Gossip Girl Review: Call Me Serena!
If nothing else, the Russell Thorpe story line can no longer be called boring.
In the first installment of Gossip Girl's two-part season finale, Bart's old partner was exposed as a sociopath and possible murderer - one setting his sights on the ultimate revenge, holding the one thing Chuck truly covets in life in a precarious position.
Let's backtrack and break down how Russell and Blair ended up on the roof ...
Despite predictable developments and serious plot holes, "Shattered Bass" was entertaining for the most part and featured some terrific cameos and one-liners.
Blair and Louis' love affair is in full bloom, although I certainly didn't sense a lot of chemistry between them this week. Partly because B was seeing Chuck a lot.
She spends a lot of time worrying about Chuck for someone supposedly so enthralled with Louis, doesn't she? The writers sure glossed over Chuck's abuse fast.
Princess Sophie even had B tailed to prove that she was being dishonest with Louis. This begs the question: If she reveals her dark side, will he still want her?
He claims he will, but it looks far from certain. Those unsavory elements of B's personality are what forms the magnetism Chuck feels with Blair and vice versa.
Princess Sophie was won over, though, thanks to Cyrus. Wallace Shawn once again proved he is the man, and not just because of his Princess Bride reference.
Meanwhile, in thoroughly confusing Chuck news mostly redeemed by the return of Desmond Harrington as Jack, Raina called in Evil Uncle Bass. For REVENGE.
Jack then got in touch with Russell and plotted to take down Chuck, because Raina was to amateurish. Then Jack enlisted some thugs to force Chuck into rehab.
It's a good thing this was a setup - to trap Russell into rifling through Chuck's stuff with him supposedly locked away - because it was unrealistic on many levels.
Russell falling for it was amazing in a sense, but he was pretty desperate. The surveillance tape Russell wanted so hard didn't prove Bart Bass' guilt, but his own.
It was great, and admittedly unexpected, to see Jack take Chuck's side on this one, and noble of young Bass to let Russell walk with the same deal Bart had offered him.
Then Nate had to go and open his pretty mouth.
Having heard the truth from Nate, Raina called her dad to tell him he may as well be dead to her too. Betrayed, reeling and crazy, Russell hatched a plan for revenge.
Just as Chuck went to make a last-ditch effort to win over Blair at her public, royal debut with Louis, she was lured again by her star-crossed flame to Charlies' Place.
The roof of the hotel he's building, that is. Only Russell Thorpe awaited her, not Chuck. Will he bookend his career of torching buildings with Bass love interests inside?
Will Chuck stop him in the nick of time, only to win Blair's heart back from Louis? And is Raina's mom actually dead? We'll have to see when the season wraps May 16.
While all this was happening, Charlie went off her medication.
What she takes it for, why she stopped taking it, why she left evidence of not taking it in plain view, and how missing one dose made her NUTS in about three hours?
All very unclear. But that's where we're at right now.
After Dan invited Charlie to a fundraiser at Constance (which hilariously featured the return of Katy and Iz, along with those Gossip Girl fans who are like 12), Charlie freaked that she had nothing to wear, then showed up in Serena’s Cotillion dress!
This was absurdly awesome moment #1 of Charlie's story line: Serena's reaction and her cousin's insistence that it was a Nina Ricci number she bought once she got access to the Rhodes Trust Fund (another confusing plot element I won't get into).
Awesome moment #2? Charlie deciding she wants to get Humphreyed in Headmistress Queller’s office, slipping out of that dress like it was on fire, thrusting Serena-esque cleavage at Dan ... then breathlessly moaning for him to CALL HER SERENA!
Dan, understandably, backed off at that point.
While this would have been a top five Gossip Girl sex scene (maybe it even still counts, given some of the camera angles), Dan did the right thing coming to his sense there. The question is what happens next week when Charlie becomes even more unhinged.
Vanessa is coming to the rescue there, at least! Appearing out of nowhere and guaranteeing herself at least a 9 on this week's Gossip Girl Round Table, she and Serena called truce so they could share notes on Rufus and Charlie and her meds for some reason.
The more I write about it, the more I enjoyed some of the vintage Gossip Girl elements of this episode. By no means was it one of the show's best, but it'll be interesting to see how next week plays out and what note Season Four goes out on.
What did you think of last night's Gossip Girl? Discuss!
Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.
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May 23rd, 2011 3:07 PM
jeez what is vanessa still doing here?? she's so annoying >
May 19th, 2011 4:36 PM
I hope the spoilers about DAIR are true and we get to see more of them.
May 14th, 2011 4:11 PM
Maybe Charlie would have had more luck if she said "Call me Blair"!
I liked that spoiler that Anna posted, I hope it's close to accurate! I like Dair :)
Rank: Extra
May 12th, 2011 6:10 PM
So this weeks Gossip Girl episode was epic. Had all the elements of a good Gossip Girl episode, schemes, fashion, sex scenes and romance, oh and a cliff hanger ending.
Last week I was reeling after Raina called Jack Bass, and this week with the scheming with Thorpe. And actually couldn't believe that Jack Bass was going to have Chuck committed. So when Nate, Jack and Chuck appeared I was so relieved. Jack Bass didn't strike again, his jokes about Blair were a bit on the insensitive side though.
Silly Nate couldn't keep quiet at least until Thorpe left NYC. Although he was right to tell Raina about her dad. I wonder how long Raina will be sticking around, into next season perhaps?
Charlie certainly managed to get her crazy on quickly. I wonder what her illness is, surely her mum should have enlightened Lily and Rufus before she left her there. I had a literally laugh out loud moment when Charlie told Dan to call her Serena. Dan's face was a picture! Hahaha!
Cyrus
Rank: Extra
May 12th, 2011 3:11 PM
I really didn't enjoy Monday's episode. I mean the plot was all over the place. They only thing that made me laugh was Charlie "Call me Serena" I can't get enough of her. God she really is crazy. I am a DB fan so I was really disappointed in the lack of DB scenes in the whole episode. DB are funny, smart and just plain adorable. It would have been great just to see them together even for one second.
May 12th, 2011 3:04 PM
so i read the stuff on leightonmeester.us and if all the informations are true, i would be very very sad, cause chair is the only magic couple on gossip girl...but now its clear why the episode is called "the wrong goodbye"...i think that blair and chuck are meant by that...because it really is a wrong goodbye...so now i cannot understand the chair on chairs scene anymore...if blair leaves with the prince, so how the hell is that scene possible?! chuck and blair happy because she leaves?! wtf?! and even if DAIR happens next season, i hope that the writers will manage it to get chuck blair back together until the end of fifth season, they cannot have another endgame...all in all, its gonna be an amazing next season i think and i am not like the others here, i will keep watching GG even though they will bring blair and dan together next season...cause whatever happens, my heart beats for CHAIR!!
May 12th, 2011 1:16 PM
google this "leighton meester us", but note that this is for Dair eyes only, I am afraid that you Chair lovers can not handle to read this. (not because I think you can not read :)
May 12th, 2011 12:58 AM
@Lulu: Let's see, it has pink puffy sleaves (if they can be called that). The upper part of the bodice has nothing to do with the black part, it's also a little stiff, I could deal with the latter but the more you watch it the more it looks like an armour from Greek and Roman times. Also I didn't get the cleavage, you don't notice it in pictures but in the episode there is like an opening in the part above the breasts, is that supposed to be a hint of a cleavage? Because you really don't see anything, only those parts moving when she moved sideways in front of her vanity in her scene with Louis in the bedroom. The roses would have looked better if all the dress would have been black instead of a black lower part and an upper part that had nothing to do with the lower part. For me it was the hair and makeup that make her look lovely in the face, I know some people didn't like the hairdo but I liked it, and the earrings were appropiate for the dress, you have to give her credit for t
May 11th, 2011 11:38 PM
My taste in "ships" runs more towards things like The Golden Hind, which may not be so far off topic from Gossip Girl as one might suppose.
Wow, some of y'all are seriously unhinged!
And yes, I do love Blair's dress from this past and upcoming episode. It frames her face with flattering colors, and manages to be a black gown without being a boring black gown. What's not to like?
Rank: Recurring Character
May 11th, 2011 10:53 PM
This episode was really good.
There were parts that were moving really slowly like every scene with Dan and Charlie. I always knew she was psychotic and those pills in that odd shaped trash proves it.
So I just want to make this cleat…is Dair officially over? Because I want that to be TRUE so badly. I never rooted for them and never will so I hope they don’t happen again. And I seriously doubt what Vanessa said about Dan being a good kisser is true.
I thought Vanessa got the internship aboard so why is she still here?
I find it really awkward and fake that Serena would have a picture of her and Dan kissing at the Cotillion on her night stand if they are really over and that he is her step brother who she also shares a sibling with.
I am so over the Thorpes because I cannot stand Nate and Raina and Russell. Nate and Raina are so boring together. He really is useless this season. I got lost when Russell was explaining what happened that day his wife died.
So w