Gossip Girl Reboot Review
Good morning upper East Siders, Gossip Girl is back and she has definitely stirred things up again. Not so much referring to the actual plot of the story but more in our minds, the viewers' that is. There are many things different about the new Gossip Girl. I wouldn't say she is newer and better, actually, I definitely would not say that. I would say that she is intriguing however and there's something that has kept me watching for the past 3 weeks. I've read bad, I mean, BAD reviews about the series and don't get me wrong, I painfully agree, NONETHELESS... there are many ways in which the show makes me relive the old Gossip Girl and not just in a overall type of way. Key details. I mean, key and actually FUN details that make me happy inside and wonder if it could be. Here are my thoughts on the new and, ahem... NOT YET improved, Gossip Girl.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
Let's start with the bad news first. I can not get over the fact that Gossip Girl was created in front of us. I refuse to accept this. This I believe is the biggest turnoff for this show. Yes, the original gossip girl MESSED UP when they made Dan GG, YES, 100%. Whenever I rewatch the series I have to skip all the Dan scenes toward the end of the show because it's a disgrace, YES. I GET IT. But I am very VERY disappointed that this new group of people didn't use this as an opportunity. Instead, it seems that they were so scared to mess it up that they decided to play it safe. Have the audience know who GG is right from the start. UGHHHH. "Big mistake, huge." GG should be mysterious. She should be kept a secret because then we feel connected to the characters. We feel their frustration, we wonder what they wonder, we suspect of everyone as they do but in this case we are let down with a story that just doesn't seem to even begin to fill OGG ( Original Gossip Girl)'s shoes. On top of the disgrace of giving it up on the first episode, I am not pleased with who GG is. A teacher. Blah. Again, maybe if they had waited until the end of at least season one to reveal GG, maybe this teacher would have been a good choice. Right now it just seems like an effort to involve an older audience?? Maybe? I'm not sure why they would involve these teachers so much. They are not appealing to the story. Not to mention that I am in complete disbelief that they redid the classic Serena on the train scene with this teacher. Such a dishonor to S. Shame on them. OGG was poised, determined, confident, never scared. Now we got a scared, fragile teacher as our villain who were supposed to love? I just can't buy it. NO.
But as I said, the show has kept me watching so let me go over the good news. Although the acting could use some improvement, I have to say, the characters are pretty good. The actual teenagers I mean. I see them and I see a reflection of our old cast. But not mirror identical; I see bits and pieces of each of our OGG cast members intertwined into these new characters. Let's begin with the most obvious.
Max. Chuck Bass. This character has the essence of Chuck all over and the actor is NAILING IT. I wouldn't say he is identical Bass though. I love that he is open in every way. I think this is exactly how Chuck was in the OGG but TV wasn't able to show it back then. Chuck did admit to kissing guys after all, right? Anyway. What I also like about Max's character is that he has 2 loving parents. Poor Chuck had the worst life ever with his dead not dead mom and his dead not dead dad. Super confusing and hardcore. Max has 2 fathers, who support his lifestyle. WIN. WIN. Yes.
Next we have Obie. Besides the fact that I don't like his name at all, this is a character that I can see myself liking. He gives me Nate/Dan vibes. It's like this is what Dan Humphrey would be if he was the prince of New York. He is the 2 good guys of the OGG cast combined. He has the pretty boy, rich boy, yet humble soul of Nathaniel Archibald and has the wit, anti-classist, and hopeless romantic Dan attitude (prior to Dan becoming a d*** of course). I have high hopes for this character. He is the knight in shining armor that every good show should have. I look forward to his ups and downs and eventual success. Yes.
Next we have Zoya. Little Zoya. Little J. This is another one that we may think is a replica. She's not from the upper East side, she's younger, immediate rival to the queen, has great style and has been baptized by GG with the tile "little Z." How much more proof do we need? It's little J! This character is another one that I'd like to think has more to her than meets the eye. I think that they gave her a little of that Vanessa -essence being how smart and real she can be. I do think that they may take her down the same path of our once Beloved Brooklyn family. I hope this show practiced caution though. It is sad to see how characters that had so much to offer like Dan and Jenny, ended up being the most hated in the show as well as the ones that proved everyone right. They were low class wanna be insiders that everyone thought they were. Sad. Let's hope Little Z is able to stand on her own and keep true to herself. Hopeful yes.
Ak. Definitely Nate. But, not just Nate. I would also like to throw in Eric in there. Not just because of the fact that he's also into boys but the fact that he's the advice giver, the wise one. I like this character. The actor is freaking cute, the hair is perfect and the heart seems pure. I like that this character seems simple. What you see is what you get. Besides his internal struggles of course. Simple, supportive. Yes!
Juliet. Juliet is a combination of Serena and Blair. Period. She's popular, she's the queen, but she's not into monarchy. She's Blair when she has to and Serena when she has to. I think she has the potential of being the best of both worlds. I don't think we've seen enough of her to determine how great or not she will be, but I do like that I see both S and B in her. I applaud that she seems to at least be more mature than our OGG gals but of course I love that she's not afraid to totally mess things up Blair style. Double yes.
Finally, my favorite character of all, Audrey. I would have said Max was my favorite if it wasn't for the fact that I absolutely ADORE Blair Waldorf and I can bet one of my cat's 9 lives that Audrey is a tribute to the great queen B. First, can we all agree there is a definite resemblance? Please don't tell me I'm the only one that sees it. It's there. The lips, the cheekbones, the way she speaks, facial expressions. It's there. Blair vibes FOR SURE. And! If that is not enough, her name is Audrey! Freaking Audrey. Blair was obsessed with Audrey Hepburn!!! Ugh yes!!!!! I love this and I want to send a huge virtual hug to the writers for doing this. It cannot be a coincidence. I LOVE IT. The fact that this girl is also in a broken relationship like our B was in OGG Is also a clue. For a second there I thought Max and Audrey were the next Chuck and Blair but I like what they did with the love triangle. I would definitely have shipped a Chuck-Blair-Nate threesome had I been given the opportunity but I guess the times were not ready for that. I also love that Audrey is more level headed than B. It seems that they distributed Blair's more toxic traits between the new minions, Luna and Monet. So, Audrey, DEFINITELY yes.
I could go on. Georgina is somewhere in that mix as well but I need to watch more episodes to determine. All in all, the show could do more. It did however, do enough for me to be intrigued. Despite their right off the bat slap in the face failures, there are various possible successes in the making. I sincerely appreciate that they did a Dan-type move by combining characters (remember when Dan combined Nate and Eric in his book and explained to us that many writes do this?) *Insert smiling with tear emoji* I am loving the subtle tributes. All I know is that they better fix the GG plot QUICK because i don't know how much more I can take of this teacher thing. I have hopes though. Hopes that they will make it worth my while.
Xoxo,
D.
Good morning upper East Siders, Gossip Girl is back and she has definitely stirred things up again. Not so much referring to the actual plot of the story but more in our minds, the viewers' that is. There are many things different about the new Gossip Girl. I wouldn't say she is newer and better, actually, I definitely would not say that. I would say that she is intriguing however and there's something that has kept me watching for the past 3 weeks. I've read bad, I mean, BAD reviews about the series and don't get me wrong, I painfully agree, NONETHELESS... there are many ways in which the show makes me relive the old Gossip Girl and not just in a overall type of way. Key details. I mean, key and actually FUN details that make me happy inside and wonder if it could be. Here are my thoughts on the new and, ahem... NOT YET improved, Gossip Girl.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
Let's start with the bad news first. I can not get over the fact that Gossip Girl was created in front of us. I refuse to accept this. This I believe is the biggest turnoff for this show. Yes, the original gossip girl MESSED UP when they made Dan GG, YES, 100%. Whenever I rewatch the series I have to skip all the Dan scenes toward the end of the show because it's a disgrace, YES. I GET IT. But I am very VERY disappointed that this new group of people didn't use this as an opportunity. Instead, it seems that they were so scared to mess it up that they decided to play it safe. Have the audience know who GG is right from the start. UGHHHH. "Big mistake, huge." GG should be mysterious. She should be kept a secret because then we feel connected to the characters. We feel their frustration, we wonder what they wonder, we suspect of everyone as they do but in this case we are let down with a story that just doesn't seem to even begin to fill OGG ( Original Gossip Girl)'s shoes. On top of the disgrace of giving it up on the first episode, I am not pleased with who GG is. A teacher. Blah. Again, maybe if they had waited until the end of at least season one to reveal GG, maybe this teacher would have been a good choice. Right now it just seems like an effort to involve an older audience?? Maybe? I'm not sure why they would involve these teachers so much. They are not appealing to the story. Not to mention that I am in complete disbelief that they redid the classic Serena on the train scene with this teacher. Such a dishonor to S. Shame on them. OGG was poised, determined, confident, never scared. Now we got a scared, fragile teacher as our villain who were supposed to love? I just can't buy it. NO.
But as I said, the show has kept me watching so let me go over the good news. Although the acting could use some improvement, I have to say, the characters are pretty good. The actual teenagers I mean. I see them and I see a reflection of our old cast. But not mirror identical; I see bits and pieces of each of our OGG cast members intertwined into these new characters. Let's begin with the most obvious.
Max. Chuck Bass. This character has the essence of Chuck all over and the actor is NAILING IT. I wouldn't say he is identical Bass though. I love that he is open in every way. I think this is exactly how Chuck was in the OGG but TV wasn't able to show it back then. Chuck did admit to kissing guys after all, right? Anyway. What I also like about Max's character is that he has 2 loving parents. Poor Chuck had the worst life ever with his dead not dead mom and his dead not dead dad. Super confusing and hardcore. Max has 2 fathers, who support his lifestyle. WIN. WIN. Yes.
Next we have Obie. Besides the fact that I don't like his name at all, this is a character that I can see myself liking. He gives me Nate/Dan vibes. It's like this is what Dan Humphrey would be if he was the prince of New York. He is the 2 good guys of the OGG cast combined. He has the pretty boy, rich boy, yet humble soul of Nathaniel Archibald and has the wit, anti-classist, and hopeless romantic Dan attitude (prior to Dan becoming a d*** of course). I have high hopes for this character. He is the knight in shining armor that every good show should have. I look forward to his ups and downs and eventual success. Yes.
Next we have Zoya. Little Zoya. Little J. This is another one that we may think is a replica. She's not from the upper East side, she's younger, immediate rival to the queen, has great style and has been baptized by GG with the tile "little Z." How much more proof do we need? It's little J! This character is another one that I'd like to think has more to her than meets the eye. I think that they gave her a little of that Vanessa -essence being how smart and real she can be. I do think that they may take her down the same path of our once Beloved Brooklyn family. I hope this show practiced caution though. It is sad to see how characters that had so much to offer like Dan and Jenny, ended up being the most hated in the show as well as the ones that proved everyone right. They were low class wanna be insiders that everyone thought they were. Sad. Let's hope Little Z is able to stand on her own and keep true to herself. Hopeful yes.
Ak. Definitely Nate. But, not just Nate. I would also like to throw in Eric in there. Not just because of the fact that he's also into boys but the fact that he's the advice giver, the wise one. I like this character. The actor is freaking cute, the hair is perfect and the heart seems pure. I like that this character seems simple. What you see is what you get. Besides his internal struggles of course. Simple, supportive. Yes!
Juliet. Juliet is a combination of Serena and Blair. Period. She's popular, she's the queen, but she's not into monarchy. She's Blair when she has to and Serena when she has to. I think she has the potential of being the best of both worlds. I don't think we've seen enough of her to determine how great or not she will be, but I do like that I see both S and B in her. I applaud that she seems to at least be more mature than our OGG gals but of course I love that she's not afraid to totally mess things up Blair style. Double yes.
Finally, my favorite character of all, Audrey. I would have said Max was my favorite if it wasn't for the fact that I absolutely ADORE Blair Waldorf and I can bet one of my cat's 9 lives that Audrey is a tribute to the great queen B. First, can we all agree there is a definite resemblance? Please don't tell me I'm the only one that sees it. It's there. The lips, the cheekbones, the way she speaks, facial expressions. It's there. Blair vibes FOR SURE. And! If that is not enough, her name is Audrey! Freaking Audrey. Blair was obsessed with Audrey Hepburn!!! Ugh yes!!!!! I love this and I want to send a huge virtual hug to the writers for doing this. It cannot be a coincidence. I LOVE IT. The fact that this girl is also in a broken relationship like our B was in OGG Is also a clue. For a second there I thought Max and Audrey were the next Chuck and Blair but I like what they did with the love triangle. I would definitely have shipped a Chuck-Blair-Nate threesome had I been given the opportunity but I guess the times were not ready for that. I also love that Audrey is more level headed than B. It seems that they distributed Blair's more toxic traits between the new minions, Luna and Monet. So, Audrey, DEFINITELY yes.
I could go on. Georgina is somewhere in that mix as well but I need to watch more episodes to determine. All in all, the show could do more. It did however, do enough for me to be intrigued. Despite their right off the bat slap in the face failures, there are various possible successes in the making. I sincerely appreciate that they did a Dan-type move by combining characters (remember when Dan combined Nate and Eric in his book and explained to us that many writes do this?) *Insert smiling with tear emoji* I am loving the subtle tributes. All I know is that they better fix the GG plot QUICK because i don't know how much more I can take of this teacher thing. I have hopes though. Hopes that they will make it worth my while.
Xoxo,
D.