#Gossip Girl Round Table: Is It Time To Ditch the Teachers?

Gossip Girl is finally getting somewhere.

Gossip Girl (2021) Season 1 Episode 3 peeled back the layers on the characters, delivering decent storylines, but the teachers remain a part of the problem.

TV Fanatics Meaghan Frey, Whitney Evans, and Laura Nowak discuss the biggest revelations.

Audrey slept with Max multiple times. Do you think it was love or lust?

Meaghan: Lust. Similar to Blair Waldorf, Audrey seems to be focused on having a picture-perfect relationship, at least from the outside. Unfortunately creating that perfect picture means ignoring what she wants and needs. 

Like she told Aki, sometimes it’s good to experiment to find out what you like, and I think that is what Max represents to her —  an experiment dabbling in all things messy. 

Do I think that could eventually grow and develop into something more? Absolutely. Do I think the writers plan to actually go down that road? Not really sure. I’m actually genuinely excited to see what direction they take this triangle in.

Whitney: I feel like a little bit of both. I think she likes Max a lot, but she’s shutting those feelings off and hiding behind the idea that it’s just a sex thing. The Audrey and Max story is far from over, but like Meaghan, I’m not sure if the writers actually intend for it to turn into anything more than what it is right now. 

Laura: Definitely lust! I think Audrey likes Max and wants to experiment, but Audrey is very focused on having everything look “perfect” and image-friendly. I  hope they explore more with Max as well.

Audrey and Aki reunited. Are they settling for each other, or do you think they realized their connection is stronger than they thought?

Meaghan: I don’t think they are necessarily settling, but I don’t think they are staying together because they think they are meant to be. They both are scared of walking away from the familiar and comfortable and exploring what their trysts with Max really mean. 

I don’t foresee them lasting much longer. Once they cut those chains to each other we are going to see them really come into their own as characters. 

Whitney: It feels an awful lot like settling. There’s a level of comfort that comes with being with someone for a long time, and they both seem terrified to fully explore what life would be like without each other. But it’s probably something that needs to happen because their relationship is stagnant, and neither one is growing in it. 

Laura: I think Max said it best during his rant that Aki and Audrey know they’re wrong for each other and are settling for each other while fantasizing about doing things with Max. There is comfort in being that “perfect” long-standing couple, and I think that’s where they are. I do think they’ll work better as friends.

Julien realized her father was lying to her by hiding Lola. What are your thoughts on how it was handled?

Meaghan: I was kind of confused by why Julien was THAT upset by her dad hiding the relationship. Maybe I’m giving him too much credit, but I felt like given Julien lost her mom, he doesn’t want to introduce any women into her life until he is sure that it will last. 

Julien did Lola a favor by exposing the situation. Lola seemed to think that Julien’s dad was hiding something much worse, so the fact that it turned out that he was trying to keep the relationship hidden from his kid can help alleviate those concerns. 

Whitney: The plan to “expose” them was ridiculous, but it got Davis and Julien being honest with each other. In a perfect world, Julien would have just went to her dad right away and confronted his lies and asked for honesty instead of making the whole situation awkward for everyone. 

Laura: I think Julien was hurt since she’d been the only “girl” in his life for so long. Sure, she could have handled it more maturely, but at least by exposing them, it got her and her dad talking. And now Lola knows the only thing Davis was hiding was a teenage daughter.

Do you believe Lola had no idea Julien was the girl in the club?

Meaghan: I hadn’t even thought of that possibility, but it totally makes sense! Lola is in her early 30s, tops! There is no way that she doesn’t know who one of Manhattan’s IT Girls is. 

I’m assuming that Julien’s dad’s career played a part in her rise to infamy, so I’m betting people who know of her know who her father is. 

Whitney: There is no way she didn’t know who Julien was. I don’t believe for a second that she’d never looked into Davis and his family, having dated the man for months and knowing that she was being hidden from his life. 

Laura: Absolutely! As mentioned, Julien is one of the popular IT girls, so it would be nearly impossible not to know who she was.

Obie finally started to realize he makes mistakes. Will he and Julien be able to continue as friends for long?

Meaghan: Doubtful now that Luna and Monet are on a mission to bring down Zoya and destroy her relationship with Obie. I’m sure that Obie will blame Julien for whatever they have up their sleeves. 

I’m really glad that he came around, though. Dumping Julien and then IMMEDIATELY dating her half-sister was a low blow. He seems like a genuinely good guy, so I would have hated to see him continue to be completely oblivious to that transgression. 

Whitney: It would be nice if they could be friends, but there’s always going to be residual feelings that I think will always get in the way from them being able to maintain a platonic friendship. It was nice of Julien to try a get some closure with Julien, though it’s unfortunate he needed a push from Zoya and didn’t realize it himself. 

I’m still on the fence with Obie, but it was nice to see him take a little responsibility here. 

Laura: I’m glad the two of them got some real closure in this episode, and I hope they can move to be real platonic friends at some point, but as mentioned, that may prove difficult with Julien’s friends involved.

I was also disappointed that Zoya had to point out break-ups take two people, and encourage him to talk to Julien. I like Obie, but his self-awareness is lacking.

Zoya told Luna about her living situation, and it looks like Luna and Monet will use it to their advantage. What do you think their plan will entail?

Meaghan: I actually thought there was something else that Luna found out about her, given that we didn’t actually get to hear what she told Monet. I can only imagine what they have in store for her. Those two are clearly the last people you would ever want to have on your bad side. 

Whitney: I have no idea what their plan will be, but I assume it will involve trying to get Zoya and her dad removed from their apartment. 

Laura: I keep thinking Luna must have more information than about Zoya’s living situations since I don’t see that starting a war between the half-sisters. I’m sure her plan is evil.

Reema got fired because the other teachers tricked her into using the account. Is it time for the truth to come out for the show to be rid of the teachers?

Meaghan: For the love of God, please get rid of the teachers! They are dragging the show down. Why do we need to waste time on the inner workings of Gossip Girl when we could be focusing on the drama that Gossip Girl brings about?!  

Like I said before, I am keeping my fingers crossed that someone hacks the account and takes over. Even if they never tell us who that person is, I will be completely fine with that! Just get it out of the hands of these boring people!

Also, is Reema an idiot? How did she not realize that she was set up by her supposed friends? You would think at a private school as distinguished as Constance Billard, they would hire teachers with half a brain.  

Whitney: The teachers are the worst part of the show by far, and they basically slow down the momentum each week whenever they come on with their delusions. I can only hope that this is a one-season experiment with the teachers being Gossip Girl, and then they go back to basics with it being anonymous because the teachers are not bringing it. 

Laura:  I agree with Meaghan, Reema is an idiot. I also hope we’re done with the teachers as Gossip Girl soon. Their scenes are boring and bring each episode down.

Max had Aki pose as Rafa to get intel on what was happening with his father. React!

Meaghan: First off, let me just say that I LOVE Max’s dad with the blowout! He is absolutely amazing, and I love how he stood up for himself and his growth as a person to Max’s other dad. 

I definitely thought the storyline was going to go down a bit differently. I figured maybe Max’s dads had decided to have an open relationship, so my heart definitely broke when that turned out not to be the case.

I loved that this storyline exposed a different side to Max. Thomas Doherty absolutely killed his performance in this episode. I almost felt like I should be clapping for him when he flipped out on Audrey and Aki. It was just so good.

I would love for the show to subvert expectations and have Rafa just be a friend for Max, but obviously they are going to cross the line eventually. 

Whitney: Max was desperate, and a desperate Max is kinda scary. He was a bit unhinged, but you could tell it all came from a place of fear, as he slowed realized that is family was potentially about to fall apart. 

Thomas Doherty was definitely the MVP this week, and he nailed everything he was given. Even the scene with Rafa had me feeling bad for him. Because no matter how bratty and manipulative he can be, he’s still just a kid. 

And I agree, Meaghan. I would LOVE for Rafa to be a mentor, but it’s so obvious that he’s going to fall prey to Max’s charms eventually. 

Laura: I truly felt for Max in this episode. I agree with Whitney that Thomas Doherty was definitely the MVP this week. He can scheme and be manipulative, and he has Aki wrapped around his little finger, but in reality, he’s just a kid who wants his family to stay intact.

I think Max relates more to the dad with the blowout since he’s authentic, and so is he, and he wanted to protect him. I would also like Rafa to become a friend/mentor to him, but we all know that line will be crossed.

What are your thoughts on the questions?

Hit the comments.

Gossip Girl continues Thursday on HBO Max.

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