Amidst this drama, Blair begins a flirtatious and intellectual romance with a new professor—who is none other than Serena's ex, Colin. This creates a brief rift between the best friends. Chuck, meanwhile, focuses on his business empire, launching a hostile takeover of his own father’s company, Bass Industries, with the help of a ruthless new partner, . Part Three: The Prince and the Playwright (Episodes 11-16) After the Juliet arc, the season shifts toward romance and new secrets. Blair begins a fairy-tale relationship with Prince Louis of Monaco , a handsome, genuine, and kind royal she meets while crashing a polo match. For the first time, Blair experiences a love that is simple, honest, and free of the toxic games she played with Chuck. This threatens Chuck deeply, as he realizes he may have truly lost her.
Original Air Dates: September 13, 2010 – May 16, 2011 Episodes: 22
But the Upper East Side follows them. Chuck Bass, having survived his gunshot wound, reappears in Paris to win Blair back. Their cat-and-mouse game reaches a pivotal moment on a bridge, where Blair, exhausted by his emotional games, finally tells him, It’s a devastating blow, signaling a real end to the Chair (Chuck & Blair) romance—for now. Gossip Girl - Season 4
Juliet’s target is Serena. What begins as a rivalry over a spot in a prestigious society (Hamilton House) quickly escalates into a psychological war. Juliet, working secretly with her brother (who was scammed by Serena’s father, the real con-man) and a reluctant Jenny Humphrey, orchestrates a masterful takedown. The season’s most shocking moment occurs in the mid-season finale (Episode 10, "Gaslit") when Juliet drugs Serena at a party, kidnaps her, and stages it to look like a suicide attempt. Serena is found in a motel room, bruised and drugged, leading to her temporary hospitalization. The combined forces of Blair, Chuck, Nate, and even Dan Humphrey unite to destroy Juliet, forcing her to leave town.
Serena, adrift after the Juliet attack, begins a highly publicized romance with the older, powerful —who, in a convoluted twist, is the brother of the real villain (Juliet) and was wrongly imprisoned due to a lie Serena told years ago. Their relationship is built on guilt and redemption, but it fizzles as Serena’s old patterns re-emerge. Part Four: The Royal Wedding That Wasn't (Episodes 17-22) The final stretch of the season barrels toward a royal wedding. Prince Louis proposes to Blair, and she accepts, seeing it as her ultimate fairy-tale ending. The entire season builds to the grand wedding in the finale (Episode 22, "The Wrong Goodbye"). Amidst this drama, Blair begins a flirtatious and
Meanwhile, Dan Humphrey publishes his first piece of serious fiction, a scathing short story called "The Serena," which thinly veils the secrets of the Upper East Side. It becomes a sensation, leading to a book deal. He begins a secret romance with Blair’s former handmaiden, , a woman with a kind heart whom Chuck once wronged. This storyline allows Dan to evolve from "lonely boy" to a cynical observer and manipulator of the very world he claims to hate.
Ultimately, Gossip Girl Season 4 set the stage for the show’s final two seasons. It broke the Blair-Chuck dynamic in a significant way, elevated Dan to a primary manipulator, and asked a serious question: Can the characters of the Upper East Side ever truly escape their destructive natures? For Blair Waldorf, standing at the altar in a royal gown but trapped in a cold arrangement, the answer remained uncertain. Part Three: The Prince and the Playwright (Episodes
However, the second half of the season, while introducing the charming Prince Louis, was criticized for dragging out the Blair-Chuck-Dan love triangle and making Serena's storylines increasingly repetitive (another older man, another scandal). The finale's "Blair chooses the prince" twist was polarizing—some praised it as a bold, realistic character choice, while others were frustrated by yet another obstacle placed in front of the fan-favorite "Chair" pairing.
Season 4 of Gossip Girl opens with a dramatic change of scenery, splitting its time between the romantic backdrop of Paris and the familiar, treacherous streets of the Upper East Side. After the explosive Season 3 finale, which saw Serena van der Woodsen accidentally "kill" a man (Tripp's uncle, William Vanderbilt) in a car accident while fleeing a wedding with a married Tripp, and Chuck Bass shot by his own deranged father, Bart's doppelgänger, the characters seek fresh starts. However, old habits—and old schemes—die hard. The season begins in the City of Light. Blair Waldorf, having decided to spend her summer interning for a chic fashion designer, is determined to have a sophisticated, drama-free European adventure. Meanwhile, Serena has followed a mysterious new love interest, the brooding and artistic Colin Forrester, to Paris to escape her legal and emotional troubles back home.
In a fun twist, it's revealed that the "mysterious stranger" Serena is chasing isn't a student or artist, but a Columbia University professor (Colin). The Paris arc ends with the core four (Serena, Blair, Chuck, and a newly-returned Nate) heading back to New York, where a new semester and a new set of scandals await. Back in Manhattan, the central conflict revolves around Columbia University. Blair is determined to become queen of the campus, but she faces an unexpected rival: the ambitious and conniving Juliet Sharp , a beautiful, older student with a hidden vendetta.