![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
There's been so much I don't get about Chuck/Blair. I'd like to get it, if only because Blair is my favorite, and I hate not understanding her story line. Plus there was such a lot of new information to process in those last three episodes.
I can't at my own pretentiousness, but I see three "levels" to Chuck/Blair's narrative:
1. Games - The episode-to-episode damage between Chuck and Blair.
2. Labels - The characterization explaining why Chuck and Blair play games: Blair is a "weakling" and Chuck is a "coward"
3. Narcissism / Codependency - The psychology of why Blair is weak and why Chuck is a coward
01. GAMES I mean, obviously. Chuck/Blair has been a near-constant battle. Games were part of the foundation of their relationship ("You and I bonded over a mutual love of scheming"), games were part of their undoing. Season 2 is inundated with dialogue about games and stakes, winning and losing. Games + Chuck and Blair's king and queen pretensions = every chess and war Also obviously, games aren't the point. S2's sabotage, schemes, wagers, and ~seductions are just a way for Chuck and Blair to channel their feelings for each other into a safer type of interaction. They lie that the game is what they both enjoy about their relationship, but they're really just afraid to be more than frenemies.
S3 is a metaphorical chess game, and Chuck and Blair struggle to play on the same team. Blair is controlling. Chuck is both distrustful and untrustworthy. The game culminates in a ~war with Jack for the ~Empire, in which Blair protects her ~king and Chuck sacrifices his ~queen.
In S4, references to royalty are thick on the ground. Chuck declares war on Blair, and Serena and Nate broker an actual peace treaty (complete with actual territorial disputes) between them. Like S2, the war is just a way to suppress their feelings. Neither wants to admit that they still love each other.
The way these three arcs were written, the game-playing is a symptom, not the actual problem(s) with their relationship. I think the best way to try and unpack those problems is to follow the show's lead and use Chuck and Blair's labels: coward and weakling. 02. LABELS  Blair's weakling label has been been linked to her feelings for Chuck ever since Gossip Girl handed them out. In S2, Blair being afraid to say "I love you" to Chuck is equated with weakness:
In S3, Blair offering herself to Jack in exchange for Chuck's hotel is her ultimate moment of weakness, and the shame she feels afterwards (she even relapses with her eating disorder) makes Blair reevaluate what she wants:
In S4, Blair is obsessed with becoming a "powerful woman." Powerful is the opposite of weak, and weakness is associated with her feelings for Chuck:
We were all so bummed when Blair made her powerful woman arc about Chuck at the end of 4x16, but the truth is that it was always mostly about her feelings for Chuck and how they make her feel weak. It's not Chuck making Blair weak. For example, he sends a famous chef to make sure her Girls Inc. (a "female empowerment organization") event is a huge success... but she ditches the foundation to go tell Chuck she loves him. It's Blair's jealousy of Chuck/Raina that drives her to bite off so much more than she can chew at W. Watching Blair be owned by her feelings for Chuck has been really sad and unfun. It's like watching constant self-sabotage. Chuck's coward label is important too, but it isn't tied to his relationship with Blair; Blair's weakness is to Chuck as Chuck's cowardice is to his father. Chuck not being able to say I love you was equated with cowardice, but it was his father's death that took it to an extreme level. In S3, Chuck deals with his own ultimate moment of cowardice: running away instead of being there when Bart died. In S4, Blair tells "Henry Prince" that he's being a coward, but Chuck is running from more than just the mistakes he made in their relationship. Sadly, the show has never explicitly unpacked Chuck and Blair's labels for us. So this is where I get to start making stuff up! 03. NARCISSISM / CODEPENDENCY 
The idea that this quote from S2 is important has been kicking around fandom for awhile. I've never really been interested in psychology, and I tuned out whenever my English teachers went on tangents about Freud (seriously, why are they so obsessed?), so to me 'narcissist' was just an adjective for 'self-centered.' I didn't realize narcissism is an actual psychiatric diagnosis. It's even a personality disorder, if you have it badly enough. Characteristics of Narcissists:
I think Chuck is written to be pathologically narcissistic, not just someone who is self-absorbed. Chuck rarely takes responsibility for his actions. He has difficulty trusting even those closest to him. He's incredibly selfish. He sells out the people who care about him. Oftentimes he doesn't seem to *understand* what he's done; he laughed when Blair told him she hadn't slept with Jack, like that was the problem. His "apologies" to Blair project blame onto her ("I'm sorry, but no one forced you to go up there") or are framed in a way that makes it all about his feelings: "You have no idea what I've been going through since that night." Chuck is almost always all about himself and his pain and his needs:
It's almost comedic how rarely Chuck takes responsibility for his actions. And the "wonderful things" is interesting too, because one of the "grandiose" types of behavior narcissists exhibit are big romantic gestures. And since narcissists's OTT behavior is designed to protect themselves, maybe that's why Chuck's "romantic" Affair to Remember invitation to the Empire State Building came off like an ultimatum instead: "If you're not there tomorrow at 7:01, I'm closing my heart to you forever." Psychologists think narcissism is something people develop to defend themselves against shame. Chuck probably developed his in order to protect himself from the shame of "killing" his mother and his father's rejection. Narcissism is about insulating oneself from acute feelings of inadequacy on a very deep level. Chuck told Blair he abandoned her at the helipad because he was afraid she'd see the real him. Jack told Chuck: "Blair's seen the real you, now. It's over. She could never love that. No one could." He fabricated an entirely new identity rather than face his mistakes, and he humiliated Eva so she wouldn't find out about his past. Chuck is a self-loathing 'coward' because he's a narcissist, and his label is tied to his father because his relationship with Bart is the root of his narcissism. Narcissists are users/takers because they have to look outside themselves for everything -- happiness, goals, self-worth, validation, joy, excitement. All of it has to come from their possessions (which include partners and children, who they objectify) and achievements. In relationships, narcissists are looking for "narcissistic supply," which is an academic concept that boils down to attention or validation or whatever floats a particular narcissist's boat. The ideal person to provide that is a codependent. Narcissists and codependents are described as "natural magnets" for each other.  Codependency is a really broad concept. (Basically unhealthy love.) Codependents can be addicted to addicts, narcissists, relationships, have savior or martyr complexes, etc. I don't think Blair is a codependent; if she was, I think her relationships with Serena and her mother would be infinitely more fucked up. But I do think Blair has codependent tendencies re: relationship addiction, and I think Chuck's narcissism brings them out in her. Characteristics of Codependents:
Last season, probably the most frustrating thing for Blair's fans was watching Eva and especially Raina walk away from Chuck, whereas Blair was never allowed to move on despite being treated so badly. But one reason codependents/narcissists are "natural magnets" is that only someone who is as unhealthy as the narcissist will put up with their treatment long-term. In this sense, Blair is Chuck's enabler. Like Chuck says: "We bring out the dark sides in each other."
This quote is so melodramatic and self-absorbed in context; Chuck's dad just died! Nate also talks about how sweet and maternal Blair is with Chuck ("I mean, worrying about him, offering him food, it's downright maternal"). I think the codependent part of Blair kicked into overdrive after Bart's death. Subconsciously, she may even have seen it as an opportunity to prove her love to Chuck. What narcissists are looking for in a relationship is validation. Their codependent reflects back their view of themselves as special:
Blair takes pride in the idea that she's helping Chuck change. Chuck throws that back in her face when he believes that Eva, who he idealizes as "pure and perfect," has finally changed him:
Re: their partner's problems, codependents are controlling and resentful when their help/advice is ignored.
Codependents believe in unconditional love. They lose sight of boundaries in their relationships.
Codependents "love so much it hurts." So many books on codependency have titles like 'When It Hurts Too Much to Let Go' or 'When Love Hurts.'
People recovering from codependent relationships talk about being emotionally destroyed. They compare their partners to vacuums or vampires who have sucked them dry of life/happiness/self-esteem/energy/etc. And that's exactly what happened to Blair. That's the kind of language she uses to describe her relationship with Chuck:
Chuck named the luxury hotel he's building in Brooklyn The Charles. That's ridiculously narcissistic. I actually think The Charles may represent Chuck's narcissism. I think that's why Blair was held hostage there in the finale. Russell Thorpe intended for The Charles to blow up with Blair inside of it (<-- I can't believe I just typed that in a sentence, tbh); Blair "I love you so much it consumes me" Waldorf would have been literally ~consumed, literally ~destroyed in The Charles. The Charles may be the setting for Chuck's growth next season, which works with the idea that it represents his narcissism since he desperately needs to grow out of it. Narcissistic/codependent relationships are exciting. They enable both participants with their ~drugs of choice: the codependent provides the narcissist with ~narcissistic supply~ and the narcissist provides the codependent with the relationship dynamics she's attracted to: high drama, someone who needs her, someone else's damage to focus on. These relationships are like emotional roller coasters. THE LOWEST OF LOWS and THE HIGHEST OF HIGHS:
It's like they're addicted to their relationship. Angry, amazing hatesex, better-than-sex takedowns, Affair to Remember proposals... One minute they've "hit rock bottom", the next they're "going up in flames." Chuck and Blair's relationship is high risk and high drama, and it provides them with a mutual rush they'll probably never have with anyone else. But by the end of S4, Blair knows she wants something different. She *wants* to kiss Dan, and she *wants* to feel something when she kisses him... but she doesn't. And so she wallows in bed for a week before "accepting" that Chuck is her destiny. She tells Louis he's "the only man in my life, the only man that I want there, anyway." She's not over Chuck, but she *wants* to be. The best evidence that Blair's S4 story line has been about relationship addiction is Prince Louis and how he foiled Chuck. Louis waited for Blair "all night" at Constance. Chuck "couldn't wait two minutes" for Blair at the ESB. In 4x20, Louis chooses Blair over his empire, which is in stark and deliberate contrast to Chuck choosing the Empire over Blair. Blair is even wearing a dress they bought her in both scenes:  Which means that even though Prince Louis treats Blair so much better than Chuck did, even though Louis makes her happy and Chuck doesn't, even though Louis is the simple, honest love she's been longing for since S3, even though Louis is the literal man of her actual dreams... Blair still wanted Chuck. A matter of days after he was not!abusive! to her. I don't think that's romantic. I think that's really, really sad.   In LA, I think Chuck will chase adrenaline rushes in an attempt to substitute the ~rush of his relationship with Blair. Which is totally narcissistic. Narcissists enter a "manic phase" to replace their ~narcissistic supply~ whenever it disappears. Which is basically what Chuck does all the time. He's always on to the next on on to the next one: Elle and Eyes Wide Shut, Prague, Eva, Raina. Thrill-seeking, substance abuse, and reckless, self-destructive behavior are just another facet of that, another way for narcissists to get the fix they need, because without it they feel numb and empty. I keep seeing speculation that S5 will be a Chuck/Blair parallel because daredevil!Chuck will literally hurt in his whole body in LA, just like Blair did in Paris. Which conveniently illustrates the problem with Chuck/Blair's dynamic: In LA, Chuck hurts himself through his own actions. In Paris, Blair hurts because of Chuck. Gossip Girl is big on symmetry, but I really don't think Chuck and Blair getting past their individual damage lines up, except insofar that the roots of their "labels" are their low self-esteems. Bart exacerbates Chuck's label/narcissism in the same way Chuck exacerbates Blair's label/codependency. Blair tells Serena that she wants to escape Chuck's "darkness;" Chuck tells Nate that he wants to escape his father's "dark shadow." And that's why it's so much easier for me to see a path forward re: Chuck/Blair for coward!Chuck than weakling!Blair. Chuck's damage exists outside of his relationship with Blair, and he lashes out at/lets her down because of it. But Chuck could make peace with his father's memory, take responsibility for his actions, and become less narcissistic. However, Blair's damage exists *in* her relationship with Chuck, and she stays with him/loses herself because of it. The problem with their relationship isn't just that Chuck degrades Blair by treating her like a possession he can barter, like a possession he is entitled to. It's also that weakling!Blair degrades herself by being willing to trade herself to Jack, by choosing him over her own happiness, by wanting to be with who someone who hurts her. I think this is a pretty generous interpretation of Chuck and Blair's dynamic, but it's still so uneven. It's really no wonder Gossip Girl's online fanbase became so polarized between Chuck's fans (who still ship Chair) and Blair's fans (who do not). It's absolutely a reflection of how they were written. Do I think this is a Thing that is actually happening? Ugh, I don't even know P.S. No wonder I hated this story line. I don't relate to it at all. It makes me feel like I'm Temperance Brennan or something. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THESE EMOTIONS.  credit: vasymollo @ tumblr
|
← Ctrl← Alt
Ctrl →Alt →
September 22 2011, 18:38:56 UTC 8 months ago
Completely random: Chuck crashing his motocycle makes me laugh. On one hand, it's a "grow up already! stop acting like a child (and writers stop telling me THIS is the season Chuck will mature....)" On the other hand, it's so ...uncharacteristic... of the show to show Chuck in a ridiculous manner. Not since season 1 can I think of the show having Chuck be 'mocked' for being childish. It's always been a "he's mocks others but he's 'wise' for his age" type of characterization. (Even when he says/does stupid things seasons 2-4, we were supposed to take it ~seriously~, as though it meant something ~important~. Which I'm sure will come when Chuck becomes the savior of the Animal Kingdom.)
September 22 2011, 19:13:42 UTC 8 months ago
Just picking one gem, but O.M.G. Yes! Why did the prostitute and the business woman get to walk away? This has to be highlighting that Blair's enabling of/supporting Chuck is a BAD thing, right?
Still processing this whole thing. Sigh.
September 23 2011, 03:04:22 UTC 8 months ago Edited: September 23 2011, 03:04:33 UTC
I think so? I can't wrap my head around any other interpretation. But then I also refuse to believe that Chuck/Blair was "the wrong goodbye," so I don't know.
It's interesting you point out that Chuck's two other girlfriends were a prostitute and a powerful woman, which in effect sort of makes them what Blair is ashamed to have been (selling herself/being sold for Chuck's hotel) and what Blair aspires to be (Raina means queen, right? And Raina is powerful, becomes the Girls Inc. spokesperson, etc.)
8 months ago
September 22 2011, 20:06:55 UTC 8 months ago
I guess I've been expecting this in a way since Season One because I've always thought that Chuck and Blair brought the worst out of and exacerbated each other's worst qualities, but the way you've written it out here kind of pinned down EXACTLY which qualities they exacerbate and bring out. The warning sign for me was that I never believed that Chuck would change, and that Blair to me was much more layered and complex character that would remain stuck in a rut as long as she stayed with him. So I guess from 1x07-4x20 I was like oh yeah, not surprised, but the last 5 eps of Season 4 + Safran's interview staggered me and now I'm just like UGH. THIS SHOW.
The saddest thing is that ALL they have in common are those games and schemes; in Season 2 it was horrifying for me to watch because it was like Chuck was brainwashing Blair into this codependent mess that she remained all throughout their relationship in Season 3.
September 23 2011, 03:10:58 UTC 8 months ago Edited: September 23 2011, 03:11:32 UTC
I remember at the end of S1, Blair tells Serena that Chuck brings out the worst in her, but she insists that she brings out the best in him. I feel like she has been proven wrong. It's not so much that she brings out Chuck's actual worst behavior, but she really does enable him in a way no one else ever has.
There's the fact that he only loves the 'dark' part of Blair
I think Chuck finally ~saw the 'light' part of Blair in the finale, and he told Nate that *that's* the Blair he loves, and that he isn't right for her because they bring out each other's dark sides.
I keep seeing their shippers say that Chuck and Blair need to realize that they're wrong -- Chuck does make Blair happy, and they don't actually bring out the worst in each other. But I feel like that *is* what I have been consistently watching in their arc. They are bad for each other, and their relationship is addictive/gives them a rush, it doesn't make them happy.
September 22 2011, 20:20:42 UTC 8 months ago
Two thumbs up.
You have missed your calling as a literary critic, bb.September 23 2011, 07:04:39 UTC 8 months ago
Re: Two thumbs up.
SecondedSeptember 22 2011, 20:22:49 UTC 8 months ago
So, it made my jaw drop, when they had Blair, of all people, says games and scheming was all that had in season 2 (2.07? 2.08?) to keep their relationship alive because neither could say ILY. That is a direct contradiction to everything she said and did in season 1 in relation to Chuck. (But the writers altered Blair to fit Chuck. When Jenny knocks her off her throne in season 1, she takes it back, even as she congratulated Jenny on being a power player. When Chuck knocks her off her throne in season 2, she just does nothing...and 2 episodes later instead of getting back at Chuck or trying to get her throne back, she is chasing after him and acting like she is inferior to him, not an equal. And I'm horrified the writers repeated it in season 3, especially the way they did.)
September 23 2011, 03:15:12 UTC 8 months ago
I know Blair didn't really *want* to play games when she agreed with Chuck that what they like about their relationship is "the game."
But I do agree that there was a shift from S1 to S2. I was really taken aback when Blair returned from Europe in love with Chuck, crying for him to tell him he loved her. I really think they must have chosen this dynamic sometime between writing 1x18 and 2x01.
I wish they hadn't, because it ruined Chuck/Blair, and Chuck/Blair has ruined the entire rest of the show for me.
8 months ago
8 months ago
September 22 2011, 20:30:43 UTC 8 months ago
Thanks for that palate cleanser, I really needed it. Love that gif.
September 23 2011, 03:21:35 UTC 8 months ago
Yeah, I think one of the most annoying things about the show right now is watching Blair's friends be friendly with Chuck and encourage/enable Chuck/Blair. Watching Serena tell Blair that Chuck is her prince... I hated that so much. It was a horrible moment.
Thanks for that palate cleanser, I really needed it. Love that gif.
I know, it's the best!
September 22 2011, 20:44:32 UTC 8 months ago
I really, really hope that the writer are doing this on purpose, and it's not just something that fits without being intended. (Because I don't get what they are trying to do by dragging Dan into all of that, and basically telling Blair, through him, that she deserves better.)
It's not Chuck making Blair weak. For example, he sends a famous chef to make sure her Girls Inc. (a "female empowerment organization") event is a huge success... but she ditches the foundation to go tell Chuck she loves him. It's Blair's jealousy of Chuck/Raina that drives her to bite off so much more than she can chew at W. Watching Blair be owned by her feelings for Chuck has been really sad and unfun. It's like watching constant self-sabotage.
THIS.
The problem is so much bigger than "just" Chuck dragging her down, it's Blair's whole life/self-worth circling around Chuck.
September 23 2011, 03:42:33 UTC 8 months ago
I actually don't think Chuck has the full on personality disorder because he *does* take responsibility for his actions on rare occasions (such as his straightforward apology to Jenny in S2 and letting Blair go in the finale) that I don't think he'd be able to do if he had full-blown NPD? IDK, I just expect someone with the personality disorder to always fit the criteria, always? /armchair psychiatrist
Because I don't get what they are trying to do by dragging Dan into all of that, and basically telling Blair, through him, that she deserves better.
Yeah, Dan's role in all of this is confusing. I mean, actually it's not confusing. The writers are confusing. I was just catching up on anon, and I don't understand why new flavor Josh says that they've been nervous about how people perceive Dan and Blair's relationship. If he means they don't want people to perceive it as romantic... well, that's just not how they wrote it. Their story line was filled with shipper bait, and they kicked it off with Blair wondering to Dan who else could ever love her.
The problem is so much bigger than "just" Chuck dragging her down, it's Blair's whole life/self-worth circling around Chuck.
Agreed, and the confusing part is that it's not a Thing with anyone else in her life. Perhaps she shouldn't have forgiven Nate for sleeping with Serena, but her behavior with him was NOTHING like it is with Chuck. Serena doesn't aggravate her codependent tendencies like Chuck does, even though she has some of the same traits/issues and Blair is always "saving" her.
8 months ago
8 months ago
September 22 2011, 22:02:35 UTC 8 months ago
Total sidenote, your graphics are always so pretty!
September 23 2011, 03:52:53 UTC 8 months ago
Yeah, it's just awful to watch, totally unentertaining, completely frustrating. At least writing this, I feel like I have a framework to understand why she keeps making these decisions. IDK, this show just makes me sad. And yes, it is all really creepy.
TY!
September 22 2011, 22:56:57 UTC 8 months ago
God, this kind of relationship is depressing to read about and depressing to watch. I think Chuck's sudden growth and Blair's friendship with Dan both came a season too late, because it feels like the downer of a dynamic you're describing has been dragging on *forever* on the show. If it's even changing at all, it's changing too slowly for me.
If CB is written as a longterm, unhealthy addiction from which Blair needs to break free, then her first serious attempt to be happy in a relationship with a decent if proppy guy was always going to fail. So it should have happened last season. We should be over that already. Instead, the demise of that doomed relationship is what we have to look forward to in year FIVE! And they didn't even leave us in any doubt about Louis/Blair's chances of success; it was sabotaged in the season four finale (and we're still somehow supposed to care about the arrangements for their wedding).
And the other thing is, if they're writing it as kind of an addiction, then Blair's probably not done falling off the wagon so to speak, either. Has she even hit rock bottom yet? I can't tell if they are consciously writing it that way, though, given that terrible interview last season.
Great post.
September 23 2011, 04:16:09 UTC 8 months ago
I agree with everything you are saying, about how this has been dragging on for way too long. I know I used to complain about Gossip Girl plowing through drama too fast in S2, but... well, actually Chuck/Blair dragged back then too. I guess they have a plan for them, but it's hard to imagine it having a satisfying ending for Blair's fans.
it was sabotaged in the season four finale (and we're still somehow supposed to care about the arrangements for their wedding)
I know, ugh. You had some smart ideas about the 'why' of that on TWOP over the hiatus, though.
And the other thing is, if they're writing it as kind of an addiction, then Blair's probably not done falling off the wagon so to speak, either. Has she even hit rock bottom yet? I can't tell if they are consciously writing it that way, though, given that terrible interview last season.
I wonder about that too, and how the baby fits into to all of this. I would think that S4 was rock bottom based on the writers saying 'it's always darkest before the dawn,' but I would have thought the same thing about 3x17 based on Blair telling Chuck they've hit rock bottom together in the following episode.
And yeah, I don't know if this is what their consciously aiming for either. It could be just that CB the sort of bad epic~ romance that is so popular in teen media right now, and Chuck is a stereotypical bad boy who treats Blair badly, then has to step up when you least expect it (sudden growth, like you said) and/or make these big romantic gestures to keep the relationship viable. But I think codependency is what they depicted, even if it wasn't intentional.
September 22 2011, 23:03:28 UTC 8 months ago
September 22 2011, 23:06:56 UTC 8 months ago
8 months ago
Screened comment
8 months ago
September 22 2011, 23:59:17 UTC 8 months ago
One of the most frustrating things about it all. If Blair were written as a codependent character all around, then at least it makes a little more sense for her to continuously be trapped in this relationship with Chuck. But she's like that only when she's with Chuck, and yet Chuck somehow is built to be the end goal of Blair for the series? Are we supposed to feel joy when they end the series together because finally Blair can go, I am special because I've finally managed to tame ~The Chuck Bass?
Another frustrating thing is that Blair is painfully aware of exactly why their relationship sucks, how they're feeding into each other's worst traits, etc - but only for a fleeting moment, usually right before she obligatorily runs back to him each season. So, it's not that she doesn't get it - she does - but yet, here we are. The self-reflection and realization never corresponds with her actions after; so I don't understand why the show feels the need to have these moments of clarity if those moments never amount to anything that impacts anything.**
And the sad fact is that Blair being with Chuck won't ever change who he is or help him deal with his issues ever. As you put it, she's an enabler to his behavior. We've seen in the show that she doesn't make him a better person. She doesn't make him a stronger person. She doesn't make his many issues go away. So even if I were to say a Chuck fan (lol, look at that, I just typed that and now I feel dirty) and view Blair purely as needed as Chuck's vessel to his ~awesomeness, I'm not sure why I'd want him to be with her.
** And that isn't even just Blair, but everyone else too. Characters on the show are all aware of the futility of the CB relationship, yet the next second they're enabling them with "ChuckandBlair, BlairnadChuck, you guys are meant to be". Though I guess that could be one of the reasons as to why Blair still goes back to Chuck - everyone in her world tells her that it's ~fate. Except Dan and Louis, I guess, but Louis is ultimately just a guest star, so who cares what he thinks, and Dan will no doubt be worshipping at the altar of St. Chuckles next season so then everyone on the show is fully on board on the CB ship. AWESOME!
Sigh. DAMN YOU PALATE CLEANSER. I wonder how long you can mask the stench of poop being shoved in our mouths?
IDGI, Safran and co.
September 23 2011, 16:11:58 UTC 8 months ago
Exactly.
Blair's relationships with Serena (who she saves all the time) and Nate (who she forgave for cheating on her and still wanted after he told her he didn't love her) don't bring out these traits in her. She pined after Nate one episode after 1x07 and she was the one to end their relationship in S2. As of right now, it's only Chuck that brings this out in her. In fact, from the promotional summary, it sounds like Blair will be standing up for herself and expecting that Louis stand up for her too! But I guess that's why Louis is "right" love.
I don't understand why the show feels the need to have these moments of clarity if those moments never amount to anything that impacts anything.
I know. Patterns just repeat themselves over and over and over. It's so frustrating. I realize that characters can't solve all of their problems because conflict is essential to a story, and so these things have to be dragged out. But on Gossip Girl, Blair starts the season crying "What if I never get over Chuck?" and she ends the season in a worse place, weaker than she was in the premiere, weaker than I think she's ever been wrt him. It was just so awful.
September 23 2011, 02:32:21 UTC 8 months ago
Last season, probably the most frustrating thing for Blair's fans was watching Eva and especially Raina walk away from Chuck, whereas Blair was never allowed to move on despite being treated so badly.
This sums up my feelings of last season perfectly. I got to see Blair prostituted for a hotel, run back to Chuck only to have him in bed with Jenny. Then she spent her summer looking for him while he was off with his angel who loved him, while Blair was alone and pining for him. Anything she wanted last season she lost as a result of Chuck. Her class, her TA, her foundation, her internship.
Anytime she got a chance to shine and grow she ended up losing it because of him. Eva got to dump him and go on her own. Raina got to have a backbone, dump him and achieve in her life, get the foundation Blair lost due to Chuck and was a successful business woman.
Blair gets to cheat on her fiancee and still ends up begging Chuck to be with her despite the fact she knows he doesn't make her happy and Chuck's the one to walk away. In the end she didn't even get to walk away on her own, that's what makes the entire duration of last year for her just disgusting to watch.
September 23 2011, 16:47:41 UTC 8 months ago
When I was writing this, though, it made me think of how you and Court always complained that Blair's issues were sort of shoved under the rug in her relationship with Chuck -- her mother, eating disorder, etc. -- so his issues could take center stage. That seems like the dynamic of codependent relationships. One partner's (in this case Chuck as the narcissist, but sometimes it would an addict or alcoholic) issues take center stage and preoccupy the codependent constantly.
September 23 2011, 03:56:10 UTC 8 months ago
I had more to say, but then I just noticed your gif of Chuck crashing on his motorcycle and just sat and watched it over and over in morbid fascination and glee.
Posts like this really make me wonder why you aren't already head writer for GG. Sigh! So long story short: I &heart; this post and you, as always. You just may be one of the reasons I might slink around the fringes of GG fandom for at least a small part of this season. Unless things get gross and terrible and Chuck-ified fast. :/
September 23 2011, 05:53:10 UTC 8 months ago
<3
REALLY AMAZING POST. HAVE TO PUT IN MY MEMORIES. Think about this for awhile...September 23 2011, 06:42:47 UTC 8 months ago
This ship is such a hot mess I don't even know what to think anymore. Ugh.
Anonymous
September 23 2011, 09:05:19 UTC 8 months ago
Anonymous
September 23 2011, 09:37:27 UTC 8 months ago
September 23 2011, 12:42:01 UTC 8 months ago
Anonymous
September 23 2011, 09:48:43 UTC 8 months ago
September 23 2011, 12:45:00 UTC 8 months ago
8 months ago
September 23 2011, 11:02:30 UTC 8 months ago
Part I
I'm such a sick, sick person. I've read your post and thought: That's exactly why I ship them! I admit that I'm more of a Chuck fan to begin with but I hardly romanticize him or view him as a perfect man. I like how screwed-up he is and reading your meta gave me hope that the writers really did think it all over because sometimes it all seemed just like bad writing to me. You're also right about the show being a little late with Chuck's growing up - I've been waiting so long to see this and I feel a little cheated. I'm afraid it won't be well-done, that it'll be rushed and won't make much sense.The whole point of having a character like Chuck on the show and not making him a complete villain (Chuck's clearly shown in a sympathetic light, he belongs to the so-called grey area) is to see him redeem himself. Since it's a teenage drama, the redemption's usually through love however personally I'm not a fan of the concept. Why? Because I like people doing things for themselves, not for others. (Oh, how disappointed I was when it was revealed that Snape changed sides because he was in love with Lily, not because he understood Voldemort's side is wrong! :) If it were up to me, I'd make Chuck redeem himself through his family and friends, through accepting their love and loving them back the way they deserve it. (Maybe I'll still see it in season five? One can only hope.)
I would disagree at one point. You said that Chuck's own weakness and cowardice is not that relevant to Chuck/Blair but in my opinion it's the beginning of the end for them in season three. I really can't watch 3.17, it hurts my shipper's heart but recently I saw again all the episodes proceeding that one. The most important is Debarted. The memory of Bart (metaphorically speaking) hunts Chuck and he starts to doubt his own strength. Why? Because of his feeling for Blair. Bart always made it clear that business comes first and that family, friends, love even, are just accessories. Chuck imagines Bart telling him that his love for Blair makes him weak. Fortunately, at the end of the episode, we see Chuck overcome this fear and embrace his weaker side.
But then the whole thing with Elizabeth happens. I really disliked the idea of bringing her back from beyond the grave because the very core of Chuck's character, the reason for his self-hate and self-destructive tendencies is his conviction that he killed his own mother. By making Elizabeth alive, the writers turned it all upside-down and undermined the way Chuck views himself and the world. But back to the topic. Elizabeth's back and Chuck opens his heart to her. He accepts her and in the end he trusts her with The Empire (an important symbol of Chuck's struggle to free himself of Bart and achieve something on his own, which would make him worthy in his own eyes). When Elizabeth, who he believed was his mother (initially it doesn't matter that she tells him it's not true; Chuck trusted somebody who's supposed to be his family) betrays him to Jack, his own uncle, it's like Chuck throws out of the window everything he learned in Debarted. If his family can betray him like that, it means that Bart was right all this time - loving other people did make one weak. And Chuck always wanted to be powerful (just like Bart) so in order to achieve this, he had to forsake love. (...)
September 23 2011, 11:02:59 UTC 8 months ago
Part II
(...) He couldn't, though, so he tried to compromise the situation - if Blair accepts that she can't be his priority and that if the time comes, he'll have to sacrifice her for maintaining Bart's legacy, then they can be together. Chuck thought it's a safe bet but he was wrong. He lost Blair (as he should after what he did) and at this point the writers should make him question his values yet again. If they did, it's hard to tell. Chuck tried to get Blair back but we didn't get a chance to see if he would make a different decision, if given the chance. In season four we even see him betraying Lilly for his legacy which made me so sad you have no idea.Okay, I think that's it and I hope it makes sense why I think Chuck's weakness is also important to Chuck/Blair storyline, since I believe it impacted it heavily and actually caused its downfall.
After all this time I'm still a Chair fan but now all I can do is hope that Chuck and Blair will get their chance to grow up and change... Independently. As I said, I like people doing things for themselves and that applies to Chuck and Blair, too. I don't think they can mature together because they're constantly sabotaging each other. But I still believe they have a chance if they grow up.
I'm sorry for all the mistakes, English is not my first language :) Take care!
8 months ago
September 23 2011, 12:00:31 UTC 8 months ago
September 23 2011, 13:05:25 UTC 8 months ago
I think the two characters are definitely interesting character studies when looked at on their own terms. I'm not sure one is more to blame than the other, but it's frustrating how the GG writers decided to merge the two into one and really twist their personalities to make it appear as though their relationship isn't destructive and that it should be viewed as romantic.
As I already said, very well done. Thanks for sharing. It was a great complement to my Friday morning coffee.
September 23 2011, 13:12:57 UTC 8 months ago
This is exactly the words what i couldn't say because maybe i'm not too smart like you or i just can't thinking about it without such a mess in my head.
Thank you.
September 23 2011, 14:05:35 UTC 8 months ago
Last season, probably the most frustrating thing for Blair's fans was watching Eva and especially Raina walk away from Chuck, whereas Blair was never allowed to move on despite being treated so badly.
It is so bizarre the way they continue to write them, while presumably intending still intending for them to come off as a rootable couple (Idk even know what their thought process is any more though). I think everyone was pretty much expecting a lot of grovelling and remorse from Chuck in early season 4, instead we go right into him declaring war on Blair and doing everything he possibly can to mess up her life. Not to mention Blair sobbing at how Chuck has drawn her into the darkness and made her so unhappy. Just wow that the writers can then end a season on that same couple dancing on chairs and exchanging "I wll always love you". It really is pretty sick to watch
September 23 2011, 18:16:22 UTC 8 months ago
September 23 2011, 15:32:26 UTC 8 months ago
Also, lol about Rebecca being mistaken as a romance novel. :P
Anonymous
September 23 2011, 15:38:52 UTC 8 months ago
And can haters just go away,TBO.
← Ctrl← Alt
Ctrl →Alt →