That's insane, because as soon as I read the title I thought of this exact same scene. The moment Ezra's relationship with Aria affected how he treated another one of his students, someone completely innocent and unrelated, it went too far for me. That's exactly the problem with student/teacher relationships and why they should never be romanticized in the media in this way. Regardless of the obvious imbalance of power, they affect way more people than just the involved student and teacher.
yeah that to kill a mocking bird scene was really hard to watch, its kinda one of those things you just pretend didn't happen becuase even for the insanity of this show it was a little out of place.
for me the first time wasn't until malcolm. on rewatches it gets hard to watch by season 2. the first time you watch it you don't realize how made up their drama is at that point. they constantly break up and then get back together over nothing.
*when life gives you lemons* Sara: are you a sour lemon?
Is that the episode after they've split and he goes out of his way to confront her in the classroom? Their classroom scenes make me uncomfortable and really Ezra showed his immaturity and poor understanding of boundaries when she moved on with Noel temporarily. I would say that I was never a fan and I was truly hoping that things would get interesting i.e. Ezra being arrested and the relationship having real consequences. I was done before it started and then I flat out hated him once I realized he was taking over Aria's character.
"When life gives you lemons" Jessica D: sleep with their fathers and have secret lemon children
No, it's real early on in their relationship. They are still very tentative about one another and doing what they were doing. I think the episode before, she showed up at his place and broke down when Meredith showed up at the art show.
Like you, I was never a fan but watching them early on, it's like "oh this isn't so bad".
It's a shame that he never truly suffered the consequences for his relationship with a minor. And what's worse is that he knew who she was prior to any of this happening.
I'm also noticing that Aria wasn't as focused on Ezra in the beginning...like she still had a life outside of him and A. Smh, it really is a shame that Lucy's acting chops was reduced down to this guy and relationship. So much potential.
Agreed she was way less self absorbed then. Aria was actually the independent one with a bit of edge and passionate about her friends and family. The show definitely did right by her character in the first couple of seasons. She had a strong bond with both of her parents, a forbidden romance that she seemed interested in but not obsessed with, and a good friendship with the PLLs particularly Hanna. She stood up for herself and for them. Then she became this Ezra obsessed freak who randomly kisses other guys while in this annoying relationship and picks up random artistic hobbies that she's magically wonderful at without practice. I loved seeing her struggle with Byron's affair, dealing with Mike stealing, her chemistry with Jason, hanging out with Holden, and her reactions to Mona. I also enjoyed Aria and Noel together. They had a lot of potential before they made him unnecessarily suspicious. I would've loved to see these relationships last:
Aria/Noel and Aria/Jason later down the road. I love the scene with Noel playing guitar and Aria singing. Her clothes were better than overall because they showed her personality but they didn't overwhelm her. Then they went crazy with the prints. Spencer/Andrew Emily/Samara
"When life gives you lemons" Jessica D: sleep with their fathers and have secret lemon children
That scene made me so uncomfortable that I almost want to pretend it didn't happen. Ezra is a grown man that still goes out of his way to humiliate a teenage boy to show off his skill in literature (which he is btw educated in because he's an adult and they are bleeping teenagers) in front of his teenage girlfriend. There are so many things wrong with that scene that it's hard to know what to concentrate on. And it showed that Ezra doesn't have any maturity when it comes to boundaries because even though they would be in a situation where Aria wasn't a minor but the power structure was similar Ezra is a small enough man to take advantage of it.
You've expressed everything I felt about that scene in a much better way. He lectured her earlier in the episode about allowing her parents to deal with their situation like adults (which had some merit with it) and when she opposed his view point, he acted like an immature child the next day...because he was mad she left.
During the rewatch, I'm looking like Ezria isn't as bad as I thought and then that scene happened and my stomach turned sour.
What makes even more horrible is that he knew all along who she was. He initiated contact with her, made out with her, and pursued her knowing she was underage and knowing what his true intentions were and it's disgusting.
I was honestly impressed that Aria made it through that entire ordeal with a straight face. I have experienced being torn apart like that by a teacher in front of a whole class of students and I have witnessed others have the same experience and it's already a hard enough ordeal with a teacher that is just a stranger to you. I can't imagine how hard it would be if you had a personal relationship with said person and that they were just hanging you out to dry like that. But that admiration of Aria died down, of course, when she took him back after that stunt. Stockholm Syndrome anyone?
I was never really much of an Ezria shipper. I mean I thought they were ok but I didn't hate their relationship (and especially dislike Ezra) until 4B when we found out he knew about Aria and her friends before he even met them cause he was writing that book about Alison. Now I can't watch any of their scenes without wanting barf.
Once upon a time there was a magical place where it never rained. The end.