"Gossip Girl": Dare Devil

Published: October 18, 2007 at 08:08 PM GMT
Last Updated: May 5, 2008 at 08:08 PM GMT

By Karen Woodward

This show is officially my favorite guilty pleasure show. I love checking in with the Upper East Siders and their minions, even if they do make me squirm. I mean, can anyone really watch a high school show without re-living some of their own high school nightmares? Although tonight's episode ended on a high note: Tonight was a good one the Humphrey family.

Let's start at the beginning. It's Blaire's Annual Sleepover (sorry, Soiree) Night. Serena can't make it because she has her date with Dan, so Blaire invites Jenny to come instead. Jenny is beyond thrilled. Jenny, aren't you suspicious that Blaire is being so nice to you?

Serena tries to pry out of Jenny where Dan is taking her, but Jenny only says that a date with Dan will probably only require jeans and a t-shirt. But when Dan shows up, he's wearing a coat and tie. Serena covers her faux pas and changes. When they hit the street, Serena thinks the Vespa is for them. Wrong again. It's the town car. By now we're getting the distinct impression that this date is going to be a bust. But wait, it gets worse. He takes her to a fancy restaurant that he can't afford. Oh Dan. Conversation is stilted, and when Dan asks for the check...it's already been paid by Serena. Ouch. "I wanted a date with you, just not the date you thought I wanted," she says. She wanted a Dan Humphrey Date! That would be a hole-in-the-wall bar. Now they're actually having fun, even if Serena did choose mainstream Ozzy on the jukebox.

Jenny shows up to Blaire's Sleepover Soiree with her Hello Kitty sleeping bag, which the maid discreetly takes from her, because this is no 4^th grade sleepover. This is drinking, eating, helping yourself to Eleanor Waldorf's fashions, and Truth or Dare. Oh Jenny, you're in way over your head. Or is she? Blaire dares her to break Eric (Serena's formerly suicidal brother) out of his mental institution. Jenny says no problem, and we get our first glimpse of Future Jenny.

On a more optimistic note, this episode was heavy on the Rufus and Lily storyline. Last week Lily unknowingly bought Rufus's soon-to-be-ex-wife's painting. He hasn't told his wife yet because he wants to use the sale as an excuse to go see her. (Can they cast her already? I'm dying to see who Rufus is still in love with.) But when he called her, a man answered, so he hung up. But don't feel too sorry for him, because Lily comes over after the mental institution reported that Eric went AWOL. She said it was because she needed Dan's cell phone number to get a hold of Serena, but I think it was just an excuse to hang with the hottie. They reminisce about old times while making spaghetti (this entire episode was pretty heavy on the cliché's) and then....the phone rings. When Rufus asks Lily to get it, we know it's his wife. She hangs up when she recognizes Lily's voice.

Meanwhile, things are getting a little crazy over at the soiree. They've soireed to a club where Jenny really starts to morph into Future Jenny. She dares Blaire to make out with a guy and then calls the guy's girlfriend to tell him, showing no remorse whatsoever. Dan and Serena show up to send Jenny home and Eric back to the institution. But no one puts Jenny in a corner. She continues on with the soiree. After dropping off Eric, Dan and Serena finally share their first kiss. They're walking on the street, talking about their night, and then she basically dares him. He stops and kisses her and it's hot.

Meanwhile the soiree never ends. Blaire and Co. dare Jenny to break into the Eleanor Waldorf showroom and steal a jacket off a mannequin. But it's a trap – Blaire knew that the alarm would sound, and when it does, she and her co-conspirators take off, leaving Jenny trapped inside. But Jenny isn't as stupid as we think. When the cops come, she convinces them that she is Blaire Waldorf (!) and they let her go. She returns to Blaire's, calm and cool, and wearing the Waldorf jacket. A stunned Blaire tells her to grab an air mattress and snuggle up.  But no, Jenny has officially morphed into Future Jenny: "I'm leaving. And I'm keeping the jacket. Tomorrow - lunch on the steps?" Done.

So what will become of this freshman now? And will Dan steal Serena's heart?
 
'Til next week! 

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