When Gossip Girl goes down, everyone suffers

Now that the whole gang is back in town*, things seem to be settling down on the Upper East Side (and everywhere else in New York for that matter). Blair and Serena are at each others throats and all lovey-dovey seconds later. Rufus is self-righteous, Lily is a surprisingly good mother.… Other than the miraculous, if not odd, change in Chuck Bass (maybe we have to downgrade him to “Just Chuck” for now), all is right with the world. Until, that is, Gossip Girl goes offline for the day, but absence, as she would say, just makes the heart grow more vindictive.

Now we know who is pulling Juliet’s strings. Or, you know, not. I didn’t recognize the guy in jail, but had hoped that I was just forgetting an important face from Gossip Girl’s past. Alas, a quick search of these Internets confirmed that as the identity of Juliet’s real boyfriend. So, the answer I’d hoped for is pushed back another week. It was fun, though, to watch a good B&S smack-down. At this point, I’m more confused than intrigued by Juliet. Can’t afford her wardrobe, but someone established enough to be named Keymaster?

You had to know Milo wasn’t going to be a permanent fixture in Brooklyn. I was surprised, though, that he didn’t stick around longer. This plot by Georgina actually seemed below her on the devious scale. While still pretty low, I expected something better. Now, if she’d actually been a Russian spy….

For some reason, I had it in my head that Rufus found out about Chuck and Jenny’s first … erm … encounter … in last season finale. Either way, I would think that he’d be more pissed at a near-rape than the later consensual one. He just seemed way to quick to move past it than I expected.

There is just something about Chuck and Lily’s relationship that is so contrary to most everything else we see on this show. If Eva is the road to Chuck’s redemption, Lily is the road sign that started it all. In many ways, their relationship is the most normal one Chuck has had to this point, and probably more the catalyst to Chuck’s changes than the bullet he took.

Notes & Quotes

• *Yes, I purposely excluded Jenny … She doesn’t count.
• I saw The Town today, and I’ve got to say that Blake Lively blew me away, just a different level of performance than what we see here.
• “[On raising Milo] If Ted Danson and Tom Selleck can do it, so can we.” – Vanessa
  “As long as it doesn’t make me Guttenberg.” – Dan
• “Oh, and who do you love? Nate, then Dan, then Dan again, Aaron, Gabriel Carter, Trip, then Dan again, then Nate again.” – Blair to Serena during their fake fight
• “This is all just a cover because you’re a Russian spy like those women in Westchester.” – Dan
  “No … I mean not that I wasn’t approached, because I was.” – Georgina
• “So tell, me, who the hell are you, Chuck Bass?” – Eva.… Somehow, the expected answer just wasn’t appropriate
• “Once men have tasted caviar it baffles me on how they settle for catfish.” – Blair to Serena, on watching Nate kiss Juliet

Clacked by Ivey West
on Sep 28, 2010 @ 09:00 EST5EDT