Gossip Girl/Headscratchers

• Is it just me or does the latest book in the series, I Will Always Love You cater to those who had only watched the show?
  • I only read up until the eleventh book, but I looked it up, and you're totally right! I'm kind of disappointed now.
• I still don't understand why Chuck and Vanessa sleep together in "Remains of the J." One moment Vanessa's rebuffed from Nate, the next she's getting up from Chuck's bed, trying to put on her dress. Granted, their actors were in a Real Life Relative relationship at the time, but there was no logical buildup to Chuck and Vanessa's one-night stand. I also still wonder if Chuck and Vanessa slept with each other prior to Jenny's birthday party, since Vanessa mentioned their relationship was "strictly physical" to Nate. Or maybe I should really just relax.
• Why is Vanessa still on this show? Never mind the fact that she's portrayed by an actress who can't act, she's pointless as a character on the show. Basically only a female Dan, who is also starting to get quite superfluous by now, but at least he's got his ties to the rest of the Humphreys, Serena and Nate. Vanessa rarely interacts with the rest of the cast (just with Dan) and it's obvious that they have no idea what to do with her. Heck, she's missing from several episodes every season (and the episodes are usually better for it). Her last good storyline was... well, never. The fans hate her, the actress can't act, they have no ideas for storylines for her... Write her out already.
  • All the main actors have long-term contracts to stay on the show for six or seven seasons (provided the show doesn't get canceled before then) and Jessica Szohr has done nothing drastic to warrant a sudden exit. I personally think ALL of the actors are terrible (then again, it is a show on the CW). Finally, Vanessa does have some fans.
    • "All" of the actors are terrible? Between them, female leads Leighton Meester and Blake Lively have won five reasonably prestigious awards, and Meester's performance especially is critically acclaimed. Your mileage may definitely vary, and it seems yours is nothing like the majority opinion.
• In the season two episode Pret-A-Poor-J how come Blair's phone beeps like three separate times when she gets one text? And why does Chuck automatically get suspicious just because someone decided to send Blair a text? This always stands out to me and it seems like they could have figured out a better way to have Chuck and Blair not have sex.
• I don't see how what Chuck did in the season three finale was so heinous. Fine, given his history with Jenny it was a bit iffy, but she consented (even though she kind of played the victim later). Chuck and Blair were broken up so he wasn't being unfaithful. She hadn't shown up at the ESB, he took that to mean she really was done with him, and for all he knew she was still out on her date with Cameron. It wasn't his best move by any means, but I don't see what he did that was such a deal breaker.
  • I agree. It really confused me that Blair could forgive him for whoring her out to his evil uncle but couldn't forgive him for sleeping with another girl when he was sad and alone and thought that she was never going to forgive him.
  • I saw it more as the straw which broke the camel's back, really. He'd done so much to her already, and then he slept with the girl who was, at the time, the person she was angriest with. If he'd slept with a hooker or something she might be okay, given past behaviour, it was just that he slept with the person guaranteed to hurt her the most (well, besides Serena, maybe). Plus, proposing to a girl hours after you've slept with another one is skeevy as all hell. Though I did think that Jenny was actually the one most to blame - just hours before Blair was listing people who loved each other and listed her and Chuck, so Jenny knew there was still something there. And then she went after and boo-hooed to Eric and Dan, when, let's face it, if you choose to sleep with Chuck you should know what you're getting into. What was she expecting, love and flowers?
• Dan and Serena in season 4. Seriously, why is it that everyone (including their parents) is okay with the possibility of them dating? They are step brother and sister, and if that's not enough for you, they share a sibling (Rufus and Lily's son). It was a problem back in season 2 when they found out about him, why is it ok now? Did they just forget?
  • I don't see what's wrong with this. Serena and Dan were dating before their parents got married and they found out about their half-brother. They aren't related, and they didn't grow up together. The half-brother is a bit of a problem, but I assume they had time to get over this factor.
• Eric turning against Chuck in season four. For the first three seasons they were brothers and now he hates Chuck? For having consensual sex with Jenny? Even if Jenny regretted it afterward and Chuck probably should have known better it's not like he raped her, and Eric apparently already knew about Chuck assaulting Jenny in season one and didn't hate Chuck for that. It makes no sense that he would turn his back on Chuck, wanting him out of the family, out of loyalty to Jenny. Chuck has always been there for Eric while all Jenny does is betray Eric, time and time again.
  • Clearly all his time with her has given him stockholm syndrome
• What the writers have done to Chuck and Blair. While I was one of those who loved the way they were written in the first 16 episodes of season three I can still agree with those who say we should have seen more sexiness, more scheming and more brilliance. But fine, the writers decided they needed to break them up to cause drama. How about writing a plausible plotline for this to happen? Such as the reason we got in season four why they can't be together right now (Blair wanting to be more than just Chuck Bass' girlfriend and needing to be on her own to accomplish that). Anything would have been better than what we got (except for cheating). Chuck trading her for the Empire? Seriously? Then the whole season finale fiasco, what was the point of that? And why is Blair constantly mentioning the Chenny sex as the reason why she can't forgive Chuck when the IP thing was so much worse? I still adore this pairing but I hate what they have done with them. I dislike the writers for their stupid storylines, not the couple they subjected this stupidity to. Chair is epic when the writers don't screw with them. And what is even the point of throwing so much crap at the couple they have already said is endgame and the heart of the show?
• It just bugs me that Serena has become such a wishy-wash romantically. She's obviously enjoyed sleeping around all along given her reputation in season one but she had never been in love before Dan and it was treated as a big deal for her and she really took that relationship seriously. Why is she now bouncing from twu wuw to twu wuw every three episodes/fifteen minutes? I used to think it had to do with her never really getting over Dan but with what we've been getting in season four that doesn't seem to hold up.
• Chuck and Nate used to be just as close as Blair and Serena. What happened to that? Yeah they live in the same penthouse but you never really see them hanging out anymore. I miss the days of Chate glory. Instead we get the monumental snore that is Dan and Nate hanging out. I don't mind Dan and Nate being friends per se but can we please get to actually see Chuck and Nate together? Nate keeps referring to Chuck as his best friend but they never show it anymore.
• Does anyone else give a fuck about the Serena/freaky ex-con plotline/pairing? Thought not.
• Eric, the suicide survivor, starts taking drugs, and this gets swept under the rug? No one even brings up the fact that he tried to kill himself once before and taking this extremely seriously? Lily's not been a model parent, but even she should SAY something, and Rufus, who may not be perfect but is at least a decent parent, just gives him a pep talk and forgets about it?
• The Dan/Blair pairing bugs the hell out of me. The way they have written these two characters for the first 3½ seasons makes a romantic relationship impossible without betraying one or both their characters. All the stuff they're doing with how many shared interests they have fall flat when you remember that Chuck shares all those interests with her too. Even Leighton Meester has said in interviews that she finds the idea of Blair and Dan as a couple a sacrilege. And finally, Word of God have already said Blair is ending up with Chuck (the fact that they said "I love you" to each other when they went their separate ways was supposed to be an affirmation to the fans that they still are endgame) so what is even the point? Dan and Blair as friends is a fun storyline but beyond that it's just annoying. It would be nice if there could be at least one platonic friendship on this show.
  • You're not alone in disliking Dan/Blair. The fact is that while the show promotes them a lot right now and they have a very vocal fanbase online they aren't a popular pairing. Polls show that around 20% of the fans who are still watching want Dan and Blair to be together, which is a pretty low number (I believe Chair has a 70-something percent rate). A look at the ratings shows that the Dan/Blair arc has cost the show 700 000 viewers in the biggest ratings drop in the show's history. Meanwhile a vast majority of fans still claim that Blair needs to end up with Chuck (even many who enjoy the Dair arc say Chair should be endgame). A lot of Dair fans are saying they believe Dan and Blair are going to be remembered as the couple that won the fanbase over and became the OTP of the show but the reality is that they're much more probable to be remembered as the pairing who brought on the show's cancellation.
    • Remember Pacey and Joey from Dawson's Creek? (I don't.) Apparently, they were also written originally as completely detesting each other and unsuitable. By the end of the series, they had become of the show's biggest couples. I could go on and on why Dan/Blair is a legitimate pairing and why Blair has a much better relationship with Dan than with Chuck, but I just want to say that we Dan/Blair shippers have good reasons for shipping the way we do. I've actually never seen a pairing generate such good press by fans, and apparently, it's been well recieved in the manstream media too. Also, how in the world has this pairing generated a drop of 700k viewers? Remember "correlation doesn't imply causation?" This pairing hasn't even been such a big deal until the most recently aired episode of the show and it's basically been the two of them hanging out since November. Is it really that big of a turnoff for those Chair-stans? I could definitely think of some other reasons for this supposed drop other than having two characters spending time with each other. Actually, IJBM that people think that the Chuck/Blair pairing hasn't been damaged beyond repair by now, with or without Dan in the picture.
    • Since when does losing one third of the viewers mean a pairing is successful or popular? Popular pairings keep the viewers watching no matter what the other crappy storylines (case in point: Chair in seasons one, two and most of three). Yes there has been positive press for Ban but the ratings drop is a clear indication that it's not working for the show. And there's been negative press for the pairing also (not to mention Leighton Meester has complained about the pairing in interviews on more than one occasion). It appears that they need the Chair fans back or they won't survive another season, though I might of course be wrong. How is Dan even a good match for Blair? He's a complete ass to the women he dates. Just look at how he treated Vanessa and Serena (Vanessa especially). He has no respect for the Serena/Blair friendship. In addition he could never accept Serena's faults which were a lot milder than Blair's so without a personality transplant he's not going to be able to accept Blair. I'm not saying Chuck is necessarily the best match for Blair but Dan isn't any better IMHO. Besides, I thought IJBM was a place to vent about things you didn't like. I'm sorry you don't agree that the Ban storyline is bad and I'm sorry if you've been offended. People are free to love Dan and Blair together but they are also free to dislike them together. Peace and goodwill =)
    • It's not betraying either character, it's getting some much, much needed growth and development for both, in particular Blair. I guess I'm just tired of seeing the abusive Chuck and Blair relationship being glamourised and romanticized. It's boring and played out, and the Dan/Blair pairing is a breath of fresh air. That's the main reason why the audience has responded so strongly to it. They just want good storytelling to be entertained by. Also, I don't really like rooting for pairings in which one half of them is an attempted rapist. Dan is awful to women? As opposed to Chuck, who has tried to rape every single young female lead apart from Vanessa, who has physically assaulted Blair, emotionally manipulated her, sold her for a hotel? Gee... yeah, I really wonder why Dan/Blair has become so popular...
  • I just want to point out, Gossip Girl, as long with every other show on the CW, has nothing to do with ratings. Apparently, the CW is all about having shows ready for syndication. The actors have all been signed on to do six seasons anyways. And also, why be so quick to blame Dan and Blair for the ratings when they make up only a part of the show.
• Where are these people's lives outside of the same people they hanged out with in the 11th grade? These people are in their second year of college now. I guess it's kind of been done already, but why can't we see more of the supposed upper class social scene at Colombia? Shouldn't Blair be trying to get into some sort of secret society by now?
• Why is Bart Bass's ghost such an utter Basshole? In Season 1, he was thrilled that Chuck was interested in Blair, and thought a committed relationship was a wonderful idea. He also made the decision to choose Lily over his work multiple times. However, Ghost!Bart is against love and tells Chuck he's weak for dating Blair. Why does Chuck believe his father would be like that?
  • Because Ghost!Bart is in Chuck's head, and despite the fact that Bart did have some compassion, in life he spent most of his time being a complete asshole to his son. Remember that the last conversation Chuck and Bart ever had was Bart berating his son for contributing to his marriage with Lily falling apart. Chuck's predominant memory of his father is a cold man who would find his son weak for not successfully following in his father's footsteps.
    • I guess the Season 5 finale proved Chuck's view of his father was completely, horribly right.
• Does anyone know when Serena and Dan find out that Chuck swapped Blair for the Empire? They both refer to it in the next season, but it can't have been on Gossip Girl's blog because that would have created a giant scandal. Did Nate tell them? (Because it's hard to see Blair sharing that with Dan) At the very least, they should have shown the OMG WTF reactions she got when she told them... didn't anyone else want to see that?
• IJBM that it should appear that Juliet is "in need". Sure, she does not have the same kind of (insane)money the other characters get to spend, but she still seems to have your average big house in another state and whatnot. Scraping by to pay for expensive clothes does not seem to me to be reason enough for complaining...
• In episode 5x14, why does Blair call Dan and NOT Chuck, even though Chuck owns a private jet?
  • Because she doesn't trust Chuck anymore and Dan has been there for her, time after time?
  • Because as far as she knew, Chuck had just betrayed her by sending that video to everyone?
• Why is there so much Blair hate lately? Yes, I get that she's not exactly being the good guy here by falling in and out of love with three people in rapid succession (Louis, Chuck, Dan), but Blair is getting more hatred from Chair fans than Chuck did for selling her to his uncle. Why would fans be willing to give the show another chance after Chuck enters the human flesh trade, but immediately decide to quit watching the show because Blair and Dan have hooked up?
  • It's mostly Chuck's Draco in Leather Pants status, so he will be forever forgiven for everything. Some, though, feel that the writers have lost focus of Blair as a character and that bothers them more than the hook up itself.
  • The Chair fans have stopped with the Blair-hate after the finale... only for the Dair fans to hate on her even more. Apparently what Blair did is unforgiveable, although Dan cheating on her as well, with her best friend, in the exact place that Nate did years before, is completely understandable and only fair. Fan Dumb at its best.