The Bizarre Legacy of Gossip Girl 

for a good few minutes there I was so entertained by the jack sparrow discussion I forgot this video was about gossip girl

Gossip girl’s plot holes walked so riverdales plot holes could run

Lol biggest WTF of gossip girl was me believing Dan was poor homie wasn't poor 😭

"Lily and Rufus were the only couple that made sense and they should have ended up together" - yes, thank you.

I think the way Jenny treated her father was her worst trait

Gossip Girl is a case study on how brilliant costume and set designers and extremely charismatic actors can carry an entire television show to immense success even if the writers room is just inventing new boyfriends for Serena every 3 weeks and calling it a plot lmao.

Gossip Girl was so problematic, unrealistic, and at times stupid, but was so alluring for the first few seasons.

Blair surprisingly has the best family life out of all the main characters lol. She has a loving, caring and strong mother who is willing to reprimand her and correct her when she’s wrong, she has Dorota as an emotional support and Cyrus is a really good father figure in her life as well (plus her real dad and his partner are nice and loving too)

I think Dan being GG is a great twist if they planned it out from the beginning. Also, something that bothered me about the show: did they all just stop going to college? It's just never mentioned.

And the CLOTHES ohmygod, they were a sexual fantasy in itself

You can’t tell me when someone says “xoxo” you don’t automatically respond “gossip girl”. This show had power.

I actually dont think Dan and Blair were thrown together for shock value at all. Upon rewatching, I realized they had one of the more refreshing and fleshed out relationships in the show. They built a friendship in season 4 and 5 and didn't get together til the end of season 5, which is more development than 90% of the relationships on the show.

The show did Nate dirty. His character had so much potential and the writers just kinda dropped him... Although he probably holds the record for Least Morally Corrupted Character in GG 😂

Can we talk about how they all just suddenly stopped going to university? Like, why is no one attending classes?

The strongest thing about GG was the fact that all lead actors made their characters much more then they were on paper...

Was Daroda anyone else’s low key favorite character?😂😂 the only person who could pry any redeeming qualities out of Blaire.

whoever was the casting director for this show really had an eye for talent because the over-the-topness really was balanced by the mundane and pathetically sad scenes performed by the cast. genuinely, every plot was ridiculous but the deliveries, the set design, costumes, and overall character looks were addicting to watch. im surprised they got a reboot knowing 99% of the original cast do not speak fondly about their experience (because I remember it got to the point where they were trying to sell these actresses/actors AS their characters), but nonsense and all, it’s still fun to revisit over a decade later

Don't forget all the plot about getting in an ivy league university to finally being accepted and then suddenly all characters never atended again (?) like what 😂

I'd rather nate had been gossip girl. would have explained why he was there doing nothing for the whole show

I thought, Leighton is so charismatic that she would've become very famous actress after GG, but it never happened. Also, I thought the same for Nina Dobrev would become so so insanely famous because I found her range of acting in The Vampire Diaries great. But Nina too never became much famous.

I feel like when talking about gossip over we gloss over the fact Serena dated Tripp, a grown man who was married and nates cousin, a congressman who cheated to win, and then runs away with him, they get in a car accident, he leaves her and yeah. But wait there’s more! He tries to kill Nate and accidentally gets blair and Chuck into a major car accident

Nate could have been literally replaced with Golden Retriever and the show would have been almost exactly the same by the end.

The Gossip Girl reveal 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

I think there's one huge problem that should be mentioned. Creators don't know how to show adult characters and adult world itself. Like it's pretty good with adults at the first season. But when the main characters grow from teenagers to adults creators simply don't know how to changes their personalities. And it feels like most of them literally stuck in the high school being not even a personalities anymore like it was at first season but a bunch of caricature high school tropes. In adult world. Isn't it an absurd?

Things that would’ve fixed the finale for me: - No one should’ve been gossip girl. By season 6 it made 0 logistical sense that any of the main cast were GG, and it had already been established in the past that her power comes from people sending her tips. GG staying anonymous would’ve been the right call. - Rufus and Lily should’ve ended up together. Let’s be honest, almost every conflict they ever had seemed so forced and shoehorned in either to make Lily the bad guy, or to make room for Dan and Serena. If you wanted a Derena endgame so bad, why even have the Rufus and Lily plot? Why take it so far? Why make it last so long? - Serena should’ve ended up with Nate. I hate even pairing Nate with such a morally questionable character because he somehow happened to be the sweetest of the core characters, but they actually got along really well, had similar attitudes towards their lifestyle, both a little bit dumb, and I didn’t hate Serena when she was with him. - Chuck should’ve ended up alone. I know the writers _really_ tried to redeem Chuck, but with every step forward, he took 3 steps back. His character was constantly being progressed and regressed spontaneously that I wasn’t comfortable with where he ended up in the series. I don’t buy that he wouldn’t resort to abusive tendencies in the future. - Dan and Blair should’ve ended up together. This is a couple I _hated_ while watching the show the first time. I loathed them…but somehow they make all the sense in the world. By season 4 they get along great, they scheme together, but also make room for casual fun. I mean, when Dan wrote Louis’ vows, Blair said it was like he peered into her soul! I think their love was more mature than most on the show and above all, they made each other happy in a non-destructive way. - Jenny deserved proper redemption. She was a kid when she did all her antics and then she just got exiled after being take advantage of by Chuck??? Icky.

"she's mean, degrading, whiny, manipulative, and entitled...and i love her for that" 😂😂

I'm going to be honest, BLAIR carried the whole show and all teen dramas try to add a "Blair" but fails...aka Riverdale aka Emily in Paris aka

The writers definitely made it Dan for the shock factor and because they had no idea who it should be. In the first few seasons, it was intended to be Eric. The New York Post theorized that it was Eric, so they shifted it to Nate. That also got leaked, so they dropped the idea of Gossip Girl being a specific character until season 6. If you’re watching it retroactively, knowing this information, you can absolutely tell that it was Eric. They placed hints throughout the show, like Eric mysteriously knowing private information about Lord Beaton, and being vague when asked how he discovered it. Another was Jonathan having Gossip Girl’s password at graduation, because he “hacked into it.” I theorize that the writers thought that they could get away with making it Dan because narratively, it made sense, even though it was a mess plot wise. It was before the era of streaming services, so people had been watching it once a week for 5 years. You’re bound to forget a lot of information over that period of time, so I’m assuming that they thought that viewers would’ve just forgotten the minor details which make it impossible. The reason we’re catching all of these details is because we binge it. We finish it within a relatively short period of time, and all of the details are still fresh in our minds.

My wife and I watched this series from start to finish recently and I don’t think I have seen a show do character assassination to SO MANY CHARACTERS before, ever. Off the top of my head: -Vanessa is one of the few characters like Nate who has a good head on their shoulders and tells the truth even if it hurts them overall to do so; a good friend to Dan, tries to make it work with the rest of the gang… until her character 180°’s on all of her morals in the Juliet plot to ruin Serena and then is promptly written off the show. Very very weird - Jenny’s character is butchered by the writers to the point where they write her off as well. Also gonna throw Eric in here because they realized trying to balance a high school plot line for him and Jenny and then also balance the college plots for the Gossip Girl 5 was not something they were capable of doing. - Lily becomes incredibly greedy and borderline evil toward Ivy after CeCe’s death and this leads to the end of her relationship with Rufus, which was one of the most stable and enjoyable parts of the show once they got together. I realize now that the reason they did this HAD to be because they wanted Dan and Serena to end up together and didn’t want their parents to also be together. - Even Rufus gets assassinated when he falls into the arms of a woman his daughter’s age after having arguably the best integrity of any character on the show. There are others but these are the ones that made me wonder wtf the writers were doing lol

Gossip was a luxury escapism that hit well in an era of financial depression. I think that why it was successful.

As far as I’m concerned the pilot episode isn’t cannon. It occurs in an alternate universe. You cannot tell me Chuck and Nate rode a public bus to school.

The thing about Dan and Blair is that the storyline of them was supposed to be initialized in season 1 but the writer’s strike at the time puts the production in a halt and they basically revamp the series focusing on what makes audience hook and that is surprisingly Chuck and Blair. Serena’s dynamic with Dan was supposed to be stirred a bit by how Dan doesn’t trust her enough but somehow opens up to Blair easilly abour his own family (s1ep4). Which would also stirred up her friendship with Blair, where the tables turned. Plus if we look closely the writers have set up Dan and Blair to always have similar interests (cabbage patch kid was supposed to be a start) and the fact that they both are the academician of the bunch. Those were hints of Dan and Blair but it was changed and revised after the writer’s strike.

I'm so sick of grown adults getting in sexual relationships with underage teens and writers treating black characters like shit angers the hell out of me.

How dare you say Rufus didn't have a personality??! He made waffles!!

To this day I believe that Serena’s father was the worst plot line. HE FAKED HER MOTHER’S CANCER TO KEEP HER DEPENDENT ON HIM. NATE WAS THE ONLY RATIONAL PERSON BY CALLING THE POLICE. AND SERENA JUST LETS HIM GO??? AND THEN LILLY ENDS UP WITH HIM? WTF??? I have never been able to watch past it.

And that's the biggest issue with Dan as Gossip Girl- they wanted to do it, but also not. They made him Gossip Girl but they weren't willing to let him really be Gossip Girl, to transform his character into the kind of person that was so devoted to his life of lies, so psychopathic that he would ruin his own relationships and life just to keep up the ruse. They still wanted him to be the good guy and have the happy ending, but also the villain of the entire show.

can we pls talk about the way that dan and serena have a whole plot line about finding out they have a half sibling and are worried about their relationship, then they don’t, then they do and they break up, then the half sibling leaves town never to be seen again, and then the show completely forgets about him and go back to shipping dan and serena. what the fawk 🤩

FINALLY SOMEONE AGREES WITH ME ON JENNY. I never really disliked Jenny, I think she was just a misguided girl trying to get in. She did bad stuff but she always had remorse for it. She was flawed but she was never terrible.

Nate should've been goosip girl. That's why he never post on it. That's why he took a backseat after season 1. He hates the upper east side. He hates Serena for choosing Dan. He hates Blair cause he forced him in a relationship that he didn't want. He hates Chuck because after he started chasing Blair he didn't give him enough attention as his friend. Yeah sometimes he destroyed his own life but guess what he wouldn't care. Edit, he hates Dan because he stole Serena from him duh:)

I actually like Dan and Blair relationship. For a long time I didn't know why but then it hit me. Dan and Blair at that moment where different characters for me. Two people that got a person in common and didn't like each other. They hate each other. Then with the time they become sort of best friends and end together. A plot twist that is outside of the expectations of the mc pairs. That is what I like. That at that point they where complete different characters in a other damn storyline or universe and I freaking love it.

I mean I will say the worst thing Jenny did was just everything in that 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. It was all too much for Serena who had been nothing but pretty nice to both of them.

Excuse me, Eleanor and Cyrus were incredible together.

That phenomenon you talk about where a character becomes the one or two personality traits that were interesting is called Flanderization. A character becomes a caricature of themselves. Example: Blair becoming flat and evil rather than it being a coping mechanism, Spongebob becoming ultra stupid and obnoxious, most characters on The Office, etc.

Dan and blair together is really good.. they grow together and they talk about healthy things, things weve never seen any of them talking about.. theyre just being super friends and watching movies and having fun..

It’s the fact that every time you hear about gossip girl, it’s ALWAYS about Blair. Had I not gotten to know the show I would’ve thought she was the main character because people only ever talk about her. And it’s painfully obvious how irrelevant Serena becomes in later seasons, especially when they’ll be entire episodes that don’t even focus on her.

I’m sorry but just imagine if gossip girl was Nate it would give him such an insane dark twist and would give him so much depth

jenny's actress completely dropped acting after gossip girl and actually makes really good rock music in her band, The Pretty Reckless! she's an incredible singer now

I think Jenny was a genuinely interesting character in season 1, but then I think producers didn’t know what to do with her after season 2, so they thought “hey, let’s make her a villain!”, but it looked forced. They just made her look like a spoiled brat, going against her own family even when they only wanted to help her or just were worried about her

"TIK TOK just brings the cringe out of celebrities" SO TRUE SO FINE

this video boils down to "the character writing sucked after s1 but the actors are so talented we didn't even notice"

Honestly, I think that if the writers had planned Dan to be Gossip Girl then it could’ve been amazing. There’s several references to F. Scott Fitzgerald in the series and Dan writing himself into the world of the rich & famous to get the girl of his fantasies would’ve been such a Gatsby-esc move. I say this recognising that in this scenario both Gatsby and Dan are honestly out of their minds (and in my dream scenario Dan would never have ended up with Serena but rather everyone would’ve turned against him like they turned against Gatsby, but instead of dying Dan would just become a social outcast with loads of money but no friends). But for the ending to have worked the writers should’ve planned for this in advantage so that the show would not have had so many plotholes. The way I view it part of Dan’s personality change within the seasons would then partly have been about him becoming more and more psychotic the deeper he got into the Gossip Girl persona and partly from him dropping parts of his façade at times. But obviously this is not how it all worked out but I can see Dan being Gossip Girl as a technically great idea.

Just finished rewatching Gossip Girl and crazy enough I personally think, Blair and Dan make sense especially considering in Dan’s book you can see how he also cares for Blair which makes me think his arc with her from enemy to friend to lover is earned as he also is selfless when it comes to choosing her happiness at the time over his own (besides season 6) but also Dan season 6 was such a walking middle finger that I really enjoyed it because Dan’s writing actually critiques the show and it’s so self aware, that the show seems a whole lot better through the scope of Dan’s writing. It really shows that even though you express the truth there is a way that it can still be considerate for others

Gossip Girl makes no sense and every character pisses me off at one point or the other, but I still re-watch it every once in a while. I love it.

Also Blairs step-dad gives me life, he's an absolute delight.

I recently rewatched the entire series and I wholeheartedly agree with you. By the end of season 3 you're just like "what the hell, there's still 3 seasons left?" Literally, nothing really interesting happens. Serena's plots are only about dating a million guys and that she is finally happy and finding herself, meanwhile, she NEVER finds herself and by the end of the show she's jobless, with no education, no place to live and humiliated by the chapter Dan publishes about her after they got back together. As you said, Chuck and Blair lived in a loop and the writers wanted to keep their happy ending for the finale SO MUCH that they just kept inventing weird reasons for them not to be together. There's one plot in the middle of the series that I like that is when Blair just "accepts" that she is a horrible person that doesn't deserve love or happiness and then Chuck realizes what he's done to her self-esteem and decides to let her go. They should have kept them separated for the rest of the series to do some character growth after that but they just keep going back to each other.

Millennials had it so good. Gossip Girl, 90210 and the Vampire Diaries pretty much raised me! I don't watch new teen dramas anymore but I can't think of any current show that has affected Gen Z the way the mid-2000s shows did for teens. I was a bit too young for Dawsons Creek, the OC, and Bev Hills 90210, but that was the beginning of the peak era for this genre. Which I feel like ended around 2014. I do think 90210 reboot was one of the best reboots ever, Gossip Girl 2020 reboot was the worst. I didn't watch it all (only the first few episodes) but I've read enough about it to know it was terrible.

The romance between Rufus and Ivy Dickens was so unnecessary and one the biggest wtf moments of the show hahaha

Serena was supposed to be the main character but Blair completely bulldozed her over in both character writing and acting of Leighton Meester.

Also, I would have liked if the ending of the show was similar to the ending of the books. In the books, Blair breaks up with Chuck because she's not ready for a serious commitment, Serena breaks up with Dan because she wants to do things on her own, both girls reject Nate who is constantly trying to get with them and cheat on them, and we never get to know who Gossip Girl is because is not that important to the story. By the way, one of the writers spoke up about how they were planning to make Nate be GG, because he was the only one who had never sent any tips and gossip for her and he was building the Spectator, which was basically an adult version of GG. He said that when he left the show they changed it to Dan.

Also a lot of the downfall of gossip girl has a lot to do with with the fact that the actors that played Jenny and Eric didn’t want to be part of the show anymore mid second season of filming because they wanted to pursue their music careers. So all the post work outline for season 1 had to be done completely over which is about 4-5 years of production work

what if dan is actually covering the real identity of gossip girl in exchange for money

“I think season one was so good and so expertly made that I was tricked into believing the other seasons were good too” *Dude....*

Jenny's behavior was never given an excuse that it was as a result of her assault by someone she idolized. She went to the roof cause she thought she was being accepted and inducted only to be abused. I really think that triggered something in her that made her feel unworthy. And that's why at her lowest she willingly gave herself to her former abuser and after said she knows even this is meaningless. She always wanted to be the IT girl and Blair Warner her it's lonely. But Jenny always thought what else is there. Being a regular Humphrey got her taken advantage of, and she wouldn't let it happen again. And later after she came back she wanted to pull Dan out of that world after she has evolved past it. But even in doing that she found that she backslides into old behavior if she's around it and left again honestly for her own sake. Jenny was my second favorite character after Blair. I appreciated how they both worked for everything they had, every inch of it. Blair was rich but,let be honest she didn't have natural talent and even more honestly no charisma, so had to make up for it with "ability" and Jenny had the talent but knew people were only using her like blair and her mom. So she still had to work to have the authority behind it. Serena would just exist and get opportunities, Dan's talen of writing somehow always got praise and he could be just as a menace girl as the best of them....a luxury Jenny nor Blair experienced. But neways I'm sad the actor left the show so soon. I think by series end I would've loved to see her connect those dots between ambition and circumstance

I think the most interesting phenomenon in gossip girl is how the writers can and will manipulate you into agreeing or not with a character. Blair is the perfect exemple of this. She does insane things like getting her best friend to take her new clients from work to a party just so it could blow out and look bad on press so her boyfriends hotel could have media attention, she destroyed the life of a teacher because the teacher didn’t accepted the brag about a grade, she blackmailed a guy into telling his family he was gay so that he could buy her mothers clothing line, she sabotage her mothers fashion show and Jennys internship just because she was mad that Serena wasn’t sitting with her, she is often so mean to staff and she bullied girls at school. But none of that is actually relevant for her character because, besides the school teacher thing that was actually a plot line, the people around her would act like that was normal and would often blame the character she was messing with, the way that people around her acts is so normal and we, as an audience, don’t actually see that Blair is a terrible character. At some point Dan is talking to Blair and he says “You are not a bad person” and i was like “dude ur kidding me?”

People were so hard on both Jenny and Taylor Momsen. The media, viewers, and at times the writers couldn't see Taylor was NOT Jenny. It was a major contributor to why she's so hated, she was only like 15 irl yall.

I love how he knows how much everyone dislikes Vanessa so he doesnt even mention her hahahah

I agree about Jenny, she was great and her arc made complete sense. She was naive and kind but her character changed because of the people surrounding her and acted out because that’s what she was learning from the people around her. But the show always explained her motivations well.

This is why I always love starting a rewatch! I love the first season because there is an overarching thought for the whole season. Also I never understood the Jenny hate train. Ok, I loved her goth/rock aesthetic, so that may have affected my opinion, but I felt like her character arc was very logical. She was a victim of the Upper East Side and she lashed back like a teenager - that she is. She was so lost with who she is, who she wants to be and who she is pretending to be.

After watching the Pretty Little Liars episode, it's time to watch another long video about a show I never even touched!

"Vanessa Abrams - Aka obligatory neglected character of color" I AM SCREAMING it's so sad that we all know exactly what you're talking about

THANK YOU for the Jenny segment. Watching this show with my friends I could not believe how much they all disliked her. I craved Jenny scenes - the show would have been dry as hell without her, and it’s like you said. She consistently faced her issues and challenges head-on only to come out as the clear victor almost every time, even if her methods were a little low down and dirty. But weren’t ALL of them low down and dirty? I never understood the Jenny hate, she’s one of the best characters for me. I AM going to disagree with a few things, though. Georgina Sparks? I enjoyed every appearance by her. Ivy Dickens too. Both two characters that kept things very lively

I watched a video about the books and I think the first showrunner knew how to adapt the story giving some kind of depth to the characters. In the books, the main characters are Blair, Nate and Serena and they live in this love triangle for years, while cheating and dating other people in the meantime. In the show, I think they did a good job in the first season by putting some kind of reason behind it, showing how Nate struggles to be his own person and figure out what he wants. Blair's background is similar, she has bulimia in the books also, something that is addressed in the first season of the show and then they never talk about it again and then when she's pregnant they get worried that she might be going back to it but we never see her actually overcome this (?). Chuck is a horrible person in the books, I think that's why they made his character so dislikable, he was supposed to be a side character as he is in the books, but the actors for Chuck and Blair had so much chemistry that people just loved them as a couple and the writers went along with it and turned him into someone good at heart that just didn't know how to be a good person because of his horrible father. I think the showrunners tried too much to give the audience what they wanted with no concern for the storylines. So they did whatever they could to keep people hooked on the characters that they already liked.

Chuck and Lily’s relationship is absolutely the best of the whole series

The takeaway is that CW can make good shows but never have any idea where to go after the first season ends and they've already wrapped up the compelling character arcs

I completely disagree with you about Dan and Blair. They didn’t feel rushed at all and were infinitely more interesting than any other ship in the show. If anything, the Serena and Dan endgame was rushed. It was like he was madly in love with Blair and then five minutes later, it’s Serena again. On top of that, Dan and Blair immediately revert back to this mutual disdain type of “relationship” and it felt so out of nowhere. Chuck and Blair’s breakup had felt so conclusive. It was so obvious that the writers were just catering to the feelings of the majority of the fandom. For whatever reason people lean towards a Chuck/Blair and Dan/Serena ending, both of which are just nauseating for the most obvious reasons (like the fact that Serena and Dan literally share a sibling??) but to each their own.

How can you root for a lily and Rufus and hate Dan and Blair? It’s literally the same thing lol I actually enjoyed watching the LoveHate thing between Dan and Blair. But by the time season six came around it was exactly like watching season two all over again. They definitely ruined Dan’s character and him and Serena ending up together made absolutely no sense whatsoever. She should’ve left to LA and he should’ve left too, elsewhere.

the most unrealistic thing about gossip girl is blair’s s. 5 wedding look. you can’t convince me that with her fashion sense, her mom being a big designer and her money she ended up looking like that on her wedding to a literal prince

can we talk about how there was sooo much excitement and build up to Lily and Rufus' son only for him to never be mentioned again? one of the most anticlimactic storylines in the show (in my opinion).

The Who is gossip girl problem could have been solved by never showing the characters getting the information when they are alone. Or maybe only reveal one person a season who isn’t gossip girl by having them privately react to the posts. Like season one could be you only seeing Blake Lively’s character react as a so low person. (Never seen gossip girl only videos on it and I feel like this would have helped them establish the mystery and keep it going without writing themselves into a corner)

I love your commentary on this. Maybe it's because I was a bit older, but I have never been into Chuck's redemption arc, or the romanticization or his and Blair's enemies to lovers transactional "relationship". I also stan Jenny. Maybe because I watched Mean Girls as a teen and she reminded me of Cady, the outcast who gets swept up in the wrong thing and loses herself (I didn't watch much past S3 though so i can't speak to anything about her later in the show)

every single actor/actress in gossip girl gave this story life. PERIOD. blake lively, leighton meester, michelle trachtenberg, ed westwick, sebastian stan, ETC..this show would not have been nearly as successful without each and every actor they hired.

Oh my god dorota being gossip girl would have been amazing

i just noticed this but in season 1, the color grade was a bit colder, probably hinting at the hostility of the UES and it's only tinted more golden in flashbacks. When we see Serena slept with Nate, it's from Chuck's POV so I guess for him it's a gleeful, good memory. Dan also had a flashback on Thanksgiving, when Allison was still with them so i guess there's that. From season 2 onward, it's pretty warm compared to season 1, which represents the gold-tinted glasses we now view the environment pretty well.

To be honest, I’ve only enjoyed Gossip Girl in a bubble (without seeing any outside opinions) and I never realized Jenny was supposed to be written as a villain. I pretty much only ever felt bad for her and wish she’d been able to succeed more 😕

Man, Dorota as Gossip Girl would have been a great reveal. I can see her doing it in a twisted way as a parental figure who sees all these kids running around with no one caring what they get up to.

The rest of the cast did worst things in season 1 than Jenny did in the whole show. I feel like people don't like her because of her social standing. They did the same thing to dan in season 6. He started to play the game the way the rest of them did and he was painted as the villan.

Am I the only one who can tell which season it is just by looking at Dan's hair?

The correct answer to "why Dorota?" is "it makes more sense than Dan." Because if Dorota's love for Blair is an argument, you could make the same argument and list who Dan (has) loved

This show was insane. I can’t get over the soundtrack, the outfits, the locations they shot at. I wonder what the budget was

Not to mention Dorota was kinda loaned to most of the big families for their huge parties. She could of been everywhere and anywhere and just be like “oh I’m doing stuff for Blaire”

Can we also acknowledge the fact that they made us believe that the Humphrey family was poor ? I mean I think I don’t need to expose the reason why this narrative is false but…

I binged this show years after it ended, during the worst year of my life, fully knowing how ridiculous it was and I had a blast. I laughed at the show and never took it seriously and it was beautiful. Like truly... *Chef kiss*

1) i think people hated jenny bc they loved blair so much and she was her "enemy" 2) i'm pretty sure chuck was only meant to be a small character, they didn't write ep1 chuck with the idea that would end up being such a big part of the show 3) they 100% should've kept eric as gossip girl, idk why writers hate it so much when people guess their own clues lmao

Writers messed up Chuck's character in season one when they made him force himself on Jenny, an underage girl. It's impossible to redeem a character after that. They should have kept him as womanizer, rich, spoilt kid. That way there would have been possibilities to redeem him.

I would never understand how Rufus acted like a normal father, setting very normal and permissive boundaries with her 15-year-old daughter. Jenny had every single character defending her actions and putting Rufus as a controlling dad. Like...what.

as someone who binged watched this show during a deep depressive episode, thank you for this honest critic. and i love your video essays

I'll never forget that moment in season 1 where Serena says "I killed someone" and the music just flips. The way they handled the build up and that moment was incredible. My stomach DROPPED. Very hard for a TV series to affect you like that anymore.

I think making Gossip Girl no one would have been such a good ending, because it would have been this mysterious higher power having control over all these rich people who act like no one can touch them. Too many shows have been ruined because writers feel the need to outsmart the audience and it’s so annoying. PSA: if your audience can figure out the answer to a mystery you wrote, it’s ok! In fact it can sometimes be a sign of good writing. The reveal doesn’t always be shocking, sometimes it can have build up, be methodical and make sense

back in the day I never watched this show past the first season and this was a really entertaining way to find out that was the right decision lol. great video, thanks for the effort you put into making it!

I was in my early 20s when GG started, and the fan groups I was in was people my age, so it’s interesting to read perspectives from the younger fans. Most of the older fans, including me, spent every episode shipping Chuck with the grim reaper.