Hi everyone,
The Gossip Girl (2021) reboot/revival just finished its second season and also its’ final because it was cancelled. Now as a diehard fan of the original series, I was always going to have my misgivings about this version, but I ended up liking most of it and hating other sections of it.
You can read my full review of season 2 on News24. But basically, I wanted to give a rundown of the good, the bad and the ugly of the season by doing my favourite thing – ranking people.
So after watching the finale (there will be spoilers in this post) this is my definitive rankings of the characters in season 2:
Monet de Haan: Easily my favourite character of this season. She gave what needed to be given. She was giving Blair Waldorf circa 2008. She imported minions, she had mommy issues, she was unlucky in love and she had a best friend who was more beloved and who didn’t even try. My only gripe was that they didn’t let her reign as Queen Bee for long enough. We deserve more bitchy Monet.
Luna La: Luna would have vied Monet for number one if she had been given more screen time. I loved episode 8 when we learnt more about Luna’s relationship with her mom. I loved that she finally had a proper love interest and that she got out of Julien’s shadow. But it’s too little, too late. My girl is still number 2 though.
Georgina Sparks: Georgina is definitely my number 2 in the original series but idk what my messy queen is doing in this show. She blackmails the new teacher to find Gossip Girl only to use it to post nonsense. Like why does she care? If she was using it to terrorise her old schoolmates I would understand but she has no skin in this game. This storyline didn’t make sense to me.
Audrey Hope: She’s here because I love her oneliners and her taste in books.
Max Wolfe: Oh my broken bird, my heart broke for him this season. I think Thomas Doherty might be my favourite actor in this series. I found thruple storylines extremely redundant and I missed Max-About-Town but I still loved him this season.
Aki Menzies - One of the only film bros I actually like.
Julien Calloway - Listen. Julien is always going to be a tough character for me to like because she’s too goody-goody. But she had a hot affair this season and she was the right amount of messy so it made me like her more. Although she also made some WILD choices that made no goddamn sense so that’s why she’s so low on the list.
Shan Barnes - Another character that confused me. Like why did she hook up with the guy Zoya liked because Zoya’s dad wasn’t paying for the apartment? Why does no one know she’s rich? WTF was happening in Pennsylvania? However, I do like how she made Zoya more fun.
Zoya Lott - I kinda like Zoya more than most people, and I liked how her character seemed to have sidequests this season. However, her judgemental grandstanding did get a bit much.
Monet’s minions - they were cute, I love a subservient pair.
Max’s parents - Also cute. Definitely my favourite parents by far.
Camille De Haan - Listen she is terrible to her daughter but any enemy of Kate Keller is a friend of mine.
Kiki Hope - Also a mess, but she is better than Audrey’s father.
The new teacher - He’s nice-looking but has terrible taste in women.
The married cellist - A good brother I suppose but his lies are weird AF.
Obie’s girlfriend - Boring but the incest made her interesting NGL.
Wendy - The only teacher/staff member I actually respect. She has some funny lines and a solid backstory/personal life that she’s always alluding to.
Nick Lott - A huge drip. Loser energy. Good on him for taking in Julien and actually being good to her. But his own grandstanding is worse than Zoya and his face always looks like he is in pain. 4/10.
Obie Bergmann - Urgh so boring and bland. I did not care about his family drama. Julien and even the incest honey deserve better. He could’ve honestly been written out of the show and I would not have noticed.
Jordan Glassberg - Loser. Terrible taste in women.
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A random extra
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A New York rat
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37813617831. Kate Keller - the worst character to ever character. good riddance.
Gossip Girl season 2 is currently available to watch on Showmax.
Let’s talk about Gossip Girl season 2 further in the subscriber chat:
some january recommendations:
These are some things I was loving this/last month:
TV: Extraordinary - This comedy series caught me off-guard and I loved it. It tells the story of a 25-year-old woman who lives in an alternate reality in London where everyone gets superpowers on their 18th birthday but not her. Jen is still waiting for her powers, working a dead-end job, dealing with her friends-with-benefits literally flying out her window, an overachieving half-sister and everyday life things. It’s a lot of fun. You can watch it on Disney+.
Film: My Neighbor Totoro - I’m late to this train but I recently watched the 1988 animated film about two sisters and their dad who move to be close to their mother who is in hospital. They then meet strange characters in the forest next to their house which they call Totoro and Totoro helps them when they need support. It’s a beautiful film that had me crying at the end. Stunning. You can watch it on Netflix.
Music: emails i can’t send - Sabrina Carpenter - I love a good pop album and this is a good album. The third part of the Olivia Rodrigo/Joshua Basset triangle, Sabrina made bop after bop on this album and I have been listening to it nonstop. Listen to it on Spotify here.
Book: Mr Entertainment: The Story of Taliep Petersen by Paula Fourie: I love biographies because I find people’s lives fascinating. I only knew a cursory amount about Taliep Petersen before reading this book but this opened my eyes. Paula Fourie literally steps into the picture interviewing various people in Taliep’s life from his father, ex-wife and children to collaborators and friends, as well as Taliep’s own scrapbooks and diary entries. This biography does not only tell Taliep’s story, it questions the past, and it speaks about ownership, coloured identity, Cape Malay origins, Afrikaans origins, slavery and more. It was such a great read, and I think it helps to spread the stories of South African legends.