Now's finally the time to chat about the next season of Gossip Girl. This has always been one of my favorite seasons. It's one I've re-watched the most. Plus, compared to the first season, it's CRAZY LONG! Season 2 is about the length of an average television season, but it feels very long with so many hour-long episodes compared to the 16 episodes of the first season. With a lot of episodes comes a LOT of drama, so I'd better start breaking it down.
Serena
Serena starts off the second season sad and slowly trying to heal after her breakup with Dan before the summer. As the season progresses she becomes a lot more than a pretty blonde pining after a guy and becomes less and less afraid to let her own light shine . . . even if she has to learn in the process not to purposefully blind everyone else around her.
I'd like to say that she gets a little less boy crazy in this season, but she has at least 3 boyfriends throughout the second season. But I will say this: being with those different guys does teach her a lot about who she is and what she wants, both out of life and out of her future relationships. So yay for personal growth!
Jenny/Little J
Now for one of my favorites, Little J! Seeing Jenny pursuing her dreams of becoming a designer with 100% of her energy was really great, and I definitely felt for her when her fear of being bullied by the upper class Blair clones drove her back to Blair's mom's atelier, but re-watching this series caused me to re-live the shock from how out of control Jenny spirals in such a short amount of time. Of course I'm glad that by Christmas break she comes to her senses and finds her way back to the Humphrey fold, but I wonder if being invited back into the folds of Constance - and as next year's Queen, no less - will do more harm than good.
Vanessa & Nate
Vanessa spends a lot of this season just being herself - trying to find happiness with Nate, petitioning for landmark status for a Brooklyn bar rich with history, and trying to help those she cares about when occasionally she ends up doing just the opposite. So far she's the person to be the least tainted from the workings of the Upper East Side, and hopefully getting away for the summer - with Nate - on that backpacking trip to Europe will be exactly what she needs.
Nate goes from hero to zero to hero again in the second season when his family's money is lost because of his dad having fled the authorities. Romantically even while he has these family issues to deal with he still manages to find his way around the female cast of this show - Vanessa, Jenny, Blair, one steamy kiss for show with Serena - which is why the label he receives from Gossip Girl during the last episode, "Class Whore," definitely fits, not even counting the beginning of the season where he slept with the Duchess for money to help his family.
Dan "The Insider" Humphrey
Romantically Dan takes quite the journey, from juggling 2+ women to dating Serena to being single to dating Serena again to hooking up with a teacher. With all the exposure Dan has received in the past 2 seasons, Gossip Girl's label "The Insider" definitely fits - plus that might tie into the book that Dan started writing this season :) Can't wait to hear more about that . . .
Chuck and Blair/Blair and Chuck
At last, here they are, the couple of the season! I'm sure more than one girl shouted "Finally!" at the sight of Chuck finally telling Blair that he loves her during the last moments of the season finale. The amount of personal growth exhibited by not just one but both characters this season astounds me.
It's a combination of Chuck's father's death, his newfound responsibilities as the head of Bass Industries, and Blair's love that turn Chuck into a changed man. What I loved most was how gradual the process is and how we were able to see Chuck go from Chuck Bastard to utterly broken to being worthy of Blair Walforf.
Blair too shows a lot of growth this season as she tries to find herself outside of Chuck's shadow, and inevitably it's her own harsh actions that get her exiled from Yale. This is probably the first real example of the super rich and beautiful not getting everything they want, and for that to happen to Blair left the most impact. Now we'll have to see how she does at NYU come fall.
That's my wrap-up for the second season! I've already started the third and I'm looking forward to writing about it. Stay tuned and comment below with your thoughts.
I can never get enough of "Gossip Girl." Each season just gets better. Yeah, I too was surprised by how Jenny was quick to change. She was so sweet in the first season. I think that if anyone is a walking definition of how the Upper East Side posse can change you, it would have to be Jenny. I honestly kept wishing that Serena and Dan would just get past their differences and be THE couple. Oh well. At least Chuck and Blair/Chair are there to bring out my sappy side. Lol.
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