In the pilot episode of HBO Max's revival, Zoya, the little sister of ultra-popular influencer, Julien, teased a hidden reason why she "had to leave" her hometown of Buffalo — meaning that it wasn't just Julien that drew her to Constance Billiard and the Upper East Side. At Zoya and Julien's joint party in Episode 4 (which neither girl wanted to participate in, exactly) Julien decided to unveil the truth about Zoya's reason for leaving her last school, only to feel guilty about it when she learned the entire truth.
With the help of Luna and Monet, Julien gets her hands on a tape that appears to show nice girl Zoya trashing her old school — spray painting graffiti, making a mess, the whole chaotic thing. Julien plays the tape on stage at the event, which is supposed to celebrate Zoya's birthday party/memorial for their mom, who died giving birth to her.
While Julien's intention is to finally show the world who Zoya really is, Julien apparently had not finished watching the whole video. At the end of the video, Zoya is locked in a classroom by her supposed "friends," and teased mercilessly for killing their mother in childbirth. Zoya panics and pulls the fire alarm, just so she can escape this hellish bullying situation.
It's certainly an upsetting thing — though, admittedly, not nearly as juicy a secret as the time Serena was convinced she "killed someone" in the original Gossip Girl.
One thing this secret reveal coming out does do is finally bring Zoya and Julien together as sisters. Upon realizing that she humiliated her sister (on her birthday!) for absolutely no reason, Julien publicly apologizes to Zoya on stage, and declares herself the real bully in the whole situation. She tearfully asks her followers to hold her accountable for any future bad behavior, and tells her little sister, "Z, I love you." Cue Princess Nokia taking the stage for a very special performance.
The girls have been at one another's throats since the first episode, when Gossip Girl — aka a slew of petty, bitter millennial teachers — decided to arbitrarily destroy their lives and relationships. It's a bit like Blair and Serena's reunion in the first season of the original Gossip Girl: Upon learning that Serena returned to the Upper East Side in order to take care of her brother Eric, who was suffering from a mental health crisis at the time, Blair decides to lay her armor down.
Will there be more drama on Gossip Girl 2.0.? Most definitely. Whether Zoya and Julien will now be on the same side, however, remains to be seen.
Images: HBO Max