This week on Gossip Girl, it was the season finale! And you know what that means!!! NOTHING MADE SENSE, basically. But it was fun! Right?
Camila | YES YES YES! I know this storyline — I choose you, I’m in love with you, and blah blah blah — is old and stuff but she admitted it! And I couldn’t keep myself from fangirling. But in spite of that, last week I said on a coment I’d be sorry for Dan if Blair chose Chuck and indeed I was. Blair didn’t even broke up with him!
Samantha | Of course she did. Would you really expect anything less? I’m just glad Chuck stood up for himself and didn’t just welcome her back with open arms because SHE was finally ready and it was convenient for HER.
Monika | Sigh. I remember calling buyer’s remorse on Dair a few roundtables back and I think that feeling stayed with me the whole time. I think I was more in love with the idea of Blair being with somebody different than I was with the idea of Dair. Dair was nice but I feel, like Blair, the writers’ hearts weren’t in it. I hate to say it, but I think the move back to Chair is for the best. Look at all the stupid plot lines the writers had to come up with to keep Blair and Chuck apart this season and then ALLLL times Blair “realized” that she loved Chuck. At least now, we can finally be done with all this wishy-washy business and for that I am relieved. I care more about having interesting storylines than who Blair ends up with.
Cory | I considered not replying to this roundtable, specifically because it saddens me deeply to see the direction the character of Blair Waldorf has gone. She has fallen face down into a pile of POOP. Only this time, she cannot ever come back from this. This was incredibly inconsistent with what has been happening on the show for the past six or seven episodes. The writers have no concept of continuity. I can’t tell if they think this show is still watchable, and that their careers mean something, or if they are laughing at the fans who have invested a lot of time into watching this series. This isn’t how you tell a story. I could frankly care less with who Blair ends up with, but the writers literally spat in the face of everyone who isn’t watching this show because of Chuck and Chair. I initially fell in love with the character of Blair. She was at one time a huge inspiration, a powerhouse, witty, beautiful, determined. What wasn’t to love? Perhaps she did enjoy tormenting others, but she had a huge heart under the abrasive exterior. I do not blame Leighton Meester however. You could tell she was phoning it in, and who could blame her? Why don’t they just cancel the show? The producers and writers are complete idiots.
Michael | Geez, Cory. Tell me how you really feel. Wasn’t shocked by the outcome, disregarding the huge spoiler that came out the day-of, but if your couple gets together before the finale: you know it’s not lasting. At least not on Gossip Girl. Kind of just annoyed at all the “obstacles,” all of which were used stupidly or were stupid in their own entity. A pregnancy no one gave two s—ts about, God, a loveless marriage, an any-court-would-rule-against-of dowry, “I love but am not in love” which was completely 180’d. Overall not good obstacles. And waned. I’m glad that it sort of made sense, however. They put in that clue in the 100th episode about Blair being scared to be in a relationship with Chuck for how vulnerable it can make her (I believe Serena said this). And her denial and running away from it has helped explain this entire season, at least a little bit (re: God).
Camila | Serena was so weird this episode. And Blair, too. Or maybe it was this storyline in general. First I thought it was horrible that Serena sent Blair’s diary to Gossip Girl but she didn’t and then she tried to fix it but it only got worse and Blair got revenge then Serena went on take Blair down mode and ugh. Anyway, she soo used Dan for both her feelings and revenge. Even though I ship Derena, I don’t see them coming back anymore, they are too screwed up.
Samantha | Eh, whatever. It didn’t matter to Blair and it doesn’t matter to me. Although, OF COURSE Dan would place all the blame on Serena. It takes 2 to tango, Humphrey, and 2 to cheat.
Monika | That was interesting! I’m actually totally in love with the return to vintage, crazy-girl Serena. It shakes things up.
Cory | I was in denial until the credits rolled that this actually happened. So not only does Blair choose Chuck…and her character is ruined, but then the writers decide to ruin Dan and Serena’s characters as well. Nice. Serena is turned into a vapid waste with no purpose other than to destroy her friendships. Dan is turned into an easily fooled schmuck. The fact that Dan hasn’t paid any attention to her all year is what is inconsistent with this hookup. I felt as if I was watching a completely different show. Stephanie Savage attempted to justify this by claiming it to be “echo” back to the season 0 hookup between Serena and Nate. The entire finale was a giant clusterfuck and had no connection to any of the other episodes in the series. Nice try though.
Michael | What if this was the “anything” that Serena was willing to do to get Gossip Girl to stop posting Blair’s diary? Just a thought. Anyway, yeah I don’t know how this actually happened. I was of the impression that this could never happen again given the fact that Dan’s treated Serena like utter crap this season and she tried really creepily to make their fake-dating into something real and the fact that they’re siblings (not really, but ew). So…wtf? Mostly a big “f—k you” to fans of the Dan and Blair or Serena and Blair relationships, that they can seriously destroy relationships (ANY relationship, look at this show’s history seriously) at the drop of a hat. On top of that, there aren’t even any logistics here — it’s just like, “Well we need some ‘Oh em gee’ moment, so…”
Camila | Ok so that was probably the strangest choice ever made on Gossip Girl. Lily, let me tell you one thing: You don’t get an annulment because you had a fight with your husband that you love.
Samantha | LOVE! I mean, I know Bart is an asshole, but we all know Lily’s true love is money, so she had to pick Bart. It only made sense.
Monika | Yeah, like Camila, I felt that this was a strange, strange choice. You want to stay married to the man who disappeared for 3 years, woman?! What is wrong with you?
Cory | Blah. I can’t even attempt to care.
Michael | Hmm…the guy who was trying to keep our marriage intact or the a—hole who stayed hidden for three years and conned his entire family, my pseudo son included, out of everything? Decisions, decisions! I mean, obviously Rufus wasn’t really “trying” but come on. Lily never even really loved Bart. WTF happened here Gossip Girl? What is your life at the moment? As for staying married to money, Lily literally had $50 million dropped into her lap two weeks ago. So.
Camila | Pretty Little Liars much? I felt like A went to New York for a while to be Gossip Girl. But anyway, there wasn’t to see. I want to know what will happen, though.
Samantha | This is Nate we are talking about. The chances of him finding out who that hooded figure is are slimmer than Dan finding a comb that can get through his mop.
Monika | I was super disappointed by this! I thought we would get something more…clear and concrete. But it appears that GG might be a man? Weird.
Cory | I think he saw Gossip Boy.
Michael | I don’t think the person’s figure is supposed to be a clue. Just a stand-in. And really we waste this — whatever the hell it was because thank you Diana for giving us a video of someone we couldn’t see — on NATE. Of all people. NATE. Jesus. Nate couldn’t even find a freakin’ day planner in one person’s room after twirling around and searching all the effing drawers the first time.
Camila | Finally. She’s so boring. But if she never comes back, who will be Nate’s love interest? He’ll end up being with Diana, lol.
Samantha | That’s fine. Replacing her with Georgina is the best thing that could ever happen.
Monika | Yes, yes, yes!! But she does earn lots of AWESOME points for giving Ivy the money and teaming up with her to bring down Lily.
Cory | Ella Rae Peck is smart for running away. The producers weren’t sure if she would be available for season 6. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to work them. Kudos!
Michael | Excuse me, I almost missed this because I was snoring during the actual scene she was leaving in. Good gracious. Goodbye! Don’t let the door hit cha where the good lord split cha. Thanks for taking up Ivy’s screen time — NOT. More Ivy in season 6 is only a good thing, really.
Camila | I don’t really know what to think about them. I just think that now we’re getting closer and closer to finding out who Gossip Girl is. Oh, and Chuck will push Blair away but in the end he’ll be with her. At least I guess. Also, Chuck, Blair and Jack vs Bart will be awesome. Can’t wait to
see it!
Samantha | Chuck+Blair+Jack vs. Bart? Oh, that is going to be SO GOOD. Can. Not. Wait. And Dan is just going to rewrite Inside with different character names. Good luck, Humphrey.
Monika | I actually enjoyed all of the cliffhangers that have been set up. They are making me optimistic for the return of the show next season. Blair, Jack, and Chuck vs Bart Bass: fantastic. Serena vs. the downward spiral: entertaining. Ivy vs Lily: BRING IT ON, BITCH. There is only one character on this show that I remain sympathetic towards and that is Ivy. I want to see Lily go down in flames before the show ends. Dan and Georgina vs. the entire UES: Finally! I am so glad G is gonna be sticking around.
Cory | I couldn’t care less since I won’t be tuning in next season. Yes, there are only eleven episodes, but this show and it’s producers and writing staff is an insult to my chosen (eventual) profession. I cannot believe this pile of shit is allowed to stay on air, after you factor in the measly 800,000 viewers who actually tuned in to the recent episodes. Georgina may be the only one I actually still like. Serena should get over it. Ivy should blow up PRADA (Lily’s penthouse) with everyone inside—I might watch just to see that…
Michael | Let’s see: Serena is coked up, so we get to see more of her being in a rehab center in season 6. Dan writing “the book I should have written,” whatever the f— that means (though I’m interested) with Georgina who I assume is going to have more of a presence in the final season because everyone loves tons of Georgina, Rufus is going to turn tricks (I’m just assuming because wtf is he doing with his life seriously?), Chuck and Blair are doing the same song and dance (like just f— already, geez), Dorota’s baby has yet to be seen, and Ivy is a BAMF. Is this the first time that the cliffhangers are actually so many bad things? I always remember the finales being prologues. Have we ever really ended a season with Blair and Serena on bad terms?
Camila | IVY’S BACK! Also, poor Rufus and poor Dan. And I’m curious to see what will happen to Serena.
Samantha | This episode had so many Pilot parallels. Even more than the wedding episode when the parallels were hyped. I liked it.
Monika | You know, at first I was all Team Chuck when Bart took the company back but then when his dad listed all the times Chuck had wasted company money on on Blair, I had to admit that maybe it was for the best. On an unrelated note, I think this episode might actually have set up a Derena endgame. I think we’re gonna see Serena eventually rescued from herself by Dan. I dunno if anyone else got that vibe.
Cory | …
Michael | I don’t even understand Bart this episode. He tells his son to go after the girl he believes is the love of his life and then cons him out of everything for it, meanwhile he was going after a married woman all episode long. And wasn’t he the one who always wanted Chuck to be in a stable relationship? WHAT IS THIS F—ERY GOSSIP GIRL? Make sense in season 6, please. Also, it took ALL season long to finally get Blair to think about her future, her vagina notwithstanding? And since WHEN does Blair want to takeover her mom’s company? WHERE ARE YOUR GOALS, ASPIRATIONS? When she was in her room saying she shouldn’t let a man define her… UH YEAH. Just. Are Blair and Serena just dandy with never speaking with each other? Are Dan and Blair just, like, gonna f— other people and it’s cool? Does Lily have a brain? Questions that need answers. Oh, sorry…”cliffhangers.”
Camila | B? I enjoyed the episode, in spite of some of the ridiculous storylines.
Samantha | A+. It was like a call back to the great seasons of the past. So much better than anything else we have experienced this season.
Monika | Hmm this is tough because I didn’t enjoy the actual episode that much (too much Blair wishy-washyness) but I did love the cliffhangers it set up. I’ll give it a B+ for Blair’s outfits this episode. The scalloped pink coat was so cute and she looked gorgeous in the red dress in the last scene.
Cory | F
Michael | The only good thing to come out of this episode was Chuck and Blair. In the sense that there’s at least hope there, regardless of its repetitiveness. For everyone else, it’s like the writers went: “How can we take a huge dump on every, single character?” and then proceeded to. And I’m also stuck thinking if I didn’t actually think with GG, would I rate it better? I have been clamoring all along to give us some sleazy stories and even sleazier sex, and they delivered this episode, right? And you know what I realized, also, is that this episode was filmed like a good ol’ GG ep, too. I couldn’t be the only one to notice how plastic-y and cheap it’s looked lately right? B-? I disagree that this was the best episode. That’s two episodes back with Diana being a prostitution lord — even if she’s not Bart Bass. But she always will be to me. This one made about as much sense as the episode with CeCe’s funeral. Which is to say: none at all.
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So Blair's character was "ruined" in this episode, and not, say, the entire preceding season? Yeah, okay. Setting aside the tired abuse argument, when did Blair give up a chance at a career, did I miss that? Because I didn't think her fighting for Chuck somehow precluded her taking over her mother's company... nice potshot at Leighton's acting though.
On a less antagonistic note, I definitely agree with Michael that the CB obstacles have been absurd this season (although they started getting absurd back in 4x09, which was paralleled by this particular episode, so... no points, just saying). Agreed that her behavior sort of makes sense in light of Serena's comment in 5x13- which is what I've believed all along- but is it too much to expect that entire storylines/halves of a season not hinge upon a single line that viewers may or may not remember? Yet again, I think the writers were so concerned with surprising the audience that they deliberately obscured the character's POVs, so it's somewhat understandable for people to think this came out of nowhere.
On a less rational note, I still fangirled like a boss when Blair told Chuck she was going to fight for him. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
Wasn't surprised by the Dan/Serena hookup- yes, Dan's treated her like dogshit this season, but he loved her at one point, and she's still crazy hot. Add some alcohol and wanting to drown his Blair-related sorrows, and I don't think it's that hard to believe. Especially since he did (almost) the same thing when he was dating Vanessa. Serena's just got some voodoo magic going on in her vajayjay, I guess.
I have to think Lily choosing Bart is some scheme to help Chuck, because like you said, it makes no sense for her to go back to him, and I can't imagine her being okay with how he's treating his son (and hers).
Gossip Girl did look like a guy, but I can't say I'm very invested in that storyline. Happy to see the back of Lola, I can barely keep my eyes open during her scenes. More Ivy and more Georgina is a huge improvement in my book.
While the episode was lackluster overall, I thought the cliffhangers did set up some interesting stuff for S6. Blair/Chuck/Jack (please bring Jack back!) versus Bart could be epic, especially depending on how Lily gets involved. Downward-spiral Serena makes me sad, but it opens up a lot of possibilities.... plus, it's finally someone besides Chuck spiraling into drug use and promiscuous sex, so... something new and different, I guess. Vengeful Dan could actually be interesting, and if he shares more scenes with Georgina, so much the better (I loved that he's on her "free pass" list, haha). And most importantly, no, we have never ended a season with Blair/Serena on bad terms, so that's the biggest storyline set up for S6. I'm guessing Serena spiraling might soften Blair up a little, but we'll see.
She sold her mother's company to trade in for chips to bet on Chuck. Did you not catch that?
When did that happen? Blair was talking about running the company in the taxi ride in Paris.
Yeah I am confused here there has been no mention of her selling her mother's company for chips, so I am not sure where that theory comes from. Blair and Eleanor do have money folks (because of Chuck).
well that means she's not all in now does it. if she was "all in" then she would of sold the company and cleared out her bank account. chuck can have that selfish whore.
I fail to see your point, as what does her selling her company have to do with being all in? While Blair is selfish, selling her company would be insult to Chuck imo considering her he made a sacrifice to make sure her Eleanor kept. I also think you misread my quote as imo Eleanor and Blair already had money outside of Waldorf Designs and lest we forget I am pretty sure Harold and Eleanor who seem to also come from old money or at least it was implied so therefore I am sure Blair has a trust fund. I was just pointing out the only reason they still have that company did not have dip into other fund was because of Chuck. But again where the hell did people get she sold the company?
I don't get why people keep saying that Chuck made a sacrifice. It was his fault, and he was just fixing what he fucked up. He knew that paying the dowry would bankrupt the Waldorfs, and then next episode he was all "it was that much?! I didn't know! well I guess because I'm such a good person I'll pay the price." like fuck yes you will, because you should.
Whore? That's nice.
I don't get why everyone's talking about Chuck "making a sacrifice" when it was his fault in the first place. He knew that paying the dowry would bankrupt the Waldorfs, and then he had the audacity to be like "it was that much money?! I had no idea! ...well since I'm such a good person, I'll pay."
Just to be clear, Blair owing the dowry money was pretty much entirely her own fault. She signed the contract and she broke the contract, with help from Dan, who was perfectly aware of the consequences as well. She's lucky Chuck has enough money to bail her out of her own idiocy.
Cory, I think you're confused. I think Blair only traded in a few monies for the chips and was all in…in metaphor, not like the company. Besides her mom would probably throw a fit, you gotta figure she's still part of the company somehow xD
Hmm...that was just the way I saw it. Honestly. Perhaps my brain had just been turned to goo by that point though. This was based on when Chuck said the company staying afloat was all his doing.
Either way, Blair is still allowing everything she does to be about Chuck. All of her story lines were about Chuck. For the record, I also did not support her going to Rome with Dan. She can fly there for weekly visits. I also fully supported her breaking up with Dan, not trading him out for Chuck. Think about guys, she's 21 years old and still has NO f!cking clue who she is. When you factor in the woman she could be...it's just so disappointing. I'm not saying I want her to be a bitch, but god Blair grow a pair. She's not strong, she's weak- always dependent on what men think of her. BORRRRRING. This is season 5- time to grow up.
It's just saddddddddd. She hasn't taken a moment to ask herself the correct questions. She just leaps from one thing to the next. Season 5 would have made sense if she would have said "I really have problems, huh?" This could have been a good time for her to take a step back for one f!cking minute and realize there is a lot to do in New York City besides follow around Chuck Bass.
This a terrible example for women everywhere. She was an icon. Not now. Now she's pathetic. I guess I thought of her more highly than the average GG fan. Honestly, this is supposed to be Serena's struggle. Not Blair's. Blair is supposed to be the one laughing at everyone else on the sidelines because she's an oasis of beauty and intelligence surrounded by her sea of stupid friends.
My hope is Chuck tells Blair to work on herself before considering coming back to him. He did the work and then some, it is her turn. So my one wish is I better see Blair on the shrink couch explaining why she's been crazy this past year and half. But her behind needs to also chase Chuck for once because as I pointed out she never actually chased him before.
For me Blair got ruined back in 5x17, the moment she went Dan and both she and Dan had audacity to put full blame on Chuck and not owning up to the fact them making out in public all over town would have cause that problem.
Dan was not the problem... Dan was the one helping Blair find herself after she sold herself out for a tiara. I feel like your prejudices might be influencing your judgment here.
Dan allow her to continue with her delusions and this I did not see as being helpful at all. He has knight in shining armor complex hence why he allowed her to continue to unravel, so he can "save" her. I did not see any of his actions after the winter finale being helpful. I actually like Dan until last season and that was due to the fact he treated Vanessa a girl he knew longer than his "loves" Serena and Blair like shit and then I looked back at all the seasons and noticed Dan treats most girls he dated like shit once the relationship was over.
No, I did not, because it's a gigantic assumption you're making and didn't actually happen. You really think Eleanor would've been okay with that? She hasn't even retired yet, Blair couldn't sell the company out from under her even if she wanted to. The "going all in" was a (clumsy) metaphor for Blair deciding she's in it for the long haul with Chuck.
I agree with Monika, actually, that this episode might have set up a Dan/Serena endgame, call me crazy. They keep mentioning how he likes to rescue damsels in distress, and she is nothing if not that right now.
And Michael's point about Bart is probably what bothered me most about the episode- his character was totally schizophrenic. I could've taken him either being sweet and reuniting with Lily, or being a total rat-bastard to Chuck and taunting him about Blair, but both in the same episode? It just didn't make any sense. It's like this version of Chuck is actually the ghost-version who was following Chuck around in 3x12, telling him how worthless he was.
But yes, agreed that this episode wasn't quite up there with 5x22, but generally good relative to the rest of the second half of this season. Why are the GGWriters so awful at second halves? Good thing they only have one next year, haha.
Love the finale thoughts! I think you've actually helped me feel better about it. I was feeling like a biased freak who only enjoyed Chuck and Blair in the finale when everything else sucked, but reading over your thoughts and thinking it over makes me feel like it was a solid B episode. No one will stop me from believing RL are in on it together against Bart! And I love the idea that Serena might have slept with D as part of a bargain with GG, but at the same time, I think she's been pushed far enough this season that she felt she had nothing to lose by seducing Dan.
As for Dan/Serena endgame, I kind of hate the idea that it'll come about because of his white knight complex, as much as that may be true. Boyfriend needs to grow OUT of that, not give into it. I still say the only girl he's ever loved for who she is (and not for how he saved her) is Vanessa.
I agree with everything Cory said, especially: "The entire finale was a giant clusterfuck and had no connection to any of the other episodes in the series," which I think sums up the episode perfectly. I also agree with Michael, that the writers just decided to ruin every single character - because they could, or for shock effect or whatever. The thing I'm most angry about is Blair and Chuck. It made absolutely NO sense from a storyline perspective. The past 7 episodes or so Blair has been saying how she felt behind the scenes with Chuck, and mentioning the hotel incident over and over, and saying how happy she is with Dan. And suddenly she's all LOLJK I love Chuck, Dan makes me feel safe and secure but really I'd rather feel vulnerable and devastated. I'm going to work to be enough for him!!! LIKE ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!!!!!! ARE WE FOR REAL, WRITERS? The season finale effectively ruined every storyline of the season and Blair's character in its entirety. You could even tell that Leighton Meester was like "wtf am I doing... someone could have told me that this is where the story was going?"
Everything Cory wrote was spot on, pure truth. No need to add anything else.
Michael, Bart was absolutely right to take his company back. As a businessman Chuck Bass is utterly incompetent and a major failure. If you follow the Season 4 story line, you'll notice that Chuck screwed up the operations of Bass Industries so much with his Henry Prince disappearing act, that the company ran into financial difficulties and they were force to sell it.
So essentially, Bass Industries is no longer a standalone independent company, but a subsidiary of another larger company. What that means is that the Bass family is just the manager/minority shareholder of their namesake company. They aren't even controlling owners. No wonder Bart took the management reins back from the unfit Chuckles, a clownish stooge who was probably only able to graduate high school due to his father's donations to the school's endowment.
And when Chuck and Jack team up together to try and raid Bass Industries, what is their genius plan to raise capital to wage the battle with Bart? A letter of credit from a big international bank? Selling high yield bonds in the capital markets? Create a private equity fund with money from institutional investors and/or high net-worth individuals? Nope. They're going to raise money by gambling in a foreign casino. ROTFLMAO! What a pair of fucking morons. Not only that, Chuckles and Jackass were openly and audibly talking about counting cards. So easy for the casino to kick them out and beat the shit out of them in the back alley. LOL, no wonder Bart cut those idiots out of the company that he built.
And for Blair to be collaborating with Jack, the guy she was pimped out to, so that she could go "all in" with Chuck, the guy who did the pimping was just head-spinning, crazy, revolting stuff. None of it can be take seriously. It's all just one big joke on the viewers.
agree so much, especially with the last part. absolutely ridiculous.
Bahahhahhha ... are you watching Gossip Girl because ridiculousness is its second nature?
1. If you expect Chuck and Jack to raise capital like in the real world, you should also expect Dan to languish in fanfiction.net (no offense to fan fiction writers) rather than getting published in the New Yorker. The examples of his writing we've seen thus far are all D-rate fan fiction.
2. As for mechanisms of raising capital that you list, yes that's how people raise capital in the real world. But each and every one of them are some form of glorified gambling, so at least Chuck and Jack are going back to the basics.
3. The episode was indeed all over the place and I've been exhausted by Blair's waffling but if you thought her choice of Chuck was out of the blue, did you watch 5x16-5x17? Or 5x10? I feel your pain though, because I've been there, done that. The writers in fact completely wrecked Blair's character to make Dair happen but which was always going to be yet another ridiculous short lived obstacle for Chuck and Blair. Was it completely stupid and unnecessary? Yes, I'll agree with you there.
4. And as far as I remember, Robert De Niro's character in the Casino was no angel. Quite the contrary in fact.
xoxo
Uh, those two geniuses couldn't raise money from one of Bart's apparently many super rich, super powerful, super scary (life-threatening) enemies? Casino gambling? Really? LOL.
They did Dair all wrong. It should have happened in Season 4 and it could have ended in friendship. Dair got all contorted in Season 5 due the Louis-Chuck back and forth. A sensible, realistic Dan would have gotten over Blair during the Summer and would not want to step in post Louis clusterfuck. Blair's character was wrecked during the Louis relationship.
Yeah DeNiro was no angel, but I notice you're not defending sleazy pimp James Woods. DeNiro vs pimp is no contest!
Last point...are we the viewers supposed to take the Chuck/Blair relationship seriously? Or do we just write it off as a big, ridiculous, unrealistic joke per Gossip Girl's inherent nature?
I actually agree that Dair should've happened in S4 if it was going to happen, it would've been far more sympathetic and made a lot more sense. And I also would've preferred if it had ended in friendship. That being said, Blair going back to Chuck makes perfect sense given her story arc for the entire season (being afraid to take a risk, loving him but not being sure she could trust him, settling for a safe option instead, etc). 5x24 was perfectly in line with 5x10-5x11 and 5x13 especially.
The casino gambling is ridiculous, but then again, so are all of the career decisions on this show. Serena gets jobs just walking down the street, Blair gets her mother's company handed to her despite being wholly unqualified to run it, Nate runs a newspaper (?!), Chuck's primary method of doing business involves parties and hookers, Dan accidentally became a best-selling author in like 2 weeks... you have to suspend disbelief with the career stuff.
How exactly did the writers wreck Blair's character to make Dair happen? It seemed as though Blair was just about to find herself when the finale happened and everything went to shit and nothing made sense.
Because it required hurting the two people she loved the most, Serena and Chuck? Blair's been terrible this season. Heck, she wasn't even that nice to Dan. Thank God she did finally find herself (starting in 5x22) and unsurprisingly, that led her back to Chuck.
Other thoughts: Lily + Serena are crazy hoes and I'm so glad Lola's gone. If I do end up watching season 6 the only thing I'm somewhat excited for is Ivy taking down Lola and Dan and Georgina vs. the entire UES.
Overall, this episode went NOWHERE. Blair is back with Chuck (cause fuck character development), Serena is back on a train doing drugs after sleeping with Blair's boyfriend, Lily is back with Bart, Dan is an outsider, Chuck is dealing with daddy/bass industries issues, and Nate is irrelevant.
I just keep thinking that this entire episode was some kind of joke... like are there multiple conspiracy theories going on here? Did Lily get back together with Bart to help Chuck? Did Blair get back together with Chuck for some other reason than her apparent insanity? Did Serena sleep with Dan because Gossip Girl made her? Because I just don't see how it makes sense otherwise! Even for GG writers.
A note on the Casino scene...It actually made me think of the Scorsese movie, Casino. Robert DeNiro, the mob-backed casino manager falls for Vegas hustler/prostitute Sharon Stone. He tries to provide her with the good life, but she can't help but go back to her sleazy pimp, James Wood, over and over. It doesn't matter what DeNiro does or how much he gives her, her one true love is that pimp and nothing can change that.
If this is the kind of story GGWriters want to tell, then it's pretty dark stuff for a teen drama. Probably overthinking it and giving them too much credit TBH. They think Chuck/Blair are or can be redeemed and it's all light and fun and delicious. LOL. As fun & delicious as Serena becoming a coke whore I suppose.
Bart wasn't being nice to Lily.It was just an act. As soon as lily dump Rufus,(which he did), he'll go back to being the douche he was, and neglect her and control lily's life, and she's probably is going to want rufus back. I hope that never happens, because lily doesn't deserve it and you just don't get that lucky 2 times, in real life
Agreed with cory for anything else.
Standing ovation, Cory. I couldn't agree more. Everything about Blair was ruined in this episode in one fell 40minute swoop. She's no longer ambitious for herself and accepts her mother's company even though that is completely the opposite of what she has wanted through the entire show. She makes Dan feel stupid for his insecurity and repeatedly tells him he has nothing to worry about with Chuck and that she only wants to be with him for the last few episodes (even this episode!) - then turns around and goes back to Chuck without even breaking up with Dan first! The best thing about Blair's personality was always her loyalty to the people she cared about; this treatment of her supposed 'best friend' was just so awful. Regardless of how viewers may have felt about them romantically, there is no question that Dan was shown to be a good friend to her- are we seriously meant to root for her to find happiness with Chuck or anyone for that matter? The girl came across as almost sociopathic in her lack of consideration for others. I will also not be watching any more, not because of who Blair is now with but just because it is all insultingly incoherent and life's too short.
Rant over.
"The best thing about Blair's personality was always her loyalty to the people she cared about; this treatment of her supposed 'best friend' was just so awful."
You mean like she's been treating Serena? Yeah, Blair's personality wasn't ruined in this episode, it was ruined when she tossed aside her best friend in favor of a guy she wasn't even that into. I do agree with you that her lack of consideration for others has been appalling, but it's been a season-long problem, not something that suddenly cropped up now.
I agree it has been there all season - starting with her appalling treatment of Chuck. I'm surprised his head didn't explode when she claimed not to be 'in love with him' when just a few eps ago she was saying she couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life with him. Serena is slightly greyer- at least she claimed to be ok with the Dan thing before Blair started dating him (still not very cool though). Both horrors would only have been marginally acceptable if Blair had been very serious about Dan, which is how most viewers interpreted this, giving her the benefit of the doubt re denial etc blah blah blah. With her ditching Dan WITHOUT EVEN A CONVERSATION, especially given her dialogue with both him and Chuck over the past few episodes, the show has written her into a corner where she has, as Cory so eloquently put it, finally been pushed into a pile of poop, never to return. So yes my statement was more about pre-season 5 Blair but this last ep was the final kiss of death.
To be fair to Blair (and you won't hear me say that very often this season), she did try to have a conversation with Dan- those emails he was looking at at the end of the episode showed her attempts to contact him, and him ignoring them. I don't know if he was ignoring her because he knew she was dumping him and just didn't want to have the conversation, or he felt guilty about what happened with Serena, or what... I agree that she probably should've gone to Dan first and broken things off before seeing Chuck, but I don't think she ever intended to just not talk to him about it.
I thought her dialogue with Dan over the previous two episodes made it pretty clear she was wavering on him (or at the very least, much less into the relationship than he was)... not that that necessarily excuses her leading him on, of course. And her interactions with Chuck in those same episodes, while not explicitly romantic, definitely showed a lot of feelings on both sides, so I can't say her decision really came out of the blue.
I think we have interpreted the tone of the last few episodes very differently, so it may be best to agree to disagree on this one. Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it:)