Gossip Girl, 5.24: Why so awesome, Bart Bass? Or the greatest retcon of all times

WELCOME BACK, BART

You know, I’ve said that bringing Bart back was the stupidest thing the writers could do, because it erased any sense in the not so recent plot line. It’s funny how I was right and wrong at the same time. Bart being alive is making everything that happened after his death irrelevant, but do we really need it? The last three seasons sucked in so many ways. It wasn’t only about ships going down, but it was about characters acting out of character, plots not making sense and the show generally not being fun.

At first I wasn’t excited about Bart coming back, because a) continuity and b) he didn’t seem to be his old bastardly self. I love Bart Bass with a passion, he’s probably one of my favourite characters and his relationship with Chuck was actually one of the darkest, most twisted things on this show. But last episode Bart appeared to be a changed man. It was sickening, really :) The first half of the finale I felt the same - Bart being understand about Lilly moving on, Bart encouraging Chuck to pursue Blair and not to lose hope, Bart treating Chuck as his equal in business, all in all: who are you and what have you done to Bart Bass?

And then Bart trolls us all.

I love it. Bart hasn’t changed, not at all and I don’t think it would make sense for a man of his age and experience to suddenly get a personality transplant, so it’s a good thing. I bet that he knew that Lilly would be pissed at Rufus for going behind her back with the annulment and leave him. He never intended to share his fortune with Chuck because he doesn’t respect him in the least. Jack respects Chuck more than Bart and it creeps the shit out of me. And what’s more important, Bart still believes that feelings make you weak; that real men don’t love or at least, they don’t sacrifice everything for love. Love is expendable, love is a bonus, not the sense of life.

THE BASS MEN DON’T LOVE

As soon as he can, Bart deludes Chuck of his hopes of family business and tells him he failed a test. This is such a crucial thing in their relationship: Bart is always testing Chuck’s worth and Chuck is always failing. That’s why the only way Chuck could feel and start to love was after Bart’s death. Bart’s presence in his life was always too toxic and overwhelming to allow any real growth, which was addressed in Debarted. Of course Chuck didn’t get better immediately, but it is noteworthy that most of his major screw-ups were somehow connected to his father and the memory of him. The IP and the season four freak out, Chuck’s two lowest points, come to mind. And now that Bart’s back, Chuck starts making mistakes again.

I am also pleased to say that I was right about the rooftop scene. It wasn’t really about Chuck waiting for Blair - it was about power. Why? Because Bart provoked it. Notice how the rooftop scene takes place exactly after Bart a) takes Chuck down and b) tells him what a failure he his. So when Chuck tells Blair he doesn’t want to be in her shadow and that it’s basically all her fault, he’s not saying what he thinks - he’s just repeating what Bart told him. That’s what Bart’s being alive does to Chuck, it reverts him to his season one and two self but it makes total sense, because that’s what Bart always did. So Chuck on his own doesn’t mind Blair being more powerful or having some hold on him - he has to be reminded by Bart that it’s a bad thing. An un-Bass thing. The identity issues show their ugly heads, here.

BLAIR FINALLY KNOWS WHAT SHE WANTS (AND GOES AFTER IT)

I was also happy to see Blair showing some agency here. She chose Chuck and then she decided to fight for him. She agreed to take over her mother’s company because she understood that it’s actually something she wants to do. In the rooftop scene, she was using her annoying baby voice but in the end, that act was gone. What we saw was Blair at her finest, not cooing over Chuck and trying to sooth him like a child. No, she came to him and told him straight: I want you. I’m gonna get you. And I loved how Chuck looked scared shitless in that moment. I’d be scared, too :)

I just loved that last scene. Loved the fact that we still don’t know Chuck’s answer, that we didn’t end the show with Chuck and Blair kissing or worst yet, getting engaged (they are twenty one years old, people, and very unstable, let them date for a while!). Instead, they sat together at a casino in Monte Carlo, looking so very much Chuck and Blair it hurt (classy, rich, like from an old movie) and playing a game. But this time, they play together. And bet on each other. Just like Chuck said back in season three, they need to concentrate their scheming on other people, instead of themselves, because it could tear apart. And it did, actually. So maybe now they can finally overcome this and really be partners?

PEOPLE SAY THEY WERE HAPPIER WITH SERENA GONE, SO SERENA GOES

What I didn’t like was the way Serena and Blair were broken up. It would make sense if Blair got angry after hearing that Serena was ready to expose her, because no matter how pissed about Dan she was, it was a shitty thing to do. But it’s like Blair didn’t mind Serena even considering publishing her diary - she got angry when Serena couldn’t fix it. That was kinda stupid. It was also a very obvious prop for Serena’s down road spiral and paralleling the beginning of first season. I think that could have been done better. (And I still think that too many parallels are just tiring. Come on, the Shepards’ divorce party? Ugh.)

HOW IS THIS RETCONNING, YOU ASK, YOUNG GRASSHOPPER?

All in all, you can see how we are really back to the beginning. The Humphreys’ are on the outside again and let me tell you how I just love Dan deciding to write about the UES the way he should have. Awesome, just awesome! This is the Dan I’ve missed - self-righteous, smart, not taking shit from anyone and disturbing the UES. It would be nice if he acknowledged that Vanessa was ultimately right, though. I’d like to hear him actually say it.

I also absolutely loved Serena’s dig at Dan falling for the dream!Blair instead of the real her. Mostly because that’s how I saw it from the beginning. But I have to admit, that Blair’s treatment of Dan after they got together was quite awful. She led him on, she used him, she hurt and then left him without even saying proper goodbye. I can see (and want to see) Dan trying to get even. Hey, it’s Gossip Girl, those people breath vengeance! :)

Many people stated that Gossip Girl started to suck more after the two worlds, the UES and Brooklyn, became merged with Rufus and Lilly’s marriage. I guess that someone on the writing stuff thought so as well and decided to right that wrong.

THINGS TO COME OR WHAT GOSSIP GIRL IS REALLY ABOUT

I’m very excited about the set of alliances: Chuck, Jack and Blair versus Bart (this could be an epic showdown) and Dan and Georgina versus the world :) If only we could have Jenny back, it would be just like old times. (Imagine what would Jenny do after hearing that Blair Waldorf, of all people, broke her brother’s heart and Serena screwed him over!)

On an end note, the whole season five was worth shit and this is the only episode I really, truly enjoyed. I’m glad I watched it.

Need you like water in my lungs: I have only seen ~that scene once, so I’m not sure if I am quoting it... →

aussiekatt:

I know it’s a pointless argument, but I don’t think it’s about power. It’s about identity. Blair doesn’t want to just be Chuck’s girlfriend and C doesn’t want to just be B’s boyfriend. B couldn’t trust C in season 4 and now it’s C who can’t trust.

Hey, no argument is pointless! :) Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree and quietly resent each other. Identity is a very good point because it’s a whole other issue where Chuck and Blair are concerned. There were so many times throughout the show that they both needed to reassert it and it all could be tied it with the infamous: I’m not Chuck Bass without you and Whenever you forget you’re Blair Waldorf, remember I’m Chuck Bass and I love you. Maybe we should rather find something that connects those two things, as in identity and power? I’m sure it will be more clear after we see the whole episode :)

yes. Chuck can’t deal with a Blair who is more powerful than him. And that goes against everything that CB are supposed to be for me.

Yup. It would be okay if we were at the beginning of the show, but not now. The equality in their relationship should come naturally, not because they force it. I also didn’t like the fact that Blair decided to end her relationship with Chuck because of power - it goes both ways, as far as I’m concerned, however in Blair’s case it’s a little more understandable, since she was dubbed with the weakling label. Chuck, on the other hand, was a coward. So their journey should entitle different things for them: Chuck has to learn how to love without fear of being abandoned (so basically, he has to let some of his power and control go in order to feel) and Blair has to learn how to be strong in life (so she has to regain power and control and not let herself be overruled by feelings). This is the balance they lack as individuals and a pair.

So when Chuck tells Blair he doesn’t want to be with her because of power? He fails his test. And I don’t care about all the parallels we can find for this scene - you cannot write the whole show based on parallels, for chissakes, and expect it to make sense. You need a clear view of your characters, you need to know how will they go from point A to point B. There was a route chosen for Chuck and Blair back in season two; I’m sorry we’re straying.

It’s not about Chuck saying no to Blair and wanting to move on. That one should happen some time ago. It’s about him telling her that she’s not enough.

Because okay, maybe she’s not as in, love is not enough. I actually don’t think that all you need in life is love - there are always so many things to consider. But I absolutely hate the way Chuck delivers this sentiment, no matter how true it is. He’s aggressive and petty, and angry at Blair, even though it’s just a set of specific circumstances that put him in such a situation. It doesn’t sit well with the kind of development his character was supposedly going through.

Chuck from the rooftop scene seems to be back to his early season two self and that’s what ticks me off, sorry.

Am I the only CB shipper that hates the rooftop scene sneak peek?

I can’t even look at Chuck telling Blair that he wanted to be with her (past tense), but now that he has lost everything he doesn’t care and then gets all pissy about the possibility of Blair being the one with more power (even if only financial) in their relationship.

God! I always viewed Chuck and Blair as two people that see each other as their equal and want it to be that way. Even if they did get into some power struggles, they were never serious. How am I supposed to defend that theory now?

And what is this Medieval I don’t want to be Mr Blair Waldorf shit? What, he can’t be Mr Blair Waldorf, but Blair can be Mrs Chuck Bass? Ugh. Not to mention the fact that no, Chuck, just because Blair would be supporting the two of you (for now, not forever, jeez!), doesn’t mean you’re beneath her. Just like you supporting her (or, say, paying her dowry?) shouldn’t make her beneath you. Equality in a relationship is not about financial status, really.

What sense does it make for Chuck to dismiss Blair in such an awful way after a whole year of heartbreak and hoping an waiting for heir? I understand he’s in shock, that he’s angry, hell, that he even blames her, but that still doesn’t explain his behaviour. I would go for something more like: I have to think about it, I can’t talk to you about it right now, I need time, what-freaking-ever.

And to conclude, you know that I hate it when people say that Chuck has never done anything nice for Blair, right? Because he did, many times! He can act very selflessly, he can try to make her happy without taking any credit for it - I know it, you know, those who deny it are just very selective about the show. But to have him actually say: I’ve always put you before everything? Whoa, Chuck! What about season one, when you ruined Blair’s reputation because you were jealous of Nate and then, in the end, got scared of commitment and run away? What about season two, when you pit Serena against Blair? Not to mention season three and the infamous IP? Or season four, when you acted like an ass and made a scene because you were hurting over Blair getting engaged?

I love Chuck’s character, I really do. I like him because he’s difficult and very flawed to the point of being broken, because I’m a sucker for redemption arcs and love helping people heal. But loving a character does not, nor will it ever mean forgetting what a shitty excuse of a human being they can be. Sorry, folks, that’s just how it is. Chuck didn’t always put Blair before himself. Why would anyone even put those words in his mouth? And after the epic apology scene we got this season, nonetheless?

I don’t get it. Hopefully things will actually look better in reality.

Why the lack of Blair Waldorf’s growth has nothing to do with who she is with and all with who she is

Okay, so maybe I will indulge myself in a tinsy almost!meta about Blair Waldorf and why watching her became such a painful experience. It will be chaotic and not at all thought through, so be prepared for lots and lots of randomness.

Since the very beginning, Blair Waldorf has been the sum of her own insecurities. The thing about her character, the one that made her so popular and loved, was that - despite her being a New York teenage socialite - people felt like they could relate to her. On a very abstract level, of course, but still. Her parents’ marriage crashed and burned, her mother was never satisfied with her, she was horribly jealous of her best friend, her boyfriend wasn’t in love with her any more, she got mixed up in something pretty scary with one of her male friends and at the same time, she tried to stay at the top of her class. It’s a lot of drama to take at once but most people had at least one of those issues and that was what mattered. On the top of all that, Blair was always deep down very insecure and needed constantly to prove herself to others. She wasn’t like Serena, she didn’t possess a strong feeling of self-worth and confidence that would help her get up every time life knocked her down.

This is why she always depended on other people to tell her who she is. She treated them as some kind of a mirror, looking at herself through their eyes. It is noteworthy that Jenny and Chuck were pretty much the same in that aspect, which is why they were always my favourite characters on the show. (I just thought it was interesting, even if painful, to watch them struggle with that.)

She did it not only with her parents and friends, but also with her boyfriends. Blair always changed a bit, depending with who she was at the moment. With Nate she was the perfect high society girl; with Chuck she was more daring and a little decadent, always scheming and playing games; with Carter she hit rock bottom; with that guy from the end of season three she tried to be just a normal, twenty year old girl; with Louis she transformed into a fairy tale princess; now with Dan she aspires to be a part of New York’s intellectual elite.

At this point, most shippers would already be fighting with which one of those man Blair was her real self. Our choices determine our ship, as you’d probably noticed. But if we take off our shipper goggles for a second, if we take Blair out of a ship, I think we will see that we’ve never met the real her.

If Blair lets her relationships define her (and she does) and she wasn’t not in a relationship for more than a few weeks (she wasn’t), where does that leave us?

Without the real Blair Waldorf, that’s for sure. Maybe that’s it, maybe that’s just the kind of person Blair is - someone who will always be accommodating people in her life and changing to fit their opinions of her. It’s a little exasperating to watch but not impossible as a character trait. What is annoying though, is the fact that while being continuously written as a dependent weakling (because despite all her fierceness, Blair most of the time fails to be strong when she really needs to be), power is her character’s catchphrase, but nothing is ever done about it.

After five years, Blair Waldorf acts with Dan Humphrey exactly the same way she did with Nate Archibald.

The breaking point should be, of course, season 3. Blair’s I don’t like who I’ve become with you was oh so telling. It was a major epiphany on her part, she finally understood that she always moulded herself to others (men she loved, in particular) and that it could be a dangerous thing. It felt like she is finally going to take her life into her own hands and decide who she really wants to be.

Then, of course, season 4 happened and any continuity went to hell.

Do you see my point? The ships, the men Blair dates really don’t matter. We think they matter because Blair thinks they do. That’s the way she operates. So we all waste our time trying to determine who would be better for her, when the thing is, both Chuck and Dan could be just as good. Chuck’s destructiveness and Dan’s tendency to be controlling wouldn’t be so damaging, if Blair wouldn’t let them be. But she does. And if the writers don’t plan to develop her character any further, she still will. So it really won’t matter for her happiness, who she is with, because at the end of the day, she will let some guy stomp on all over her.

Still, there is one thing that makes me personally lean towards CB.

People who remember the whole show better than I do could probably dig out some great parallels between Blair’s different boyfriends. To my mind come two scenes: the one from 3.04 (Remember I’m Chuck Bass and I love you) and the most recent one, from 5.21 (I have a feeling that the real Blair Waldorf is a lot closer than you think). I’ve seen some people claiming that this is a proof how differently Chuck and Dan treat Blair. That Chuck thought of her as his extension and Dan views her as an independent being. But I think that these are details subject to one’s interpretation; what really matters is that in those scene, both of them told Blair who she is. You are the person I love - this is the measure of your worth. You possess traits I value and because of them are the woman I fell for - this is the measure of your worth. Can you see how similar their rhetoric is? Their way of thinking? But why do they say those things?

Because Blair subconsciously wants them to. Because she needs them to tell her who she is. She expects it and relies on it. They know it, so when they see she is down, they actually try to make her feel better. But how misguided they are!

And then Dan is all: If only you could see what I see! and it’s like he unknowingly hit jackpot because that’s exactly what Blair wants. He tells her who he thinks she is and at that moment, she wants to be that person more than anything. Dan has no idea what he did by listing all those things Blair supposedly is. He hopes that no magazine can dictate Blair how she views herself and I think that clearly shows that he’s not doing that on purpose. But nevertheless, Blair devours his words, feeds on them and I can see in my mind’s eye that she will really try to be that girl Dan told her about. Maybe she really is her, I don’t know - Dan made those observations in one of the short periods when Blair was alone and had no man to define her but it still doesn’t make it any better that she needs him to tell her that. Since she worked at W, she could change, she could feel differently about pretty much everything and this is why trying to fit Dan’s image of her, an image over a year old, that might have not been even accurate or complete in the first place, is just not right.

The next few episodes we’ll probably see Blair trying to be the girl Dan loves and failing. Because she will always fail as long she tries to be a little more this, and a little more that. And just like she said, she is the real problem here.

On an end note, I’ve never been a fan of that first scene I quoted above. Despite my deep love for Chuck and Blair, I think they had better, more meaningful scenes, with less cheesy dialogue. What really ticked me off though, was how dependent on each other they seemed at the beginning of season 3. Those who oppose their relationship tend to cite 3.04 to show that Blair let Chuck dictate who she was. They are, however, forgetting about 3.01 and the infamous: I’m not Chuck Bass without you. I had serious problems with that because I always root for the characters as well as the pairing so I prefer them more independent in general. But what was making it all a little better for me was the fact, that this strange co-dependence went both ways. There was some kind of a sick balance to it.

Blair lacks it with Dan because he doesn’t need her to tell him who he is. Chuck and Blair were very co-dependent and Dan isn’t like that. Somehow he always has the upper hand in his relationships - and you know what? I don’t blame him. It’s not his fault that he’s a strong individual; he doesn’t plan on it, it just happens. But that’s why I believe no girl on the show is his real mate, because there is no girl self-confident enough to be his true match. Well, maybe Vanessa was. But Vanessa’s gone - mostly because her power struggle with Dan wouldn’t end and neither of them was ready to compromise.

So really, that’s it. I don’t enjoy what happened to Blair’s character but I don’t blame it on the relationships she’s in. It’s a serious flaw in her portrayal, the lack of growth that seems unconscious and that probably won’t be solved, because the writers aren’t willing to write Blair and only Blair, without an added bonus of a romantic interest.

the-tvblog:

Can I just say how stupid it is that Blair is still bringing up the hotel incident over 2 years later? Especially after Chuck apologized and she forgave him! If she’s going to hold one mistake against him for the rest of his life, then I don’t want them back together ever again. They’ve turned Blair into one of those obnoxious Dair shippers that scream abuse all the time. I’m convinced that one of them is paying Safran to turn the show into a badly written Dair fanfiction.

I really, really don’t agree. The hotel thing was a lot like cheating in a relationship and something like that is never forgotten easily. Maybe it would be better for all parties involved if nobody ever mentioned it, maybe it’s just torturing yourself and the person who betrayed you, but I don’t think you can really control your feelings when it comes to such things. There are trust issues and resentment, and maybe even irrational guilt and self-loathing (Was it my fault? Did I push them away?), and yes, it’s no good, but nevertheless, it happens.

The IP is something that, in my opinion, Chuck and Blair should work out. And working out problems may take years of talking and poking the old wounds. This season, Chuck apologized to Blair - but shouldn’t it be just the beginning? Do you really think this erases all the times he has hurt Blair? I know he’s been hurting, too, but nothing that Blair did could compare to Chuck’s behaviour in the second half of season three (the IP, saboting her dates, Jenny, running away and dropping off anyone’s radar, only so he could surface with a new, perfect girlfriend).

I love Chuck, I’m one of those people who were Chuck fans first and foremost from the beginning, but I also want to be as fair to his character as possible.

signaturescarf:

Some Donut reading if you’re interested.

Going back to Donut fans saying “Poor D deserves to be number one for someone.”

See, this is why I have grown to loathe his character and frankly it annoys me that Penn wants a DB endgame.
That would mean every single lead female character on this show picked the Donut first. He was the love of Serena, Vanessa and now BLAIR’S life? Are you kidding me? What kind of storytelling is that?
Tell me someone PLEASE tell me - how has D earned that as a character?

It’s not like he’s faced any sort of obstacles. His life has been a fucking Mardis Gras compared to all the UES kids. He has a loving and supportive Dad. Both his parents encouraged him growing up (they gave him pens and books as a kid) and told him how great he was. The worst thing he went through was watching his parents breakup because his mom decided to go off and pursue her art at the expense of the family. That’s difficult but it doesn’t even compare to the shit Serena, Chuck, Blair and Nate have had to deal with with their respective families.

Donut is also the LUCKIEST character. Every girl he’s wanted has fallen for him. He got his dream girl Serena at the beginning of the series. He gets his NEW dream girl Blair at the end of the series too? In between he got a movie star (Olivia), his BFF and I would argue his intellectual and artistic soulmate Vanessa, and a myriad of stalker types from Georgina (who hand picked him to be her baby daddy because she liked him so much) to Nelli Yuki who crushed on him to random chicks at NYU.
He gets published in the New Yorker before he’s 18. He becomes a successful author before he’s 21. He has movie deals, access to money and society through Lily and now Blair. He started the series as an outsider but rapidly became the biggest Insider of them all.
Everyone loves him or at least grows to respect him and think he’s AWESOME. He ruins the girls that he leaves (notice, he always gets to do the breaking up. Never them.)

But to be fair, I shouldn’t hate on Donut just because his life has been good relative to everyone else on the show. Perhaps if he was written as someone that’s extraordinarily awesome, brave, loyal, kind, etc then it would justify his amazing winning streak.
The problem is, Donut has never been written like that.

As I’ve said numerous times, his one big virtue is that he’s nice to all the UES’ers when they are down on their luck. It’s how he won Serena (she was stillin shame over being Bad Serena and being with a nice non UES guy was her redemption in many ways), Nate (he was homeless when he became friends with Donut), Blair (Second half of S4 she was still struggling with her feelings/relationship with Chuck and this season she’s been in crisis with the paternity issue and later losing her baby and Chuck in one fell swoop), and Chuck (early S5 his issue with being able to feel after losing Blair).

But other than that one virtue, Donut has NOT been written as an extraordinarily heroic, brave, kind, loving, loyal, etc character. If he was written like that then I could see why the writers would feel it makes sense that he be rewarded over and over again.
Instead, they’ve actually made him rather flawed.

Donut was very hypocritical and judgy in the early seasons. He’s not a sweet natured guy. I’d characterize him more as snarky and at times very cocky and confident. He isn’t the humble, modest hero type if that makes any sense. He is no Seth Cohen. (He isn’t a Pacey Witter either for a number of reasons, one of which is that he never faces any obstacles and is not a true underdog).

He isn’t a particularly loyal friend (e.g., how he treated Nate over Serena; how he treated Chuck (a quasi friend but Safy said they were “brothers” so..) over Blair; how he treated Blair at W magazine; the downright CRUEL way he treated Vanessa at the end of S4, etc)

He isn’t a particularly loyal brother given that he’s smooching the girl that bullied his sister in high school and then banished her from her own home.

He isn’t a particularly loyal boyfriend. He has a pretty consistent history of emotional cheating (he falls in love with new girls easily and leaves the old one in the dust). He cheated on Vanessa with Serena.

He’s a horrible ex boyfriend. The way he has treated both Vanessa and Serena is really inexcusable to me. (But I guess if one is vicariously living through Blair, hates Chuck and Serena, has a capacity to overlook or not care about D occasionally making biting comments to Blair, has the capacity to overlook or not care about his occasional domineering/macho streak, and one doesn’t give two shits about any other character or relationship on the show? I can see why you might want him with Blair).

Hell he isn’t even much of a White Knight when you compare him to Nate.

And this season he’s been downright shady at times.

Now, NONE of these flaws are a huge deal. No, he did not sell his girlfriend out for a hotel. No, he didn’t smash glass by his ex-girlfriend’s head in a moment of desperation. But my point isn’t that Donut is BAD and worthy of HATE. My point is that there is absolutely NOTHING and I mean NOTHING about Donut’s character or journey that makes him especially WORTHY of being constantly rewarded, let alone end up with Blair.

I really like this rant, apart from one thing: I really don’t think we should treat ending up with Blair (or any other woman, at that) in terms of being rewarded for one’s good deeds. It has awfully mediaval, paternalistic and objectifying feel to me. But I think that it was mostly unconscious and a matter of bad phrasing. Still, we should be careful with things like that. Girls are not prizes. The end.

On the other hand, I do agree about the whole winning streak and comparatively easy life. Dan did achieve a great deal at a very young age and certainly is not as tortured as the others characters. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but the way he’s portrayed sometimes indicates some kind of a journey that was a little wasted. Dan’s journey was overcoming his prejudices and treating people fairly, all because he fell in love with Serena and thanks to that experience, got to know her world. I think that Safran aims at that with Dan falling for Blair, the epitome of everything he hated about the UES, but the problem is, this season Blair was not a very WASP-y UES-er. She was mostly unhappy, scared and undecided. I think that would work much better in season 4 - and it did, when Blair and Dan became reluctant friends. Right now, since Blair changed so much, I can’t see Dan making the effort at liking an UES girl; he doesn’t have to, because Blair acts nothing like that.

So in conclusion, I have the feeling that Dan was actually robbed of his journey and of his purpose on the show. We all know he’s not perfect (which is fine, the more flawed the characters are, the more real they feel and there is plenty of judgemental people who are not bad people, right?), but the writers try to force down our throats the notion that he is the ultimate Prince Charming. And that doesn’t work.

Why I won’t be tuning back In: Even if GG puts CB back together again

flowersforfucktards:

I think Safran’s anticanonical interviews have not only turned me off the rest of the season. They’ve turned me off Gossip Girl for good.  It’s not just the Dair in the show. Truthfully I couldn’t care less about that at this point. I even wrote Dair in fanfic form before. It’s the total rewriting of the show that is happened to faciliate this coupling and, in particular, the characterizations of Chuck & Blair that we’re getting from Safran through these interviews.

Safran has always been invested in Dan/Blair. He’s the one that wrote their scene together in 1X04 and I think he’s always been resentful of the fact that they didn’t take off the way that Chuck & Blair did. It’s obvious he’s always wanted to write them together. He wanted to do it in S3 when he put them both at NYU but was turned down. The lengths they’ve gone to to try and break affinity that the audience has had with Chair is absurd if you truly think about it. It hadn’t been organic. It’s been anything but. I find it absurd that rather than riding the huge amount of love the audience had for CB and exploring them as a couple, they decided to throw such huge obstacles in the way so they could facilitate other pairings for Blair. (And it’s clear it’s only for Blair as the writers only ship Chuck/Alcoholism or Chuck/Misery)

I don’t think Safran understand why CBers are so strong about CB so I’m going to try to define at least why I loved CB. I love them because they began as a deep friendship. You can see that through the NJBC and through their early interactions in S1. You can see that Blair is curious about Chuck even though he doesn’t fit into her carefully structured plans. The looks she shoots him on occasion, such as the bedroom scene where her eyes linger. You can see that play of ‘what if’ before she gets control of herself and puts him carefully back into the box that he belongs in (scheming friend, her boyfriend’s best friend, confidante). The night at Victrola is her way of engaging with that ‘what if’ in a safe way (no one would blame her, she was heartbroken over Nate). However, she unleashes something she doesn’t intend to. And that’s because Chuck has always had some feelings for her though his attempts at flirting at offensive at best (so this is your bed). His eyes always linger on her, and even before they have sex he’s trying to make her journey easier (he truly does want her to win over Serena). He does take huge risks in telling her his feelings. Because he risks losing that friendship that he values but he does.

So Safran… Chuck/Blair was based on a friendship deepening into love.

Chuck has always believed in Blair. There have times that he’s been immature and he’s brought her down. The thing is that those incidences were in HIGH SCHOOL. Once they were together he’s wanted for nothing beyond her happiness. He’s stepped back and been happy when she succeeded whether it was at prom, W, Columbia. He’s guided her in particular directions or made the options open to her (Columbia, the photographer) but he’s never determined that she’s not thinking correctly and swooped in to play the part of savior. That’s what Dan did with her wedding when he published the tape of her and Chuck. He determined that she wasn’t capable of making the decision and made if for her as one may a child. In contrast Chuck has increased her options and repeatedly told her that she is powerful and capable.

So Safran… Chuck always wanted Blair to be powerful and supported her in being so.

When you write these things about Dair as if they were new and interesting. The truth is that most of your CB fans are going to view it as badly written retconning. Then again, the CB stuff happened on screen and so maybe you don’t know about it. Or it doesn’t compare to your essay contests and other fantasies.

Which brings me to my final point. I will always have a loving and mutually supportive Chair in my canon. So I’m no longer interested in watching a Gossip Girl that reduces them to:

“Her relationship with Chuck has always been fraught with a little bit of antagonism, it’s been sexy and also they tried to be there for each other but then things get in the way.”

This is so close to a Dair shippers wet dream of all Chuck/Blair has is sex. And if this is how the executive producer views this couple.  That the other elements that make them unique and special have not only fallen to the side but actively been given to the opposing ship than what’s the point of watching for the reunion? It’s clear to me that they will reunite them. They have to just because of the fact that this ship has owned the show and allowed it to have the long run that it has. It’s clear that the majority of fans, both casual and otherwise ship it. 

However, the way they talk about CB now. The lack of enthusiasm in their scenes over the last few years (cliched writing and lack of continuity) just shows me that the writers don’t care. And if they don’t care it’ll show in the writing.  In the end, when they come back together, it’ll be unsatisfying. Because the executive producer now only sees the iconic couple of GG as a pair that can have good sex.

So my headcanon will always be better than their reunion so why stick around for the one on screen. I can read fanfic by writers who actually care about the couple and will do them justice.

And let me add that most sensible fandoms don’t consider anything said in Tweets or even interviews as canon. Be it Rowling’s Potter family tree or Safran’s poor attempts at explaining why Tripp’s story line is being dropped. Retconning on screen is bad enough, but doing it off screen is just sad.

signaturescarf: Safran and Gossip Girl →

flowersforfucktards:

“People always talk about endgames, but the thing is, if you have have a firm end set in stone, everything you write runs into that wall,” Safran says. “It has to be done with a shifting, malleable approach.”

I actually totally disagree with this. When you have no final point in mind that’s when your writing becomes inconsistent and plot rather than character driven. When you have an idea of where you want to end, then the turns and curves that you take add meaningfully to the journey rather than simply being explored for their own sake. You get congruence in characters and storylines that add meaning and subtlety to your writing. A big part of where GG has gone wrong is that there has been a total lack of consistency in the writing, characters and plot lines.  And this isn’t a new problem. It’s just worse now because they have accumulated so many different levels of inconsistency. At this point, It’s hard to even thread a quality narrative through what has already happened, nevermind extend that narrative into future possibilities.  Truthfully, any character could do anything at this point.  So what’s the point of connecting with a character or being invested in their journey.  And I believe that this problem has been caused because the writers have failed to have that conversation about where they want to end.  They’ve failed to step back from the immediate fun of doing this or that turn, to meaningfully explore who the characters are and where they want them to end up. They’ve sacrificed all their characters for the OMFGs.  It’s to the point where the writers are standing in a hurricane of their own creation and trying to write themselves out of it through retconning and providing leading interviews (ie: you shouldn’t have to explain your characters intentions/thoughts/actions, they should be obvious within the story). I would pity the writers had they not created the problem. Maybe Safran et all should have kept their eyes a little closer on the endgame and final destination.

What is wrong with these people? There’s not much I can add to the commentary above, really. No, not having a set endgame isn’t a good thing. And it’s not only about pairings, although this is what most people are probably thinking about - from the very beginning, a story-teller of any kind has to know what will be his characters’ journey, how will they evolve and who will they become in the end. The GG writers should know if they want Chuck and Blair or Blair and Dan together, as much as they should know if Gossip Girls’ identity will ever be revealed. These aren’t, contrary to popular belief, particularly difficult questions.

Maybe I wouldn’t be fine with DB ending up together, but if I knew that they were the writers’ plan all along, I would understand that. (Of course, as a viewer I would also be long gone, but that’s beside the point.) The way things are right now isn’t satisfying even if I look at Gossip Girl as a complete crack!show.

These people do not deserve the money they earn for spouting such crap. Seriously, if I were Safran, I’d claim I totally know what I’m doing and however I decide to end my show, it was all a part of my evil plan, not an accident.

OurLittleNugget: Sex and Scheming Among Many Others ... →

ourlittlenugget:

So it gets thrown around all the time when the question of compatibility is raised, what do Chuck and Blair have in common aside from sex and scheming (as though the past 5 seasons have shown them to be nothing more than nymphomaniac deviants, having achieved nothing but the Big-O in their shared screen-time). Firstly I consider this a direct slight at the show-runners whose complex story of Chuck and Blair (involving much more than sex and/or scheming)  cannot be denied over the years; regardless of whether you consider them to be endgame or not. Secondly, I put it to those nay-sayers that perhaps they have not been as invested in the show as their claims which they hold as a badge of entitlement.

BLOSSOMING AFFECTIONS

Yes, Chuck and Blair CONNECTED over a scheme, but there is no doubt that they did not just meet in the pilot; therefore those arguments that say they didn’t have a friendship are inaccurate. It was in spending that time together they began to see the complex sides to each other’s personalities and saw each other more than the friends they already were; years before we even met them.

Through scheming, they began to understand each other, developing feelings for the other. From Chuck’s masked praise “You don’t get nearly enough credit for your wit” [1.03] and “you are my toughest critic, well second toughest” [1.07]; to Blair’s growing affections “Truly, I am proud” [1.07] – their progress from friends to lovers was, and still is, the most organic relationship the show has EVER shown.

Chuck found his humanity in Blair, a shielded heart slowing opening ever-so-slightly to let someone in, risking the same cycle of hurt he had known his whole life. Growing up without ever knowing the kindness of family or friends, and instead finding comfort in the staff of his father’s hotels, or his slew of nannies; he found the strength to feel for someone and expose himself in trying to make them happy: “Something this beautiful deserves someone worthy of its beauty” [1.08]

Blair stopped hiding behind her shield of strength and valour with Chuck. Behind the “label-whoring package of girly evil” she was vulnerable and lived in the shadows of her mother’s success, constantly battling the ideals of aesthetic perfection in the fashion industry. Chuck affirmed to her that she was more than an “accessory” to him [1.10].

Dan and Blair share common interests in movies and books from mid-S4.

ORGANIC LOVE

Their intimate knowledge of each other did not require articulated dialogue between one another for us, the audience, to believe it. With just one line “You didn’t think you were the only one who knew about the scrapbook, did you?” [2.24] there is nothing more that needs saying of his feelings for his beloved. As for Blair - all she needed was to see Chuck distraught on her bed to instinctively rush over and cradle him with the warmth he had never felt from someone’s touch that didn’t involve being naked [2.13]. They both inherently KNOW what the other needs, even if it is against every fibre of their being in that moment – Blair was with Nate at the prom, and Chuck had just rejected her protestation of love in those two examples.

Dan and Blair share common interests in movies and books from mid-S4.

DO UNTO THEMSELVES

In fact, so deep is their commonality that they aware when the other is not acting like themself. Chuck found the strength to deny Blair her self-destruction despite craving her touch for so long -“This isn’t you … it’s not the Blair I want” [2.19] - as it meant what they had was “nothing”. And Blair confessed to Serena about “losing him” despite being very much in a relationship with him [3.14]. She knew him.

Dan and Blair share common interests in movies and books from mid-S4.

FRIENDS TIL THE END

Chuck and Blair respect each other’s friendships. After the cake incident with Serena, he observes a “freakishly calm Blair” and notes “the calm won’t last, and when it breaks there are going to be pieces of Blair all over the wall” [3.09]. What did Chuck do? He aids them into reconciliation knowing it’s what she needs.

Similarly Blair allows a lost weekend to mark Nate’s moving in, understanding that it was important to their friendship [3.09]. And when Serena chose Tripp over Nate, Chuck asks Blair “Hey do you mind if I stay?” with which she replies, “Yes, but that’s why I love you” [3.11].

Chuck and Blair will always respect each other’s relationships outside of their own and will never try to monopolise one another for their own personal benefit.

Dan and Blair share common interests in movies and books from mid-S4.

OUT OF THEIR LEAGUE IS JUST IN THEIR LEAGUE

They familiarise themselves with secret societies – he holding the future of America to ransom during open week at Yale, and she campaigning for her place in Girls Society and La Table Elitaire. But not only are Chuck and Blair aware of the other’s relentless pursuit to break away from the success of their parents and forge their own; they both support each other’s quest. Blair believed in Chuck when she surrendered the “vintage McMullen” at the Sotheby’s auction in order for him to take his business savvy to the next level [3.03]; and Chuck was always the feather for a Blair who was afraid of flying on her own merit; applying to Columbia for her in spite of her reluctance out of embarrassment for having to admit NYU was a mistake [3.20].

Dan and Blair share common interests in movies and books from mid-S4.

REFINEMENT & TRASH

They are both a complex dichotomy of refined breeding in over-achievement and trashy pop culture. He identifies with Ivanka Trump, and she with “Hilary Clinton in the White House”; but endearingly compare themselves to “Brad and Angelina” [4.09]. Chuck and Blair also share literature and turn it into a fun role-play exercise to enjoy as a couple (Ana Karenina and Wuthering Heights); along with old movies where Chuck is intimately aware that she is not Bette Davis but always Audrey Hepburn [3.06]. At the same time, they share a private joke when Blair is likened to the “manwhore” Lance Armstrong [3.11]. Hell, they even went to a Robyn concert where she sang karaoke drunk [4.07]! 

Dan and Blair share common interests in movies and books from mid-S4.

ALL THE SMALL THINGS

Chuck and Blair are cultured; he travels to France for Blair’s favourite macarons, to Germany for her favourite fall stockings [2.25]. They both vacation in Europe, and the Hamptons (as Blair stated she would continue to do so at her Cotiliion). He arranges a chef to personally cater for one of her functions after she states there’s “nothing wrong with a lobster pot-pie between friends” [4.09]. Blair indulges Chuck his sexual deviousness in a way that they can remain in a fulfilling monogamous relationship; at the same time exploring her own insatiable appetite. And of course they have an affinity for classical grand piano melodies …  [4.07]

Dan and Blair share common interests in movies and books from mid-S4.

SO THE QUESTION IS …

What do Dan and Blair have in common aside from a common interest in movies and books? After the book is finished, or the movie ends; then what? The only thing that Dan and Blair have over Chuck and Blair is institutionalised education. But what Chuck lacks in book knowledge, he makes up in practical knowledge. Chuck and Blair share so much more than they are given credit for because it has not been paraded before us through contrived dialogue – or “witty banter” if you will. Their affinity is natural and organic and can do without the fanfare.

Chuck and Blair are fictional characters in a story, they are not real people and to relate them to real life situations to make a narrative conclusion is to do a disservice to the storytelling. Clearly their story is THE one told over 5 seasons; and still ongoing despite this “dair-tour”. Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck; the ONLY ending that makes sense.

Sympathy For The Devil

crindywithclubsauce:

I’ve been thinking about Gossip Girl a lot during it’s hiatus; in particular, why I’m not enjoying this season. And I think I’ve finally pinpointed the reason.

I never thought I’d say this, but my problem with Gossip Girl is Blair Waldorf. Today on my dash, someone posted something, complaining about the Dair fans that were insisting that Chair fans didn’t care about Blair as an individual.

I read this and immediately wanted to disagree, but when I thought about it, I realized for me, personally, this statement was right. 

If I’m being totally honest, I don’t care about Blair Waldorf as much as I used to. Her characterization this season has been awful, and I have been finding it very hard to be sympathetic towards her. I’m not endeared to her anymore, which means I can’t really enjoy her.

My sympathy for her vulnerable side, allowed me to turn away from every bad thing she’s done. For instance, when she hazed a teacher, I could ignore it, because she was messed up after putting her heart on the line, and being rejected by Chuck.

However, this season I’ve seen her as a self-centered, immature princess - literally. Her storylines have been more unrealistic than ever, and I can’t relate to her, or even feel sorry for her.

Blair vs. Happiness

Everyone on the show is always talking about “Blair’s happiness” and how important it is for Blair to be happy. But what about the other characters? What makes Blair - the manipulative, materialistic Queen B - so special?

I don’t understand why everyone thinks it is so important for this character in particular to find happiness, when there are five other main characters, and some of these characters are actually much better people than Blair.

Take Serena, for example. Yeah, she had a hard time when she was mixed up with drugs and booze, and thought she killed a guy, but she’s only human. People are allowed to make mistakes, and when you’re a product of Serena’s environment, you’re likely to make more mistakes than most.

Her only real flaw is her flakiness. She flits between friends, boyfriends, jobs, cities, whenever she feels like it. She often hurts people with her decision-making, but she always tries to make amends. She hasn’t banished people from New York, hasn’t hazed a teacher - she slept with her best friend’s boyfriend one time, but that’s ancient history. Other than Nate, she’s probably the nicest person on this show; certainly the nicest female.

So, why does no one care about Serena’s happiness? The last time I checked, the show was supposed to be focused on both of the girls, but it seems that everyone is so concerned with Blair’s happiness - Blair included - that no one stops to think about how Serena is feeling. And that is a huge flaw in the writing.

I think that after 5x11, people wanted Blair to find happiness more than ever. She’d lost Chuck and she’d lost her baby, but because of the lazy writing, I once again, felt no sympathy for her. We didn’t see her grieve for her child, but we did see her drinking and partying and getting arrested.

The GG writers can do death; they handled it very well in season 2 when Bart died, but this tragic loss wasn’t given any screen time. In fact, it was almost as if Blair hadn’t been pregnant at all.

OLD HABITS DIE HARD

Problems also arise when you think about Blair’s behavior this season. She has schemed against Chuck, while pregnant and engaged, just to prove to Dorota that she was right about him. At this point in the season, Louis was still the more sensible option for her. He was the father of her child, and he could offer her stability. She loved him and wanted to marry him - so why couldn’t she just be happy with what she had?

In my opinion, this scheming was pointless, as she gained nothing from it. She risked her relationship, and completely ignored the fact that she was about to be a mother - and should therefore, be more mature - just to prove herself right. If she does this, why should I feel sorry for her when Louis also schemed in 5x08? He was only doing something that she was also guilty of.

THE END OF THE AFFAIR?

The pact with God while always go down as the most ridiculous storyline in GG history. At least when Serena thought she had killed someone, we got a damn good episode out of it. 5x11 was abysmal, and this SL truly killed the Waldorf we once knew and loved.

In 5x10, Blair actually told Dan that she would rather stay in an unhappy relationship with Louis, than be alone. This was a very similar conversation to 5x02: Convinced that she was going to “be alone” if she did the paternity test, and would only have Dan to depend on (what about Serena, your best friend for the last decade?), she cried on his shoulder and refused to open the results in the following episode.

What the hell happened to the strong, independent Blair Waldorf, of seasons 1-4? Did she lose all of her self-awareness in Monaco, over the summer? She is a New York socialite, with a maid and a trust fund, not a single mom with little money and  low-paying job. She could raise a child on her own if she really needed to, and the former Blair was strong enough to do it. It made no sense for her to feel this way. 

After being involved in a car crash, that occurred after Blair made a decision about  the men in her life, she made a pact with God. This is the stupidest thing that has ever happened on GG, not only for the story, but because of Blair’s OOC actions.

No one makes decisions for Blair Waldorf - not even God.

As a result of this pact, Blair continued with her wedding to Louis. In other words, she used him. She couldn’t be with Chuck, but she didn’t want to be alone, so Louis was her only option. She was prepared to marry a man she didn’t really love, and allowed him to think that she truly wanted him.

Sure, Louis wasn’t a stand-up guy, but did he really deserve to be trapped in a marriage to a woman who didn’t care for him the way a wife should? No, he didn’t. He could have found someone else, someone who did love him, and married them.

Instead, he married Blair, because she was selfish and scared of being on her own. Of course, when it was revealed that their marriage was a sham, everyone hit out at Louis. He got called dozens of names, and will always be the most hated guest star ever.

I hate him, too, and I’m not defending him or his actions, but when you put the situation into simpler terms, he was using her, the same way she was using him. He just found out that his fiancée loved another man, more than she loved him. That has to hurt. I felt a little less hostility towards him when I realized this. 

DYLAN & CLAIRE

I get it, Dair has a strong fanbase and people wanted to see a romantic relationship play out, so the writers went with it. I wasn’t that pleased about the idea, but the storylines aren’t going to make everyone happy. It’s impossible.

The writers had a great opportunity to write a simpler romantic storyline for Blair, when they introduced Dan as romantic potential for her. They failed to do this. With all the chaos in the first-half of the season, what could have been a good thing, has become contrived and actually makes very little sense.

They have written Dair at the expense of the show’s background, and Blair’s character. Why did they re-write history to make Dair happen? It could have happened naturally, on their own terms, without bringing up past events that no one ever saw, and find hard to believe actually happened. It also could have played out, without Blair being so selfish.

She ran away with Dan in 5x13, despite pushing Serena to tell him how she felt earlier in the episode. She insulted Serena - “says the girl in the Constance uniform” - after Dan kissed her in 5x15. And then, in 5x16, she kissed him after she had told Serena that she felt nothing for him, and kissed him again, in front of S, while her grandma was dying a few feet away.

Never, ever, in a million years would Blair Waldorf pre-season 5, have pursued a relationship with Dan, at the expense of her friendship with Serena. The writers tried to wrap it up neatly by having Serena give them her “blessing” in 5x16, but it was bullshit, and so is this characterization of Blair.

I want her to be bitchy and self-centered, but with a heart. It used to work so well. Can’t we get this back? I don’t know what they’ve done to her, but I hope they can fix her, because I miss the Blair Waldorf that I used to love. She was once one of my main reasons for watching, and now she’s my reason for turning off.

“When did everything get so screwed up?” - Blair Waldorf, 2x19

My thoughts exactly.

A great, insightful rant. I think you really try to be objective about all of it - as much as being a shipper allows anyone objectivity - and I love you for it. I especially agree with the part about Dair not being written well in season 5. How did they went through the fun frenemy relationship from season 4 that so many people, even not Dair fans, enjoyed, to this is beyond me. It would be ridiculously easy to take their relationship to the next, romantic level from that point and even though it’s impossible to make everybody happy with the story lines, even I would begrudgingly admit that I saw it coming. Right now, Dair is nearly as dramatic as Chair but without the tragic past.

I also really like your thoughts on Blouis, since I’ve realized the very same thing. How much can a man take from a woman he loves, before he breaks? I think that we should at least try to look as Louis’ character from that point of view and admit, that it was ultimately Blair who ruined their relationship. And Louis? Well, in the end, he just wasn’t the bigger person, I guess.

The more shit Serena gets from the writers, the more I feel for her. Especially that this year, she really didn’t do anything to deserve this. And really, there were so many ways in which Blair could pursue relationship with Dan without being out-right cruel to her (former, really) best friend. All she had to do was talk to her, really talk to her and explain things, and give Serena some time to adjust to the thought of Dan not being in love with her any more and then, as a small courtesy, not flounce her new-found happiness in Serena’s face. Would it be really that hard to not kiss Dan in front of her? To just hold his hand?

To wrap this is up, I believe that the most important message in you post was: if the writing sucks, the show sucks as a whole. All it takes is to write some characters and story lines a little differently, to make them work. Reading fanfiction for, well, eight years or so, taught me one thing: you can make every pairing and every idea work, if you write it well.

If you don’t, it doesn’t matter if you’re a professional - your stuff is just like the worst of bad!fics.

Gossip Girl, 5.12: Make all the characters pathetic!

I’m only writing this review because Gossip Girl is still too stupid to take it seriously and actually care and bashing’s always fun. Let me point out all of the things that did not make sense this episode (the last one was so silly it would be too easy):

1. I really liked Serena this season. Maybe it was out of character for her to take interest in something more than boys and fashion, but this show has no idea what continuity is so what the hell, right? No. After ten episodes of being her most intriguing since Serena Also Rises in season two, let’s make her revert to her sad, clingy self, so she can pine after Dan, even though she’s Serena van der freaking Woodsen and could have literally any guy in New York. Yup, that makes sense.

2. You know, it’s not that I don’t understand why people ship Dair. Just because I don’t feel the appeal myself, doesn’t mean I don’t get it. For four seasons Dan and Blair had a rather unique, frenemy kind of relationship and it was understandable that some people would fall for it. That’s what fans do, they ship and I think it’s great that they can believe in as much in Chair, Nair, Dair, Serenate, Derena, Date or Duck. But if I were a Dair shipper, I’d be pissed.

Because yeah, Dair is happening but come on, the writers are ruining Dan and Blair’s season four dynamic. No more bantering and cuteness - Dan is in full brooding mode, self-sacrificing something that he never had. Suddenly this storyline became so cheesy and sappy I can’t help it but feel annoyed. If they are going to ruin my ship, can’t they, like, write the other ship well? Dair is turning into very bad fanfiction with Dan writing Louis’s wedding vows and they pierce right through Blair’s soul, and she will never know it was him and marry the wrong man!

Seriously?

3. Chuck’s redemption arc lasted what? Six episodes? You’ve got to be kidding me. This is why we had to go through a badly written therapy story line, so he can scheme and stalk Blair yet again? I care about him as a character, okay, and if we are getting another season of Gossip Girl why can’t we just leave Chair for half a year, write Blair and Chuck as friends on a journey to discover themselves and mature separately, but still missing each other secretly? I wouldn’t have to watch Chuck regressing to his old-but-actually-not-nearly-as-cool persona. I’m so pissed. It’s nearly as cheesy as Dair.

4. Why is even Dan writing Louis’s vows? Are they friends now? Wasn’t the fandom angry at Chuck for siding with Louis last week? I hope it’s equally angry with Dan for saving the relationship that would fall apart on its own but oh no, wait! I forgot about the double Chuck-Dan standards rule! Silly, silly me.

5. Nate is completely out of character but I’m cool with it. He’s the only one with an actual story line here.

6. Where are Jack and Diana? They were the only thing I really cared to see after the break!

7. Beatrice is the coolest. I want her to be Blair’s new BFF. She can become a regular and then, when Georgina’s back, we can have an epic battle of wits between those two. Since Blair became all weepy and annoyingly unable to make any decision on her own, we need a new crazy bitch around here.

8. Gossip Girl, please be a part of this show. I like it. And, you know, you’re kinda of a focal point for everything, so yeah.

9. Rufus is a fan of Serena’s column. I guess that would be her main target, middle-aged trophy husbands. I’m sure Rufus could identify with a twenty-one years old socialitee problems very well.

10. Anyone else ships Nate and That Cute Black Haired Girl From Spectator’s Office? I don’t know why but I like her.

11. I wouldn’t mind Charlie back. It’d be, like, a real plot.

12. There was a time when Gossip Girl - which never was a good show, truth be told - was simply fun. It was a story of a bunch of screwed-up high-society kids who appeared to be heartless and shallow, but in reality were just really unhappy and lost. It was that kind of a show that’s not very ambitious on it’s own, but leaves a lot to the imagination and can be interpreted in a more interesting way. The people were pretty, the clothes rocked, the dialogue was funny and the story line ridiculous, but in a good, we’re-making-fun-of-ourselves way.’

Not anymore. It’s like the Bold and the Beautiful, but supposed to be takes seriously.

Gossip Girl, 5.10: There’s Still Hope (It’ll Get Interesting)

Okay, first a little explanation. I know some of you may be very disappointed that I stopped posting exclusively about Gossip Girl. I am very sorry for that and if you’re bored with all those Iron Man photosets (I’m afraid they’re not going anywhere) feel free to unfollow me. Really, I am not blogging to get praise, I won’t be hurt if you’ll decide you’re just no longer interested in what I post. Keep that in mind, okay? I’d hate to bother you all :)

I haven’t been reviewing Gossip Girl for some time because I have to confess (and I’m ready for your hate) that I didn’t like those last episodes at all. Which is strange because things were finally looking up for my ship and what is more, I was getting everything I wanted, everything I’ve said this show needed to redeem Chuck and make it possible for him to be with Blair. But no matter how hard I try to relax and just enjoy all of this, I can’t. Because I’m sorry but it’s done in a simply unconvincing, full of pathos, forced and boring way.