History YMMV / GossipGirl

** Some fans look on it as Blair at least being honest about what she is - she doesn't pretend to be a great friend. When she's on Serena's side she'll do whatever she has to help her, and when they're fighting she'll do whatever she has to to crush her. Whereas Serena has no problem pretending to be Blair's friend and stabbing her in the back, as the end episodes of Season 4 shows.
** On the other hand, Blair is hardly different on that score. She happily acts like a friend to Serena while plotting to expose her relationship with Ben on the society pages in the middle of Season 4, and the fact she was even willing to make her own mother collateral damage to get one over on Serena by sabotaging her fashion show in Season 2 (something Eleanor never cottons on to, even though Serena realizes) doesn't say much for her honesty ''or'' loyalty.

** Rufus, nice liberal dad or weakling that allowed the situation with Jenny in the second season to balloon out of control because he never did anything about it and enabled her under the guise of letting go of his overbearing need to protect her and keep her young.
** Dan. The one genuinely nice guy on the show, or a misogynistic hypocrite [[spoiler:and with the reveal that he is Gossip Girl, stalker]].
** As Gossip Girl says herself, "The more things change the more they stay the same." The characters aren't going to develop. They aren't going to change. Chuck is always going to be a troubled character with a dark side. Blair will always want to be a 'powerful woman' but she will never stop scheming instead of just doing an honest days work. Serena is always going to sabotage herself and her relationships but get life handed to her on a platter by her upbringing, money and looks. Dan will always be the outsider. And Nate will always have pointless storylines.
*** Well that was terrifyingly prescient.
** In "Hi, Society" (1.10) does Cece really try to break up Dan and Serena? Or does she use ReversePsychology to bring about the opposite result? I favor the latter.

** Vanessa, according to some. The vast majority of the fans loathe her and any episode she doesn't appear in is immediately hailed as being so much better for her not being in it. Yet she keeps getting storylines, is the only girl who has been romantically linked to all male leads (at least until Blair caught up with her) and is constantly talked about as being a great person with high morals even though she behaves just as badly as Blair, Jenny and Serena. On the other hand, she is the only main character who is missing from several episodes each season and while she gets storylines most of them directly involve one or more other main characters rather than Vanessa and guest stars.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The show revolves around a bunch of heavily flawed and polarizing characters who can be be very dishonest and unsympathetic towards each other in their own different ways, it can admittedly be a bit difficult to really root for any character when things go south for them or to even care at all if they forgive each other.

*** Justified, especially with Blair/Chuck, as Nate is generally considered to be TooDumbToLive and didn't treat Blair very well, whereas in contrast Blair and Chuck had some pretty intense BelligerentSexualTension.
*** Although at present (late season three) most people seem to be preferring Vanessa with Rufus.
** Dan/Blair has gotten a following which almost rivals the Chuck/Blair ship.

** Some fans speculate that Chuck's previous experiments with other guys included Carter Baizen. It's neither been directly denied or implied on the show, but it certainly is plausible.
** There is also quite a bit of implied sexual tension between Georgina and Serena in season 1. Georgie even drugs her, and who knows what happened in that hotel room...

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Arguably Chuck's attempted rape of Serena in the pilot. By episode two, both seem to have forgotten all about it.

* TestosteroneBrigade: Creator/BlakeLively, Leighton Meester, Taylor Momsen ([[JailBait for teenagers]]), Michelle Trachtenberg, arguably Kelly Rutherford... we could go on. And that's just the regulars/semi-regulars.

** Ed Westwick and Creator/LeightonMeester have quite the following of little shippers, most of them on Website/LiveJournal. Creator/JessicaSzohr gets the DieForOurShip treatment. Of course, it doesn't help matters that there is a video up on Website/YouTube where [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PHo-yBBB70 Westwick curses like a sailor]] over Meester leaving a party with her boyfriend.

* ActorShipping: Creator/EdWestwick and Creator/LeightonMeester have quite the following of little shippers, most of them on Website/LiveJournal. Creator/JessicaSzohr gets the DieForOurShip treatment. Of course, it doesn't help matters that there is a video up on Website/YouTube where [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PHo-yBBB70 Westwick curses like a sailor]] over Meester leaving a party with her boyfriend.
** Also doesn't hurt that Meester is infamous for ad-libbing lines in their scenes together. Including "If I were you, I would have rode me harder."
** And Westwick's comment in an interview: he hopes Chuck and Blair will get back together because "I like kissing Leighton".
** On the flip side, then-actual couple Creator/PennBadgely and Creator/BlakeLively got practically none of this.

%%* FetishFuel: Blair dressing up for an ''Literature/AnnaKarenina'' sex roleplay with Chuck.

* ActorShipping: Ed Westwick and Leighton Meester have quite the following of little shippers, most of them on Website/LiveJournal. Jessica Szohr gets the DieForOurShip treatment. Of course, it doesn't help matters that there is a video up on [=YouTube=] where [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PHo-yBBB70 Westwick curses like a sailor]] over Meester leaving a party with her boyfriend.

** On the flip side, then-actual couple Penn Badgely and Blake Lively got practically none of this.

** Some fans look on it as Blair at least being honest about what she is - she doesn't pretend to be a great friend. When she's on Serena's side she'll do whatever she has to to help her, and when they're fighting she'll do whatever she has to to crush her. Whereas Serena has no problem pretending to be Blair's friend and stabbing her in the back, as the end episodes of Season 4 shows.
** On the other hand, Blair is hardly different on that score. She happily acts like a friend to Serena while plotting to expose her relationship with Ben on the society pages in the middle of Season 4, and the fact she was even willing to make her own mother collateral damage to get one over on Serena by sabotaging her fashion show in Season 2 (something Eleanor never cottons on to, even though Serena realises) doesn't say much for her honesty ''or'' loyalty.

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * FetishFuel: Blair dressing up for an ''Literature/AnnaKarenina'' sex roleplay with Chuck.

** Chuck's attempted rape of Serena in the pilot gets forgotten about. In 2017 actress Kristina Cohen claimed that Ed Westwick had brutally raped her.

** The scene from the finale where Rachel Bilson is auditioning for Blair in the adaptation of Dan's book becomes funny when Leighton Meester started dating (and eventually married) Adam Brody.

** After Leighton Meester played one of society's elite whose every word and fashion choice becomes a trend, in ''Series/MakingHistory2017'' she plays a FishOutOfTemporalWater who's constantly fascinated by the most mundane aspects of modern culture.

* ReplacementScrappy: Anyone who likes Jenny, will likely despise Ivy because she seemed to be a lame attempt to hide the fact that Taylor Momsen didn't want to be on the show anymore. Ivy tends to be ignored or outright erased in fanfiction.

** [[https://mobile.twitter.com/ezekielfiguero/status/778076190288465921 Quite]] [[https://mobile.twitter.com/gayiorswift13/status/891831831791673344 a few]] [[http://yourfaveisalesbian.tumblr.com/post/130811304549/jenny-humphrey-gossip-girl-is-a-lesbian fans]] see Jenny as a lesbian or as bisexual, given the heavy subtext between her and Blair and her generally having chemistry with other female characters, as well as most of her "romances" with men coming off more as an attempt to gain social power or rebel against her father/UES pressure- rather than a genuine attraction.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Blair and Serena whenever they are in an argument. Half of the fans will consider Blair an immature, self-absorbed bitch and Serena wronged and misunderstood, while the other half feel Serena is the bitch and Blair is misunderstood.

* AssPull: Nate's reappearing love for Serena in season three and, a few episodes later, Serena's very sudden love for Nate.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Sum 41's "''With Me''" in the infamous limo scene.

* CrackShip: Dan and Nelly Yuki.

* CreatorsPet: Vanessa, according to some. The vast majority of the fans loathe her and any episode she doesn't appear in is immediately hailed as being so much better for her not being in it. Yet she keeps getting storylines, is the only girl who has been romantically linked to all male leads (at least until Blair caught up with her) and is constantly talked about as being a great person with high morals even though she behaves just as badly as Blair, Jenny and Serena. On the other hand, she is the only main character who is missing from several episodes each season and while she gets storylines most of them directly involve one or more other main characters rather than Vanessa and guest stars.

* DieForOurShip: A rare instance of the show itself playing into this trope - Bart Bass seemed to be killed off at least in part to allow Lily and Rufus to become an OfficialCouple, given how quickly the latter happened after the former.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Dorota, Eric, Georgina and Carter all qualify, as all of them are extremely popular among the fans (even ''more'' popular than some main characters), despite being only recurring or guest starts.
** To the extent that all have come to play a bigger role as the show has progressed.

* {{Fanon}}: It's almost universally agreed by fans that Blair slept with Jack Bass at New Years so that he would agree to go and find Chuck. There is nothing in the show that hints to this being true.

* FanonDiscontinuity: The "''Eyes Wide Shut''" storyline in season two, which most fans ignore completely.

* FanPreferredCouple: As of the season 3 premiere, ''a lot'' of people prefer Carter/Serena over any other Serena pairings, ''including'' the original alpha couple.

* FoeYay: Some fans speculate that Chuck's previous experiments with other guys included Carter Baizen. It's neither been directly denied or implied on the show, but it certainly is plausible.

* HilariousInHindsight: Not exactly hindsight but in season four Blair dates a prince and the designated roadblock between them is that she's a commoner and he is heir to the throne. It's pretty much taken for granted that a royal prince could never marry a commoner. Probably was a safe bet when the episodes were written. But the episode in which it is brought up aired mere days before heir to the British throne Prince William married commoner Kate Middleton amidst a media frenzy spectacle and the union was celebrated by pretty much everyone everywhere, including William's family members.

* MemeticMutation: [[CatchPhrase I'm Chuck Bass]]

* MoralEventHorizon: Many viewers feel that "Inglourious Bassterds" is the moment when Chuck Bass crossed the line from.

* OneTruePairing: Still Chuck and Blair for some fans.

* OneTrueThreesome: The show tried to market the Dan/Vanessa/Olivia threesome as such. The fans still didn't like it.

* PortmanteauCoupleName: Most common is Chair (Chuck and Blair).

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Happened to Nate in season 3. Fans grew tired of his constant bed-hopping and sheer aimlessness in season 2, so the writers gave him an abundance of family-oriented stories and returned him to his roots by having him be desperately in love with Serena and suddenly interested in his best friend's welfare.

* ShipMates: People who ship Chair (Chuck and Blair) tend to be positive of a Serenate (Serena and Nate) pairing since it for one keeps Nate away from Blair and for another means the NJBC is nicely paired off. Dan/Blair fans seem to convenience ship Serena/Nate as well, although some seem to ship Nate/Jenny and [[PairTheSpares pair]] Serena with Carter [[DieForOurShip if anyone]].

*** Actually, the grouping of these ships have always been a popular fan idea, with the FanNickname "Team Endgame."
* ShipToShipCombat: Fans of the book tend to think Blair belongs with Nate. Fans of the show tend to ''passionately'' believe Blair belongs with Chuck. Cue endless arguments.

* ThemePairing: Chair and Serenate.

* BrotherSisterIncest: How a lot of fans see Derena past season 2.

* FandomNod: Both Blair and Michael Bloomberg thought Gossip Girl was Dorota, much like many of the fans.

* FanNickname:
** Carmen Sandiego - Serena and Eric's father.
*** Now that he's no longer missing he's been re-nicknamed Dr. Veedubs.
** Pilot Inspektor - Scott.
** Granderbilt - William Vanderbilt, Nate's grandfather.
** Manbangs - Nate.
** The van der Basses - The van der Woodsens and Basses after Lily and Bart got married.
*** Now referred to by some as the Bass der Humphreys.
** Evil Uncle Jack - Jack Bass.
** E. Fish - Elisabeth.
** The Awesome Foursome - the NJBC.
** Docteur House - Chuck Bass in season 3.
** Waffle Central - Rufus' domain.
** Archibot - Nate's mother.
** Natefusion - any moment where Nate is confused about what is going on.

* ShipTease: Blair and Dan. The writers have long said they would like to try a romance between the two because they like their possible "SlapSlapKiss" vibe. They never did though because of possible backlash from Chair fans. Lately, though, they seem to have said screw it and are teasing them anyway.
** Nate and Jenny throughout the first season: starting when Nate kisses Jenny at the masquerade (thinking she's Serena due to their similar appearances) and into Season 2 when finally get together.

** Many people stopped shipping Derena after it was revealed they shared a sibling, despite the two of them not actually being related.

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: See the [[Funny/GossipGirl separate page]].

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Loads. See the [[Heartwarming/GossipGirl separate page]].

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: See the [[Awesome/GossipGirl separate page]].

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: See the [[Awesome/GossipGirl separate page]].
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: See the [[Funny/GossipGirl separate page]].
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Loads. See the [[Heartwarming/GossipGirl separate page]].
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: Sum 41's "''With Me''" in the infamous limo scene.
** The Kills' "URA Fever" playing as Serena infamously declares, "I killed someone." Too bad [[spoiler:it ended up being the lamest 'death' possible by accidental overdose]]
** Bloc Party's "Signs" at the end of "Oh Brother Where Bart Thou"
** Turin Break's "Dark on Fire" at the end of "Pret-A-Poor-J"
** The Virgins' "One Week of Danger" playing the morning after the limo scene
** Death Cab for Cutie's "The Ice Is Getting Thinner" in the season one finale
*** Given that it's a Josh Schwartz show, DCFC is pretty standard fare.
** "Shove it" by Santigold during the climax of 'The Ex Files'

%% * {{Fetish}}: Blair dressing up for an ''Literature/AnnaKarenina'' sex roleplay with Chuck.

* MagnificentBastard: Chuck Bass.
** And Diana, from Season 5, has everyone wrapped around her little finger, playing with nearly every protagonist with amazing ease, and she doesn't seem to stop anytime soon, especially [[spoiler:when you realize that she's in fact Nate's Grandfather's, William, [[TheDragon Dragon]]. What he is up to is yet to be revealed.]]
** Georgina Sparks tends to have half the cast wrapped around her little finger at any given point in time, and no matter how many times they get rid of her, one way or another she always comes back. Like any good MB, she plays the game well, she is her own best piece, and you just can't keep her down.
** As it turns out, Doctor Van Der Woodsen, the {{Big Bad}} of Season 3. Just about ''everything'' that happened over the course of the season, from Lily's fake cancer diagnosis to Rufus' supposed infidelity, turned out to be part of his convoluted scheme to drive Lily back into his arms. He even gets away in the end.
** Juliet, who started out as {{The Dragon}} of Season 4, but wound up usurping her brother Ben as the {{Big Bad}} (before being revealed mid-season as more of an {{Anti Villain}}). Her ability to be a [[{{Manipulative Bastard}} set the regular cast at each others throats]], [[{{Xanatos Speed Chess}} turn defeat into victory]], and stay one step ahead of everyone else would impress Machiavelli.
** Bart Bass becomes the King of the trope in New York. Until he succumbed to the VillainBall. He destroyed every scheme, every person who came against him, not even the combined power of "Blair's Bitches" stopped him. Until he lost to Chuck because well, the writers like Chuck and didn't want to follow the inevitable conclusion that Bart could have Chuck quickly and easily killed without much of a problem.
** As of the finale, [[spoiler:Dan Humphrey has obliterated them all and is revealed as a bastard on par with [[Series/{{Smallville}} Lionel Luthor]] and [[Series/{{Lost}} Ben Linus]]. It's revealed that he has been running the site "Gossip Girl" all along, playing people against each other, effortlessly maintaining his secret and turning the snobby world that looked down upon him into his own personal social experiment.]]
** Jenny displays quite a natural talent for scheming. She does not always succeed, but in the first season goes toe to toe with Blair, despite the fact that the latter is older, a lot richer, has hordes of minions and apparently years of experience in plotting behind her.

* MarySue: In the books, Serena was inhumanly gorgeous and had everything handed to her on a silver platter. She became a supermodel overnight, a muse to several designers, starred in a major motion picture despite having no acting experience, got into every college she applied to despite her mediocre grades and lack of extracurriculars, and practically all male characters who ever appeared were in love with her. She did have some particularly nasty gossip surrounding her, but that was HandWaved with everyone [[YoureJustJealous just being jealous]] of her beauty, awesomeness, and success.
** This is toned down in the TV series, but she still has a wide enough MarySue streak to her for Blair to comment on it.
*** The show also has an interesting take on it. Serena does indeed get into colleges and become a publicist but she's very much aware that she got these things because of her "inhuman beauty" and it eats at her and her relationship.

** A ''lot'' of fans see Jenny as a lesbian or as bisexual, given the heavy subtext between her and Blair and her generally having chemistry with other female characters, as well as most of her "romances" with men coming off more as an attempt to gain social power or rebel against her father/UES pressure- rather than a genuine attraction.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Chuck

** Some have jumped to Dan/Blair, as it's free from the whole step-siblings issues that the Dan/Serena ship has, and well, Dan hasn't whored out Blair yet.
*** The fandom seems pretty evenly split between Dan/Blair and Chuck/Blair.

* BrokenBase: About half of the audience now wants Blair to end up with Chuck, half with Dan. (This was stated by executive producer Josh Safran [[http://www.eonline.com/news/watch_with_kristin/whenmdashand_howmdashwill_gossip_girl/288542 here]].)

** Harvey Weinstein is mentioned positively as one of the figures interested in Dan's book's movie adaptation, with Dan's literary agent saying Oscar is not a faraway dream. Cut to 2017, Weinstein would become a pariah in Hollywood due to sexual abuse allegations.

* PossessionSue: Happens with Chuck ''a lot'' in fanfiction.

** Chuck's attempted rape of Serena in the pilot gets forgotten about. In 2017 actress Kristina Cohen revealed that Ed Westwick had brutally raped her.

* HarsherInHindsight: Re-watching Season 1's episode Dare Devil, where Jenny emphatically tells Dan she won't forget who she is just because she's hanging out with [[AlphaBitch Blair]] and her GirlPosse can be this, if you know just what's gonna happen to her during that season. And the season that follows. [[RuleOfThree And the third one]]. ''[[FromBadToWorse Especially]]'' [[FromBadToWorse the third one]].

** After Leighton Meester played one of society's elite whose every word and fashion choice becomes a trend, in ''Series/MakingHistory'' she plays a FishOutOfTemporalWater who's constantly fascinated by the most mundane aspects of modern culture.

** After Leighton Meester played one of society's elite whose every word and fashion choice becomes a trend, in ''Series/MakingHistory'' she plays a TemporalFishOutOfWater who's constantly fascinated by the most mundane aspects of modern culture.