Caleb Rivers used to be one of my favorite Pretty Little Liars characters, but it might be time to move on.
Ever since we first met Caleb at Rosewood High, he’s been one of the faces I look forward to seeing most on Pretty Little Liars. And no, it’s not just because Tyler Blackburn is quite pleasing to the eye! He was an immediately intriguing character who was just way too easy to love.
That being said, Caleb got off to a slightly rocky start with the Liars. He was working undercover for Jenna, and he was also committing petty crimes at school to make money. However, even through all of that, he just had this quality that made you want to trust him. All the evidence pointed to him being trouble, but damn it, fans were going to cherish him anyway.
His bad boy cred quickly melted away when he and Hanna got to know each other better. He was tough on the exterior, but we eventually found out he was nothing more than a marshmallow. His difficult past had hardened him, but the friendship and love that Hanna showed him allowed Caleb to reveal his true character. Pretty soon, he became one of the kindest, most sensitive characters in the entire series.
Beyond his soft heart and the love and support he always showed for Hanna and the rest of his friends, Caleb had some incredibly useful skills. The Liars usually do a decent job of taking care of themselves and each other (at least, when they’re not making incredibly stupid mistakes), but having a talented hacker on their side really changed the game. He fit into the main Pretty Little Liars narrative more than most side characters have been able to.
I remember being thrilled when Caleb was the first person the Liars told about A, because it meant they would have some help with the technical side of A’s game. My complete trust in Caleb also made me certain that the girls finally had another true ally in their fight against their torturer.
As the seasons went on, Caleb only became more of a beloved and integral character to the Pretty Little Liars series. He was an assuring presence on the show, and his relationship with Hanna became absolutely iconic to the fans. Then, just as we realized that Caleb had completely stolen our hearts, he moved to Ravenswood!
Obviously, I had some mixed feelings when one of my favorites gained his own spinoff series. On the one hand, that meant more Caleb. Even if he was surrounded by new people in a whole new (super creepy) place, we would still get to see more of the character we loved on a weekly basis. On the other hand, that meant he would be separated from Hanna and the A game far too often.
Fortunately/unfortunately (depending on who you are), Ravenswood was short-lived. Caleb said goodbye to the Grand Prize winning town for “creepiest atmosphere,” and came back to where he belonged! I was absolutely elated when Caleb returned to Rosewood. The little town full of big secrets just wasn’t the same without him, and I couldn’t wait for him to jump back into the action. Even though some strange things happened on Ravenswood that perhaps eluded to Caleb’s future sketchy behavior, I was wholeheartedly ready to welcome him home.
After that, things went pretty smoothly for a while. Pretty Little Liars as a show definitely had its ups and downs, but Caleb’s character continued to be interesting, useful and lovable. That is, until the notorious season 6B.
When Pretty Little Liars returned after the big A reveal, the characters had been through five years of growth and change that we weren’t privy to. We knew some things were going to be different in the Liars’ lives, and that some of the couples wouldn’t make it through the college years, but I honestly thought Hanna and Caleb might be the one that did!
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Their relationship had always been so solid and mature, and I was convinced they could handle any obstacle together. Unfortunately, the struggles of navigating new career paths proved to be too much for them at the time, so their romantic lives looked very different when we saw them again.
Even though I thought (and hoped) that Haleb would make it through the five-year jump, I was okay when they didn’t. Jordan was a great match for Hanna, and Caleb’s budding relationship with Spencer was tough to understand at first, but intriguing. The two of them have always been similar, so the pair definitely made sense.
Of course, it’s a little strange to start dating your ex-girlfriend’s best friend, but Spencer and Caleb handled it in a way that fans potentially could’ve come to terms with. Spencer approached Hanna before pursuing anything with Caleb, and Hanna was an engaged woman, so it wasn’t like she was pining to have Caleb back. That being said, Caleb definitely could’ve been more upfront with Toby about the whole situation.
When Hanna and Caleb kissed in the Lost Woods Resort, it was in the midst of an incredibly high stakes and powerful moment. They both needed someone to help them get through that stressful time, and the person there with them was someone they’d loved so deeply for so long. It’s understandable that temptation and impulse took over. I’m not trying to excuse what they did, but I am saying that the kiss wasn’t necessarily a fatal blow to the budding Spaleb romance.
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Then, Caleb went and made everything so much worse. It seemed like, overnight, he lost everything I’d loved about him for years, and became a whole new indecisive and weak person. He basically told Hanna that he didn’t want it to be over between them, and then went home to Spencer without a peep when Hanna rejected him! To make matters worse, when Spencer found out about what happened and poured her heart out to him in a last ditch effort to save their relationship, he gave her absolutely nothing in return.
Eventually, he came to terms with the fact that Hanna was still engaged and Spencer still loved him and made his last, tearful attempt at Spencer’s door. The scene was beautiful, but it only made the crack he had started between Spencer and Hanna grow into a wider chasm.
That’s the reason that Caleb’s actions and wishy-washy nature as of late are so unforgivable. The most sacred thing on Pretty Little Liars is the bond between the girls, and he aggressively threatened it. Everyone makes mistakes, but when your uncertainty causes a rift between two of the Liars, there’s going to be hell to pay!
Ever since this love triangle began, support for Spanna has been at an all time high, coming close to overpowering even the most vehement of shippers. Pretty Little Liars fans are so protective over these girls and their friendship that anyone who comes between them just isn’t worth our time.
When Caleb left after that scene at the door, I was honestly ready to say goodbye. I thought, “Finally, now the girls can get things back on track, and we can say a sad goodbye to this shadow of a character I once loved.” When I heard that he was returning in Pretty Little Liars season 7, episode 6, I didn’t feel anything close to the elation I felt when he returned from Ravenswood. Actually, what I felt was dread.
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A character that used to be so interesting and uniquely helpful has become nothing more than a plot device to create drama between Spencer and Hanna, and quite frankly, I’m over it. Although I thought I would love Caleb and support his relationship with Hanna until Pretty Little Liars was over, I just can’t say the same now.
It’s clear that Caleb and Spencer’s relationship is over, which likely means that he’ll be back together with Hanna before the end of the summer season. However, I can’t see that happening in a way that fans are truly happy with. He just kissed her while dating her best friend and then played with them both for quite a while afterwards. That’s probably the definition of “not cool.”
It would take a lot of work to get Caleb back to a place where I would support a Haleb reunion, and honestly, I’d rather not bother with it. It would be almost impossible to get the love triangle to a point where there was no awkwardness and it felt genuine.
Even outside of romantic relationships, I just can’t see myself having the same respect for Caleb that I once did. Unfortunately, I think my love and appreciation for this character has been damaged beyond repair. In my opinion, it’s time for the girls to move on from his drama and focus on dealing with A.D., once and for all!
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