Unlike most people, I didn’t watch Gossip Girl when it was first on TV from 2007 to 2012. Instead, I binge-watched the series on Netflix a few years ago while going through a breakup-sparked depression (you know how it goes!), and I was absolutely CAPTIVATED. The teens on the show have more money than I did (or, let’s be honest, ever will), they backstab each other one second and then love each other the next, and they have some amazing one-liners that us “commoners” could only DREAM of. I’m currently re-watching the show, and it’s making me ~feel~ some things. Here are just a few of those thoughts.
1. Even rich people had to use flip/slider phones. For some reason, I feel superior to everyone on the show who’s getting their Gossip Girl tips on their flip phones while I’m watching and tweeting about it from my iPhone. This completely overlooks the fact that they’re back in 2007 and I’m in 2016, but still — it makes me feel better.
2. Dorota is a national treasure. She is patient and kind, and adds much-needed comic relief. She is also basically a saint for putting up with Blair all these years.
3. Dan Humphrey lives in a huge, beautiful loft in DUMBO, Brooklyn — can we all stop feeling bad for him? Okay, so maybe it’s not the Upper East Side, but the Humphrey loft in DUMBO (well, the location-shoot was in DUMBO, but they once mentioned they live in Williamsburg, so who knows) is expansive AND expensive. They’re doing pretty well for themselves, even if Jenny makes a big deal about having to thrift shop every once in a while. Some of my best times in high school were spent at the thrift store!
4. Wow, they REALLY partied. I somehow forgot how much alcohol was in the series, but they really drank a lot — drugs make quite an appearance too. Yikes!
5. Was ________ REALLY Gossip Girl the whole time? I won’t ruin it in case there are any readers who haven’t seen all the way through, but it doesn’t make sense watching the second time around that the person who was SUPPOSEDLY Gossip Girl actually was the whole time. Maybe they had help?
6. The creators of Pretty Little Liars are DEFINITELY Gossip Girl fans. Okay, stick with me on this one. In the first season of GG (2007), during the debutante ball episode, everyone dances to the song that eventually becomes the theme song to PLL (2010). That song is, IMO, not good — but it DOES work for PLL. Well, I’ll bet that the PLL creators remembered that song from the GG episode and used it as their theme — for yet another show with a mysterious person who calls all the shots via emails/text messages. Not a bad theory, eh?
7. Money can’t protect you from SERIOUSLY outdated fashion. They were fashionistas in their time, and I applaud some of their risks, but many of the looks from this show do NOT hold up well. Money cannot protect us. None of us are safe.
8. It’s hard to decide who is the most manipulative in a group like this. Jenny? Georgina? Blair? Chuck? Dan? Serena? Seriously, who?
9. Can you IMAGINE how much more drama there would’ve been if they had social media? Or maybe there would’ve been less drama, because they wouldn’t have been able to lie to each other as much? Either way, things would’ve gotten messy.
10. None of the couples really have chemistry… but it’s still SO much fun to watch.
Have you re-watched a series recently that blew your mind the second time around? Tweet us @BritandCo.
(Photos via The CW)