Eric van der Woodsen: Difference between revisions
Updated image of Eric to one from Season 3. |
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==Book series background== |
==Book series background== |
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Eric is described as similar to every van der Woodsen; tall, thin and blonde. He is William's and [[Lily van der Woodsen|Lillian van der Woodsen]]'s first child. His New York residence is in a 994 [[Fifth Avenue]] penthouse, across the [[Met]] and [[Central Park]]. He graduated from St. Jude School for Boys and now attends [[Brown University]]. He is very close to his |
Eric is described as similar to every van der Woodsen; tall, thin and blonde. He is William's and [[Lily van der Woodsen|Lillian van der Woodsen]]'s first child. His New York residence is in a 994 [[Fifth Avenue]] penthouse, across the [[Met]] and [[Central Park]]. He graduated from St. Jude School for Boys and now attends [[Brown University]]. He is very close to his older sister, [[Serena van der Woodsen|Serena]], and likes giving her advice and protecting her. |
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Serena has said he has “at least four or five different girlfriends he sleeps with routinely.” He also briefly had an affair with Blair Waldorf during one skiing vacation. |
Serena has said he has “at least four or five different girlfriends he sleeps with routinely.” He also briefly had an affair with Blair Waldorf during one skiing vacation. |
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Revision as of 17:49, 2 July 2010
| Eric van der Woodsen | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gossip Girl character | |||||||||||||
 Connor Paolo as Eric van der Woodsen | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Connor Paolo | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | Book Series: Gossip Girl Gossip Girl TV Series: "Pilot" | ||||||||||||
| Created by | Character Cecily von Ziegesar Developed for Television Josh Schwartz Stephanie Savage | ||||||||||||
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Eric van der Woodsen (Erik van der Woodsen in the book series) is a fictional character from the book series Gossip Girl and the TV series of the same name. The television character is portrayed by Connor Paolo.
Book series background
Eric is described as similar to every van der Woodsen; tall, thin and blonde. He is William's and Lillian van der Woodsen's first child. His New York residence is in a 994 Fifth Avenue penthouse, across the Met and Central Park. He graduated from St. Jude School for Boys and now attends Brown University. He is very close to his older sister, Serena, and likes giving her advice and protecting her.
Serena has said he has “at least four or five different girlfriends he sleeps with routinely.” He also briefly had an affair with Blair Waldorf during one skiing vacation.
He's often been quoted by Serena and Blair as saying "fuck 'em" in reference to society and life in general. Particularly when the girls are applying to university.
TV series background
Eric's character is more complex in the show, showing a mature understanding of family and relationships. He was born to Lily and William van der Woodsen. He is Serena van der Woodsen's younger brother. He grew up in a wealthy family with no fatherly figure because of his absent father and his mother's numerous marriages. Connor Paolo notes that Eric's lack of a father figure also contributed to his suicide attempt.[1]
Before the Pilot episode, Eric felt alone because of Serena's departure to attend a boarding school and Lily's recurrent absence; so he tried to commit suicide, obligated his mother to send him to the Ostroff Center, a clinical facility for troubled teenagers where he later meets Asher Hornsby.
Season 1
At the beginning of the season, Serena is constantly visiting him at the Ostroff Center, trying to convince the doctors and her mother to let him out. They let Eric out temporarily, during the Ivy League Mixer, where he develops a friendship with the young Jenny Humphrey, telling her about his issues. After Blair Waldorf humiliates his sister, telling the whole school she was attending the Ostroff Center during her absence having mistakenly seeing photos of Serena entering the center to visit Eric, Eric tells Blair he was the one attending the mental center and shows her his suicide attempt.
At Blair's sleepover, Blair dares Jenny to break into the Ostroff Center and take Eric out for the night. Jenny and Blair succeed and they take him to a bar downtown. His mother, Lily, is then made aware of his disappearance and begins to panic. She quickly informs Rufus, whose son is on a date with Serena, after she cannot get hold of her. They contact the couple to make sure Eric is alright and to bring him home. Later, Lily realizes Eric that is ready come out of the medical center. He is present during Thanksgiving dinner at the Humphrey's apartment when Lily and Rufus reveal they had a previous relationship years ago. Due to his mother's engagement to billionaire Bart Bass, he develops a friendship with Chuck Bass, whom he considers as a brother figure.
He tries to warn Jenny about her new boyfriend Asher Hornsby but she thinks he is falling in love with her. In the same episode, Dan Humphrey and Georgina Sparks (Serena's frenemy), see Asher making out with someone the audience can't see. During a dinner with his family, Georgina Sparks unknowingly outs Eric. Eric's homosexuality upsets Lily and Serena, who blame themselves for Eric getting institutionalized. Serena discovers Chuck already knew about this because Eric thought he would trust and understand him.
At Asher and Jenny's party, Eric helps Blair to confront Asher, who has been lying about having a sexual relationship with Jenny Humphrey, proclaiming in front of everybody of his homosexuality and letting Blair send the messages they have been sending each other to Gossip Girl causing Asher's precocious coming out and Jenny's dethroning. [2]
Along with Chuck, he is a best man in the Bass-van der Woodsen wedding.
Season 2
During summer 2008, Eric is staying with his sister and grandmother in The Hamptons. He receives a call from Jenny who tells him, she needs help to get in the Vitamin White Party. She apologizes to him about the incident with Asher and they become friends again. Eric introduces Tinsley Mortimer to Jenny to extend her contacts in the fashion industry.
After the school year starts, although Serena complains about Lily's new marriage and their new house rules, Eric thinks they should give the marriage a chance. Later, Eric introduces Jonathan Whitney as his new boyfriend. They break up after Bart tells Eric that Jonathan has been cheating on him. Eric lodges Jenny secretly in the Bass-van der Woodsen penthouse and goes with her to make the paperwork to divorce her parents.
Eric then discovers that Bart hired his private detective, Andrew Taylor to do research about his, Lily's and Serena's past. He discovers that Lily was also institutionalized at a French sanatorium and that she didn't tell him so that she could be strong for him. Bart's actions convince Lily to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Humphreys.
After Bart's death, Eric comes back with Jonathan and tries to convince Chuck to go back to their penthouse. Chuck and Eric officially become brothers after Lily adopts her late husband's son.
Eric is upset with Jenny when she becomes to clingy, preferring to be alone with Jonathan but he starts to value her more when everybody discovers they share a brother. [3]
Eric is present in the Oak Room Bar where "Gossip Girl" calls everybody to arrive.
Season 3
During summer 2009, Eric is in his grandma's house with Jenny, Dan & Rufus while his mother is in Montecito taking care of CeCe. He observes Jenny's speech to the rest of Constance that end the school hierarchy.
During Jenny's gradual transformation as an Upper East Side Queen, he falls victim to Jenny and her cronies when a battle over the steps that Jonathan inadvertently started and ends with Eric being splattered with yogurt. The Halloween party that followed after had Jonathan being egged at the club opening, enraging Eric, who tells Jenny he wants nothing to do with her. Eric sabotages Jenny's Cotillion by falsely sending a text to Graham Collins, the date Jenny wants using her phone which claims that she Jonathan will be taking her to Cotillion. He joins forces with Blair, whom Jenny also offends publicly, in making Kira Abernathy, a Constance student whom Jenny regularly ignores, a threat to Jenny's reign as Queen. Blair gives Kira a makeover and Eric blackmails Graham into becoming Kira's escort instead of Jenny. Jenny soon endures public humiliation but manages to gain their respect by taking Nate as her escort for Cotillion. These events cause Jonathan to break up with Eric as he claims Eric has changed now that he's resorted to scheming with Blair. After Cotillion, Jenny leaves with the other Upper East Side Queen Bees and leaves unaware that Eric has been responsible for her public embarrassment.
At Thanksgiving Jenny discovers that Eric was the one behind her public embarrassment at Cotillion which sets her getting her revenge on him. Eric teams up with Kira and attempts to ruin Jenny by buying one his accomplices the same bag as her and have the girls turn against her. This fails as Jenny reveals two identical bags handing them over to his accomplices, falsely apologizing for her actions but claiming that one of the girls whom Erica bought a bag for spoiled her surprise. Eric and Jenny then to a truce after Serena's car accident.
It is revealed in "The Inglourious Bassterds" that Eric was in Japan and ends up meeting a potential love-interest named Elliot (portrayed by Luke Kleintank) during a game of assassin on Nate's birthday. [4]On the day of Dorota's wedding, Eric wonders if Elliot is gay and discovers that he has a girlfriend during the wedding reception. Elliot then confides in Eric that he is bisexual, indicating that Eric still has a chance with him when Elliot tells him that his girlfriend left out of jealousy. [5]
Eric's relationship with his father, William van der Woodsen, is also observed when he coldly rejects him for not being there for him. [6] He informs him that he is gay and he had been institutionalized.
His friendship with Jenny is once again tested when she reveals that she aided his father's escape from the police. He coldly states that no one is forcing Jenny to stay and that she can leave if she wants to.
References
- ^ Martell, Alexandra (16 February 2010). "Connor Paolo Wants Eric Van Der Woodsen to Go Postal". Daily Intel, NY Times.
{{cite web}}: Check|archiveurl=value (help) - ^ Hernandez, Greg (06 May 2008). ""Gossip Girl" recap: one gay teen comes out, another is outed..." out in Hollywood.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Masaki, Lyle (13 January 2009). "Last Night's "Gossip Girl": The Bisexual Mating Dance". afterElton.com.
{{cite web}}: Check|archiveurl=value (help) - ^ Ayers, Dennis (06 April 2010). "Eric's New and Surprisingly Hot "Gossip Girl" Love Interest". afterElton.com.
{{cite web}}: Check|archiveurl=value (help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ayers, Dennis (13 April 2010). "Last Night's "Gossip Girl": The Bisexual Mating Dance". afterElton.com.
{{cite web}}: Check|archiveurl=value (help) - ^ Martell, Alexandra (16 February 2010). "Connor Paolo Wants Eric Van Der Woodsen to Go Postal". Daily Intel, NY Times.
{{cite web}}: Check|archiveurl=value (help)
