The second season of Gossip Girl follows the elite students of Constance after Julien makes a deal with Gossip Girl and Kate becomes the sole manager of the account. All episodes are now streaming on HBO Max.
Story
Julien, who now lives with Zoya and Nick, starts sending tips to Gossip Girl as per their agreement, while Zoya is learning to share her space and her father’s attention with Julien.
Julien wants to start over again, but it is hard to leave her old life behind when Monet keeps trying to get her involved in a rivalry to replace her and snatch her crown.
Max, Aki, and Audrey are in love. Max wants to announce it to the world, but Aki and Audrey are not ready to make their relationship public.
Kate, as Gossip Girl, wants to go after the bigger fish like Camille de Haan. However, a new teacher’s arrival threatens her secret identity. Kate must take the risk to change her students for the better without losing her own way in the process.
Performances
Jordan Alexander, who plays Julien, does not contribute much to the show. She recites her dialogues, does what she is asked to do, and that is that. Tavi Gevinson, as Kate, tries hard, but even she fails to give the performance that the script demands.
Emily Alyn Lind, as Audrey, gets a few moments to shine; when the writers focus on her character, she does not disappoint. Evan Mock, as Aki, and Thomas Doherty, as Max, do not really stand out, but Doherty does make an impression briefly in the finale.
Whitney Peak, as Zoya, and Eli Brown, as Obie, stick to one trait of their characters and work on just that, leaving much to be desired.
In contrast, Zión Moreno, as Luna, and Savannah Lee Smith, as Monet, add depth to their characters even with limited screen time. In a show with subpar performances, they stand out.
Positives
Gossip Girl is a show that will find a way to create drama when there is none. The show has plenty of drama related to each character in every episode to offer to its fans. Every character gets their own story and time to grow.
The show aims to be inclusive with a diverse cast. It manages to paint a picture that has more to it than just white heteronormativity.
There are times when the writers manage to surprise the viewers; the characters, as well as the viewers, realize that they formed judgments too soon when there is so much that they have yet to see.
Negatives
Watching Gossip Girl might feel like watching the same episode over and over again in a different setting. The structure never changes; there is a big event, somehow all the characters end up there with different motives, and then chaos ensues.
There are times when the writers start something in an episode and never follow through in the next. They conveniently forget about it and expect the viewers to purge it from their memories as well.
Furthermore, there is no character development whatsoever. The characters never learn from their mistakes. Sometimes it would look like they have changed, but two episodes later, they will be back to square one.
The viewers never form a connection with the characters; they are not relatable because the show never explores their stories properly. Additionally, the show makes it hard to get invested in a character or a new plot point when the viewers know that it might just be a filler that will never reach a conclusion.
Verdict
The second season of Gossip Girl is better than the first one, but it still has nothing new to offer. It is a teen drama that the viewers can watch when they are in the mood for mindless drama based on the luxurious lives of rich New York teenagers.
Gossip Girl season 2
Director: Joshua Safran, Sophia Takal, Satya Bhabha, Jennifer Lynch,
Date Created: 2023-01-26 22:45
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