Pretty Little Liars: The Best (& Worst) Trait Of Each Main Character

The courageous characters of the all-time favorite show, Pretty Little Liars, introduced fans to a truly crazy ride full of dangerous and mind-boggling adventures. Each character was also seen to grow and change over the 7 season-span. However, whether it was for the best is still up for debate.

When it comes to these murder mystery shows, viewers usually divide the characters into two camps: heroes and villains. Yet, when it came to the Liars and their teen friends, the viewers saw these categories become entwined. No one in Rosewood was perfect. Despite the fans rooting for the Liars and wanting to see them succeed, even they would agree that they had their flaws too.

9 Caleb

Hanna’s intellectual boyfriend, Caleb, was usually a selfless, caring person. Ever since he fell in love with Hanna back in the earlier seasons, Caleb revealed how much he cared for other people aside from Hanna. He lent money to Lucas and forgave him when he gambled away his $4,000, and Caleb also protected Emily from getting shot by Nate.

Still, nobody’s perfect, and many would say that Caleb’s worst trait is his impulsiveness. Just like Hanna, Caleb was also slightly impulsive in his actions. Although he acted differently from how she did, Caleb broke up with Hanna a few times without actually talking through the problems. Not to forget how he gave up a great job for Spencer (who he hadn’t even been dating at the time).

8 Toby

Officer Toby started out as the reserved and misunderstood guy, and became a confident lifesaver. His best trait was his perseverance. Toby overcame his adolescent struggles to join law enforcement; he kept pretending to be on the “A” team to protect Spencer, and finally, he soldiered on after Yvonne was killed. Perseverance takes a certain kind of strength.

Toby’s worst trait was that he was sometimes a pushover, as some fans claim. Many Toby fans will shame this trait label, but his reticence showed when he didn’t always stand up for himself against Ali’s bullying, and he allowed his A-team, double agent life to undermine his relationship with Spencer. He basically let “A” come between them.

7 Paige

Emily’s long-term girlfriend, Paige, was misunderstood at first, suspected of being “A.” Luckily, the others grew to know her best trait, which was her trustworthiness. Paige didn’t just keep secrets for Emily, she also harbored them for the other girls. She was able to grasp why it was so important for the Liars to entrust her with the situation they were in.

Sadly, as all fans recall, Paige’s aggression was her worst trait that seared its way into everyone’s minds. When Paige aggressively dunked Emily’s head underwater, it was hard for many to understand why and how they formed a sweet and loving relationship. Not to mention how her jealousy of Emily and Alison’s friendship brought out an argumentative side in her.

6 Mona

Mona was one difficult equation to solve. She started the “A” game and ended it due to her perseverance. A lot may claim that her leadership or profound intelligence were impactful traits of hers, but her best trait was her persistence. Even after she tried to harm the liars at the end of Season 2, she kept looking for different ways to form alliances with them and ultimately work together with them against the other “A” stalkers.

Mona’s conspicuous worst trait was her jealousy. Whether it was because Hanna began spending time with other people or because she wasn’t considered to be a Liar, but it was her jealousy that fueled her hatred for Alison and the others.

5 Hanna

Hanna had many sides to her, such as her sassy and hilarious boldness. However, many fans will agree that her best trait would be her self-sacrificing nature (which she probably picked up from her mom, Ashley, who did almost anything for her daughter). Hanna was willing to lie and hide nearly every problem she had in order to save her loved ones from trouble.

On the other hand, the biggest issue fans had with Hanna was that she could be very impulsive too. She’d jump into situations alone which ultimately affected the entire friend group and not just her. It was quite frustrating to watch her not think of the consequences until it was too late.

4 Spencer

The brilliant Spencer that fans all know had one obviously positive trait, which was her hard-working diligence. Aside from academics, when Spencer put her mind to something, she would work on it in full force. She’d use her intuition and knowledge to crack a mysterious code that “A” would throw at the liars.

Despite her diligence, Spencer’s ambition could be a little destructive sometimes as she would apply a lot of pressure on herself. Since Spencer liked to strive for perfection, the viewers would sometimes see her become irritable or angry when things didn’t go her way. This often meant that her friends and close ones got hurt as they got caught in her crossfire.

3 Emily

The athletic and humble fan-favorite is normally associated with her strong empathetic skills, but her underlying, strong trait is her bravery. Some will disagree with this and note her kindness as her strength. However, real Emily fans should recall the moments when she would always be at the front of the pack whenever they approached a dangerous situation. No one will ever forget how she fended off Maya’s stalker ex-boyfriend or protected the Liars from being killed by Noel.

Unfortunately, Emily’s naïveté though was her worst trait. Her love for Alison demonstrated how naive she could be as Emily would constantly defend Ali to those who she caused a lot of emotional pain. This was primarily shown in her relationship with Paige, with Emily seen to stand by the younger DiLaurentis despite the fact that she had relentlessly bullied Paige for years. Emily was willing to give the benefit of the doubt to others that, which ended up blinding her from seeing the brutal truth.

2 Aria

Aria’s best trait was her ambition. Whether it was her passion for her studies or her drive to improve her artistic skills, this little Liar was a true go-getter in everything she did. It was not a surprise to see her working in publishing, and eventually writing a book with Ezra in her future after high school.

Nevertheless, cool and artsy Aria was also hot-tempered. She had her fair share of trashing rooms too, vandalizing her father’s office, Ali’s nursery, and Ezra’s apartment when she didn’t know how to control her feelings.

1 Alison

Alison had many sides to her but her best trait was her durability. Although Ali spun herself into some pretty big webs of lies, she had a natural method of getting through the hard times without losing her control. She maintained a solid stone expression most times when dealing with a threat. She knew had to tackle it and managed to make it look easy.

However, Ali’s bad trait was her reliance on others. Most fans will say her worst characteristic is bullying or using others, but those are actually linked to how much she needs other people around her to control. She exacerbated the girls’ struggles by belittling them until there was nothing left of their self-esteem.

After she has done that, she would then use their weaknesses to her advantage and make them feel like they needed her approval. Even when she was older, Ali was still shown to rely on the girls to fuel her own desires.

About The Author

Elisabeth McGowan
(102 Articles Published)

Based in the New York City area, Elisabeth has written for various media outlets, was a Walt Disney World Cast Member, and her true focus is on the film and television industry! While double majoring in Theatre and English at the University of California, Davis, her passion for writing developed when she worked as an Editor-in-Chief at the Odyssey Online and as a blog writer for a New York-based theater company. She became interested in film acting at the age of 13 during a brief summer program at the New York Film Academy and was then hooked on the movie and television industry.

Although a big fan of both big-screen and independent drama films, Elisabeth loves comedy, romance, action, and sci-fi movies. Her favorite TV shows include a variety of comedy, drama, and sci-fi fantasy shows, specifically Supernatural, Breaking Bad, and Pretty Little Liars. As a writer for ScreenRant, she is eager to cover new and old favorite films and shows!

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