Gossip Girl Review: A Wolf in B's Clothing

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Gossip Girl continued its final season tonight with an episode that continued the separate, yet intertwined storylines of Dan, Serena, Nate, Chuck and Blair, all of whom are determined to write their next chapter in life.

The Gossip Girl finale spoilers we've been inundated with over the past week offer more to discuss than anything playing out Monday in "Dirty Rotten Scandals," which wasn't really that dirty, rotten or scandalous.

Well, except for Dan. That guy's pretty rotten.

There were some memorable moments, however, as unlikely alliances formed and crumbled across the Upper East Side, leaving the respective careers of some of those involved hanging in the balance.

Let's break down tonight's top stories ...

BFFs at Odds?

Blair's fashion show was a disaster and Serena's relationship with Steven was nearly sabotaged, all because of Sage. Yes, this 17-year-old who isn't the slightest bit convincing is now out there besting the besties.

Serena's in a tough spot, for sure, because she really cares about the new man in her life and wants to prioritize what's important to him - his daughter. When did she become a total pushover, though? Blair too?

Don't eff with an effer, we once heard. When Nate Archibald isn't crumpling up her clothes in the corner, this newbie is effing with everyone in sight, and occupying far too much screen time on Gossip Girl's final season.

We'll see how it plays out in the coming weeks, and it's possible there's a twist coming that will redeem her, but we've seen far greater OMG moments than her underwear stunt, and the whole plot line feels a bit tired.

S and B need to get the heck over it, agree to share the UES HBIC crown, move on and live happily ever after.

On the plus side tonight, Steven seems like a good guy, and Chuck Bass stepped it up when it counted.

Chuck, and his quest to track down Bart, took a backseat to his will-be-better half this week, but he helped coordinate the fashion show when B was on bed rest, and was there for her even after she crashed and burned.

That's true love right there. That and a $250 bottle of champagne, and sleeping on opposite sides of the covers. That was a close shave (not as close as the job he's done on the side of his head), but he stuck to the pact.

It looks like Chair finally got the message that just because they aren't together together yet, doesn't mean they aren't at their best when they're spending time with each other in pursuit of dreams and aspirations.

Chuck's goal, when he's not running haute couture events, is to dethrone Bart, and with B's assistance, whoever this Lady Alexander is had better watch her back, because a tour de force known as Chair is coming to town.

Mind, body and scheme. Bring it on, and pack your purple socks!

The Man Loves His Purple

Meanwhile, Dan sold out hard. Wow. This dude's ego, hair and gumption know no bounds.

Ivy may be a professional con artist, but she's right about one thing: The innocent guy she once begged to call her Serena is now just as ruthless as she or anyone else on the Upper East Side, if not more so.

Hopefully Rufus is right, and he'll come around, because there aren't enough bridges in the tri-state area to sustain Dan at the rate he's burning them. Has he no shame? Or desire to have any friends or family?

The bromance was just being rekindled, too. What did struggling publisher Nate ever do to deserve that move? No loyalty to the Spectator for giving his career a re-launching pad? Unedited, no less?

Cold, Lonely Boy. Cold. Karma's a b!tch, and it'll enjoy paying you back for that one.

However wronged Dan feels he was, and however uncomfortable it may be to see Rufus and Ivy dating, you just can't treat people that way. Publishing the story was one thing, but chastising his own dad afterward?

The way things ended with Blair, one can see how Brooklyn's finest is a little jaded. You can be bitter - and write a book - without launching a scorched earth vengeance campaign, however. Find a middle ground.

People will forgive a lot, and he still has an opportunity to make amends here. But airing people's dirty laundry is bad enough without the omnipresent superiority complex. Heck, even Nelly Yuki experienced it tonight.

Come on, Dan. You're better than this. But S said it all tonight: Suck it, Humphrey.

Elsewhere, Ivy is still shady, no matter how enraptured Rufus is with the fact that someone's actually being nice to him, Dorota is still dutiful and wonderful, and Georgina was sadly missing in action tonight.

Cooking up some big takedown plot elsewhere, perhaps? Or actually hanging out with Milo? We may never know, but we can only hope she returns before long. Without her, Gossip Girl's missing (sorry) the Sparks.

Finally ... Nelly Yuki. Gossip Girl candidate? Just throwing that out there.

Three down, seven to go. What did you think of this week's episode? How are you liking the final season so far? Has it kept you invested, or are you just going through the motions? Discuss below, and vote in our survey:

Gossip Girl Season 6 ...

Dirty Rotten Scandals Review

Editor Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
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Rating: 3.4 / 5.0 (1055 Votes)

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.

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