Even diehard fans acknowledge that "Gossip Girl" jumped the shark near the end of the second season when Lily Bass (Kelly Rutherford) spent an entire episode uselessly reminiscing about her own wild years of teenage rebellion. The CW's most addictive drama has since veered onto the path of unnecessary intensity paved by that exemplar of the melodrama "One Tree Hill." Even as its plotline tumbles into over−the−top absurdity, the relationships developing in the show's third season make "Gossip Girl," which returned last week from its winter hiatus, as delightfully addictive as ever.
It is with an arched eyebrow and a superior tone that Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) advises her best frenemy, Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), "Don't be silly, Serena. We all need to play games." That sage counsel pertains to Serena's budding romance with Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford), their longtime mutual friend who also happens to be Blair's ex−boyfriend. Blair warns Serena to take things slowly in order to keep Nate interested, while Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) echoes similar suggestions to Nate.
Of course, why either Serena or Nate would take advice from a notoriously manipulative beauty or a poet of dubious success with the female gender is anyone's guess. Accordingly, Blair and Dan's cries happily fall on deaf ears at first. Viewers−cum−voyeurs are treated to a sexy scene between the blonde bombshell and her divinely chiseled new beau before their inevitable first fight. Of course, there could not be a couple more aesthetically pleasing than Nate and Serena, yet this pretty duo also makes sense on a deeper level.
Throughout the show, both Nate and Serena have kicked their old habits of inebriated frivolity — for the most part, anyway — and have grown increasingly down−to−earth. Their love seems fated, as though these free spirits only mellowed in order to fit more flawlessly together. At the very least, even the staunchest opponents of "Serenate" will prefer their relationship to Nate's dull liaison with hipster Vanessa Abrams (Jessica Szohr).
Meanwhile, Dan's younger sister Jenny (Taylor Momsen) becomes more deeply entangled with the sinister Damian Daalgard (Kevin Zegers), an international drug dealer with diplomatic immunity and a mischievous smile. As they plot together to smuggle pills into high−security locations, Jenny schemes privately to win the affections of her handsome partner−in−crime.
Jenny's tendency to make life−ruining decisions has been beaten to death by the show's writers. That unfortunate proclivity of hers was made clear enough when she ran away from home, dropped out of school and nearly emancipated herself from her loving father. And what about when she was caught stealing from a classmate's closet, or when she chose "Queen Bee" status over her best friend, Eric van der Woodsen (Connor Paolo)? Despite the overemphasis on this self−destructive motif, Jenny herself is as lovably loathsome as ever. Her calculating determination is admirable, her newfound confidence is charming, and like a cat, she always seems to land on her feet.
Less edgy, but infinitely more venerable, is the relationship between Blair and Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick). Blair and Chuck have evolved from their days of mind games and racy bets. Their witty and steamy repartee has been swapped with sincere love. Blair has recently assumed a maternal role in Chuck's life, a transformation highlighted by Chuck's search for his mother, whom he believed to be dead until recently. As the once−selfish Blair morphs into the well−dressed embodiment of unconditional love, viewers will both coo in awe and sigh wistfully at this settled relationship. As beautiful as Chuck and Blair's mature union may be, it is far less guiltily gratifying than their days of fiery, sexually charged combat.
In fact, it is unnerving to see the former queen of self−involvement and king of unabashed debauchery develop a bond more stable than that of the show's two token adults, the newly married Lily and Rufus Humphrey (Matthew Settle). When Rufus discovers that Lily secretly spent a night with her ex−husband in a hotel room, his trust in her is thoroughly shattered, and he stalks out of her apartment into the arms of Vanessa's mother, Gabriela (Gina Torres).
The tumultuous nature of Lily and Rufus' relationship is another redundantly exhausted motif. Of course, a prolonged honeymoon phase would be boring, but if the unlikely Chuck and Blair are managing to work things out, why is the middle−aged couple so incapable of getting its act together? Lily and Rufus have split and gotten back together too many times to count already — will they ever earn the right to happiness marred solely by cute domestic disputes?
Despite its redundancy and use of cheesy, shock−factor plot twists, "Gossip Girl" is full of indulgent cliffhangers that continue to tease viewers into urgent devotion. After all, even on the Upper East Side, scandal need not be sophisticated to draw a crowd.
