(Season 1, Episodes 11 – 15)
Apologies for taking so long to get back to this. Some of you may remember I was starting to hate this show. How did I put it? Ah, yes: “Bitches. The lot of them.” And it really doesn’t get any better. However, something strange kicked in around Episode 12 or 13 and I wanted to watch the show again. Perhaps the plastic super-bitchiness can be likened to the graph used in the Uncanny Valley.
Actually, I think the same thing happened to me when I was watching the L Word. At some point in the first season, I got sick of how insanely incestuous the character pool was and wanted to stop watching. Then, I became absorbed in the world and allowed myself to embrace the petty antics and sorry excuses for character development. It’s kind of fun that way.
“Roman Holiday”: Ah, so Blair has major (gay) daddy problems. That’s, you know, fun. Roman’s kind of adorable, I suppose. I don’t think the writers handled this whole situation quite as well as they could have but at least it left some possibilities open for future episodes. This note on clumsiness also goes for that tension between Vanessa and Serena, which is so forced. It still feels like there hasn’t been enough for the viewer to genuinely like anyone on the show, including Dan, so I kind of just want to tell the girls to get over the guy and braid each others’ hair or something. I’m definitely starting to find the adults’ twisted romances more interesting than the kids’, though. That’s not the point of the show, is it?
“School Lies”: Oh, man. Kids cracking their heads open at pool parties. Boy, does that take me back. Of course, everyone promises to keep quiet to protect each other after this wacky buzzkill of an accident. These characters pick the weirdest times to show their loyalty, I swear. It’s almost arbitrary. They’ll poison their friend’s drink and then hold her hair back when she throws it all up again. Maybe I just had an oddly drama-free high school existence, I’m not sure.
“A Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate”: I was starting to wonder how long Blair and Chuck could hide the whole limo-backseat thing from Nate. I certainly wasn’t expecting a pregnancy-related episode to pop up this early in the series though. That’s a level that is generally saved for, at the earliest, the first season finale. Also, I think Eric may be the most tolerable character in the entire series, despite his strangely late-’90s haircut.
“The Blair Bitch Project”: So, Jenny or Little J or Cindy Lou Who or whatever turns out to be a major bitch. Those of you that warned me about this change in her character were right. I’ve seen pictures of her recently too, so as a fellow shaggy-haired, raccoon-eyed girl, I’m disappointed in her sudden, supreme bitchiness. I can only assume that it gets much worse as the series goes on, with occasional moments of remorse brought on by daddy-guilt. It was also kind of nice to have a sympathetic moment for Chuck in this episode, too. But no, he’s still not bangable. Sorry.
“Desperately Seeking Serena”: SAT-related stress still rings very clearly in my head, but, goddamn, these kids were not ready for this, were they? They must have known that there’s more than one test date a year; no need to super-panic. Now, let’s get to darkness incarnate … Seeing Michelle Trachtenberg as devious Georgina was absolutely hilarious for me. I don’t think I’ve seen her do anything since, like, Nickelodeon’s Figure It Out (I haven’t gotten around to watching Buffy; don’t judge). I was just expecting a high dosage of cattiness, but I was pretty horrified when she slipped that weird stuff into Serena’s drink. Personally, I would call that a friendship dealbreaker, but I suppose with all the nonsense going on in these high society girls’ lives, strange substances getting slipped into drinks is like my version of my roommate eating my peanut butter without explicit permission. Also, Jenny meets some random guy and starts going out with him. Zero adult supervision does a teen girl good.
Also, sad confession: A few episodes ago, I jumped online and bought a crossover tie. Of course, I’m going to look less like one of the Gossip Girl chicks and more like a member of cruise ship staff, but that’s okay. Anyone need a refresher for their Bloody Mary?
Clacked by Annie Wu 
on May 26, 2009 @ 17:01 EST5EDT
