Warner Bros. | 2008 | 1063 mins. | Not Rated
Another year with those upper East Siders; ‘it girl’ Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), Serena’s best friend and ally Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) is wealthy and popular guy but has some serious issues involving his father to deal with. Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) is a wealthy womanizer who struggles with feelings for Blair, which just might be love. Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) is an outsider who gained access to the upper East side after he and Serena fell in love. His little sister Jenny (Taylor Momsen), continues to do whatever she can to gain entry into that world.
Going into the second season, I expected more of the sex and backstabbing that had been the cornerstones of the series. While there is plenty of that, the show took a surprisingly more dramatic and emotional turn this season. As season two begins, most of the Gossip Girl crew is enjoying the last days of summer in the Hamptons. Though she’s been loafing in the high-class Hamptons, Serena van der Woodsen finds the arms of Brooklynite Dan Humphrey irresistible. Again. Nate Archibald must deal with the disappearance of his father, on the run for fraud and white-collar crimes, while finding comfort in the arms of an older woman. Blair Waldorf is up to her usual games. Since Chuck refused to say, “I love you,” Blair does her level best to make him jealous.
Of course, Chuck Bass may be the one person in the world who can match Blair when it comes to underhanded tactics. As a result, watching them battle for each other’s hearts takes some interesting twists and turns. Viewers also get the opportunity to see another side of Chuck, when he suffers a momentous tragedy even he can’t blow off.
As Dan and Serena struggle to finally figure out the status of their relationship, something happens that may put an end to it forever. Dan’s father Rufus (Matthew Settle), learns that Serena’s mother Lily (Kelly Rutherford) gave birth to Rufus’ son at 19 and gave him up for adoption. In the season two finale, Lily and Rufus became engaged and their son, Scott, came to New York looking for them.
In the midst of all this, Serena attempts to out ‘Gossip Girl.’ When Serena is unsuccessful, the blogger promises to follow all of them throughout their college years, therefore setting up the third season perfectly.
Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1), Gossip Girl looks pretty good, but has a few flaws. Episodes have a bit of noise in them, but nothing too distracting. Warner Bros has given viewers the option to watch the episodes with, or without, the recaps. Each disc contains a “play all” feature, called “Go” on the set.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound audio does a good job with both the dialogue and the large amount of music that is played throughout the season. Note to Warner Bros: Given the high fashion and liberal use of music, Gossip Girl would be an interesting show to see on blu-ray.
Subtitles are available in English, Chinese, French, Spanish and Thai.
Gossip Girl: The Complete Second Season has a fairly typical slate of special features:
• Deleted Scenes (15:08)
Deleted scenes (called “x’d scenes” on the discs) can be found for many of the episodes:
Summer, Kind of Wonderful (0:47)
The Dark Night (0:30)
The Serena Also Rises (0:27)
New Haven Can Wait (0:28)
Bonfire of the Vanity (0:49)
It’s A Wonderful Lie (2:12)
O Brother, Where Bart Thou? (2:39)
You’ve Got Yale (0:48)
Carrnal Knowledge (1:55)
The Age of Dissonance (1:48)
The Grandfather (1:05)
Valley Girls (0:35)
The Goodbye Gossip Girl (1:05)
• Jenny’s Fashion Music Video (3:18)
The fashion video used in an episode can be seen here.
• 5th Ave. Meets Gossip Girl
An interactive map showing the various locations. Click on a location and there’s a video clip of the location and some interviews.
• Faces Behind the Designs (17:03)
This featurette explores the designers behind the clothing used on the show.
• Gossip Girl: Chasing Dorota (17:10)
A six-part series featuring Dorota and the other housekeepers.
• LOL (10:35)
Typical gag reel.
• Audiobook (2:27:51) Christina Ricci reads Gossip Girl: You Know You Love Me, by Cecily von Ziegesar.
[xrrgroup][xrr label=”Video:” rating=”3.0/5″ group=”s1″ ] [xrr label=”Audio:” rating=”3.0/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Extras:” rating=”3.0/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Film Value:” rating=”3.5/5″ group=”s1″] [/xrrgroup]
