These 5 shows were very popular (But how did their bad continuity impact the series?)
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl took audiences by storm as they tried to unravel the mystery behind the infamous blogger. Over the course of six seasons, Gossip Girl slowly but surely released the biggest secrets from the wealthy Upper East Siders in New York City. But, the eventual reveal in the series finale not only managed to confuse and frustrate fans, but also introduced an entire series' worth of continuity issues.
Does it really make sense that Dan Humphrey is Gossip Girl? Although the show's pilot episode does show Dan sitting alone in front of his computer, that does not remove six seasons' worth of showing Dan reacting in shock, entirely by himself, to the posts on Gossip Girl's blog. Why would he be reacting in such a surprised manner when he is entirely alone if he was the one who posted these things in the first place?
Gossip Girl had a habit of revealing very intimate details about people's sex lives, which included Dan's younger sister, Jenny. How many older brothers are willing to publish stories about their sister's sex lives online? Although Gossip Girl tries to get around that by having Dan claim that Jenny knew for years and had sent in tips herself, there is still a morality issue with Dan's willingness to reveal such intimate details.
Even Dan's reason for being Gossip Girl messes with the history of the show. Dan's claim is that he created the alter ego as a way to insert himself into Serena's life and feel connected to her because of his feelings for her. For one thing, that is a very creepy way to try and go about a romantic relationship with someone, and manages to turn Dan and Serena's popular romantic dynamic into an unhealthy toxic couple. Secondly, once Dan and Serena begin to bond and form their own relationship, technically, Dan could have dropped Gossip Girl at that point. He had gotten what he wanted, so why continue?
The Gossip Girl posts make Dan seem like someone who is very familiar with the landscape of the New York City elite. However, Dan appears fairly uncomfortable in situations where the settings surround the financially wealthy, in comparison to Serena, who enjoys Dan's presence and does not portray the same discomfort.
Over the course of six seasons, Dan manages to make Serena and himself look increasingly bad, and if Gossip Girl wants the audience to believe at any point that Dan genuinely cared about Serena, then looking back at all the personal and intimate things he released to the public about her makes Dan come off more as a controlling sociopath than a caring boyfriend.
Although Penn Badgley beautifully pulls off the role of a sociopath as Joe Goldberg in You, that is not exactly the approach that Gossip Girl's Dan Humphrey was supposed to take on, and as Gossip Girl ends with Dan and Serena getting married, it also manages to remove the element of any real consequences to Dan's actions as Gossip Girl.
This revelation makes Gossip Girl filled with a bad final plot twist, several continuity issues, and as if it is romanticizing a toxic relationship.