This Is the ‘Gossip Girl’ We Know and Love

When Gossip Girl‘s reboot premiered earlier this year, it was met with a flurry of hand-wringing. How could one of the most risqué shows of the 2000s hold up to the standards of today? What would a “woke” Gossip Girl even look like? Aren’t these new teens a bit too kind? After its final three episodes, it’s become clear all of that worrying was for nothing. The new Gossip Girl has finally found its groove, and it’s every bit as deliciously vicious and infuriating luxurious as its CW predecessor. Spoilers ahead for Gossip Girl Part 2.

So much of Part 2’s new life has to do with its surprise big bad. After an ominous warning from Aki’s (Evan Mock) Rupert Murdoch-esque father at the end of Part 1, the scandal of the season emerged: Davis Calloway (Luke Kirby) was accused of sexual assault. The rest of the season does more than simply address this world-shattering revelation in Julien’s (Jordan Alexander) life. It reframes Julien herself in a way that’s classic GG.

Stealing the arch rival crown from Zoya (Whitney Peak) and handing it to Davis was the shift this show has craved. Part of that has to do with Jordan Alexander as an actor, and her elevated role in the back half of this season. With her expressive eyes and knack for finding sympathy and humanity in even the most aggressively privileged dialogue, Alexander’s Julien has been a shining star from Episode 1. Giving the electric Julien the spotlight while pushing the often bland and morally infuriating Zoya to the sidelines was a move so smart it nearly felt inevitable.

It was also a move that intertwined something old, with something new. The realization that parents are imperfect was a constant theme throughout the old Gossip Girl. Countless episodes of the original were devoted to Serena (Blake Lively) grappling with Lily’s (Kelly Rutherford) many mistakes. Now Julien has taken over her role as disappointed daughter with the added friction that she has to figure out her complex feelings while maintaining her influencer status. It’s an endlessly cruel combination that threatens to push Julien and her support system to their breaking points. Nearly everything she posts can be used against her, or her father. Considering it takes most people years and huge therapy bills to sort through their parents’ sins, asking a teenager to do that same work in minutes gives the back half of the season a reckless, terrified quality. Gossip Girl has always been best when it feels like it’s going 120 miles against a 30 mile speed limit, and that’s exactly where these episodes live.

But the Davis scandal led to another GG greatest hit. As Julien spiraled about her father, her influencer status, whatever’s going on with Zoya, and her feelings toward Obie (Eli Brown), she began to lash out. It wasn’t long before the people who love her started to turn on her, citing her selfishness and obsession with appearances. It’s a shifting of alliances that’s happened to Serena, Blair (Leighton Meester), and even Dan (Penn Badgley). Julien is just next on that list.

As excellent as Alexander’s performance is, Julien’s story isn’t the only reason why this new batch of episodes feel so addicting, yet familiar. Kate’s (Tavi Gevinson) loss and eventual reclamation of the Gossip Girl account is tonally similar to the constant popularity wars that defined Blair and Jenny’s (Taylor Momsen) time at Constance. Monet’s (Savannah Smith) quick takeover of Julien’s image feels the same way. Similarly, Max (Thomas Doherty) and Luna’s (Zi��n Moreno) surprising bursts of friendship mirror the oddly sweet alliances that would form between Serena and Chuck (Ed Westwick) at the height of their stress. There’s even a drama-filled Thanksgiving episode. Gossip Girl is made of that stuffing.

With the benefit of hindsight, the 2021 version of Gossip Girl required its slower first six episodes. It had to show us the tumultuous reunion of Zoya and Julien as well as the wholesome friendships between Julien, Obi, Aki, Max, Audrey (Emily Alyn Lind), Luna, and Monet (Savannah Smith). In short, it needed to show us the good times so that Gossip Girl, the blogger and the show, could do what it’s always done best: destroy the status quo with a chaos-filled bomb. Old friend, it’s taken a while, but it’s good to have you back.

All episodes of Gossip Girl (2021) Season 1 are available on HBO Max. 

Watch Gossip Girl (2021) on HBO Max