How well does the Gossip Girl premiere reveal work?
Zion Moreno, Jordan Alexander, and Savannah Smith star in Gossip Girl Photo : Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max  This post discusses plot points from the Gossip Girl premiere episode, Just Another Girl On The MTA.  Advertisement  Sharpen your proverbial knives, Gossip Girl viewers, because the super-spy of the Upper East Side is back. And this time, its not just a student like Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) messing with their fellow classmates. Unlike the original CW show, which unmasked Gossip Girl after six seasons worth of soapy drama, the HBO Max sequel series doesnt keep the identity of its titular rumormonger a big secret. The new seriesdeveloped by Joshua Safran, an executive producer on the originalreveals who Gossip Girl is in the premiere. Say hello to Kate Keller, played by Tavi Gevinson , the new mastermind behind Gossip Girl, whos once again dominating the hallways of New York Citys Constance Billard high school. Right. Anyway, Julien is a popular influencer on social media, thanks to her father Davis (Luke Kirby) multiple Grammy awards. Juliens two friends, Luna La (Zin Moreno) and Monet de Haan (Savannah Smith) act more like her publicists than trustworthy pals. The three teens basically run the school, much like Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) did with the help of her minions. Theyre incredibly dismissive of everyone who isnt part of their friend group, and of their teachers. So they fit seamlessly into the brand of the show. The power dynamics between the teachers and students are quickly established, as it is revealed that most parents take the hands-off approach. Theyd rather throw a fit to get a teacher fired for not changing a grade than talk to their own children about studying. Kate and some of her co-workers are legitimately afraid of losing their jobs on someone elses whim or grudge. Fed up of being bullied by these privileged brats, the teachers decide to relaunch Gossip Girl (after learning what Gossip Girl was in Serena and Blairs day) as a way to keep students in check. With this twist, Gossip Girl embarks on a bold but extremely questionable ride. Teen dramas are rife with teachers meddling in the lives of their students, from Pretty Little Liars to Riverdale, with several of these stories taking a romantic turn. Gossip Girl broached this as well with Dan and Rachel Carr (Laura Breckenridge), and Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) and Colin Forrester (Sam Page). However, Kate and her crew take it to another extreme. Gossip Girl is literally run by a group of frustrated adults who have the most minor qualms about invading their teen students privacy and posting about it anonymously on the internet. Even Kates dubious reasoning that doing this will improve their behavior is debatable. If anything, most of these young hellions will be motivated to act out and be popular enough to be featured on Gossip Girl. Tavi Gevinson in Gossip Girl Image : Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max  Upending the originals premise of a mysterious, all-seeing blogger by unmasking Gossip Girl in the series premiere is a fun ideait takes away the suspense, yes, but it also gives insight into how the accounts content can possibly be managed, sourced, and consumed. But GGs identity is controversial, to say the least. At least Dan was an ingenuous teen himself when he started Gossip Girl; he wanted to be an insider instead of an outcast. Why he kept the blog running for years despite seeing the destruction it caused was ultimately a juicy problem and constant source of drama. Advertisement  Perhaps its a rite of passage for would-be novelists at this cursed school. As noted in Just Another Girl On The MTA, Dan turned into a popular author. ), has similar aspirations. We already know Gossip Girl has a dark way with words. But for Kate, its also about taking her power back: Despite being older and technically having authority as a teacher, shes often pushed around or just ignored by her students. The Constance Billard faculty does already seem at the end of their ropes when the show begins. On the other hand, Kate did seem genuinely happy that Julien praised her blazer for a change, so maybe these teachers are stuck reliving their high school days. Gossip Girlthe original series and the rebootisnt anyones go-to for realistic and hard-hitting stories. Its frothy entertainment centered on fancy teenagers who think they own the world. And HBO Maxs sequel is chock full of such kids, including pansexual playboy Max Wolfe (Thomas Doherty), apparent power couple Audrey Hope (Emily Alyn Lind) and Akeno Menzies (Evan Mock), and Juliens boyfriend Obie Bergman IV (Eli Brown). Their little circle gets a jolt when Juliens half-sister Zoya (Whitney Peak), who grew up in Buffalo, enrolls at Constance Billard after getting an arts scholarship. Zoya, who Ill remind you is just 14, becomes an instant target for Luna and Monet, as well as Gossip Girl. The latter capitalizes on the drama between Julien and Zoya, hoping a public display of their fraught bond will clamp down on bad manners. Even Nate Archibald would be smart enough to know better.