes
- ^ Mona Vanderwaal, CeCe Drake and Shana knew Alison was still alive after her disappearance.
References
- ^ a b c d "Pretty Little Liars - Pilot". ABC Family. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- ^ Burt, Kayti. "Pretty Little Liars Season 4 Spoilers: More Sasha Pieterse, Anyone?". Wetpaint. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ "Pretty Little Liars on TV!". Alloy Entertainment. January 28, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
- ^ a b Pieterse, Sasha. "Alison Dilaurentis by Sasah Pieterse - ABC Family". ABCFamily. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Wayne, Julia. "Sasha Pieterse and Lucy Hale Talk Ali's Return to Rosewood in Season 5 (VIDEO)". Wet Paint. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
- ^ a b Bently, Jean. "'Pretty Little Liars' Season 5: Ali's return will 'shake Rosewood'". blog zap2it. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
- ^ Reiher, Andrea. "'Pretty Little Liars' Season 5 scoop: Melissa's secret, Jason and Mona as suspects and more with EP Marlene King". Retrieved 5 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Remling, Amanda. "'Pretty Little Liars' Season 4 Spoilers: What Really Happened The Night Alison Went Missing [SEASON FINALE RECAP]". International Business Times. Online Version. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ a b c Lansky, Sam. "Recap Roundup: Episode 1.2, "The Jenna Thing"". Wet Paint. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Swift, Andy. "Pretty Little Liars Season Finale Recap: Shot Through the Heart, But Who's to Blame?". TVLine. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
- ^ Gajewski, Ryan. "Pretty Little Liars Season 2, Episode 13 Recap: Lucas Attacks Alison!". WetPaint. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ Montague, Autumne (March 19, 2014). "Pretty Little Liars 4.24 Review: "A is for Answers"". TVOvermind. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
