Member-only story
What if Gossip Girl Was Real?
During its prime, Gossip Girl was a cultural phenomenon that’s impact is still felt today. It influenced fashion and entertainment, with multiple remakes set in different countries. Several current tv shows wouldn’t exist if Gossip Girl hadn’t paved the way for them. It should come as no surprise that a show with such a huge reach is getting the reboot treatment courtesy of HBO. While this reboot offers a more diverse cast and new scandals, I can’t help but think of the original Gossip Girl and wonder what it would be like if Gossip Girl were real.
Gossip Girl Would Go To Jail
Let’s start with the most serious topic on this list, prison. Many of the things Gossip Girl did were illegal, but, surprisingly, the police didn’t get involved. It seems almost unreal to me that none of the parents reported the website to someone who could find the responsible party. While I know teens can hide things from their parents, a website like Gossip Girl could easily spill over into real life. Someone who is already struggling with their mental health (like Eric in season one) could easily be pushed over the edge, which would force the website to be investigated. While several of the other cast members deserve prison time, and some have even served short sentences already, the act of creating a website solely to harass your classmates is the focus of the show. Also, if your website only focuses on a small group of individuals, you’re likely to get found out sooner rather than later.
No One Would Forgive Dan
We previously saw how hard it was for some of Gossip Girl’s victims to forgive Dan for writing a book about them, so why was he forgiven so easily during the series end? Possibly because the writers wanted to wrap everything up with a neat bow, but it doesn’t work. The actions of Dan as Gossip Girl have negatively affected all their lives, and for what reason? The reasoning the show gives is because the Gossip Girl website is a love letter to the upper East siders. If a real-life Dan confessed to being Gossip Girl, he would be met with anger and confusion and exiled from the friend group.
