Asky!

So, is this going to be regularly recapped show or wee-capped? Because I've read all the books, and just the idea of unleashing some TWOP snark on these characters is absolutely tickling!

That wee-cap/series finale spoiler is FANTASTIC. (And the idea of Ian Somerhalder as Lord Marcus....from your keyboard to the network god's ears)

Recaps, probably something like the OC ones.

And thanks.

Does anyone know the level of involvement Amy Sherman-Pallandino has with this show? I've checked IMDB and she is not credited with anything and I did not see her listed in the show credits.

She was involved with the film adaptation, which never got off the ground -- she's not connected with this show in any way.

So are the Constance-Billard and St.Judes schools right next to each other? And across the street from the Met?

I know! Why do they go to Chapel together?

I have to watch again, but I got the impression that the two schools were together for the assembly because of the Ivy mixer so they only had to give out the information once. At least, that's what I'm hoping is the case.

Do we know anything about Eric and Serena's dad? Are their parents divorced, or no?

I think they're seperated, and live apart, as we saw in the pilot when Dan and Jenny got off the train from visiting their mom.

Because of the strike I have decided to spend my time reading the books, however, I'm having trouble figuring out the order I should go about this. Can anyone help me out?

We were just talking about this in the Books vs. The Show thread. I'd recommend that you read them chronologically. (Check the wiki entry or just check one of the inside flaps of the books whenever you're at the bookstore to buy them. They are obnoxiously unnumbered.) But don't read the prequel first. It's full of inside jokes and explanations that you won't be able to fully appreciate until you've read most of the series.

I remember Lindsey Lohan was in the running to play Blair. It could have been good, but ya know...

First-time poster, so forgive any forum faux pas. I'd just like to know why Jacob refers to the Humphrey's loft as DUMBO. I've read the recaps trying to find a definition of DUMBO, but so far haven't been able to. Thanks!

It's a part of Brooklyn. DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.

More information can be found on Wikipedia.

Thanks, Cadsuane, I appreciate the info! Keeps me from trying to parse the acronym :)

i've watched the show, but not read the books yet... does anyone know if gossip girl is ever identified in the books? thanks!

No, she has not been revealed and the plan, I think, is that it will stay that way. (I think this question is covered in the Gossip Girl FAQ which you should check out even though nothing loads on the page at the moment).

(I haven't read the books) Here's something that's been bothering me since the show returned- can someone please explain the relationship between Blair, Serena and Georgina? Serena and Blair were friends and Serena and Georgina were friends but it doesn't appear that B & G were very fond of each other. Were S & G wild and then S would go complain to B for the come-down? I just don't see how S could have successfully been friends with both of them at the same time.

To whomever answers this- you can spoil me, if needed.

In the books, Serena and Georgina weren't even friends. In the books, Georgina was someone that Nate met at rehab, and she had sold her show horse for money to buy drugs, which is something they are supposedly taking from the books for the show. She also had Nate come over to her house, because it was outpatient rehab, and she overdosed while he was there. I think in the books, she also lived in Connecticut. So maybe they ran in the same circles occasionally, but she had met Nate for the first time at rehab, so I'm not even sure if she knew who Serena was. However, in the show, I think that Georgina lived in the city (not sure if she went to Constance with the girls, though) and ran in the same circle as Blair and Serena did. So maybe Blair would be around Georgina when they would go out to parties and whatnot, but she wouldn't have to necessarily interact with her just because she would be at the same places that they would be at. And I guess Serena could juggle being friends with both Georgina and Blair - I mean, Blair isn't crazy about Dan, but Serena managed to balance time with the both of them, right?

Ah, thanks! So it's a complete revamping of the character, in a way. I kind of like that idea. However, Blair and Dan's ability to be civil is cake next to what I imagine Blair/Georgina being. I'll be very curious to see B's reaction to G because from what the show has showed us, Blair doesn't seem like the type to go as wild as G. I like the idea that they didn't necessarily go to the same school, just ran in the same circle. Maybe we'll find out more soon enough!

Yeah, last night, G called B "snow white" when she was at dinner with Serena's family. So I'm guessing G isn't fond of B, either.

Moved the "GG vs. OC" conversation to the appropriate thread. Sorry I didn't catch that right away.

About Constance Billard and St. Jude's having chapel together, I think that (on the show, not in the books) they're playing it like it's one school: Constance Billard/St. Jude's. I know that some old/fancy private schools are one school but act like they are two because they want to segregate boys/girls for classes, but want the benefits of a coed school (for sports teams, choirs, school plays, dances, etc). Or they could be brother-sister schools that are just really close together.

I choose to fanwank that my first theory is true until I hear anything else.

I don't usually watch this show, but I catch bits and pieces of it now and then. And I saw most of the last couple of episodes, and all of tonight's season finale. The posts in this thread helped clear up some of my confusion about Georgina's connection to Serena and Blair, but I am still a little confused about some parts of Georgina's background.

After watching tonight's ep, it would seem her parents didn't know where she was and what she was doing - is that right? Then, where was she living and how was she paying her bills and affording her high-society villainess lifestyle? And is Georgina the same age, i.e. 11th grade or 17 years old? Is she in school at all - I mean, what is she doing all day besides plotting against Serena?

Oh yeh, and what's this about Nate at rehab? Was this something that happened this season?

You might have misheard the conversation hereiam, it was Nate's father who went to rehab (for his coke problem), not Nate.

The Georgina bit confused me too, but I recall Blair saying that she stole someone's credit card and booked a trip to Ibiza - so I'm only guessing that she's living off someone else's credit card and can't be found by her parents. I'm presuming she landed in NYC after stealing someone's credit card and breaking out of the Utah rehab facility her parents sent her to. She was not enrolled in any school, that we know of. So yeah, she literally didn't have anything she had to do in NYC except ruin Serena's life because she was that much of a 'badass' ...

Nate went to rehab in the books, his father went to rehab in the show.

I'm a little behind (just finished 1.12), but what is the deal with Vanessa's living situation? Does she go to high school, or has she dropped out? Why does she live by herself in NYC when she probably should live with her parents in Vermont, considering she's a minor?

Re the St Jude's-Constance Billard relationship: like funnybottoms, I always thought they were brother-sister schools who did a lot of their co-curricular stuff together; it's pretty common with single-sex schools, especially when it comes to stuff like plays, orchestras, etc. (It's even more plausible when you take into the account the tiny class size.) I'm not sure what each school's religious affiliation actually is, but it's also possible that they're two schools associated with the same church, but the founders didn't want to merge into a co-ed.

However: this does not explain why in School Lies the CB headmistress had the ability to interview/suspend/expel the St Jude's boys. If it were a joint effort between her and the principal of St J's, maybe, but then he'd have to be there for the interviewing process and such, since technically she wouldn't be able to access the boys' permanent records.

Maybe the pool is actually within the Constance Billard building and the headmaster of St. Jude let her do the whole process on her own as a result and gave her access to the records.

Enigma: Vanessa doesn't live alone; she lives with her older sister, Ruby. Since her older sister is in a band, I guess V could be expected to come up with some of the rent. But certainly not all of it, so that part's confusing.

Also, I believe we are supposed to think V's in high school. Nate gets her to take the SATs, which would be of literally no use to her if she wasn't a student.

Does anyone know how closely the Gossip Girl blog is affiliated with the show's creative team? Are the writers doing it together, or is it a writer's assistant? Is it just a CW lackey? Does anyone have any clue?

Apart from the interesting tidbit (possibly) about Chuck's mother in the latest blog, which understandably received the most attention, people over on LiveJournal have pointed out that the dropped info about Lily founding and presiding over a charity to fight domestic abuse may be significant.

I don't know who exactly it is, but it's definitely someone who has access to scripts or episodes in advance and is privy to certain details, because they would leave hints as to what's really going on in the next episode. And they totally gave away Eric's gayness long in advance when they said his song at the moment was "Xavier Says" by Magnetic Fields

In light of the last episode and the actors amazing chemistry from day one, can anyone clarify these for me:

Didn't Dan come out in the books?

Wasn't Chuck Dan's first?

Weren't they abnormally close in the books despite 'hating' each other very loudly and publicly before Dan came out?

Thanks for the help.

Dan did come out in the books towards the end, but I don't think he and Chuck were ever close.

Did they drop that? I hadn't known. When it was up, I have to admit I was wondering if that was part of the reason they never talk about Mr. van der Woodsen.

I wish I knew the answer to the former question, I guess the most useful part would be knowing why it disappeared. Maybe both were actual spoilers and leaked by accident, only so many people had called attention to the Chuck's mom one that they figured they couldn't pull that, so contented themselves with doing away with the battered women's charity. Or it means nothing at all! I think that's a question for someone to try to get Kristin to ask the next time she gets a Schwartz or Savage chat.

Nah, Dan "experimented" with a guy, but he ended up deciding that he was straight. Chuck stole Dan's boyfriend though, which might be the connection that you were thinking of.

Has it ever been brought up as to whether or not Serena and Eric are half siblings? Or are we to assume Lily was married to one person long enough to have both children?

I think we're suppose to assume that they are not half siblings considering the fact that they both have the last name Van der Woodsen and that it's Lily's married name (because Cece's last name is Rhodes)

I knew that was both of their last names, but I was just making sure. Thank you!

I saw Nick & Norah this weekend and it reminded me of a question I've been meaning to ask. I've only been watching this show a few weeks so I haven't read episode threads, where I'm sure it's probably already been brought up.

Is it really this easy for teenagers in New York to get into bars and be served alcohol?

I think it depends on where you go. I live in a normal-sized town and it's pretty easy to get served around here sometimes if you're underage. And maybe the bars and clubs don't care, because these are wealthy, popular kids who will attract business to the bars.

Wow. I've lived in South Florida and now the Raleigh-Durham area, and I've never been in a club in my life that didn't have a doorman who carded everyone who came through the door. I'm getting pretty long in the tooth these days and I still got carded when I went to a club last week (and so did everyone else).

The only place I've been where they truly didn't seem to bother was New Orleans.

I live in NYC and I get carded everywhere I go no matter what. I look young, even if I'm 24. I think it's their wealth and position which makes it easy for them.

I kinda disagree. I live in NYC and have noticed a HUGE difference w/r/t to being carded vs. when I used to live in Ohio. I barely ever get carded to go into a bar these days, especially if I stay out of the East Village. And I'm only 22.