Even years after the series came to an end, fans are still wondering why Blake Lively's Serena van der Woodsen went to boarding school to start Gossip Girl.
Lively (known for her work in recent hits like Deadpool & Wolverine) played Serena on all six seasons of the hit CW drama, playing a key role in the hunt for the elusive blogger for which the series took its name.
Throughout the series, Lively's character is heavily involved in the heightened high school (turning into young adult) drama. Last fans saw her, she was getting married to her on-again-off-again boyfriend Dan Humphrey (played by Penn Badgley).
Why Was Serena in Boarding School in Gossip Girl?
Fans may remember that a key plot point of Gossip Girl Season 1 had to do with Blake Lively's character Serena coming back from boarding school.
The character arrives back in the Upper East Side of New York City after spending some time away at The Knightley School in Cornwall, Connecticut.
During the first batch of episodes, it is unknown why Serena is attending the out-of-state institution. It is just insinuated that something happened, causing her to leave her friends and family behind (at least for a time).
However, she is forced back to New York City in the Season 1 premiere, following a suicide attempt by her younger brother Eric.
While much of the series goes on with Serena's intentions behind her Connecticut move being kept a secret, fans do eventually find out the shocking details that played into her decision.
It is eventually revealed that Serena forced herself into Knightley School as she believed she was the one behind the death of a young man named Pete.
Before the events of the series, Serena had slept with Pete and the two had even made a sex tape together. However, it was just after their carnal affair that Pete overdosed on prescription drugs, leading Serena to blame herself for his untimely demise.
This leads her to convince her parents to send to her the Connecticut boarding school, to, hopefully, remove herself from the New York scene, give her some distance from the constant reminder of the Pete situation, and (at least in her mind) dodge a potential charge if she were to be accused of his murder.
Serena recounting this story was a major moment in the history of Gossip Girl as her "secret" (which many had thought to be that she had several affairs that evening with Pete) had hung in front of audiences for years up to that point.
It turns out though, that she had no culpability in Pete's death, and going to the boarding school was simply an overreaction on her part since the very beginning.
Gossip Girl is now streaming on Max.
