Having come to the Gossip Girl party fashionably late, I'm finding myself yelling at the characters on screen to slow down for the love of god. Is it just me or are you finding that Gossip Girl seems to be going through a nasty strain of The OC Syndrome, whereby the writers burn through as much story as quickly as possible, a condition which can ultimately lead to creative burn out?This week's episode of Gossip Girl ("All About My Brother") definitely brought the drama but it also forced the action to occur so rapidly that many of the revelations and reveals lacked any real tension as a result. In the course of two episodes, Little J rose to become Queen Bee of her little social clique, nabbed a wealthy Upper East Side boyfriend, disobeyed her father, threw a luxe party that was crashed by Blair Waldorf, lost said boyfriend, and apologized to her father. A little much perhaps?
I understand that the season has been truncated slightly due to the writers strike but there just hasn't been enough time to process the above much less to have Jenny's new beau Asher, whom she appears to have fallen madly in love with, suddenly making out with Eric right outside the school (far too unbelievable), and then before we've even gotten to know him as a character (or really seen the two of them interact) forcing Jenny into a social bargain that brings the social climber some respectability and him a beard to conceal his burgeoning relationship with little E. And just when things were finally heating up in the war between Blair and Jenny, J. called it quits just like that. So one week she's an outcast, the next she's the queen, and then the following, she's deposed?
The same holds true for Serena and Georgina, though I am loving Michelle Trachtenberg's haughty, manipulative Georgina Sparks, who definitely lives up to her colorful moniker. I find it hard to believe that "Sarah" and Dan have become such fast friends (I found it even harder to believe that she was able to engineer a random encounter in the park last week) and that she has so effectively pulled the wool over Dan and Vanessa's eyes. Still, I am hoping that the secret between Georgina and Serena--that she fooled around with and then (accidentally?) killed a man (the mysterious Mr. Shepherd?)--doesn't turn into Hidden Palms version 2.0. Though given Serena's prominence in this series, I have a feeling we'll find out that she didn't kill the guy at all but Georgina convinced her she did and is using that tape to blackmail her and deflect the blame from herself.
All in all, I am still finding the most interesting storyline to be that between Lily and Rufus, whose "friendship" hit a rough patch this week after he saw how beautiful she looked in her wedding dress. For all her talk to Eric about telling the truth, Lily certainly isn't doing that herself by marrying the wrong guy for the fourth time. It's clear that she doesn't love Bart Bass but still carries a torch for Rufus, even if he does live in the wrong borough and doesn't travel in her social circle. To me, this is one of the most tenderly constructed, beautifully wrought odes to adult love and to thwarted romance. Sigh.
But I am curious to know what you think: do you think Georgina was behind the murder that Serena ran away from Manhattan to conceal? Did you think the Jenny-Asher storyline was over far too quickly? Did Georgina intentionally out Eric just to dig at Serena? And were you pleased not to see Nate or Chuck this week? Talk back here.
Next week on Gossip Girl ("Woman on the Verge"), Serena falls back into her old ways after revealing to Blair the real reason she left Manhattan; Blair, Nate, and Chuck must put aside their conflicts in order to help Serena, who is too ashamed to tell Dan what is actually going on; Rufus' band reunites for a gig at Rolling Stone-sponsored concert and he's surprised when Lily shows up, especially as it's the same night as her wedding rehearsal dinner.
Comments
I am definitely slightly concerned about the OC syndrome. But I have faith that there are plenty of juicy stories to be mined from this world.
I am either a little psychic, or just really observant. After last week's ep, I called a friend of mine and said, "Is it just me or does the actor they hired to play Jenny's new beau play a little...gay?" I thought I was just insulting the casting directors.
I definitely don't think it's going to turn out to be Serena that did the killing, and it's either going to be what you suggested, that it was Georgina, or it's going to be something lame like she knew that what [dead person] was doing was going to kill them and she did nothing to stop it.
But, I do agree with you that the storylines have been moving as fast as Chuck Bass on a first date. I'm still enjoying the show but, as you said, I think these Big Moments (Eric being gay, Jenny losing power, etc.) could have been more exciting if more time was spent developing them.
And I definitely agree with you that Rufus and Lily's relationship is one of the more exciting ones on the show. Maybe because they have let it develop slowly over the course of the season.
I'm not looking forward to Serena reverting back to her old ways. I always thought she was annoying in her flashbacks.
Like that Eric's gay. His suicide attempt makes sense now. They never explained it.
I miss Chuck.
John
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