Ok, here goes. There was no Chuck – all Dan and no Chuck, makes F an angry girl – and no Nate, but it was still an amazing episode. It almost made up for last week’s less than stellar episode, and I’m pleased to report that my confidence in the GG writers is back to its former, elevated level. I’m sorry I ever doubted you. What can I say? I’m a capricious soul. Let’s begin with the awesome stuff.
The awesome stuff:
1. S did what now? The ending was perfect. Serena confesses to Blair that she killed someone! It was a great cliff-hanger ending, much like the Limo scene from episode 7 (Victor/Victrola), and was equally well executed. Serena’s face looked pretty odd here which helped, and her voice was just perfect. But what really sent chills up my spine was the eerie music that kicked in at precisely the correct moment. Once again it was ‘The Kills’ as heard at the end of episode 14 (The Blair Bitch Project), but this time with ‘U R A Fever’. The moment was completely over-the-top and dramatic, just as Gossip Girl should be. What do I think about the whole Serena killing someone thing? Well, what I - and it appears most people on the discussion boards - think is that the dead dude is the guy in the sex-tape, and that he probably died from an drug overdose. The drugs were supplied either by S or G, and both of them were too high to call the ambulance in time. Serena’s a likeable main character so I doubt the writers and producers would have her be involved in ‘murder’, it’s probably more like manslaughter, or she killed the guy in self-defence. Maybe the guy isn’t even dead, and G knows this, but is still using his death as leverage against Serena.
2. Chuck. I’m fully aware of his physical absence during this episode, it’s probably why I
didn’t have to take a cold shower afterwards paying special attention to…er…but even though he
wasn’t present in body, he was definitely present in spirit. And I love omnipresent Chuck. He just seems so dependable, and yet still sexily dirty and dangerous. (How does he do it?) For example he calls Serena to check on how she is and how the whole Georgina thing is going. And then later when Eric is outed, the first person Eric calls is Chuck. Sweet, he’s a family man now. Serena is hurt that Eric called Chuck and
didn’t wait to discuss things with her first:
“Serena: Wait. You called Chuck?
Eric: Yeah, I’ve been talking to him a lot lately. The guy’s got his faults, but he’s never judged me.”
Look, I’m not sure if I’m with Eric on the whole ‘Chuck has faults’ thing, cos I am of the opinion that Chuck is faultless - the perfect gentleman. But I am with him 100% on the whole ‘Chuck being non-judgemental’ thing. I mean Chuck’s a seen it all, done it all (literally) type of guy – much in the vein of Russell Brand. What could possibly faze Chuck? More to the point, what right could Chuck possibly have to be judgemental? It would be like Angelina suggesting to someone that they should lay off the adopting thing for a while, or maybe Hitler telling someone that they should give the Jews a break.
3. Georgie-S. She’s growing on me, and not like a fungus either. I honestly still don’t find her scary, but I am starting to think that maybe I don’t want her to be my new partying buddy. It’s just that she seems so needy. I mean having to blackmail people to be your friends? That’s just not my style. People literally pay to be seen with me I’m that awesome. Really. But let’s be serious for a second. Pretty clever move on G’s part ingratiating herself with Dan and Vanessa, and I enjoyed her toying with Serena. But did anyone else find themselves thinking, “Why the hell don’t you just tell Dan you know her, Serena?” There’s a point with every deception or lie where it’s better to just divulge it rather than continuing with the façade, and I think most would agree that it’s definitely reached that point with the whole Serena-Georgina/Sarah-Dan thing. Sure G has this ‘S killed someone’ deal in her arsenal, but G wasn’t innocent and was probably just as responsible – if not more so – than Serena. So even though Serena doesn’t want it all to come out, G most definitely doesn’t either. S just needs to be a little more, what’s the word? Manipulative.
4. The ‘outing’. No, Bart Bass does not decide to take the family on a picnic. Instead, Eric is outed by Georgina at the dinner table in front of a completely heretofore oblivious Serena and Lily. I thought that G’s tactics were particularly cruel, but I’m man enough to admit that it made me like her a little more, as a character anyways. I particularly like the bit were G says that she didn’t realise it was a big secret cos he was kissing Asher for all the world to see and added, “Well don’t look so embarrassed E. He is a HOT PIECE. Well done!” Lily’s reaction was perhaps not what one would like after revealing, or I guess having someone else reveal, that you are gay. G seems to revel in the mayhem and misery she’s just caused. I think she feeds on uncomfortable moments, and this also makes me like her more. What can I say? In the world of F, bad=awesome.
Back to Eric. I truly admired Eric during this episode. It takes someone pretty brave to turn up at a party - after you've been forcefully outed and your mother has basically just rejected an important part of who you are - and announce to some of the main players in the Upper East Side you are gay. I also thought that Lily's honesty to Eric later about her feelings on the gay issue was touching. It was pretty cute, and I think realistic, how she explained that it would take her some time to get used to. I mean even if you suspect your child is gay, I think it would probably still come as a shock to actually hear them say it.
5. Rufus & Lily. I love them together – not as much as Waldass of course – but they make a hot couple, and I was glad to see them interacting again. In fact, I didn’t realise how much I missed their storyline until I watched this episode. I wonder what’s gonna happen with Lily’s wedding on the horizon…
6. Eric=GG. I loved how the show poked fun at the Internet rumours, which have been running rife, that in fact Eric is GG. With this in mind I’m gonna start a rumour right here, right now with the hope that the ‘GG Internet cyborgs’ happen upon it and follow through. In one of the upcoming episodes both Nate and Chuck are naked, completely stark naked. Will they be naked together? I don’t know. All I do know is that they are definitely going to be fully exposed on our screens. Is it in episode 17? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see! Sadly no screencaps of this momentous event have been released yet. But I can guarantee that I will post them as soon as they become available, which - of course - they will.
7. Little J talking sense? After Jenny finds out that it was none other than her big brother Dan who tipped off
GG about Asher kissing another guy, she says this:
“For once in your life could you just stop judging everyone? (Dan tries to interrupt with an ‘I’m not’) You think that you’re so different, and so good? Well guess what Dan, the minute you start sending tips to Gossip Girl you’re in the game with the rest of us.”
Could this be? Jenny saying something I actually agree with. I like Dan ‘I am holier than thou’ Humphrey, but he really does need to get off his high horse and deign to join us mere mortals down here. This just bolsters my Dan and Chuck being almost polar opposites theory (Mnemonic = DuckPOT). Dan = more judgemental than God himself. Chuck = less judgemental than…I’m not going to lie, I’m not actually sure what to put here. Suggestions are welcome.
8. Gossip Girl’s one-liners. I feel that these have been sadly lacking in the past few episodes, but in this episode she (or is it he?) seemed to be back on top form. Everyone loves a losing your virginity euphemism so:
“Breaking news: Asher Hornsby heard bragging that little J swiped her V-card at his register.”
Good one GG. Another corker:
“Don't worry Little J. The sun will come out tomorrow, even though your boyfriend did today."
Good times.
9. The end of little J vs B. I felt the scene where Jenny finally surrenders to Blair in person was strikingly poignant. Mainly because of Jenny’s realisation and acceptance that being part of the Upper East Side world and the ‘popular posse’ wasn’t what she wanted and that her attempts to become part of that whole sphere were making her a bad person, but it was also how Blair reacted. True, at first Blair was the victorious ‘Queen Bee’, but soon we began to see the other side of Blair who admitted to Jenny that, “You put up a good fight, for a freshman.” Then of course to bring things back to ‘Queen-Bee’ land she adds, “I hope you don’t expect a hug.” I love Blair; she’s deffo my fave out of the girls on the show. In fact, I thought Blair was even more awesome than normal during this episode. There was her usual contribution of bitchiness and scheming (i.e. stealing Asher’s phone), but there was also a good helping of caring and dependable Blair who didn’t immediately spill the beans on Eric because she cared for him, and who comforted a distraught Serena. You know which other character shares these dichotomies of personality? Chuck. I WANT WALDASS. Plus, Blair looked totally hot at Jenny and Asher’s party. Seriously, I mean man oh man. She looked amazing in that gorgeous dress, and her hair and face = super sexy. Yum.
10. References. I was amused by the Tom Cruise & Zac Efron references by Blair’s minions implying that they are both gay and that Katie Holmes and Vanessa Hudgens are simply acting as covers. Also loved the Eliot Spitzer comment from Lily where she suggests to the wedding planner that perhaps Spitzer should be seated as far away as possible from Serena. Sure, S has been involved in the making of a sex tape, but joining a prostitution ring would be taking Serena’s character too far, don’t cha think?
11. Wow, this episode was pretty weepy. Only now as I'm writing this do I realise that this episode had more than its fair share of weepy moments what with the public outing, Eric and Lily, Serena saying that she'll support Eric no matter what, Jenny and Blair...etc But now to discuss Rufus and Jenny. Rufus takes Jenny back after she's lost his trust and respect. Why? Because she still has his love. He'll be there for her no matter what, because he's her dad. There's always a place for her at the Humphrey scrabble game. Oh God, someone pass me the Kleenex....please. Rufus is pretty damned forgiving. If little J was my daughter I'd probably make her work for my forgiveness a bit more. I'd make her my slave for a month. Not like that, but housework stuff; washing the car, cleaning the flat, cooking, trimming my nose hair, ironing my underwear...etc
12. Blair's minions. I realise that half the time they're not strictly speaking Blair's minions, but I just don't know what to call them. My point, however, is the following; I like them. That is to say they make me laugh, especially Hazel with her odd face and comments such as, "It's kinda hard to party once the G-bomb has dropped." Just be thankful it wasn't the H-bomb Hazel.
13. Asher-bitch. I was so glad when it was finally revealed that Asher was gay and had been using Jenny as a cover all along. I knew there was something suspicious and weird about him - and I'm not just talking about his face. It was also revealed that Asher is a complete Bastardo (if I put it in italics and add an 'o' then it can't possibly be offensive). For example, when little J decides to confront Asher about the gay rumours he says this, "Do you think someone like me dates someone like you?". Asher then describes how J gives him a cover for his gayness, and he gives her status. But to be safe, maybe the two of them should quash those nasty gay rumours. And how does Asher propose to do this? He's gonna go around bragging about how he popped her cherry. Nice. Jenny - being the status-whore that she is - gladly goes along with it. However, I have a problem. As I stated earlier the badder the character, the more I like them. But with Asher this just isn't the case. Thus, I think it's only right that I correct myself. If the character is male, then he has to be bad, AND sexy, AND hot. An example? I don't know...um...Chuck I guess. Others: Angelus, Spike...etc.
The Not-so Awesome Stuff:
I’d just to like to say as an aside, that – apart from being
Chuckless, and
Nateless – the episode was pretty much perfect. However, just a few small things:
1. I love Nelly Yuki, but how is she suddenly part of Blair’s posse? I don’t understand.
2. When Asher shouted ‘Faggot!’ at Eric at the party I found myself descending into a giggling fit. It was pretty amusing, and I am unsure as to whether or not this was intentional. It seemed to ruin what was a genuinely moving moment as a brave Eric came out to the whole Upper East Side.
Random Stuff:
Alas, due to the lack of Chuck, there is no Chuck outfit rundown or Chuck quote section, but instead:
1. Apparently Georgina Sparks (Michelle Trachtenberg) is gonna become a series regular. I don't think I like this idea. Yes, the character has grown on me somewhat, but I really would like more attention focused on characters such as Blair, Chuck, Nate, Serena...etc, instead of new ones.
2. Season 2 of Gossip Girl is now confirmed and will reportedly begin airing in fall 2008. Additionally, it will consist of 24 episodes to make up for the small 18 episode first season which was hit hard by the Writer's Strike, and the first few episodes are gonna be set in the Hamptons. Awesome.
3. The season finale poster:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
Mind .... is .... melting .... from ....awesomeness....
I think I'm back. Just. TBC = to be continued, but maybe it's also a clever play on B and C being Blair and Chuck. What the T would stand for I have no idea...
4. Now for some previews and clips for the upcoming episodes. It looks like Blair, Nate and Chuck all have to work together to help Serena keep it together.
Clip 1. This one features Chuck with his trademark, "I'm Chuck Bass." This whole scene makes me laugh so much, I'm sooo... excited: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmLG0rvTz_Y
Clip 2. A continuation of the last clip, with a throw-back to Chuck watching as Nate and Serena get it on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKqiIqHBOrU
Clip 3. A great clip which exhibits the hilarity of Duck/Chan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1wgU-x7IEE
How effing smexy is Chuck as he looks back at Dan? Sigh.
5. Time for some more awesome quotes from the episode:
"Gossip Girl: This just in, Asher Hornsby has been spotted locking lips before class but not with his girlfriend. Looks like gentlemen don't prefer blondes, Little J, they prefer other gentlemen. Is this just another round of blanks fired between B and Little J? I'm tired of being the bearer of bad grudges. This is the last item that goes to press without proof."
"Serena: It's a snub from one party, B. Plus, what's the big deal, anyway? You don't even like Asher.
Blair: I didn't like last season's Louis Vuitton patchwork bag, either, but that doesn't mean I wanna see it all over town on Jenny Humphrey's arm.
Serena: Touche."
"Serena: What's wrong? You look stressed, even for you.
Dan: I'm still worried about Jenny.
Blair: You mean because she's self-obsessed, self-serving, self-centered, self ...
Dan: No, no. I wish it was about her, and her self, but it's more about... who she's with. I can't get through to her. I tried, and she just completely blew me off. And she dissed my pants.
Blair: Maybe I underestimated her."
"Penelope: Dating a gay guy is an honest mistake, but lying to your girlfriends about sex is unforgivable."
6. My best friend pointed out that the writers appear to have completely changed Chuck's character. She added: 'Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Protective Brother Chuck and Best Friend Chuck, and they've kept his nastiness really well, I just don't get how that fits in with the pilot episode.' And I think I have to agree with her. She also added: 'I mean, I love the idea of them being these four BFFs, but S and C didn't even seem to be friends in the pilot. And the whole rape thing? I mean, Chuck wouldn't rape Blair or Nate (well, maybe Nate), it seems odd. My pet theory is that they used to have casual sex and so it wasn't rape exactly, more like him just not getting New Serena.'
My thoughts are that part of the whole Chuck changing thing is simply character development. Also, the writers seem to have had no idea in what direction they were gonna take the character of Chuck with the pilot episode, so made him like the book Chuck. As the series progressed they realised that he was a great character, so have had to sweep Pilot!Chuck under the rug, so to speak. But as for the whole S and C thing I have to agree, and at first I thought it was a bit forced until I read the amazing Jacob's recaps (which can be found at the Television Without Pity website, the address for which I gave in my very first post) which seemed to put it all into perspective. Here are some of the most important and relevant sections from his latest recaps:
"Which is key to this whole episode, because the further S slips this week, the more she depends on Chuck. And I don't think it's that they're suddenly friends, I think it's more about the fact that before she left, Chuck was a huge part of her life and possibly the only person that could keep up with her, and the reason we haven't seen them together much before now is that she had drama and he had drama, and she and Blair have A stories every week basically, so when would they spend time together? But also that coming back, she made a concerted effort to avoid that part of her life, which meant avoiding Chuck and the associations he evokes. Which is even more interesting if you think about the last fourteen episodes and the ways they have interacted, because that means he had all of the Blair issues with her disappearance, plus the fact that he was too dirty for her to deal with when she came back sparkly and new. So now Chuck's resentment of Dan, which looked originally like Mean Rich Guy high school shit, has this extra flavor of Dan being a symptom of Serena's rejection of Chuck."
"So if you trace the whole story back to this point, and Chuck's new found obsession with family and being a man and being a good brother and wanting to connect with Serena, his shit last week and this week makes so much more sense. I think we assumed that Blair was implicated in Bad Serena behavior, but B has always been what she is: an anal-retentive control freak who wants to control the school and to excel in everything. The first time we saw her get truly drunk, she cashed in her V card. You know what I mean? I think we're going to find Bad Serena has less to do with Blair -- beyond covering for her ass, as we saw at Thanksgiving -- and more to do with G and Chuck and the things they would get up to. And then there's poor Blair and Nate sitting at home being beautiful nerds while Serena was out blowing shit up. I think the show avoided Bad Serena and the reasons for her leaving so well that we forgot there were questions, so I'm really interested in going back and filling in the blanks, and so far my favorite part of it is this whole thing where Chuck is a fixer and dependable in certain ways, and the only reason you don't automatically go to him is not just because of the raping possibility, but that depending on him is a habit. So once S feels herself slipping, Chuck is the only person she can possibly go to, because he understands that world, and he can be a friend to S whether she's Good or Bad, while the propaganda of Good Serena means -- until today -- he's the enemy. And I mean, if you've ever been Bad and tried to go Good, this whole bit between S and Chuck will make total sense."
"Anyway. Thanks to Bad Serena, "The new one has to break 2000 on her SATs. So if you could just go smarm elsewhere..." He giggles, and reminds her of his offer to send a "lovely little redhead" to be Serena van der Woodsen for the day, so she doesn't have to take the test herself. "Oh, I'll leave the cheating to you, Chuck." He takes off, and she stares, kind of wildly relieved, into space. So clearly Georgina is in the shadows, waiting to strike. I've said it before, but my favoritest thing about The O.C. was how you would see one side of somebody and they were a villain, and then before you knew it you'd see more sides of them, and be able to integrate it until they were just a person. Like, B was always scary, but in a high school popularity way. She'd never kill anybody or put drugs in their drinks or do actual real-life mean danger stuff. So now there's G, and a link back to Bad Serena that only Chuck really gets, and finds just as terrifying as she does, even if it's just on her behalf because he knows she'd break before he would, so he's more scared for her than he is of G, who plays with the same range of weapons he does. It's exciting."
I think his theories make sense. All credit, of course, goes to the genius that is Jacob. However, I would like to add that I kinda like the whole Chuck-Serena casual sex theory that my best friend postulated. And in some ways it seems to fit. For instance, when he tried to rape her she said, "No, no this is not happening right now" So maybe she was thinking, "But maybe later Chuck, for old times sake, and once I've had a chance to digest this delicious grilled cheese with truffle oil sandwich." But then again, maybe not. I guess I like anything that means C has got in more peoples panties. I'm gross like that.
You know you love me,
xoxo
PS: Is it just me or is Chuck looking even hotter now-a-days?
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