Spoilers ahead for the Gossip Girl series finale.
Even the biggest Gossip Girl fans can admit that the big reveal in the series finale is, well, terrible. (Sorry to say it, but it’s true, and we’re still kinda mad at it.) It turns out that even the cast and crew of the hit CW series had some feelings about that controversial ending, Serena van der Woodsen herself, Blake Lively, finally revealing her thoughts on Instagram.
Lively took to Instagram Stories to share her thoughts about Gossip Girl being Dan Humphrey (aka Lonely Boy, played by Penn Badgley) the entire time. The since-expired Story was captured by a fan account, and we’re laughing so hard at the absolute accuracy of it all.
Sharing a meme that reads “We watched the entire series to find out it’s Dan,” Lively added, “YOU’RE surprised…Imagine how the writers felt.”
Okay facts. It definitely checks out with how nonsensical the ending seemed to be—several members of the cast and crew have spoken out about it in the past, seemingly revealing that everyone was surprised by Gossip Girl turning out to be Dan.
Back in 2019, Gossip Girl writer and executive producer Joshua Safran shared that his original top contenders for the reveal were Eric van der Woodsen (Serena’s brother) and Serena’s other love interest, Nate Archibald. But Safran had left the show before the last season to join Smash.
Even YOU star Badgley himself has admitted that the ending “doesn’t make sense at all.”
In 2015, he told People, “It wouldn’t have made sense for anybody. Gossip Girl doesn’t make sense! But no, it made enough sense. He was a writer.”
So there ya have it, folks. One of TV’s most controversial endings has pretty much every person on the planet eternally confused. Here’s hoping the reboot makes just a smidge more sense. It’s currently in production at HBO Max, so only time will tell, Upper East Siders.