Gossip Girl 5x21
This episode gave me a lot of Blair related ~feels. VERY RUDE TBH. I'm only here for the lulz and the D/B.
Blair was undeniably awful in this ep and will not be in the running for any Girlfriend of the Year awards. BUT idec because I was so pleased that the writers used her attempts at sabotage to highlight the fact that her previous relationships basically ground her sense of self-worth into the ground. IT WAS LIKE AN ACTUAL CHARACTER ARC WITH CONTINUITY AND REFERENCES TO SHITTY THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO BLAIR IN THE PAST. :O It wasn't Dan finding success that was the problem, it was that Blair's only model for relationships involves being used/emotionally abused/being treated as not good enough. The episode specifically made reference to "being traded for a hotel and selling out for a tiara" which TRUE THANK YOU SHOW but the list of Blair's romantic failures is a lot longer than that:
-Nate cheated on Blair with her BFF.
-Nate fell out of love with Blair but basically lied about it and stayed with her because his dad was hoping to make a business deal with Blair's mother.
-Blair lost her virginity to Chuck in the back of a limo car which Chuck later compared to breaking in a horse:
You held a certain fascination when you were beautiful, delicate, and untouched. But now you're like one of the Arabian's my father used to own. Run hard and put away wet. I don't want you anymore and I can't see why anyone else would.
-Chuck, 1x13 (no but seriously, when was this relationship ever not the worst, I don't understand the "Chuck and Blair used to be good" thing)
-Blair told Chuck she loved him; he threw it back in her face and spend most of S2 rejecting her.
-Chuck traded Blair for a hotel.
-Blair met her ~prince~ but then was repeatedly judged by his family for being a lowly commoner and Not Good Enough.
-After marrying Louis, Blair was told she was essentially nothing but a glorified prop for his arm.
I mean JESUS no wonder she is so damaged. And Blair's worst characteristics come out when she is feeling most insecure. Sabotaging your boyfriend because he's enjoying a modicum of success is an over-reaction but Blair is a crazy person with self-esteem issues who is terrified of being someone's prop again.
I see you, Gossip Girl, giving Blair an actual character arc and having her deal with the emotional fallout of some of the terrible things that have happened to her. MAYBE ONE DAY YOU CAN BE A REAL GROWN UP SHOW. Probably not, though.
So mostly I came away wanting to cuddle her better which oh hey:
MTE Dan. (lol @ the pressed Dair stans on tumblr - Dan got over the sabotage pretty fast because he understood it was about Blair's damage rather than an indictment about them as a couple LET'S ALL TAKE A DEEP BREATH NOW AND CHILL OKAY).
And yes obviously I would love if the show addressed some of the other things Blair should have damage about - her miscarriage, abuse!gate from last season - but I don't foresee them diving into such controversial areas because it's Gossip Girl. Still, I think this episode gave us enough to fanwank the miscarriage and 4x20 as being a part of why Blair feels like she lost herself.
I could have done without the corny ~beautiful, independent, outspoken, rah rah girl power~ speech because whyyyyy can't Blair grow on her own/fix herself UGH SHOW YOU GIVE ON ONE HAND AND TAKE AWAY ON THE OTHER D:. I also hate the idea that Blair needs a man/boyfriend to help fix her. It would have been nice if Blair had been allowed to be on her own for a while to ~find herself before Dair but THIS SHOW. That said, I do think the point of Dan's little speech was to show that where Chuck tore down Blair's sense of self-worth; Dan will help her build it up again. SO. FINE THEN. I take what I like from this show and try and leave the rest behind.
Also maybe I am just a huge cornball but as cheesy as it was "If only you could see what I see" did things to me. Let's not dwell on it. And Dan basically admitted that he fell in love with Blair during the W arc? #RAINBOW VOMIT
I think this episode was the clearest sign yet that GG is heading towards Blair/NOT Chuck for endgame. I mean, that, or the writers are so terrible they literally do not know how to write an endgame because "BLAIR REUNITES WITH MAN WHO DESTROYED HER SELF-WORTH" would be a very bizarre story to tell. But this show.
OTHER THINGS THAT HAPPENED (that I mostly don't give a shit about tbh since I am only here for the Dair):
-I think it's interesting that the writers were able to have Blair at both her worst AND most sympathetic while failing spectacularly to do the same thing with Lily and Serena. LOL LILY, WHAT ARE YOU? TBH though, after Dair, Lily was the most interesting part of the episode for me. I mean she is just so cold and crazy. I don't really get it but I want to see where it goes and who she takes down. DOES LILY EVEN REMEMBER WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE HUMAN ANYMORE? WHO KNOWS BUT I WANT TO FIND OUT.
-I briefly felt sorry for Serena when she confronted her shitty dad for being a shitty dad (and I think that might have been the most emoting Blake Lively has done all season? it was good) but nothing about the revelation explains why she was so terrible the last two episodes. I don't even get why she hates Lola so much either tbh. BUT FINE.
-Nate and Diana were literally so boring this week; I don't even know what was happening in their scenes because no1curr. This gif is hilarious, though:
-I don't understand Chuck's family drama except that I give full marks to Diana and Jack for their successful trolling last episode:
-LASTLY:
Only Leighton could make Blair seem like such a qt even when she's being terrible lol.
ANYWAY next week looks shenanigan-y. I'm torn between wanting some real Dan/Blair angst and wishing Chuck could just stay away from them for a little bit longer lol. MUST WE RESUME THIS NON-TRIANGLE. I guess we must.
Blair was undeniably awful in this ep and will not be in the running for any Girlfriend of the Year awards. BUT idec because I was so pleased that the writers used her attempts at sabotage to highlight the fact that her previous relationships basically ground her sense of self-worth into the ground. IT WAS LIKE AN ACTUAL CHARACTER ARC WITH CONTINUITY AND REFERENCES TO SHITTY THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO BLAIR IN THE PAST. :O It wasn't Dan finding success that was the problem, it was that Blair's only model for relationships involves being used/emotionally abused/being treated as not good enough. The episode specifically made reference to "being traded for a hotel and selling out for a tiara" which TRUE THANK YOU SHOW but the list of Blair's romantic failures is a lot longer than that:
-Nate cheated on Blair with her BFF.
-Nate fell out of love with Blair but basically lied about it and stayed with her because his dad was hoping to make a business deal with Blair's mother.
-Blair lost her virginity to Chuck in the back of a limo car which Chuck later compared to breaking in a horse:
You held a certain fascination when you were beautiful, delicate, and untouched. But now you're like one of the Arabian's my father used to own. Run hard and put away wet. I don't want you anymore and I can't see why anyone else would.
-Chuck, 1x13 (no but seriously, when was this relationship ever not the worst, I don't understand the "Chuck and Blair used to be good" thing)
-Blair told Chuck she loved him; he threw it back in her face and spend most of S2 rejecting her.
-Chuck traded Blair for a hotel.
-Blair met her ~prince~ but then was repeatedly judged by his family for being a lowly commoner and Not Good Enough.
-After marrying Louis, Blair was told she was essentially nothing but a glorified prop for his arm.
I mean JESUS no wonder she is so damaged. And Blair's worst characteristics come out when she is feeling most insecure. Sabotaging your boyfriend because he's enjoying a modicum of success is an over-reaction but Blair is a crazy person with self-esteem issues who is terrified of being someone's prop again.
I see you, Gossip Girl, giving Blair an actual character arc and having her deal with the emotional fallout of some of the terrible things that have happened to her. MAYBE ONE DAY YOU CAN BE A REAL GROWN UP SHOW. Probably not, though.
So mostly I came away wanting to cuddle her better which oh hey:
MTE Dan. (lol @ the pressed Dair stans on tumblr - Dan got over the sabotage pretty fast because he understood it was about Blair's damage rather than an indictment about them as a couple LET'S ALL TAKE A DEEP BREATH NOW AND CHILL OKAY).
And yes obviously I would love if the show addressed some of the other things Blair should have damage about - her miscarriage, abuse!gate from last season - but I don't foresee them diving into such controversial areas because it's Gossip Girl. Still, I think this episode gave us enough to fanwank the miscarriage and 4x20 as being a part of why Blair feels like she lost herself.
I could have done without the corny ~beautiful, independent, outspoken, rah rah girl power~ speech because whyyyyy can't Blair grow on her own/fix herself UGH SHOW YOU GIVE ON ONE HAND AND TAKE AWAY ON THE OTHER D:. I also hate the idea that Blair needs a man/boyfriend to help fix her. It would have been nice if Blair had been allowed to be on her own for a while to ~find herself before Dair but THIS SHOW. That said, I do think the point of Dan's little speech was to show that where Chuck tore down Blair's sense of self-worth; Dan will help her build it up again. SO. FINE THEN. I take what I like from this show and try and leave the rest behind.
Also maybe I am just a huge cornball but as cheesy as it was "If only you could see what I see" did things to me. Let's not dwell on it. And Dan basically admitted that he fell in love with Blair during the W arc? #RAINBOW VOMIT
I think this episode was the clearest sign yet that GG is heading towards Blair/NOT Chuck for endgame. I mean, that, or the writers are so terrible they literally do not know how to write an endgame because "BLAIR REUNITES WITH MAN WHO DESTROYED HER SELF-WORTH" would be a very bizarre story to tell. But this show.
OTHER THINGS THAT HAPPENED (that I mostly don't give a shit about tbh since I am only here for the Dair):
-I think it's interesting that the writers were able to have Blair at both her worst AND most sympathetic while failing spectacularly to do the same thing with Lily and Serena. LOL LILY, WHAT ARE YOU? TBH though, after Dair, Lily was the most interesting part of the episode for me. I mean she is just so cold and crazy. I don't really get it but I want to see where it goes and who she takes down. DOES LILY EVEN REMEMBER WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE HUMAN ANYMORE? WHO KNOWS BUT I WANT TO FIND OUT.
-I briefly felt sorry for Serena when she confronted her shitty dad for being a shitty dad (and I think that might have been the most emoting Blake Lively has done all season? it was good) but nothing about the revelation explains why she was so terrible the last two episodes. I don't even get why she hates Lola so much either tbh. BUT FINE.
-Nate and Diana were literally so boring this week; I don't even know what was happening in their scenes because no1curr. This gif is hilarious, though:
-I don't understand Chuck's family drama except that I give full marks to Diana and Jack for their successful trolling last episode:
-LASTLY:
Only Leighton could make Blair seem like such a qt even when she's being terrible lol.
ANYWAY next week looks shenanigan-y. I'm torn between wanting some real Dan/Blair angst and wishing Chuck could just stay away from them for a little bit longer lol. MUST WE RESUME THIS NON-TRIANGLE. I guess we must.