10 Clues That Dan Was Gossip Girl That Fans Completely Missed

Summary Several comments in the pilot episode of the series lay the foundation to suspect Dan as Gossip Girl.

Dan is often present for gossip that ends up on the blog and is only known by a handful of people.

Dan frequently shows up wherever the main characters are, suggesting a close connection or possible involvement with Gossip Girl.

From the pilot in 2007 to the last episode in 2012, audiences were enthralled with the question "Who is Gossip Girl?," and the eventual Gossip Girl reveal caused a fair bit of confusion. Gossip Girl drew the audience into their televisions each week to find out what the Upper East Side elite was up to. As audiences know, the mystery around Gossip Girl's identity and what the blogger's ultimate plan was for the young and rich was very engrossing. Serena (Blake Lively), Blair (Leighton Meester), and all of their friends were only in high school, but their secrets and drama-filled lives kept people tuning in.

So, now that audiences know that Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) was Gossip Girl all along, it makes sense that the identity of the troublemaking blogger would be the official outsider. Taking a look back at all the breadcrumbs along the way, viewers missed several tell-tale signs that he was the mastermind behind friendship takedowns and wreaking havoc on the rich. Showrunners tried to throw viewers off the trail with red herrings like Michelle Trachtenberg's Georgina Sparks or Hilary Duff's Olivia Burke, but the ending put the question "Who is Gossip Girl?" to bed. It's safe to say that Dan got a pretty fitting ending, while others did not.

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The Initial Gossip Girl Site Reveal Features Dan

Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot"

He was the one who turned out to be everyone's nemesis in the end.

Gossip Girl had audiences asking "Who is Gossip Girl?" straight from the pilot — and it is the pilot that, surprisingly, reveals their identity. When viewers are first shown the pairing of Gossip Girl and the website, audiences are given a deeper look into how serious this blogger is. This is also the point where the anonymous blogger says their identity will remain a secret, but then Dan shows up on screen.

The shot quite literally turns to Dan in his apartment on his computer. Despite this clear indicator, it was such a shock to audiences when he was the one who turned out to be everyone's nemesis in the end. This idea is actually a fairly common way to foreshadow a reveal with cinematography. The same thing is done in Bridgerton's first mention of Lady Whistledown. Just as the characters wonder who she could be, the scene cuts to a shot of the very character who would be revealed later.

Related 35 Gossip Girl Quotes That Will Stick With Us Forever The original Gossip Girl teens of the Upper East Side have many memorable quotes, from Blair and Chuck's insults to Dan's wise words.

Dan Is At Grand Central Station When Gossip Girl Arrives

Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot"

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Everything starts with the Gossip Girl pilot episode when Serena is coming back from boarding school and is "spotted". A huge clue is given out about the "Who is Gossip Girl?" question then and there. It's a bit suspicious that Dan is the only other main character at Grand Central station at the exact time viewers first hear from Gossip Girl. Audiences are made to think that it is the first time Dan spots his major crush throughout the series, but it's known more as a major clue when looking back on the show.

After all, Dan had been watching her from afar before that. He admits as much later in the series. Now, it's entirely possible that someone who isn't a main character could give the tip to Gossip Girl about Serena's arrival, as happens throughout the show. So, Dan being at Grand Central isn't necessarily an obvious clue, but it does work out in the show's favor that he's present.

Dan Shows Up Everywhere The Main Characters Are

Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot" - Season 6, Episode 10, "New York, I Love You XOXO"

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Before viewers know that Dan is Gossip Girl, it is made to look like his character is becoming part of the small circle of elite students because he is now attending the same school as them. However, now, his presence can be seen in a different light. It is shocking that Nate Archibald and Chuck Bass are even on public transportation in the pilot episode but is pretty normal for Dan since he lived in Brooklyn.

Nate and Chuck taking the bus to school is now seen as something of a continuity error, or something that was in the script before the pilot was picked up to series and the characters were truly established. They never take public transportation throughout the rest of the series, instead hiring private cars or driving themselves. They, however, are not the clue. The way Dan hovers and lingers is a true clue to how he got the gossip early on. He spends a lot of time trying to look like he's not paying attention.

Dan Takes Serena's Phone

Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot"

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It was always so back and forth with Dan and Serena as they fall for one another, hurt one another, and then get back together. When the Gossip Girl couple first meet, however, it is clear they have chemistry. Upon meeting each other in the pilot, Serena leaves her phone at the Palace Hotel and Dan doesn't return it until the next day. It seems like he does a nice thing by returning the phone to her, but he has access to it for an entire day before he does.

Before passcodes and touch IDs, it is much easier for a complete stranger to gain access to a phone, which Dan does. All he has had to do is open it up and the entire contents of Serena's phone are at his disposal. The number of conversations and personal information on Serena's phone is probably a gold mine, and provides an immediate clue for audiences to Gossip Girl's identity so early in the series.

Related 10 Worst Things Gossip Girl Did To Serena Van Der Woodsen Ranked Though incredibly privileged, Gossip Girl's Serena van der Woodsen was constantly having to navigate some of the worst occurrences on the show.

Dan Avoids Talking About Gossip Girl

Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot"

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Though Dan is Gossip Girl, he makes a big show about not knowing what the blog is when Jenny mentions it to him in the pilot episode. Once the cat is out of the theoretical bag, everyone is buzzing about this mystery person and how they have so much sordid information about the lives of the Upper West Side elite. All of Dan's friends and acquaintances bring it up, and at every turn, Dan manages to keep a straight face and claims he never read the blog.

He also didn't seem to want to talk about it, which makes it seem like he's dodging the whole topic in general. Avoiding the topic is a good strategy for him. It makes the audience feel like Dan sees himself as above all of the gossip and backstabbing of the Upper East Side teenagers. He's never considered a serious suspect for the blogger early in the show because he's not really one of the elite and his complete disinterest means he doesn't rate as a social threat for someone like Chuck or Blair.

Dan Shouldn't Have Been Part Of Gossip Girl's Narrative

Season 6, Episode 10, "New York, I Love You XOXO"

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One of the most obvious clues to suspecting Dan is Gossip Girl all along is because he is included in the take-down of Gossip Girl. Sure, toxic friends Blair and Serena get spotlighted a lot, but to nickname Dan "Lonely Boy" and give him a reason for being recognized is huge. Gossip Girl hones in on the rich and elite, so if it wasn't Dan, why would he even be included?

Dan isn't a member of the elite and shouldn't have been on the radar since no one outside of Serena's circle seems to even know who he is. Dan, however, doesn't want to be looked at as an outsider anymore. Between his moniker and his otherness, it's no wonder he started the blog and maintained it for so long. Once Dan is accepted into Serena's group as one of them, despite his lack of wealth, all of the gossip is about that tight-knit group of people or their frenemies. Dan writes what he knows, and that includes himself.

Dan Constantly Has To Remind People Who He Is

Season 5, Episode 4, "Memoirs of an Invisible Dan"

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Dan didn't grow up with the filthy rich students that surround him, so it makes sense that it takes a while for his classmates to know who he is, to a point. The others have all gone to private schools and boarding schools together. Dan is the ultimate wallflower and consistently has to remind people of who he is and why he is around. This is never more obvious than his book reveal in season 5, Memoirs of an Invisible Dan.

However, when asking "Who is Gossip Girl?" this clue stands out as a real indicator. Dan writes about everyone in his book, not just his blog, and the answer remained hidden in plain sight all along. As much as he wanted to be seen, he also worked hard to make sure he wasn't so that he could gather as much information as possible.

Related Another Character Was Supposed To Be Gossip Girl Finding out Dan Humphrey is Gossip Girl is a significant part of the series, but it turns out that another character was almost given this role.

Dan Shows Up At Just The Right Moment For A New Blog Post

Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot"

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Being that Dan isn't exactly well-liked at first, it would seem that he would be spending his time in his Brooklyn apartment rather than creeping around VIP parties and such, but that isn't the case. As Dan becomes acquainted with his new classmates, he gets the low-down on what parties are happening and embeds himself into the drama, and the first clue to answer "Who is Gossip Girl?" occurs in the pilot when Dan is in attendance at one of the best parties on Gossip Girl, Blair's Kiss on the Lips party.

With that type of information and visibility, it is the perfect situation for him to gather content and upload it later once he is home. Despite so many of the events in the series supposedly being "invite only," even after the pilot, Dan is often able to walk right in without any kind of invitation or attracting any notice.

Some Events Could Only Be Reported By The Few People There

Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot"

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Sometimes, in Gossip Girl, there are intimate moments that only a few people would know about making it into the blog, such as the fact that Serena gate-crashes Blair's Kiss on the Lips party. While people could send in tips to Gossip Girl, there are some incidents when it seemed unlikely that would happen because so few people know about what really happened. Serena, after all, could have been mentioned by several people sending messages to Gossip Girl, but something else happens in the pilot that no one else would know about.

In the same episode, Jenny is caught in a compromising situation with Chuck, and Serena gets wind of it and saves the day. There are only a few people who witness the situation, and the answer to "Who is Gossip Girl?" is easily given once it's considered that Dan is the only other one there aside from Chuck, Jenny, and Serena. Unless one of them tells other people about the event, they are the only people who could have told Gossip Girl or been Gossip Girl.

Dan Mentions Saving A Tree And Starting A Blog

Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot"

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For many fans, Dan's reveal as Gossip Girl comes out of left field...

On a scale from one to ten of Gossip Girl parents, Dan and Jenny's dad, Rufus, is pretty great. He might try to soak up every ounce of his once-famous music career, but he is likable. He just isn't always completely in tune with what his kids are actually up to. That's certainly made clear in retrospect when Dan all but dangles the fact that he has a blog of his own in the pilot. He says that his father should "save some trees, start a blog" while he promotes his band's next gig with posters.

It's an off-hand comment that actually plants the seeds for Dan being a writer, and for Dan being revealed as Gossip Girl, in the very first episode of the show. For many fans, Dan's reveal as Gossip Girl comes out of left field, but there are a surprisingly large number of clues early in the show teasing Dan as the anonymous blogger.