#color commentary

What a ride the series finale took us on. 

I’m almost hoping I’m going to get people in my inbox screaming about “CHUCK AND BLAIR” or “DAN AND SERENA” or the ultimate underappreciated ship “NATE AND A THERAPIST WHO COULD HELP HIM WORK OUT HIS MOMMY AND DADDY ISSUES” because I love a good argument... but I digress. Let me tell you why Dan and Blair should have been endgame, an opinion I still cling to 4 years after the series ended.

The reason is simple: Dan and Blair are intellectual and romantic equals. Every other iteration of a romantic relationship on the show had one overwhelmingly convincing reason for working, I won’t deny that. But Dan and Blair had the benefit of working for many reasons.

Let’s begin with Dan. As much as Dan pretended that he was an “outsider” and that he didn’t want to be one of the Upper East Side elite, his novel “Inside” and Vanessa’s interpretation of it (which you could argue is or isn’t authentic, depending on how you feel about the Vanessa/Dan friendship) proves that Dan wanted to be part of the upper echelon all along. The eventual reveal that he is Gossip Girl solidified that idea: after all, why blog extensively and compulsively follow the personal, political, and professional details of the lives of Manhattan’s elite if you didn’t to some degree want to be just like them? Dating Serena was only the beginning; she intrigued him because she was mysterious, she was the unattainable It Girl who swooped in and transformed his life overnight only to disappear just as quickly. But aside from that allure, what else was there between Dan and Serena? I always found it hard to stomach, especially as the endgame, because Dan seemed infinitely superior to Serena in every way and she toyed relentlessly with his emotions as the series progressed. He was always her fallback option when some thrilling new boy who was either gorgeous or damaged or off-limits broke her heart. But where was the girl who appreciated his intellect, his curiosity, the darker side hidden beneath the earnest facade? Serena only ever talked about and saw Dan as this perfectly unblemished boy from Brooklyn. It shows how superficial their relationship always was.

Now, you could argue that the person who understood him the best was Vanessa, but I would argue that understanding him was not the same as being his equal. She may have begun as his equal, but as the series transformed Dan into a complex character who wasn’t the flawless moral hero we all thought he was, Vanessa was similarly transformed. But whereas Dan had redemptive possibilities, Vanessa never returned from her trip down Morally Compromised Lane. She schemed just as much as Blair did, except Vanessa’s scheming led to Serena’s abduction and drug overdose. She betrayed people just as much as Jenny did, except Jenny owned up to her betrayals. She pretended that she was so much better than everyone else only to end up faceplanting into her own hypocrisy.

And then there was Blair. She relished her elite status, she loved being entrenched in the scheming and the backstabbing and the particular niceties of the upper echelon. But ultimately, as much as she is a Mean Girl, especially at Constance, she has a heart that she offers to only a few people and that she is petrified will break. She loves so deeply, as evidenced by her relationship with Serena - though she has a tendency to overreact and plot against Serena, fundamentally, she needs Serena more than Serena needs her and that’s what drives her lashing out. The minute she felt replaced or pushed out of Serena’s life, she would panic and plot. She cares so deeply, as evidenced by her relationship with Chuck - despite what a dark path he led her onto, despite all of the ways in which he pushed her away and manipulated her to be his pawn, she still tried to save him at every turn because she believed he deserved a chance at redemption. But the truth is, even at Chuck’s best, he could never match Blair’s worst. 

So Dan and Blair made sense. Bonding over a common love of scheming (but with good intentions) and obscure French films and niche art exhibits may have brought Dan and Blair together, but it was fated. The Dan and Blair of the latter half of the series were a perfect fit: I could have seen them hatching schemes to get Serena, Nate, and Chuck out of hot water (for the millionth time) and coming home to a Netflix queue filled with orangutan documentaries. 

Author Amanda Flowers' new book Dead End Detective, is the start of something beautiful … again.

Dead-End Detective: A Piper and Porter Mystery from Hallmark Publishing is the first in her new series featuring Darby Porter, a young, sparky, single detective who co-owns Two Girls Detective Agency with her close friend, Samantha Porter.

And Darby is happily enjoying a wonderful life and career until her business partner announces she is dissolving their company.

Less than 24-hours later, Darby's partner is dead, and she is the most likely suspect for Samantha's murder.

Though Darby is devastated by her life's tragic turn and uncertain future, it is Samantha who proves she's always known what is best for Darby's future.

Motivation, opportunity, and method could not be more fun.

Amanda Flowers' cozies are among my favorite series' in the 150-plus cozy mystery books I've consumed in the past two years. Her story-telling is easy, amusing, and always keeps me guessing. I like her perky characters and am always hungry for more at the end of her reads.

It was my special pleasure to listen to this book on audio, which was narrated by Laura Faye Smith and produced by Dreamscape Media.

Smith's portrayal of Darby and her co-cast members was right on target. I was focused on Flowers' storytelling and not Smiths' voice the entire time, which in my opinion is exactly what a narrator should do; disappear into the story and allow the author to work her magic.

Flower and several other authors in her genre continue to further solidify why cozy mysteries are so much fun, and why, in three years, I will write my own cozy mystery series on the market. What writer can read this genre and not want to jump into this pool?

I give Dead End Detective a 5 on my Color Commentary scale.

I cannot wait to get my hands on Flowers' next title.

Dead End Detective: A Piper Porter Mystery hit the shelves Aug. 25, 2020. Her next title, Candy Cane Crime: An Amish Candy Shop Mystery will be released Oct. 27.

For more information about Flowers' books, visit her website at www.amandaflowers.com. You will not be disappointed. See my reviews at michellelovatosbookreviews.wordpress.com.

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