The identity of the anonymous blogger may not be a mystery on the new version of Gossip Girl (the snarky "spotted" posts are crafted by Constance Billard's millennial teaching staff who are set to ruin the lives of children) but there are still quite a few questions that HBO Max's revival has yet to officially address. One such question? Why, exactly, are Julien and Zoya's middle names made to be such a big deal?
In the first episode of Gossip Girl, Julien, a wealthy influencer, and Zoya, a Buffalo import with a scholarship to the famed private school, meet for the first time in the school bathroom. They giddily show off their matching tattoos and refer to each other by their full names: Julien Elizabeth, and Zoya Jane. Though their sweet sisterly bond becomes fraught pretty quickly, the girls regularly return to their middle names as proof that they should be close, as it was what their mother — who died giving birth to Zoya — would have wanted.
It's never explained, but many people on Twitter believe that the middle names are a Pride and Prejudice reference. In theory, Julien's middle name comes from Elizabeth Bennett (obviously, given Julien's main character energy) while Zoya's moniker is a reference to Lizzy's sister Jane.
Now, did Jane swipe Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend the second he became available, and did Elizabeth plan to make everyone in Manhattan believe Jane sent a dick pic to an entire fashion show? No, no they did not. Still, it's quite plausible that their mother hoped these two would have a tight bond, and named them after Jane Austen's beloved sisters as a way to tie them together forever.
Of course, Elizabeth and Jane aren't exactly the least common names in the world. My middle name is Elizabeth, as is my sister's, and several of my friends. You're completely forgiven if you didn't automatically think "clear Pride and Prejudice reference" upon hearing the middle names — assuming it really is the explanation to the whole middle name mystery. Was there a Pride and Prejudice explainer cut from the episode? Possibly.
As a friend put it, if they were going for literary siblings, perhaps Jo and Amy would have been a more obvious pairing. In which case...Obie is totally Laurie, right?
Images: HBO Max