4.21 & 4.22 - Spot the Dissonance
4.21 and 4.22 were crucial episodes for Chuck, Blair, and Chuck/Blair. It seemed likeĀ Gossip Girlās supercoupleĀ were actually, finally, getting closure. In their last scene together there was no hint in their dialogue or behaviour that either was holding out hope. But there were also a wealth of contradictory details that made it clear that the CB story was far from over, even without the possible pregnancy. The surface of the episode might have said āChuck and Blair have closureā, but to paraphrase Mr Bass, it was doing that thing where its eyes didnāt match its mouth.
In 4.21 Chuck talked to Jack about needing to see Blair ābefore the good guyā did. When Blair needed saving in 4.22, ChuckĀ didĀ get toĀ her before any of the āgood guysā (Louis, Nate, Dan). The Prince didnāt save the Princess - Chuck did. Doesnāt that make him kind of āthe good guyā?
By getting to Blair before Louis did, Chuck could have had her - she made it clear that she loved him more than Louis. But Chuck put Blairās happiness first and let āthe good guyā have her, again kind of making him the āgood guyā! In the most frustrating of all the many incredibly frustrating Chuck/Blair plots ever, letting Blair go meant that Chuck was finally on the way to deserving her.
In 4.21 Blair said that Chuck loved the dark parts of her, but couldnāt see the rest. In 4.22 Chuck told Nate that he loved Blairās lightness and happiness the most. Yet again, Chuck said the right thing to the wrong person. Chuck told Nate he loved Blair in 1.18, but didnāt tell Blair that for another year - is it too much to hope that Chuck will eventually tell Blair, not Nate, that he loves her lightness?Ā
At the Bar Mitzvah Chuck and Blair were all lightness and fun and joy, which totally contradicted what Blair said later about their relationship being all about darkness. That scene was there for a reason. CB can be happy, evenĀ happiest,Ā together,Ā even if they donāt realise it yet. In 4.22 Chuck said that Louis made Blair light up - well, Chuck, Louis wasnāt at the Bar Mitzvah, when Blair was positively glowing. You were.
Louis waited all night for Blair in 4.22 when Chuck didnāt in 3.22. Chuck seemed to take this as proof that Louis was somehow the better man, but surely the difference between Louis and Chuck is actually about the extent to which they feel worthy of love. Chuck didnāt give up in 3.22 because he didnāt love Blair, he gave up because he was always looking for signs thatĀ sheĀ didnāt loveĀ him. Louis stayed in 4.22 because he loved Blair, but also because he believed that she loved him and would choose him.
But Louis and Chuck wereĀ both wrong. Chuck should have waited all night at the Empire State Building, because Blair did come for him. Louis was wrong to wait all night, because Blair only went back to him after Chuck intervened. If Chuck had too little faith in Blairās love for him, does Louis have too much? Louis obviously suspected that something had happened between Chuck and Blair in 4.22 - Blairās fairytale was beginning to fall apart even as she fully committed herself to it.
The extent to which Chuck and Blair still fail to fully understand how they work and what they see in each other showed us that their love story wasnāt over. Chuck doing the unselfish, āgood guyā thing showed us that he might make a prince of himself yet.Ā When Blair thinks of love in French, or love in Paris, she doesnāt think of her Monegasque fiance. She thinks of the man she still matches outfits with. And there were enough discordant moments within the episodeās supposed āclosureā to make it clear that we should keep asking ourselves whether Chuck + Blair can only = ālāamour fouā.
Essay by inconsequentially. Thank you!
