Entertainment

Is Ezra Dating Someone New?

by Kaitlin Reilly

Last Tuesday's episode of Pretty Little Liars, "No Stone Unturned," brought some major shockers. Charles is alive, Lesli has nothing to do with this whole A mess, and Ezra is flirting with Emily's friend Nicole. Yep, Ezra was getting cozy with someone who so wasn't Aria, which I guess makes sense, considering Aria and Ezra broke up months ago. Somehow, it's never that weird to see Aria getting her flirt on with someone else (oh, hey, Andrew), but there is something strange about seeing Ezra hanging at the Brew with a new lady. As off as it may seem — and as much as Ezria fans may hate me for this — I'm going to say that Ezra and Nicole should totally become a thing.

I'll admit it: I haven't exactly been pro-Ezria. Personally, I think it's incredibly sketchy for a much-older teacher to continue a relationship with a student, no matter how "connected" they are or how much their love has grown since then. Aria's still barely legal (did she ever turn 18? I have no idea) and Ezra acted as her teacher while he was in an active romantic relationship with her. That's not even bringing up the fact that their relationship was built on a lie: Ezra knew exactly who Aria was before he met her because he wanted to write a book on that other underage girl he dated, Ali.

But, I digress. Let's pretend that the world of Rosewood somehow doesn't care about things like "laws" and "being a minor." The fact is, even if Aria and Ezra were at the same point in their lives, the two of them being together really makes no sense right now. Ezra and Nicole should get together, if only to give Aria a reason to truly move on.

Aria is going to college for four years, and while she'll likely come back home for the holidays, she won't be around Rosewood long enough to keep up a steady romance with Ezra. Even if she could make it work (and hey, plenty of people do) she and Ezra are at completely different points in their lives. Ezra has a steady job; Aria will be a freshman in college whose only worries will be classes and what party she's attending on Friday. In Rosewood they could pretend to be on the same page: in college, Aria can no longer pretend. Bustle's Pretty Little Liars podcast agrees with me, that Ezria needs to come to an end.

Ezra dating Nicole might give Aria the real push she needs to separate herself from the Rosewood drama. It could be healthy for both of them to see what's out there — even if, eventually, they decide to come back to one another. We know that Pretty Little Liars is doing a time jump after the Season 6A finale, and I wouldn't be surprised if Aria and Ezra reunite when Aria is older and has gotten to know herself better.

Heck, their relationship might even be age appropriate four years down the line and even I can't argue with that.

Images: ABC Family; Giphy