I’ll never forget being a fashion-obsessed teenager when Gossip Girl first aired. It was love at first watch. Set in New York City, following the scandalous lives of elite high schoolers from the Upper East Side.
I have to admit, it’s toxic, but oh so addicting! Back then, I wasn’t interested in watching characters grapple with morality. I lived for the drama, the scandal, and the fabulous lives of the rich, the hot, and the unapologetically evil characters on the show.
Now, I’m knee-deep in my Gossip Girl rewatch and am just as obsessed as the first time. Something about this show pulls me in. Maybe it’s the consistently fabulous costumes or the because of such iconic cast. I mean, I can just look at Nate Archibald all day. The show has always held me spellbound, and I’m revisiting it for that exact reason.
Rewatching the show as an adult in my thirties was completely different from watching it in my teens or early twenties, and here are all my thoughts.
Note: I’d say spoilers, but if you haven’t seen Gossip Girl yet, that’s on you.
1. The biggest WTF moment was trying to portray the Humphreys as poor. Come on, they live in a spacious loft in DUMBO, and Rufus was a successful art gallery owner and band member! With two kids in private school, they definitely aren’t struggling. Humphreys are at least solidly middle class, if not upper middle class.
2. I couldn’t stop laughing during the pilot episode when Nate and Chuck were seen riding a public school bus. It still bothers me to this day! I mean, can you really expect me to believe that Chuck and Nate would ever ride a public bus to school? It made no sense at all, and they never did it again!
3. VANESSA!!! Need I say more? I just don’t understand why Vanessa was part of the show. After watching the show again, I realized that if she weren’t in it, it would still be the same show. She did nothing but make me irrationally angry at all times and managed to get on every single one of my nerves. Honestly, she really should’ve just stayed in Brooklyn.
4. Jenny Humphrey is the worst character ever. I just can’t get over how terrible Jenny Humphrey was in Season 3. She turned her back on her friend Eric to become queen bee and then threw yogurt on him! And then starts dealing drugs and stealing from Lily, who has always been there for her. And let’s not even get started on how she tried to steal Nate from Serena, who has always been accepting and supportive of Jenny.
The worst thing Jenny did was just everything in Serena’s teacher plotline. Like, okay, Serena was mean to you one time, so you conspired with a crazy stalker to ruin her life, get her kicked out of college, and (unbeknownst to Jenny) roofied and framed for a drug overdose. That was really the moment I was done with Jenny and Vanessa.
5. I will never forgive the writers for destroying Rufus and Lily!!! They were the only couple that made sense and should have ended up together.
6. Nate and Serena were endgame. Why didn’t they end up together? It was literally SO obvious from the very beginning that they were meant to be together. I hate even pairing Nate with such a morally questionable character because he somehow happened to be the sweetest character. Still, they got along so well and had similar attitudes towards their lifestyle, and most importantly they had such a meaningful friendship.
7. The show really did Nate dirty. His character had so much potential, but the writers just kind of dropped the ball on his development. Plus, let’s be honest: Nate is beautiful to look at. Sure, he may not have been the most exciting character, but at least he never betrayed anyone for his gain. But imagine if Gossip Girl turned out to be Nate; it would have added a whole new, dark layer to his character, especially considering his feelings of not belonging.
8. I couldnt believe how unrealistic Blair’s wedding look was in Gossip Girl’s season five? With her impeccable fashion sense, her mom’s fame as a fashion designer, and all her wealth, it’s hard to understand how she ended up looking like that on her wedding day to an actual prince! I was expecting something more Grace Kelly-like from her, not the loose hair with a strapless white gown.
9. Can we talk about how they suddenly stopped going to university? Like, why is no one attending classes?
10. I don’t think Dan and Blair were thrown together for shock value. In fact, upon rewatching the show, I noticed they had one of the most refreshing friendships/relationships. They took the time to build a solid friendship in seasons 4 and 5 before getting together at the end of season 5. This kind of slow-burn development is rare in the show. When Dan wrote Louis’ vows, Blair said it was like he peered into her soul! Their friendship was more mature than many others on the show, and most importantly, they made each other genuinely happy in a healthy way.
11. Serena and Dan’s endgame was rushed. It was like he was madly in love with Blair, and then five minutes later, it was Serena again.
12. Can we just talk about how they’re like 15, and they’re drinking martinis at a hotel on a school night?? I can’t believe how much alcohol they consumed throughout the series, especially since they were all underage for the first few seasons. It’s pretty wild!
13. Chuck and Lily’s relationship is the series’ highlight. I adored their relationship.
14. In every episode, the things that go down are absolutely outrageous. Chuck Bass’s predatory behaviour is off the charts. And yet, despite all the toxicity, you find yourself inexplicably rooting for him. It’s like he’s that reformed bad boy who’s a total jerk to everyone except his one true love. Honestly, it’s like something straight out of a Wattpad fan fiction. Even as a teenager and fully aware of how toxic Chuck and Blair’s relationship was, I couldn’t help but cheer them on.
15. Blair and Chuck may not have been innocent, but their character development was absolutely top-notch. Their storyline was hands down one of the most gripping and authentic in the entire series.
16. Serena is the only character who never changed throughout the entire show. And every episode and season-ending, there she was, insisting, “I’m trying to change”!!!!! The way Dan portrayed her in his book as a shallow socialite seems accurate. I mean, having an affair with a politician at 20, not attending college, and not even working – just living off her family’s wealth? She should have stayed in LA and focused on her film career instead.
17. I’ve always thought that NYC was the most important character in Gossip Girl and the one that continually saved it and made it interesting. Specifically, it was the elite bubble of NYC. The real estate and fashion porn, specific to NYC, in the show, is really what kept people hooked and coming back for more. The fantasy of it all, more so than the actual storyline, made the show the cultural zeitgeist that it was. People didn’t want to be Serena, Blair, or Chuck because they liked them as people; they wanted to be them because they loved how and where they lived. The same show, with the same storyline and characters, wouldn’t have worked elsewhere outside of wealthy New York.
18. The strongest thing about GG was that all lead actors made their characters much more than they were on paper…every single actor/actress in Gossip Girl gave this story life.
19. Blair Waldorf is hands down the most captivating character ever written for TV. She’s sharp-witted, manipulative, and unapologetically entitled. And I love her for it. BLAIR was the backbone of the show; every teen drama tries to replicate a “Blair” character but falls short.
20. Let’s talk LOOPHOLES. Who was Chuck’s mother? What happened to her? And remember Lily and Rufus’ son, Scott? Whatever happened to him? He just…disappeared.
21. Dan should never have been revealed as GG. The Gossip Girl should have always been Kristen Bell sending a text, breaking the fourth wall by winking at the audience, and then walking away down a busy NY street because she really is nobody and everybody.
Have you re-watched a series like Gossip Girl that blew your mind, even though you’d already seen it? Let us know in the comments below <3
xo
Yachna
