Jason DiLaurentis

Jason DiLaurentis is Alison DiLaurentis' elder brother. He was an Emo/Punk a few years before the events in the present day. He admits to having been a substance abuser before turning his life around, graduating from an Ivy League institution and picking up more wholesome hobbies, such as long distance biking and photography. He is now offering counsel to at-risk youth on substance abuse at Rosewood High School.

Early Life
Jason used to smoke pot and hang out with Ian Thomas last summer. In high school, he had been in a secret club called N.A.T. with Ian and their other friend, Garrett Reynolds. Interestingly, the Ivy League student had not participated in any other school clubs. It is also revealed in a flashback in Season 2, that he almost hated Alison because she would often go into his room and take his belongings. Jason later reveals that he was often jealous of Alison, and had felt that his parents thought they "lost the wrong kid."

Season 1
He came back to Rosewood in "Please, Do Talk About Me When I'm Gone" with a new clean cut look that surprised most of the girls. His purpose in returning to Rosewood was to help organize Alison's memorial. (This turned into his directing the project.) He is now guarded and keeps secrets. Jason reveals to Spencer what Alison also told him about "The Jenna Thing," specifically her revision in which Spencer was behind everything, including being the one to throw the stink bomb, which exploded, burned down the Cavanagh's garage and severly injured Jenna Marshall. When he talks about it with Spencer, she asks if he believes his sister's story; he does not reply back, causing her tell him that he's just like Alison. To this he replies saying he's even worse than Alison. The day after the memorial, he decides to give the girls Alison's bracelet and leaves.

Later, in "If At First You Don't Succeed, Lie, Lie Again," Jason again returns to Rosewood. After finding "A|A's" picture of Alison the day she disappeared, Spencer seeks him out to show it to him. Spencer finds Jason working out on some bleachers; there, Jason tells Spencer that he and his family have received similar photos of Alison surrounding the night she disappeared and goes on to tell her that a private investigator has determined many of them to be fake. Still, he is willing to see if this one is real. Later in the episode, he opens up to Spencer about his past with drugs and lets her know that it is possible that he took that picture of Alison because he doesn't remember that night, or most of that summer, as it turns out. The vantage point of the photograph was his house and, quite possibly, his bedroom window. In this episode, Jason also reveals that planning Alison's memorial was one of the biggest challenges he has ever faced.

Season 2
Jason returns once again, however Parker Bagley has been replaced by Drew Van Acker. He moves into his old house, in which he once lived with his sister, Alison, after inheriting some money. Spencer visits him and offers to help him move in properly, however he declines her help and questions Spencer about Alison's death, asking whether Ian really admitted to killing her. Jason seems dissatisfied with Spencer's vague answer.

At the end of "The Goodbye Look," Jason is building a fence around his home, in order to keep people out; however the Liars seem to think to keep someone in, specifically, Ian. He eventually hires Toby Cavanaugh to help him with the construction work when he was fired from his previous job. Jason holds onto the fact that he is the only one living in the house, but Spencer did see a figure in Jason's window while Jason was outside. However, there is no proof it is actually Ian, and Ian's body being found in an old barn later confirms this.

In "The Devil You Know," we learn that Jason was always very jealous of Alison, and he feels he should have died instead of his sister. Jason confides to Aria that it is possible that he killed Alison, as he has no recollection of what happened that night, but knows that he could be violent when jealous. Jason shows Aria a piece of paper he received the next day, warning him that someone knew what he did, though the reference is vague. That slip always made him worry that he might have been the one to harm Alison. However, he admits the relief he feels from the closure that Ian's confession had brought him.

From "Blind Dates," Jason might have feelings for Aria, as indicated when he tells her that he misses her pink hair. He also doesn't call the cops when Mike wanted to rob his house and has a sort of a moment with Aria when he brings Mike back to the Montgomery's home.

In "Never Letting Go," Jason meets with Aria outside Emily's house to talk about the sensitive information he revealed to her at Ian's funeral. The next day after school, the two meet to discuss what photos to use for Alison's tribute at the fashion show. Aria begins asking him questions, hoping to "shake a memory loose" about the day of Ali's disappearance. Jason feels like he is being interrogated and leaves somewhat angrily and disappointed.

Backstage at the fashion show, Aria and Jason exchange a meaningful look before he is introduced on stage. During the "unplanned finale" fiasco, Jason escorts his mother away from the chaos. Later, he appears backstage just as Noel is handing Aria the disc that could theoretically incriminate her and her friends. Jason steps in, takes the disc, and snaps it, not allowing Noel to bully Aria. He then offers Aria a ride home, and she accepts.

Jason's character is developed to a great extent in "Surface Tension." He visits Rosewood High on a school day to talk to the guidance counselor; he wants to help at-risk high school students by showing them that there is life after high school. Aria finds Jason sitting in Ella's classroom, thanking her for the kind note she sent his mother. Ella lets Aria know that Jason is also invited to dinner that night, and Aria gives him a half-smile. Ella has invited Jason, thinking he could use some "human companionship" while going through this tough time, especially living in the old house, alone.

That night, Jason arrives at the Montgomery household with flowers, which he hands to Aria. Jason and Ezra meet for the first time. Aria steps out of the party to answer a call from Spencer, warning Aria that Jason may have been involved in Alison's death and to be alert with Jason in her house. Spencer and Aria both remember the incident last summer when Jason nearly hit Ali with a hockey stick. He had come looking for her on their mother's orders, not pleased to have to do it. He had grabbed the stick from her and then threatened to hit her with it. After that, Ali had tried to whack her brother with the stick, but Jason had moved quickly and mockingly warned Ali that she wouldn't get a second chance. Spencer finds it awfully incriminating to have found that same hockey stick buried on her property near where Jason was building a fence. She finds it doubly incriminating that Jason doesn't remember anything from the night Ali disappeared.

Later, back at the party, Jason and Ezra get to know one another, sharing their stories about biking and traveling. Then, the dinner party is interrupted with news of Mike's arrest. Jason and Aria exchange knowing looks, at which Ezra raises an eyebrow. Byron and Ella  leave to pick him up, leaving Ezra, Jason, and Aria alone in the house. After cleaning up a bit, and speaking with Ezra, Aria goes back out to the living room, where Jason is sitting, to offer him coffee. Aria and Jason discuss Mike's arrest; she lets him know that Mike had promised her that he wouldn't repeat his mistake, and he wisely lets her know that he probably meant it at the time. He also tells her that if this is his first time getting caught, he has probably raided multiple houses before. Afterwards, Aria rushes down the stairs, suddenly telling Ezra and Jason to leave. So they leave, pausing briefly at the doorstop for an awkward stare-down before going their separate ways.

In "Picture This," Jason tries to pursue Aria by visiting her in her house to supposedly give her the number for a psychological counselor for Mike. Aria behaves awkwardly around him, having been fantasizing about him in her sex dreams the previous two nights, and he leaves, confused by her excuses. Meanwhile, Spencer watches Jason in his backyard. She witnesses him yell at the gardener attempting to enter the shed, lock the door, and hide the key above the door frame. Later, she enlists Emily to help her break in, where they discover photos developing of Aria sleeping hanging all about the shed-turned-darkroom, plus suspicious surveillance equipment. Jason comes home while the girls are breaking in and realizes that there was an intruder when he finds the flashlight Emily left behind. He immediately moves his expensive photography equipment for good measure. Afterwards, he sees Aria on the street and confesses to having only stopped by because he cares about her. He kisses her, but after a few seconds, she puts a stop to it, citing she is "unavailable," and leaves hurriedly.

In "Touched by an 'A'-ngel," Emily tells Aria about the pictures, so when she spots Jason in school, she confronts him. He is aggravated to hear that her friends were the ones who broke into his home. He lets her know that he had found a roll of film among Alison's belongings and had only figured out what the photographs were when he developed them in his dark room. Additionally, after seeing they were all of Aria, he had planned to give her one of the framed photographs as a gift. Later, Aria is at the Grille by herself; Jason joins her, and tries to make her feel relaxed instead of scared of him. He presents her with the frame. He also invites Aria to come over and see some more of Alison's belongings in the box he found hidden under her floorboards while he was renovating her room. He had found the roll of film in that box, and Aria is curious about what else is in there. Aria seems nervous during their conversation, and Jason picks up on Aria's twisting straws. Aria is still not completely trusting of Jason, though she is not totally wary of him either. Unbeknownst to both of them, Spencer and Toby watch their encounter from outside the restaurant's window.

Aria agrees to go with him to his house, but she doesn't enter his shed and opts to wait for him outside instead. While waiting, Ezra pulls into Jason's driveway to 'save' Aria from Jason. The two kiss, and Jason finally comes back, just in time to witness the lip-lock. He gives Aria the box of belongings to keep and stares intently at her, acknowledging that Aria is "unavailable." He watches enviously as Aria enters Ezra's car.

Later that night, he sits subdued on his porch steps. Garrett Reynolds swings by. Jason greets Garrett with the causality of old friends. Garrett offers Jason a can of beer, but when Jason gives him a look, he says "I forgot" and keeps it for himself. He makes himself comfortable, and Jason nonchalantly asks him what he's thinking about. Garrett says that he wants to know that their secret is still under wraps, as he is a cop, and his reputation is on the line. Jason stares at him, but doesn't say anything. The two then sit, kicking back.

In the next episode, Garrett Reynolds is seen leaving Jason's house again. As well, Peter Hastings is seen exiting the house later that day, though he won't explain why he was there. Jason also removes the newspaper boarding up the windows of Alison's room.

When Spencer and Toby leaf through Ian's yearbook, they note that Garrett, Jason, and Ian must have been friends, all in a secret club together. Jason had written a comment in Ian's yearbook about the N.A.T. club, and the caption for that club is listed under all three yearbook pictures, though not in the glossary of clubs. Spencer finds a shirt that leads her to believe that N.A.T. basically means "We See All" and that the three were all stalkers together, creating videos and taking pictures of the local Rosewood girls, when they weren't looking. This assumption has yet to be confirmed.

Based on information revealed in "I Must Confess," it seems that Jason had been able to afford buying back his old home thanks to the money left to him in his grandmother's will. It is suggested that Jason had tried to sell a family heirloom, prompting his grandmother to change the will to exclude him a week before Alison's disappearance. After his grandmother's death some months later, Peter Hastings had doctored the documents to revert the will back to an earlier version, in which Jason was included. Peter explains to his daughter that this was done so as not to make Jason look responsible for killing his sister. The money is still rightfully his, as after Alison's death it would pass to the next relative. It is also very likely that Alison had something to do with the changed will, as she was asking questions, seemingly plotting to get the money all to herself.

The argument between Peter Hastings and Jason in "I Must Confess" is referenced in the next episode, "Over My Dead Body" when Jason shows up to the police station upon hearing the girls were arrested. Peter immediately approaches him on the side and begs him to leave. But Jason is firm in his belief that his sister would have wanted him here, to which Mr. Hastings says he did things to protect Jason. Jason underlines that he didn’t kill Ali, so there was never a need to protect him. Jason tells Peter that he bought the house because Ali was great at keeping secrets and punishing people with the truth.

Peter admits he was honest with Jason the night before because he thought it would help. Jason cryptically says, "I didn't give you a choice. Why do you think I bought that house?" We also learn that Jason no longer believes he could have killed Ali and that Garrett and Jenna wrote the note he had found the next day. Then Jason asks whether Mrs. Hastings knows, mysteriously implying something that Peter comprehends immediately. Peter says no and insists that Veronica not find out whatever secret they are keeping that night with everything else that is going on...

In the prequel episode, "The First Secret," Jason enters Alison's room without knocking, as Alison sits sprawled on her bed writing in a notebook. As soon as she sees him, she shuts the notebook. Jason eyes the move before forking over a $20 to keep her silent. He tosses her a package that was on the porch for her. He stares expectantly, hoping to see what's inside, but Alison is careful not to open it until he's gone.

Aria/Jason/Ezra Love Triangle
Jason first begins flirting with Aria when he sees her at the basketball cage, while she is looking for Mike, flattering Aria. When Mike tries to break into his house, he doesn't call the police, seemingly as a favor to her.

In "The Devil You Know," Ezra won't show public affection for Aria, so she goes to talk to Jason instead, who treats her like a confidante, and the two grow closer. In "Never Letting Go," Aria's friends think that Aria is answering a text from Ezra, when she is really answering a text from Jason. She goes to meet Jason in his car outside, and the two spend time together throughout the episode before the fashion show, talking. Later, Jason sticks up for Aria in her dressing room and gives her a ride home from the fashion show that he had attended, but Ezra had not.

In "Surface Tension," Aria finds Jason sitting in Ella's classroom after his meeting before Ella lets Aria know that Jason is also invited to dinner that night, and Aria gives him a half-smile. Later at school, Aria lets Spencer know that Jason is set to come over, in addition to Ezra. Spencer is alarmed as she doesn't trust Jason, but Aria is worried for the reason that it will be awkward with her boyfriend and another suitor there.

That night, Jason arrives at the Montgomery household with flowers, which he hands them to Aria. Jason and Ezra meet for the first time. Jason and Ezra get to know one another, sharing their stories about their hard-core biking. After the dinner party is broken up with the news of Mike's arrest, Jason and Aria exchange knowing looks, at which Ezra raises an eyebrow. Byron and Ella  go, leaving Ezra, Jason, and Aria alone in the house. The two guys help Aria put the serving plates away. In the kitchen, Ezra questions Aria about Jason, asking who he is. She answers that he is Ali's brother, to which Ezra responds that he knows, clearly expecting a more specific answer. Aria goes back out to the living room, where Jason is sitting, under the guise of wanting to offer him coffee. But Ezra isn't oblivious to the fact that the two are whispering privately. Aria and Jason discuss Mike's arrest. Later, Aria suddenly tells Ezra and Jason to leave. So they leave, pausing briefly at the doorstop for an awkward stare-down before going their separate ways.

In "Save the Date," Aria practically ignores Ezra and avoids his kisses throughout the episode. Ezra asks if Jason is a threat to him, and Aria says "no," somewhat satisfying Ezra's curiosity. When Jason calls Aria at the end of the episode, she lies to Ezra that it is her father and turns down his offer to visit his apartment, leaving Ezra feeling rejected.

In "Picture This," Aria has sex dreams involving both Ezra and Jason. Flustered, Aria avoids Jason when he comes over. Later, Jason confesses his affection for Aria and kisses her. At first, Aria responds, but then she stops him and tells him she isn't available and leaves. It is unclear to Jason who Aria's other love interest may be. In addition, it is discovered by Spencer and Emily that he has been developing photos of Aria sleeping in his shed/darkroom. We find out soon that the pictures are taken by Alison, and that he found the roll, and developed them, thinking they were beautiful. he intended to give one to Aria as a present.

In "Touched by an 'A'-ngel," it is later found that Jason had not been the one who took the pictures of Aria; rather it had been Alison. After Jason had developed the prints, he planned to give one of the framed photographs to Aria, which he does when he sees her in the Grille. He invites her to his house, and while he is getting a box of Ali's things from inside, Ezra arrives, worried about Aria. They make up, and kiss. Jason returns just in time to see this and process that Mr. Fitz is the reason she said she wasn't available. He looks on sadly as she leaves, and later sits moping on his porch.

Trivia

 * Jason has long blonde hair in the books.
 * Parker Bagley portrayed Jason through Season One of Pretty Little Liars, however in Season Two he was replaced by Drew Van Acker in order to make his appearance more similar to the one of Jason from the book series.