Gossip Girl – Episode 19 Recap & Review

Television

Gossip Girl – Episode 19 Recap & Review

By our guest blogger, Gita Gupte

Just when we thought "Gossip Girl" had flat-lined, the show threw us a bone and gave us something to get excited over this week. The key to the episode was conflict -- good old-fashioned tension, disagreements, and hidden secrets.

Jenny was still on a mission to snatch Nate from the arms of her stepsister, Serena. She connived, backstabbed and lied her way into compromising situations the entire episode up to and including parading around Nate’s apartment in little else but his button-down shirt and heading to his apartment for a post-party attempt at hooking up. Unfortunately, her mission to hijack Serena’s boyfriend proved fruitless. Little J should know better than to try and steal away a good guy from a reformed bad girl. She ended up getting booted out of Nate’s apartment and I look forward to the wrath of bad energy that is sure to boomerang its way back to her.

Next, we had Chuck and Blair duke it out in the battle of who can get over whom first. Chuck seemed to be winning at first with his issuance of a “dating fatwa” on Blair. Yes, he got the entire Upper East Side to boycott the former Queen B and, in the process of needlessly prolonging the enunciation of the word “fatwa,” Chuck and Blair got a lot of extra laughs out of me. While Chuck returned to his bad boy ways by rounding up threesomes in his penthouse suite, Blair came to the revelation that it’s okay to be sad about breaking-up with the one you love. She also realized she is too good for Chuck and I can’t wait for her to put the bitch back in her stride. Blair wins.

In Vanessa/Dan world – the Tisch writing program issue came to a head. We learn that only one student was selected for the program and that one student is Vanessa. Miraculously, Dan is not even remotely jealous--he insists that he is happy for Vanessa. But just in time to stir things up, he runs into his friend...whose father just happens to be on the Board of Directors for the Tisch writing program. This girl is a bit too eager to revel that Dan was runner-up and jumps the gun in calling her dad to have Vanessa’s place in the program revoked based on some hearsay about her breaking the submission rules. Long story short--Dan and Vanessa have a falling out, text messages and voicemails are exchanged and ignored, and we are left to continue hoping that this couple will break up once and for all.

Rufus and Lily continued their drawn-out saga this week and finally we got to learn a few things about Serena’s dad: 1) he has a name – William; 2) he is American (come on, admit it -- you thought he was European); 3) he is STEPHEN BALDWIN! Yes, it turns out that after 2.5 years of mystery, it is reveled that William van der Woodsen is no less than a Baldwin, which is both exciting and weird at the same time. Exciting for us girls who get to watch him on TV and weird for us viewers who have to see him try and put on a fatherly role to buxom blonde Serena--their interaction at the Thompson Hotel was more like hooker and banker than father and daughter.

The episode's other revelations included a nonchalant foray into cancer. Apparently, the only person sick last summer was Lily, who skirted off to Europe to get cured by her ex-husband, who conveniently is an oncologist. When asked why she couldn’t tell Rufus about this, she said she was advised by William not to tell her loved ones because once you start getting treated like a sick person, you become a sick person. So, if Lily is cured, why is William back? It turns out she actually is sick again and this time William is sticking around for the long haul. He gives the appearance of newly reformed family man, but we soon find out he is duping them all--Lily may not even be sick!

I don’t want to jinx this unexpected turn of fate that has restored some semblance of the "Gossip Girl" fans have longed for all season.  Still, with two episodes left, I am willing to bet we are in for 120 minutes of exciting drama--get your DVRs ready!

Grade: A