While the new Gossip Girl reboot is quick to take us to DUMBO, nothing is more iconic than the allure that the Upper East Side had to me as a teenage girl growing up in Indiana. The mystery in Kristen Bell's voiceover set up a magical land that was the definition of glitz and glamour. Since moving to NYC, that "allure" has since dissolved to make way for rats and feces (rat and other...). Still, anyone who watched the OG Gossip Girl knows what I'm talking.
However, the main thing that kept me hooked, other than the dreams of one day moving to Manhattan myself, was the intricate and interwoven love stories that act as a through-line throughout the entire series. While the main couples (Dan/Serena and Blair/Chuck) eventually end up together, it took some time to get there... six seasons to be exact. And along the way we were introduced to one pairing that is often overlooked, and that I'd argue was the best couple on Gossip Girl: Dan and Blair.
I know at the time of airing when Blair and Dan got together we were all very aggressively against it. Believe me, I was right there with you. Lonely Boy with Queen B? 1). They couldn't be more opposite. 2). How dare they do this to Serena? 3). After seasons of vehemently despising each other, we're just suppose to buy them together? But looking back as someone who understands the more nuanced sides of relationships now, they were actually pretty compatible.
While Blair and Dan had the whole enemies-to-lovers troupe going for them, this relationship was way more than that...
They have great banter
This point speaks for itself, but the back and forth that Blair and Dan have is truly entertaining... even if it is just Blair rattling off insults. And as we all know, every great relationship is built on the quality of the banter.
Their relationship was built on friendship
In Season 4, when everyone else was preoccupied with their winter break travel plans and family commitments, Dan and Blair find themselves with no option but to hang out with each other. Surprisingly, they find that they actually have a lot of interests in common, such as "french documentaries about orangutans," (as Dan so eloquently put it). Even more than that, they are actually enjoying each others's company (... although neither of them would ever admit it). From there, they start going to museums, movies, art galleries, etc.
Blair lets down her guard with Dan
Blair doesn't let down her guard easily. Especially not to lonely boys from Brooklyn. In the earlier seasons before Blair and Dan's romance bloomed, there is something to be said that she seemingly cares so little about him that she is truly unfiltered. When they started to get closer, she lets her guard down and can be super vulnerable with him. Blair is most herself with Dan. Even when talking about her relationship with Dan to her Mom she states, "Dan is my best friend and when we're together it's great. I feel strong and safe."
Dan is always there for her
If we leave out the countless times that they teamed up to save Serena, he helped her feel like she belonged at NYU and helped her after she got promoted at The W internship and had way too much on her plate even though he didn't work there anymore. He was even there when dealing with the fallout of her marriage to Louis. He even went a step beyond and when she admitted she hadn't signed the divorce papers yet because she didn't want to give up being a Princess, he created a whole Princess scenario at The Met. If that wasn't enough, Dan is even the first person that she confides in that she is pregnant and doesn't know who the father is. He assures her that he will always be there for her, and except for the little fact that he was Gossip Girl, has stayed true to this.
We don't need to read their star charts to know that Dan and Blair were possibly the most solid relationship the show saw outside of the ships.
Images: WB