Oh “Gossip Girl” how I love you so. If you haven’t seen “Gossip Girl” stop what you’re doing and binge it now on HBO MAX. It centers around the children of the wealthy in New York City, specifically the Upper East Side. The main characters are Serena Van Der Woodsen (played by Blake Lively), Blair Waldorf (played by Leighton Meester), Chuck Bass (played by Ed Westwick), Nate Archibald (played by Chace Crawford) and Brooklyn natives Dan and Jenny Humphrey (played by Penn Badgley and Taylor Momsen). The group is stalked by the anonymous “Gossip Girl” who posts their personal information and secrets online for the world to see. The show is full of drama and so incredibly juicy. Don’t even get me started on the fashion looks that this show served. I could go on and on. For those that haven’t seen it, MAJOR spoilers ahead. I’m serious, if you want to watch this show DO NOT READ AHEAD!!!! You have been warned.
Out of the six main characters, I would have to say that without a doubt, Nate Archibald is the best one. Now before you roll your eyes and say that he was the most boring and clueless, let me explain. Everyone on this show, as lovable as they may seem to be, are awful. Blair is an insecure mean girl who takes her anger out on others and tries to ruin their lives, Serena is a spoiled brat who constantly has to go and leaves situations when they get tough (she also slept with her best friends boyfriend and left town with no explanation but apologized profusely which is rare for characters on this show), Chuck is a predator who tried to abuse both Jenny and Serena, traded Blair to his uncle for a hotel, cheated on Blair with Jenny, need I go on? Dan was literally Gossip Girl so that sums up him, and Jenny was the only one with potential before she became stuck up brat who became the exact thing that she wanted to destroy, a mean girl. Now of course, everyone makes mistakes but the only huge mistake that Nate ever made was sleeping with Serena while he was with Blair and he did this when he was sixteen.He definitely made smaller mistakes throughout the show, but not any that were as detrimental as the others because hey nobody is perfect.
Other than being extremely attractive, Nate was genuinely such a nice and caring guy. He always made sure that his friends were taken care of and he never left anyone alone. When Jenny was drugged at a party, Nate found out and took her home safely. When Serena was passed out in the elevator, he carried her out and got her cleaned up. When Chuck was depressed at his father’s funeral, he helped him walk and supported him. Time and time again he showed that he was a loyal friend and wanted to help people.
Unlike his friends, Nate never once shamed Dan, Jenny, or Vanessa for being “poor” (in this scenario the Humphrey’s $2 million loft was a dump) and he even dated Vanessa and almost dated Jenny. At one point, the Archibalds lose all of their money due to his father being involved in ponzi schemes, and instead of complaining and making it known. Nate stayed in his house with no electricity, food, water, etc. and ended up being found by Dan and was offered a room in the Humphrey loft. Any of the other rich characters would have had an absolute hissy fit if they had lost their money, but the way that Nate handled it was very mature.
The biggest reason why Nate Archibald was the best character on “Gossip Girl” was the fact that he was the only person on the show that NEVER SENT ANYTHING INTO GOSSIP GIRL!!! Nate did not want any part in the website that ruined him and his friends lives on a daily basis and he stayed away from it. He had every opportunity to ruin multiple people’s lives, but chose not to because he was such a genuinely nice guy.
Unfortunately, Nate’s storyline was not as prominent as Serena, Blair, and Chuck’s and I’m really sad about that. Many people like to say that he was a “boring” character, but to me he provided a breath of fresh air and sanity to a pretty insane crew of characters. I think that the writers really screwed him over in many different areas–especially the dating department. I really wish the writers put more effort into his character, but hopefully he will make an appearance in the 2021 reboot!
I can’t mention Nate Archibald without mentioning the man who played him, Chace Crawford. Much like his character, Chace seems to be such a nice guy and I don’t understand why he isn’t a bigger star. He might just be the most attractive man I have ever seen and think that the casting department did a great job in choosing him for Nate. I sent him and a slew of other celebrities that I love my high school graduation announcements because I saw other people doing it on TikTok and he actually responded with a signed picture which made me love him even more.
Nate Archibald is and will always be one of my favorite fictional characters and is definitely the most sane character on “Gossip Girl.” If you haven’t watched the masterpiece that is “Gossip Girl” I highly highly highly recommend watching it. It is available to stream on HBO MAX as well as the 2021 reboot (which I have not watched solely because of the absence of the original cast but if anyone wants to let me know how it is please feel free.) You can also catch Chace in the Amazon Prime show “The Boys” as well as in a new movie alongside Nina Dobrev called “Reunion.”