The new Gossip Girl series opens with busy New York subways panning in front of Brooklyn lofts. This is one side of the world for the main characters. Slowly it transitions to large windows, fancy awards, personal chefs, and silver and gold jewelry. This is the other side of the world for the main characters. 

In the latter world, protagonist Julien Calloway gets ready for school, being sure to get approval on her outfit from the group chat. 

A few text messages later, and she’s ready. She places a kiss on a picture of an unfamiliar woman, then leaves to take her position as the school’s head girl. 

In the first world, is the second protagonist, Zoya Lott. She’s a freshman gearing up for her first day at Constance Billard on a scholarship. She also stares at a picture of an unfamiliar woman, then leaves to take her place as “newbie freshmen”… And… Julien’s half-sister, who she will soon be meeting in person for the first time. 

Back to school: Who is the new “it” crowd?

Fourteen years ago, it was Blair Waldorf and Serena VanDerWoodsen along with the rest of the popular, privileged clique, ruling the halls of Constance Billard school - A private prep school in the heart of Upper East Side Manhattan. 

This time, it is Julien Calloway, queen bee, and famous fashion influencer; her boyfriend Obie, an activist with “rich people guilt;” Max, a kid with a liking towards drugs and troublemaking; and Audrey, who craves intimacy with men other than her boyfriend and clan member, Aki. Of course, every Queen Bee has her worker bees. This leads us to Monet and Luna, Julien’s assistant clout chasers, ensuring the Queen is always on top and of course, taking her worker bees with her.

Eyes Meet:

For the first time, Zoya and Julien lock eyes. They know each other, they have been communicating online for a while but this is the first time they have seen each other in person. 

Julien has a secret plan to immerse Zoya into her group… As long as she can disguise it in a way that does not expose the persona she has created, which “ignores” Zoya.

Zoya goes along with the plan. The two have created a pact together in order to protect their fathers, who despise each other - act as they have never interacted and most importantly, do not let others know that they have.  

Back to the beginning: The woman in the pictures from both Zoya and Julien, is their late mother, whom they share as a result of an affair with the latter’s father. 

Gossip girl revealed in episode 1?

Contrary to the original series, the teachers are making their way into the spotlight for this reboot. Headed by English teacher, Ms. Kate Kellar, the teachers are tired of being mistreated and fired at the hands of their students whose wealth can easily push them out the door. 

Who is Gossip Girl? Well, that’s a secret I’ll never tell… At least that was the case for the original series. 

In the reboot, we are introduced to “Gossip Girl” almost immediately, and guess who it is… Ms. Kellar and a group of about four other teachers. It seems crazy that the very people who would be trying to shut down a system created to cause trouble amongst students would actually be the ones heading it. But, they do it because it is how they can regain control and power over the students. 

A few Instagram clicks later, and @gossipgirl is live and ready to expose all the gossip and secrets of Constance Billard’s “elite.” 

Teachers running a school gossip account? In my opinion, it’s risky. Way too risky. 

Sibling Rivalry?

Gossip Girl needs to create friction between two characters. In the original series, it was Blaire versus Serena but who is it now?  

Ms. Kellar and the teacher squad wonder the same thing. Until, Ms. Kellar, who is aware of the Queen Bee’s freshmen half-sister comes up with the perfect plan: Sister versus Sister.

And… It works. 

At first Gossip Girl, whom we will now refer to as “GG,” uncovers the dirtiest secret of all - Julien used her wealth and power to cheat the system in order to get Zoya into Constance on scholarship. A clueless Zoya who finds out via the GG Instagram, becomes furious, feeling as if she did not earn her spot. 

In a raging feud, she leaves the function Julien invited her to, and who follows? Julien’s boyfriend, Obie, who has shifted his attention to Zoya, someone who shares in his passion for activism, unlike social-ladder climbing, Julien. 

In GG’s last attempt to set the account blazing, she snaps a picture of Zoya and Obie looking very friendly. It is then posted on Instagram and boom… The perfect sibling rivalry is created! 

Damage Control: 

Julien's fanbase erupts at the sight of their queen bee and (former) king bee with another girl. So, in an attempt for Julien to sustain her relationship status and keep her sister safe from social destruction, she devises a plan.

However, the plan derails when Julien’s minion worker bees take matters into their own hands with the solution they think is best - destroy Zoya. Without Julien’s knowledge, they take this plan of action, and one upload later, Zoya becomes public enemy number one - for Julien, her clique and loyal fanbase. Mission accomplished, GG, the sister versus sister story arch is in full play. 

Well, that’s all for this week, Upper East Siders.

XOXO, Gossip Girl.