Ed Westwick Goes From “Gossip Girl” to Downright Gruesome
https://instagram.com/p/9Xk7RtMheu Wicked City premiered on ABC Tuesday at 10 p.m., and Gossip Girl fans finally got to see their favorite tortured man whore make his return to the small screen.
Ed Westwick stars in the new series as Kent Galloway, a seriously creepy regular at the Whiskey who seduces his victims with compliments and empty promises, only to drive them to a secluded spot with a view of Hollywood where he kills them... while they are going down on him. Can you think of a worse way to die? I truly cannot.
The series arrived three years after the series finale of Gossip Girl, when we were blessed with the most heartwarming ending in television history (Bluck and Derena forever). We didn't see much from Westwick after the series ended, leaving fans wondering where the dangerously sexy Brit had gone as we watched his “I’m Chuck Bass” recreation on Vine over and over to fill the void. Now he’s officially back (along some Chuck Bass tendencies) and showing fans something they’ve never seen from him before in this cringe-worthy thriller.
In the premiere of the new series, we watched Galloway murder no less than three women for reasons that are not entirely clear… but the fact that he has erectile dysfunction and can only get it on with dead bodies might have something to do with it. The painfully awkward sex scene where he made Erika Christensen’s character practically put herself in a coma just so he could get it up for about 2 seconds while she deprived herself of oxygen and probably couldn't even enjoy herself is forever engrained in our brains. For some reason, she was into it and he doesn't have an overwhelming urge to kill her yet, so we think she may be a series regular.
Although it’s almost concerning how well Ed Westwick plays Kent Galloway, Chuck Bass admirers will be pleased to see that a lot of Bass’s tendencies and style are infused into this new role.
With the show being set in the 80s, the cast’s style is one of the most endearing aspects of the show. Leading the crazy fashion is Galloway himself, who in the premiere alone, sported an array of fancy suits and printed button-ups. This seems to be a nod to Chuck Bass, who was practically never seen without a suit on (and a loud tie to match). We also saw his signature smolder while he seduced his victims, which had us reminiscing about the days when that look was only for Blair. And of course, Westwick brought back the slow, sexy voice that we thought was only a Chuck Bass thing... but it turns out, it just might be an Ed Westwick trying to mask his British accent thing. Whatever the reason, we’re not complaining.
Aside from these small similarities, his new role is much darker than anything we saw from Westwick during his time on Gossip Girl. While Gossip Girl will remain one of the most addicting series' ever created, the characters and storylines were always slightly surface-level, meant to be glamorous and sexy. Wicked City is much more intricate, with a controversial plot and some seriously screwed up themes. I mean, although Bass had frustrating commitment issues, he by no means was a sociopathic murderer with an oral sex fetish, and we would never see him ask Blair to murder women in a twisted threesome situation. I mean, come on. Chuck had much more class than that.
This new role proves that Westwick is much more than Chuck Bass, whom he could have easily been typecast as for the remainder of his career. Personally, I didn't even care to learn the actor’s name before writing this article… I just called him Chuck Bass. With the shocking nature of this new show, though, he’s likely to expand his fan base to an older demographic who stays up late to watch racier, late-night television shows. Gossip Girl fans are now old enough now to watch shows with sinister themes, and if they aren’t, I’m sure they will find a way around their parental controls to catch a glimpse of their beloved Chuck Bass before his new role scars them for life.
After only the premiere of Wicked City, Westwick has already proved he has enough versatility to go from brunches on the Upper East Side to murder on the Sunset Strip. It’s clear that this is the type of role that will make or break a career, but his skin-crawling believability has me convinced the small screen actor is about to see more challenging, leading roles. All I can say is, I’m glad I finally learned your real name, Ed Westwick… but your new show gives me nightmares.