I have been watching waaaaay too much Gossip Girl of late. This is a byproduct of being without cable television. As Gossip Girl is available on Netflix streaming, I am able to blaze through past seasons of a pop culture lexicon that I missed the first time around. And I am engrossed. But aside from all the fantastic clothes, the eminently quotable dialogue, and the soapy drama, one of the reasons that I’m enjoying the show is they use traditional romance novel tropes to great effect. (Which makes sense, since the show is based on a series of YA books.) I watch every episode, playing a game I like to call:
Spot the Trope on the Upper East Side
(note: I’m currently in the third season of the show, so all references are from that period. If anything changes in seasons 4 and 5, don’t spoil it for me, kids.)
Trope #1: Enemies to Lovers
Blair and Chuck are the IT couple of Gossip Girl for me. I know the Serena/Dan romance is what started the show, but Blair and Chuck have legs. Heck, some might even call Chuck a reformed rake. (Or, at least, he’s reformed when he’s with Blair.) They have heat. They have fun. Whenever they are on screen, you are not about to go stand up and get another glass of lemonade. And if you recall correctly, they started out as enemies. Blair always trying to stay on top of the social ladder, and Chuck gleefully playing out every 17-year-old’s dissipated fantasy at the bottom. But once they steamed up the windows in the back of the limo, their perpetual war seemed a helluva lot less like battle and more like… foreplay.
Trope #2: Old Love Comes Back
Yes, Serena and Dan break up and get back together at least 3 times a season, but this trope for me is defined by their parents Lily and Rufus.
Lily and Rufus had the romance to end all romances back in the late 80s. But they broke up, went their separate ways, but found themselves back together again later in life. Who hasn’t read a romance based on finding happiness with the love of your life the second time around?
Trope #3: Secret Baby!
So that aforementioned romance to end all romances from the 80s? It had a little side effect, known as a secret baby. That Rufus didn’t know about, and that Lily had given up for adoption. It is a classic example of the secret baby trope — the number of secret babies on romance novels could likely fill out a small country.
Trope #4: The Social Hierarchy is Here to Stay
In historical romance especially, there is a hierarchy that must be adhered to. Titles of nobility certainly help delineate who’s in charge and who’s not, and on Gossip Girl, the title of Queen is bestowed upon the mean girl in charge of ruling the school. Blair held this title with an iron fist, only to lose it time and again when her minions did something back-stabby (or, when she and Chuck steamed up those limo windows and everyone found out about it). While an aristocratic title is harder to lose, social good standing is as slippery in the halls of Almack’s as it is in the halls of St. Jude’s prepatory school on the UES.
Trope #5: Class Differences.
Dan and Serena had to overcome the huge dived between Manhattan and Brooklyn. So did Nate and Vanessa. It’s akin to the duke falling for the daughter of a merchant in historicals. But on Gossip Girl, it doesn’t seem to work out as well as in romances.
Trope #6: Misunderstandings Cause Problems. Like, Duh.
This is the trope that annoys me the most, in romance novels and unfortunately, on Gossip Girl. How many times has Vanessa or Little J overheard something and not gotten the whole story? Or how many times has Serena not fully explained her motives to Dan and they end up breaking up because of it?
Because geez, if these kids would just talk to each other, like sane people, there would be so much less conflict, and they could all live happily ever after. Although, that would mean there would be no show, so I guess I’ll just have to take it with a grain of salt.
This week I have a ridiculous amount of writing and reading to do, not to mention a couple of Gossip Girl seasons to watch, so I’ll be a busy bee. But don’t forget about my website contest! It ends this week, so hurry hurry and enter! Prize is a $25 Amazon gift card – you know you didn’t get what you really wanted for Christmas a month ago…
Until later sweets, XOXO!
“Misunderstandings Cause Problems. Like, Duh.”
This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Miscommunication and/or outright stupidity (like, a character not realizing that her seemingly-sweet rival is CLEARLY on a mission to steal her boyfriend). I find it the height of lazy writing, and it’s all over drama (especially teen drama, but it appears in adult drama, too).
This is one of the reasons I ended up loving The Vampire Diaries. The writers almost never take this kind of shortcut. The characters are smart, they communicate, they figure things out… if they seem to be walking into an obvious trap or trusting someone they obviously shouldn’t, there’s almost always more to the story. It’s so refreshing! If you haven’t checked it out yet, you probably should.