Jack Myers - Gossip Girl - Gossip Girl: Hi, Society

Published: December 6, 2007 at 07:58 PM GMT
Last Updated: December 6, 2007 at 07:58 PM GMT

This week’s episode of Gossip Girl was an early Christmas present to fans. After weeks of, let’s face it, boring episodes, finally something happens. Serena and Dan break up and make up, the Blaire-Nate-Chuck love triangle heats up, Rufus and Lily brought me to tears, and, perhaps best of all, Jenny had very little to do. Yes, I’m not a Jenny fan. But, for the record, I am a Gossip Girl voiceover fan, and I know I’m in the minority on that one.

It’s debutante season on the Upper East Side, and Blaire is being escorted by a prince, Serena is of course not going, and Jenny-the-suck-up is volunteering. Scratch that. Serena wasn’t planning on going until her grandmother, Celia (“CeCe”), comes to town claiming to be ill. Since daughter Lily was such a disappointment, her dying wish is to see Serena at the debutante ball. Serena falls for it, even agreeing to let Carter Baizen (he of the gambling ring who suckered Nate out of his money) to escort her. Dan’s cool with this, because he’s opposed to the debutante ball on principle, plus his mom has an art show opening.

Meanwhile, Blaire and Chuck are making out, hot and steamy as ever. But he still isn’t good enough for Blaire to take to the debutante ball, which clearly hurts him. His hurt turns to jealous anger when Nate arrives at Blaire’s, and Chuck is forced to hide while Nate suggests that he and Blaire go to the ball together “as friends.” So when Nate later tells Chuck that he’s worried Blaire is seeing someone else, Chuck concocts a plan to make it appear as if the other man is Carter Baizen. He takes pictures on his cell phone of Carter leaving Blaire’s (he was really there to pick up his jacket) and sends them to Gossip Girl.

But Grandma CeCe is not the free spirit she appears to be. She’s figured out that Dan is Rufus’s son and doesn’t want Serena making the same “mistake” that Lily did. So CeCe takes Dan aside and cuts him down to size, calling him a “charity case…you’re future cocktail party anecdotes of foolish youth.” Because Dan is Dan, he then tells Serena that he’ll be happy to escort her to the ball.

Not so fast, Dan. CeCe still has some tricks up her sleeve. She goes to Rufus’s art gallery and offers to buy all of Alison’s art if Rufus will convince Dan not to go to the ball. Rufus says no way, and she then shares a little secret with him: When Rufus and Lily were seeing each other, CeCe made Lily choose between Rufus and her inheritance. Of course we know what she chose. This almost knocks the wind out of Rufus, he is so upset.

Dan plays optimistic thicko and tells Serena that her grandmother “might not have your best interests at heart.” Serena takes Grandma’s side and tells Dan to get lost. And Carter Baizen is back in as escort, just like Grandma planned.

The debutante ball. Just pretend there are a lot of people there and it actually looks like a ball even though the CW clearly didn’t have enough money to hire extras. When Serena sees that the “introduction to Serena van der Woodsen” spiel was re-written to say she was going to stay in New York, have two kids, and volunteer for the Junior League, she knows Grandma is bad. (Yes, it really was that simple). She–or someone, it’s sort of unclear-rewrites it yet again to say, “Serena plans on bedding as many millionaires as possible.”

Stupid, but effective. Serena later gives a little speech to Lily about wishing she could accept her for who she is. Why she’s giving this speech to her mom and not her grandma is sort of confusing.

Best part of the whole episode: Lily calls Dan and meets him on the sidewalk outside Alison’s art opening. She tells him that she thinks he’s a great guy, a good influence on Serena, and “you belong with my daughter and I feel everyone should know.” Oh, my God. Oh, my God. She then brings him back with her to the ball, and he and Serena kiss and make up.

Meanwhile, Chuck is looking for Blaire. They had a fight because she figured out that he conspired to make Nate think she was dating Carter, and thus ruined her whole night. He finds her kissing Nate. Chuck’s face… oh, it’s awful. My heart bled for him. Even Gossip Girl’s did: “Spotted: Chuck Bass losing something no one knew he had–his heart.” Sob!

And finally, as if this episode couldn’t get any better, Rufus calls Lily on her cell. She admits she made the wrong decision in choosing her inheritance over him, “but I wasn’t strong enough.” He forgives that, because he is actually relieved that she left him because of money, and “you didn’t choose him over me.” (“Him”? Serena’s father?) And then he says, “I never should have let you let me go” and hangs up.

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