The top episodes of the original Gossip Girl to stream ahead of the reboot

The original Gossip Girls series ran from 2007 to 2012, for six seasons, back in the old days when a season could run for as many as 25 episodes – 122 in total. Imagine! Without looking back at the full box set (you can stream Gossip Girl, every single episode, on Showmax, until March 2022), or Googling, what are the things that immediately spring to mind?

Obviously, the Gossip Girl sign-off of ex oh ex oh, which has earned its rightful place as a 21st century catchphrase. Say it out loud, or in a text, and everyone will recognise the reference without another word being said. The series is narrated by Gossip Girl, voiced by Kristen Bell, who was never credited.

Then for me, it was the endlessly sumptuous breakfast and brunch feasts, especially at the Van Der Woodsen homes. The spreads would make the buffet at a five-star hotel look stupid in comparison. No one ever seemed to eat anything.

At the beginning of the series, when we met Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively, now Mrs Ryan Reynolds and if anyone has relationship goals, it’s them), she was playing slightly younger than her real life 19 years – as a school girl of probably 17 or so. As the series progresses and she ages appropriately, she and all her friends of a similar age attend the most spectacular events and parties, and drink a lot of champagne. How they pulled this off in a country with a legal drinking age of 21 is a mystery. (Yes, we all know it happens but this is excessive.) Unless of course you explain it away as “rich people”.

Because that’s what these Upper Eastsiders of Manhattan, New York City are. Wealthy beyond belief, and we lived vicariously through them. Except Dan. Dan (Penn Badgley) was the poor friend. Not poor by our standards or American standards in general, but positively destitute compared to the rest of the teens, and their parents.

Everything has a price, though, and the cost of being this extravagant is a string of endlessly sordid relationships, love affairs, backstabbing, lies, deceit and of course, gossip.

The HBO Max 2021 much-more-representative reboot, which lands on Showmax on 3 December, is a companion piece as well as a standalone series. Dedicated fans will want to binge on the box set, but if you’re feeling a bit impatient, we’ve picked 10 of the must-see episodes from across the internet before you begin the new series.

Kristen Bell once again narrates so that should be your first clue that these episodes take place in a parallel universe to the original. Because the other thing I remember is that Gossip Girl’s identity was revealed at the end … or was it?

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Stream Gossip Girl S1, episode 1: Pilot

This should be watched by newbies, because it will set you up with the major characters and their relationship to each other. Serena, of course, and her best frenemy Blair (Leighton Meester) aka the Queen Bee. Getting right into the action, it transpires Serena slept with Blair’s boyfriend, Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford), before mysteriously disappearing.

While Nate grapples with his feelings, and Blair hooks up with Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick, the tragic-sleazy character we loved to hate), Serena takes up with Dan. There’s Dan’s little sister, Jenny (Taylor Momsen), who is desperately trying to fit in with the rich crowd, and his best friend Vanessa (Jessica Szohr), to whom he had previously declared his love. You want more? Serena’s mom and Dan’s dad have a romantic history. Phew! And this is only the tip of the elaborate iceberg.

Gossip Girl S1, episode 10: Hi, Society

This is Glamour’s top episode, in its impressive ranking of worst to best of every single one.

“This episode is so self-serious, gaudy, dramatic…There are family secrets. Blair (wearing the necklace Chuck gave her for her birthday) and Serena look like the goddamn moon and the mother-freaking sun, respectively. Nate’s wearing his heart-on-sleeve green sweater, which is a detail from the books. And Blair’s red tights and blue romper combo? Jenny rejects perfectly cute vintage shoes and demonstrates an alarming lack of fashion imagination for someone who wants to be a designer. Rufus and Allison are co-parenting reasonably well, though Rufus longs for Lily. Who wouldn’t? This episode is just about the characters manipulating one another and the main families interacting, rather than some outside force.”

The Harvard Crimson also voted this the best episode, as did many critics.

All episodes containing Blair’s headbands: S1 onwards

How could we forget Blair’s signature look? In the first season, she rarely appears without a bow sprouting from her head, like the ribbon crowning the wonderful wrapped gift that is her personage, said The Cut, which goes to town with top fashion moments.

“Those headbands became so ubiquitous that they actually have their own Facebook page. They are the perfect accessory for Blair, encapsulating both her twee cutesy side as well as the part of her that would rather die than look anything less than the epitome of a private-school social princess, even if the trappings of that persona make her want to roll her eyes.”

Season 2, episode 25: The Goodbye Gossip Girl

The heart of the show is about the couples, Chuck and Blair in particular. Entertainment Weekly ranked all their best moments; in this episode Chuck finally said it…

“With two seasons of will-they-or-won’t-they teasers, Chuck finally came through. After travelling Europe just to pick up some of Blair’s favorite things, he gave her the present she’d really been waiting for: three words, eight letters.

“Chuck: love you too.

Blair: Like, can you say it twice? No, I’m serious, say it twice.”

Season 3, episode 7: How To Succeed in Bassness

Parties, parties and more parties. The Young Folks gathered some favourite moments, including this one – “A through-and-through 1920s speakeasy (even without a real liquor license), Chuck throws what is considered ‘the party of the year’ at the new club he’s opening. All the characters were dressed in 1920s glamour, even though the party didn’t last long, enough drama went around stirring things up.”

May we just mention, Chuck opened this club at the tender age of 16, after his hotel went bust, and Serena organised the whole thing in 24 hours.

Season 3, episode 11: The Treasure of Serena Madre

Gossip Girl not only has a character that aspires to being a fashion designer, but it is a fashionista’s wet dream. Fashion Magazine’s list has nothing to do with this but its thoughts on this episode sum up the series.

“If Gossip Girl is known for one thing besides headbands, it’s their Thanksgiving episodes. A staple of the series, it’s always a guarantee that Thanksgiving on the UES will be filled with pie and tons of drama. And the season 3 Thanksgiving episode is no exception. Set to Imogen Heap’s What’cha Say, this scene is peak GG, highlighting all the tension between different individuals in under three minutes. Blair thinks her mom is secretly pregnant, Jenny finds out her step-brother Eric sabotaged her cotillion, it’s revealed that Serena’s having an affair with Nate’s married congressman cousin, Vanessa and her absent mom get into it over who has the right to give parenting advice, and CeCe van der Woodsen – Lily’s mom – is just…there. Always stirring the pot.”

Season 4, episode 11: The Townie

“We’re not in the Upper East Side anymore!,” cries Vogue. “Dan and Blair have left Manhattan and are trying to find out what really happened when Serena was in boarding school. This episode has it all: Dan and Blair being an (unlikely) amazing duo, flashbacks to Serena’s wild past in boarding school, a glimpse into why Juliet actually hated Serena, and answers to all the questions we’ve had in the past few episodes.”

Season 5, episode 13: GG

“Wakey wakey, Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite. It seems like today is a big day for everyone, but none so much as me. Once upon a time, Princess B was a virgin Queen. And her King was named Archibald. Who would have thought that in just five short years she could have turned that headband into a tiara for real?”

This is the 100th episode of the show, so you know they are going to go full out, said Her Campus. “The day has finally arrived for Blair’s wedding to Prince Louis. But in true Gossip Girl fashion, there are twists along the way. The only question is – as viewers of the show know that nothing ever goes according to plan – who will be the one to disrupt the joyous day?” 

Season 5, episode 24: The Return of the Ring

In case it’s not clear yet, there’s a lot of sexy time in Gossip Girl. In the Season 5 finale, Serena and Dan attend the Shepherds’ divorce party (there having previously been a Shepherd wedding party).

In its listing of the sexiest scenes, Elite Daily said: “If you feel like you’re having déjà vu, you’re not wrong. In a totally twisted move, Serena got Dan to cheat on Blair in the same place she got Nate to cheat on Blair. What turned this situation up even more is that she tried to film it (without his consent) which was the cherry on top of the ‘this was majorly messed up’ sundae.”

Season 6, episode 10: New York, I Love You XOXO

Screen Rant’s top episode. “The Gossip Girl series finale has the highest rating on IMDb. We’ll chalk this up to people glad to see some storylines end since so many fans actually hated the reveals of the hour.

“This is the episode responsible for getting Chuck and Blair married so Blair wouldn’t have to testify against him. It’s also the episode that revealed Dan was Gossip Girl all along – and Jenny knew when she was banished by Blair. Serena didn’t even care that the person who made her life miserable was the person she loved.

“It made no sense, and yet, it was a deliciously dramatic end to a scandalous series.”

Critics were pretty much united in their opinion of the series finale, despite the season being trimmed back to 10 episodes.