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Gossip Girl: When you are the only one who cares
Okay it has been a while since i wrote anything and I know great things have happened in the world of TV and tragic things happened. I can never seem to learn that NBC will always screw me using Community as its weapon and what was my favorite network for supporting smart comedies is now my forever enemy….that said this review has nothing to do with NBC at all.
Let’s talk what we have seen so far from Gossip Girl’s final season..Why? I don’t know , I guess and no matter how I try I can’t delete this show from my to-watch list. the writing has always been bad and I’ve watched every season for the actors (especially Leighton Meester who i think I am in love with) and the characters they portray, but if I want to be completely honest what kept me on is the lavishness and the fashion .It is a guilty pleasure and though the finale of season 5 was not only a masterpiece of awfulness and badness but a spit in the face of every fan of the show. I have become genuinely concerned for my mental sanity from intense eye-rolling during this unpromising last season .
The premier episode was classic GG, which was okay, Georgina had the best lines and her obsession with the recently jilted Dan is nothing short of entertaining.Blair is inhabited by an alien creature who only loves Chuck Bass and does nothing else…it surprises me that for a power couple GG writers happen to give the the worst lines and lamest scenes…just because you keep telling us they are epic doesn’t mean we will believe it…I mean that love scene in the Monte Carlo hotel was badly done it could have been so much better but thank God they did not do the slow motion thing they did with the piano scene in season 4,That was awful.on another note,Dear Ed I love you but it wouldn’t hurt if you take your shirt off…we wont judge you if we wanted to, we would have judged you for the red onesie
Chuck is on a mission to get back the company that was taken away from him and I can’t sympathize because A) the story of Chuck’s family has been beaten to death, B) his dad built the company from nothing so what right does that spoiled brat have to demand his company back. And finally C) Bart is such a bad-ass, Chuck looks like a dumb bunny next to him.On that note I understand why the show are showing what a good guy Chuck is now ,who is a “gentleman” and won’t give Blair what she “Needs” but I have to say this Chuck is so boring and if you think about it he is not good in a way that matters. the reason why this disappoints me is that the whole story of Chuck Bass is a man who will never find happiness…that is what I liked about him it was his forever powerful but alone status and we as audience love him,hate him and pity him at the same time. But now Chuck is all about his conflict with his dad and his relationship Blair who he loves but can’t be with because he thinks about her all the time?!
Speaking of Blair…what happened to her?I have never seen Leighton Meester so bored, she is not even trying, it should be noted here that Leighton Meester not trying is still pretty good for the quality of acting on this show . I swear sometimes I can catch a glimpse of an eye-role especially in her scenes with chuck…and the headbands OMG talk about going backwards.I am very disappointed with Blair, I loved her in previous seasons because she was fiercely ambitious and was the prefect amount of bitchy but now I am still waiting for Blair to show up, she has been through hell and though she is spoiled and insensitive at times she has grown to her own …How did she get reduced to who she is with now, there is no Blair without Chuck and that is so wrong .Blair is my favorite character for better or worse and truth be told Leighton Meester played her to perfection but now I see no reason to admire who Blair has become and the writers seem more concerned about showing us Blair as part of a couple instead of a character in her own right.
Serene Van Der Woodsen , I have to admit that Serena is the epitome of privileged youth and that is why I never sympathized with her,right or wrong I am always on the side of whoever hates or wants to destroy Serena.Regardless of my feeling that as an actress Blake Lively makes no effort in playing Serena and that she is basically playing who she is in real life, I have always seen her importance as a key player in the Upper East Side. I have to say I am admiring Serene this season(so far) because even though she went through self-inflicted hell this last season she have received a wake up call and now is trying to make something of herself (even though if that means blinding into a new family and abandoning her own Brad Pitt style ). She is refusing to associate with her old gang but specifically Blair who as I mentioned earlier regressed to high school years and now is stuck there. There is a great number of fans rooting for Blair and Serena to find their way back to each other but I am honestly not;they outgrew that friendship and if that is a story of how that friendship ended I am okay with that.To be quiet honest if I want to see any friendship salvaged it is Blair and Dan’s friendship; for me it was real on many levels.
Lonely Boy….Oh Dan Dan Dan, the best thing and the worst thing that ever happened to Dan Humphrey was falling in love with Blair Waldorf .I think Dan’s dark and twisty makeover has a lot to do with him being fed up of being the good guy and losing all the time,though granted he is blaming his lack of confrontation skills on others he is finally stepping out his shell and I think Blair inadvertently helped him do that .Dan holds himself to a very high moral standard that he judges himself and everyone around him by. But let’s face it as much as we love all the Upper East Siders they never took Dan seriously as much as the writers never really liked the character of Dan. Any other person would have established Dan’s status as either an annoying chump or an unforgivable douche but the show got lucky casting Penn Badgley in that role who took the character of Dan and made it into a relatable character who both tried to do the right thing but also had a dark side that when tapped into makes him a force to be reckoned with. I should point out here that I think Penn Badgley is a very talented young actor, and I will venture and say it: he is better than Gossip Girl. He has proven season by season that he is full of potential and now that Gossip Girl is over I am so excited to see this talent out to good use. I am happy about Dan’s storyline this season but also afraid because the writers seem to be making a hobby of ruining their characters.
The others are left out because honestly i don’t care about them either way, if i have to say something about Nate it is I don’t understand why he is not chased out of the Upper East Side with torches for having a girlfriend at high school.Would you have some respect for the character…his conflict with Dan is interesting but to be honest he should stop being a right of passage for guest stars.
This season is obviusly the product of no one caring to finish the job, the cast seems bored and the crew seems bored;between leaked photos and call sheets,bad hair and fashion and cast interviews that very clearly state how they feel about their own show everyone clearly doesn’t care. But where does that leave us…the hostages ?! no it is not a typo.I don’t know about you but this show has me hostage I tune in every week and I can’t seem to quit.
What I know is that I am 3 episodes in and I am not impressed, Gossip Girl’s third episode “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” should be in a museum of horrible TV episodes it was really painful to watch and thinking back nothing actually happened.What I want for those remaining 7 episodes is the following
1. get rid of the guest starts, no one cares about Sage and Steven.
2. Dan’s tell all “Inside Out” better have some real repercussions.
3. Either put Chuck and Blair together of break them up once and for all.
4. for Blair to find her calling, I don’t like her blending into her mother’s legacy maybe she should make her own fashion magazine.
5. Serena leaves the Upper East Side and moves to L.A
6. More scenes putting Penn Badgley and Leighton Meester together.regardless of ships those two bring out the best in each other as actors.The writers want Chuck and Blair to be together i don’t like it but i get it …Don’t abandon a good thing,fix the friendship.
7.Nate should stop sleeping with a 17 year old. It is just so wrong GG so very wrong.
8. Rufus to go away, he is a waste of air-time.
9.As someone to bring Lilly down Ivy is so insignificant either bring in a bigger player or abandon the storyline.
10. Make Blair dress better…please she is a gorgeous woman with an amazing figure…use that.
11. No Bow ties for Chuck, i know they are his signature but they bring me back to my previous belief that Chuck Bass was supposed to be playing for the other team.
12. some reference to collage…i mean they do go to collage don’t they?!
13. DO NOT end the season with a wedding…they are all too young to get married.
14.Chuck leaves his father alone and starts his own business from scratch.
15.Dan finds success as a writer and manages to write about something other that the UES.
16.Blair finds her voice and decides she is too young to be engaged and returns the ring to Chuck.
17. DO NOT kill Bart Bass.
18.Nate leaves the Spectator and gets into politics.
19. More Georgina crushing on Dan.
20.No flash forward scenes, I know I will not be happy about the finale and i would like to make up an ending of my own.
Finally what I want the most is to find out Gossip Girl has been soemone we knew all along…Dorota is a very logical place to go revealing that she has always been sick of how Blair bullies her and the GG site was a release but then again Dorota would never hurt Blair.
Let’s wait and see…maybe it will get better…maybe
Gossip Girl:Will Blair Find Happiness In Brooklyn?
It’s been such a while you guys, and though It feels like I’ve been blogging into a vacuum some genius few are leaving comments and making my miserable life sweet.You guys are better than TV, there I said it.Now that my favorite show Community (heard of it?) in the entire world is back on the air and life is good again.My hungry fingers find their familiar way towards the keyboard typing away all the crap that goes through my head.
The subject I chose for my comeback is one I wanted to write about for a while now,I chose to write about what’s going on with Gossip Girl…Now before you roll your eyes…wait. Reviewers are always hard on Gossip Girl and I understand why, if it wasn’t for my huge girl crush on Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf) I might be inclined to condemn the show. I can’t deny that I love the show, I love the fashion and the unexplained (eavesdropping/overhearing) and this is what the show has always been about, it is a guilty pleasure and a good one.Bottom line is you can’t expect a story of a quality of what you might experience watching FX’s Justified, know the show’s history and review it accordingly.
Here comes the unpopular opinion, I am really liking season 5, the world is hating on this season but I see it differently.I need to point out though that in order to be in peace with the show’s many gaps in plots and character development I fill in the blanks on my own creating in my head a super show,because I am in love with Gossip Girl’s vision of Manhattan and the Upper East Side , I adore most of the characters I decided a while ago that the writers are leaving a lot of things for the audience to see as they want…Twisted logic I know but (It’s me ,it couldn’t be awful).
The main reason of why I love this season is the great idea of pairing the best two actors on Gossip Girl together and increasing their scenes, I am of course talking about Penn Badgely (Dan Humphrey) and Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf), those two together were a very pleasant surprise earning the name Dair because it is so daring and courageous of the writers to go there, because almost everyone was asking them not to, they will yield soon though .
Let’s start with the character of Blair (leighton Meester), I read the comments and for the first time since GG aired I see a lot of Blair hate, I felt a lot of people are surprised by the dramatic change in Blair character, especially her emotional instability, but for me that has always been Blair.Her relationship with Chuck as magnetic and legendary as it was, reflected clearly what an emotional wreck Blair was, agreed that her vow to stay with the prince was a very very lame excuse (but here the wrapped logic comes in handy). For me Blair never really wanted to get back together with Chuck, he lost a piece of her when he traded her for traded her for a hotel and he lost her completely when he slept with Jenny Humphrey but neither of them knew it yet. She loves him but doesn’t feel happy with him a fact she stated many times, yet she keeps coming back to him because Chuck has become her security blanket from everything that is real (what is better for a girl than a love that everyone believes is epic). She lost herself in the tragic love affair escaping from that fact that Nate Archibald (Chase Crawford) did not love her enough.In that limo in season one found Chuck a fellow tortured soul, she saved Chuck but Chucked darkened her and pulled her in deeper and deeper into dysfunction. With Louis she escaped into a fairy tale of being a princess in love with a prince ( her calling it a fairy tale is evidence of how disconnected she was), the wedding approached and Blair found herself trapped in a relationship and a pregnancy life was happening to her and she was not ready for it.As a result she ran back to Chuck hoping that she might find happiness there. Blair made a huge mistake marrying Louis, if anything Blair is the most lost this season and bit by bit she is starting to face the real world where actions have consequences.
Now let’s talk about “Hum Drum Humphrey”, I never really liked Dan in the beginning of Gossip Girl, his relationship with Serena never made sense to me,I understood why she loved him but I never understood why he loved her, he was a better person without her and admittedly had some great moments and chemistry but that for me dwindled over the course of seasons because I genuinely think Serena is not a good human being…Dan is .Serena (in my opinion) used Dan as a project to prove to herself she is unlike her elitist mother and friends, he was the dawn of a new Serena and Dan was her savior, the first person who believed in her. Consequently Dan was sucked in my her life and her world, she was never good for him, granted she helped him into a world he desperately wanted to be a part of , but their relationship never worked out for a reason, Serena was too selfish and Dan did not know how or why he loved her and after a while he was done (re-watch seasons…He had a problem with who she really is as a person and that is saying a lot).
Out comes Blair, she has always been an annoyance, a horrible human being to him, then he got to peek into the mystery that is Blair Waldorf, and to his surprise and ours he fell in love. Serena was never the love of his life but is Blair? their relationship is not only fun to watch but also normal, you can see them watching movies, laughing,fighting,cuddling and even holding hands, normal happy couple stuff. Dan was Blair’s savior and maybe she will be his? Blair ran to Brooklyn every time she felt alone in the world and entrusted Dan with her secrets because Serena would never understand what it is like to feel worthless, Dan would. Both Dan and Blair examine life deeply and romantically almost poetically each in their own way. Dan came to an understanding of who Blair is and still fell in love with everything she is not everything she wants to be. Chuck might love her more but Dan is able to make her happy and healthy. Chuck is too dark and for the sake of his character should stay that way. In the balance of things Chuck and Blair made a lot of mistakes but for me Chuck pushed Blair away and when he came to his senses it was too late.Blair tried too hard to keep their relationship going and he blew it (Re-watch the scene after he sleeps with Jenny and the scene when Blair confronts Chuck about trading her for a hotel), Blair loved Chuck and he punished her for it . A long time Chuck/Blair shipper I add Dan/Blair to my list because those two not only have chemistry(regardless of what a promo of future bad sex implies…UPDATE elevator scene ) they also are fun to watch together,the banter alone is worth it.
The realistic ending would be Blair finally breaks free of Chuck’s hold on her like we’ve seen the last episode before the hiatus, that was a moment we saw a more mature and happy Blair but….knowing Gossip Girl writers, Dan is the set up for Chuck and Blair to yet again to get back together. I hope there is a scenario in the world where Dan ends up with Blair, Serena becomes a career woman,Nate joins a political career supported by his grandfather, Rufus finds something else to do other than follow Lilly around and Chuck ends up more rich,powerful and tragically alone.
This is what I feel so far about what is happening with Blair and Dan, I haven’t been that excited to watch GG for seasons and now this new budding relationship got me back on the GG team.I hope the writers realize they struck gold and treasure it.
Gossip Girl “I Am Number Nine”: Never too late to say sorry
This is the second episode in a row this season that mainly has silly stories and focus on annoying characters or give an annoying portrayal of beloved characters. I did not hate it but it was O.K , though the Spectator story is getting interesting I feel like Nate’s involvement in the whole story and his persuit of a journalism career is unbelievable to the character, I don’t understand why the character of Nate played by the always sexy Chase Crawford is never given any important story. The new Vanessa ( a homicide-provoking character that has no depth or necessity) aka Charlie is involved in the story too and has an eye for Nate ,it seems like gossip girl chose one character to combine what is annoying about Vanessa and Jenny and compressed it into one more attractive package, I don’t hate her but I am not a big fan either. Serena and Dan’s friendship is on the rocks and I have to admit I like it better when Dan calls Serena out on her crap,for me Serena gets away with everything and though she never really does anything evil I never really believe her or trust her. This season she is trying to find a career which I admire and she tries to protect Dan but the way she walks into trouble and misunderstandings in a way that annoys me, we all had that friend that things happen around but nothing really is their fault. Blair is having one last mean girls competition to find out who is going to be the next bride’s maid which seemed childish after all the things Blair went through but then again going through all that stress I understand wanting to go back to simpler times where Blair was in control of what happens to her. What makes me sad about Blair is how much I feel like she is trying to survive all the things that happen arround her which is not what we are used to in Blair, she always seems so in control and so focused that whenever I start to feel she is trapped like now with her pregnancy and marriage to Louis sadness settles in my heart. Speaking of Louis we get to see his bad side and for Chair fans they were cheering waiting for him to give Blair enough reason to leave him and realistically we know the wedding will no go through for one reason or another, what will happen to the baby?…I don’t know.
Chuck is trying to heal and yet hides Blair from his therapist because it is the deepest,ugliest truth there is. Chuck’s worst fear was that he will be alone and never being loved, he was loved unconditionally by Blair and still managed to ruin it. I would not have accepted Chuck to stay the same after a huge blow such as losing Blair it makes sense for his character to either try to be a better person or become a worse person. The scenes between Chuck and Blair are always the best of any episode and after Chuck discovers that Louis is paying his therapist for information he exposes him in front of Blair, later to go to her penthouse and apologize for everything he ever did, he accepted his role in the ruin of their relationship and gave Blair the apology she needed, she asks him if there anything else he needs to say and the look in his eye suggests yes there is a lot more to say but he chooses not to say it . We know now that Blair is doubting her relationship with Louis either because he is starting to bore her or because she doesn’t love him as much as she loves Chuck,he is the mature choice but not necessarily the best one. All ends with Dan loses his movie deal and is back to being a nobody and Chuck leaves his engagement ring to Blair on the steps of Harry Winston and no one gets what they really want.
Gossip Girl “The Jewel Of Denial”: Who’s Your Daddy?
Gossip Girl’s third episode “The Jewel Of Denial” promised and delivered on who the father of Blair’s baby ,Blair was understandably trying to avoid the answer. Let me say this, I have always found the character of Dan Humphrey whiny and boring but in season 4 and now 5 I am starting to see his value. His friendship with Blair is a very interesting one kinda reminds me of a black and white movie for some reason.
Charlie and Serena( who I expected to notice something changed about Blair being her BFF and all ) are back from their vacation at . I understand why Charlie/Ivy is trying to blend into the upper east side life, as brilliantly explained, the dress alone is reason enough. This particular story line is boring, I don’t care about Charlie at all. Even if she is found out what’s the big deal? they’ll hate her then kick her out unless someone finds her out and blackmails her for information …Enter Elizabeth Hurley’s character .Those two stories will cross at some point it could be interesting but so far, Ywan!
Nate is working in journalism and though I admire and respect the hotness of Nate Archibald he must be one of the most pointless, misguided characters around, that is why he and Serena never work; they are too much alike. I don’t like his relation or affiliation with Elizabeth Hurley’s gossip tycoon character who’s name I neither know or care to know (I googled it it is Diana). The taking of cell phone at the party was tacky but still I appreciated the moment where he hides Blair and Dan’s cell phones to protect them.
Chuck feels nothing, losing Blair has numbed him in spite of Dan’s attempts to help him (raised eyebrow at the strangely forming friendship), and just when I was starting to lose interest Blair comes to the hotel to tell him she is pregnant with (SPOILER…….) Louie’s baby. That scene brought it all back, why I watch Gossip Girl and why I love Chuck and Blair. The writers know they hit gold with Chuck and Blair and they will never actually close the lid on those two but then again other treasures are to be found we just need to see how they play out (HINT:Dan and Blair). What I loved about the scene is that it had so many unspoken words, they were both so careful about what they’re saying and never actually saying what they want to say it reminded me of that verse of a Josh Groban song “The tattered thought balloons above our heads, sinking in the weight of all we need to say, whys and what ifs have long played out, left us short on happy endings “. This scene led us to fall in love with Chuck even more as in the lonliness of his room he cries because…he simply can’t take it anymore.
Blair is going through one of the toughest things on her own with only Dan and Dorota by her side. Why haven’t she told Serena yet? Dan has proven himself to be a worthy friend. I say it again whatever their relationship is or whatever it turns out to be, I love it, It is honest and tender. The father is Louis and I like the fact that we did not wait long to know, they could have dragged it on and they didn’t which is a good thing (looks like The Vampire Diaries is a good influence at The CW). Blair told Louis who we know is a goner soon, he will not last but the question is what will drive him away or who…
I will leave you with Gossip Girl’s next episode “Memoirs Of An Invisible Dan” that reveals a fun look at what exactly Dan wrote in his book .
Gossip Girl Finale:A Harsh Lesson In Fairytales
Looks like Gossip Girl writers are learning a lesson or two from Vampire Diaries. I honestly expected the episode to drag on with Blair stuck with Russel but the event seemed to move quickly to make space for the more important issues just like a TVD storyline would but less bloody . I respect the writers for putting a relationship like Blair and Chuck into perspective . It was risky because those two are the reason for three quarters of the ratings, but the story was more important than the popularity and I commend that.
A lot of drama was going on with the cousin Charlie and through that Chaos we get to meet Georgina again and learn that Charlie is not really Charlie.On a side note if Gossip Girl got rid one annoying shrill character AKA Vanessa, it was replaced with another in the form of Charlie, she is my new punching bag .
The dynamics between Blair and Chuck were amazing and fueled the entire episode.They crashed a Bat Mitzvahs and danced with absolute happiness, when did we ever see Blair and Chuck unguarded and relaxed . Then Blair took him to a room and did what she always did, Chuck -after the fact- wont let her break it off with Louis after seeing that The prince makes her genuinely happy. Their goodbye scene was heartbreaking and too profound for the quality of the show, yet another example of the writers sneaking a moment of personal growth between schemes,dresses and parties.
After the dust settles and Chuck is “Hollowed” by his decision, Blair is still getting married. Serena goes to visit her grandmother and meets a man,ends up with a job. Eric is going to Collage and getting a pilot on ABC’s “Revenge”.
For the best part Dan still likes Blair, he is depressed and wants her badly but too ashamed to admit it and Blair doesn’t feel the same way.Vanessa signs off with revealing Dan’s book “Inside” a tell all about his life in the Upper East Side,his desire to fit in and his feelings for Serena and BIG REVEAL Blair maybe?!!! and our little imp publishes it behind Dan’s back, what a friend !
Just when we think it’s over we are left with a shot of a bathroom trash can with a very mysterious positive pregnancy test? Is Blair pregnant? Is it Chuck’s baby? I doubt it’s Serena’s test. Season 5 I can’t wait.
Last note : I loved Dan Humphrey this season. I never really liked him and now I eat my words.
Ants In My Pants: Gossip Girl Finale
As I browse through the internet I see a picture I saw before,but now I discover it’s a picture of the finale as Blair’s dress shows above, I am a teacher who runs around with 6 year olds all day so yes my focus is a little off .
What will happen? Russel will not hurt Blair that is for sure, but will Chuck save her and will that redeem him in Blair’s book? What will happen in the face off between dirty Bass and the dandy prince ? Is this picture fake because it looks a little too happy ending to me ?
There’s a lot of water under the bridge between those two, their relationship took an ugly turn in season 4. What will happen with cousin Charlie (like we care ) and the burning question how did Dan turn off his feelings for Blair so soon?
I for one will be glued to the TV to know what will happen with the most magnetic couple on TV. Will Chair ever make it ?!!!
TV's gotten good 