Chuck Bass
| Charles Bass File:Chuck gossip.jpg | |||||||||||
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| Gossip Girl character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Ed Westwick | ||||||||||
| First appearance | Book Series: Gossip Girl TV Series: Pilot | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | Book Series: Don't You Forget About Me | ||||||||||
| Created by | Cecily von Ziegesar | ||||||||||
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Charles Bartholomew Bass, better known as Chuck Bass, is a character in the best-selling Gossip Girl series of novels, and is portrayed by Ed Westwick in the television series of the same name. A secondary, antagonistic character in the original book series, Chuck is a main character in the television series, and serves as the show's antihero.
Book series background
![[icon]](/enwiki/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008) |
Born Charles Bartholomew Bass, he was raised in Manhattan's most elite social circles. He is the son of the wealthy Bartholomew Bass and his wife Misty and has a sibling named Donald. Bass and his family reside at the Plaza Hotel on the Upper East Side. Chuck Bass is a student at Riverside Preparatory School for Boys on the Upper West Side with scholarship student Dan Humphrey. He is shown as being the playboy of the series, interested in sex, money, and nothing more. He's virtually friendless, but accepted by the others since his parents are in the "in" crowd. He wears a monogrammed scarf and owns a pet monkey named Sweetie, a gift from Georgina Sparks. In the final book, Greg and Dan Humphrey date briefly. Dan thinks Greg isn’t right for him, and goes to tell him, except Greg beats him to the punch, leaving Dan for Chuck. At the end of the series, Chuck winds up being sent to military school in West Point because he didn't get accepted into any other colleges he applied to. In the Gossip Girl spin-off - The Carlyles, we find out through Gossip Girl's website that Chuck never made it to West Point.
TV series background
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (June 2008) |
Chuck Bass was born to Bart Bass, a self-made billionaire who owns the New York Palace Hotel, where the two reside. Bass attends St. Jude's School for boys with best friend Nate Archibald, and enemy Dan Humphrey. Like in the book series, he is very interested in sex and money, though has more of a heart in the TV series.
Season 1
Chuck grew up with Upper East Side elites Nate Archibald, Blair Waldorf, and Serena van der Woodsen. His father is Bart Bass, an entrepreneur, a successful businessman, who made a name for himself, rather than being born into money like Chuck’s friends’ parents. Chuck is often described as the bad boy of his circle, and although he can be manipulative, we learn that he has a sensitive and caring side to him, especially for those he cares about like his best friend Nate and crush- Nate's girlfriend Blair Waldorf.
Chuck tends to be the playboy, attempting to hook up with Serena and Jenny Humphrey in the first episode. Chuck was the only one who knew about Serena and Nate’s affair, but didn't tell anyone until after Serena came back, at the brunch his father was hosting.
Chuck is at first shown as being fiercely loyal to his best friend, Nate Archibald. When Nate leaves Chuck's party angry and frustrated, Chuck winds up rescuing him from Carter Baizen and a risky poker game. He also said in a season one episode that the only things that matter to him are money, the pleasures money can buy him, and Nate. However, Chuck broke Nate's trust by sleeping with Blair the night after she and Nate ended their relationship.
Chuck and Blair began a secret relationship, not telling anyone because of Chuck's desire to not hurt Nate. However, Blair ends things at her debutante ball and returns to Nate. A heartbroken Chuck hopped in a jet and left New York.
Chuck eventually wrote an anonymous text to Gossip Girl detailing that Blair has slept with someone other than Nate. The news spreads quickly and ruins Blair, and comes back to haunt him. After seeing the Gossip Girl news about Blair, Nate asks Jenny if it is true, and Jenny tells him that Chuck slept with Blair. As a result, Nate and Chuck have an explosive fight outside the school and Nate ends their friendship. At the end of the day, with no one to turn to, Blair returns to Chuck. To her dismay, he rejects her and tries to remain loyal to an estranged Nate.
In the meantime, Chuck's father and Serena's mother have become engaged, causing them to become step siblings. Chuck also dealt with problems with his father- Bart's constant pressure is a continuing theme in season 1. His father ended up kicking him out of the apartment to live back in his suite after Bart and Lilly became engaged and moved in together. Chuck constantly annoys Serena, but takes a brotherly liking to Eric, Serena's little brother, looking out for him and talking to him about his sexuality.
Chuck and Serena grow closer, however, with the return of Serena's ex-friend and now hated enemy, Georgina Sparks. Chuck does his best to help his soon-to-be stepsister through the difficult time and eventually teams up with ex-friend Nate and ex-lover Blair to save Serena and counter Georgina's evil. Georgina is eventually turned in to her parents and sent to a bootcamp.
At his father's wedding to Serena's mother, Chuck alerts Nate when he sees the Captain, Nate's father, appearing to buy cocaine. This causes the two friends to make up and, upon realizing Chuck is actually in love with Blair, Nate gives his blessing. Also, while giving his best man speech, Chuck sees Blair and doesn't even read what he wrote, instead talking about true love and perseverance. While dancing with Blair, he tells her that she and Nate were never meant to be, and they get back together. However, after his father talks to him about becoming a better man and changing because of his relationship with Blair, he hits on Lily Van Der Woodsen's interior designer. He ditches Blair for their trip to Tuscany and texts her to say that he cannot make the flight. Blair, unaware of Chuck's intentions, believes that his father must be running late and Chuck will probably catch the next commercial flight.
Differences between the novels and TV series
- In the book series, Chuck attends Riverside Prep on the Upper West Side with Dan Humphrey, while Nate attends St. Jude's; on the show, all three attend St. Jude's.
- In the book, Nate despises Chuck, whilest on the show they are best friends.
- In the books, Chuck is described as bisexual, while on the show he is heterosexual.
- In the books, Chuck’s parents are Bart and Misty Bass. Chuck mentions his mother once in the show's pilot, but according to the Gossip Girl blog, his father is a widower.
- In the books, he never actually keeps a girlfriend, and only sleeps around. On the show he develops serious feelings for Blair, and by the end of season one has fallen in love with her.
- Chuck is simply tolerated by the other main characters in the books; however, on the show he is part of the "Non-Judging Breakfast Club" along with Blair, Serena and Nate. As Blair says to Serena in "Woman on the Verge," "We don't judge. We're the Non-Judging Breakfast Club. We're your best friends. Anything you do is something we did too."
- Chuck has a pet monkey named Sweetie in the books. It has never been mentioned on the show.
- In the books he has a brother named Donald Bass and a cousin named Harold aka Harry Bass. He has no siblings on the show.
- While in the novels, Chuck is depicted as a completely one-sided morally bankrupt character, he has more depth on the show.
- In the book series, Chuck is a supporting antagonist character; on the show he's a main/anti-hero character.
Relationships
Book Series
- Serena van der Woodsen (forced)
- Donetella Contessa (fling)
- Tiphany (fling)
- Jenny Humphrey (forced)
- Kati Farkas (fling)
- Katie Soave (fling)
- Katherina Esmée Guaraná-Bianchini (ex girlfriend)
- Georgina Sparks (fling)
- All Male-Dutch Snowboarding team (fling)
- Greg (boyfriend)
TV Series
- Blair Waldorf
- First Relationship:
- Start Up: Victor, Victrola (107)
- Broke Up: Hi Society (110)
- Reason: Blair learns that Chuck lied to Nate, causing a scene at her debutante ball.
- Second Relationship:
- Start Up: Much 'I Do' About Nothing (118)
- First Relationship:
- Georgina Sparks
- Lost his virginity to her in the 6th grade.
