Jordan Alexander stars as Julien Calloway in Gossip Girl. The season two finale, which will now also serve as the series finale, premieres Thursday, January 26 on HBO Max.

It’s the second semester of Junior year, and Gossip Girl is leaving no stone unturned in her effort to control the scandalous lives/spin the scandalous lies of Manhattan’s elite. She’s learned a thing or two from her first go-round — namely what her audience wants, they shall get. It’s time for her to turn the heat up on what’s been simmering (Julien, have you met Monet?) as well as look at her own impact, and how she can make it more catastrophic than it was before. Even if that means lying to do it. Old enemies, new allies, constantly shifting sands — this semester, there can only be one queen, and by the end of the school year, everyone will know where the bodies are buried, and just who was holding the shovel.

To start off, I had to ask her to preview what’s coming in tomorrow’s finale and her answer was the perfect tease:

“It was pretty intense, even just reading the scripts, you’re like, ‘oh my gosh!’ I feel like there’s a lot more physical comedy and ridiculousness that is gonna be so enjoyable to watch, and it was really enjoyable to play with.”

Season 2 really was for fans of the original Gossip Girl in terms of doing everything bigger and better than season 1. It had more drama, it had plenty of ships, and a pretty iconic cameo. Michelle Trachtenberg had a multiple-episode arc as Georgina Sparks, appearing to figure out who took over as GG and cause a lot of chaos. While Jordan Alexander didn’t get to share any scenes with her, she says that her presence was definitely felt while filming.

“It was actually really fun being on set with her. She’s a very unique person and she brings a lot of bizarre energy that I think is super necessary,” she expressed to me. “But yeah, she is such an interesting person and obviously such an iconic character from the original, so it’s great to have her back and causing all of the havoc and mayhem.”

By taking everything to the next level, audiences were treated to some very fun and jaw-dropping sequences. I asked the actress which one was her favorite of the season:

“I really liked when we were in The Guggenheim Museum, that was incredible. I had so much fun just being in that setting. And then of course, all of the different storylines that were going off, like Zoya is going off on her dad, Obie’s trying to make everything good for his girlfriend, and Max is freaking out. It was just so many different things going on all at once. I feel like that was really one of those events that just had everything clashing in. It was really fun.”

This season, Julien definitely had her fair share of relationship drama after she falls for a “married man,” only to find that it was all a lie in an attempt to get revenge.

“Wild,” is the first word that comes to mind as Alexander remembers her initial reaction to the revelation. “So, even just reading that, I was so shocked because I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s such a sweet character.’ I thought it would be such a cute moment for her, but then realistically when you remember that it’s Gossip Girl, that’s never gonna happen. But then that’s the most fun thing, you know? You can be like, ‘Well, why wouldn’t you just obviously do this? This would make everything perfect,’ but then you have no drama.”

However, after that disaster, Julien had the chance to reconnect with Obie and the actress was all for it:

“I actually think that the idea of people who have known each other that long and they just have such like a special bond, I think it’s quite beautiful. So I think that the climax of them finally kind of stopping warring with each other and actually realizing that all of that was kind of coming from a place of love, I was excited by it. I think it’s really cute, it’s nice to see a good little reconnection. It kind of freshened it up because it’s not just like the same old thing, they’ve grown so much, and then they came back together and found their way.”

Sadly, Julien didn’t have the best season in terms of her friendships either. We saw her relationship with Audrey not only get put to the test but fall apart episode by episode as things only seem to get worse and worse.

“I feel like she is just being hit at every angle. She is just absolutely everyone’s main target, but that’s okay because I think that in each of these scenarios, it’s teaching us so much about human interaction, people that you’re friends with, your siblings, or people that you have really strong bonds with. Like, all of these will inevitably have conflict and things that you’re gonna have to work through,” she explained. “So I think especially with Audrey and Julien, seeing that pair that has never really been rocked before, have that kind of clashing and see how those misunderstandings with people that you love so deeply can really happen like that. So, I thought it was really realistic and I mean, working with Emily is always amazing. She’s just such an incredible actor and yeah, she had me hurt a little bit. I was like, ‘That was too real, take it back!’ It’s good because you see both sides and that’s how it is usually in a conflict or an argument. Really both parties do have a valid point and I think that that was very clear there, and it was just like misconnection.”

Fans also watched as the character went head to head with Monet for the role as Queen of Constance, which was very reminiscent of the original series and Blair Waldorf:

“Yeah, it’s not Gossip Girl without someone getting pushed into a fountain. It was incredible. Me and Savannah had a lot of fun with those scenes. It was just fun to work together and have a different dynamic than we had in the first season. I think it’s just wild. I love Monet’s character, she’s so driven, passionate, and smart. It was just really funny to see her character take that adventure on.”

The series has developed a pretty big fanbase and we talked about how it’s grown from the premiere when we first spoke as well as getting to actually meet fans.

“It’s really fun. I love it. When people come up to me, it’s always so sweet because they have nice things to say or they’re a fan of the show,” Alexander voiced. “It’s just really fun to interact with people who are enjoying something that you’re doing, you know? You have that in common, so it’s just great.”

As for actually filming season 2, the actress said that there’s a fun memory that stands out:

“Actually, the one that just really popped into my head because Zión actually recorded it, was we’re like taking a break from filming in the school one day, and Whitney and I just like started waltzing. You’re on set for such long hours and I feel like you feel the time and find fun things to do. It’s an incredible experience to be filming, it’s an incredible experience to be just hanging out with the cast mates.”

We did this interview back in December, both of us heavily manifesting a third season. Unfortunately, it was recently announced that the story will not continue and tomorrow’s finale will be the end, for now. But the actress did reveal what she would have liked to see for her character in the future.

“Julien should just go full villain mode. I feel like she’s been straddling that fence for two seasons, so I think that she should just fully be a villain and lean into that. I think that would be really fun,” Alexander told me. “A lot of us [actors] don’t necessarily tap into that in our own life. I’m gonna like make the more responsible choice and not cause chaos, but if I could have a whole fantasy life where I didn’t do that, that would be very fun.”

As for who her character’s target would be or what chaos she would stir up, that’s harder to think about:

“I feel like this whole time she’s always been just putting out the fires, maybe being dragged into the mess, or unintentional. So to see her do something really super intentional, I’m like, I wonder….”

She also mentioned there is one dynamic she wanted to see more of: “I would like Julien and Gideon. I feel like those would be two kind of polar worlds coming together and I think that’d be great.”

Julien’s big storyline in season 1 was her family and dealing with the aftermath of her father’s scandal. While we definitely still see that affecting the character in the new season, there is plenty more that could have been explored.

“I mean, I feel like going forward with that, it would still just be kind of dealing with the loss of her father and the impact that that has on her, and who knows, maybe there’s other family members out there or something,” Alexander said.

“I mean, I think that the storyline with Julien’s dad was one that was such an important one to tackle, especially in the music industry and the entertainment industry at large,” she commented, before adding what could be another good issue for the show to tackle. “Maybe editing, like someone editing their photo a lot or getting bullied for that, or something like that. I feel like that’s something that could be really topical.”

Another highlight this season was really getting to see Julien and Zoya embrace being sisters and her character having a real family dynamic after losing her father. So what was that like to explore for the actress?

“It was like a humble makeover, and I think it’s good for her and good for people to see, you know? You’re still yourself, you’re still who you are, no matter what you have,” she responded. “I love Whitney, I love that Lott dynamic, like the three of us paired. It’s such a cozy set, it’s always warm and there’s just lots of beds everywhere, you can lie down, but that really emanates from that group and I love it.”

Social media was a huge factor in the show and we took a minute to reflect on the truth of how it impacts everyone’s life, especially high school students:

“I feel like even just high school students not living under the threat of Gossip Girl, it’s still like, ‘Oh, someone posted that thing about you and now the whole school knows,’ and bullying and stuff like that. So I feel like it is super relevant to the experience of a high schooler and then amplified because of this online menace.”

So what would Julien Calloway be doing right now? “I think that Julien would be listening to ‘Pour It Up’ by Rihanna on her way to some brand deal shoot, just hyping herself up and trying to be the best version of herself,” the actress mentioned.

To conclude, Jordan shared what it meant to add to the Gossip Girl legacy for a new generation:

“I think that’s really exciting, you know? Something that had such an impact with the original and then kind of overhauling it and bringing it to a new generation is really, really cool. I feel honored and really excited to be a part of it.”