I have to say that once again I absolutely loved this episode for the most part. I really liked all of the storylines although in retrospect some of the storylines that started in this episode and continued into the following episodes of the season did start to bore me after a while though.
My favorite storyline of the episode was definitely Blair’s. I love how she considered being a powerful woman a possible career path. That’s classic Blair, if you ask me. Her mom agreed to give her an internship as at her clothing designing company, Wardolf Designs, but throughout the episode Blair was trying to track down a very influential woman in the fashion industry and her antics ended causing problems for Eleanor, and Eleanor fired her.
Dan’s storyline also revolved mostly around trying to get an internship as well, and I also loved Dan’s storylines because like Blair not all of his storylines revolve around his love life. Dan did really piss me of when he blew off his interview for a potential internship in order to help Serena with her mission to find the judge whose name was on the affidavit that Lily forged Serena’s signature on, which resulted in Ben being sent to prison.
In the end, they decided that they shouldn’t get back together at that point, but if they ever do that, it would be just one more time. Whether their relationship succeeded or failed, that would be it. There would be no more second chances after that. Honestly, since Dan is constantly saying that he’s over Serena, I don’t understand why he continues to repeatedly drop everything for Serena. If I were Dan, I wouldn’t give Serena the time of day at this point.
Dan and Blair tried to hide the fact that they had gone to some movies together over the holidays or that they could ever possibly be friends with each other, but in the end Dan told Blair that she’s a dictator of taste and she should do something that let’s her do that for a living. Toward the end of the episode, Blair and Eleanor talked, and Blair said that she admired her, but Eleanor told her that she’s not meant to be a designer. Instead she told Blair that she’s basically what Dan called her. When Eleanor couldn’t find the right words to describe it, so Blair suggested the phrase “A dictator of taste”. Eleanor was amused by the description, and when she asked Blair who said that, Blair simply said, “A friend”.
Toward the end of the episode, Dan and Blair decided to go to a movie together, but they would sit in different rows so no one there would know that they had come to the movie together. I just can’t say this enough, I love their budding friendship. I’ve always loved their scenes together, but their scenes together in season four were absolutely magical. I think Dan and Blair just need to ditch Serena and Chuck and just ride off into the sunset together.
Like the previous episode, Serena didn’t annoy me as much as usually does in this episode, which is surprising. The reason Serena didn’t really annoy me all that much was that her storyline didn’t directly involve her trying to pursue a guy she was interested in, or her typical idiotic relationship problems. Although, Serena annoyed the hell out of me in the last scene of the episode when she discovered that Ben had been released from prison, and she and Ben decided to go have some coffee together and talk. Why do the writers feel the need to make almost all of Serena’s storylines around her love life? Can’t the writers think of anything more creative for Serena’s storylines?
Chuck returned to New York City from his trip to try and track down his uncle Jack at the beginning of the episode in the hopes that he would help Chuck block the sale of Bass Industries. He didn’t find his uncle, but he learned that Russell Thorpe had once been a friend of his father. Chuck went to talk to Russell, but he ended up talking to a woman who he thought was Russell’s assistant. Chuck offended her by referring to her as a secretary, and she told him that the sale was on the fast track. She didn’t tell Chuck that she was Russell’s daughter, Raina.
I wouldn’t want to be Lily in this episode. Serena, Chuck and Eric were all furious with for all of the things that she had done. Throughout the episode, she lied to Serena and Chuck about both getting Ben out of jail and how she was handling the sale of Bass Industries. Of course, Serena, Chuck and Eric uncovered the truth about all of her lies. They found out that she had paid the judge off twice; first when she forged Serena’s signature, and the second time to leave town so Serena wouldn’t find him. When they tried to expose her, Lily managed to switch the envelope with the affidavit with one that had Dan’s résumé in it. I did like how Chuck and Serena worked together to try and prevent the sale of Bass Industries and get Ben out of prison.
News of Lily’s confrontation with her children at the party ended up getting back to the original potential buyer of Bass Industries thanks to Russell Thorpe, which led him to very quickly buy the company. It was also revealed that Raina was the vice president of Russell’s company. Russell confronted Chuck about his buying Bass Industries and told him that Lily hadn’t been entirely truthful when she told Chuck that he had once been a friend of Chuck’s father, Bart. They were once business partners, but it turns out that he shut Russell out of every business deal and business matter that they were involved in together. He was basically buying the company out of the revenge and was planning to “strip the company for parts” as he put it and sell off each aspect off it for very little money.
I have to say that I’ve become pretty annoyed with the way the writers have written Chuck since season three. I know he’s always been hell-bent on following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a successful business man, but I feel like starting with season three the writers took that aspect of Chuck as a character way too over the top. I don’t think there are very many college age kids who are that obsessed with having a career in business, who always dresses in business suits as if they are a middle-aged businessman when they’re not. Having Chuck do all of those things doesn’t make him seem like a very realistic character. The writers really need to start having Chuck act like a normal college kid, if you ask me. Plus, Ed Westwick’s “American” accent is really starting to annoy me. I feel like Chuck always sounds like he’s whispering and kind of mumbling when he talks.
I know that coming from a wealthy family, Lily and her family feel the need to maintain a good public image, but Lily has always been too concerned with what would happen if people knew about some of the things that their family has had to deal with, such as how Lily told everyone that Eric was staying with an aunt when he was really at the Ostroff Center being treated for depression after his suicide attempt at the start of the series. Sometimes I think Lily needs to just say, “Who cares what other people think?” and tell people the truth when something bad happens to their family.
It was also revealed that Lily had once been romantically involved with Russell Thorpe. Rufus mentioned that he had been on the list of people that Lily had been with when they exchanged the list of people that they had been with during the show’s third season. I’m glad that they mentioned that plot, because a lot of times teen dramas have a habit of dropping storylines or never mentioning them again after the storyline is over or never mentioning characters (Usually guest stars) again after they aren’t on the show anymore. It’s great to see Gossip Girl revisiting the origins and the past history of the show this season.
Once again, I really liked Nate’s storyline in this episode, because it dealt with his family instead of his love life. It was nice seeing Nate worry about the fact that his dad wasn’t taking the terms of his parole seriously. I really do like it when Nate’s storyline focus on his family life rather than focus on his love life. I hate that Nate had to cover for his dad when his parole officer called to ask why he hadn’t shown up for the interview, but at the same time however, that’s one of the things I’ve always liked about the character Nate. I’ve always loved how Nate would do just about anything to help his dad, even if he had to get his dad in trouble in order to make sure that his dad got the help he needs. Nate’s storyline in this episode reminded me a lot of the scene from season one where he provokes his dad to hit him with the cops around, so the cops would search his pockets and find the cocaine he had in his pockets when they were arresting him back in season one when the Captain had a cocaine addiction.
I have to say that I loved the part when Nate was talking to Chuck on the phone while his dad was playing a game on Nintendo Wii, which I think was tennis, with two maids in the background and his dad shouted that they “Needed a fourth”, which Chuck overheard and automatically took it in a sexual context, which led Nate to very quickly and awkwardly tell Chuck that it wasn’t what that sounded like before Chuck said anything, as if he already knew what Chuck was thinking. I personally thought that part was hilarious. :) Although, I have to ask, why did they have two maids at Nate’s place? His place doesn’t seem very big and as if it would need more than one maid, if any to manage the place. I would think that Nate could take care of the place himself.
The Captain ended up getting a job working for Russell Thorpe doing the same kind of business stuff he did before he was arrested in season one and got in trouble with the law. Unfortunately, it looks like Russell hired him so he can use the Captain as a scapegoat in case he gets in trouble with the law for shady business dealings that he seems to be planning.
At the very end of the episode, Raina apologized to Chuck for not being straightforward and completely honest with him when they met by not telling him that she was Russell’s daughter and the vice and the vice president of his company. I don’t know what else to say about the stuff with Russell and Raina Thorpe other than the fact that I think that that whole storyline and those characters got pretty, pretty fast for the most part. Although, I do like the fact that The Captain is involved with this storyline, which means that Nate is involved with it to a certain extent, which I think is good.
All in all, I thought this episode was great for the most part, but I’m not a fan of Chuck’s storyline with Russell Thorpe and Bass Industries. The scenes with Dan and Blair and seeing the influence they have on each other in this episode were amazing. Nate’s storyline with his dad was great too. All that being said, I give this episode a B+.
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