by ALEX RAGHUNANDAN Staff Writer
Although the hit teen drama “Gossip Girl” ended back in December 2012, students at MTHS, including myself, have gravitated toward watching reruns online. The show will keep you wanting more and more until you know every dirty secret of Manhattan’s elite.
“Gossip Girl” follows the social lives of the teenagers of Manhattan’s exclusive Upper East Side. Every juicy detail of these A-listers is sent across the city by the mysterious Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl is a website where anonymous gossip and evidence is sent in to an unknown blogger who posts only the juiciest information.
The show begins with the return of Manhattan’s it-girl Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) after her impromptu departure for boarding school. Van der Woodsen was not exactly welcomed home by her best friend, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), or any of her other friends, including Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) and Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick).
After Van der Woodsen returns, the questions everyone had was, why did she leave and why did she come back?
“Gossip Girl” also follows the story of social outsider from Brooklyn Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley). All Humphrey wants is to be acknowledged by his classmates and to finally have a dream date with none other than Van der Woodsen herself.
Humphrey’s little sister, Jenny (Taylor Momsen), is portrayed as a wannabe it-girl following in the footsteps of the Queen Bee, Waldorf. Throughout the series, her character shows how gaining social power can change someone’s personality.
The first season focuses on the return of Van der Woodsen and how she wants to go from party girl to good girl, especially after meeting her dream boy, Humphrey. Although her family and Humphrey want the best for her, some of her friends like the “old Serena” better.
Another plot is the bubbling romance between Waldorf and Archibald. They had been dating since kindergarten and are destined to be married. Yet, their relationship gets messy when Waldorf learns that Archibald cheated on her with her best friend, Van der Woodsen, and Waldorf had a secret hook-up with the billionaire heir Bass.
“As soon as I saw the first episode, I was hooked. I watched nine episodes in one day and finished all 121 episodes in less than a month. I love the characters. I love the plot lines. I love everything about the show,” said freshman Erica Quigley.
As the series progressed, Manhattan’s elite teenagers continued to go through even more scandals, all documented by Gossip Girl.
Throughout the show, Bass and Waldorf evolved to be the show’s most beloved couple as they faced hurdles in their relationship because of their personality and social status.
“Chuck and Blair are my favorite couple of all time. They are the first real couple I’ve ever seen on TV. They actually have real problems and are not always perfect. They both have their flaws, but you have to love them,” said freshman Ana Oge.
By the end of the show, all five of the main characters end up being best friends after going through six years of their lives together. They survive car crashes, identity fraud, weddings, break ups, and much more together.
With numerous highly revered actors, the acting in the show was superb. There was never a doubt in my mind that these people were really Manhattan’s upper class teens.
One of my favorite characters, Waldorf, played by Meester, reminds me of her role as Meg Kelly in the 2011 blockbuster “Monte Carlo”. Both of the characters appear to be uptight and strict, but they both know how to have a good time.
Another one of my favorite characters, the sly Bass, portrayed by Westwick, reminds me of his role as Tybalt Capulet in the 2013 film “Romeo and Juliet”. Both characters are aggressive, but Bass also has more of a romantic side to him.
Since “Gossip Girl” takes place in New York City, the show elaborately uses places from all around the city, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Empire State Building, and interweaves them into the plot.
The show continuously got hundreds of thousands of views when it was on the air and still gets thousands of views through Netflix and other TV streaming sites. The show has also won numerous awards, including 17 Teen Choice Awards.
“Gossip Girl” will make the audience feel like they are part of Manhattan’s elite by living through every scandalous moment of these teenagers’ lives.
Although teenagers come from an array of different backgrounds, do you think that all teens can still relate to each other and/or still share the same experiences and feelings? Why?