muchness

I don't think it's a given at all, that's the problem. Chuck sold Blair for his hotel, manipulated her into doing it... and in the next episode, Blair takes half of the responsibility, and the next thing we know Chuck is giving her an ultimatum and acting like he's calling her bluff while he does it, like she can't really be serious that they're over. He did nothing to redeem himself. Nothing.

The IP hasn't been addressed in any way that makes anything about it a "given" to me. I have no idea what the writers think about it, if it will ever even be brought up again in a non-joking manner since it's only been referenced vaguely in serious moments.

And I do think it's seriously weird and jarring to not have the IP addressed in any way -- vague or otherwise -- in this new separation... except on Blair's end.

pollock

I agree. If anything it stems right back to the pilot. I think Blair's insecurity has been a big motivation for her character and her realtionships, if she is happier with herself and figures out who she is and how she wants to be treated she can have the confidence and peace of mind to not let herself be put in that position again.

ღLet Love In

Exactly. They just need to move passed all of these issues and grow from there. Dwelling on it will just get old.

To me it just reiterates the fact that Blair felt very vulnerable and weak last season. It may not have been because of Chuck. It may have been because of all of the crap they dealt with in S2 leading up to their reunion. If you think back, none of that was ever discussed and neither of them spoke about moving on. They just shoved all of those issues under the rug and went on being a happy couple. It was bound to break them at some point. You can't just shove issues aside & not work on yourselves and then be happy.

I just think that Blair saying that she wants to be a powerful, strong woman is just her saying that she thinks that this whole thing is a long time coming. They need to work on themselves before they can work as a couple. Blair needs to be the powerful woman that she's always wanted to be since S1...she needs to reach her goals before she can settle down again. That doesn't mean that she thinks the break up was her fault. That's just her telling him that she doesn't want to be weak again in herself like she was last year.

Wickedfun

IA. There has been no "free pass" since the IP even happened....

Let Love In- IA, with pretty much every one of your posts.

itsalright

I'll amend my statement and say that I think who caused the IP, and why CB broke up in the first, is obvious and I don't need for it to be explicitly stated 10 or so episodes later.

Agree to disagree.

Mounia

Yeah I'm pretty sure he went to the bathroom to puke then he probably had a good cry

pollock

But at the end of the day everyone has different limits to how far or how much is needed in terms of redemption thats its all most impossible for the writers satisfy everyone- especially people expecting Chuck to go to extremes for redemption or who see him as unredeemable because they simple dont like him as character- combine that with the fact that there are more then one or two characters that need storylines and the writers general MO of needing excitement and drama and shock factor and its really hard.

Some people want more, some less some are satisfied with what the writers give him. The best we can hope for is people reaching a happy medium

adjjb

I agree, that's what I'm saying. It's been turned on her to hold the reuniting in her hands because of her growing and issues. Blair's need to grow and be independent first. The reasons they broke up in the first place, which dominantly all had to do with Chuck and his issues are nowhere to be found in reuniting them.

They didn't break up for Blair to have a career. That wasn't CB's issues with why they failed as a couple. But that's what they're making the issue between them to be now. While ignoring all the elephants in the room on Chuck's side when it comes to why they're not together. It was nobodies fault, he said so himself. It was fate!

marinalima

Exactly. And honestly, I dont think the writers care that much about hardcore fans like us, they care more about casual viewers, and looking comments on twitter, tumblr, media reviews, I would say they are pretty much over the IP (or dont even remember it).

ds44

if serena hadn't cheated on nate, nate would have been at the suite and cj wouldn't have happened and all those other things controlled by destiny.

marinalima

Even if he thinks so, he still doesnt get a free pass. Dan, Eric, Rufus still blame him.

Mounia

marinalima

My favorite ones.

tversky

I love this point because I think it's happened consistently with CB. It's like they have a tendency to let their love and visceral attraction overwhelm them and ignore all their underlying issues until those issues blow up in their faces later.


I agree with this. My only problem is the implication that the only reason Blair won't be with him right now is her need for independence. That makes it sound like she has ZERO trust issues with Chuck. I think it's both unrealistic and a disservice to her as a character since he's done nothing to prove himself trustworthy again.

muchness

I don't see it as completely separate at all, what I see is the show acting like the IP is off the table now for reasons that are unclear. (And Blair acting like Chenny was the real problem.) Did Chuck getting shot negate it like Serena's car accident negated what happened with Tripp? Did Blair forgive Chuck for the IP, so that's over now? Did she absolve him during the train scene? Who the hell knows, I sure don't. I've yet to see it be addressed, and I expected it to be addressed in their separation, but from what tversky is telling us, it's not being addressed by Chuck or Blair, except in some people's interpretation of Blair's need to be a powerful woman because Chuck makes her feel weak before they can be together again.

Maybe Chuck received more than his fair share of the blame from the van der Humphrey men for what happened with Jenny, but what sleeping with Jenny meant for him and Blair? He got a free pass for that. The show literally wrote it off as fate. It wasn't fate, it was Chuck's characterization. Getting with that random at Dorota's wedding minutes after Blair dumped him is no different from what happened with Jenny. It's not fate that this is who Chuck is. It's not fate he slept with someone else on the same day, arguably within the hour, of when he planned to propose to Blair. Instead of realizing this and changing his behavior, he gets a free pass of "fate" and no growth. I think Chuck getting shot was his free pass for the IP, the more I think about it.