#Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Fire Walks With Z

What happens next?

Gossip Girl (2021) Season 1 Episode 4 put the two sisters against one another repeatedly, but it was nastier than before.

By the end, they were bonded for life, and all the tension seemed choked out of the narrative, to the point it could have worked as a series finale.

We have a lot to unpack, so let’s get to it.

Luna and Monet are probably the most chaotic characters on TV, but the missiles they were launching ultimately brought the sisters back together.

Julien now knows how far they’re willing to go to make her the most influential person on social media, but the truth is, Julien doesn’t have a bad bone in her body.

She retaliated because she was coerced into believing her sister was out to get her. It was bizarre, but it highlighted how well the Gossip Girl account works at stirring up trouble.

The nasty nature of the original series came out to play here, and while it brought a much-needed drama injection to the show, it was too hard to believe.

Now that Julien fully understands her sister, we should probably expect them to be spending a lot more time together throughout the rest of Gossip Girl (2021) Season 1.

The show can only make them adversaries for so long, and it looks like things between them will not be changing anytime soon.

I’m unsure whether Luna and Monet will now branch off into another friend group or if they try to pry the sisters apart some more.

The cut of the video showing Zoya pushed to setting fires in class was heartbreaking. She was bullied, and the fact that people found her outburst to be entertainment was somewhat concerning.

It’s easy to understand why Zoya doesn’t want to celebrate her birthday. Her mother died giving birth to her, so it’s not a day to be celebrated in her eyes.

Julien could have stuck the knife in further when she laid eyes on the video, but she understood the true extent of the trauma her sister has gone through since being born.

Zoya was a completely different character on “Fire Walks With Z,” and I’m happy she realized she was going off the deep end before it was too late.

She felt like her sister brought her to New York to torment her, and that’s not a nice feeling. The issue here is that the account will probably become obsessed with tearing them apart, much like it did to Serena and Blair on the original.

The addition of Milo Sparks took me by surprise, but it was a perfect way to bring the name Georgina back into the mix.

if you watch Gossip Girl online, you know Georgina was a pivotal character throughout the original series. She was like a more insane version of Luna and Monet.

There was a particular scene in the original series in which she said that she would have parented wrong if her son didn’t wind up causing problems growing up.

If I recall correctly, she said it would be in 17 years. Well, this kid isn’t even 12, and people have been googling him for scandals, and such, so he’s his mother’s son.

Milo’s hacking abilities were insane, and given that his mother had control of the original Gossip Girl account at one point in the past, it makes sense.

Will we get to see the mother and son team up to cause some drama? I hope so.

I laughed out loud at the photos of Georgina with Ed Sheeran, some problematic figures, and of course, the photo of Blair Waldorf.

Subtle nods like this to the original series work well because they’re not too in your face for the newer viewers.

Let’s come back to Julien for a bit. Lola gives me some bad vibes, and the sooner Davis gets rid of her, the better.

Her comment about stalking Julien’s Instagram to find out why she was famous was the red flag the family needed to realize she’s in this relationship for all the wrong reasons.

At least Julien is open to the prospect of her father dating again. She struggles when people aren’t transparent with her, and that’s because she’s one of the most transparent characters on the show.

People have this negative perception of her, but deep down, she wouldn’t willingly make someone feel like rubbish unless they do something to her first.

Audrey’s realization that Aki could be bisexual or gay was a long time coming. She’s slowly been realizing he’s been hiding a part of himself from her.

It was comical how the man she brought to the birthday bash was more interested in Aki than her, and the chat between the two lovers was so pure.

Aki seems worried about his feelings because he’s so confused by them. Audrey could have cut him loose, but the fact that she told him they’d figure it out together means this relationship might be on a stronger foundation than I first thought.

I wanted to believe Rafa wanted to mentor Max out of his bad ways, but I wasn’t surprised when the two of them hooked up.

Max has been spiraling ever since he learned the truth about his parents, but I can’t shake the feeling that Rafa took advantage when Max’s guard was down.

Relationships between teachers and students are par for the course on teen dramas these days, and I hoped that the show would not go this route.

It would have been more surprising if their relationship was strictly platonic and that Rafa wanted to make sure his student was safe.

Now that they’ve crossed that line, it’s only a matter of time before Gossip Girl gets wind of it.

Max obviously sees something in Rafa, and something tells me Rafa will regret what happened the next morning.

I suspect Rafa will want to swear Max to secrecy and avoid him like the plague.

Kate infuriated me on this episode. She’s in a position of power with these students and when she’s supposed to be focusing on her writing career, all she cares about is getting tips about her students.

We get it, her life is boring, but her thirst for power will result in her being sent to jail.

The show needs to ditch the teachers. Focusing on the students and the parents is the best foot forward.

“Fire Walks With Z” was another decent episode, but there are still many issues with the show.

At least it is finally finding its footing. Hopefully, Gossip Girl (2021) Season 1 Episode 5 manages to switch things up to give us a stellar episode.

What did you think of the sisters at war?

Are you tired of Luna and Monet’s nastiness?

Do the teachers need to go?

Hit the comments.

Gossip Girl continues Thursdays on HBO Max.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.