'Gossip Girl': Jenny's Sweet 16 goes bad

Sometimes when we're in a bit of a rut, we feel as though we have to prove something. Or shake things up a bit. And on tonight's "Gossip Girl," both Serena and Blair succumbed to the Mean Reds by completely treading on someone else's wishes. And it got pretty funny.

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Serena starts off perfectly happy, checking on Blair on her way to get eats for the big van der Woodsen-Humphrey family breakfast singalong, or whatever, when she runs into Poppy, who's wearing a genuinely horrific fur vest (I'd like to take this moment to note that I have a hat very similar to the one that Blair's wearing at the beginning of this episode, which marks the first time I've ever felt cool in relation to "Gossip Girl" fashion) and makes patronizing cooing sounds as Blair catches her up on what's been happening in her life. Which, by the way, is that Serena plans to throw a Sweet 16 party for Jenny -- who wants none of it. When ambushed at the breakfast, Jenny makes it clear she wants a simple, low-key family thing, as opposed to the catered affair that Lily and Serena have been planning.

Which is fine until Serena gets to school and learns that Penelope's throwing a party the same night. The Heathers give her a hard time about it, so Serena decides to recruit Poppy and continue with the bash that Jenny doesn't want.

Meanwhile Vanessa, who bolted from the Vanderbilt fun fest a couple of weeks back, finally hears from Nate, asking her to stop by his house in the morning (How early do these people get up? Does no one hit snooze?) -- where she encounters Blair leaving Nate's house. It was a set-up; Chuck sent her the e-mail from Nate's account ("'Soccer' has been his password since the fifth grade," Chuck says), and tells her that when she's ready to do something about this little liaison, he's in. Chuck totally catches Blair in a big fat lie about being platonic with Nate -- or wanting to. But my favorite part has to be Blair rationalizing this scenario to Nate, deludedly likening the situation to the Aniston-Pitt-Jolie triangle. Ultimately, Nate drops Vanessa like a hot potato, and is just generally kind of wooden-faced and icky.

At the Humphreys', Yale denies Dan financial aid, leaving Rufus to figure out how to pay for his education. Lily offers to help, but then he considers selling the loft and moving in with Lily, Serena, Eric, and Chuck. Where are Richard and Emily Gilmore when you need them? Dan and Jenny get part of the story when Dan intercepts a phone call from a realtor.

Serena carries on her hairbrained scheme for Jenny's party, taking the birthday girl to Missoni for a dress, and being egged on by Poppy. When Dan and Jenny show up to the VDW pad with a pot of chili (seriously?) and an armful of board games in tow (the doorman reading Ann Coulter's book is priceless), they find a sophisticated soiree. Which pissed Jenny off -- so she decides to get Serena back by sending an APB to Gossip Girl inviting scads of the great unwashed to join the fun. Which leads to table dancing, random pants being scattered around the place, art hanging akimbo on the walls, and strange people having sex in Serena's bed. Charming.

Oh, and let's not forget: Blair and Nate. Vanessa arrives with Chuck, and the two couples engage in what amounts to the verbal version of an angry dance off. Then Blair throws herself at Nate -- unsuccessfully. And Chuck tries to seduce Vanessa -- and succeeds. Oh, Vanessa, you're a smart girl -- and you should know better. Ultimately, the cops show up, followed by Lily and Rufus. Lily lays the bulk of the blame on Serena, while Jenny stands there mute and lets her take it until the last possible second, when she finally admits that she sent out the Gossip Girl alert. And that she doesn't want to be a Park Avenue princess. So take your co-habitation idea and stick it in your ear, Rufus.

In the end, Blair gets her guy -- Nate meets her and Dorota in the park, and they kiss. Mwah. And Serena lets Poppy talk her into jetting off to Spain with her boyfriend. Who recognizes her from some oddball phase last year when she was running around calling herself Savannah. You know, I was thinking that Serena had been a good girl for a little too long.

What did you think? Were you surprised at the lame way that Nate dropped Vanessa, like he's in training for the future D-Bag Olympics? Did you think Chuck would succeed in seducing Vanessa? What kind of trouble will Serena get in now?