For anyone yet to see the end of the fourth season of Gossip Girl, look away now, because spoilers will no doubt be dotted amongst this review, and I wouldn’t want to ruin any of the earlier episodes for you. With that spoiler warning firmly intact, here goes nothing.
Gossip Girl’s return with its fifth season reminds us all that it is the best place to come to if you want a great dose of drama, a lot of fun, and beautiful people wearing beautiful clothes. Season four left us with so much to look forward to with this season, and I really enjoyed our return to the world of the Upper East Siders with this season’s beginning.
We left last summer with (and here is where the spoilers begin if you’re yet to see season four) Blair engaged to her (literally) Prince Charming, Serena taking up a job on the set of David O. Russell’s (fictional) film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned, Dan heading to the Hamptons with Eric, and the truth that newcomer Charlie isn’t who she says she is.
As summer draws to an end with the new season, we see half of the Upper East Siders still on the West Coast throughout the episode, which is excellent. I love California, and getting to see the New Yorkers hitting the Golden State on the opposite side of the USA is brilliant. Shots of Serena and Nate strolling down Venice Beach (one of my favourite spots in the world) were perfect, swinging by to pick up a bit of the ol’ medical marijuana for one of the stars of the film.
But of course, all is not sunshine and happiness in the land of gossip, and there’s still plenty of drama to be enjoyed here. One of Serena’s higher-ups is working against her to get her fired from a job she’s able to do better than him, Chuck becomes a (ridiculously cool-looking) daredevil with an awesome red motorbike to race round in, Nate gets together with a mysterious woman (played by Elizabeth Hurley) who sounds like she’ll be back for more in the season to come, and that’s only talking about the three characters on the West Coast.
Back home, all is not quite well for Blair, with her Prince’s mother interfering with her dreams of the perfect wedding. Meanwhile, Dan realises that Vanessa’s sold the story that could see his best friends turn against him, and it looks like it’s just a matter of time before it all comes out. Charlie is not gone from our sights, and it looks like whoever she really is, she’s back for the fifth season and has her work cut out for her if she wants to keep her cover clean. And where would any drama be without a secret pregnancy?
Essentially, all you really need to know is that if you’re a fan of the show, you’re likely to love the start of the new season, and it promises to be every bit as good as everything we’ve seen so far. And if you’re not a fan of the show, then you’ve got four fantastic seasons to catch up on, and I highly recommend you make a start now. Season five has got off to a great start, and I can’t wait to see what the show has in store for us over the next twenty-three episodes still to come.
[Rating:4/5]
The first episode of season five is available to download now on iTunes, and each episode will be up to download every Tuesday, the day after it airs in the States.
