Even though Alison DiLaurentis was not around much at the first of Pretty Little Liars, she was the main character. She was the reason Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily were friends. Her disappearance is what set everything into motion. She was part of the mystery and why A was playing a game at all. And her entire family was very much tangled up in all of that.
However, she was not always the best friend in the world. That being said, let’s look back in time at five instances when Ali was the worst and at five times when she was actually pretty great.
Best: She Helped Get Her Friends Out Of The Dollhouse
Without a doubt, one of the best things Ali did was come up with the plan that helped to save her friends from the dollhouse. She put herself at risk, she teamed up with Ezra, Toby and Caleb, and a rescue did indeed happen.
However, this was not until Season 6 (of 7!), so it awhile before she was acting in selfless ways and really earning back trust from the others.
Worst: She Made Fun Of Hanna’s Weight
Early in PLL, Ali is mostly shown via flashbacks, and in every single one of them, she is putting down her so-called friends. Take Hanna, for example. She gave Hanna the nickname Hefty Hanna. She made comments about Hanna’s weight. And a true friend would never do that.
These girls said that when Ali brought them in and together, she made them feel like they were part of something really special. It really just seemed like she had a spell over them, because she was not nice.
Best: She Left Clues
There was a benefit to Ali being so dreamy and into herself: She left clues around, which assisted the liars along the way. She hid things around her house. She left messages in newspapers. And she had an entire diary full of secrets.
It is funny to imagine this daydreaming preteen doing all of this, not realizing that someday, it would all literally save her life.
Worst: She Played With Emily’s Heart & Head
Emily admitted that she liked Alison as more than a friend, and they eventually ended up together. But she had to hit some major bumps in the road first.
Once again, the flashbacks of these two showed Em trying to get close to her crush and be herself… and showed Ali leading her on and toying with her. Emily clearly had it bad for her, as years later, she still wanted her and said yes to her proposal.
Best: She Passed Along Her Knowledge To The Next Generation
When this TV show jumped forward into the future, many were surprised to see that Alison had returned to Rosewood High School to teach English. Some may have argued that she was not the best role model, but she was trying to get on the right path.
And it is true that she loved reading and writing, so it was nice that she found such a great fit. She missed out on a large chunk of her life, but she seemed to really enjoy talking about literature and poetry and such all day, every day.
Worst: She Held Aria’s Dad’s Affair Over The Family’s Head
Ali was with Aria when they saw Byron Montgomery kissing a woman named Meredith… a woman who wasn’t Aria’s mom. Instead of comforting her friend, Ali used this as a time to blackmail people!
She urged Aria to trash Byron’s office and to tell Ella (or she would). She used this info against Byron himself. And she was really just being herself, as she blackmailed another good “friend”, Spencer, as well.
Best: She Made Two Pretty Babies
Something else good did come from the time hop, though, and that would be Grace and Lily DiLaurentis-Fields. These twin girls were not planned at all, but they belonged to Ali and Emily, and they made these two a real, complete family.
During this time of the series, so many exciting things were happening, and fans always love to see weddings and babies and futures. So while Alison was not perfect and while Elliot’s involvement in all of this was not ideal, these babies were adorable!
Worst: She Was A Bully
A glimpse into Ali’s past proved that she wasn’t only mean to those close to her… She was a bully to one and all! Lucas, Paige and Mona were just a few of her targets, so when she came back, not everyone was happy to see her.
A time she really took bullying too far was when she tossed a firecracker into a garage, even though she knew it wasn’t empty, and this blinded Jenna. The girls were with her and were not okay with it for the beginning. They then had to walk around for the rest of their lives, knowing they were part of something so serious.
Best: She Finally Proposed To Emily
The last item on the best list also took place during the time jump and also involved Emily. They had reconnected. They were both working at the high school together. They needed each other more than ever. They were having babies together. So Ali proposed!
Again, moments like these always make for great TV, especially when a love story has been going on for so long. These two went through a lot, individually and together, and when Ali returned home, she realized the error of her ways. She realized she wanted this woman. And she tried to make it right, in the best way possible.
Worst: She Left Her Loved Ones Behind & Continued To Lie
There is also one more item on the worst list, though, and it is sort of a combination of all the bad Alison did, rolled into one and multiplied. She left her loved ones behind, and she continued to lie. Her family, her friends, everyone involved in looking for her and solving her case… She saw it all going on and saw all the pain and tears, yet she remained in the shadows.
Then, after she finally was revealed to be alive, she kept on lying for some time. So while the girls would have been the main ones and maybe the only ones on her side, she immediately put that wedge back in between them all, dragging them along through more lies.