45 replies to this topic

[ElectricBoogalo]

After Eleanor gives Blair an ultimatum, Blair is even more determined to remedy Waldorf Designs' problems by making a splash with a dress at the upcoming Cotillion, but a shocking revelation at the ball affects everyone. Serena becomes worried about Steven's attitude toward her, but after some investigating she discovers the surprising reason why. Chuck finds an unlikely ally as he tries to drive a wedge between Bart and Lily's relationship to help expose his father's secret. Meanwhile, Dan publishes another article, but the effect is just the opposite of what he was hoping for.

Man, was Serena full of excuses and blame tonight. She seriously thinks that Lily got together with Rufus just to keep her from being with Dan?

Now that Serena and Steven are finally broken up, is it too much to hope that I never have to see Sage again?

Chuck and Ivy working together might be a sign of the apocalypse.

ETA: Amy Heckerling directed this episode!

Edited by ElectricBoogalo, Nov 13, 2012 @ 6:18 AM.

[Aftershock]

I shudder to think what ideas these writers rejected before deciding on this. They do not understand the concept of shame, they seem so proud of this misogynistic clusterfcuk. Appalled by their continued flippancy towards to subject of rape. Wretched show. It’s a pity no one is watching or there would be media outcry, but as seen with abusegate, nothing will come of it. Having said that, it never ceases to amaze me how they include these little snippets of meta, usually courtesy of Dan, his line about Zeus and Hera wrt to CB and Bart was spot on. Of course, similar to his 601 speech it’s only purpose is to be proven ‘wrong’ later, only on this train wreck.

I don’t know what sick little fantasy they have in this ruthless treatment of DB and their fans. Spiteful at this stage. It’s telling how they have went about it, it’s actually crazy the lengths they went to with Bart, the diary, the sex tape and the litany of blatant retcons and convoluted nonsense. None of it logical, all of it is so easily discredited, it’s so see-through. It stands up to no scrutiny and the only conclusion I can draw is there wasn’t one reason to break them up. Again, some nice moments, we know DB are Jack/Rose, but I’m credited PL entirely for them. Thank God, they’re free from this dreck now.

Wonderful how Dan’s article on Chuck played out. What a massive cop-out yet again. The one that deserved an expose, gets away with it, woobies always do I guess. Does Eleanor know about the IP, the beat down in 420 or the scumbag Chuck is in general? When will this propping of Chuck end? He will always be a rapey, hotel trader to me anyhow. And it wasn’t for the want of trying Chuck didn’t sleep with Serena, as if Serena would stoop that low anyway. Sickening how he accepted her thanking him, gross all around.

Blair is a puppet, she hasn’t apologised and instead is made out to be the victim but there is no point trying to figure her out anymore. Her whole existence is to prop Chuck and be successful enough so Chuck will have sex with her at some point, when it’s convenient to him. It comes as absolutely no surprise to me the depths they’ve plunged her character to force CB, a fiercely strong, independent, outspoken, capable of anything Blair just wouldn’t work. Blair is always at her weakest, worst self when around Chuck.

The sex tape and the manipulation behind it, makes DS every bit as toxic and gross as CB to me and I can’t get behind them. She heartlessly used him in a petty game with Blair, as if the previous four seasons of deconstruction wasn’t enough for DS and they were superficial and pretty dysfunctional to begin with. It remains to be seen if PB can bring the romance, they’ve a more neutral, friendly vibe atm. Neither endgame have any substance though or redeemable qualities, both are sad, tragic endings in my book.

[EBStarr]

Appalled by their continued flippancy towards to subject of rape.

Oh my gosh this... Blair actually says "You have to say no for it to be date rape." Nice try, Blair! Go back to college and pay more attention to your sexual assault awareness class. On the other hand, of course, Dan's ridiculous excuse that he isn't to blame for cheating on Blair because he was "manipulated into it" deserved for Blair to point out that indeed, what he did was his responsibility and was totally wrong (no matter how gross and guilty Serena, IMO, ought to feel -- and maybe, being taped without your consent is some kind of rape, technically speaking? I'm not sure of the terminology there, but anyway, he shouldn't go around trying to abdicate all responsibility for the sex itself).

As a DB fan I actually really liked this episode. I liked that Dan got called out for cheating on Blair. I liked that she said that was the reason they shouldn't be together; it seems like a good reason to me! Much better than her prattling about her true love with Chuck. They had a cute chemistry going on before that; even though I'm not optimistic about where it's headed obviously, I enjoyed seeing the little sparks and comparing it to Chuck and Blair's weird sexless Macbeth-and-Lady-Macbeth dynamic. (I'm sure the almost-kiss at the end would have felt like chemistry to me if I'd seen it in season 1; now it just represents what I've decided is Chuck's symbolic impotence, and inability to follow through with Blair.) And Blair did react weirdly when Serena said as if it were a matter of unquestioned fact, "The only person you've ever really wanted was Chuck." (Denial land is a happy place! Come live here with me!)

I haven't liked Chuck so much in years as I did when he dismissed Ivy with a mere eye-roll. Of course he ended up scheming with her eventually, but wow that look was so dripping with contempt -- loved it.

The clothes were way better than they've been lately. Did anyone else covet Blair's rust-colored black-tipped dress? I did. And I even liked Sage's "shocking" debutante gown, or I would have if it hadn't been weirdly asymmetrical in the boob region.

Bah, Serena's gross giggly excitement over a diamond ring from someone she's known for literally twenty-two weeks (of which twelve of those were her hiding her identity) was like some sort of romantic comedy caricature. It's like the writers were sitting in a room going, "What is Serena's personality again? Not sure, but I know that girls like shiny things and LOVE being married. Probably when she finds a diamond ring in her forty-year-old boyfriend's briefcase, she is going to jump up and down and giggle.") I don't know the real Serena's personality either because her characterization has been kind of a shitshow, but at the very least some kind of hesitation before going into full-on Meg Ryan mode would have seemed more real.

Or maybe Serena really is just an idiot and this was totally in character. Either way it bugged me.

Edited because Blair said the thing about date rape, which several have pointed out. Thanks guys! Brain fart.

Edited by EBStarr, Nov 13, 2012 @ 10:09 AM.

[thekiid]

So is the moral of dan cheating or so she says that chuck by default is not as bad? I am confused, or is it that Dan is just like chuck, so it makes sense she be with Chuck because they both are bad people? Seems like a horrible attempt to make Chuck look better. They are leaving out key details about the whole she already chose and serena threw herself at him when he was heartbroken but oh well he still messed up.

i dunno i feel the dan serena thing was just a way to back up Blair's complete nonsense decision to run away with chuck and go "all in". But Dan was right when he said he may have cheated but she technically already left him and chose Chuck.So he was cheating as she was choosing Chuck. So it just tries to make her ditching dan look better. I don't think it's nonsense she wants to be with chuck but at that time in the story when she was just saying how she loved Dan, than immediately going to chuck made little sense. Blair keeps saying she loved Dan, but did she? she went from completely in love to ditching him pretty quick for no real reason. This is worse than all chuck has done to her, worse than Jenny? Not even close to me, but whatever with this show. The endgames are what they are. Good thing Serena didn't marry Steven, she sure seems to be eyeing Dan again already haha. But i don't mind this time, I mean who else will either of them date at this point.

[Knightingal]

Oh my gosh this... Serena actually says "You have to say no for it to be date rape." Nice try, Serena! Go back to college and pay more attention to your sexual assault awareness class.

Blair actually said that line, I don't know if that makes it worse.

[swampy]

Or maybe Serena really is just an idiot

Nailed it!

The premiere this season was so promising. Now the teasers say "there are only 5 episodes left of Gossip Girl" and I'm like, really, that many? So sad. It's only been a few posts and everyone has already hit most of the major problems I had tonight, but just in a general sense, this show is an incoherent mess, with very few bright spots to make the whole thing worthwhile. The laugh out loud line of the night for me was Rufus telling Ivy that "problems with money" were why he broke up with Lily, and not, like, ALL THE OTHER REASONS that he broke up with Lily. He truly is Dan's father.

I will say that a lot of the acting itself still manages to charm me. Serena "greeting" Chuck was hilarious, I always love a bit of Georgina, etc. But the writing is so ridiculous at this point that not even some fun acting or chemistry can save it.

[bm232]

Oh my gosh this... Serena actually says "You have to say no for it to be date rape." Nice try, Serena!

No, it was Blair who said that line. I actually don't think it was out of the blue considering that she was saying things like, "Chuck likes to brag about his conquests, not his victims" in 1x02. Blair's always espoused misogynistic viewpoints, indulged in slut-shaming, etc. but this was particularly awful.

Not that Dan was much better, TBH. He ostensibly started this revenge scheme against the UESers partly out of a desire for vengeance for the way Jenny was mistreated by Chuck and Blair. But now he's writing articles that glorify Chuck as a "hero" just so he can win Blair back? Chuck, the guy who tried to rape his sister. Blair, the girl who publicly slut-shamed her on two separate occasions (while giving Chuck a free pass for his involvement in what happened with Jenny, again, par for the course with Blair and her gross sexist double standards) and "banished" her from Manhattan. Pathetic, hypocritical, and disgusting. Ugh.

[Aftershock]

But now he's writing articles that glorify Chuck as a "hero" just so he can win Blair back?

ikr? Just a convenient way to avoid dredging up all his horribleness. Which backfired with the sleeping with Serena reference anyway. Dan bad, Chuck good, remember. This show really takes its audience for fools.

[Bunny LaJoya]

It remains to be seen if PB can bring the romance, they’ve a more neutral, friendly vibe atm. Neither endgame have any substance though or redeemable qualities, both are sad, tragic endings in my book.

What is PB?

Did anything happen in the last 5 minutes of the show? I missed it.

[KissedByARose]

Whoever dresses MT puts her in the most unflattering outfits. Why is that?

There were a couple of bright spots but it only reminded me how much potential this show had and how much BS we've sat through the past couple of years.

Did Blair really say (on top of the date rape thing) that what Dan did was worse than Chuck sleeping with Jenny?!

Also, so Nate dumped Sage and Steven dumped Serena and we wasted all of this time on them for...?

Edited by KissedByARose, Nov 13, 2012 @ 11:04 AM.

[manbearpig]

Bunny LaJoya - PB might mean Penn/Blake? Maybe.

Kind of liked it. I loved Serena's guilty smile after Nate joked about his girlfriends going through his emails. Was also loving the brief moment of Serena/Blair bonding, until the sex tape was revealed at the worst possible moment. Blair did have a point about Serena actively attempting to hurt her, but I can barely care for Blair at all at this point. And, y'know, it was Dan, who Serena spent all of last season pining over. Not that that excuses Serena's actions, but still.

Georgina was entertaining as usual. I'm sure Serena and Georgina are the only characters I'll miss when the show ends.

Edited by manbearpig, Nov 13, 2012 @ 10:50 AM.

[apgold]

I will not comment on the plot since this show makes no sense. I will comment on the pretty, though.

Blair's navy dress for the cotillon was gorgeous, but way too matronly, and would've looked better on someone like Lily. The shoes were ridiculous though and I give LM props for not falling down the stairs in them.

The Waldorf designs dress worn by Sage was ugly, or maybe it's b/c Sage has no body to speak of and could not fill it out. I was expecting something really spectacular, and didn't understand why any store would buy that.

Lily's day dress had weird sleeves and did not fit right, I was distracted by it when she was sitting.

I did not understand why Ivy's top had absolutely no back, did they tape her into it.

For once, I liked something that Serena wore - the blue satin blouse with the cutout sleeves was cute.

And the pretty room where the cotillon was held was in the Astor Salon at the Waldorf Astoria. That hotel and it's 3rd floor hallway is always stunning on film.

[TiffanyNichelle]

I think Dan's Chuck story was to show Blair how Chuck will never be done fighting with his father and there will always be one more excuse keeping them apart.

Steven you just found out like 2 months ago that her real name isn't even Sabrina but now that you know about the sex tape now you're rushing things and don't know her so well? I never bought Steven/Serena as a real couple no matter how many times she talked about this being her first healthy relationship (despite lying about who she is). It felt like Serena was just playing the part of what she thought she should be, another shallow Upper East Side wife like her mother.

I don't understand how Sage and Steven, who are supposed to be a part of the same Upper East Side world had zero contact with Serena and knew nothing about her yet Sage knew Gossip Girl. She should have had all the dirt ready to lay out at Steven's feet as soon as she found out they were dating. Hell, Serena would have been her role model the way they had those little mini Blairs popping up.

I do agree that everyone looked really good except for Sage's "sex" dress. That was just ugly.

I was so happy that Nate finally stood up for his friends after Sage pulled her stunt. He's just been in his own world this whole time with her but if he'd kept dancing with her after finding out about the tape I would have been too through.

It was typical Serena to get up in Blair's face for ruining her happiness with Steven after she and Sage helped ruined Blair's fashion show. She was never even sorry about it.

If all of this was to get us to accept a Serena/Dan reunion I will scream. Both of them are killing me with this. Let it die.

Edited by TiffanyNichelle, Nov 13, 2012 @ 11:45 AM.

[LizaJane]

Kind of liked it. I loved Serena's guilty smile after Nate joked about his girlfriends going through his emails. Was also loving the brief moment of Serena/Blair bonding, until the sex tape was revealed at the worst possible moment.

Heh. I thought it was adorkable that Serena could not come up with a Plan as simple as snooping until poor dumb Nate was all: 'well, I usually snoop around or comb my hair or have a weird affair for cash money with another older woman or become homeless. My mom cuts asters. Uh - " and Serena went: lightbulb! I will totes look through his stuff and Find Things Out! So cute. Serena + Nate 4eva. Can you imagine the quantum levels of silliness their beautiful, beautiful offspring could achieve?

I liked the banter between Dan and Blair and Blair and Serena, but the alleged sexual tension between Blair and Chuck at the end felt artificial. It's the silly thwarting Obstacle of Obsession that must last the rest of the season I suppose. But honestly, if they are going to have that Obstacle in place they could at least make the close-to-passionate moments between C / B hotter, for goodness sake. I don't know, maybe the Obstacle is just too weird and oddly deforming that it gets in the way. Or maybe that's a choice? If so, not a fun one.

I think what I dislike most about this last season is how atomized it all is. All these extraneous people I don't like - Steven, Sage, ugh! and Bart just feels like a silly jousting dummy totted up in worn-out leather and father issues. The writers don't mind outrageous silliness like traveling sex carnival brothels where billionaires hide out after faking their deaths so why couldn't they force all of the characters to spend the last season in a Transylvanian castle filled with designer clothes, diamonds, and v. good lighting? Or okay, NY - but in the same wacky high-end apartment building! Filled with ghosts like Ghostbusters! Ghosts of all the men Serena killed and all the minions Blair maimed and all the books Dan Humphrey is never going to write. While noises rattle from the attic/penthouse and the NJBC + Dan Humphrey slowly discover that there is a monster in the attic and it is Chuck's real mom who is now just a head (I am imagining that black and white horror movie with the woman who is just a head), but has psychic powers or something and is the REAL Gossip Girl / has reanimated the corpse of Bart Bass to take revenge on him by destroying his legacy. Then at least the main characters could talk to each other somewhat more often than currently.

And really: why is Blair designing? She should have three bit-players as wacky designers competing for her attention while she plays taste arbiter.

Chuck's eye-roll at Ivy was THE BEST.
His plotting with Ivy was THE WORST.

And the pretty room where the cotillon was held was in the Astor Salon at the Waldorf Astoria. That hotel and it's 3rd floor hallway is always stunning on film.

Oh! That room was gorgeous.

I was so happy that Nate finally stood up for his friends after Sage pulled her stunt. He's just been in his own world this whole time with her but if he'd kept dancing with her after finding out about the tape I would have been too through.

Aww. Yes! I forgot about that, but that made me happy. So did the convo betwixt Chuck and Nate where Nate was defending (more or less) cooking the books and Chuck was skeptical, but not quite aware of the context.

Edited by LizaJane, Nov 13, 2012 @ 12:18 PM.

[Kaspangle]

This was my favorite episode of the season. I thought it was fun and funny, and it reminded me of past seasons. I loved that they used the same Cotillion lady. But, wait, Kati's cotillion dress in season one seemed at least as 'provocative' as Sage's dress. Not sure if I buy Blair's comments about how kids are different now.

It's pretty crazy that Lily is believing Bart over Chuck, but at the same time, I think Chuck's comments about making Bart pay sound crazy, too.

Blair and Serena looked so beautiful in this episode. Serena's hair looked so shiny.

I seriously can't stand Ivy's voice for another minute!

[MrSarahWalker]

I'm not really sure why I should be mad at Serena and Dan for their sex tape. How exactly can Blair claim some kind of moral high ground? I get that Serena manipulated Dan to some degree but thats between them. Blair was moving on with Chuck. She was breaking up with Dan. A Dan, I should point out that her best friend has had an on-again, off-again relationship with for 4years. Blair is a terrible human being who I don't care about to begin with so I'm even less inclined to see her as a victim when she's not actually a victim.

Oh and show, Chuck isn't a better man then Dan, so stop trying to tell me otherwise. It rings even more hollow when it comes from the victim of his abuse.

I know a lot of people could care less about Dan and Serena but looking at that final scene of them in the diner kind of reminded me of Season 1. Serena was pretty cute sucking on that straw in her milkshake and I thought that was a nice little scene.

Edited by MrSarahWalker, Nov 13, 2012 @ 1:42 PM.

[gingercharm21]

"Thank you for never sleeping with Serena" Disgusting. Blair must mean every other time other than that one time where he tried to force himself on Serena and she had to to kick him to get away, right? Guess it's so easy to forget about that.

[catmax99]

I

know a lot of people could care less about Dan and Serena but looking at that final scene of them in the diner kind of reminded me of Season 1. Serena was pretty cute sucking on that straw in her milkshake and I thought that was a nice little scene.

ITA! I never for one second thought that any scene with them would seem remotely convincing, but they had a nice, easy chemistry and it might have been my favorite scene of the episode.

I'm so,so sick of this who is the better man crap this show persists on creating between Chuck and Dan. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO IS THE BETTER MAN! And considering Blair, and all the behavior we have seen from Blair, this idea of her caring about having a "good" man is ludicrous. If she wants a "good" man, she should run as fast as she can from both of these two. WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT BLAIR WANTS! This is what always matters in a love triangle, and the idea that Blair should choose the "better" person is so stupid, stupid, stupid. She should choose who she wants to be with. Gah! Sorry for the caps, but it's driving me nuts. Did I date "better" men than my husband, probably, but it didn't matter because I wasn't in love with them.

I understand the hatred, but Chuck just needs to give up on this whole idea of trying to get back at Bart. And similarly, Blair just needs to stop trying to be her mother. The two of them are young, twentysomethings with more money then they ever need. Just enjoy your lives, people. Just give up on all this bullshit and travel the world for a couple of years. It's just depressing. This goes for all of them really, take a deep breath, take a break from whatever it is that is bringing you down (Spectator, Waldorf Designs, patricide, writing, etc.) and just enjoy being young and filthy rich.

Was glad to see Cotillion returned to something classy- the one they did for Jenny seemed so shoddy. Also enjoying Nate and Serena acting like friends.

I just don't get why the writers are making these characters seems so stupid. They used to be so smart and slick, with schemes that worked, always getting one over on either their parents or the resident bad guy. Now Bart makes Chuck look like a fool every episode, actually usually a few times per episode. And while Blair and Serena in the past always seemed to crash and burn at some point, they had ups and downs, successes and then failures. Now it's just all failures. They all seem pathetic, which again we had moments of in seasons past, but there seemed to be at least cycles of redemption as well. Now it's been just everyone being pathetic for a season and change.

[TiffanyNichelle]

They all seem pathetic, which again we had moments of in seasons past, but there seemed to be at least cycles of redemption as well. Now it's been just everyone being pathetic for a season and change.

I agree. Everyone is pretty much pathetic this season except for Bart who keeps coming out on top. Unless Bart is secretly Gossip Girl I don't see the point of him being the only non-pathetic person on the show.

[Domenicholas]

As much as I love Dair, I liked their confrontation after the tape came out. I liked how she stood up for herself and told him that she'd rather be alone than with him. She's not going to stand being hurt, she's not going to stand being humuliated, and anyone who does can go to hell?

Why can't she show that same attitude with Chuck?

Why can't she demand that she won't be put on the back burner? That she won't be used and abused by him? That he has to make himself worthy for her? That she's going to become a strong woman for herself, not for him? That she'll leave if he doesn't accept any of these terms? That he should remember that "It takes a lot more than that to break Blair Waldorf?" Here's the simple answer:

Blair loves Chuck more than she loves herself.


Waiting until Chuck comes back is okay with her because a life without Chuck isn't a life at all. Chuck treating her like property or a prized steed is okay, because at least she is being used by Chuck, and he can throw to her some scraps as "proof" of his love. Chuck is her universe, and without him, Blair is just a fading star.

I am so happy that Penn and Blake have chemistry; I am dreading the return of Derena a little less now.

Other than that, I enjoyed the episode. With one video, we got rid of Steven, Sage, and any false hope of Dair, so I'm content.

[azazel]

Blair: Thank you for never sleeping with Serena.

Well, that's hilarious. Hey, remember the time Chuck tried to rape Serena? Or most of the first season when he was leering at her in an incredibly pervy manner?

But, since the writers can't be bothered to remember about things like "character development" or "storylines that make sense" or "writing likable characters," I guess remembering past seasons of their own show is too much to ask.

[RachelKM]

Blair: Thank you for never sleeping with Serena.

Well, that's hilarious. Hey, remember the time Chuck tried to rape Serena? Or most of the first season when he was leering at her in an incredibly pervy manner?

That plus the fact that they are siblings. Yeah, way to not be incestuous on top of your general skeevy douchebagery. Points for Chuck.

Also, Chuck? Dan is still the better man. Sure he's seriously closed the gap in the asshole department and that is totally on Dan, but until he attempts to rape half the women of his acquaintance and is generally dismissive of the feelings of others, he has the edge. Dan is still being a complete tool with his lashing out and ignoring the damage to avoid feeling guilty; but ultimately, in this race to the bottom behaviorwise Dan is benefiting from comparison.

Blair I have no use for anymore. She has gotten to be worse than pathetic in that she is also boring. All she does is whine about Waldorf designs and moon over Chuck. The former is uninteresting and underserved and the latter is just nauseating.

Serena and Dan were sort of nice together. It's the first time I've really enjoyed them together since early S2.

Thank you Nate for dumping the brat. It was one humiliating stunt later than you should have done it, but I appreciate you not accepting an overt attack of your friend(s).

[ElectricBoogalo]

I'm glad Nate finally pulled his head out of his ass and acknowledged that his HIGH SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND is treating his friends like shit, which apparently he couldn't do after Sage sabotaged Blair's fashion show (which, I know, whatever, but it's the principle of the matter) but apparently posting a sex tape of his BFFs doing it on the bar where he did it with one of them a few years ago was crossing the line. Notice how he never said anything all the times that Sage talked shit about Serena or actively tried to get Serena and her dad to break up. He would just kind of pat her on the head and say, "There, there, Serena's not so bad. You may hate her, which is totally fine with me, but you can stare at her glorious boobs while you hate her." Sullying the image of the bar where he lost his virginity is a step too far though, damn it!

I was embarrassed for both Sage and Blair after seeing that hideous/allegedly provocative cotillion gown. It was ugly, unflattering, and ill fitting. There was nothing good about it. I didn't particularly care for her lavender cover up, but after she did her big "dramatic reveal" (which was just cheesy), I wanted her to put it back on and hide that fug dress of hers.

On an ignorant note (since I'm not from the UES), I thought cotillion gowns had to be white. I'm pretty sure that two of the other girls had pink dresses on, and until Sage showed her hideous Waldorf Designs dress, she was wearing lavender. Are pastels acceptable?

[Mariposa2]

I don’t know what sick little fantasy they have in this ruthless treatment of DB and their fans. Spiteful at this stage. It’s telling how they have went about it, it’s actually crazy the lengths they went to with Bart, the diary, the sex tape and the litany of blatant retcons and convoluted nonsense.

I agree with your entire post; you covered almost everything that's been bothering me about Gossip Girl this past year. The assassination of Dan's character in order to justify Blair choosing Chuck, was so unnecessary that it did seem spiteful. In interviews, Penn Badgely has been somewhat critical of the show and has also mentioned not liking what the writers did with his character. I wonder if his comments pissed off the writers and they decided to turn his character into a douchebag out of spite. People can be petty. Since this is the last season, the writers are at liberty to do almost anything they want, and probably aren't worried about alienating fans anymore.

I was so happy that Nate finally stood up for his friends after Sage pulled her stunt. He's just been in his own world this whole time with her but if he'd kept dancing with her after finding out about the tape I would have been too through.

Same here. The show has made so many of their protagonists unlikeable this season (Dan, Blair, Serena, Lilly, Rufus, etc.), that is was really nice to see that Nate is still Nate.

Why can't she show that same attitude with Chuck? Why can't she demand that she won't be put on the back burner? That she won't be used and abused by him? That he has to make himself worthy for her? That she's going to become a strong woman for herself, not for him?

This. It bothers me to watch a show that champions the behavior of one of their most abusive characters. In some ways, I still see Blair as a victim. Otherwise, I can't explain how anyone would see Dan sleeping with Serena as a bigger offense than Chuck taking advantage of a 15/16 year old girl. Do the writers realize that impressionable teenage girls make up the bulk of their viewers?

[Snapshots]

I liked that Dan got called out for cheating on Blair.

It really bothered me because in the first scene of the season we were shown Blair cheating on Dan. I like that Blair called him out (because I couldn't imagine Blair standing up to Chuck), but I hated that the writers won't let Dan do the same and remind Blair that she did the same to him. If anything what Blair did was worse because unlike Dan, she didn't appear to give any indication that she felt bad about cheating. It's almost like the writers hate the show so much themselves that not even they will watch it to see what they've put in previous episodes.

"Thank you for never sleeping with Serena" Disgusting.

Oh I'd forgotten about that little gem. No Chuck never slept with Serena, but he did try to rape her and spent two seasons (even after their parents hooked up) making extremely inappropriate comments to her.

[kfried]

Everyone is pretty much pathetic this season except for Bart who keeps coming out on top. Unless Bart is secretly Gossip Girl I don't see the point of him being the only non-pathetic person on the show.

That would be glorious. I hope he also cross-dresses as a chic UES teenager too.

[Ginandtonic]

Since we have 5 more episodes, that should give the writers plenty of time to introduce at least 5 new characters with their own stories to the show. This season sucks. If Steven broke up with Serena & Nate broke up with Sage, are they gone now? What was the point of having them on the show to begin with? They could have had a story that made sense & had something to do with the show instead of the crap they put out this year.

[Light of Night]

Oh I'd forgotten about that little gem. No Chuck never slept with Serena, but he did try to rape her and spent two seasons (even after their parents hooked up) making extremely inappropriate comments to her.

And at least once he did that actually in Blair's presence, at the illicit pool party in Season 1.

I wonder, though, if this is a hint that there's a definite reason why the show has avoided this particular pairing (when it didn't avoid Chuck/Jenny which was just as bad or worse).

Blair congratulated herself on understanding how Lily thinks. I doubt that she does understand. Lily is playing her own game, which I think has little do do with protecting Serena.

I don't understand how Sage and Steven, who are supposed to be a part of the same Upper East Side world had zero contact with Serena and knew nothing about her yet Sage knew Gossip Girl. She should have had all the dirt ready to lay out at Steven's feet as soon as she found out they were dating. Hell, Serena would have been her role model the way they had those little mini Blairs popping up.

What I gather is that Steven has for some time avoided contact with the UES circle. Not so Sage, though. I think Sage must have known all about Serena even at the beginning of the season (and deliberately didn't tell Steven). Otherwise, it's a fantastic coincidence that she should have hooked up with Serena's ex.

[Aftershock]

I like that Blair called him out (because I couldn't imagine Blair standing up to Chuck)

She did a few times, but the longest it would last is an episode and strangely it ends with Chuck in a stronger position calling the shots.

We saw it at Cece funeral, Blair forgave both C and D, but added ‘for now’ to Dan. One was selfishly bankrupting her family, the other putting a stop to a sham of a wedding. Now, Blair claims this is the worst thing that ever happened to her. Which, if I were to apply their messed up logic would mean Dan is who she wants, he has hurt her more.

Dan and Blair were both wrong. But Blair promised Dan she wanted to be with him, while Serena was manipulating Dan, she was debasing herself professing her love for Chuck. Dan should have waited, no question. None of it makes much sense though, Blair said he was her best friend and she said she had no loose ends in NY, unanswered emails are worthless. Dan spend the year rejecting Serena and Chuck’s whores. The Dan and Blair we saw throughout s5 weren’t those of the finale.

It’s the same story when it comes to BS. Eventually we’ll see Blair forgive Serena again. In no way does the fact Serena was proven to be telling the truth exonerate her and not forgetting she read and uploaded Blair’s diary too. It was premeditated and planned to mirror her cheating on Blair’s other boyfriend, Nate. It was one of the worst thing she could do to Blair. BS as with CB, Blair will have to forgive and forget again. Dan, the one person who ever treated her right, no, unforgivable.

The odds of Serena sleeping with Chuck have shortened considerably with Blair thanking him for not sleeping with her. Foreshadowing. There’s a trend now, Serena and Blair fight, Serena has sex with Blair’s boyfriend.

[zombygirl]

This was stupid, but my biggest complaint, which has been made already, is WTF is with Georgie's wardrobe and styling? MT is gorgeous, and they go out of their way to try and make her look bad. It bugs the hell out of me every time. Are they trying to make Serena and Blair look hotter by fuging Gigi or what?