Gossip Girl’s tumultuous love stories made the CW drama famous, but HBO Max’s reboot actually beats the original show in one key way for how it treats its romances. Throughout Gossip Girl seasons 1 to 6, many protagonists coupled up and broke up with various other characters, sometimes leading audiences to believe no one would be free from sharing romantic ties with the central players. Gossip Girl often used that to its advantage, being at its dramatic best when love triangles were unveiled, either to the audience or the parties involved. However, the Gossip Girl reboot finally beats the original at handling romances.
Starting from how it handled one of the show’s main couples — Gossip Girl reboot season 1’s Julien and Obie, who were in love but not as invested in the relationship because of Julien’s sole interest in her influencer career — the reboot already proved to differ from the original. However, the Gossip Girl reboot also presented Audrey and Aki’s relationship problems, which were worsened by their mutual attraction to Max. While season 1 resorted to love triangles, the Gossip Girl reboot season 2 did not, instead fully fleshing Audrey, Aki, and Max’s relationship as a triad, resulting in their story being better handled.
Gossip Girl Reboot’s Poly Romance Outdoes The Original’s Love Triangles
By setting up Aki, Audrey, and Max’s relationship as a polyamorous romance, season 2 of the Gossip Girl reboot avoided some of the original show’s most repeated storylines that tended to be drama-inducing. Love triangles made many appearances throughout seasons 1 to 6, with Serena and Blair’s rivalry sprouting in Gossip Girl season 1 precisely after Blair learned about Serena hooking up with Nate. While Gossip Girl love triangles proved entertaining and often made the characters learn about their feelings, like Vanessa becoming involved in Dan and Olivia’s relationship did in Gossip Girl season 3, they also brought out the worst of its protagonists, making them jealous and petty.
Instead, season 2 of the Gossip Girl reboot proved truly refreshing for how it handled Audrey, Aki, and Max’s interest in each other, despite Audrey and Aki being set up as a steady long-term couple in season 1. Audrey and Aki’s relationship problems that arose in the Gossip Girl reboot season 1 multiplied when they both learned of their attraction to Max, but the challenge was also solved in the best way when they all communicated and sorted out their base rules. Indeed, while there might have been some jealousy at first, Aki, Audrey, and Max proved to be more mature than their original Gossip Girl counterparts.
Why Aki, Audrey & Max’s Poly Relationship Is The Reboot’s Best
Besides outdoing the original Gossip Girl’s romances, Aki, Audrey, and Max’s triad also proved to be the healthiest relationship in the Gossip Girl reboot. Although the Gossip Girl reboot's season 2 episodes 1 and 2 presented some problems among the three, as Max wanted to come out as a triad but Audrey and Aki didn’t feel comfortable doing so, things sharply changed in season 2, episode 3. Indeed, talking it out and Max accepting that they needed time turned them into even more ive partners, crowning these three Gossip Girl reboot characters with the most successful relationship.
The Gossip Girl reboot framed Julien and Obie as meant to be, especially as it forced them apart even as friends during Obie’s relationship with Zoya first and Grace then. However, while it handled Obie and Julien’s relationship better than the original Gossip Girl might have done with Chuck and Blair’s, it’s not their romance coming up the strongest of the Gossip Girl reboot. With their utmost ability to communicate and their obvious for each other’s endeavors, Aki, Audrey, and Max’s relationship outdoes the Gossip Girl reboot’s other romances and the original Gossip Girl’s relationships, also making the Gossip Girl reboot finally beat the original show in one way.
