Mega-spoilers ahead!
Gossip Girl is dead. Long live Gossip Girl.
After six seasons, many secrets revealed, and countless blog posts, Gossip Girl's identity was finally revealed. And while that person ended up retiring from the post, as Kristen Bell's familiar voice says, "There will always be someone on the outside, wanting to get in."
So, there will be a new Gossip Girl for a new generation. As for the one we've watched for six years, that outsider wanting to get in was Dan Humphrey.
[Related: Our picks for the best and worst 'Gossip Girl' moments]
Yes, Dan reveals himself to be Gossip Girl in the final chapter of his book. Was it a huge shock? No, it makes sense theoretically, though not entirely logically -- he tries to explain some of his head-scratching actions, like why he outed Jenny's loss of virginity to Chuck (apparently, she wanted to leave New York but needed Blair to banish her).
As Dan writes in that final chapter, "If I wasn't born into this world, maybe I could write myself into it." He came into the series as a "nobody," derisively dubbed Lonelyboy (by his own hand), and became as powerful and talked about as a Serena or Blair or Chuck.
Dan explains his story, past characters react to the big reveal, and Kristen Bell (voice of "GG") makes a cameo:
It was the ultimate revenge of the nerd.
Fans reacted to the big reveal with mixed feelings. Some claimed to have known all along; others were shocked. Most were just sad that the series was over:
A quick rundown of what went down in the finale:
- After Bart Bass's plunge off the rooftop, Bonnie and Clyde -- er, Blair and Chuck -- went on the run. And of all people, who came to their rescue but Jack Bass! He had a proposal: that Chuck marry Blair because spouses can't testify against each other.
- Blair's all rarin' to go, but Chuck puts on the brakes. Blair can't get married in the dress she wore the day before -- it's just not right.
- Meanwhile, Serena doesn't jet off to Hollywood after reading Dan's "real" chapter about her; she ponders that the whole Gossip Girl thing started after Dan saw Serena in a white dress on a school trip and then told Jenny about it. Wait, Jenny is Gossip Girl? WTF!
- They head back to the city, where Jack enlists Georgina's help as the queen of scheme to gather everyone together for a quickie wedding.
- Some random teen girls set out to ruin their big day by texting Gossip Girl and calling the police. Teen girls are the worst!
- Dan overhears Blair telling Serena that Dan will never be one of them or worthy enough to be with Serena. He preps his final chapter, which is about Gossip Girl, and gives it to Nate to release on the Spectator website.
- Everyone meets at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. Chuck and Blair lovingly (but hurriedly) say "I do." The police come to drag them away.
- All their phones beep: Oh no, is it Gossip Girl again? In a manner of speaking.
- In the very best tongue-in-cheek cameo ever (maybe in the history of television), Rachel Bilson and Kristen Bell are saying lines as if they're Blair and Serena. Turns out they're reading an "Inside Out" script when they get the blast revealing Gossip Girl's identity. Wait, she's real, Rachel says, as Kristen slyly winks at the camera. We die.
- Back at Blair's, everyone's waiting to find out what's happened to B&C. Rufus storms in; he can't believe Dan did all that horrible stuff to his own friends and family. Dan replies that Jenny knew all along and even sent in that tip about her losing her virginity. (Huh?! OK, let's not delve too deeply into logic here.)
- Chuck and Blair return, as the police had no evidence or witnesses. Then, in another hilarious scene, the whole gang trades stories on who they thought Gossip Girl was. "I thought it was Eric for a little bit," Serena muses. "I always thought it was Dorota!" Blair says.
- Serena isn't fazed by Dan's being Gossip Girl (even though GG was her mortal enemy not a few episodes ago). They hold hands and gaze at each other. He pronounces that "Gossip Girl is dead."
- Flashforward five years later! Chuck and Blair have an adorable kid, Henry. Nate may run for mayor of New York City (erm, OK). Eric's there! Jenny's there! Lily is with William. Rufus is with Lisa Loeb? And then Dan emerges looking very dapper in a tux and watches as Serena, clad in a gold-and-white concoction of a wedding dress, floats down the stairs.
- The end. Well, for them at least. "You may be rid of Dan Humphrey, but you'll never be rid of me," Gossip Girl teases as the camera pans over a new crowd of teen royalty. "Who am I now? That's one secret I will never tell. Xoxo, Gossip Girl."
And with that "Gossip Girl" the series is over. It's been a long, strange, twisty, fashion-filled run, but everyone got their "happily ever after."
Are you content with how the series ended? Sad to see it go? Check more fan reactions; then sound off in the comments below.
