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TV roundup: Gossip Girl edition
Prepare yourself for the longest post in the history of posts.
Well, I’m taking a break from studying for finals to rant/squee/flail/snark about TV, because I’m me like that. Also, hopefully, I’ll be able to catch up with y’all sometime soon.
Anyways. Gossip Girl. Any of you who actually care about my thoughts on TV are probably already aware of the fact that I am watching this show for these reasons and these reasons only:
1. Blair
2. Chuck
3. Eric
4. Blair and Chuck
5. The promise of the return of Evil!Dawn Summers (otherwise known as Georgina) and her evil bitchery
6. Dorota
7. Chuck and Blair
That’s it. I don’t care about one other thing on this show. My facebook status at the moment is: “Lauren wishes that Blair and Chuck (and Eric) would get their own show so that she wouldn’t have to deal with the EPIC FAIL that is the other characters.” Which pretty much sums up my attitude towards the show at the moment.
For instance. I feel like there’s a direct correlation between Serena’s wardrobe and the quality of the show. Like: the less fabric involved in her outfits, the worse the show gets. I’m getting sick of it. Especially that one dress that was bright red on top and bright yellow on the bottom and made her look like she was advertising for McDonalds and barely covered up anything at all? I know that it’s my background that makes me far more modest than a lot of people, but I miss the days of Buffy when all the women looked attractive and fashionable but not skanky. What happened to that?
Also Aaron may be the most annoying character on the show. Which is saying something. I am so over his douchebaggery. Also, I want to know how old he is. Because Serena is still in high school. It makes me a bit nervous. The guy has no personality whatsoever except that of being slightly creepy. DO NOT WANT.
Look, I really did start out liking Jenny. Even when she was trying to out-bitch Blair in Season 1, she was still sweet enough to be forgivable. I rooted for her. I wanted lots and lots of scenes of her and Eric being BFFs (after he came out. Because before that I wanted them to date) and some scenes of her and Blair respecting each other’s deviousness (cuz little J sure can be devious when she puts her mind to). But I’ve lost all sympathy for her. She really has been selfish this year. There have been a few moments—such as when she got the dress back from Eleanor—where I approved of her. But for the most part she’s been self-indulgent and disrespectful. I understand that she’s a teenager. But if I had acted this way when I was that age? You have no idea how much trouble I would have been in. Maturity isn’t necessarily striking out on your own, Jenny, especially at your age. It’s being responsible for your own decisions and communicating honestly with the people who care about you. And you haven’t been doing that.
Also, I feel so sorry for Taylor Momsen. That horrible weed-whacker hair? The over-done raccoon makeup? She is so much cuter than that, and she deserves better.
I also find the Jenny/Nate/Vanessa love triangle tiring. For one thing, it’s making Vanessa act completely out of character (the letter thing? Are you serious?). I was never a huge fan of hers, but she was always sort of the voice of reason, and I respected that about her. Now? It’s like the writers are trying to undermine all that. And I honestly don’t care about Nate except in a Fab Four kind of capacity—if he isn’t interacting with Chuck or Blair or Chuck-Blair-and-Serena, I’m pretty indifferent to him. So I don’t care whether he’s with Jenny or Vanessa, I just wish the writers would make a decision. This is getting tiring.
I’d been trying to go easier on Lily. And for a while there I was beginning to respect her a bit. However, this latest episode has undermineded that. But more on that later. And Rufus is just boring.
And so is Dan. Cute, but boring. I have nothing really to say about him.
So yeah. I’m not that pleased with the show in general.
But the one thing they have been getting right? Is the one thing that matters. For a show that is as rough and uneven as this one in most areas, most of the time they really do get Blair and Chuck right.
I have had lots and lots of reasons to flail. And lots and lots of reasons to angst out. Which makes me a happy girl.
For instance. In “There Might Be Blood” (awesome episode title, by the way), Chuck reminded me of why I can continue to root for him despite his debauchery:
“While there are few things I consider sacred, the back of the limo is one of them.”
Reader, I squeed. And the fact that when Blair needed him, he was there. Yeah, with a bit of grumbling, but he came through for her.
And when she told the girl that she’d had her first time with someone she loved? AWWW!!
Also, when she answered, “But you’re perfect” with “True”? Totally cemented my worship of Blair Waldorf.
The games that they played with each other, trying to get the other to say, “I love you” hurt. A lot. And when he told her that they both love the game too much to ever have the sweet relationship, I was shocked at how insightful that was for someone like Chuck. I don’t expect an eighteen-year-old guy, especially one who can be as selfish as he can, to be able to recognize that, much less articulate it. But I found it very true to character.
Which brings me to this week’s episode. Which I loved with all of my heart.
But first, the stuff I didn’t like:
Was it just me, or did it seem like the only person who got the fact that Bart just died was Chuck? No one else seemed like they were mourning or even trying to behave in a reasonable fashion.
Proof of Serena/Aaron/Dan’s immaturity. This is not the time to play these games, kids. Someone just died. You don’t turn comforting another human being into a competition about getting into a girl’s pants (or, in this case, way too short skirt).
This just wans’t the episode to explore their love-triangle. For one thing, it took away from the Chuck mourning plotline. Which is inexcusable. I wanted to see Nate going to the hotel to try to drag him to the funeral. I wanted to see Nate and Blair discussing how to handle the situation. I wanted to see Chuck looking sick and rumpled some more.
I did not want to deal with the love triangle that is Serena and Aaron and Dan.
And anyways, what parent lets their high school-aged daughter go to Buenos Aires with her (ambiguously-aged) boyfriend? Seriously? Seriously?
Lily, I was trying to like you more. I was getting there. And then you went and basically told Chuck that it was his fault that his father died? He’s a grief-stricken eighteen-year-old boy who just lost his father. He’s orphaned now. You cannot say things like that to him.
And if you were really serious about being an adult, you’d learn that that involves trust. If you were really serious about being with Rufus and making it work, you’d know that you couldn’t continue to lie to him. You wouldn’t be begging your mommy to use money to make the consequences of your decisions go away. That is not how an adult acts. You turned the entire episode into one about your problems. Which would have been okay if your problems involved the death of your husband. UGH!
Also, Jenny’s outfit was wildly inappropriate for a funeral.
And it never fails to make me laugh that Lily’s mother is played by the actress who plays Spike/William’s mother in “Lies My Parents Told Me”. Lily is Spike’s sister!
But there was a lot to love.
The first thing I loved was the scene with Blair and Chuck and Nate walking to the funeral. This is the way I like Nate. Interacting with the other two. And both of them being there for Chuck without coddling him. And Nate telling Blair she was really sweet with Chuck? Wonderful. She managed to be sweet for him without being out of character. Which is further proof that Leighton is a genius.
And she finally says the words. Standing outside of his limo (perfect, perfect that it happened there), she says them.
Blair: Chuck! Stop! Don't go. Or if you have to leave, let me come with you.
Chuck: I appreciate the concern.
Blair: No. You don't. You don't appreciate anything today. But I don't care. Whatever you're going through, I want to be there for you.
Chuck: We talked about this. You are not my girlfriend.
Blair: But I am me. And you are you. We're Chuck and Blair. Blair and Chuck. The worst thing you've ever done—the darkest thought you've ever had—I will stand by you through anything.
Chuck: And why would you do that?
Blair: Because I love you.
Chuck: Well that's too bad.
All of that could easily have been too schmoopy and out of character. But they’re such subtle actors that it wasn’t. It was perfect. I absolutely believed Blair when she basically said, “I can learn to be selfless, to be there for you, if that’s what you need.” She made herself vulnerable to him. It was glorious. And yes, he sort of rejected her, but he was in pain. Blair and I can both forgive him for that.
I was of course thrilled to death when I realized that Wallace Shawn would be guest starring on the show. Because he is awesome. And Vizzini. And I’ve felt that his interactions with Blair have been very consistent with who she is and pricelessly funny. And after this episode? I love him as her stepdad. Before, I’d been on Blair’s side, kind of wanting her to push him right out of her mom’s life because he was just so ridiculous and cheesy, but this episode changed my mind.
Watching Blair bond with Cyrus, turning to him and confiding in him and needing that hug—that actually felt right. He said just the right thing and you could see that he really, really cared about it. Yeah. The whole scene felt right. It shouldn’t have, but, again, Leighton is a genius. And I love that she can show the softer side of Blair without feeling out of character. I really believe that Blair feels so much more than anyone else (especially Serena) but is just too scared to show it. Having her break down here really worked because there was a reason for her to break down. (Although the "only a masochist could love such a narcissist" line sucked.)
The wedding was just beautiful. I don’t know how I can describe anything involving Wallace Shawn as beautiful, but this was. And the look on Blair’s face as she watched her mom marry someone she really loved was lovely and heartbreaking. That was a beautifully show scene. I loved it.
The scene in her bedroom? Her storming in, all ready to be cold and dismissive and then she sees him sitting there, and he just looks at her, and she can’t help but go to him. That was beautiful. No talking. Just her holding him. And him trying to still be strong, not to let it out. And she has no shame. None. She wraps herself around him and is willing to give him everything in that moment. And then he finally breaks, in such a small way, and grabs hold of her arm. And it was a bit of an awkward embrace, maybe not comfortable, but the grieving process never is. It was so perfect. OH ED AND LEIGHTON, YOU TWO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! YOU BREAK ME!
And her holding him and watching him sleep. And then she wakes up and he’s gone! With the note! The one that’s as close as he’s going to come anytime soon to telling her he loves her (I don’t care that it didn’t say it. That was his way of saying, “I love you” back. It was). And yeah, it broke my heart that he left. But I understood it. That is exactly how Chuck would react. Go to her to take strength in her love, just enough so that he can leave. Because it’s very clear to me that he doesn’t know who he is right now. He has no idea how to react. He needs to figure that out, and of course he can’t do that with Blair. He cares too much about her.
But I think that what happened in this episode is the one thing that needed to happen to enable them to have a real relationship. They’ve gotten past the point of games. She’s said the words to him. He’s been vulnerable with her. I’m not saying they’re ever going to be schmoopy and sweet and (in the words of Logan Echolls) “I love you beary much.” But they could work now. Once he figures himself out, they can work. I’m so happy.
There was one thing I absolutely hated in this episode.
It wasn't when Chuck left, though that broke my heart. It also broke my heart when he rejected her after she told him she loved him. But I got that. She’s safe. He can take out his pain on her, because I know that he really believes that she loves him.
The part I wasn’t okay with? Him rejecting Eric. You don’t talk to Eric that way, jackass! I adore Eric, and when he said, “I lost my stepdad. I don’t want to lose my brother, too,” I went all melty. And then Chuck told him that they had no relationship? That was the only moment in the episode where I felt actually angry at Chuck. Every other behavior I can forgive, but you don’t talk that way to Eric. Period.
In other news, I KNEW IT WAS A BABY! I knew it. Just for the record. I knew it.
Also, I know this is a weird comment, but Dorota looked beautiful in the wedding scene. And so happy! It made the entire show for me.
Oh, and I read this hilarious theory about Lily's big secret here:
"Bart totally fakes his death. And 'the big secret' is that Chuck is Lilly and Rufus' son. Make special note of that touching scene where Chuck growls at Eric 'How many times do I have to tell you? I. Am. Not. Your. Brother.'
Uh Yeah, Chuck. You are. Mommy didn't die in childbirth (hence why that whole plotline was brought up this season.) You wuz adopted and Mom offed herself. Bart kept the secret from you."
Okay, I know that's totally ridiculous and soap-opera-esque and there are a lot of canonical reasons it wouldn't work, but it doesn't stop it from being hilarious and for me wishing it to be true.
Also, this is a great point:
"But why was Andrew Tyler, P.I., who was in the car with Bart when the accident supposedly occurred, totally unscathed and able to cut deals with Chuck the Joker?"
GOOD QUESTION! Because the writers are lazy, that's why.
Also, I desperately, desperately want Dorota to be Gossip Girl. Because how hilarious would that be, her sitting behind the scenes, laughing manically as she wreaks havoc in the "scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite." YES PLEASE.
So I really doubt anyone read all of that. But I had fun writing it!
Well, I’m taking a break from studying for finals to rant/squee/flail/snark about TV, because I’m me like that. Also, hopefully, I’ll be able to catch up with y’all sometime soon.
Anyways. Gossip Girl. Any of you who actually care about my thoughts on TV are probably already aware of the fact that I am watching this show for these reasons and these reasons only:
1. Blair
2. Chuck
3. Eric
4. Blair and Chuck
5. The promise of the return of Evil!Dawn Summers (otherwise known as Georgina) and her evil bitchery
6. Dorota
7. Chuck and Blair
That’s it. I don’t care about one other thing on this show. My facebook status at the moment is: “Lauren wishes that Blair and Chuck (and Eric) would get their own show so that she wouldn’t have to deal with the EPIC FAIL that is the other characters.” Which pretty much sums up my attitude towards the show at the moment.
For instance. I feel like there’s a direct correlation between Serena’s wardrobe and the quality of the show. Like: the less fabric involved in her outfits, the worse the show gets. I’m getting sick of it. Especially that one dress that was bright red on top and bright yellow on the bottom and made her look like she was advertising for McDonalds and barely covered up anything at all? I know that it’s my background that makes me far more modest than a lot of people, but I miss the days of Buffy when all the women looked attractive and fashionable but not skanky. What happened to that?
Also Aaron may be the most annoying character on the show. Which is saying something. I am so over his douchebaggery. Also, I want to know how old he is. Because Serena is still in high school. It makes me a bit nervous. The guy has no personality whatsoever except that of being slightly creepy. DO NOT WANT.
Look, I really did start out liking Jenny. Even when she was trying to out-bitch Blair in Season 1, she was still sweet enough to be forgivable. I rooted for her. I wanted lots and lots of scenes of her and Eric being BFFs (after he came out. Because before that I wanted them to date) and some scenes of her and Blair respecting each other’s deviousness (cuz little J sure can be devious when she puts her mind to). But I’ve lost all sympathy for her. She really has been selfish this year. There have been a few moments—such as when she got the dress back from Eleanor—where I approved of her. But for the most part she’s been self-indulgent and disrespectful. I understand that she’s a teenager. But if I had acted this way when I was that age? You have no idea how much trouble I would have been in. Maturity isn’t necessarily striking out on your own, Jenny, especially at your age. It’s being responsible for your own decisions and communicating honestly with the people who care about you. And you haven’t been doing that.
Also, I feel so sorry for Taylor Momsen. That horrible weed-whacker hair? The over-done raccoon makeup? She is so much cuter than that, and she deserves better.
I also find the Jenny/Nate/Vanessa love triangle tiring. For one thing, it’s making Vanessa act completely out of character (the letter thing? Are you serious?). I was never a huge fan of hers, but she was always sort of the voice of reason, and I respected that about her. Now? It’s like the writers are trying to undermine all that. And I honestly don’t care about Nate except in a Fab Four kind of capacity—if he isn’t interacting with Chuck or Blair or Chuck-Blair-and-Serena, I’m pretty indifferent to him. So I don’t care whether he’s with Jenny or Vanessa, I just wish the writers would make a decision. This is getting tiring.
I’d been trying to go easier on Lily. And for a while there I was beginning to respect her a bit. However, this latest episode has undermineded that. But more on that later. And Rufus is just boring.
And so is Dan. Cute, but boring. I have nothing really to say about him.
So yeah. I’m not that pleased with the show in general.
But the one thing they have been getting right? Is the one thing that matters. For a show that is as rough and uneven as this one in most areas, most of the time they really do get Blair and Chuck right.
I have had lots and lots of reasons to flail. And lots and lots of reasons to angst out. Which makes me a happy girl.
For instance. In “There Might Be Blood” (awesome episode title, by the way), Chuck reminded me of why I can continue to root for him despite his debauchery:
“While there are few things I consider sacred, the back of the limo is one of them.”
Reader, I squeed. And the fact that when Blair needed him, he was there. Yeah, with a bit of grumbling, but he came through for her.
And when she told the girl that she’d had her first time with someone she loved? AWWW!!
Also, when she answered, “But you’re perfect” with “True”? Totally cemented my worship of Blair Waldorf.
The games that they played with each other, trying to get the other to say, “I love you” hurt. A lot. And when he told her that they both love the game too much to ever have the sweet relationship, I was shocked at how insightful that was for someone like Chuck. I don’t expect an eighteen-year-old guy, especially one who can be as selfish as he can, to be able to recognize that, much less articulate it. But I found it very true to character.
Which brings me to this week’s episode. Which I loved with all of my heart.
But first, the stuff I didn’t like:
Was it just me, or did it seem like the only person who got the fact that Bart just died was Chuck? No one else seemed like they were mourning or even trying to behave in a reasonable fashion.
Proof of Serena/Aaron/Dan’s immaturity. This is not the time to play these games, kids. Someone just died. You don’t turn comforting another human being into a competition about getting into a girl’s pants (or, in this case, way too short skirt).
This just wans’t the episode to explore their love-triangle. For one thing, it took away from the Chuck mourning plotline. Which is inexcusable. I wanted to see Nate going to the hotel to try to drag him to the funeral. I wanted to see Nate and Blair discussing how to handle the situation. I wanted to see Chuck looking sick and rumpled some more.
I did not want to deal with the love triangle that is Serena and Aaron and Dan.
And anyways, what parent lets their high school-aged daughter go to Buenos Aires with her (ambiguously-aged) boyfriend? Seriously? Seriously?
Lily, I was trying to like you more. I was getting there. And then you went and basically told Chuck that it was his fault that his father died? He’s a grief-stricken eighteen-year-old boy who just lost his father. He’s orphaned now. You cannot say things like that to him.
And if you were really serious about being an adult, you’d learn that that involves trust. If you were really serious about being with Rufus and making it work, you’d know that you couldn’t continue to lie to him. You wouldn’t be begging your mommy to use money to make the consequences of your decisions go away. That is not how an adult acts. You turned the entire episode into one about your problems. Which would have been okay if your problems involved the death of your husband. UGH!
Also, Jenny’s outfit was wildly inappropriate for a funeral.
And it never fails to make me laugh that Lily’s mother is played by the actress who plays Spike/William’s mother in “Lies My Parents Told Me”. Lily is Spike’s sister!
But there was a lot to love.
The first thing I loved was the scene with Blair and Chuck and Nate walking to the funeral. This is the way I like Nate. Interacting with the other two. And both of them being there for Chuck without coddling him. And Nate telling Blair she was really sweet with Chuck? Wonderful. She managed to be sweet for him without being out of character. Which is further proof that Leighton is a genius.
And she finally says the words. Standing outside of his limo (perfect, perfect that it happened there), she says them.
Blair: Chuck! Stop! Don't go. Or if you have to leave, let me come with you.
Chuck: I appreciate the concern.
Blair: No. You don't. You don't appreciate anything today. But I don't care. Whatever you're going through, I want to be there for you.
Chuck: We talked about this. You are not my girlfriend.
Blair: But I am me. And you are you. We're Chuck and Blair. Blair and Chuck. The worst thing you've ever done—the darkest thought you've ever had—I will stand by you through anything.
Chuck: And why would you do that?
Blair: Because I love you.
Chuck: Well that's too bad.
All of that could easily have been too schmoopy and out of character. But they’re such subtle actors that it wasn’t. It was perfect. I absolutely believed Blair when she basically said, “I can learn to be selfless, to be there for you, if that’s what you need.” She made herself vulnerable to him. It was glorious. And yes, he sort of rejected her, but he was in pain. Blair and I can both forgive him for that.
I was of course thrilled to death when I realized that Wallace Shawn would be guest starring on the show. Because he is awesome. And Vizzini. And I’ve felt that his interactions with Blair have been very consistent with who she is and pricelessly funny. And after this episode? I love him as her stepdad. Before, I’d been on Blair’s side, kind of wanting her to push him right out of her mom’s life because he was just so ridiculous and cheesy, but this episode changed my mind.
Watching Blair bond with Cyrus, turning to him and confiding in him and needing that hug—that actually felt right. He said just the right thing and you could see that he really, really cared about it. Yeah. The whole scene felt right. It shouldn’t have, but, again, Leighton is a genius. And I love that she can show the softer side of Blair without feeling out of character. I really believe that Blair feels so much more than anyone else (especially Serena) but is just too scared to show it. Having her break down here really worked because there was a reason for her to break down. (Although the "only a masochist could love such a narcissist" line sucked.)
The wedding was just beautiful. I don’t know how I can describe anything involving Wallace Shawn as beautiful, but this was. And the look on Blair’s face as she watched her mom marry someone she really loved was lovely and heartbreaking. That was a beautifully show scene. I loved it.
The scene in her bedroom? Her storming in, all ready to be cold and dismissive and then she sees him sitting there, and he just looks at her, and she can’t help but go to him. That was beautiful. No talking. Just her holding him. And him trying to still be strong, not to let it out. And she has no shame. None. She wraps herself around him and is willing to give him everything in that moment. And then he finally breaks, in such a small way, and grabs hold of her arm. And it was a bit of an awkward embrace, maybe not comfortable, but the grieving process never is. It was so perfect. OH ED AND LEIGHTON, YOU TWO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! YOU BREAK ME!
And her holding him and watching him sleep. And then she wakes up and he’s gone! With the note! The one that’s as close as he’s going to come anytime soon to telling her he loves her (I don’t care that it didn’t say it. That was his way of saying, “I love you” back. It was). And yeah, it broke my heart that he left. But I understood it. That is exactly how Chuck would react. Go to her to take strength in her love, just enough so that he can leave. Because it’s very clear to me that he doesn’t know who he is right now. He has no idea how to react. He needs to figure that out, and of course he can’t do that with Blair. He cares too much about her.
But I think that what happened in this episode is the one thing that needed to happen to enable them to have a real relationship. They’ve gotten past the point of games. She’s said the words to him. He’s been vulnerable with her. I’m not saying they’re ever going to be schmoopy and sweet and (in the words of Logan Echolls) “I love you beary much.” But they could work now. Once he figures himself out, they can work. I’m so happy.
There was one thing I absolutely hated in this episode.
It wasn't when Chuck left, though that broke my heart. It also broke my heart when he rejected her after she told him she loved him. But I got that. She’s safe. He can take out his pain on her, because I know that he really believes that she loves him.
The part I wasn’t okay with? Him rejecting Eric. You don’t talk to Eric that way, jackass! I adore Eric, and when he said, “I lost my stepdad. I don’t want to lose my brother, too,” I went all melty. And then Chuck told him that they had no relationship? That was the only moment in the episode where I felt actually angry at Chuck. Every other behavior I can forgive, but you don’t talk that way to Eric. Period.
In other news, I KNEW IT WAS A BABY! I knew it. Just for the record. I knew it.
Also, I know this is a weird comment, but Dorota looked beautiful in the wedding scene. And so happy! It made the entire show for me.
Oh, and I read this hilarious theory about Lily's big secret here:
"Bart totally fakes his death. And 'the big secret' is that Chuck is Lilly and Rufus' son. Make special note of that touching scene where Chuck growls at Eric 'How many times do I have to tell you? I. Am. Not. Your. Brother.'
Uh Yeah, Chuck. You are. Mommy didn't die in childbirth (hence why that whole plotline was brought up this season.) You wuz adopted and Mom offed herself. Bart kept the secret from you."
Okay, I know that's totally ridiculous and soap-opera-esque and there are a lot of canonical reasons it wouldn't work, but it doesn't stop it from being hilarious and for me wishing it to be true.
Also, this is a great point:
"But why was Andrew Tyler, P.I., who was in the car with Bart when the accident supposedly occurred, totally unscathed and able to cut deals with Chuck the Joker?"
GOOD QUESTION! Because the writers are lazy, that's why.
Also, I desperately, desperately want Dorota to be Gossip Girl. Because how hilarious would that be, her sitting behind the scenes, laughing manically as she wreaks havoc in the "scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite." YES PLEASE.
So I really doubt anyone read all of that. But I had fun writing it!