Six weeks later and we are at the mid-season finale of HBO Max’s, Gossip Girl. Keep reading for a recap on the episode! 

Obie & his women

• Zoya

Obie and Zoya are at an odd crossroads in their relationship and their feelings for each other are not too clear. But they try to fight the inevitable truth that they are quite frankly different and not as into each other as they once were. 

The two are clearly avoiding each other and instead turning to Julien for comfort and guidance. This very awkward triangle only creates a mess. 

The mess erupts when a Gossip Girl tip informs Zoya that Obie’s mom, Helena, is in town. When confronted, Obie tries to act like it was a surprise to cover the fact that he did not tell Zoya. This clearly upsets Zoya, which pushes Julien to help her sister out in a situation where she has experience. 

• Julien 

The start of the episode shows Julien scrolling through Obie’s Instagram account, clearly implying that she is not over him. She quickly exits out of the app with the understanding that she must stop because of his current relationship. 

To everyone’s surprise, Julien is able to relive the days of her relationship through Zoya. When Zoya seeks advice on Obie and his mom, Julien arranges a questionable yet genuine attempt to put Zoya in Helena’s good graces. 

First, she arranges for Zoya to meet Obie’s mom, something Obie was not going to arrange himself. Julien’s plan leads Zoya to show up unannounced to Helena’s hair appointment and introduce herself. 

That ends oddly, as Helena insists that “Julien Calloway is Obie’s girlfriend.” I don’t think that was a part of Julien’s plan, but it gives her some brownie points. 

• Helena

A true elite. Helena is constantly traveling from country to country for work. Her visit is a rare and nerve-wracking occurrence for Obie, who is a “mama’s boy.” 

Helena’s opinion comes first and Obie strives to meet her expectations. He is silent in her presence, making sure to never speak on his activism, which strikes down her line of business. 

Zoya, on the other hand, does not stay silent. She is public on her activism and will make her viewpoints clear to Helena. Brownie point deduction. 

Dinner 

By the grace of Julien’s advice, Zoya gets herself invited to dinner with Obie, his mom, Aki, his parents and Audrey. 

The dinner does not go well as Zoya’s controversial questions and opinions bring tension to the table. Obie is then put in an awkward position with Helena, who he does not want to disappoint. Zoya on the other hand, is mad at Obie for not standing up to Helena and speaking his honest opinions. 

The two leave the dinner on very tense terms and Zoya does not seem to gain Helena’s approval. 

Additionally, Aki’s father who is also in the same corruptive business practice as Helena is challenged with Zoya’s questions and opinions. While he accepts the challenge, it brings up more topics, some relating to Aki’s sexuality. 

Accidentally, Audrey outs her boyfriend as to his parents.  

After the dinner is over, an upset Obie marches over to Julien’s apartment complex. Obie waits outside the building and Julien is surprised to see him. He lashes out at her for interfering with his life and arranging the meeting of Helena and Zoya. 

Julien stresses that she was only trying to help them and their relationship, which confuses Obie. Obie says that he is no longer as happy as he used to be (with Julien.)

Oh, no...

Audrey & her mom 

As Kiki remains in the hospital recovering from… Honestly, it is not specified what she suffered from, but it is implied that Kiki overdosed. Audrey remains by her side, just like she promised, even missing school to do so. 

Whenever Aki tries to pull her away, he is unsuccessful. When he is finally able to get her away, she is constantly making phone calls to the hospital for updates on her mom. 

Although the nurses at the hospital complain about Audrey’s overprotectiveness and intrusion into their work, I do not. I think her care and empathy exudes throughout this episode. This is a side of Audrey we have yet to see this season. 

Max & Rafa 

Rafa refuses to accept that Max dumped him and wants nothing to do with him. And Rafa’s way to get what he wants? Inflict revenge upon Max. 

It starts with Rafa confronting Kate Kellar (AKA Gossip Girl) insisting he can help gather dirt for the account. Kate accepts his offer and gives him access to the account, where his first line of business is to expose Max. 

Rafa gets a picture of Max luring outside of a Hospital. While he is only there to support Audrey, Rafa twists the situation and writes a caption implying that Max has an STD. The picture is posted and Max is on blast. 

When he tries to confront Rafa, it only makes the situation worse. Rafa’s next point of revenge is using a dating app to get to Max’s dad, Roy, with whom he had previously been in contact with. 

Rafa snags a pic of him and Roy to send to Max. 

Max has had enough and decides to get back at Rafa himself. So, he sends in a very incriminating tip to Gossip Girl. 

You guessed it. A taping of him and Rafa being intimate. 

This has the potential to get Rafa arrested, probably amongst many other things. But, it doesn’t work. Because remember, Rafa is now logged into the account. So before Ms. Kellar and the teachers can save the video, Rafa deletes it.  

Kate Kellar & Nick Lott 

Honestly, this dynamic makes me uncomfortable and I do not ship the pair. But I will still provide the rundown. 

At first, Kate agrees to spending time and going to dinner with Nick Lott with the intent of getting information about Zoya, Julien, and their complex family dynamic. Then, she develops a crush on Mr. Lott. 

But of course, this has to stop because you can’t mix business with pleasure. With pressure from the teachers, Kate puts an end to the blossoming relationship and urges Nick to “keep it professional.” 

Nick, who was also developing a crush, is disappointed by this. 

The Protest

Get ready for the unraveling of truths and jaw-dropping things!

When Obie posts a video of himself at a protest against Helena and Aki’s dad’s company, both Julien and Zoya are proud of him for sticking up. They decide to separately surprise Obie and join him at the protest. 

Julien makes it there first and Obie is happy to see her. Then, Zoya walks up, sees the two, and walks away sad and confused. Julien tries to stop her but it fails as Zoya realizes that Julien is still in love with Obie. 

Julien’s intent at this point is not to break up Obie and Zoya, but her feelings take over. 

Aki shows up at the protest to meet up with his family. The press asks Aki’s father about his rumored homophobia. In his response, he publicly outs Aki on live TV. 

Helena tries to get Obie out of the protest and stick with her, but Obie refuses, thus disappointing his mother for the first time. He remains at the protest as tear gas and rubber bullets attempt to bring it to a cease. 

Julien sticks by his side and when it gets to be too much, the pair run into an alleyway to avoid the chaos. Amongst all the commotion and in the heat of the moment, the two lock lips. 

This is bound to bring a second World War II between Zoya, Julien, and Obie. Buckle up! 

To add to all of these cliffhangers, Aki, Audrey, and Max decide to explore the sexual tension between the three of them. In the midst of it, Aki’s father calls and leaves him a voicemail advising Aki to “stay away from Julien Calloway.” 

The message seems abrupt as there has yet to be an interaction between Julien and Aki’s father this season. 

Now, all we can do is wait. If you haven’t watched the new Gossip Girl series, head over to HBO Max and catch up with all the latest scandal! 

XOXO, Gossip Girl.