Josh Safran on Dan/Blair: 'It Was A Long Time Coming'
An interview with the show's executive producer, Josh Safran, that is all about Dan/Blair and in which he manages to say nothing we didn't assume already anyway. Cut for length and (not really) spoiler-y stuff.
TVLINE | After last night’s kiss, can we now say that Dan and Blair are moving in the direction of a romance?
I don’t want to say that or not say that. We made a very conscious choice to take Dan and Blair slowly. We’re well aware that we can put couples together and break them up much faster than other shows can. And we really wanted to build what we felt has been there since season 1 in “Bad News Blair,” when Dan and Blair had their little moment in the hallway where they talked about their problems with their parents. So we just sort of realized that they had this long brewing friendship-slash-whatever it was. So I think what you can hope for is that Dan and Blair will continue to be connected and that story will continue to grow.
TVLINE | You’ve explored every possible romantic combination over the past four years. What sets the Dan/Blair combo apart in your eyes?
We always knew we wanted to do this. We actually toyed with doing it last year, but we felt that it was too soon. We wanted to wait as long as possible - and that helped the story. Because it felt like it was a long time coming and you were ready to go there with them. We hope to continue following it, maybe in unexpected ways.
TVLINE | Skeptics would say this Dan/Blair thing is just a temporary diversion until Blair returns to Chuck. Did you leave open the possibility that if Dan and Blair really clicked - and for my money they have - that maybe it’s not all about Chuck and Blair?
One thing we are very conscious of - and I know some fans get upset about this - is we really try to treat the characters as living, breathing, well-rounded individuals. And we’re often surprised by where their journeys take them; they open new doors for us all the time. It’s not like we’re saying, “No, there’s only this one couple and that’s it.” We really believe in going on a journey with them, which I know for some people can be frustrating. But for us it can be creatively fulfilling to go, like, “Wow. Dan and Blair have had this connection that has always been there. And they are maturing and growing older and whereas before they might’ve looked down on that connection maybe they can now find some solace in that connection. That is a fun thing to witness. Chuck and Blair are always going to be connected in their way, and Dan and Serena are always going to be connected in their way. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be new roads to go down that might be different than what we initially anticipated.
TVLINE | Are you a Dan/Blair fan?
I’m a fan of all the characters. [Laughs] I really am. I love them all.
TVLINE | But when you watch them together…
I wrote that scene in “Bad News Blair” with the two of them in the hallway, so I’ve been a fan of them from the beginning. But I’m also very much a fan of Chuck and Blair and Dan and Serena.
TVLINE | Talk to me about the decision to do a freeze-frame of the kiss at the end of the episode as opposed to something more traditional, like a fade-to-black or just letting the kiss play out.
We’re off the air for seven weeks so we wanted to make a cliffhanger out of it. We often follow kisses all the way through and we stop after they pull apart and the question would be, “What are they thinking?” We really wanted instead to let the audience project what that kiss is. “How long does it go on for? What happens after?” They could be kissing for seven weeks. [Laughs]
TVLINE | Will we pick up mid-kiss when the show returns or are we jumping seven weeks ahead?
We are not jumping seven weeks ahead.
TVLINE | So we’ll still be in that moment?
I am not going to say that.
source: TVLINE
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