In a move that no one saw coming, Pretty Little Liars added a new ridiculous love affair to the story.

The end of Pretty Little Liars season 5, episode 15, “Fresh Meat,” may have left a few of the viewers saying, “Huh?” when Ashley, Hannah’s mother, presumably slept with none other than Jason DiLaurentis. It’s a hookup that is not only ridiculous but makes zero sense for Ashley’s character development over the years.

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We understand that this is a teen soap opera and that romance will always have a huge presence on the show, but we just wish the pairings were more well thought out. It seems like the writers went and said, “Who would be the most ridiculous person for Jason to hook up with?” or just picked Ashley’s name out of a hat with all of the female characters in it.

Now that the main characters have been focusing more on “A” instead of their love lives, we guess it only made sense that the writers felt the need to shake things up with the supporting characters. But why is this necessary? Since the Liars have have been in more stable relationships, the storylines have been able to propel forward instead of taking two steps back every episode.

And even better? The partners have been more involved in the past few episodes. Now that the Liars are being completely transparent with Ezra, Caleb, Toby and Paige, their dynamics have been so much more enjoyable to watch.

To us, Pretty Little Liars is so much more than “who’s hooking up with who?” because it is interesting enough on its own and doesn’t need to rely on romantic entanglements in order for people to watch the show. In the future, we want to see smarter storylines that actually challenge the viewers instead of relying on gimmick relationships.

Do you think ‘Pretty Little Liars’ needs to tone down the romance?