Ravenswood is a television show that aired on ABC Family. It premiered on October 22nd, 2013, following the Pretty Little Liars Season 4 Halloween Episode, the B-plot of which served as a Poorly-Disguised Pilot for this show. Its cancellation was announced on February 14th, 2014.
The series follows Caleb Rivers (Tyler Blackburn), who followed his girlfriend Hanna Marin to the town of Ravenswood during the aforementioned Halloween Episode, with the aim of protecting her from her mysterious stalker, "A". While in Ravenswoodnote , the two of them made the acquaintance of Miranda Collins (Nicole Gale Anderson), who had just moved to Ravenswood to live with her uncle. While attempting to help Hannah with her mystery, Caleb and Miranda stumbled upon one of their own: Two graves in the local cemetery with their names and faces on them. While Hanna's mystery eventually took her back to her hometown of Rosewood, she asked Caleb to stay behind and help Miranda figure things out, setting up the plot of Ravenswood.
This series provides examples of:
- Ambiguously Evil: Raymond Collins. Emphasis on the "ambiguous". In the final episode of the series it's revealed that his line were the keepers of the souls of those killed by the pact to protect the town. He also does a Heel–Face Turn at the end.
- Animal Motif: First off there's the towns name which is also the series name. Also crows make frequent appearances and finally Gabriel Abaddon, after the contract is signed by the town fathers turns into a crow and flies off
- Black Widow: Mrs. Matheson (Luke and Olivia's mother) is thought to have killed her husband, due to a lack of any other suspects.
- But Not Too Black: Remy is an odd case. She has Afro facial features and hair texture, but is extremely pale.
- Commonality Connection: Caleb and Miranda bond over their pasts as troubled foster kids.
- Creepy Child: MAX!
- Creepy Housekeeper: Carla Grunwald. Subverted in that she seems to be one of the good guys. (And fans of Pretty Little Liars will remember her as a helpful ally to Alison when she was in danger.)
- Creepy Good: Carla and, probably, Raymond.
- Cut Short: The series was canceled after ten episodes.
- Darker and Edgier: Compared to its parent show Pretty Little Liars. Not only is the lighting and color palette darker, but Ravenswood incorporates more horror and supernatural elements. As noted above, a Halloween Episode served as its introduction.
- Deadpan Snarker: Most of the teen characters, though the adults get in on it too.
- Declaration of Protection: Miranda promises Hanna that she'll protect Caleb.
- Deadly Bath: Subverted. Someone - or something - attempts to drown Caleb while he's in the tub, but he survives.
- Deal with the Devil: The pact.
- The Dragon: Max
- Five-Man Band: The protagonists are slowly gelling into this.
- The Hero: Caleb
- The Lancer/The Smart Guy: Remy is definitely the latter and is slipping into the former.
- The Big Guy: Luke
- The Chick: Olivia and Miranda share this role.
- Groin Attack: Springer gets one from Olivia in 1x07.
- Haunted House: They explore one in the fifth episode
- I See Dead People: Caleb sees Miranda's ghost after she gets killed in the car crash. After they rescue her spirit from Hell it all the kids can see her
- Magic Realism: A series about a town with a mysterious curse, ghosts and demons in an otherwise mundane 'verse would seem to fit here.
- Meaningful Name: Gabriel Abbadon. His first name is that of an angel, the second of a demon.
- Near-Death Experience: Caleb has one in the fifth episode
- Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Subverted. Springer accuses Miranda of simply trying to collect inheritance money. Caleb doesn't take his comments well.
- Our Ghosts Are Different
- Parental Abandonment: Miranda's parents died when she was young and her uncle gave her up without a second thought.
- Poorly-Disguised Pilot: "Grave New World", the Season 4 Halloween Episode of Pretty Little Liars.
- Reincarnation: Caleb and Miranda at least are reincarnations of the original victims of the curse. Whether the other three are or not has not been indicated.
- Scary Scarecrow: One haunts Remy's dream in episode 1.6 and then shows up in the real world to attack her, Luke and Caleb
- The Scully: Luke at first. After the trip to the Haunted House which is apparently a portal to Hell he's coming around.
- The Series Has Left Reality: Pretty Little Liars is set in the real world, even if some of A's tricks defy belief. The spinoff has overt supernatural elements, and one of its major characters is a psychic with ties to the parent show; most notably, her visions helped her save Alison's life the night she disappeared.
- Two Girls to a Team: Inverted. Caleb and Luke are the only boys in the Five-Man Band.
- Sinister Minister: Gabriel Abbadon
- Sleepwalking: Remy frequently does this. it turns out that she's Dreaming Of Things Long Past, namely how the pact came to be
-
Special Effect Failure: The Stinger of episode 1x05. - Spin-Off
- Spooky Séance: The main characters hold one using a Ouija Board in the third episode.
- Town with a Dark Secret: Ravenswood appears to have at least one.
- Undertaker: Raymond
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Subverted. Miranda is killed in episode two, but she sticks around as a ghost.
- Wham Line: From the second episode: "Time of death. One-oh-two." Only two episodes and Miranda, a central character, is already dead.
