Pretty Little Liars: Hanna’s 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Story Arcs

Each of the liars on Pretty Little Liars has their own special personality and look. Ashley Benson’s character Hanna Marin has always been beloved as the fashion plate of the group and also the girl who fell in love with Caleb Rivers in the first season of the show.

Through all seven seasons of this teen drama, Hanna has been strong-willed and totally her own person. She’s not one to listen to others and she doesn’t always need to fit in with her friend group. While some of Hanna’s story arcs work for the character and allow fans to understand her better, others seem unnecessary.

10 Best: Hanna’s Accident And Learning More About A

In the first season episode “Keep Your Friends Close,” A hits Hanna with a car, and in the following episode “Moments Later,” she shares with her friends that Noel is A.

This is one of her best story arcs, as she starts learning more about A, and it’s proof about what this stalker can do to them. It proves that A can do a lot more than just send horrifying text messages and that the liars have to keep their eyes on everyone around them. Hanna also starts becoming bitter and stronger in equal parts from this moment on.

9 Worst: Shoplifting And Being A Mean Popular Girl With Mona

In the first few episodes of Pretty Little Liars, fans learn that Hanna has been shoplifting, and that she and Mona have become popular girls at school.

This isn’t a particularly interesting story arc for Hanna. Sure, it could be argued that she learns that stealing is wrong, but didn’t she already know that? Since Ali is already the Queen Bee character on the series, it doesn’t make much sense for Hanna to act like this too.

8 Best: Her Broken Engagement To Jordan And Falling For Caleb Again

Hanna and Caleb have one of the classic PLL love stories that fans enjoy.

The two come close to staying broken up forever, though, when Hanna gets engaged to Jordan. When Hanna realizes that it’s wrong for her to marry someone else, she tells Jordan that it’s not going to happen. She also works through her feelings for Caleb, which have definitely always been there, and also watches her best friend Spencer date him for a period. It’s a lot to deal with and it shows that Hanna is growing up and learning what will make her happy.

7 Worst: Hanna Thinks She Has A Dream Job Interview But It’s Manipulated By A

Rosewood has scares on every street corner as it’s not actually such a wonderful place to call home.

The third season episode “Misery Loves Company” finds Hanna on her way to an interview for a job in fashion. Since she’s always loved style, this seems like a perfect fit. Unfortunately, it’s totally fake and A tricked Hanna into showing up at a random location. To make matters even worse, Hanna is attacked by A and could be seriously hurt (or even die). She gets away, but this is yet another terrifying reminder of how bad this situation is. After this point, it’s clear that Hanna wonders what more A will take away from her and if she’ll even get a real future.

6 Best: When A Torments Her With Her Past Eating Disorder

In the first season, A wants Hanna to binge eat some cupcakes, and the show alludes to the eating disorder that this character had in the past.

It’s true that Hanna’s character had many flaws over the seasons. This is one of her better story arcs, though, since eating disorders are such an important topic to talk about, especially on a teen drama. This storyline gives viewers a look into how insecure Hanna can be and how much she wrestles with on a daily basis.

5 Worst: Drinking Too Much In Season 5

It makes sense that Hanna feels like her life is a mess by the fifth season. She thought her best friend had been killed and has to come to terms with Ali coming back home.

But when Hanna starts drinking too much during this season, it’s a story arc that doesn’t feel necessary. Spencer, in contrast, has had some insomnia, drug use, and mental health struggles, and that was treated in a caring and compassionate way. Since Spencer has already gone through so much, it felt repetitive for Hanna to react this way.

4 Best: Watching Her Friendships Change And Debating What To Do About Mona

With biting and perfect quotes, Mona is always a big part of PLL, and her friendship with Hanna shifts over the years in a relatable and powerful way.

Sure, most teenagers aren’t faced with the news that their BFF is a stalker who has been tormenting their friend group, but many people do fight with friends from time to time. Hanna has a great story arc when she stops hanging out with Mona, learns that she’s the first A, and then decides to let her back into her life. It would make sense if she totally pushed Mona aside, but she still feels tied to her, and that’s interesting to watch. Hanna is often the bigger person and here she proves that she can forgive. She also watches her friendships change over the years, as she’s just as obsessed with Ali as the other girls. Once Ali is gone, she drifts from the liars and then reconnects with them.

3 Worst: Literally Hiding Caleb From Her Mom

Even though Ashley is cool, Hanna doesn’t share the happy news that she’s with Caleb right away. Instead, she literally hides Caleb in her house and lets him stay with her (and doesn’t even ask her mom if it’s alright). When Ashley learns that he has been living in the basement, she isn’t thrilled and says that he can’t stay there.

It’s fun watching Hanna interact with her mom as Ashley is sweet and likable. It’s not very entertaining seeing these two characters at odds, since it feels like too many other teen shows where high schoolers and their parents don’t get along. It would have been better if Hanna had just admitted to being with Caleb from the beginning.

2 Best: Caleb Dumping Her In Season 3

True to the history of couples on teen dramas, Caleb and Hanna don’t have a smooth road. They do wind up married and expecting a baby in the finale, which is wonderful to see, but it’s definitely a tough ride before that.

In the third season, Hanna has to come to terms with the way that she has treated Caleb when he tells her that their romance is over. He doesn’t like how much she lies to him and how she hides so many things. This is a juicy story arc for Hanna, as it’s hard for all of the main characters to tell their partners the truth about the dangers and fear they face on a daily basis. This break-up teaches her that if she wants to stay with Caleb, opening up is the only way to go.

1 Worst: Working Through Her Parents’ Divorce

Rosewood is one of the worst teen drama small towns to live in, but thankfully, despite all the threats to Hanna’s social circle, she has her mom by her side. That helps her feel like she has a safe place through it all.

But when Hanna works through her parents’ divorce, it’s a bit dull to watch, as so many high school TV characters deal with this. Hanna hates her dad’s new family and realizes that he’s never going to be there for her, and instead of adding something fresh to this type of storyline, it just feels repetitive and like it’s been done before.

About The Author

Aya Tsintziras
(1730 Articles Published)

Aya Tsintziras is a freelance writer who writes about pop culture and TV. She has a Political Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves coffee, reading, working out, and watching TV. She lives in Toronto with her husband.

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