It could have been so much better. And it would have been, except for the strike. 22 episodes became 18, and four hours of content had to be reduced and crammed into the five hours they had left. And what we were left with was...lame. Here's what (supposedly) would have happened, had they had the time.
The Gossip Girl Finale That Could Have Been...
Casting Director Renee Godbout on the high-stakes drama in the original season 1 finale script
By Renee Godbout
Now that the season finale of Gossip Girl has aired, I can let you all in on a little secret. Not only was the original script completely different, the first ending was so much better. Here's what would have gone down if the show had kept the first script:
Serena & Dan
Serena (Blake Lively) doesn’t catch Dan (Penn Badgley) with Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) the morning after the concert. Georgina had already left, and Dan's moral compass persuades him to tell Serena the truth. Serena still tries to lie to herself about what really went down between Dan and Georgina. Actually, this change was a good decision. It brought out a much-needed confrontation between Georgina and Serena, and more drama is always better television!
Chuck & Blair
The major changes of the show include my favorite characters, and their drama would have made the finale really good:
Instead of waiting at the helicopter pad for Chuck (Ed Westwick), Blair (Leighton Meester) is actually waiting at the airport. She runs into Carter Baizen (Sebastian Stan), our favorite bad boy who made a guest appearance earlier in the series. She tells Carter that she and Chuck are together, and that she's waiting for him. Blair continues to look at her watch, nervously watching the time fly by. Carter suggests that this is exactly the type of game Chuck would play: Making her believe he was in love with her and then leaving her stranded alone at the airport. Blair doesn't believe that... at first. As it gets later and later, Carter's suggestion makes more and more sense.
At the same time, Chuck is in his limo, impatiently waiting in traffic. He is complaining to the driver about the traffic when they come upon a car accident. Chuck sees Lily sitting on the curb. She's crying, clutching a lily in her hand, and is hunched over what looks like a body. Someone is draping a cloth over the body's head. Chuck tells the driver to stop and gets out of the car. Lily looks up, sees him, and shakes her head at his questioning glance. Chuck’s father is dead.
Unaware of this, Blair is finally convinced that Chuck has stood her up and decides to go to Europe with Carter instead. End of episode.
What high-stakes drama it would have been! The new season of Gossip Girl would have started with Chuck's anger and sadness, as well as Blair’s guilt. The original finale would have amped up everything about the show, instead of the relationship cop-out they aired last Monday night.
The ending that aired seemed like the show was trying to find any reason to keep Chuck and Blair apart. Happy couples may be boring couples, but the original ending would have given both characters so much more drama to work with. Who knows why the writers changed the script - maybe they didn’t want to start the new season on such a low note. But it would have been one helluva finale!
Renee Godbout - Casting Director, Grant Wilfley Casting. Renee is currently casting background for the first season of The CW's popular teen show Gossip Girl at this busy casting office. Some past projects include 2 seasons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, the pilot for Dirty Sexy Money, and the upcoming Jonathan Demme-directed Dancing with Shiva. The office also casts background for several other New York episodics including Law and Order: SVU, Lipstick Jungle, and New Amsterdam. Grant Wilfley Casting's recent films includes both background and some principle casting for: Sex & The City: The Movie, The Departed, Enchanted, The Bourne Supremacy, and Oscar nominee Michael Clayton.
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Sigh.
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