Things In Gossip Girl You Only Notice As An Adult

One of the most disturbing, enraging storylines of the original "Gossip Girl" was when William van der Woodsen (William Baldwin) gave his ex-wife and mother of his children fake cancer. 

Depicted throughout the series as a well-respected doctor, in Season 3, the family learned that his ex-wife Lily (Kelly Rutherford) was suffering from the big C and William had been treating her secretly. But the catch was, she wasn't really sick. As it turned out, William was faking Lily's symptoms, making her believe she was sick and in need of his help, thereby creating a rift between her and husband Rufus (Matthew Settle). 

Given the money and resources at Lily's disposal, it seems impossible to believe that she wouldn't — at the very least — solicit a second medical opinion from another doctor. You also have to consider the messenger — and Lily's diagnosis came directly from her calculating ex-husband, who had previously cheated on her with her own sister, resulting in a love child (Charlie). 

Throughout the season, it was slowly revealed to everyone that Lily was never actually sick. But, instead of Serena holding her father accountable for such a dishonest act, she let him escape from the police on a private jet.

Viewing this storyline now, years later, as adult, it's hard to not feel like William should have been immediately stripped of his medical license and shunned from his family. Which makes things harder to take seriously when William reconciles with Lily at the end of the series.