After going through a roller coaster of emotions that involved us having faith, dissecting the intentions of the makers, and questioning the relevance of a plot like this in 2023, as we reach the 8th episode in the 2nd season of “Gossip Girl,” we have decided that we were going about it all wrong. Throughout the series, our singular complaint has been that there is a lack of zing here. The scandals and even the characters of the protagonists have not been updated since 2007, which is when the original show aired. The writers have tried everything, from getting more ambitious with the purpose of “Gossip Girl” in the Upper East Side universe to calling themselves out through Georgina Sparks about the blandly derivative characters. But none of it is working because we are unable to care. However, if we shifted our perspective, that is, if we judged the scandals individually instead of as a connected story, we might find something actually “gossip worthy.” So, let’s see if there’s something worth holding our interest in this episode.
Spoilers Ahead
The Further Sabotage Of Audrey And Julien’s Friendship
After the events of Episode 7, Julien and Obie have reignited their relationship, though we are assuming that they are taking it slow. Audrey is trying to take care of her depressed mother; Aki has gotten a chance to be a part of a film festival with his old friend Ingrid, and Luna is going strong with Florian. It is a picture of the calm before a storm, and Julien makes the first move by doing an Instagram live, where she requests her followers to stop feeding into Gossip Girl. That elicits a response, with Julien gaining some new popularity due to her earnest pleas. It looks like she might be able to return to her former glory, but she is worried about her current relationship with Audrey. When she tries to patch things up, Audrey asks her to promise to stay away from her father and Jessica. But what Audrey might have meant literally, Julien takes metaphorically, and visits Jessica to tell her that she won’t be supporting her pop-up shop. Unfortunately, their meeting is photographed, and “Gossip Girl” uploads the picture, declaring that Julien has officially turned on their friendship. Julien is worried about a possible new misunderstanding, but Obie steps in and asks Audrey to talk it out with Julien. His intervention seemingly helps, and Audrey asks Julien to continue being an ambassador for Jessica and use her platform to discredit her. Julien is happy at this turn of events, unaware that Audrey has a trick up her sleeve. Audrey has not forgiven Julien, and she plans on sabotaging everything in her way with Max’s help.
Meanwhile, both of them are unaware of Aki’s feelings. Even when he was in a monogamous relationship with Audrey, he was always the peacemaker to her drama. Aki has always been the one who has been there for others, but he found that they were not there for him when he needed them. He wanted his partners to be with him at the film festival to support him, but they chose to be at the site of the drama they were about to create. It is when he is pondering over it that Ingrid tells him that he should have just as much importance as the other two in their relationship. She claims that he is special and kisses him. Aki stops the kiss, but this scene is witnessed by Zoya. She has come to the venue with Shan to try and convince at least one important celebrity to tweet against Gossip Girl. Her role has been extremely reactive and inconsequential this entire season, and this episode was no different except for this moment.
While all this is going on, Luna has troubles of her own. She is offered to style Julia Fox for the same event, and she asks Monet to assist her in this endeavor. But things take a turn when Luna’s mother arrives in New York to attend the same event. When Luna goes to meet her, her mother asks her to style her instead. Luna is happy at the offer and agrees, but disappointment soon follows when it turns out that her mother has manipulated her into assisting her actual stylist. A disappointed Luna is encouraged by Monet to go to the event regardless. However, despite showing up in all of her glitz and glamor and posing with her mother, she is put on the “Do Not Enter” list by Dolores for the after-party. Not knowing what to do, Luna steps outside and meets her grandmother in a car, who tells her that Dolores never knew how to be an ally to women, and her daughter was no exception. She tells her another secret, one that forces Luna to take some drastic steps.
Throughout the episode, we have seen how Kate is getting bolder and more reckless with “Gossip Girl,” despite the advice of Wendy and Jordan. She claims that these scandals are her way of keeping up the readership until she is able to expose the news about Obie’s mother. As Kate, she asks Obie to call his mother to New York so that she may talk to the board about getting her son into Harvard. Obie agrees, but mainly because bringing his mother back home would mean that she could be arrested. But that plan keeps failing. Jordan organizes an intervention for Kate, but it backfires when she convinces the teachers to give her a month to prove that “Gossip Girl” can change the world.
Season 2, Episode 8: Ending Explained – Are Julien And Audrey Able To Prove Kiki’s Credibility?
At the pop-up store, Julien tells Jessica that she wants to do another “Stop the Story,” which would help restore Kiki’s credibility. They agree, but it looks like everything is going wrong. The prices of the clothes have been switched to show them as being almost six times as expensive; therefore, nobody is buying them. There also seems to be a lack of diversity in the sizes, and finally, a group of climate activists show up and claim that the clothes have been made by underpaid laborers in third-world countries. They splash Julien and Jessica with red paint, effectively destroying the pop-up store. When Julien confronts Audrey about this, she claims that she had to do it to push Julien out of her life. Heartbroken, Julien doesn’t know what to make of this new behavior by her friend. Obie gets her some clothes and takes her to the film festival, where Zoya tells her what she witnessed. Julien tells her to refrain from getting involved.
Meanwhile, Luna confronts her mother about her behavior, and what follows is a conversation that makes absolutely no sense. The writers should have just stuck to her being neglectful for the sake of it than try and give her an ‘insecure woman’ arc. Either way, Luna sends the tip to Gossip Girl, who posts it immediately. Dolores is not Latina like she had always claimed to be. She had been appropriating her identity to get ahead in her career. Along with this news, Gossip Girl also posts about the debacle of the pop-up shop.
Audrey rushes home to her mother but finds that she is preparing to go to rehab. Kiki tells Audrey that it is a good thing that she is prepared to accept the help she needs. A crying Audrey is comforted by Aki and Max, though the former is becoming increasingly aware of how he was not extended the same support. Elsewhere, Kate and Jordan have gotten together. But a surprise awaits them when Camille de Haan visits Kate’s house. She tells Kate that for the first time in sixteen years, Monet has behaved respectfully towards her and even told her that she loved her. Camille says that she will support the teachers sending in tips for “Gossip Girl” hereon, as she believes that it is the actions of that scandalous page that have brought about this change in her daughter. As for Obie, when he steps out to get something, he is ambushed by a person in a mask and beaten up. The eighth episode of “Gossip Girl” Season 2 ends at this point.
What Should We Expect From Episode 9 Of ‘Gossip Girl’ Season 2?
To start with Obie, we have a feeling that the assailant must have been hired by his mother. She is a mastermind who got away with a major crime. We don’t believe that she is unaware of the plotting being done by Obie and Gossip Girl. The masked man might have been a way to warn Obie of the possible consequences of his actions.
As for Julien, she is out to discover the identity of Gossip Girl, so we expect her to lay a trap for her. When it comes to Audrey, her mother going to rehab made her realize that she needed to forgive some actions as long as the intentions were right. Would she extend this train of thought to Julien and mend their relationship? Would Max and Audrey learn to pay more attention to Aki, or are we going to watch our trio break up? Additionally, what exactly is Kate going to do to change the world? She already has her first victory in the form of the visit from Camille de Haan, but what really lies next? These are answers that would need answering in the next episode.
