Aria Montgomery
| Aria Montgomery | |
|---|---|
| Pretty Little Liars character | |
|
Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery. | |
| First appearance |
Novel: Pretty Little Liars (2006) Television: "Pilot" (episode 1.01) |
| Last appearance |
Novel: Vicious (2014) |
| Created by | Sara Shepard |
| Portrayed by | Lucy Hale |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Pookie Bear |
| Aliases |
Emily Fields Spencer Hastings Hanna Marin Alison D'Laurentis |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | High school student |
| Family |
Byron Montgomery (father) Ella Montgomery (mother) Mike Montgomery (brother) |
| Significant other(s) |
Ezra Fitz Noel Kahn Jake Andrew Campbell |
| Relatives | Scott Montgomery (uncle) |
| Residence | Rosewood, Pennsylvania |
Aria Montgomery is a fictional character and a central protagonist in the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard. She is portrayed by Lucy Hale in the television adaptation, which premiered on ABC Family in June 2010.[1] The actress was named Choice Summer TV Star: Female at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards and 2011 Teen Choice Awards for her role in the series.[2]
Characterization
In the book series, Aria is described as gorgeous, tall, lean with long blue-black hair, startling ice-blue eyes and an angular face. Aria is artsy and imaginative, has a hipster style, and a passion for knitting and writing. She is also described as Rosewood's 'weird girl'.[3]
On another interview with ClevverTV.com, Lucy Hale said, "She’s like an old soul with an espectacular body and she knows what she wants… she’s very cool, she’s got it put together." While also commenting on her style: "She’s sort of all over the place… she’s the quirkiest one and just put miss-match pieces together and mixes vintage stuff with modern things… very funky… very creative.".[4]
Novels
Aria is one of four primary protagonists in all fourteen of the Pretty Little Liars novels, starting with 2006's Pretty Little Liars. She is the daughter of Byron and Ella Montgomery and has a younger brother, Mike.
Before Pretty Little Liars
Before Alison disappeared, Aria is shown to have a quirky personality and a penchant for knitting. She is best friends with Alison 'Ali' DiLaurentis along with Hanna Marin, Spencer Hastings, and Emily Fields. Like the other girls, Aria and Alison had a secret between them; they witnessed Aria's father, Byron, cheating on her mother with one of his students, Meredith, and he begs Aria not to tell anyone. During the night of the last of 7th grade, while having a sleepover in Spencer's sister Melissa's barn, Alison disappeared. Not long after Alison's disappearance, Aria's father moves his family to Iceland in an attempt to hide the affair from Aria's mother, Ella.
Pretty Little Liars
In the first novel, Aria and her family return from Iceland, moving back into their old house in Rosewood, Pennsylvania. She, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily have grown apart since Alison's disappearance. Since the three year jump, Aria has now blossomed into a beautiful and confident young woman. She meets Ezra Fitz at a local bar and they connect; hooking up in the bathroom. She later finds that after all her time in Iceland, formerly overweight Hanna is now thin, glamorous, and best friends with former nerdy outcast, Mona Vanderwaal. When she begins school she finds that Ezra is also her new AP English teacher. Aria later begins to receive texts and emails from an unknown source that reveals secrets that only Alison knew and more recent ones, including Byron's affair with Meredith and Aria's with Ezra, signed, "A". When Alison's body is discovered under a block of cement, she, along with the other three girls, receive a text at the memorial service, "I'm still here bitches, and I know everything." signed, "A".
Flawless
The unknown identity of "A", and suspicions that Byron may be seeing Meredith again, cause Aria to feel uncertain about her future. She goes to Meredith's yoga class after receiving the address from "A". Which causes her to feel worse about keeping her father's affair a secret. After almost getting herself into a car accident, she runs into Hannah's ex-boyfriend Sean Ackard. He goes with her to confront Meredith, who bluntly says that she and Byron are in love, and nothing will break them up. Sean and Aria's relationship turns romantic, and they go to the local Foxy benefit. When Aria returns home, she discovers that "A" sent her mother a letter detailing her father's affair, and the fact that Aria knew all about it.
Television
Season 1
The series begins with a flashback in a barn where four girls Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily are having a sleepover; they are surprised by their best friend and queen bee Alison, who frightens them by causing creaking noises outside the barn as a practical joke. The five girls gossip and share secrets before falling asleep. When they awake, they realize that two of the girls are gone, Spencer and Ali. They run into Spencer, who tells them Alison is missing and that she heard a scream.
One year later, Aria and her family have returned home to Rosewood after a year of living in Iceland. Aria still feels troubled over her best friend’s disappearance, which concerns both her parents who encourage her to reconnect with her old friends. However, Aria sees through her dad's concerns and reassures him that she is still keeping his secret. She drops her brother off at lacrosse and stops off at a Bar and Grill, where she meets a man named Ezra, who mistakes her for a college girl and informs her that he will soon be starting a new teaching post. The two feel an instant connection and end up making out in the bathrooms.
In a conversation with her father, we see flashbacks of Aria and Alison catching her dad making out with another woman in the back of his car. Aria begins to reunite with her old friends, mainly Emily, at school and discovers that Ezra is in fact her new English teacher, Mr Fitz. After an awkward moment, Aria receives a text message from an unknown “A” which reads "Aria: Maybe he fools around with students all the time. A lot of teachers do. Just ask your dad. -A". Aria attempts to continue her relationship with Mr Fitz, but he rejects her telling her everything has changed. However, they rekindle their romance at Alison’s funeral, which is held after her body is discovered under her swimming pool, which was being ready to build right before her disappearance. Aria meets up with Emily and in turn Hanna and Spencer at the funeral, and they reveal that each have received a message from the mysterious A. The police now reveal that the girls need questioning again as they are now looking at a murder case, before they each receive a text. "I'm still here, bitches. And I know everything. -A".[5]
Aria and her friends continue to be tormented by the anonymous “A”, who seems to know all the secrets they told Alison, including the secret surrounding a mysterious blind girl named Jenna Marshall. When Jenna joins them at their lunch table, her presence triggers a flashback to the night of the unknown “Jenna Thing”. The four girls and Alison were having a sleepover and trying on each others clothes when Alison claimed to have seen Toby Cavanaugh spying on them through her window. To get revenge, Alison and the girls plant a stink bomb in his house. However, it caused the garage to explode, presumably causing Jenna to lose her sight, a fact that Jenna seems determined to hang over their heads.[6]
Aria continues her illicit affair with Ezra, while trying to come to terms with her father’s own affair. “A” continues to taunt the girls in every aspect of their lives. They try to block them out of their lives by putting blockers on their e-mail accounts and their cell phones, but “A” appears to be too smart, even breaking into Spencer’s house and ends up sending a detailed letter to Aria’s mother, Ella, telling of her husband’s affair, which leaves Ella devastated, and Aria guilty for keeping it from her.[7]
A meeting with Hardy, an old college friend of Ezra’s, as well as an untimely message from “A”, brings home to Ezra the reality of his relationship with Aria[8] and he eventually ends it at their school homecoming leaving Aria heartbroken.[9] After which he leaves Rosewood, and Aria discovers he has gone to New York to look for another job. While trying to move on after Ezra dumped her, Aria decided to that she needed to attempt to move on from Ezra.
Aria's parents argue and eventually separate over her father’s affair, with her mom moving out of the house and into an apartment above her art gallery. Noel Khan, a boy Aria used to have a crush on, asks her out. She declines at first, but eventually accepts when the school’s SATs are cancelled and they have to take shelter due to a hurricane warning in which Ezra makes his return and tells Aria that she was all he thought about."I thought about you every second I was gone. But I also thought about the consequences." [10] At Mona’s “glamping” party, Ezra texts Aria to meet him near the party in his car. She does so and the two eventually end up kissing, this is spotted by Hanna, who has been surveying the area with binoculars, in an attempt to spot who “A” is. She apparently does, but before she can tell others, Hanna is hit by a car, and Aria reads a text from “A” who tells the remaining girls that “She knew too much. -A”.
In the second half of the first season, Aria realizes that Noel knows about her and Ezra's relationship and was the one who wrote I See You on the back of Ezra's car. She also tells Emily, Hanna, and Spencer about her affair with Ezra. Spencer takes her to a tree that has Alison + Ian carved on it, but someone had cut it down. She was also present when Melissa and Ian announce to Spencer that they got married. Ezra and Aria's relationship continues and Aria tells Ezra the truth about "The Jenna Thing." Aria finds out that Ezra was once engaged and his ex-fiancee was the one who ended it. Byron offers Ezra a job at Hollis and Ezra takes it after realizing that he and Aria can have a normal boyfriend and girlfriend relationship. Aria finds out that Ezra's ex-fiancee is also working at Hollis and that Ezra knew but didn't tell her about it.
Season 2
In the beginning of season two Aria's relationship with Ezra is on the verge of ending due to the revelation of his ex-fiance', Jackie working at the same college as him. Ezra clearly wants nothing more than to be with Aria and tries to show her that she is the only girl he's interested in. On his last day working at Rosewood, Ezra is packing up his belongings in his car when Aria runs and kisses him. She realizes that her and Ezra are meant to be together and that she loves him no matter what.
Now that Ezra is no longer Aria's teacher, they are legally allowed to date, but this doesn't mean it starts to become any more easier for the two of them. They struggle to find the right place and time to tell everyone (excluding Spencer, Hanna, and Emily who already know) about their relationship. When Ali's older brother, Jason comes back to Rosewood, the girls' believe he's up to no good. But soon, Aria finds herself talking to Jason more after he promises not to tell the police about Aria's brother, Mike breaking into his house. Her brother continues to break into houses and ends up in the hands of the police, but is let go when Byron and Ella come to pick him up at the station. Mike is now depressed and stays cooped up in his room doing mysterious and unknown things. Aria tries to help Mike out, but there is nothing she or her family can do to get him to listen.
At one point, Jason kisses Aria and she doesn't exactly stop him. But she does tell him she's not available and walks away confused. Aria confides in Emily about her random relationship with Jason. Emily tells her that she needs to stay away from him and reminds her that she has Ezra, who she truly loves.
Spencer gets Emily to help her find out more about Jason and possibly his motives for coming back to Rosewood. They break into Jason's shed and find a red room full of pictures of Aria sleeping. They warn Aria about what they saw and she seems completely freaked out. Aria later confronts Jason about the photos of her and he claims that they were Alison's, so he wanted to develop them. Aria believes him, but is still unsure about his motives. She sees Jason at a restaurant and they begin to talk about what else Jason found of Ali's. Spencer and Toby see the two of them talking after Spencer and Emily both warned her about him, so Spencer decides that there is only one person Aria would listen to—Ezra. Spencer jumps into Ezra's car and Ezra looks shocked. Spencer tells him that she knows about him and Aria and that Aria is in danger. Ezra finds Aria in Jason's front yard and tells her that he doesn't want to lose her. He says he's ready to tell everyone about the two of them and Aria seems relieved and happy. When Jason comes back, he sees Aria and Ezra kissing. Aria tells him she has to go and Jason realizes Ezra is the reason why Aria is "unavailable". He lets her go and Aria rides away with Ezra. Later that night, Ella confronts Aria about rumors a while back about Ezra possibly having a relationship with one of his students. Aria seems shocked and doesn't know where her mom is going with it. Ella then tells her that she saw Spencer and Ezra in Mr. Fitz's car together, but Aria reassures her that they aren't seeing each other. Ella tells Aria that she would be devastated if she found out he was having a relationship with one of his students, but takes it back and says she would actually feel betrayed. This discourages Aria and makes her feel like maybe Ezra and her can't go public after all.
Aria's chucky doll says that she must get Jackie to leave Hollis. When Aria attempts to do this, Jackie tells her that she will not be leaving Hollis, but Aria will leave Ezra. When Aria is arrested, Ezra comes to the police station and confesses to Ella that he loves her. Ella thinks Ezra is talking about Spencer and tells him that the Hastings parents will ruin him if they find out about the relationship. Aria breaks up with Ezra, but after one month, they meet in downtown Rosewood by accident. Aria later stops by his office to return a book, and Jackie comes in and tells her to stay away from him. Ezra walks in during their conversation, and Jackie leaves. Ezra tells Aria that they need to tell Aria's parents about whats been happening. When they do, Ella and Byron are extremely angry, and Mike punches Ezra. Ezra returns to his office where he talks with Jackie, and tells her that he is extremely angry with her. A few days after that Aria's dad, Byron, comes to Ezra's apartment and threatens him, saying that if Ezra will see Aria again, Byron will hand him over to the police. After that, Ezra stops answering Aria's phone calls, texts and E-mails. But Aria doesn't give up on him that easily. Aria is having a "date" with Holden, a childhood friend, but actually she is taking Holden to a play that she knows Ezra will go to. Holden understands she just wanted to see Ezra, he says he'll help her meet him. After a few days, Aria leaves Ezra a message saying she'll be in front of the clock in Philadelphia and if he comes, it means they still have a chance. After he hears that message he decides to meet her at the clock, thus continuing their relationship in secrecy again. It is revealed in the next episode that no one but Holden knows about the rekindled romance and after a few days Aria also tells her friends about her relationship after being threatened by A . They continue seeing each other on Aria's "dates" with Holden, nearly being caught by Byron once. After he is fired, he tells Aria that he can't teach in that town now and must find a place where he can before they can start dating again. Ezra leaves Rosewood, but Aria keeps in touch with Ezra. He return when she goes to a dance and they kiss passionately while they dance, happy to be reunited.
Season 3
Season 3 picks up five months after the liars discovered that Mona was A. Near the beginning of the season Aria meets Ezra's mother and younger brother Wes-who Aria shares a brief kiss with, (Gregg Sulkin). Wes tells Aria about a girl called Maggie, (Larisa Oleynik) that Ezra got pregnant when he was younger. Wes accidentally lets it slip after finding out his mother tried to pay Aria to "disappear" from her son's life, which is what she did to Maggie as she thought she ruined Ezra's life. Just before the mid-season finale of season 3, Aria discovers that Ezra has a son that he is unaware of with a woman named Maggie. Ezra always assumed Maggie got an abortion. Maggie asked Aria to keep it a secret.
In the Halloween episode Aria is kidnapped by A and nearly killed after being locked in a box with a dead Garrett Reynolds and nearly being pushed out of a moving train onto the track, luckily Hanna, Spencer and Emily come to the rescue. After, Spencer accidentally tells Ezra about Maggie and that he has a 7 year old son. Ezra leaves town and Wes and Aria develop a closer relationship. In Aria's bedroom, Wes kisses her before she tells him that they can't do this and he states that they can't and leaves. Then Ezra comes back and Aria finds out that he isn't coming alone. Maggie and Malcom - his seven-year-old son - came along with him. Aria tried to cope with the fact that Ezra has a family now and their relationship has changed. Things became worse when Ezra decided to get back to teaching as he now has more responsibility. Rosewood high decided to have him back as an English teacher and Aria had to think about her relationship especially when the headmaster asks her whether she is 'seeing' Ezra occasionally or not. Finally Aria feels she is not part of Ezra's life any more and she decided to break up with Ezra getting back to the staring point.
Season 4
Aria's broken up with her boyfriend Ezra, and needs to find away to move on. After almost being run down by "A", she decides to take a karate class where she finds a cute karate instructor named Jake, and they develop a crush for each other In the end of an episode, Jake is seen wirh punching bags and falls to the ground when someone puts knives in his punching bag. It's a struggle for Aria when she finds out that Ezra was also dating Alison before her and he was only using Aria to write a good crime novel about Ali.
References
- ↑ "Pretty Little Liars Cast". abcfamily.go.com. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
- ↑ "Winners of "Teen Choice 2010" Announced" (PDF). TeenChoiceAwards.com. August 10, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ↑ "Aria Montgomery Profile". Prettylittleliars.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
- ↑ "ClevverTV.com Lucy Hale interview". ClevverTV.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
- ↑ "Pilot Episode Recap". TV.com. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ↑ "The Jenna Thing Episode Recap". TV.com. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ↑ "Can You Hear Me Now? Episode Summary". TV.com. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ↑ "Reality Bites Me Episode Summary". TV.com. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ↑ "There’s No Place Like Homecoming Episode Recap". TV.com. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ↑ "The Perfect Storm Episode Summary". TV.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||