#isabel coates

[zoyetagenda]

Happy Black History Month to all the Black Women in the Gossip Girl universe

[coquetita]

i <3 the girls from the gossip girl cast + #1 vanessa defender

[misandriste]

masquerade masks in gossip girl 1x06 ⪼ the handmaiden’s tale

[andthatscanon]

incorrect gossip girl quotes

[leatheryhoward]

Gossip Girl Rewatch: S02E04 The Ex-Files

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

i was reading an interview with nicole fiscella (isabel coates’s actress) and i kind of got the vibe that isabel and kati were supposed to have more important/expansive roles when they were cast? apparently it was a pretty long audition process, and the two actresses were even screen tested against each other first before they were hired. not to mention, kati and isabel were *important* supporting characters in the books! they didn’t cast the other “minions” until 1x12, and iirc the (1/2)

word “minions” isn’t even uttered until mid to late season 1. it just feels like originally, kati and isabel were supposed to be more the gossip girl equivalent of like, gretchen and karen from mean girls or heather duke and heather mcnamara from heathers. they had actual personalities in the books too (that wasn’t just “fashionable, cruel”), and weren’t just treated like interchangeable lackeys :/ (2/2)

Ohhhh, this reminds me of a piece I remember reading that was like an interview (?) with Nan Zhang (who plays Kati) about leaving the show, in which she said that she wasn't very happy with how superficially they were portraying her character, and that she felt that "she might only be playing the token Asian girl" - which I think is a valid concern. Here it is, if you want to read it!

I was looking for interviews with Nicole Fiscella as well, and I found this one, which I am guessing is the one you're referring to?

Anyway, I'm emotional now.... Kati and Is having actual personalities, character traits and motivations would've been so much fun :( and it would've been SO good to see!! I'm really annoyed that their characters were sidelined like that!

If they had bigger roles that would've automatically .... well, not solved, but been a step towards mitigating the overwhelming whiteness of the show as well, which is a bonus. It would've been easy for them to do that!! The characters were right there!! I am far more interested in their families and their familial expectations than I am in Blair's or Serena's!! What is it like being a rich young woman of colour on the UES?? Could we actually have HAD that perspective?

Also i just love love LOVE characters who have a double act kind of thing going. Two characters who are so dependent on each other and like being around each other and feel more comfortable around each other than they do alone.... I love it when it's romantic, but I love it when it's platonic too. If Kati and Is had either a blair & serena/dan & vanessa/jenny & eric kind of friendship where it's ride-or-die no matter how much you hurt me, that would've been fun to explore. Alternatively, K&I being the only two people with an actual healthy and functional friendship.... that would've been so refreshing and fun, too!

There was SO MUCH they could've done!!! Also if you remember that bit in 1x03, they're both talking to the reps of some Ivy, i don't remember which, but they're saying super fancy science / engineering (?) stuff. Like. Kati and Is were canonically super intelligent!! Kati and Is were canonically STEM girls. The power and badassery of women in science....maybe I'm just really basic, but I love to see it, okay. It could've been the BEST thing.

[ggcaps]

[elloras]

Gossip Girl: You’ve Got Yale!

→ “Good is subjective, and if you don’t believe me, you can look it up.”