The last episode of “Gossip Girl” was both strangely sweet and disturbingly harsh. One storyline had Brooklyn “Lonely Boy” Dan confessing first love for the unprepared, used-to-being-unloved Upper East Side Beauty, Serena–and spending an entire episode convincing Serena why his love is true. Can everybody say: Awwwwww! (It was pretty sweet, I have to admit.)
While at the same time, the other storyline could have been titled “Shattered Purity”–none other than the innocent-eyed Blaire Waldorf’s–which was not only shattered but smashed, crushed, and ground into the dirt in every which way the writers could think of. Blaire’s duty so far as a character on this messed-up, addictive high school soap opera has been to play that classic, tragic feminine stereotype of the virgin-whore–the girl who walks that impossible line of being both sexy and pure-as-the-driven-snow, which is, our society communicates to young girls and women, exactly what the boys want. (Insert me cringing with dismay here.)

When Gossip Girl gets wind of the fact that not only Blaire has lost her virgin status–but first with skeevy Chuck (in the limo) and then with boyfriend Nate (after the debutante ball)…(wait, this is starting to sound like a game of Clue isn’t it?)–two boys in one week (!!), everyone’s Treos, iPhones, and cell phones are beeping and alerting everyone to the juicy news. Total ostracization of Blaire ensues. It’s cruel. And no one, I mean no one, shows Blaire any mercy–save Serena at the eleventh hour.
Olive branch anyone?
I don’t like Blaire much, but it’s virtually impossible not to feel sympathy for her, and get unbelievably angry at this too-true-to-life portrayal of what happens to a good girl who has sex when people find out about it.
Gossip Girl Message Number One: Redemption awaits those who seek it. Case in point: the stunning comeback of the beautiful Serena, glowing with the love of new boyfriend Dan, and determined to save her friend Blaire from this fall from grace.
Gossip Girl Message Number Two: There is no mercy for those who play games with their purity. An oddly evangelical teen self-help dating manual type warning for girls everywhere. And talk about double standard! Chuck and Nate can sleep around with anyone and everyone to rounds of applause. One girl has a few nights to remember and she’s doomed.
But I’ll be back January 28th for the next new episode. Alas, it seems so far away!