Like any juicy gossip, the buzz about The CW's hit show "Gossip Girl" has spread faster than flu through a freshman dorm. "Gossip Girl" continues to entertain fans as the show enters its third season,which promises to be just as scandalous, outrageous and undeniably addictive as ever.
The season premiere, "Reversal of Fortunes," kicks off with playboy Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) picking up a blonde in a slinky dress, only to be caught by his girlfriend, the infamous Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester). Blair gets riled up and tears the model-esque blonde to shreds for flirting with her man, and then immediately heats things up with Chuck in the back of the bar. What seems like trouble in paradise is actually another twisted game meant to keep their relationship interesting. It's all an act: Blair plays the scorned lover and even gets to choose the victims that the "cheating" Chuck tries to seduce. Then she steps in ready to pounce, of course.
As ridiculous as this role-playing seems, one wouldn't expect anything less from the devious duo. Love them, hate them or love to hate them, Chuck and Blair are what make the show worth watching. Blair is as brutal, sharp-witted and stylish as ever, and nothing is hotter than bad boy Chuck trying to reform his playboy ways. He even suggests they end their little game after he realizes that's what Blair wants.
While love has softened the malicious queen bee and slick bachelor of the first and second season, Chuck and Blair are still the juiciest couple in the series. Their tumultuous love-hate relationship of cat-and-mouse games, quick banter and steamy tête-à-têtes in the back of Chuck's limo will never get old. After making fans wait two seasons for Chuck and Blair to finally become an official couple, one can only hope that the pair stays together for at least a little while longer. But that hope seems a little over-optimistic; this is Chuck Bass, after all.
As Chuck and Blair continue their romance, Dan (Penn Badgley) and Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) are quick to settle into their newly privileged lifestyles. Last season, they came into wealth after their father Rufus (Matthew Settle) got engaged to Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford). Tipping with Benjamins and ditching subways for chauffeurs, Dan is turning into the very person he had previously despised. In probably the most profound line ever uttered on "Gossip Girl," Dan's friend Vanessa (Jessica Szohr), warns him, "If you're going to be in this world, be yourself in this world."
Although viewers can appreciate the writers' attempt to spice things up a bit, turning Dan into a stuck-up, second-rate Chuck Bass isn't the way to go. For one, it's hard to imagine Dan as anything other than the sensitive, sarcastic misfit from Brooklyn trying to make it on his own in the cruel world of Manhattan's elite. Without nice guy Dan, there isn't a single character in the show that's the least bit redeemable. Though difficult to face, it must be said: Dan is the only character who almost resembles a real, genuine person. Why ruin that?
Then there's Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), the perfect example of a good girl gone bad. After she spent the summer partying and gallivanting around Europe with her mysterious new beau Carter Baizen (Sebastian Stan), the paparazzi can't seem to get enough of her. Only later in the episode do we discover that Serena's long-lost father refused to see her after she finally tracked him down in Europe. In a desperate attempt to attract her father's attention, Serena is purposely plastering her picture in every tabloid possible, refusing to stop until he agrees to see her.
Although wild child Serena is always fun to watch, the depiction of her as a spoiled, poor little rich girl acting out for her daddy's love and attention borders on trite. But what makes "Gossip Girl" so incredibly addictive is that over the past few seasons the show's writers have made the bad characters (Chuck and Blair) intriguing and irresistibly likeable, and the good characters (Serena and Dan) irritating and a less appealing.
Overall, Monday night's guilty pleasure couldn't be more outrageous and wildly entertaining. As the characters head off to college in this week's upcoming episode, there's no denying that the third season of Gossip Girl will be full of more drama, hook-ups, break-ups, break-downs, fashion and juicy gossip to keep fans hooked.
