Like most television shows, Gossip Girl wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t just because the reveal to the biggest mystery of the show made no sense. There were plenty of things wrong with the show, even before the series finale, which revealed the identity of Gossip Girl. Fans immediately started pointing to all the reasons it just could not be Dan, no matter what had been said by executive producer Stephanie Savage.
The problems started with the pilot, and while it’s not unusual for there to be obvious (and sometimes drastic) changes after the first episode, usually those differences improve on weak points – but it’s not always the case. Instead, some things like locations and methods of transportation are never addressed on-screen, like they should have been.
Character changes, inappropriate behavior for teenagers, crazy love stories, and outrageous career moves are the norm, especially when television shows follow characters’ lives from high school to college and beyond. Much like most of the storylines of Gossip Girl, some of these were taken to the extreme.
Even though logic need not always apply to TV shows, even teen dramas based in reality, there were some things that could have easily been fixed, or at the very least, explained on-screen over the six seasons.
Here are 16 Things Wrong With Gossip Girl We Choose To Ignore.
What Happened to Lily and Rufus’ Child?
First, Lily and Rufus were told that their son passed while sailing with friends. However, that was a lie – his adoptive parents lost their other son – and Scott was actually alive.
Instead of just introducing himself to his biological parents, Scott weaseled his way into everyone’s lives and pretended to be someone else.
When Lily and Rufus finally learned the truth about who Scott was, on the day of their wedding, they tracked him down to the bus stop. They spoke about their own issues, hugged, celebrated their wedding, and that was it. That was the last time he was seen or heard from, so what exactly was the point of that? There is no reason for the character not to appear at least one more time before the end of the series.
Humphreys’ Magical Moving House
In the pilot, it was established that the Humphreys lived in Williamsburg, but later, visual representations of the residence showed Dumbo. Savage has addressed this, explaining, “When we wrote the pilot script, we felt like Williamsburg was the appropriate place to situate the Humphrey family, and we shot all our Brooklyn locations in Williamsburg.”
The EP went on to say, “We were never able to find a satisfying exterior location in Williamsburg that seemed right for the loft… but it matches perfectly with the beautiful building at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO.” Once they realized that, they simply began saying the Humphreys resided in Brooklyn.
However, the only way to know this is to look for an answer online, meaning that those who haven’t are left with that inconsistency.
Why Weren’t They Ever Carded?
Underaged access to bars happens all the time on TV shows. It is wrong, yes, but it happens enough that it can be somewhat easily ignored. However, there is a difference between going to a party in the privacy of a character’s home among friends and blatantly being served in a bar.
Not even 20 minutes into the pilot, Blair and Serena are talking at a packed bar, as the former sips a drink.
Not only was Blair served a drink, but the bartenders, and everyone else at the bar, had to ignore their age and behave as though it was not a big deal. That was only the beginning, as the following seasons revealed. That being said, there should be no amount of money in the world to keep them from being carded.
The Show Should Have Been Darker
Gossip Girl was based on books by Cecily von Ziegesar and, as tends to be the case when a book series is adapted into a TV show or movie, there were some changes. Characters were changed, such as Chuck and Jenny, as well as relationships, such as Lily and Serena’s father, and locations, such as the Humphreys’ residence.
The CW also played a factor, as the series couldn’t get as dark as it may have been able to elsewhere. Shows on the CW can and do get a bit provocative, but nothing like what was written in the books.
For example, in the books, Jenny got attention because of her physical attributes, the characters’ behavior was wilder, there was profanity, Dan had a bad habit and Nate struggled with substance abuse.
Move Over, Eleanor
Jenny’s fashion career storyline in season 2 was absolutely ridiculous – not only did she score an internship at Waldorf Designs, but she also was fortunate enough that, the same day she was fired, she got stuck at the office with Eleanor during a blackout. During that time, Jenny managed to win her over enough to get her internship back. That would have been enough luck for a 15-year-old to have at that point, but it didn’t stop there.
Jenny’s designs were not just better than Eleanor’s, her dress was the big finale hit at a fashion show she let Eleanor take credit for.
Let’s not even discuss Rufus agreeing to Jenny being homeschooled after she skips school for the internship. She was only 15!
Lunch At The Met?
Gossip Girl often showed Blair eating lunch on the steps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but there are two very good reasons why that wouldn’t have happened, especially with someone like her character: distance and foot traffic.
The locations used for the school and the Met weren’t exactly close or within walking distance for a lunch break. There’s no way someone would have made the walk as often as these characters supposedly did. They did have to go to class, even if things like an education are usually forgotten on teen dramas.
Furthermore, sitting on the steps of the Met and eating lunch would have put them right in the path of anyone going into the museum, which would have been annoying, unsanitary, and definitely not glamorous – something a character like Blair would not have been okay with.
Why Was Chuck on the Bus?
The pilot saw Chuck wondering if Dan was following him and Nate, when he moved to get off the bus with them. Dan explained he went to their school, gesturing to their uniforms, but it was clearly designed to point out the divide between him and the other boys. However, what the show never bothered explaining, was why Chuck and Nate were even on the bus in the first place.
It was the only time they ever used that method of transportation to get to school, but luckily after that, Chuck took a limousine everywhere he went.
Yes, things do change from a pilot to the rest of a series, but would it have been so hard to throw in a line to explain this?
The Mysterious Ex-Husband
In season 2, “Valley Girls” featured flashbacks that offered a look at a young Lily Rhodes, who, during the course of the episode, met Keith van der Woodsen, thought at the time to be her future ex-husband, the father to Serena and Eric. That would make sense, right? Why would the series introduce a character with that last name if that wasn’t the case?
Well, in season 3, Billy Baldwin played William van der Woodsen, Lily’s ex and the kids’ father. Was he Keith’s brother or cousin? Was he somehow related to him? The series would never address that, leaving fans to believe it was simply a mistake.
All it would have taken was mentioning a family member to fix a plot hole like that.
Gossip Girl’s Identity
When there’s a series-long mystery like the identity of the titular character, it’s nearly impossible to please everyone with the big reveal. No matter who ended up being Gossip Girl, there probably would have still been Tumblrs and Tweets pointing out why it couldn’t be that person. However, Dan being Gossip Girl made zero sense, even though Savage said they, “never really entertained any other idea.”
The Executive Producer has said that the test audience figured out the identity of Gossip Girl because of a sequence in the pilot, which they re-edited.
Perhaps that should have been a sign moving forward. There are plenty of instances during which Dan looked shocked reading gossip when he’s by himself in a scene. Not to mention things he posted about people he should have cared about, like Serena and his sister.
Dan And The New Yorker
In season 1’s “Roman Holiday,” Vanessa gave Dan a really good gift: news that his short story, “10-08-05,” was going to be published in The New Yorker’s Summer Fiction issue featuring 20 under 20.
“This can’t be real,” he said upon hearing the news, and in the real world, it more than likely wouldn’t be. Now, if this had been for another literary magazine or if he’d been published somewhere else first, it might have been slightly more plausible.
Instead, fans were led to believe that Vanessa managed to get her hands on a story that was polished enough for publication, when she went through his drawer looking for a stapler she pretended to need.
Why Didn’t Everyone Hate Dan for Being Gossip Girl?
After everything Gossip Girl revealed and did, it would have been completely understandable if no one wanted anything to do with the person responsible ever again. However, that’s not what happened after the big reveal. Many would think it’s the logical way to see things, but the show did not highlight that. Instead, once they found out it was Dan, they started wondering how they didn’t see it before, realizing when they should have known and saying who they thought it could be.
The only one who had a normal reaction was Blair, when she pointed out, “Why do you all think that this is funny? Gossip Girl ruined out lives.”
Unfortunately, no one agreed with her and that anger barely lasted a minute before they were all moving on.
Thanks, Grandpa!
Nate getting his job at The Spectator because of his grandfather’s investment wasn’t necessarily a problem, even though the last thing a majority investor should want for a company is to have someone who’s not qualified in charge. No, Nate did not “earn” the position of editor-in-chief, like his grandfather told him he did in season 5’s “All the Pretty Sources.”
Having the newspaper struggle was a good move, but then, like most things in a series finale, everything was wrapped up not so neatly in a bow. First, with Bart deceased, Nate’s name was the only one on the loan.
Second, Dan gave him the story he needed – the identity of Gossip Girl – and The Spectator had obviously become a huge success, considering the private plane, in the five years of the time jump. Furthermore, Nate was likely going to be running for mayor.
How Could Lily End up with William?
Not only was there the whole fake cancer storyline, but it’s not like Lily and William had some epic romance where you just had to root for them to get back together. Yet, that was what happened.
To everyone’s surprise, after the five-year time jump in the series finale, it was revealed that Lily and William were together.
Remember, this was only about 20 minutes after William pretended he and Ivy were never together in front of his ex.
As he then told Ivy, he used her to get what he wanted – to be with Lily – and even thanked her for the role she played in making that possible. She tried to threaten to tell everyone the truth, including the media, but he simply sent her on her way. Everyone involved deserved better.
Blair and Chuck’s Messed-up Relationship Game
“Chuck Bass doesn’t do girlfriends,” helped Chuck and Blair carry out their messed-up game at the beginning of season 3. Even though they were a couple, the premiere saw him flirting and encouraging another girl, but it was just all part of the plan.
Blair interrupted, yelled at, and shamed Ashley for picking up someone in a relationship, and once Ashley was gone, kissed Chuck. Sure, the couple enjoyed it, but what about the girl? She might not have been innocent, but Blair went a little too far when she railed into her.
The couple’s fun shouldn’t have been at the expense of humiliating another person, especially when that person was only put in the position she was in intentionally.
Blair + Louis
Considering Gossip Girl had to draw out Chuck and Blair’s relationship, it should have been expected that Blair would not be able to constantly remain with Chuck. Dating Louis, even getting engaged to him, was part of the solution.
However, the back-and-forth she did about being with Louis or Chuck and the paternity test she had to take should’ve hinted at a bad decision. Let’s not forget Gossip Girl’s revelation, in the middle of her wedding ceremony, of Blair’s love confession to Chuck should have been enough to dissuade Blair from going through with the wedding.
For some reason, she still did. Louis told her why he did during their first dance: he had to stand by her side after her public apology and with all eyes on them. Blair never should have said “I do” to him.
Age Is Just A Number
Age is just a number for some people, and one or two relationships with a significant age difference is common on TV shows, but on Gossip Girl, it felt like it was more normal than usual. If one has to tell a cop that they can’t talk to their girlfriend because she’s a minor, it could be time to reconsider dating choices. This is, of course, directed at Nate.
His relationship with Sage was a terrible idea, and not just because Serena was dating her father.
However, he didn’t appear to be with her after the finale time jump, so there was that at least.
Nate and Sage’s relationship wasn’t the only inappropriate one age-wise. There were also Ivy’s relationships with both Rufus and William, and Nate’s affair with Catherine, to name a few.
What aspect of Gossip Girl do you choose to ignore? Let us know in the comments!
