Lucy Hale and Ian Harding defend PLL-Age Love History

Pretty Little Liars students Lucy Hale and Ian Harding They are still senders of “Ezria” fervent, despite the now controversial age difference of the characters.

“It was a different time. This story would exist if it was done now? I’m not sure but probably not,” Hale said, 36, The Hollywood Reporter In a profile on Friday, June 20. “At the time he threw me as in Aria, I was 19 years old and did not really think about the biggest topics of everything. He stopped being broadcast on a television program.”

She added, “Of course, now hits differently than my age and I think of the biggest message in anything I play. I have no regrets, but I am behind her love story forever. This Forbidden love story Attracted a lot of people. “”

Hale performed at Aria Montgomery All seven seasons of the ABC family (now Freeform) PllIn which he met Ezra Fitz (Harding) in a pilot bar. She suggested that she was a college student before connecting in the bathroom. Days later, Ezra revealed that she was her new English teacher on the first day of the first year at Rosewood High School.

Related: Rewinding ‘pll’: every inappropriate couple who left us shake

Freeform Pretty Little Liars is a show on secrets and a city where inappropriate relations reign free without consequence. The teenage drama was a success during the early 2010s, after the lives of the friends of a long time Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Hanna (Ashley Benson), Aria (Lucy Hale) and Emily (Shay Mitchell) while being besieged by (…)

Aria and Ezra, of course, dated and out throughout their secondary school without the knowledge of school administrators. They finally married at the end of the series, which was broadcast in 2017.

While program fans often questioned Aria and Ezra Controversial increase of ageThe actors were always on board.

“What we tried to show again and again was that there was a significant connection,” said Harding, 38 Thr “Hopefully enough to justify the deeply problematic relationship that was certainly not fantastic at that time. Especially as society has advanced, we realized how it was inappropriate.”

He continued: “I am happy in the way it turned out because maybe this is a little less icky, which is always difficult to say because I also love these characters. I love Ezra and as an actor, you have to defend this person, regardless of who they are. They both found happinessand there was little collateral damage or pain inflicted by the relationship. There was a lot of pain and horror throughout the program, but, by oddly, its relationship seemed to be a safe refuge in the storm. “”

Harding pointed more than that their relationship was intended to be “taboo on purpose.”

“We were playing this fantasy. I certainly had the teacher’s fantasy when I was in high school, but at the same time, just because you represent something on television does not mean that you are living the behavior,” said actor Hallmark. “It’s a story for entertainment, and the show was a thriller. Now I look back, I see that it was like the program, with laps and laps, and I had some terror elements, and then I also had this romantic component. I do not regret deeply because it is fiction.”

Pll was adapted from I. Marlene KingThe series of books of the same name. 63 -year -old King also addressed the connection of Aria and Ezra to the To excite series retrospective.

“What we know now about preparation, was not something we talked about 15 years ago. I always thought that if we review the world, we would have to deal with it,” King said at the exit. “This would be a story of the story we should pay attention and focus. But I think they can have their happiness forever because they were everyone’s favorite couple.”

She added: “I know people defend that they were not, but they were very popular, and they really loved themselves despite the fact that they were before they found out. We always tried to secure -there were consequences for their relationship. It was not easy. We probably crossed a line that would not cross now, but I don’t want to get out of what they had.

King and the rest of the writers also wanted to say that Hale had “so much possible agency” as he filmed intimate scenes with harding.

“Marlene and the writers did a very good job to give Lucy the maximum possible agency. I didn’t feel like my character started many encounters with her,” said Harding. “He always felt the driver of this part of the relationship.

He joked in Ezra’s wardrobe: “ When you are making jersey vests, this does not make libido go. The writers and creators tried to play on this side and increase the meaning of Lucy’s agency. There was never a time when my character tried to take advantage of the power he had. ”