Nate Archibald, the rebel grandchild of the Vanderbilt line, is portrayed as the “boy next door” character when Gossip Girl begins. He’s Blair’s prince and he can do no wrong. Then, Serena returns to NYC and the secrets come out. Suddenly, Nate goes from Prince Charming to frog and no kiss can save him.
As the show progresses, Nate’s father goes to jail and he struggles to keep his status on the Upper East Side. He’ll do anything to be able to stay with his friends and remain in the world where he grew up. Many of the things he does to achieve that goal would never fly today.
Girlfriend Head Games
Season 1 starts out with Nate dating Blair, but keeping the secret from her that he slept with Blair’s best friend, Serena. When Blair finds out, he gives her the ultimatum that she either forgives him or they’re over. He then decides that he has to have Blair back and the games are on all over again.
Later in the season, he dates Vanessa but dumps her because he decides he has no time for a girlfriend. He pretends to date Serena in season 2, gets into a relationship with Jenny that fans just find awkward after that, plays games with Raina for Chuck, and then he and Diana go back and forth using each other while he works at the Spectator. These are just a few of the games he plays and none of them would fly today.
The Homeless Hooker
When Nate’s family loses their Upper East Side assets, his desperation leads him to an exchange of sex for money and benefits from Catherine Beaton. Catherine is much older than him, married, and knows that she can use money to manipulate him into continuing their affair when Nate says he wants to end it.
Desperate to keep his status among his friends, Nate agrees to the arrangement. When they’re found out, the consequences for Nate are basically null and in today’s world, that would never fly.
Lived As An Upper East Side Nomad
Nate’s mother goes to their house in the Hamptons and, when school starts, he is basically homeless until he ends up living in Chuck’s suite at the hotel. For a time, he is also at Dan’s loft in Brooklyn. It’s the rich kid’s equivalent of couch surfing, and all because they find him secretly camping out in his family’s foreclosed NYC property, seized after Nate’s father went to prison.
Although all the Gossip Girl cast seem like they’re grown up, they’re still teenagers and in today’s world, this kind of nomad life while the federal government was watching would never fly.
Kissed Jenny ... In Public
Fans found the Nate and Jenny pairing to be awkward, to say the least. At first, Nate’s protectiveness of Jenny seems endearing, like an older brother. But then they kiss after he rescues her from a creepy situation with Agnes’s photographer friend. He gives her some advice and genuinely wants to help her. At Jenny’s Guerilla fashion show, Nate kisses Jenny again, this time in public.
It was bad enough for fans that the pairing happened at all, but when it was revealed to the other characters, it was a lot worse. With Jenny being his best friend’s little sister and a child several years his junior, this would never fly today.
Quit His Internship At The Mayor’s Office
Nate’s grandfather lands him an internship with the mayor, which is supposed to be his first stepping stone into a political career after college. At first, he’s not even sure he wants to take the job because he and Vanessa were supposed to go backpacking in Europe.
When he starts the internship, the mayor hits on him during his first day and he quits right then and there with no apparent regrets. In today’s world, quitting your job because of an uncomfortable and unreported sexual advance wouldn’t fly.
Friendship With Chuck
Nate is portrayed as the Upper East Side’s “golden boy” and despite his missteps, fans still see him as the moral compass of the group in many ways. Chuck is the antithesis of that. He’s the quintessential bad boy and he will never change.
As Nate spends time with him, he is the one who is corrupted, rather than Chuck being influenced to do good. He becomes conflicted over so many things to do with Chuck, but in the end, he remains loyal. In today’s world, this kind of toxic relationship would never fly among the rest of Nate’s friends and the other people in his life.
Acted Out For Attention
In the beginning of season 4, Nate went through Chuck’s “little black book” of women and goes completely "wild child" with every one of them. This, in itself, is out of character for him but then he also starts doing drugs more often and in public, as well as other reckless behaviors that threaten his status in his social circle and at school.
In today’s world, with more concern about addiction and friends broadcasting every little thing, there’s no way this behavior would fly.
Blackmailed Diana And Let Her Go Unscathed
Nate begins working at The NY Spectator in season 5 and then later takes over when it is revealed that his grandfather, William Vanderbilt, was behind starting the Spectator in the first place. The idea was to give Nate status in his own right but Diana didn’t want that. She wanted Nate and she loved playing power struggle games with him.
Near the end of the season, Nate discovers that Diana was running a brothel and he threatens to expose her. He lets her go without repercussions. In today’s world, letting her get away like that would never fly.
Refused Financial Help In Business
Determined to maintain his independence, Nate refuses financial help from his grandfather and loses all prospects at investors for the Spectator. He is dire circumstances and in danger of losing the paper before he brings Diana back to help him run it.
The refusal of financial help in favor of a shady partner would never fly today. Corporations have boards, higher-ups, and employees to take care of and this irresponsible decision would likely have gotten Nate ousted from his paper.
Rivalry With Bart Bass
After Nate fully takes over the Spectator and Diana is gone, he still needs help financially. Bart Bass offers to back the paper but Nate fears getting into the same trouble his father did and refuses Bart’s help. Nate eventually follows in his father’s footsteps anyway due to his rivalry with Bart. He doctors the books and gets caught, arrested, and gets out on bail.
This rivalry between a business mogul several decades Nate’s senior and the arguing with a young man that’s barely an adult would never fly today. At the time of this rivalry, Nate had barely a couple of years experience in the real world. Someone like Bart setting him up and bullying him would never go over well.