‘Gossip Girl’: Audrey Being Seen as the New Blair Waldorf Isn’t Fair to Her Character, Some Fans Think
HBO has successfully managed to update one of the best shows of the early 2000s for the modern age of social media. The Gossip Girl reboot may not be a direct retelling of the original show, but it bears several similarities with the OG, especially in terms of the characters. While fans so far like the new show, some think that Audrey being seen as the new Blair Waldorf isn’t fair to her character.
Is Audrey Hope the new Blair Waldorf?
Blair Waldorf was the It Girl of the Upper East Side. She was stunning, elegant, and had the wealth to back it up. Looking at Audrey Hope in the reboot, it’s easy to see why fans would compare her to Blair. For starters, the actor who plays Audrey, Emily Alyn Lind, although blonde, looks eerily similar to Blair’s portrayer Leighton Meester.
They are also perfectionists with strained relationships with their mothers, who also both happen to be fashion designers. Both characters’ mothers could care less about their children, although Audrey’s mother has substance abuse issues while Blair’s outrightly doesn’t show much interest in her, sometimes preferring her friend Serena.
Additionally, Audrey and Blair’s fathers aren’t in the picture, resulting in their questionable tastes in men. The characters love seeking solace in the Bad Boy when they fall out with their boyfriends. They are also unapologetically mean and poised.
Fans aren’t thrilled with the Blair Waldorf – Audrey Hope comparisons
It’s almost impossible for the Gossip Girl reboot to escape the influence and enigma that was the original Gossip Girl. Since its release in 2021, the show has received several comparisons to the original series, and it makes sense why audiences would want to relive the good ol’ days with the HBO show.
While some comparisons have been spot on so far [even with the case of Audrey and Blair], some fans feel it’s an injustice to Audrey’s character. Fans on Reddit said they hope to see Audrey blossom separate from her triad relationship, saying the character has much potential to grow.
In the original show, Blair flip-flopped between Nate Archibald and Chuck Bass, and the HBO show seems to carry this on with Audrey, who is in a “throuple” or triad, with her partners Aki and Max. One fan said, “Audrey as a character has, in my opinion, a lot of potential, and I certainly hope her whole season two arc doesn’t revolve around the throuple.”
The user said they felt the show was reducing Audrey’s personality to her triad relationship. Another user said they were annoyed that the show wasn’t letting Audrey explore other storylines outside the relationship, suggesting that it would be better if her character partnered up with Julien in her schemes.
One fan said the Blair comparisons were “unwarranted” but acknowledged that Audrey benefitted from the Blair comparisons at the beginning of the series. The user agreed with the others that the triad relationship storyline was destroying Audrey’s character and the show for them.
Fans hope more of Audrey’s interests and ambitions come out
Audrey is a bookworm whose tastes are noticeably literary. She doesn’t follow the trends when it comes to the books she reads, which makes her an interesting character in the modern age of social media, and fans want G.G 2.0 to highlight this.
Audrey loves literature and, judging by her love for books, aspires to work in publishing. Fans said they hope to see the character pursue that avenue instead of focusing on her romance. One fan wrote, “I sincerely hope the writers will give her a chance to grow and focus on this.”
