'Gossip Girl' Cast on Monet's Season 2 Takeover of Mean Girl: '[She] Really Has Time to Shine'

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Spotted: A new "Gossip Girl" queen bee is on the rise, and she wastes no time in launching her hostile takeover. After an explosive first-season finale, HBO Max's "Gossip Girl" returned with more chaotic drama on Dec. 1, and this time around Julien (Jordan Alexander) isn't the one running things in Constance. In season two, she struggles to maintain her influence with sidekick-turned-enemy Monet (Savannah Lee Smith) vying for her top spot.

"We kind of wanted the cold, tough female dog that would stop at nothing to get to the top."

The final season of "Gossip Girl" attempted to redefine the infamous high school mean girl trope with overly vindictive schemes orchestrated by Julien's minions Monet and Luna (Zión Moreno), but one of them moved on to a more sinister role in season two. With Luna and Julien breaking up with Monet due to the latter's terrible power trip, a new antagonist has emerged and she's not going to go down without a fight - so say hello to evil Monet 2.0.

Monet is definitely determined to make a name for herself in season two, and everyone is taking notice. "I think Monet really has his time to shine," Evan Mock, who plays Aki, told POPSUGAR. Her co-star Emily Alyn Lind, who plays Audrey, Aki and Max's girlfriend, adds, "[It's] so amazing because she's taking on this role that felt really needed. We wanted it. sort of the tough, cold female dog that wouldn't stop at anything to get to the top, and I think viewers are going to be really excited because it really feels like a nod to the original."

Every good high school drama almost always needs a villain to shake things up, and it seems Monet has no problem filling that role. However, Lee Smith says there's more to his character's villainous energy than meets the eye. "I really think this season you kind of see why we are the way we are, especially with Monet and Luna," she explains. "Monet's parents come into play, and her relationship with her mother is very indicative of why she might be a little jaded or have a tough, tough exterior. But her mother ends up being really the only one who can break that. exterior. It's fun to play, and I think it's something different that people will see from Monet."

Although Monet may not be as infamous as Michelle Trachtenberg's Georgina Sparks, Lee Smith still thinks her character could be just as bad as her, if not worse. "I always say the moment I start to think maybe Monet has some good in her, I think back to the first season – Zoya's birthday," she says. "It was so bad. It was the most terrible, meanest thing. I didn't even know how I was thinking about it."

Will we ever see Monet turn a new leaf like Julien? Hard to say. But Lee Smith hopes she'll at least soften up – maybe if she ever falls in love? "I want to see how she would handle that or how I would play that," the actor said. "I think that would be an interesting thing to see in terms of where his character would go."

Monet's reign has only just begun, so we have a long way to go before we see his soft side. Until then, she will rule over her loyal (and not-so-loyal) subjects with an iron fist. But we don't know if that will change with Gossip Girl continuing to collect Julien's secrets. . .

The first two episodes of the second season of "Gossip Girl" are now streaming on HBO Max.

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