This article contains spoilers!
“The only thing more shocking than the truth are the lies people tell to cover it up” (“All About my Brother,” Season 1, Episode 16).
In case you’re not familiar, Gossip Girl, starring teenage Blake Lively as the notorious Serena van der Woodsen, was a successful early-2000s TV show. The show follows Serena’s tumultuous friend group, who grow to be her chosen (or literal) family as they navigate life in New York’s scathing Upper East Side: her friends consist of Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley), Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford), Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), and Serena’s ride or die Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester). Over six seasons, spanning across the group’s sophomore year of high school into early adulthood, each friend in the tight-knit circle is involved in heated romances with each other, a prince, a psychotic revenge-plotting sister of an (innocent) convict, a movie star, and a drug dealer, to name a few.
It all starts when Serena appears out of the blue from boarding school and hits it off with the ultimate outsider, Brooklyn’s “lonely boy,” Dan. What unfolds is 121 episodes of vengeful scheming and controversial romance stemming from a complete lack of trust and communication between any of the characters, exacerbated by a backdrop of immense wealth and resources. To top it all off, the whole ordeal is narrated by Gossip Girl herself, an anonymous blog that fixates on Manhattan’s most infamous group, ensuring that none of their fiery secrets go untold. It re-aired on Netflix in November of last year, over a decade since its first run, and has since captivated audiences, repeat viewers, and newbies alike. So, here’s my scoop.
As characters are sucked into the monster that is the Upper East Side, they endure a battle for authenticity, one that all but Dan and his father, Rufus Humphrey, seem to lose. Even then, the allure of Serena and Blair’s luxurious world keeps many coming back, even at the cost of their own morals or established lives. Manhattan’s penthouses seem to awaken a primitive greed in almost all that pass through them, save those who were born in those very suites.
A perfect example of this theme is Dan’s little sister, Jenny Humphrey. Before Dan even becomes involved with Serena, Jenny’s desperation to climb the social ladder is alarming. It was heartbreaking to watch her scramble to put together Blair’s party invitations in calligraphy, only to plead for one of her own, and see her scurry around under Blair’s feet as one of her personal “minions.” At first, I could only feel pity for Jenny–her struggle to meet social standards, though exaggerated, seemed to perfectly exemplify the experience of so many young girls, myself included. Even her Gossip Girl nickname, “Little J,” felt like salt in the wound, perpetuating the understanding that no matter how hard she tried, she would only ever be less than.
However, her situation quickly escalated when viewers realized just how far she would go to fit in. The sweet innocent 14-year-old transformed, adopting the mindset of both her biggest bully and inspiration: “You need to be cold to be queen” (“The Goodbye Gossip Girl,” Season 2, Episode 25). She resorted to stealing, scheming, and blackmailing her way up The Met’s steps, ruining relationships with her family and friends, stopping at nothing to gain social power. As the cherry on top to her shocking escapade, she was renamed “Queen J.” Now unrecognizable to even her own family, Jenny has to leave the Upper East Side and redefine herself, cast away from the world that cost her everything, just because she wanted an in.
On the other hand, her older brother, Dan, had a starkly different experience. He’d always been an outsider, until he met Serena and was suddenly plunged into the middle of it all. It may seem like his entrance into the social spotlight was entirely unwanted, but I think his long-time obsession over Serena wasn’t limited to her beautiful blonde hair and charming smile. After all, part of her allure is her presence. Immediately met with repulsive looks by Serena’s circle, Dan’s wit and intermediary approach to the group grew on them over time. He may have outlasted his sister, but he still dabbled in some scheming and manipulation of his own to appease his new friends.
Dan and Jenny’s experiences on the Upper East Side are very different, despite them being from the same family. The siblings are depicted to be on opposite ends of the world, one vying for acceptance, the other content with isolation; yet, they are much more similar than given credit for. After watching the show, those differences appear only superficial. In reality, they both want to be on the inside; they just go about achieving it separately or perhaps draw the line for their aspirations at different moral crossroads.
In the end, remaining genuine forces you to reevaluate what’s most important to you, and sometimes you get it wrong. But it’s important to ask ourselves, is it our environment that is compromising our character, or simply the people in it?
You know you love me,
XOXO
Gossip Girl
