Gossip Girl Review: Just Another Girl on the MTA (Season 1 Episode 1)
HBO Max is bringing Gossip Girl back for a modern-day run, and the reboot is already succeeding in many places the old one did not.
Much of the goal in revisiting the original show was to rethink the concept with a more diverse cast. Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 1, “Just Another Girl on the MTA,” puts two women of color in the spotlight from the very beginning: Julien Calloway (Jordan Alexander) and Zoya Lott (Whitney Peak).
It’s easy to see why the reboot would make these two half-sisters the focal point of its revival, as Alexander and Peak fall easily into their roles. Julien is the new “it girl” in town, and her vibrant personality automatically ensnares viewers in much the same way she’s ensnared everyone at Constance Billard and St. Jude’s.
Meanwhile, Peak plays the new girl in town and Julien’s younger half-sister. The two don’t have much of a relationship with one another, since their mother left Julien’s father for Zoya’s. However, they’ve managed to salvage some semblance of sisterhood through social media messaging.
With Zoya heading to Constance Billiard, the two sisters plan to connect and make it look like a coincidence. Of course, it wouldn’t be Gossip Girl without a few secrets, so they tell no one. This is where the premise gets a bit shaky because, while it makes sense they wouldn’t want their dads to find out about their relationship, it’s less clear why Julien refuses to tell her core group of friends that she’s in contact with her little sister.
Instead, Julien puts on a front that’s equal parts disinterest and disdain toward her sister, all the while inviting her to hang out with the group. Characters in teen dramas are known for playing games, but it’s hard to follow Julien’s train of thought with this one. Predictably, the whole thing falls apart very quickly.
The side characters of the new Gossip Girl are less front and center during the premiere, but they all have a lot of potential — it just hasn’t been delivered on quite yet.
Julien’s gal pals include Monet de Haan (Savannah Lee Smith), Luna La (Zión Moreno), and Audrey Hope (Emily Alyn Lind). They all have confidence and plenty of attitude, but we haven’t gotten to see what drives them yet.
In fact, Julien’s friends mostly stick to the background during this episode, with the exception of Audrey, who receives a subplot about her wilting sex life. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of them, but hopefully, the rest of the Season 1 will dive deeper into their characters.
While the show could be forgiven for not delving into the minute details of every single character during its first episode, the Gossip Girl reboot fails to establish something critical to our investment — and something the original series nailed down in the first 30 minutes.
The long history between characters like Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford), and Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) was obvious from the get-go. It was easy to understand why these teenagers cared about one another, even with all the drama and rivalries going on within the group.
That long-term bond seems to be implied with the new Gossip Girl, but it doesn’t come off quite so clearly. Julien and her friends spend the whole episode throwing snarky criticism back and forth at one another, but there’s never any indication that they confide in each other or feel safe enough to get vulnerable.
You may turn off the TV wondering what this group of friends sees in one another and why they hang out together at all. Sure, they’re all socialites, but we need a bit more than that to care about the drama unfolding between them.
The only hint of vulnerability fans get from outside of Julien and Zoya comes from Julien’s boyfriend, Obie Bergmann (Eli Brown). At first glance, Obie seems like the most down-to-Earth character in the reboot, volunteering for social justice organizations and defending Zoya when Julien’s antics go too far.
It almost begs the question of why Obie is friends with the other characters in the first place since they clearly have nothing in common.
Rounding out the show’s main cast are the other two boys in Julien’s inner circle, Aki Menzies (Evan Mock) and Max Wolfe (Thomas Doherty). Again, the premiere doesn’t give us much to go on with these two.
Episode 1 does seem to be hinting either at a love triangle or a polyamorous relationship between Aki, Max, and Audrey. Love triangles are overdone, but the latter would certainly be a step more progressive than the original Gossip Girl.
The group spends the majority of “Just Another Girl on the MTA” dealing with Julien’s attempts to bring her sister into the fold. Where their story deviates again from the original Gossip Girl is that their issues aren’t simply serving as fodder for the infamous Gossip Girl.
No, in the reboot, Gossip Girl is the one actively causing the drama between these teenagers, not just reporting it.
That in itself would have been an interesting approach to the mysterious online persona voiced by Kristen Bell. However, the new Gossip Girl tries to turn the original concept on its head, doing away with the mystery element of the series it’s based on.
Instead of leaving us to guess who Gossip Girl is, the premiere walks fans right through her return — and well, the people responsible for bringing her back to life might leave a weird taste in viewers’ mouths.
While the adults in the original show had drama of their own to contend with, the teachers at Constance Billiard are the ones who start the new Gossip Girl Instagram. Fed up with being on the receiving end of everything from catty comments to attacks on their careers, a group of sets out to hold their students accountable for their poor behavior.
On the one hand, having the teachers be behind the new Gossip Girl is so outlandish and comical that it’s hard to look away from. On the other, it’s difficult to believe these fully-grown adults would waste so much time on the petty lives of teenagers — or hanging out with their coworkers every night of the week.
Telling us who Gossip Girl is upfront does enable this reboot to stand out from the original series, but it’s too soon to say if the execution will live up to the premise. Right now, most of the adults feel one-dimensional, including Kate Keller (Tavi Gevinson), whose descent into the gossip mill is undeniably played well.
Overall, HBO Max’s Gossip Girl reboot shakes things up in a way that improves upon the original series — at least, in theory. It’s too early to say if the execution will be on par with the premise, but this series will prove a lot of fun if it is.
What did you think of this episode of Gossip Girl? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Gossip Girl airs Thursdays on HBO Max.
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One thought on “Gossip Girl Review: Just Another Girl on the MTA (Season 1 Episode 1)”
I love that you mention how we don’t get to see why they’re all connected because that stood out to me as well. There’s no real explanation as to why they all ride for one another and their snarky attitudes doesn’t give off the feeling they’re real friends. Luna and Monet were promoted as regulars, but right now they’re only giving off minion vibes and I hope it changes soon because they have way more potential as characters. I could see them having minions themselves.
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