Text
my rankings of the canon pairings for each of my "core four"
Wait I forgot how long this was, edited to add a read more.
Serena
1. Nate
Golden couple! I know canonically Serena was closer to Dan and Blair, but I think Nate loved her unconditionally in a way they did not. Blair was always going to see the damaged party girl she was trying to leave behind, Dan was always going to see the perfect, friendly girl from high school and get judgmental whenever she didn't meet that expectation. But Nate just saw her, no expectations. He would've waited forever if she had asked him to... :(
2. Carter
I know he had his issues (and did they ever establish exactly how many years older he was...) but you could tell he really loved her in all of their interactions. And he understood the side of her that felt the need to constantly be on the move in a way Nate and Dan did not (especially since he had that same side to himself). I just think an older, more mature version of both of them would work really well.
3. Aaron
I actually really liked Aaron, he brought out an artsy side to Serena that no one else did. I wish they did more with him considering he became Blair's step-brother (!!!) but we never saw him or heard about him again???
4. Dan
Season 1 Derena was really cute and sweet, but by season 2 it was repetitive, and they probably should've just dropped it permanently once Lily and Rufus were finally together.
5. Colin
Definitely loses points for being her professor, but they seemed fine beyond that, and Sam Page is just so pretty to look at.
6. Steven
This clown really was going to marry Serena after six months, the first three of which he didn't even know her real name, when she was only like four years older than his daughter?? And he fucked her mother!! What the fuck was going on in season 6, truly.
7. Tripp
Aaron Tveit hot, but also married and left her to die in a Chappaquiddick rip-off so uh...yeah, bad vibes.
8. Ben
He was her teacher!!! I don't care that he didn't fuck her when she was a minor, that doesn't make it okay for him to date her later, when she's barely legal.
EDIT: Oh shit, I forgot Gabriel! Uhhhh I guess he was very forgettable and would go above Tripp? Wasn't he a con artist who stole Rufus' money? And he was played by Armie Hammer which obviously did not age well.
Blair
1. Dan
I mean, duh. If there was ever a pair of soulmates on GG, it was them. They just worked on another level. Yes, they weren't perfect, but they had such great potential for a mature and healthy relationship in a way none of the rest of them did. They CLEARLY loved each other (save me the "it was one-sided bullshit", Blair was GLOWING the entire Dair arc. Also - "I told Chuck he doesn't have my heart anymore. It belongs to someone else." That's a love confession!!) Now I'm sad again about how the writers ruined them. :(
2. Nate
Look...I know he cheated on her with Serena. I know she fucked Chuck behind his back. I know there were major incompatibility issues there. But there also was a lot of love. Maybe they were never IN love but they loved and cared about each other. They know each other on such a deep level. A lot of their scenes when they were a couple were actually really, really sweet. I hate how in the later seasons Nate cared more about Chuck than Blair and usually took his side with the exception of 3x18 and 4x20 (tbh Nate should've stopped being friends with him then and there but you know the GG writers). And their kiss in the snow? Iconic!
3. Carter
They only went there because Leighton and Sebastian were dating in real life and the writers wanted to capitalize off their chemistry, but they were hot and fun and I wish we got more of it.
4. Louis
Boring and his descent into darkness was poorly written, but they were fine at the beginning and he seemed like he really loved her at first. But the Dan vs. Louis vs. Chuck triangle was too all over the place, they should've kept it just Dan vs. Louis or just Dan vs. Chuck imo.
5. Chuck
I mean...what is there to say that hasn't already been said. Traded her for a hotel, tried to hit her, treated her like garbage a lot of the time, always kept her arm's length. They should've been done for good after 3x18...and 3x22...and 4x20...and 4x22...anyway.
6. Marcus
The only reason he's below Chuck is because he was so irrelevant and also was fucking his step-mother.
7. Jack Bass
I don't even want to include him as Blair's love interest, but again, it was so fucked up that they had Blair have a one night stand with him as a fresh 18-year-old!!! And it was only portrayed as bad because it was Chuck's uncle. Give me a fucking break.
Dan
1. Blair
Again, they just got each other. I think particularly, Dan got Blair on a level even Serena and Chuck did not. "Dan loves me for me", "it's like he peered into my soul". Because they were enemies to friends to lovers they really saw all sides of each other. I also don't buy this "Dan had her on a pedestal" crap, "Dan only loved the girl from Inside". Cause A) look at the above quotes, and B) Dan knew exactly how Blair could be (she banished his sister!!) and fell in love with Blair despite of that. He knew what he was getting into.
2. Georgina
Sorry, not sorry. Another hot, fun pairing that was you know, very toxic. But Penn and Michelle were always fun to watch together.
3. Serena
Again, really liked season 1 Derena, I think they were each exactly what the other one needed at that point in their lives, and loved the more platonic aspects of the pairing in the later seasons, but they do not make sense as adults, and I truly cannot imagine how they could make a marriage work.
4. Vanessa
Love their friendship, but they never clicked for me as a romantic pairing. I know they were endgame in the books, but show!Danessa did not work imo. They were too similar in many ways and they did not challenge each other to be their best selves like Dair and Natessa. Wish the writers never ruined their friendship though and tried to turn her into a villain. :(
5. Olivia
Pretty forgettable considering she was played by the queen of our childhoods, Hilary Duff.
6. Rachel
Stop having teen characters fuck their teachers and portray it as hot!!! It's not, it's deeply traumatizing in real life!
Nate
1. Serena
Our poor boy really pined after her for like three seasons, didn't he? (And who knows how many years pre-series?) I find it hard to imagine Serena really being able to settle down and commit to anyone, but if she could make it work with anyone, it would've been Nate. He just understood the side of her that needed to get away, be on the move, because he had that same side himself, the writers just never let him act on it.
2. Vanessa
They were cute! Like they were very supportive of one another always, and they were a good balance, and they just fit well, or at least their high school selves did. Adult!Nate probably wouldn't be with someone like Vanessa, but also Seasons 5 & 6 Nate is soooo OOC to me that it doesn't really matter. Also their last break-up was dumb and I hate that they ruined their friendship in season 4. Justice for Vanessa!
3. Raina
I actually really liked this pairing! They just worked and made sense on a level none of Nate's other non-main character love interests did. Like with the rest of them, it's kinda like "oh we casted this pretty guest star, might as well hook her up with Nate" with very little thought beyond that. But maybe because Raina was Chuck's love interest first, the writers actually had to put in the work to get them together and it showed. Also, Raina should've taken Nate with her when she left the UES. Free him from that world!
4. Blair
I don't know what else to add other than Nate really did care about Blair, even when he was chasing after Serena. Again, Blair might've not been his romantic true love, but Nate did love and care about her very much.
5. Lola
I liked them at first when we thought she was just a cater-waiter/struggling actress, but with the reveal that she was Serena's long lost cousin (and later half-sister) it got too messy and I lost interest.
6. Juliet
I know she was evil or whatever, but Katie Cassidy and Chace looked really good together and had great chemistry.
7. Jenny
Sorry but Jenny is a lesbian and I always got vibes that Nate mainly cared about her as a big brother anyway.
8. Bree
Barely remember them, they were boring. Also wasn't she a Republican? No thanks. Love Joanna Garcia Swisher though, wish they used her for something better.
9. Diana
What did Elizabeth Hurley even do other than be a hot milf and fuck Nate and lie about being Chuck's mom? What a waste of her talent.
10. Sage
Thank god I ignore season 6 because this was a character-ruining romance in my opinion. Having Nate date a minor while he's basically a CEO was already fucked up, but when you take in consideration that Nate himself had been taken advantage of by an older woman when he was a minor??? Ugh.
11. Catherine
Fuck her!!!! Enough said.
#this was mainly for me again#so i have it all in one place#but feel free to start non ch*ir related discourse with me!#gossip girl#gg meta#gg rankings#serena van der woodsen#blair waldorf#dan humphrey#nate archibald
10 notes
·
View notes