Being the half-sister of Julien Calloway, Zoya Lott enters the glamorous world of Manhattan society with a bang. The character is played by Whitney Peak.
The revival of ‘Gossip Girl’ came with a promise of just as much drama as the original series offered. However, the identity of Gossip Girl is no longer a secret in the new series.
When the school reopens after the pandemic, a group of teachers at Constance Billard St. Jude’s School decide to bring back Gossip Girl to keep their rich and spoilt students in check.
The teachers want to be respected, while all their students do is bully them. The best way to keep powerful rich teens, who are not scared of anyone, in line is by airing their dirty laundry.
It is not easy for Gossip Girl to get the attention of the students on social media, but when they reveal the secrets of the school’s most popular girl’s half-sister, Zoya, they get what they need.
A glittering new life
Zoya and Julien were born to the same mother, but they never got the chance to be in touch with each other. Without the knowledge of their fathers, the two get in touch online, which leads Zoya to move to Manhattan.
Zoya agrees to apply for a scholarship at Constance to get to know her sister better, but she is afraid of being a part of the world of the rich. Her upbringing has been very different from that of her fellow students.
Although Julien initially welcomes Zoya and gifts her expensive items, things turn sour between them when it is revealed by Gossip Girl that Zoya’s scholarship was not earned but bought by Julien, which hurts Zoya.
Immediately after this, Gossip Girl posts a compromising picture of Zoya with Obie, her sister’s boyfriend. Since Obie is one of the school’s most popular students, this scandal makes a reluctant Zoya the center of attention.
The feud between the sisters
Zoya’s character is different from Julien’s character. She is a student who deeply cares about political issues and social justice. She is academically smart, and she has plans for her future.
When Zoya starts getting more popular than Julien at school, Julien feels threatened and allows her friends to humiliate her. This causes Zoya to go back to being her old self.
She starts getting close to Obie when the two realize they share the same beliefs and opinions. They start dating after Obie breaks up with Julien, which makes things worse between the two sisters.
Julien defends her sister when Julien’s friends try to humiliate Zoya by showing a video of her getting bullied at a party. After the incident, they enjoyed peace for a while until Obie cheated on Zoya with Julien.
Finally, when Julien’s father is accused of assaulting women, Zoya takes a stand and is there for her sister. Julien moves in with Zoya and her father, and the two become friends again.
Julien and Zoya share a bitter-sweet relationship. They come from extremely different backgrounds, have opposite personalities, and constantly have ups and downs, but they always stick together when it matters.
Zoya’s character flaws
It would not be incorrect to say that the fans of the show do not like Zoya’s character as much as the writers intended.
While Zoya believes in standing up for her principles, at times, she is headstrong to the point that she seems impulsive and self-righteous.
In the new season, she gets jealous of Julien when she thinks her father is favoring her more. As a result, she impulsively decides to ruin an event, not realizing until much later that her actions were motivated by jealousy and not her desire for social justice.
In the recent episode, she was disappointed in her father for taking a job at De Haan Pharma, although she was the one who meddled and made him lose a job offer from a different company.
Zoya sometimes seems like a hypocrite when she does not take into account the feelings of others around her. However, to expect a teenager to be wise beyond her years would be unfair.
Zoya’s character is flawed, but characters without flaws are never appealing. It is to be seen how Zoya would react when she discovers her father’s secrets in the upcoming episodes.
Also Read: Gossip Girl season 2 episode 3 recap & review: Great Reputations