2007 heralded the beginning of the iconic teen drama The O.C., Josh Schwartz. It featured fashion, music, and the lives of Manhattan's elite young adults. The show brought six years of joy and tears as audiences watched the teenagers of the Upper East Side. Using her eponymous website, Gossip Girl blogged about the scandals of Blair and Serena with masterful and oftentimes cruel strokes.
Looking back, there are many plot points featured in the first episode that are easy to miss or don't make any sense at all. Here are ten things you may have missed from the first episode.
The Music Was Iconic
Like the show's predecessor The O.C., Gossip Girl set the trend for the music of the time. The pilot opens with Serena sitting on the train heading into New York City. This opening shot was as iconic as The O.C's famous intro song by Phantom Planet.
Serena arrives back to New York with Peter Bjorn & John's song "Young Folks." The music of the episode set the tone for the rest of the show including Angels & Airwaves' "The Gift," Air's "Photograph," and Cold War Kid's "Hang Me Out To Dry."
Gossip Girl is East Coast's Orange County
It is almost impossible not to compare Gossip Girl and The O.C. Both were helmed and created by Josh Schwartz who became noted for his sagas featuring rich kids on the East and West Coast. But the similarities do not end there.
Not only did it feature affluent teenagers, but the archetypes themselves were reminiscent of each other. Most notable are the different incarnations of Dan, Rufus, and Lily. Dan, of course, is the counterpart to the sarcastic and quip wielding Seth Cohen. Rufus filled the role of Seth's friendly and cool father Sandy Cohen. And finally, Lily van der Woodsen was remarkably similar to Kirsten Cohen. A WASPy blonde mother, who was born into the privileged life she continued to lead.
Chuck's Mother Is Not Alive
The pilot incarnation of Chuck Bass is fraught with many problematic plot points. His attempted assault on both Serena and Jenny are more or less forgotten in the coming seasons. One thing that was also forgotten was Chuck's mother.
She is mentioned in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it line while Chuck and Nate are smoking in Central Park. Nate is dreading spending the night with Blair and Chuck offers to obtain Paxil from his mother. This is the only line where Chuck acknowledges that she is present in his life. Later episodes reveal that she is presumed dead.
Eric Knows About Lincoln Hawk
Dan's father Rufus Humphrey had some claim to fame in the 90's when he fronted a band named Lincoln Hawk. In this episode, Rufus proudly reveals that he is featured on Rolling Stone's "Ten Forgotten Bands of the Nineties." Dan congratulates on him being forgotten, but there is another character that seems to be aware of Rufus' short-lived success.
While it appears that Lily van der Woodsen had been hiding her past relationship with Rufus, Eric is not in the dark. When Serena visits him in his room at the Ostroff Center, she interrupts Eric reading the same issue of Rolling Stone, implying that he knows about Rufus.
Nate and Chuck Should Not Be Taking the MTA
It is unclear exactly what Nate and Chuck are doing taking the bus to private school. Public transportation is never shown in this light again as these characters often have their own limo drivers.
While Nate may be the one of their group most likely to dip a toe in experiencing the MTA, Chuck has his own driver and never takes the bus again.
The Humphreys' Didn't Live In Williamsburg
The Humphreys' living situation had been unclear since the pilot. They have always been a Brooklyn family, though exactly where in Brooklyn was up for debate. In the pilot, it is mentioned that they lived in Williamsburg, though it directly contradicts the exterior shots which show them living in Dumbo.
The creators did come out and acknowledge this discrepancy when the show first premiered. It is not long before Williamsburg is forgotten completely.
Serena Was Supposed To Be Nice
It is heavily implied and more than once mentioned that Serena did not use to be a good person. She states that she trying to change when Chuck reveals that he knows she slept with Nate. The show makes a solid attempt of portraying Serena as a genuinely nice person. This is a character trait that is refreshing to see in a show about mean girls. She goes out with Dan after she knocks him down. She helps Jenny with her dress and offers her kind words.
Gossip Girl, however, is built on a fight between Serena and Blair and her niceness does not stand. Very quickly she is at odds with Blair again and her niceness a distant memory.
Chuck Always Liked Blair
Whether romantic or not, the relationship with Chuck and Blair is something that has stood the test of time. Their romantic entanglement did not come about for another few episodes but quickly became a fan favorite.
Because of this, it is not a surprise that Chuck genuinely likes Blair. In the first episode show their dynamic not as romantic, but he enjoys her company. He doesn't give her a hard time when she goes off with Nate and they are the ones joking in the limo on the way to Kiss On the Lips. At the end of the episode, Chuck and Blair are united against Serena.
Clues that Dan is Gossip Girl
The finale of Gossip Girl is one that has been hotly contested. Whether it makes sense that Dan was Gossip Girl is not up for debate. And while that plot point did come out of nowhere, there are clues in the first episode that may hint at that fact.
Dan protests that he doesn't read Gossip Girl and that it is just for girls. However, he is very aware of how the site operates. And right after Serena arrives, Dan is seen at his laptop going over Gossip Girl as though editing it himself.
Blair Is A Tragic Character
Blair is demonstrated as the ultimate villain in the pilot. While Serena makes her best attempt at befriending her, Blair does not make it easy. She humiliates Serena on multiple occasions and in the same breath scolds Jenny. Blair's treatment of other girls, however, is indicative of a deeper problem.
She is Serena's adversary, but she is that way for a reason. Not just because Nate cheated on Blair with Serena, but because Blair could not be any other way. Subconsciously, Blair does understand that Nate doesn't love her. And the person that should love her unconditionally makes a point to belittle her at every point. Blair is the loneliest character on the show, not even having affection from her mother.