@tonguewick / tonguewick.tumblr.com
Some might call it a pattern.
Despite the mediocrity of the episode, what made me enjoy it were all the parallels/callbacks/inside jokes with some of the better past arcs when they ran the FIRST time. Of course, the lines uttered in the episode are more fun ‘cause they’re referencing something in the past.
katharienne:
▲The men who expected Blair Waldorf to change▲
2.21, Seder Anything
Nate is an angry with Blair for even thinking about manipulating him for her personal gain because he thought she changed. Chuck tells him that he needs to accept her the way she is like he does and believe in her.
5.02, The Beauty and the Feast
Dan is angry with Blair for sleeping with Chuck and apparently keeping it a secret for her own gain. He also voices his disappointment at her being the same person she was a year ago.
Both Nate and Dan wanted Blair to change. Nate got back together with her because he thought she’s different, Dan started to be her friend also because he was certain she’s a better person. Neither of them accepted her cruel, selfish and manipulative side. It seems that they also hope that their presence in her life will somehow trigger Blair’s change. The question remains, will either of them ever manage to do that? And should anyone try it?
(On the other hand, when in 3.06 Blair lied to Chuck, also for her own gain, he was angry at her because he knew how little respect she had for people she manipulated. He did not expect her to not be like that at all - just not to him.)
This reminds me of something I read. Blair telling Chuck, after her fallout with Serena in 3.08, that he is all she needs, which parallels when Dan tells her “you’ll still have me”. Chuck was certainly not was all she needed when she was at war with Serena, and she will definitely need more than Dan if she loses everything.
Blair’s storyline is reinforcing how she can’t do this and can’t do that because there are things expected of her, so she has to hide and lie again and it’s a race to see which happens first: the scandal that’s going to rock Manhattan and Monaco, or Blair stripping off her tiara and gown with full consent and walking away from it all.
To Sophie: What now, bitch? I look way more fabulous in this wedding dress than you did.
To Louis: This is my “I will thank you later with my body but I can’t look so turned on in front of our mothers” face.*
*The last time I saw this face was in 4.09, with Chuck.
Gossip Girl: 5.01
“Just because you know what is expected of you, doesn’t mean you can’t surprise everyone.“
I don’t know if it’s because I tried to watch the show like a casual viewer, but I noticed a lot of meta in this episode rather than shipping ~things. Referencing past storylines and metaphors for the show itself.
The quote above is a good example of a rather mediocre, forced line (expecting! get it?) but filled with agenda. To me it’s less about the characters and more the writers telling us: “yes, we know GG is old, crusty, recycled, and on its last legs now, but don’t write us off just yet, we might still surprise you (we hope).” They’ve been manufacturing OMFGs for almost half a decade now. I feel it’s also a challenge to all the FANS who spend days speculating on every spoiler and set photo, to see if we’ll all catch when they zig and zag.
