Of all the teen dramas in all the world, Gossip Girl is one of the best. Why? Because it embraces the one thing that all teen dramas have in common and makes it not only a huge part of the series, but its own character: gossip. (Not to mention it’s just absolutely delicious.) This gossip is the driving force for the show and is one of the reasons it's so successful. All high schoolers deal with gossip. No matter who or what you did in high school, you talked and you got talked about. No matter how private your secret, no matter how personal - within minutes the entire school will know. And no matter what era for that matter.
Gossip has been churning high schools round for decades. I think Grease proves this best when Rizzo tells a confidant that she thinks she's pregnant. She’s assured that no one will find out and within 30 seconds at the drive-in the story zooms from window to window. The rumor mills love to turn round and round with the latest news. The "who got kicked off the soccer team". The "who got caught cheating on the final exam". Or more importantly, the "who’s dating who".
The latter is the most vital of all of the gossiping, the thing that is most talked about in Gossip Girl. As it is with all teen dramas, the "who’s dating who" is the reason for its seasons. “Gossip Girl” is our narrator. She has her eyes and ears on all of the goings on in the lives of the socially elite Upper East Siders. Kristen Bell’s perfect intonation makes her one of the best narrators in all of film and television, it puts her right up there with Morgan Freeman. And that’s hard to do.
While none of the characters know the identity of this girl, they are helplessly dedicated to her publishings. Her blog of sorts is constantly updated via her own spottings, or those sent to her via all interested parties. Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) is one of these socially elite teens who is known to get into trouble from time to time. The audience always forgives her because she just flashes that smile which is to her blond hair the cherry atop a sundae. Her best friend Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) is the brunette and the field commandant of the school. She always gets her way and will literally kill to get it (your reputation anyway).
The pair have their boys surrounding them at their beck and call. Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) is quite possibly the most beautiful man alive (in the show and outside it). He spends most of season one dealing with girl issues and then transitions to family issues in Gossip Girl’s second season. He’s not the most complex of characters, but once you meet Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) you’ll understand why we have Nate. Nate balances Chuck out. Chuck is one of the richest kids in all of New York and never fails to entertain me. Lastly you have Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) who is on and off with Serena. Dan is a Brooklynite (much frowned upon in the show…I guess they wouldn’t like me much either then) who is smart and self-righteous, always playing the martyr, never the fool.
The show goes round and round in circles, but it is absolutely amazing to get lost in its wide turns. The folds are never ending and no one could ever end up bored. Motion sick, perhaps, but never bored. If you liked the first season then you must watch season two. While nothing is ever as good as it was in the beginning because it lacks the newness and freshness, Gossip Girl holds up into its next go-round. I’m a fan of teen dramas and this one is truly top notch. Sure it’s ridiculous at times to think that 16-year-olds would be sipping martinis at a hip bar in Manhattan, but it makes for wonderfully pretentious television.
DVD Bonus Features
The season comes along with a few extras, although none are really that good. You have a segment where you get to tour the gang’s favorite NYC places. This might be mildly interesting if you are just that big of a Gossip fan, but otherwise it’s not very “extra.” Aside from the unaired scenes and a downloadable audio book, you only get a segment called “Faces Behind the Design.” This one is pretty good since it’s always cool to learn about the clothes and design on a show that’s filled with young fashionistas. The extra features really could be better, but when you have 25 episodes in the season, who really needs extra features?
"Gossip Girl: The Complete Second Season" is on sale August 18, 2009 and is rated NR. Drama, Television. Directed by J Miller Tobin, Janice Cooke Leonard, Mark Piznarski, Michael Fields, Norman Buckley, Patrick R Norris, Tony Wharmby. Written by Cecily von Ziegesar (novel), Stephanie Savage, Josh Schwartz. Starring Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick, Kristen Bell, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Taylor Momsen.
