REACTION: Gossip Girl Spinoff Episode 2.05

The second season of the “Gossip Girl” spinoff hit its halfway point on Thursday with the fifth episode.

Episode 2.05 is called, “Games, Trains, and Automobiles.” The official synopsis reads, “Under threat of exposure, Kate teams with Jordan and Wendy in an attempt to understand — and prevent — Mike’s hunt for Gossip Girl’s true identity. Audrey breaks down after Max and Aki go on a boys’ trip, where Obie stumbles upon damaging information concerning his family’s business. Meanwhile, Julien gets involved with a taken man, and Zoya’s impromptu Philadelphia excursion has unforeseen consequences.”

The episode was written by Ryan Koehn. It was directed by Satya Bhabha.

Gossip Girl Spinoff Episode 2.05, “Games, Trains, and Automobiles”

• It was clever how they showed the evolution of Julien and Graham’s goodbyes and interactions. That was a lot of ground covered in a really short time.

• Did we know Max was Jewish before this?

  • Related: Being a Jewish Teen Drama Fan (TDW)

• How did Grace’s “family controversy” get leaked to the press?

• LOLed at Shan exclaiming to Zoya, “What are you, 72?!”

• I didn’t remember Zoya going from 14 to 15. I had to Google it — we saw her birthday last season. It was central to an episode. Kind of bad that I don’t remember, but not sure if that says more about me or the show’s (lack of) lasting impact.

• At this point, I still think Mike is working for Georgina, or at least that’s who his blackmailer is.

• Going to a rave is somewhat of a teen drama trope — as seen in “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Dawson’s Creek” (and maybe the original “Gossip Girl” too? I can’t remember…).

• I was amused by the scene of Audrey interrupting Julien and Graham in the car and getting Graham to drive her to the Hamptons.

• Why can’t Zoya be Zoya at the rave? Why did Shan say she’s Monet?

• If Graham and his wife Ashley have been separated, why didn’t he say that from the start? He’s lying, right?

• Julien’s close-up monologue about nothing feeling stable or safe might’ve been Jordan’s best work to date.

• Having just finished binging “Succession” (stay tuned for thoughts…), Obie getting “out” of his family’s world and then his key card being turned off very much reminded me of Kendall and Logan.

• I don’t understand how Zoya’s night / morning led her back home and ready to start mending things with her dad. Just because she had sex with that kid whose name I didn’t write down, then got the cold shoulder from him, and apparently thinks she might’ve gotten pregnant?

  • Was that Zoya’s first time? I can’t remember if she and Obie went there.

  • IMDb says the kid’s name is Drew. I didn’t feel like rewinding the episode to double-check.

• Another episode ending on the Kate-Mike-Gossip Girl storyline. I get that that’s the mystery and, obviously, somewhat central to the episode’s Gossip Girl conceit, but I keep feeling “eh” about these moments that are probably supposed to feel big.

Like last week, I didn’t take many notes, which I guess is arguably a good thing — I’m not getting annoyed as much or finding as much objectionable. But it could also be argued that I’m not finding all that much I enjoy to write about either. It all just feels “meh” and mediocre. Tolerable. Harmless. But not harmless to the “Gossip Girl” legacy, of course.

That said, I actually liked the Aki-Audrey-Max storyline for once. That’s a significant change. Monet and Luna being MIA this episode, particularly Monet given the season’s focus thus far, was also a significant change. I didn’t really mind it. It made the episode feel less mean. But I bet that’s what some viewers are going to be missing. Monet and Luna, but especially Monet I think, have a lot of fans out there.

Notably, this was the last episode initially screened for critics. Hopefully that means Georgina — and some good material — are on the horizon. And I say that as someone who didn’t even like all the Georgina stuff on the original show!