Gossip Girl’s reboot is picking up steam.
Gossip Girl (2021) Season 1 Episode 4 seemingly brought a lot of the teen angst to a halt.
TV Fanatics Meaghan Frey, Laura Nowak, and Whitney Evans discuss the sisters playing nice, that big return, and so much more!
Julien and Zoya finally waved the white flag. How long will it last?
Meaghan: I’m hoping AT LEAST for the rest of the season. Their relationship is one of the best parts of the show, in my opinion. When the two of them are at odds, it feels like contrived drama.
We know they had developed this incredibly strong bond before Zoya came to New York, so it never makes sense to me when they let the drama come between them so easily. I would much rather see the two of them team up against Luna and Monet instead of being their puppets.
Laura: I hope the rest of the season. Their relationship is the best part of the series. I find it more enjoyable when we’re learning more about them than seeing them at each other’s throats.
Whitney: I agree with Laura in that their relationship is probably the best part of the series. And while there will probably always be ups and downs, I’m a sucker for good sibling relationships. I would love to see that relationship flourish the rest of the season and there not be continuous drama every week.
Milo Sparks! What are your thoughts on his arrival?
Meaghan: I loved everything about Milo! I feel like he is essentially a more polished version of Georgina. Where she constantly got brought down thanks to her craziness, he treats the meddling as a business, so it works out much better for him.
Can we talk about how much life those Georgina pics were giving me?! Exactly what I would expect from her. Oh, and the Blair picture to top it off? Paying respect to Queen B as she should.
Laura: It was a fun callback to the original. Georgiana was such a fun schemer, and it’s so fun that Milo is a chip off the old block.
Whitney: I loved Milo! He was a lot of fun. Georgina was totally the character you loved to hate, and Milo seemed kind of similar. However, I like him a lot more than I liked Georgina when she first came on the scene.
Aki and Audrey finally had some honest conversations about their relationship. React.
Meaghan: It’s about time! I get why Audrey was so hesitant to ask him. She knew that his response had the ability to make or break their relationship. I’m glad she put that fear aside and let Aki start to really figure out his identity.
I know there was some speculation from fans at the beginning on whether or not Audrey, Aki, and Max would become a throuple, and I’m wondering if we are headed down that path. I don’t necessarily think the three will achieve relationship status, but I could see Audrey and Aki opening up their relationship a little bit to give Aki room to explore.
Laura: I’m so glad they did. I don’t blame Audrey for being afraid, knowing this could affect her relationship status, but I’m so glad she thought of Aki first.
I’m glad she said they’d figure it out together. I still don’t know if I have hope for them as a long-term couple, but it’s obvious they care about each other.
Whitney: It was long overdue and really nice to see. There’s so much love between the two of them, and recognizing that their relationship was changing was extremely mature for them.
Which musician do you want to play at one of the parties, and why?
Meaghan: I mean, if you follow me on Twitter, you know there is only one answer I could give to this question, and that is Taylor Swift. However, I would love to see this show do similar things for music that The OC did back in the day and give a stage for less well-known artists.
The original iteration of Gossip Girl had one of the most iconic soundtracks of the 00s. I definitely see this one following down the same path, especially with Rob Lowry as the music supervisor who did incredible work on The Bold Type as well.
Laura: I also used to love when teen shows would have musicians play on live stages at clubs or proms. I also think Taylor Swift would work as she’s popular with teens still.
Whitney: I still vividly remember Rooney playing on an episode of The O.C. and how much fun that was. So, I agree with Meaghan. I would love for them to get some artists that aren’t well-known so they can give them a platform.
Obie noticed a different side to Zoya when she realized she needed to get some revenge. What are your thoughts?
Meaghan: I think he has a bad habit of idealizing the people around him, and when they don’t live up to that perfect image he has in his head, he ends up disappointed in them. He needs to realize that no one is perfect, including himself.
I feel like this also explains why he is so oblivious to Aki’s struggles. As his supposed best friend, you would think he would have picked up on the fact that Aki isn’t completely honest. Instead, he just sees what is most convenient for him.
I’m not saying that Obie is a bad guy because he definitely isn’t, but he has got a lot of work to do on himself before he has the right to judge others.
Laura: Poor Obie. I think Zoya gave him whiplash this episode from wanting to keep her birthday low-key to wanting a party to get revenge. Obie clearly didn’t want to be in this sister war, and I don’t blame him.
They say they’re going to get along, and then Gossip Girl messes with their minds. It’s obvious that Obie prefers the girl that didn’t care what people thought.
Whitney: Obie and Zoya still don’t know each other that well. Their whole relationship has felt very rushed, so of course, he’s going to continue to see sides of Zoya that he’s not expecting because he fell hard and fast.
Are you surprised Max and Rafa hooked up?
Meaghan: Disappointed? Yes. Surprised? Absolutely not. We’ve all seen this coming from a mile away but couldn’t they have just not?
What makes it even worse is that Max was in a terrible place in desperate need of guidance. Yes, Max threw himself at Rafa repeatedly, but Rafa is the adult and needed to say no and be the voice of reason Max needed in that moment.
Up until that moment, I had a lot of respect for Rafa and had so much hope that they weren’t going to go down that road, but I immediately lost all of that when Rafa gave in. Can we just fast forward to the part when he gets caught, gets fired, and then wrongly blames Max — his vulnerable teenage student — for his all of his troubles?
Laura: Not really surprised. We all saw this coming. As Meaghan mentioned, I’m disappointed because Max is lost right now and is in need of a friend and a mentor more than sex. I also had lots of respect for Rafa up until that point, where he tried to be a mentor and keep it platonic, but then he gave in. Teacher and student relationships are just wrong.
Whitney: I’m not surprised in the least, but like I said in a previous round table, it would have been better if the show went a different way with them. Maybe the show has a bigger plan that I’m not seeing, but right now, this storyline feels grimey and predictable.
Gossip Girl continues Thursdays on HBO Max.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.