Critic Reviews
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
The teens feel less like Gen Z caricatures and finally have problems worthy of our attention.
-
In its second season, Gossip Girl has morphed into exactly what you want from a reboot. The costumes and directorial work are more refined and swoon-worthy than the original, and even though the drama is new, it feels familiar. There is a real sense that this is a new chapter in a beloved story.
-
Overall, the whole production seems much more comfortable in its second outing. Many characters feel more lived-in and less reductive, and the writing has gotten much funnier.
-
Gossip Girl Season 2 doesn’t take any huge leaps, either in terms of the timeline or storylines it covers, but that’s okay. The show knows what it is and what it’s good at, and it’s smartly leaning in to highlight fan-favorite characters we didn’t see as much of in the first season.
-
With the reboot bringing back old characters from the original series, it’s safe to say that Gossip Girl is acknowledging at least some of the problems that made its first season such a harrowing disappointment. And at least there have at least been efforts to fix them. Though it’s a vacant endeavor, the fan service at least buys the show some time. But like the characters themselves say aloud in their cringey, internet-speak: Gossip Girl is in her flop era.