I just finished watching the series finale of Gossip Girl, and all I can think is … “wow.”
SPOILERS AHEAD * SPOILERS AHEAD * SPOILERS AHEAD * SPOILERS AHEAD
Wow to Dan being outed (or outing himself) as the illustrious Gossip Girl. Wow to the series flash-forward, which ended the show with Dan and Serena’s wedding. Wow that Georgina was actually invited to said wedding. Wow to awesomely timed cameos that called back to the show’s earlier seasons. Wow to the end of a series that encapsulated all that is good and bad in television.
Trying to get past the giant WOW, the series finale was exactly what I expected … and not what I expected at all. I knew that storylines would be tied up, but I didn’t see the twists coming, nor did I think that Dan Humphrey aka Lonely Boy aka The Boy from Brooklyn trying to enter the Upper East Side World would end up being Gossip Girl. But in a Lost-esque type twist, the episode flashed back to the end of the pilot, where Dan is reading about himself for the first time on Gossip Girl. The twist: HE actually wrote it! And what we were seeing was him post-posting on Gossip Girl. It’s like the producers planned for Dan to be Gossip Girl the entire time! (For the record, I seriously doubt that, but very smart to incorporate the pilot to make it look that way ). I don’t know if it’s plausible that Dan could had been Gossip Girl for all of that time (or that his sister actually agreed to let Dan post every awful thing he wrote about her), but I’m willing to accept it.
One thing I couldn’t really buy: how quickly Chuck and Blair were cleared of any involvement with Bart’s death. I’m no law-enforcement expert, but I’m pretty sure when a man falls off a roof and they can put you at the scene of the crime, you’re probably going to be questioned for more than 10 minutes.
One thing I will NEVER buy: the deterioration of Dan and Blair’s relationship, which I gushed about here. I guess I always knew Blair would end up with Chuck, but I still feel cheated by the several season buildup of “Dair” and followed by the quick (and unjust) dismantling of the relationship. Dan is without a doubt the most consistent friend Blair has ever had (besides her maid, Dorota), and having Blair turn on Dan so quickly this season felt out of character. I understand that the writers wanted to spend time weaving Chuck and Blair through the drama that would propel them to their eventual nuptials, but it didn’t have to be at the expense of the Dair storyline/friendship. What am I saying though … this is Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl don’t care.
I’m also skeptical of Dan and Serena actually ending up together. Maybe I’m just super cynical, or just pissed that Dair is over, or seriously so in love with Penn Badgley that I don’t want him with anyone, even on TV … but after everything they’ve been through, it’s hard to imagine them truly making it. I mean, Rufus and Lily didn’t even end up together and their love story was absolutely epic (really not happy about how their relationship ended up either but I can handle it).
There were some extra storylines that ended abruptly in the present and didn’t get any play-time in the flash-forward, but those were mostly the ones that made this season so awful, so I’m not even going to mention them (well, besides what I just wrote).
Oh Gossip Girl … it’s been a wild ride, that’s for sure. But despite the bad episodes, the prominent characters that dropped off the face of the earth, and the lunacy of many storylines, I truly had a blast. Thanks for 6 seasons!
I know I love you. xoxo
Jessie: A Pop Culture Junket 