Gossip Girl

Season 1 – 85% – Drama interwoven with irony in every stitch, a relationship story that is like a poem and full of undefined villains. Gossip Girl may seem like a routine that has been seen a hundred times, but on second glance, it is a series that is not afraid to reveal some teenage taboos in a unique way and style. I can understand that some are not impressed by the deliberately exaggerated plot, but arguing that it is just "more stupidity about young and rich people for young and rich people" proves that you haven't seen a single episode. I prefer it when the gossip dominated the whole first season, showing me great characters (Dan and increasingly Chuck on the teenage side, and the beautiful and elegant Lily on the adult side) and, in the final episode, it wasn't afraid to completely defy clichés. The only task was to preserve that unmistakable style and atmosphere. Season 2 – 70% – It keeps its face, but the story sometimes stumbles embarrassingly. The quality fluctuation this year reached new heights (most storylines were almost flawless in the middle of the season), but also unexpected lows (the aimless search for a new central storyline at the beginning or the inability to introduce a single consistent side character). However, popularity is now becoming an issue (except for the consistently entertaining adult part). The romantic artist Dan and the conflicted playboy Chuck are still in the lead, but all that remains of the girls is the spoiled yet charming Blair. The selfish Serena with her perpetual sense of being aggrieved and especially Jenny with her tricks, who I can't stand even to look at anymore, have fallen to the lowest depths. When I'm feeling indifferent to more than half of the characters or would rather not see them at all, something is wrong. Not to mention that relationship dramas are served regularly, but somehow the writers don't seem to care as much about who is experiencing what and, above all, with whom. This seventy percent rating is wavering dangerously on its foundations and only hangs on thanks to the aforementioned characters, a well-fitting voiceover, and an excellent soundtrack. However, the continuation must settle into a more credible and romantic spirit, otherwise, things will turn out badly. Season 3 – 90% – A rescue injection. Everything is several classes easier with more natural relationships, and the cluttered finish of the second season helped the creators realize this. The most annoying thing for me this time around is the unbelievable absurdity where the main characters, six months after graduating from high school and dealing only with Gossip Girl and occasional family crises, have taken on the lead roles in all of New York City. One buys the most expensive hotel, one dates the biggest celebrity, one makes a news segment during prime time, and one decides on an entire key political campaign. And all of this is done by nineteen-year-olds who have barely started college. However, since Gossip Girl never pretended to be a realistic series, I can shake my head at this fact, smile, and move on. Because the writers manipulate the viewer very strongly in the relationship storylines, I happily bought into them this season, along with all the twists and turns. Friendships turning into love, love turning into a crisis, and all possible soap opera clichés, presented in a perfect form, with grace and top-notch irony. The gossip has finally found its place, knows how to touch the viewers, how to move them, and how to high-five them. Season 4 – 70% – Some drops in quality you just can't get used to. And when the autumn part of the season becomes the worst period of the series, it's a low blow. What the writers show in twists like "a child of a Russian boss" can only be classified under a big WTF sign. The most annoying thing is that the whole central plot revolves around selfish Serena again. The rescuers remain the same: the hedonistic and conflicted Chuck with the queen Blair, and also Dan, who suffers from not having someone to play with for a very long time as a positive character. And when an irritating character is created out of Vanessa as well, it seems that the quality bottom is very close. However, one relationship/non-relationship with an absurd and yet cute duo came along, which resulted in a fateful love triangle and finally brought back what I've always liked about Gossip Girl. Pleasant exaggeration with believable emotions inside. Even though it saves more than half of the percentage in the ratings, along with the aforementioned favorites, it is still not enough because it cannot be sustained indefinitely. And if the fifth season continues with trivial and desperately predictable storylines around Nate or Lily, it might be the end. Season 5 – 55% – The feeling that I've seen everything on the Upper East Side and yet I'm still watching commands a higher rating, but this time I have to be strict. I still adore Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass, and happily identify with Dan, but the rest is just too much for me. Serena's suffering looks, intrigues surrounding the Van der Woodsens and the Rhodes (You are Charlie/I am Charlie), and the crazy storyline with Chuck's family, where no one really knows who is whose mother or father – it was simply too much. But what surprises me the most is that even with such illogical plots, I have no problem watching the whole extended series and enjoying some aspects of it. Unfortunately, with the current lack of effort in the relationships and the unrealistic nature of EVERYTHING, there's only so much I can turn a blind eye to. Season 6 – 50% – The final twists are on the verge of bearable superficiality, unnecessary storylines for most characters (Rufus, Charlie, Nate, and Serena), and the feeling that no series should limp so awkwardly towards the end. Even after all this, I still get lured in by the unbelievable chemistry between Ed Westwick and Leighton Meester, and the bond between Chuck and Blair is the last thing that has survived from the original qualities of Gossip Girl. Even though the last season is painful and dispensable in many ways, I have to admit one thing. The last two episodes function as a slightly drawn-out essence of everything I have ever loved about the series. So as I was watching the cunning plans, the unexpected (and sometimes unfortunately incomprehensible) meetings or alliances, the nostalgia finally got to me. In the spirit of the whole gossip concept, who ends up with whom, who fares how well in the future, and who ended up being the real Gossip Girl is a little ridiculous, a little unbelievable, and at times quite a bummer, but this is all about everyone's personal sympathies. But the bitter feeling that the second half of the series was a parody of the first half remains very deep in me, even after all these years. XOXO. (07.02.2010) (vähemmän) (lisää)