Gossip Girl: Series Premiere

In the CW’s most popular hit teen drama series, “Gossip Girl” captures the attention of many aspiring teenagers with the hopes of living in high society. Created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, the series takes place on the Upper East Side of New York, in the busy streets of Manhattan, where an unknown blogger sets the stage as narrator. As the mysterious “gossip girl” drills into the business of others, season three is no different as she continues to purposely reveal parts of the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s finest elite. This time, however, she’s not letting anyone get in her way.
  Last season left off with a shocker that both the parents of Dan (played by Penn Badgley) and Serena (Blake Lively), the hottest couple on the series, were announcing their engagement. Trying to sabotage their relationship, Serena and Dan eventually grew apart as they began to take on the role of twisted siblings. It grew hard at times, but in order to bring less attention to themselves, they were forced to fight the temptation and desire they once had for each other. However, in my eyes, or the overarchingly bigger picture, I see some of the series’ most scandalous activities as life changing lessons to be learned by its responding viewers; this just being one example.
  Covering the many central issues of teenage living, Gossip Girl’s greatest scandals circle around the protagonists of the bunch – or the dynamic duo: Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester). Serena’s character always dazzles the audience with her carefree attitude of what others may think of her, despite whether the circumstances are good or bad. Her love for fashion also helps her steal the spotlight and live up to her “perfect” title. Right beside her is her best friend and enemy, Blair, who rules the so-called “social hierarchy” of Manhattan. She knows everything about everyone, and she often uses her charm, money, and social status to get where and what she wants. Redefining the realities of class conflict, together Serena and the “Queen B” are recognized as Manhattan’s most popular duo. To kick off the new season, Serena is accepted into Brown University, which she turns away hoping she can find herself before next semester. Meanwhile, Blair is over her rejection at Yale and ends up at the bottom of a new social ladder that has yet to be formed at her new home at NYU. With the struggles of her past, Serena finds comfort working a small job in the fashion industry while Blair tries to find her place where money can’t buy her everything. When you look at Blair and Serena’s relationship closely, there’s a long line of betrayal that surfaces almost immediately. Although they claim to be best friends, in the harshest situations one feels the need to triumph over the other, and their small test of friendship can lead to a catastrophe. The lesson taken from this love-hate relationship is that betrayal is less effective when one can rise above it.
  On the other end of the spectrum, the male characters have recurring issues of their own. As seen in previous seasons, there’s no surprise to the line of heartbreaks that come with Gossip Girl’s hottest characters. Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford’s character) was Serena’s first love until her relationship with Blair ruined things once again. This season, he is dating a Buckley, which is sure to land him in trouble after running through Serena, Blair, Vanessa, and even little Jenny Humphrey. Then there’s Dan Humphrey who portrays a cheesy romantic but never fails to capture the eyes of his audience. He was Serena’s second love until they departed last season, and now he seems to find himself with issues of his own. Despite his past, which included a sneaky affair with a high school teacher, Dan appears to be less scandalous than the other characters. He’s torn between old flame Vanessa and a new girl on camera, but he later learns that taking the new way out is what’s best for him. Perhaps the sneakiest of all characters is the notable Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), who plays Blair’s shaky love interest. He’s known as the series’ lust-driven antagonist because he’s been caught in several sneaky affairs with numerous girls. He is often despised by many, but, like Blair, he uses his wealth and power to earn respect. While many viewers can relate to the gossiping lives of teenagers seen today, it caught me by surprise seeing that the male characters on the show were involved in the gossip just as much as the females. Despite their background, each character has found themselves in the spotlight in some manner and they show just how hard it can be to dig your way out. The lesson learned here is to be the bigger person and keep out of the cruel teenage world of gossiping, which will ultimately help out in the long run.
  New to this season, characters Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) and Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) finally have a chance in the spotlight, getting more than just their 15 minutes of fame, as Jenny claims her throne at Constance Billiard and Vanessa dukes it out with Blair. Olivia (Hilary Duff), the new girl on camera, takes everyone by storm and becomes a threat to the newest social ladder. When Vanessa’s long lost mother appears on the scene, she willfully announces her views on the evils of her daughter’s private education (“Knowledge should not be for sale”) and the shallowness of the ‘high life.’ Vanessa, then, becomes determined to win her mom over by delivering the freshman toast at school, but being the second choice – Olivia triumphs as number one - Vanessa can’t help but to be manipulated by Blair. In order to get the honor back, she ends up getting caught in lies between her new roommate and Dan, her so-called best friend. In the end, both Blair and Vanessa lose their chances of making the toast and Olivia gladly accepts. Blair announces, “Irony certainly can be cruel,” in an effort to wave her white flag against Vanessa. Although scandal appears everywhere in Gossip Girl news, there’s no doubt that teenagers may be getting the ideas of betraying one another to what they want from the popular series. There’s certainly a strong satire of teenage living that is enveloped in the series and it’s portrayed from all angles: socially, mentally, and even physically.
  There’s no doubt that the lives of the elite are full of power, heartbreak, scandal, and revenge, but without these key traits the infamous “gossip girl” would have nothing to gossip about. Knowing her affects on people, she uses her conniving skills to continue in ruining the lives of these noted characters. In announcing her famous line, “You know you love me. Xoxo, Gossip girl,” who’s to blame for the fight to ultimate power which continues between Blair and the unknown blogger.

Comment by Chelsea C from St. Louis, MO — November 17, 2009 @ 8:24 am