Spotted: Columbia University on national television, or is it Grant’s Tomb? The CW’s saucy drama “Gossip Girl” returns to campus this week to highlight the raunchy backstabbing world of young high society.
In the newest episode on Monday, Jan. 24, “The Kids Are Not All Right,” Serena (Blake Lively) returns from her road trip, which failed to undo the false statutory rape charges against her high school teacher Ben (David Call). Meanwhile, Blair (Leighton Meester) and Dan (Penn Badgley) begin an unlikely friendship in the wake of their years-long enmity. But the Upper East Side princess still has plans of her own—to become the next Indra Nooyi, chairperson and CEO of PepsiCo and world-renowned business maven. On the surface, the choice of Nooyi as Blair’s role model makes sense because of Nooyi’s power and influence, but it is nevertheless, as Blair later acknowledges, “pretty random.”
Despite Blair’s constant conniving, most of the episode centers on Lily (Kelly Rutherford), Serena’s mother, and her mysterious attempts to save the legacy of Bass Industries and release Ben from his unlawful imprisonment without fears of getting charged herself. But the constant champagne-toting and holier-than-thou attitude that Rutherford brings to her role mark it as a caricature of UES society. Lines like, “I know you disapprove of me, but can you at least do so in a tuxedo?” don’t help round out the character.
“Gossip Girl” isn’t renowned for being realistic or thought-provoking, but this episode’s shenanigans walked the line of downright obviousness. Ten minutes of Serena and Dan brandishing identical manila envelopes made it glaringly clear that they would be mixed up in a climactic plot twist.
Most of the episode was also devoid of the sordid affairs and scandal most fans expect, with only a few flirtations between Chuck (Ed Westwick) and Raina, a new character that happens to be (gasp!) not white, and between Dan and Blair. But the last few minutes teased at juicy drama to come, including a burgeoning romance between Serena and the newly freed Ben and a revelation of a romantic history between Lily and Russell, Raina’s father and the new owner of Bass Industries.
While this week’s episode unfortunately did not showcase MoHi locations, “Gossip Girl” has an extensive history of using Columbia and nearby locations to suit the show’s needs. The season two episode, “New Haven Can Wait,” is mentioned by plenty of Columbia tour guides for trying to pass off shots taken at Columbia for Yale University.
During the episode, the Skull and Bones secret society jumped Dan Humphrey, tying him to the Rotunda in the Van Am Quad. Most of the Yale shoot took place on West Campus where Dodge Hall, Earl Hall, and Havemeyer Hall served as perfect Ivy League backdrops for the high-society TV series.
Riverside Church also played a prominent role last season as the interior and exterior backdrop of an important Columbia alumni dinner. The GG gang and parents schmoozed with Columbia faculty and alumni in hopes of gaining admission the old-fashioned way—through networking and large donations, of course. Once Blair and Serena were inevitably accepted to Columbia, the campus was already taken as a backdrop so Grant’s Tomb was modeled to be the “Gossip Girl” Columbia campus.
Whether the socialites of “Gossip Girl” will continue to cavort around Columbia or not, the show remains an integral part of New York City pop culture.
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