TV REVIEW: Gossip Girl Season 4.

Gossip Girl Season 4. 

Many of you will have already watched season 4 of Gossip Girl when it was first aired on TV last September, but for those of you that missed it, here's your chance to catch up. As expected, the latest season of Gossip Girl  was filled with feuds, money, shopping, secrets, love-affairs, friendships, hidden identities, hidden objectives, handsome men, beautiful women- I could go on, but you know the drill.

Some have said that they believe this to be this to be the best season yet and I can see why. I think that this season does a good job of meshing all the characters together for once. In previous seasons we have seen the characters in Brooklyn and the characters living in the Upper East Side lead very separate lives with only a couple of characters coming into contact with each other (namely Dan and Serena). However, season 4 sees all of the characters coming together with new relationships forming and old relationships falling apart. After the marriage of Lily and Rufus, Dan has become a much bigger player in the Upper East Side and people are starting to see him less as 'Brooklyn boy' and more as Daniel Humprey, love interest of the Serena Van Der Woodsen and friend of Nathaniel Archibald (and later, Blair Waldorf - shocker). I think the marriage of the two parents was a wise move and it really cemented the bridge between Brooklyn and the Upper East Side allowing more character interactions.

Expect to see some familiar faces from the past popping up to cause trouble again, but don't expect this to be the last time you see them, they may just appear when you least expect it. There are also some new characters who add weight and mystery to the drama. Be wary of these new characters, they may not be who they appear to be, then again, people rarely are in Gossip Girl.

I take it that since they decided to include a picture of Blair and Chuck together on the front cover of the DVD set that the producers think that they are the focal point of this season. I know that the relationship between Chuck and Blair has most viewers hooked, especially since they've got this whole Romeo and Juliet/Lizzie and Darcy thing going on and you'll be pleased to hear that there is a hell of a Chuck/Blair roller coaster waiting for you. Chuck and Blair do finally figure out how they truly feel about each other at the end of this so there probably won't be that much Chuck/Blair drama in season 5. Suck it up while you can! I was extremely shocked by the way the Chuck/Blair drama panned out in this season, I was caught completely off-guard and didn't expect a thing. I'm not going to spoil it for you and tell you what happened, but boy oh boy this is an exciting jaw dropper.

Chuck and Blair deep in conversation

There are some very big twists and turns in this season and just when you think you've got it all figured out something comes along and changes everything. I was hooked to Gossip Girl from episode one and the drama is so much more intense in this season with each and every episode leaving you begging for more.

Here's just a quick overview of the plot without giving too much away. For those of you who watched season 3 you will remember that last season finale we were left with a massive cliff hanger after Chuck had been shot and left on the streets bleeding. Firstly, we see how the rest of this story panned out and also Blair and Serena's adventures in Paris. The first half of the season is very much focussed on the arrival of the character 'Juliet'. No one can quite figure out what her motives are but she has a grim determination to wreak havoc with Serena's life. She also manages to rope in two other prominent characters to help her with her plans. Who is she and what does want? After this, the plot moves over to focus more on Chuck and his life's struggles. To be (with Blair) or not to be (with Blair)? That is the question. (Literally.) Chuck has many life choices to make regarding himself, his business and his relationship with Blair. What will come first, work or love? For the last couple of episodes we see the arrival of Charlie, Serena's cousin who has been raised far away from all the glitz and the glam of the Upper East Side. At first everything seems normal, but suddenly Charlie's behaviour becomes suspect to Serena. What is she hiding and what does she want?

So, I haven't mentioned very much of the other characters but of course, Serena does play a very large role in this season; however, her problems seem to be very much family-orientated and not boy-related. In fact, she doesn't really have any particularly major going on in the boyfriend department, or nothing that's particularly gripping. Nate finds himself a new girlfriend but now he is torn. How can he choose between his best friend and his girlfriend? Trouble ensues. We see Dan become a bigger part of the Upper East Side and he becomes much more accustomed to their ways and manners and is less condescending of them. Some parts of his previous relationship with Serena is reactivated by other characters as he tries to form new relationships which is very exciting. Jenny and Vanessa are of course still skulking around in the background appearing every now and again to cause trouble. Lily Van Der Woodsen plays a much more prominent role in this season than she has in any other as issues from Serena's past crop up again, meaning Lily has to deal with the aftermath.

What's Nate doing with Serena's new enemy - Juliet?

The season finale is definitely the best episode of the season and it not only wraps up loose ends but it also creates many more which will no doubt be sorted out in season 5. Some plot lines from earlier in the season that you thought had be put to sleep will rise again to slap you in the face. It really was one of the best season finales of any show that I've ever seen  that has got the exact balance between coming-to-an-end and leaving-you-begging-for-more that makes this a great conclusion for season 4 whilst leaving enough juice to keep you hanging on to see what happens in season 5.

If you missed Gossip Girl whilst it was aired on television then I highly recommend you buy this on DVD or rent it from your local video store because it is definitely worth it. This is the best season of Gossip Girl yet which the most drama, action, tension, mystery and suspense yet!

ON ON DVD TODAY. (15TH AUGUST 2011)

Available on amazon.co.uk for £27.99
Available on amazon.com for $36.99

Order now!

Who is Chuck's mysterious lady friend? Yes, that is the Clemence Poesy who played Fleur Delacour  in Harry Potter (see - I can include Harry Potter in all  of my posts whilst still making it relevant)