WARNING: This article features MAJOR SPOILERS from Gossip Girl season 1, episode 1, "Just Another Girl on the MTA."
The series premiere of HBO Max's Gossip Girl wasted no time revealing who the new Gossip Girl is in the sequel series, which comes with its own set of problems. While the original Gossip Girl show ran for six years on The CW, they didn't reveal who was the anonymous blogger until the series finale. In the end, Penn Badgley's character Dan Humphrey was unveiled as the mystery player who had been exposing the lives of Manhattan's elite for years. The conclusion was met with viewers' criticism as many felt Dan being Gossip Girl was a disappointing way to wrap up the show's big plot point after six years. Luckily, that was a problem Gossip Girl's sequel could avoid in its first episode.
Taking place almost a decade later after the original series, Gossip Girl now follows a new generation of high-classed Upper East Side teenagers attending Constance Billard. While fans don't have to wait six seasons to find out who Gossip Girl is, the latest iteration is taking it to a new level. The episode "Just Another Girl on the MTA" introduces a group of Constance teachers who end up having a bigger role than just giving the kids their educations. Kate Keller, Rima, Wendy, and Jordan end up learning about the original Gossip Girl after being fed up with the toxic behavior of their rich students. To hold their students accountable, the gang create a Gossip Girl account on Instagram,
Compared to the original Gossip Girl series, this is a huge advantage for the sequel. Having the new show skip the long wait helps them avoid coming off as repetitive. It is also intriguing that Gossip Girl emphasizes the faculty staff compared to The CW version, where teachers barely played any crucial roles. Their mission in wanting to knock some sense into their students is a valid one. However, as randomly bizarre as Dan being Gossip Girl was, the new Gossip Girl is far more problematic as it crosses into more serious territory. There is something ethically wrong about teachers willingly stalking and interfering in their students' personal lives.
Without neglecting Dan's reveal in Gossip Girl season 6, the biggest issue of the teachers being Gossip Girl in the HBO Max series is also how they cross into illegal activity. What does not work is how one of the teachers took photos of two teenagers getting undressed to use as potential ammunition for Gossip Girl's new account. Just because one teacher admits on-screen that he should be in jail for having produced and being in possession of child exploitation material does not mean Gossip Girl was able to justify it. Admitting that one did something as inappropriate as taking pictures of minors does not make it less illegal.
This is something the HBO Max drama needs to address before Gossip Girl season 1 is over because Kate ended up posting one of the photos to the account. It would be a weird direction if the writers would not properly tackle the absolute creepy factor that comes with this new Gossip Girl. In general, this was an unnecessary addition to their Gossip Girl twist because it is hard to picture this not being seen as disturbing to viewers.
Gossip Girl releases new episodes every Thursday on HBO Max.