While Julien sorts out her Instagram, new feuds develop. The mid-season break is a shame, because the show hit its stride in the last two episodes, the pacing and plot-juggling reminiscent of the original Gossip Girl’s wonderful chaos. Julien and Obie offsetting their privilege with activism that centres them as good people has a lot of potential: at least, it’s much more promising than Julien vying for brand sponsorships. It’s the exact kind of ‘woke Gossip Girl’ storyline that will turn people off, but the show’s shown a deft hand when it comes to exploring performative actions. The two kiss at episode’s end, setting them up as a potential ‘activist influencer couple’. It’s not because of Zoya’s berating but Julien’s, who stands side-by-side with him. The next day, he does attend the protest – a genuinely ballsy move against his own family (then again, there’s truly nothing more performative than attending a protest knowing you’ll get media coverage). Obie wishes she could cool it with the activism over hors d’oeuvres, and after his line “ are wrong, but we’re at dinner!”, Zoya realises that while her millionaire boyfriend might talk about social issues, he has no intent of rocking the boat when it really matters. It’s easy to trash-talk Obie’s badge-bearing activism, but his presence is significant: it’s against his own mother’s plans to sell dockland space to Aki’s father, a Murdoch-esque figure whom Zoya can’t help but argue with at dinner. This protest visually resembles Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi commercial, and considering Julien can only say “it’s important” to go after spotting Obie there on Instagram, it’s questionable whether she’s really motivated by morals. Now that Julien has realised that, for better or worse, influence was built into her birthright, she can use ‘her platform’ for more than herself. They’ve been writing around a problem they couldn’t remove. Maybe that’s why it’s been a little awkward. It’s like the show creators sold Gossip Girl on the premise that “the new queen bee is an influencer!” before realising that it was hard to flesh out.
GOSSIP GIRL SEASON 6 EPISODE 6 SOUNDTRACK TV
Other TV shows and films about influencers like Ingrid Goes West, Eighth Grade and Black Mirror’s ‘Nosedive’ work because their characters are trying (and largely failing) to be influential to make up for a lack of power elsewhere, but Gossip Girl’s own brand of escapism means Julien can’t want for anything. It makes sense she likes the attention (most of us do), but the lack of any material stakes has meant we’re basically watching someone anguish over a hobby. Unlike Zoya, who could benefit from Instagram fame, Julien already has all of the access and influence she needs through her pop-powerhouse producer dad. Credit: HBO GO/HBO MaxĪlthough her ambivalence isn’t necessarily a bad plot point, it has been frustrating to watch. The realisation hits hard this episode when beauty brand representatives fight over partnering with her ‘unique voice’ – but drop off after she attends a protest and demonstrates how that voice can be used for more than self-care tips. She wants to monetise her account, but has no idea of who she is beyond “sellable”.
“Who am I?” is a question all 16-year-olds obsess over, but Julien has the added pressure of thousands of followers. “And your brand is?” he asks, finally voicing what we’ve wondered all season.
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