A little Monday TV musing...
1. When did Leighton Meester start using that ridiculously high, breathy baby voice? Where's your steel, Blair Waldorf?!
2. Blake Lively is so phoning it in, it's not even funny. They could cart around a cut-out of her with pre-recorded dialogue, and no one would notice.
3. Shut up, Serena!
4. Keeping Chuck and Blair apart is just stupid at this point. While I liked Blair saying they had to come to each other as equals and she didn't want him "buying" her from Louis, staying married to that jerk is no solution. They ARE equals, they've SAID they love each other. Stop dragging things out unnecessarily. Just let them be together and move offscreen for an extended honeymoon. Heck, send Ed and Leighton to RINGER and have Chuck and Blair start running around in that older circle.
4a. Further to the above, throwing Dan into the mix NOW is too much. They should've "gone there" with the telling of Dan and Blair's BFFdom and his feelings for her a long time ago, because Blair and Chuck are basically committed to each other and any Dair relationship would just be another pointless roadblock to the endgame. They've completely mucked up the pace of this.
5. Shut up, Serena!
I really, really loved Lemon's breakdown with George last night and how they got a few of their issues out into the open.
While Wade and Zoe are that infuriating, "Gahhhhh, when will they get together?!" pair, George and Lemon (and Lavon) are the ones that really appeal to the emotional side of me. I think Jaime King has a beautiful chemistry with both Scott Porter and Cress Williams, and I love how the show is unraveling Lemon and digging into the meat of her relationships. You can absolutely SEE the crazy, madcap Lemon who used to pull stunts in high school and who, obviously, dazzled George. Their fondness for each other is clear, but they have to re-learn to love each other, and that's a journey to invest in. By the same token, Lavon is a genuine, decent guy and he, too, is good for Lemon. When you honestly can't choose which person someone should be with, that's the markings of a good triangle!
Meanwhile, the show continues to fumble with Zoe's character development and the pacing of Wade and Zoe. They're in their late 20s/early 30s (at the most) and shouldn't be acting like 8th graders (I loved when Rose said that about Wade! LOL!). Setting Zoe up as this emotionally stunted doctor with no people skills and then giving her a love interest who's never had a serious relationship in his life basically locks you into a holding pattern of two characters who will never get their shit together. I get that HOD's writers initially were going the George/Zoe/Wade triangle route and had to course-correct when it didn't go over well with the audience, but if they had just stuck to fleshing out Zoe, the story would've basically written itself. LET Zoe learn things and actually care about the people around her instead of seeing Bluebell as a collection of stereotypes and silly social events. I mean, Wade's no bastion of maturity, but we see why he acts the way he does. With Zoe...? It's just shtick, one laugh line after another and constant sight gags. Come on! She's the lead character!