Sara Harvey (character)
| Sara Harvey | |
|---|---|
| Pretty Little Liars character | |
|
Dre Davis as Sara Harvey. | |
| First appearance |
"A DAngerous GAme" (as Red Coat) "Who's In The Box?" (as Sara; picture only) "Game On, Charles" (physically) |
| Created by | I. Marlene King |
| Portrayed by | Dre Davis |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) |
"A" Red Coat The Black Widow The Woman in Black |
| Aliases |
"A" Friend and Ally Alison DiLaurentis |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation |
A Former High school student "A's" Ally |
| Significant other(s) | Emily Fields |
| Residence |
Rosewood, Pennsylvania Courtland (previously) |
Sara Harvey is a fictional character in the ABC Family television series adaption of Pretty Little Liars. She is portrayed by Dre Davis. Sara is introduced as a false protagonist, only to be revealed as "A's" accomplice.
Casting
On March 25, 2015, it was announced Project Runway alum Dre Davis was cast as Kimberly Brown.[1] The actress originally posted a photo of herself wearing a yellow top similar to the one Ali and Bethany were wearing the night of Bethany’s death,[2] causing critics and PLL fans alike speculating that Kimberly could actually be Bethany.[3] However, it was later announced she will instead be portraying Sara Harvey.[2] In an interview with AfterEllen.com, Davis revealed she has to audition with two scenes—with one of them being a kissing scene leading to the speculation she would be the romantic interest for Emily Fields—as the other Liars currently had love interests at the time.[4]
Development
Characterization and introduction
"She was pretty, poised and perfect and everything she gave you, she took two things away. I mean she's gone but she's not "gone". And we can't get away from her and I'm so tired of being Sara's friend, it just sucks the life out of you."
— Claire, on Sara's personality.[5]
When the character was originally Kimberly Brown, she was described as someone "used to brim with confidence" but recently was "emotionally deprived and had to get old self back".[6] In the season four episode: "Who's In The Box?", Sara's friends noted her as "Queen Bee" of their clique and the most popular girl in school before her disappearance. The character description was compared to be like Alison DiLaurentis in many ways including being self-centered, manipulative and being the typical mean girl. Sara's friend Tina referred to Sara as the girl "who seems to be everything, have everything" and can make you feel special.
Her friends also revealed they sometimes wished she would've died before her actual disappearance just like The Liars had with Alison. In the premiere of season six, episode "Game On, Charles", Sara makes her first physical appearance in A's Dollhouse, being there for two years.[7] Sara develops a codependency relationship with Emily Fields when she stays over at Emily's house—after running away from home.[8]
Working as A's accomplice
In the summer finale of Season Six, Episode: "Game Over, Charles", Sara is revealed to be A/Charlotte DiLaurentis's accomplice.[9] She was revealed as one of the three Red Coats, which she donned an Ali mask to distract Mona while CeCe trapped the Liars at the Thornhill Lodge.[9][10] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pretty Little Liars' showrunner and executive producer, I. Marlene King revealed Sara was the person who saved Emily Fields, Aria Montgomery and Mona Vanderwaal after Shana Fring set the fire at the lodge during the season three, episode "A dAngerous gAme".[10] Sara is also revealed as The Black Widow, the mysterious woman who at Wilden's funeral, who CeCe hired to make sure Wilden was dead and couldn't hurt Alison.[11] Entertainment Weekly's Isabella Biedenharn deemed the best moment of the episode was the scene where Emily punches Sara in the face.[11]
Sara's motivations for serving as Charlotte's accomplice are initially unknown, until episode 6x12 "Charlotte's Web" (Jan.19, 2016) when it is revealed that Sara was diagnosed with Stockholm Syndrome, which is a psychological phenomenon whereby a hostage develops sympathetic and loving feelings towards their captors. When Sara was brought to justice for her illegal actions, her diagnosis of Stockholm Syndrome allowed her to have her criminal sentence reduced. However, Hanna believes this was a lie to keep her out of prison. It is revealed in "Do Not Disturb" that she did indeed lie in the court to protect herself and was actually good friends with Charlotte.
Storylines
Sara was one of the main antagonists for the series' third and fourth seasons, dressing up as "Red Coat" and "The Black Widow". She flies into the Thornhill Lodge as Red Coat, and communicates with Mona, who believes she is Charlotte, the real leader. Sara later pulled the Liars and Mona out of the fire, but left Hanna inside. After the fire, Charlotte kills Darren Wilden, and Sara attends his funeral in a black veil to ensure that he is dead. Sometime after this, she begins living under the DiLaurentis home, in her Red Coat disguise. She finally makes her first physical appearance as herself in the episode "Game On, Charles", at the end of the episode when the police find Sara, the girl who went missing the day after Alison as the Liars previously found out from Sara's friends. During the episode of "Songs of Innocence", Sara runs away from home to Emily's after Sara's mom took her home from the hospital, Pam offers Sara to stay with them for a while. In "Songs of Experience", Emily tries to connect with Sara, resulting in her staying home with her. Throughout the season, Sara and Emily develop a romantic relationship with one another. In "Game Over, Charles", Sara is revealed to actually be a Red Coat and "A's" ally and accomplice. Emily is angered over Sara's betrayal and punches her for it. After Emily punches her, something happens to Sara, which puts her in the hospital. Five years later, Sara shows up to Charlotte's funeral, dressed in a black veil and escorted by a man. Later, Spencer reveals what happened that night at Radley. After Emily punched Sara, she got back up but accidentally put her hand on some electrical cords, which began electrocuting her body, as the Liars watched in fear and shock. This left her unable to use her hands. It is also revealed that after this event, Sara was diagnosed with Stockholm Syndrome, having downgraded Charlotte at the court as a horrible person. However, Sara visits Alison at her job and apologizes for this, saying that she saw Charlotte as a sister and was there for her when no one else was. Aria and Spencer break into her room at The Radley and find out that her room was Charlotte's old room in the sanitarium. They then find a hole in the closet that leads to an underground room, which in turn leads out of The Radley. However, Alison, Emily and Hanna return a few days and find the hole in the wall is now gone.
Reception
The reveal of Sara Harvey as both Red Coat and The Black Widow received a generally negative reception from fans and critics, with many of them expressing severe discontent over the writers for picking a character that was still new to the series.
References
- ↑ Gajewski, Ryan (March 25, 2015). "'Pretty Little Liars': 'Project Runway' Alum Heads to Rosewood for Recurring Role". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- 1 2 Burt, Kayti. "Who Is Dre Davis? 6 Things to Know About the New PLL Cast Member". Wet Paint. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ↑ Heimbord, Mimi. "‘Pretty Little Liars’ Season 6 SPOILERS: Model Dre Davis To Play Kimberly Brown; Is She Disguising Herself As Bethany Young?". Design & Trend. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ↑ http://www.afterellen.com/tv/444009-dre-davis-playing-mysterious-sara-harvey-pretty-little-liars
- ↑ http://www.tv.com/shows/pretty-little-liars/community/post/pretty-little-liars-whos-in-the-box-review-season-4-episode-14-138910920054/
- ↑ Wood, Lucy. "Everyone's freaking out about the new Pretty Little Liars cast member". Sugarscape. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ↑ Biedharn, Isabella. "'Songs of Innocence'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ↑ Ferguson, Latoya. "Pretty Little Liars Recap: Girls Discover Charles May Still Be Alive". US magazine. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- 1 2 Sorren, Martha. "Sara Harvey Is Red Coat On 'Pretty Little Liars' & She Was In Cahoots With CeCe". Bustle. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- 1 2 Highfill, Samantha. "Pretty Little Liars boss definitively answers who was behind the show's biggest mysteries". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- 1 2 Biedenharn, Isabella (August 12, 2015). "'Game Over, Charles'". Entertainment Weekly. p. 3. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
