HBO Max
Despite its prevalence in the cultural lexicon, the word “gaslighting” is still a very real term used by highly qualified mental health professionals. It’s also used when describing what it’s like to watch Season 2 of HBO Max’s Gossip Girl reboot.
In its first season, Gossip Girl’s highly-anticipated reboot bungled its massive amount of promise by taking the high road. The show refused to let its characters engage in the good, old-fashioned slut-shaming and catfights that made the original such a delicious dish. Instead, it attempted to position its teenage characters as a collection of tech-savvy influencers, all vying to look more woke than the last. Among all that goody-two-shoes posturing was a drab mountain of name-dropping, cringeworthy cultural references, and cameos from micro-influencers that all led to the same major takeaways for fans old and new: This reboot has no idea what it’s doing or who it’s for.
One would hope that its second season would rectify those glaring mistakes. In the months leading up to its premiere, showrunner and creator Josh Safran certainly promised as much. The ascension of two of the show’s best power players, paired with some tail-between-the-legs return of the catfights we know and love, certainly gives the flatlining show a much-needed dose of fun. But even these feel like empty attempts to restore viewers’ faith. And with half of a leading cast that can’t deliver a caustic dig—let alone hold a scene—Gossip Girl is still struggling to use all of the money and beauty at its disposal to find the point of its existence.