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'Gossip Girl': "I Wanted a Harry Winston Choker and I Got a Conscience Instead"
Last week's Gossip Girl was quite possibly the most ludicrous yet (and yes, I know that is a bold statement): not only did not one but two characters find themselves homeless by the end of the episode - separately! and for different reasons! - but some guy thought that he was too good for Serena Van Der Woodsen. And he went to RISD. Come on, show. Suspension of disbelief is all well and good but look at him! Now look at her! Thank you.
Rufus makes pasta sauce (which will, presumably, be poured over waffles) while Dan wonders at his father's calmness in the face of losing the lone remaining female Humphrey. Rufus exposits that he has met Agnes and Agnes' mother, with whom Jenny is staying for the time being. Dan runs out the door to meet with Noah Shapiro, who loved Dan's Charlie Trout story and is planning on writing him a Yale recommendation: Rufus is predictably torn between Humphrey-judgmental and really, really jealous about the fact that his kids are well on their way to being more famous than he ever was. Blair, Serena and the Headbands begin planning Blair's 18th birthday party, and Blair begs off for the night to meet Eleanor's new boyfriend at dinner. (Side note: how awesome would it be if everyone Eleanor ever dates on this show is blatantly, obviously gay to everyone except Eleanor? Doesn't she seem like one of those women?) Serena smirks that Aaron has been sending her maps to romantic places, since they are apparently now dating, even though he's clearly slimy. She follows the map to Times Square, and she sees herself on the Jumbotron, and the Kings of Leon kick up, and Aaron kisses her in the middle of the street as she agrees to pose for him. Which, when there are YouTube videos of you not only having sex but killing some poor schlub, isn't that big a deal.
Jenny and Agnes meet with a business manager, and Jenny is irked when Agnes begins to take more and more credit for the clothing line. They are thrown out of the office - apparently a fairly common occurrence lately - as Little J begins to realize that perhaps relying on the professionalism of a teen model who models herself on Cory Kennedy was a poor business decision. Meanwhile, Blair prepares to meet Cyrus, who she is excited to make her new stepfather; however, Wallace Shawn steps out of the elevator. She exclaims, "inconceivable!" (Ok, maybe I made that last part up.) Eleanor flirts and flutters and looks all like a teenager and introduces him as "Cyrus Rose", which just has to mean that he's Aaron's father, no? Chuck buys his father season hockey tickets as an gift celebrating the 20th anniversary of Bass Industries, which Bart predictably rejects. Dan shows up at some seedy dive to pick up his letter from Noah Shapiro, who introduces him to the senior editor of New York Magazine. He is very interested in Dan's piece; however, he's only interested in it in that he wants Dan to do an anonymous expose of Bart Bass and Bass Industries. And if he does, he'll commission another piece from him.
Blair complains to Serena about Cyrus while Serena ignores her to run off to pose for Aaron. Dan interviews Bart to ask him about "future business opportunities", and Bart agrees to let him tail him twice a week: "anything for a friend of Serena's." Chuck walks in to hear Bart invite Dan to a hockey game. Whoops. Jenny comes shrieking at a hungover Agnes, who is drinking VITAMINWATER! NOTE THE VITAMINWATER! God, the product placement on this show is clumsy. While Agnes pukes in the bathroom, Jenny surreptitiously calls the business manager they met with yesterday; when she meets with him, she tells him that she has severed all ties with Agnes, and that her parents will sign the incorporation papers. Blair tries to act grown-up in the face of Cyrus complaining about the price of flowers for her birthday party (peonies! In November!) but loses her cool when Eleanor and Cyrus make plans to skip the party for a Cyndi Lauper concert.
Serena is a total nerd and can't relax for greasy Aaron and his greasy camera. He needs a shower. Ew. Chuck follows Dan to NY Magazine and finds out that he is meeting with the senior editor. The next morning, Serena brings Aaron bagels and finds moving images of herself all over the walls; she's flattered and touched until his next appointment shows up. "I'm doing a series," he says. Oy. Dan receives an email from "lovelace2" to meet for some information about Bart Bass. Heh. You KNOW it's Chuck with a handle like that. Dan meets with Lovelace, who tells him that Bart burned down a building for insurance money in 1987. Eleanor shows up with breakfast, glowing, which drives Blair up the wall. Blair tells Dorota she needs a scheme to get rid of Cyrus; she asks him to lunch. He admits to having fallen in love with a Vietnamese woman while fighting the war; however, while he was admitting the relationship to his wife, his Vietnamese lover was killed. He says that was the only time he knew true love until he met Eleanor. Blair melts. Serena calls Aaron to ask him to lunch but he says he's still hanging out with another model.
Blair is confronted by Eleanor while getting ready for the party; Eleanor is furious that Blair asked Cyrus to lunch. Blair, in return, tells Eleanor that Cyrus cheated on his first wife which - while true - is sort of not the point. The business manager's secretary accidentally calls Agnes instead of Jenny and reveals that Jenny is incorporating under her own name. Later, Serena pouts on the couch at Blair's seemingly boring black-and-white party. (Blair, for those of you keeping track, is wearing an Edwardian ruff with no shirt to celebrate this momentous occasion.) Cyrus introduces himself to Serena as Aaron's father just as Eleanor confronts him about the affair; he admits it, and she asks him to leave. However, Cyndi Lauper gets out of the elevator and says that Cyrus had bought out her entire show so that she could play Blair's birthday. Blair melts more and feels almost as terrible as a human being would: "I wanted a Harry Winston choker for my necklace and I got a conscience instead." She chases Cyrus outside and chastises him for giving up so easily; when he claims that he hasn't given up, Blair realizes with mounting glee that he has outmaneuvered her. Jenny arrives at Agnes' apartment to learn that firstly, Rufus had been there looking for Jenny, having heard about the incorporation paperwork, and secondly, that Agnes has had a complete psychotic break and set all of Jenny's dresses on fire.
Chuck overheads Dan fishing for information about the fire; he steps in right after Bart admits the arson and that OMFG someone died in the fire! Chuck reveals Dan as a journalist, and Bart asks Dan what it will cost to make the story disappear. Dan decides that this is a good time to find that holier-than-thou Humphrey glory he lost only a few short days ago and stomps off into the elevator, chased by a threatening Chuck. Dan leaves the story down at the concierge for Bart, tape recordings included, with a note saying that he's sorry. Bart begins to read as we realize that this is the story about Bart's mistreatment of Chuck after his wife's death. Serena shows up at Aaron's studio to a condescending lecture about dating more than one person at once; she says that's not her thing, and leaves. Jenny arrives at home and tells Rufus that she will move back in if he signs the incorporation papers. Her acting has gotten really quite good, hasn't it? He refuses, and she leaves, collapsing on a pile of packing crates, sobbing.
The next morning, the sun rises on Brooklyn as Jenny calls her business manager, who recommends that she file an emancipation suit. Bart walks into Chuck's room and apologizes, saying that he never blamed him for his mother's death: Chuck just reminds him so much of his dead wife that it's hard to look at him sometimes. Dan tells Rufus that he needs to stop being stubborn and let Jenny win. Serena, in her nth negligee this season, complains on the phone to Blair, who is horrified to see that Cyrus is moving in. Aaron appears in the Van Der Bass foyer and tells her that he's afraid of her Upper-East-Sideness, and essentially challenges her freespiritedness. She rises to the challenge by throwing a coat on over her negligee - for reals - and following him out of the house. She looks like Little Edie Beale. This cannot be good.
Next week: Archibald Family Thanksgiving!
Ok, I cannot in good conscience keep my mouth shut any longer. Why do they hate Blake Lively this season? Her wardrobe is incredibly unflattering, they make her kiss greasy costars, and they're slathering so much makeup on her that her face cracks every time she speaks. Am I being overly harsh? Or does someone have it out for our lovely Serena?
Just curious, but where did Jenny spend the night? I thought she would head to Nate's but they didn't specify where she stayed. It looked unfamiliar to me (where she woke up I mean). Was it just a motel/hotel?
I have to say, that I liked this ep more than most recently due to the absence of the very whiny Nate as well as the fact that they kept Blair and Chuck apart. I know most people love Blair and Chuck together, but I'm one of those that think Blair is too good for that attempted rapist Chuck (to me that makes him an irredeemable character).
Rishi | Nov 10, 2008 10:58:39 PM | #Why is my post(s) in bold?
Rishi | Nov 10, 2008 10:59:09 PM | #That scene where Dan finds out from the pseudo deep throat about the arson is ridiculously stupid. That would never happen. Why would the guy wait for over 20 years to reveal a secret that huge, and to a clumsy teenage wannabe journalist? Nothing ever happens like that. What an over-the-top attempt to make a storyline.
| Nov 11, 2008 12:07:53 AM | #Rishi, I think the show has been hoping we'd forget about that unfortunate attempted rape thingie. (btw, i am having a hard time forgetting that too.)
Great episode. I cant stand Serenas new Beau though, dat wannabe Johnny Depp needs to get steppin.
Ron | Nov 11, 2008 2:04:14 AM | #I liked everything but the Jenny storyline. I think she peaked in How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Her bad acting, over the designs that she just stood by watching get burned, should never had been included in the episode. Jenny was alright in the books, and for the most part I like the changes the tv show has made. But Jenny is annoying, disrespectful, and wearing altogether way too much eyeliner and heavy bang. I thought Dan, Blair and Chuck were the standouts of this episode, as usual. And how awesome is Wallace Shawn?
The way things are going, maybe Serena and Jenny will end up roommates. They both have bad makeup, but maybe Jenny can dress her, and Serena can give Jenny a stylish haircut that doesn't look like it was designed by a shredder.
Rigby | Nov 11, 2008 5:58:19 AM | #Aaron is sick. Really hope his character doesn't last long. I like the idea of him, just don't care at all for the actor, and he and Serena have absolutely zero chemistry. And how many episodes are going to focus on Serena getting into Aaron, but then realizing that he's into other girls too, then breaking it off, then getting back into it. That's been 3 so far.
End rant. Love the show!
Lisa | Nov 11, 2008 7:59:18 AM | #Three words: WHERE WAS NATE?
Mrs. Van Der Woodsen | Nov 11, 2008 9:42:32 AM | #Rishi-
Jenny spent the night at her dad's gallery. The name of the gallery is shown before they show Jenny on the couch.
I hate Aaron. I love Wallace Shawn.
Julie | Nov 11, 2008 10:06:40 AM | #Jordan, I totally disagree about Serena's clothes. I was just thinking while watching the last two episodes (I had Tivo'd last week's ep and just watched before this one aired) that the clothing people had apparently stopped hating Blake Lively... her gown last week was hot!
Now Aaron Rose is a stupid character. I don't know why Serena would be impressed with his video tricks. He's like a Johnny Depp wannabee, wannabee - maybe a Skeet Ulrich clone... and they do lack chemistry.
But I like your idea Jordan, of Eleanor dating closet-gays a lot better than her dating Wallace Shawn. Maybe I've seen him too much over the years, but I'm a little over him and I don't buy Eleanor falling for him really.
I think it's time for Blair's gay dad to make a return visit. Not necessarily for romance, but because I like John Shea.
I think Taylor Momsen is actually a good actress and I like Jenny's plot line, but the way the show plays it, it's either all or nothing. And last night's episode was too large a dose of her and way too much drama.
The emancipation angle seems interesting, except that she has no way of taking care of herself - living, eating wise. And she's too young to legally drop out of school (I don't think you could home school if you're emancipated.
I sorted wanted Dan to toy with the Basses, at least think about extorting them - something. Dan's so annoying... And I want to like him, but the show can't make him likable for more than two episodes in a row.
Varris | Nov 11, 2008 11:38:34 AM | #"Rufus makes pasta sauce (which will, presumably, be poured over waffles)"
So hilarious!!
Tobey | Nov 11, 2008 1:02:18 PM | #Rishi & Dolly - I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't forget Chuck's attempted rapist past. I loved him towards the end of Season 1 w/ the 'I'm Chuck Bass' line, but I keep thinking 'didn't he try to rape both Jenny and Serena'? Also, wasn't he a villain in the first half (not because of his schemes) but because of his attempted sexual assaults? Could the show please explain that personality phase before I allow myself to fully like him?
An | Nov 11, 2008 5:35:18 PM | #Any one else wondering exactly who Aaron's mother is? The Vietnam war was over WELL before he was born and I doubt Cyrus would have stayed with the wife he didn't love that long.
Emily | Nov 11, 2008 8:20:35 PM | #It was always clear that Blair was a Scorpio. Her near pathological need to scheme and manipulate was hard to miss. Glad to see that this ep confirmed it.
I have to say, though, that I loved the ruffled shirt she wore to her party. Delicious.
I was wondering who Aaron's mother could be too, Emily. I'm kind of hoping it's another Vietnamese woman but not one Papa loved .... seeing as he's admitted now to only loving one woman before Eleanor.
Sigh.
Like Rishi, Dolly and An I haven't forgotten Chuck's attempts at coerced sex. Perhaps we're supposed to assumed that Blair's generosity in the back of his limo cured him of these kinds of criminal tendencies? I don't know.
I get that Chuck's supposed to be a complex character, but his complexity seems mainly to be for the purposes of plot. He's largely whatever the writers want depending on where they want the storyline to go. This is lazy and, frankly, not particularly good tv.
I missed Nate too, Mrs. VDW. Poor little misguided dude. I hope he comes back with a better life.
The Jenny storyline is still intriguing me and I look forward to how it will all go. I don't hate her hair or her eye makeup and I can't say that I hate her attempts at starting a fashion career either. I just hope Rufus gets a clue soon before he really alienates his daughter for good. She's a brat, true, but being a brat in return won't make things better. Be an adult!
Wallace Shawn is great. I think he's a lovely addition to the show.
As for Aaron -- I'm not as much of a fan as I was over the past two episodes. Largely I don't like him anymore because he's inexplicably changed over his three appearances. The first time we saw him he was kind of arty, nerdy, bespectacled and sweet. By his second appearance, though, he'd lost the specs, found some clothes that fit, and had lots of girls hanging around him. But he told Serena that they didn't mean that much to him romantically and that he wanted to explore the special thing they had going on. Sounds good to me!
Then, suddenly in this ep, he's a full-on heart-breaker with speeches about exclusivity and how he and Serena have just started "hanging out". And what in the world was that last speech about how he dates a lot of people because he doesn't want to be like his Upper East Side parents with their obligations, etc.? Huh? What does one have to do with the other?
Am I the only one who finds this character hard to pin down? Dating more than one person at a time is fine in my book, but it's not fine to tell someone they're special and different from others in your life and then still casually date other people. That's just plain dishonest and pricky.
No one said that Serena and Aaron were a couple, but they seem to be spending an awful lot of time together for there not to be some sort of (unspoken) understanding between them. If Serena is special enough for Aaron to explain to her that he doesn't have a gf and that some of the girls around him are "friends" then she should be special enough for him not to casually "hang out" with girls who model for him.
I love how everyone is now making comments about how much the actor who plays Aaron resembles Johnny Depp when I said so last week. It's true, he does, and I think this is something he's got going for him. But his character needs to gain some stability. Is he a romantic or a pragmatist when it comes to love and sex? He can't be both at the same time or alternately. This isn't an indication of a free-spirit. It's an indication of a disordered mind. And, besides, it's ridiculous!
I'm thinking that Serena should probably let Aaron be. It's not like she can't attract another guy or be attracted to another guy. She's got a lot of good things going for her. If Aaron can't appreciate that, then, he deserves to "hang out" with others.
Berlin | Nov 11, 2008 10:37:06 PM | #I extremely dislike Aaron and don't get what Serena sees in him, except that they dated in the books. I get her liking artsy types, but this one is a dog.
Overall, this was a disappointing episode. Too much Jenny, and even it without a whiny Nate, I think I am going to have to go back to Heroes!
NotGonnaHappen | Nov 12, 2008 8:58:13 AM | #Loved Blair. Annoyed by Chuck. Wanted to slap some pants on Serena and cut Aaron's bangs. Missed Nate. Didn't miss Vanessa.
http://popculturecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2008/11/coming-out-of-gossip-girl-closet.html
Jen | Nov 12, 2008 11:10:46 AM | #Jen's storyline is too over-the-top. Toning it down would be a big improvement. Don't miss Vanessa AT ALL.
p.s. Loved the Blair is a Scorpio observation, Berlin. yeah it figures!
I choose to black out all attempted rapist mentions. It almost made me never watch the show again. I chalk it up to wretched writing.
Kalena | Nov 13, 2008 11:22:03 AM | #wow, it's amazing how so many fans are/were holding that grudge!
yeah Kalena, i think that's what the show was hoping we would do, and yeah we could put that to rest (yes, as wretched writing) and as part of the show before they knew what direction they were gonna take Chuck's character. anyway, maybe i will always qualify my love for Chuck's character, but what a mistake they made with that!
OCGirl: It was always clear, wasn't it? ;)
Berlin | Nov 13, 2008 5:28:38 PM | #Hi all you talking about Chuck's past - that always did stay in the back of my mind too, and I am hoping one day he will apologize to Jenny, but hopefully, he is "growing" as a person and character, and perhaps we can all forgive and move on... don't forget, it is a tv show... and I'm sure they'll make him apologize one of these days???
Su | Nov 13, 2008 8:30:39 PM | #I actually like Aaron, i mean come on think about it.. there adding new characters who are different, thats a good thing it gives the show a new perspective. Do you want another rich guy trying to win a rich girl? No. This is all like Pride & Prejudice, the Upper class are in love with the lower class, but shouldn't be because of the social acceptance of it all. Yet, there going for it, despite there differences, showing hey maybe different aint so bad.
And i Love Taylor Momsen and her character Jenny, i dont think she has on too much make up, thats who her character is, a girl who for a moment lived that upper east side life style, and then saw that maybe the grass isn't greener on the other side, and started being herself. The aspiring, edgy fashion designer that she wants to be, and shes only 15 so yeah she's going to be rebellious and want what she wants, thats the period of her life that she's in. But she's acting out to get what she wants, which isnt good, and along the line who knows, she might learn that.
Different isn't bad with these characters, thats reality, thats the fashion, the style, the dreams that have highs and lows that people face.
Lyric | Nov 18, 2008 3:44:11 PM | #
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