Given that many of the relationships didn’t age well, new viewers of Gossip Girl have found themselves with different opinions than those who watched the show in 2007. Chuck and Blair were the fan-favorite couple when the teen drama was airing, but over the years, viewers have started to ship Blair with her rival-turned-best-friend, Dan Humphry.
Dan and Blair’s friendship, and eventual romance, was a major pillar of the second half of the show. Although Blair married Chuck in the series finale, and Dan was revealed to be Gossip Girl in a nonsensical twist, Blair and Dan still felt like the characters with the deepest connection. There were several quotes throughout the six seasons, that highlight just how much Dan and Blair cared about each other.
10 “It’s Been Nice Not Being Friends With You.” “Let’s Not Do It Again Sometime.”
No one was as surprised by Dan and Blair’s friendship as the two of them. They always thought they were complete opposites who were from two different worlds, and they clashed on almost everything.
Once they realized how similar they were, they desperately tried to fight their connection and remain enemies. They decide to call off their budding friendship, but all the scene does is prove how worried they are that what’s between them could be real.
9 “I Just Need To Know That You’ll Be There For Me.” “Always.”
Serena and Chuck were the closest people to Blair, but she was never able to count on them. All it took was an argument to turn her and Serena against each other, and Chuck would find ways to lash out at Blair when they’re weren’t together. Once Blair became friends with Dan, she found someone who loved her unconditionally.
Whether they were friends or more, Dan would drop everything at a moment’s notice and help her. He even drove the getaway car when Blair fled her wedding and attempted to make it out of the country to annul her marriage.
8 “Dan Is My Best Friend And When We’re Together It’s Great. I Feel Strong And Safe.”
There was an interesting pattern on Gossip Girl that seemed like it was there for a reason. Chuck and Blair’s love was always portrayed as dark and toxic, and Blair admits that Chuck makes her feel like a weak little girl. She’s most miserable with him, but she’s also the happiest with him when things are going smoothly. Dan and Blair’s relationship was based on a deep foundation of love, and whoever Blair ends up with shouldn’t just be her significant other, but her best friend.
Dorota has a happy and healthy relationship with her husband, and Blair is envious of what they share. It makes Blair realize that she wants pure and simple love, which is exactly what she and Dan are understood to have. It’s disappointing that Gossip Girl emphasized the beauty of healthy love, only to put Blair back with a man who mentally and physically abused her.
7 “And What If I Lose Everything?” “You Still Have Me.”
Dan’s unconditional love for Blair was the biggest standout in their relationship. There was quite literally nothing Blair could do that would make Dan give up on her. Blair confided in Dan more than anyone else, and he knew all of her deepest, darkest secrets.
Blair was able to get through one of the hardest times of her life because Dan was there for her every step of the way. She could rest easy knowing that no matter what happened, she would always have Dan by her side, whether it was as a friend or more.
6 “If You’re That Guy With Serena, How Could She Not Love You?”
Wanting her two best friends to be happy on Valentine’s Day, Blair tries to get Dan and Serena back together. Serena is all for it, but Dan had been secretly in love with Blair for quite some time. Completely oblivious to Dan’s feelings for her, she hypes him up by recounting all the amazing things he’s done for her.
When she asks how Serena couldn’t love him, it seemed as though Blair was simultaneously implying that all of those things made her fall for Dan. There’s a charged moment between them where they both seem to reflect on what Blair had just said.
5 “He Cares About You. Not In Spite Of Who You Are, But Because Of It.”
It wasn’t until Blair got roped into doing a live reading of Dan’s book that she finally realized how much Dan cared about her. It revealed that Dan had done things for her that she wasn’t even aware of, and he had never once asked for credit.
Blair Waldorf has plenty of bad traits, and rather than ignore them, Dan loves them because it makes Blair who she is. The wheels turn in Blair’s head as she’s onstage and she says, “Dan loves me for me,” before she rushes off to go find him.
4 “It’s Like He Peered Into My Soul.”
Blair was right to be nervous about marrying Louis, as there was more than one red flag in their relationship. When Blair finds a copy of his vows, all her fears are put to rest. They make her realize how much Louis loves her, and what he says resonates with Blair so deeply she tells Serena he peered into her soul.
What Blair didn’t know at the time was that it was Dan’s words, who had written Louis’ vows upon his request. Dan later says that he just wrote down what he assumed Loui would love about her, but it was clear that everything he said was from his own heart. The full version of Dan’s vows was even released upon request on Twitter.
3 “That Girl Is Fiercely Strong. Independent. Outspoken. Beautiful. Capable Of Anything. And No Man Or Magazine Should Be Able To Take That Away From Her.”
Blair had been through a lot throughout Gossip Girl, and there reached a point when she didn’t know who she was anymore. She admits that Chuck trading her for a hotel and marrying for royalty made her lose her true self. Luckily, Dan is there to remind her.
There’s no power imbalance in their relationship, as Dan knows how independent Blair is and he admires her for it. He also knows that there is no man in the world who could ever take her strength away for good, and tells her that the real Blair Waldorf is closer than she thinks. It’s exactly what Blair needed to hear, and Dan’s belief in her helps her find her way back to herself.
2 “Our Relationship Isn’t About Choosing One World Or Another. Our Relationship Is Our World. We’re A Team.”
Dan was from Brooklyn, while Blair was from the Upper East Side. Their difference in class made them look down upon each other, and it was what originally made them enemies.
The more they got to know one another, the more they realized that class shouldn’t be a factor in their relationship. They don’t need to put themselves in separate categories, as they work as one unit. Dan telling Blair that the two of them are a team, further exemplifies the equality between them.
1 “I Told Chuck He Doesn’t Have My Heart Anymore. I Realized It Belongs To Someone Else.”
After a few seasons of will they/won’t they, Blair made a decision between Chuck and Dan. Dan has plenty of flaws, and he expected her to run for the hills when Chuck revealed that he released the video at Louis’ wedding. Of course, he did it with good intent, but it had the opposite effect.
Rather than ditch Dan like Chuck wanted, Blair goes to Brooklyn, well aware of everything he’s done. Blair knows Dan’s heart, and she realizes that while she’ll always love Chuck she’s not in love with him. She confesses her feelings to Dan, and the pure joy on both of their faces was refreshing, given how long Blair had been trapped in Chuck’s darkness.
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