Fictional character
Jenna Marshall is a fictional character created by I. Marlene King for the Freeform television series "Pretty Little Liars" and portrayed by Tammin Sursok. The character is based on Jenna Cavanaugh, who was created by Sara Shepard in the book series. Although in the novels Jenna is murdered in "Heartless", in the show she is still alive. Jenna is a major recurring character in the first five seasons, acting as a member of the A-Team, while being absent for the sixth, and returning in the seventh, working as a helper to Uber A.
Development.
Characterization.
Toby had described Jenna as "someone who gets whatever she wants". Although Jenna is resentful towards Alison and her friends, she volunteers to do a speech at Alison's memorial dedication in "Please, Do Talk About Me When I'm Gone". She shares only kind words, mentioning Alison's visit to her in the hospital, claiming that Ali made her stronger and more in touch with her identity.
Jenna also proves she can be slightly abusive and controlling, as she slaps Toby when he tells her he will "never touch her like that again", and asks who he thinks he's talking to. Jenna is known to show a much sadder and vulnerable side than she usually does when around people she doesn't know. She has made a beautiful pottery piece, but is frustrated that she cannot see anything, not even the shadows it produces when lit.
Rivalries and friendships.
Jenna is known for her rivalries with Alison DiLaurentis, Spencer Hastings, Toby Cavanaugh, Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery, and Emily Fields. Alison originally offered Jenna a chance to become a member of her clique, but rejected her request, leading Alison and the Liars to blind her, an event later nicknamed "The Jenna Thing". Marshall had romantic feelings for her step-brother Toby Cavanaugh in which she forced herself on him. However, he didn't return those feelings which angered her. When Jenna finds out that Toby has developed romantic feelings for Emily, she reacts very spitefully. When he is arrested during the first season, Marshall discloses to him that she turned him in to the police so he'd come home in hopes of continuing their sexual relationship. In "Wanted: Dead or Alive" it is divulged that Jenna and Charlotte DiLaurentis were great friends for a long time. Apparently, Mona told Charlotte everything about the Liars shortly after being admitted to Radley Sanitarium. For Charlotte, Jenna was a "celebrity" because of everything she went through. Jenna was also previously a member of Charlotte's A-Team. Marshall knew Charlotte and Archer Dunhill were together, and helped him develop the Elliott Rollins alias and get a job as a psychiatrist. Jenna also attempted to track down the whereabouts of Charlotte's birth mother, Mary Drake. Marshall is currently working for the newest incarnation of "A", commonly known as "A.D.", though she's doing so anonymously.
Relationships.
Jenna was romantically linked to Garrett Reynolds. The two began a relationship in "For Whom The Bell Tools", as it is shown when Reynolds shows up in Jenna's room and kisses her. However, it was revealed the two were linked to the N.A.T Club, as they appeared together on the night of Alison DiLaurentis's disappearance. Jenna later dumps Garrett when he is arrested for the murder of Alison DiLaurentis.
Marshall was also romantically linked to Noel Kahn. The two were seen together on a romantic evening by Noel's ex-girlfriend Mona Vanderwaal and Hanna Marin. They dated for a while and seem to have broken up some point later in the third season. However, they maintained a friendship since during the seventh season, both return to Rosewood in attempt to steal Charlotte's money to pay another eye surgery for Jenna. Marshall claims to the authorities she pretended to act as Kahn's partner because he murdered Sara Harvey and she feared to be his subsequent victim.
As revealed in "A Dangerous Game", Jenna and Shana seemed to be in a romantic relationship although it is somewhat ambiguous. Throughout the fourth season they are seen together, although no kissing or explicit declarations of love are shown. Shana is confirmed to have been madly in love with Jenna, and it is made clear in the fifth season when Marshall mourns her death.
Novels storylines.
Jenna was popularly connected with the fairytale princess Snow White. She had pale skin, long black hair, naturally pink lips, and big hazel eyes. She also was quite tall and had a cute figure. Alison often called her 'Snow' but used the nickname in a mean way. Jenna was known to be very quiet and has a sweet, kind personality. Whenever she takes off her glasses, it can be seen that she has small bruises and cuts reaching from her eyes to her nose. It was said it could be from her stepbrother Toby.
Jenna was often the target of Alison and her crew, with jokes about her likeness to Snow White and pranks such as giving her apples dipped in toilet water. There might have been some resentment among the group about her good looks, since Hanna mentioned she was "pretty in an annoying way."
One evening, Ali convinced the others to support her plan to get revenge on Jenna's stepbrother, Toby Cavanaugh, for spying on them while they were changing. Ali snuck into the Cavanaugh's yard, grabbed one of Toby's fireworks, and accidentally launched it into his garage. Alison sees Toby and Jenna "together" and accidentally set the firework off into the garage, blinding Jenna and burning it down. Alison blackmails Toby into taking the blame for the incident and he is sent away. Later the girls would come to call the infamous incident "The Jenna Thing."
However, four years later, during a storm and power outage, Jenna reveals to Aria that she not only knew Ali set off the firework, but they planned it together as well, to get rid of Toby. Jenna tells Aria that her parents gave Toby a warning: if he kept setting off fireworks from his tree house, he'd be sent away to boarding school. Their plan worked, but it cost Jenna her sight and she left Rosewood Day to attend a school for the blind in Philadelphia. By the time the second "A" wreaks significant havoc in the girls' lives, it becomes clear to Aria that Jenna knows vital information about the culprit. Unfortunately, before Aria can ask her what she knows, Jenna is murdered by this "A" and found dead in a ditch in her parents' backyard. In "Wanted", it is revealed that the real Alison DiLaurentis is the new "A" and her murderer.
Television storylines.
In October 2008, Jenna moved to Rosewood after her mother married Toby's father and quickly became popular at Rosewood High School. Alison invited her to join her group of friends but she declined. This led to a long-term rivalry between the two. Jenna is a very aggressive and manipulative person. She forced her step-brother, Toby, into a sexual relationship with her and threatened to accuse him of forcing himself on her. After being blinded by Alison and her friends, Jenna developed a hatred and grudge against all of them. Jenna seems to have been involved with the N.A.T. Club before Alison went missing. She was not sorry for Alison's passing and has continued to keep the Liars on her radar to keep them from revealing her secrets.
Season 1.
The character is officially introduced in the pilot episode, being guided into Alison DiLaurentis' funeral by her step-brother Toby Cavanaugh, much to everyone's surprise. Marshall is led out to a car by Toby moments after the memorial service concludes.
In "The Jenna Thing", Marshall appears in the beginning of the episode walking into the Apple Rose Grille in a time when the Liars happened to be there. When Jenna sits down, they quietly get up and leave. Marshall later appears at the school cafeteria when Aria Montgomery invites her to sit with her friends. It is an awkward lunch, seeing as Jenna makes the Liars nervous and insinuates that the group's dynamic changed since Alison's absence. Marshall discloses to them that Ali paid a visit to her while she was admitted at the hospital. Jenna affirms that everyone misunderstood Alison but she knew exactly who Ali was. The girls remain silent as a flashback ensues to the fateful events of the night they blinded her. At one point, Marshall breaks the silence by picking up Spencer's beeping phone, when she receives a text. Spencer turns paranoid after getting a text from "A" with Jenna in such close proximity. No one found out about "The Jenna Thing," but with Toby's knowledge of the incident, the Liars suspected the secret was going to slip. Jenna is later seated on a bench during Spencer's run, using a phone for the blind. Marshall orders the item to send a text, then proceeds to turn around and face where Spencer's standing.
During "To Kill a Mocking Girl", Jenna is seen walking down the school's hallway with Toby while the Liars whisper to each other. She makes a remark on their blabbing, saying "Almost feels like Alison's still here." Later when Emily Fields comes to thank Cavanaugh for helping her with Ben, Jenna is present, unbeknownst to Fields. After Em leaves, Jenna questions Toby about the reason why Emily thanked him but he assures his step-sister it isn't what she's thinking.
Throughout "Reality Bites Me", Jenna is seen by Hanna Marin on her way to work at Dr Ackard's office. Jenna enters the elevator and puts on her trademark lipstick. Marshall asks Hanna if she likes the color (believed to be Jungle Red, Alison's favorite). It is undisclosed whether Jenna knew if she was talking to Hanna.
In "There's No Place Like Homecoming", Jenna and her seeing eye dog Shadow visit Emily at her house after homecoming. Emily is resting after having been hospitalized. Marshall comes under the guise of being sympathetic to Emily's plight, even going as far as bringing her cookies. Jenna found out that Toby's psychological profile is missing because the cops went looking for it, and knows the Liars took the file, having overheard them talking about it at Homecoming. She wants Emily to return the document, so she can protect her secret of having forced her step-brother into a sexual relationship. Emily is open to fulfilling Jenna's request, as she feels partially responsible for Jenna's accident, something Jenna does not fail to mention repeatedly. Fields tries to get the file back, but cannot contact the Liars while her mother is around. Aria later throws the file into the river. However, it seems the file makes its way into "A"'s hands anyway, when a figure is seen gingerly retrieving the pages from the water. When Jenna asks for the file after Emily returns to Rosewood High, Fields vaguely tells her that it is gone. Marshall is put off, after being placed in the position where she is forced to trust Emily.
Throughout "Please, Do Talk About Me When I'm Gone", Jenna is still resentful towards Alison but volunteers to make a speech at her memorial dedication. She shares only kind words, mentioning Ali's visit to her in the hospital, further claiming that she made her stronger and more in touch with her identity.
During "The New Normal", Jenna hails a cab after Toby's house arrest bracelet is removed, so the two can share a ride. Marshall is very upset when he declines her offer and chooses to go with Spencer instead.
In "The Badass Seed", Jenna offers to play flute for the school play, "The Bad Seed" and tells Ezra Fitz that she is fascinated with the play and its theme regarding the nature of evil. Marshall is seen talking to Ian Thomas in the by a similar name, taking a "Neuman's" shopping bag from him, though the contents aren't revealed. With Mr. Fitz as her guide, Jenna writes an essay to be submitted to a contest with vague references to the event that blinded her. The essay centers around a blind girl that senses more than people with an intact eyesight do and heavily implies that her blindness wasn't an accident. The content leads Ezra to believe her brother is guilty, not the girls. Ezra is fascinated by the story and believes it has a chance at winning. At the end of the episode, Aria confides to Mr. Fitz about who the