The girls on Pretty Little Liars each have their own personality, and Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson) is the stylish and sarcastic one. She always has a quip ready, and she's also pretty hilarious. Raised by a single mother, she does her best to deal with her mom and dad's divorce, but it's not easy when everyone in Rosewood appears to have a perfect life and family.
Whether her hair looks perfect or she's wearing trendy clothing, Hanna is always a favorite on this popular teen drama. Despite the epic love story between Hanna and Caleb or the interesting trouble that she gets up to, there are a lot of problems with Hanna's character.
Her Character Has A Strange Arc
While Hanna starts off as a girl who was desperate to become popular and pretty, she changes as she becomes closer to the other liars. She becomes a kinder person who thinks about other people. She even finds love with Caleb Rivers (Tyler Blackburn), something she probably didn't think was possible as she has been so insecure.
But Hanna's character arc is strange because by the time that the show is getting ready to wrap up, she's transformed herself into a vapid and conceited girl once again. She wants to be a famous designer, which is cool, but she even pretends that she's going to marry Jordan (David Coussins) when it's clear that she would never marry someone who isn't Caleb.
She Would Never Turn On Mona Like She Does
When PLL began, fans learned that Hanna had become good friends with Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish). So good, in fact, that they gave themselves makeovers and become popular, and they did it as a pair.
But when the show opens and Hanna becomes close with her old friends once again, she starts ignoring Mona. She doesn't hang out with her the way that she did and it soon becomes the four liars against the world. Suddenly, the liars consider Mona to be a totally crazy person, and Hanna doesn't exactly convince them otherwise. It feels like a mean thing for Hanna to do.
Hanna Doesn't Stand Up To Her Mom Enough
Not the best TV mother or the worst, Ashely Marin (Laura Leighton) is a big part of Pretty Little Liars. She messes up royally in the first season by becoming involved with Detective Wilden (Bryce Johnson) and she seems to make things worse for Hanna a lot of the time.
Hanna doesn't stand up to her mother enough, and she should really should be more honest with her. This is one flaw with this character, as she's supposed to be so strong.
Her Sense Of Humor Becomes Too Bitter
Sure, Hanna is an awesome character, but after a while, the fact that she always has a sarcastic comment ready whenever someone talks to her feels a little tiresome.
The character's sense of humor starts veering onto the bitter side, and it's just not that funny anymore. It seems like the show was trying too hard to make her sound super clever all the time.
Hanna And Caleb's Conflict Never Feels Genuine
Pretty Little Liars does a great job portraying Hanna and Caleb's relationship, but it feels like they're always fighting, and it just doesn't feel natural or genuine.
They're often getting mad at each other while trying to solve the mystery of A, but wouldn't they be more understanding that there are a lot of heightened emotions in this type of situation? It seems like they're always breaking up and getting back together, and it never feels legitimate.
She's Not Always A Great Friend
Although Hanna is part of the main group of liars, she's not always the best friend that she could be to everyone. It always seems like she's in a bad mood or like she's in a negative frame of mind, and she'll often sit with the other girls and listen to their plan to defeat A, rolling her eyes or looking like she'd rather be anywhere else.
Hanna could definitely try harder to have a more positive attitude and see if the other girls need her instead of focusing on herself a lot of the time.
Instead Of Growing Up, She Becomes More Reckless
PLL shows what it's like for a group of girls to grow up with a missing friend and an evil figure stalking them, and when they're dealing with normal teenage problems, they wonder if they'll make it out of high school alive.
But instead of growing up, Hanna seems to act more reckless than ever. This is most obvious at the end of the sixth season when Hanna goes to the Lost Woods Resorts to find Uber A, but she gets kidnapped instead. This was super dangerous. Wouldn't Hanna be more cautious after she had already had so many run-ins with A? Shouldn't she show some more maturity by then?
The Show Tries Too Hard To Make Hanna A Rebel
Whenever Hanna seems to rebel, it doesn't feel like something she would actually do. In the first season, she steals from stores, and in the fifth season, she and Caleb start drinking alcohol a lot.
It seems like the show tries too hard to make Hanna seem like a "bad girl" character when most of the time, she's a cheerful, bubbly blonde who loves clothing and hanging out with her friends. These storylines always feel out of place.
She Pretends To Be Somone She's Not When She Goes To NYC
Everyone knew that Hanna would make something of herself and that she would most likely work in fashion. She's the most well-dressed of the whole group and so it just works.
But when Hanna leaves Rosewood and goes to NYC, she just doesn't seem like the same person anymore, and certainly not the girl that fans know and love. She comes back to Rosewood a total shell of herself and it feels like she's pretending to be someone who she's not.
She's Fiery And Passionate, So She Wouldn't Tell Spencer And Caleb They Could Date
It was the shock of the century when Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) and Caleb started dating. It was even more surprising that Spencer came to Hanna to ask her permission... and stranger still when Hanna said that it was okay.
If Hannah is such a fiery and passionate person who speaks her mind, why would she give her blessing? She would be jealous and upset, and she would say that this wasn't okay with her. This is perhaps the biggest sign that this character got worse as the show went on. It just didn't fit.