TV Review: Gossip Girl 2.1

Posted by Michelle Graham (michelle@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 2, 2008

Gossip Girl, The CW, Airs Monday 8/7c

Episode: “Summer, Kind of Wonderful” (Season 2, Episode 1)

Synopsis: Serena (Blake Lively) and Dan (Penn Badgley) repair their fractured relationship. Blair (Leighton Meester) taunts Chuck (Ed Westwick) with a new light in her life who surprises her in the best way. Jenny (Taylor Momsen) makes amends to an old friend, whilst making connections in the fashion world and Nate (Chace Crawford) plays toyboy to a Hamptons bunny.

Review: After everything fell apart at the end of the last season, this season’s premier sees the Manhattan teenaged elite rebuilding their love and social lives in the summery setting of the Hamptons. Perhaps the most changed character to come back is Dan, whose break up with Serena has caused unexpected ripples in his personality. In order to forget his love, he suddenly resembles Chuck in his dating habits – a change which surprisingly suits him and is a nice way to flesh out an otherwise goody goody guy. Hopefully he won’t revert to type with his reunion with Serena. His sister’s struggle to get noticed as an intern is predictable & dull, but there’s definitely something enjoyable in seeing her boss get dissed by a famous model.

Over in the Hamptons, Nate is in the arms of an older woman, which is a blessing for him as his character has always been one of the least interesting. Instead, it’s Serena who fails to catch the attention as she’s mostly used as a foil for Blair, whose issues with Chuck are the focus of the episode. Overall, “Summer, Kind of Wonderful” provides a good start to the season, with plenty of threads to weave into a new storyline but sadly none of them are as scandalous as last year’s… Yet.

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