Product Description
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Gossip Girl: The Complete Second Season (DVD)
Welcome to Manhattan's Upper East Side, where affluent
prep-school students live for gossip and scandal … and fashion,
shopping and partying in New York's trendiest hotspots. Based on
the best-selling series of young-adult novels, this drama is told
through the all-knowing eyes of a blogger, Gossip Girl. The
tension between friends and lovers is high, and age is no barrier
in this world full of wealth and power. Executive produced by
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and starring an impressive
ensemble of young stars, season two continues with Serena van der
Woodsen's rising social status, as she becomes a New York City It
Girl. Taking Manhattan by storm is fun, but when elements of her
bad-girl personality begin to emerge, will her newfound status
fuel bad habits? Also starring are Leighton Meester, Penn
Badgley, Chace Crawford, Taylor Momsen, Ed Westwick, Jessica
Szohr, Kelly Rutherford and Matthew Settle.
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Gossip Girl loses a smidge of snark in season 2, but it's only a
smidge, as the Upper East Siders ride out the senior-year
traditions of college applications, prom, and graduation, but
with Fashion Week and the Hamptons as glamorous backdrops. Serena
(Blake Lively), wounded from her breakup/reunion/breakup with Dan
(Penn Badgely), spends much of the season searching for her
identity, which often steps on the toes of best frenemy Blair
(Leighton Meester). Whether it be vying for a slot at Yale, or as
queen bee of their prep school, these two have a complicated
friendship perfectly summed up by another character: "You might
be privileged, Blair, but you work for every single thing you
achieve … Serena just glides through." Meanwhile, Nate (Chace
Crawford) dallies with an older woman (Mädchen Amick) and his
upper-crust family falls into financial ruin; Jenny attempts to
break into fashion on her own assisted by an unhinged model
(Willa Holland); and Dan finds himself drawn to the new, young
English teacher (Laura Breckinridge). But the key story line
throughout season 2 is the evolution of the romance between Blair
and Chuck (Ed Westwick). The starts and stops aren't as
frustrating are they are heartbreaking--particularly when the two
admit they might just love the chase more than the reality of
couplehood--but Meester and Westwick make a compelling portrayal
of a couple so screwed up they may actually last. Other stories
that don't involve Blair and/or Chuck are weak by comparison,
particularly the season-ending Madoff story line, inspired by
Anne Hathaway's real-life ex-boyfriend who made headlines when he
was indicted for fraud. Moreover, characters and subplots fizzle
out abruptly (Nate and Jenny's fleeting romance, the embezzlement
finale). An '80s-set flashback episode, intended as a launch pad
for a spinoff about Serena's mother, Lily, also fails to connect
(the pilot was eventually rejected). But standout episodes
include "The Age of Dissonance," set during a hilarious senior
production of Edith Wharton's play, and "Seder Anything,"
centered around a Passover dinner hosted by Blair's new stepdad
(Wallace Shawn, a welcome comic ). Bonus features on the
seven-disc set include Webisodes of Blair's scene-stealing Polish
maid Dorota, unaired scenes, a gag reel, and a behind-the-scenes
interview with the show's wardrobe supervisor, Eric Daman, who
details his process for picking out the cast's designer wardrobe,
which could be a supporting character on its own. --Ellen A. Kim