Gossip Girl – Everything goes back to the beginning

Gossip Girl hit the reset button in its finale — big time. It’s not enough to have Bart Bass back from the freaking dead, but Chuck and Blair are back together, Serena is back to her Season One (nay, pre-Season One) druggie ways, and Lily is back with Bart. Basically, after years of inconsisitent character development, and now straight up character regression, it may be time for me to break up with the Upper East Side. (Eh, I’m an Upper West Sider anyway.)

The show has played out Blair with any guy, let alone Chuck. I could rehash all the arguments against Chair and for Dair, but I don’t think there is any point anymore: they have wrecked Blair’s character by making her all about the men in her life. The Louis arc was shoehorned in to give the show a 100th-episode princess wedding storyline, throwing Blair’s character under the bus by making her extra fickle over three guys and glossing over her miscarriage. I am glad Eleanor gave Blair her business, so maybe Blair would have something else in her life, but I’d rather she had earned it. She has gone from one of my favorite characters on TV to what she would call a complete “weakling.” At least the Ring of Doom was not deployed, despite the episode title. Even Chuck seemed tired of this dynamic, as he seemed disinterested at first.

I actually  had some fun the season after the Louis arc was over. The tone was lighter, which is a mode the show does well, and the gang got to have some capers together. But the show doesn’t know its own strengths. There is a difference between drama and angst. Drama: Blair mobilizing her minions to keep her diary publication blowback to a minimum. Angst: Chuck getting upset about his daddy issues for the zillionth time. And Blair and Serena have their yearly falling out. Ho hum. At least they could give us new angst, right?

Usually, when a show has only 11 episodes left, I’d stick it out, but I can’t with this show anymore. GG has always made its characters serve its plot as needed, and I can tolerate it to a point, but all this regression is frustrating. It’s like Gossip Girl is allergic to being good. This show and I need to break up. The sad part is that I saw this coming but was in denial. It’s not me — it’s you, Gossip Girl.

Notes:

• Lily has had a personality transplant this season. Not that Rufus is super exciting since the’ve been “married,” but she had her problems with Bart even aside from Rufus. Whatever. Season Two is apparently the new Season Six.
• I’d be interested to see Blair running the Waldorf fashion empire, but I don’t trust the show to do it justice.
• Dan/Serena sex on a bar just like pilot Nate/Serena sex? There are no words. It’s no surprise to find out that the show runners watched the pilot again before writing this.
• At least Bart calls out Chuck for the Blair-hotel trade. It’s about time someone did that.
• Hey, at least Nate has shown some growth. Bye, Lola.
• Hi … Georgina? Take ‘em all down, Dan. I’ll be cheering you from afar. Dude didn’t even get a breakup scene. But the writers can’t write couples, so I can’t be bothered to get too upset about the end of Dair.
• Gossip Girl herself sums up everything the best: “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” Adieu, show.

Clacked by Christina Furtado
on May 15, 2012 @ 09:05 EST5EDT