Episode 18

Gossip Girl S1E18 - Much I Do About Nothing

Hey Upper Eastsiders and scandal-loving listeners! Welcome back to the Non Judging Breakfast Pod, where the coffee is strong, the waffles are fresh, and the gossip is hotter than ever. Join Leif, your seasoned Gossip Girl veteran, and Steve, the newbie diving into the Upper East Side for the first time.

This week, we dive into Gossip Girl season 1, episode 18, titled “Much I Do About Nothing.” Original air date: May 19, 2008.

Summary

In this conversation, the hosts discuss the events of Season 1, Episode 18 of Gossip Girl, titled 'Much I Do About Nothing.' They analyze the relationships between the characters, including Serena and Dan, Rufus and Lily, and Chuck and Blair. They also comment on the manipulative behavior of Bart Bass and the sudden departure of the character Georgina Sparks. The hosts highlight the strong chemistry between Blair and Chuck and the awkwardness of Dan and Vanessa's interactions. The episode ends with a cliffhanger as Dan reveals to Serena that he didn't sleep with Georgina. In the second part of the conversation, the hosts review the episode methodically and identify the principal themes. They discuss the character dynamics, the resolution of storylines, and the setup for future plotlines. They also analyze the writing, directing, and acting of the episode. The hosts give their episode grades and discuss the fashion highlights. They plug other podcasts and announce the upcoming season one recap episode.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Discussion of Dan's Character

07:41 The Absence of Gossip Girl's Monologue

10:15 The Slap Between Blair and Chuck

21:20 Georgina's Orgasmic Reaction

25:38 Phenomenal Directing in the Episode

29:27 Rufus Bursts into Lily's Dressing Room

32:22 Dan's Revelation to Serena

57:06 Analyzing the Writing, Directing, and Acting

59:54 Fashion Highlights and Podcast Recommendations

01:06:26 Looking Ahead: Season One Recap and Season Two

Produced by Leif Capicola and Steve Marchion. 

Edited and mixed by Leif Capicola.

The Gossip Girl Theme Performed By Steve Marchion.

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Transcript
Leif:

I just don't see Dan as the guy getting a blowjob and just

Leif:

sitting back and getting a blowjob.

Steve:

Yeah, I just don't see him that way.

Steve:

I, do.

Leif:

I see he would have to return the favor.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, and. Yeah,

Steve:

and would really be fly. He

Steve:

would still be trying to figure it out by the time Serena showed

Steve:

up.

Leif:

Hey, upper east siders, and all you scandal loving listeners out

Leif:

there, you just tuned into the non judging breakfast

Leif:

pod, where the coffee is strong, the

Leif:

waffles are fresh, and the gossip is hotter than

Leif:

ever. My name is Leif, and I'm your seasoned

Leif:

gossip girl veteran.

Steve:

And I'm Steve, your newbie. The

Steve:

greenhorn, the, I don't know, Leif. What do you call

Steve:

the new kid on the block in Gossip girl terms?

Leif:

Well, haven't you heard? I'm the crazy bitch around here.

Leif:

So, for now, you're just a project. You know, the type of girl has the

Leif:

potential to be a blairite, then.

Steve:

You know, go ahead and dress me up in that Eleanor Waldorf

Steve:

original, and let's get started.

Leif:

Sounds good.

Steve:

So here's the deal, folks. Leif has been a fan of Gossip

Steve:

Girl since it first came out, and I'm watching for the

Steve:

first time. And together, we're your dynamic

Steve:

duo, dissecting all the drama,

Steve:

romance, and sometimes questionable fashion

Steve:

choices of this iconic 2007

Steve:

series.

Leif:

That's right. Each week, we're going to be taking a deep dive

Leif:

one episode at a time. We'll analyze all the

Leif:

parallels, obscure references, and, of course,

Leif:

guitar catastrophes. We're also going to take a look at the

Leif:

behind the scenes gossip and some of the stories from

Leif:

fandom.

Steve:

And since we're all about inclusivity here at the non

Steve:

judging breakfast spot, there's always a

Steve:

room, there's always a seat for you at the non judging breakfast

Steve:

table. So go ahead and grab your mimosa

Steve:

or your cup of coffee or some of, ah, Nate and Chuck's

Steve:

special medicine, and let's go ahead and

Steve:

get right into this episode.

Leif:

Okay, we're going to start it off today. We are going to talk

Leif:

about season one, episode 18.

Leif:

Much I do about nothing.

Steve:

Much I do about nothing. I

Steve:

I very much recognize the

Steve:

title. It's actually

Steve:

a, show that I've seen several times, and

Steve:

I actually think I told you, I often

Steve:

confuse much ado about nothing. And as

Steve:

you like it. Yeah. But I also feel like

Steve:

Shakespeare come Shakespeare comedies, he kind

Steve:

of found a rhythm and went with

Steve:

it out of the time.

Leif:

but it does kind of fit because a lot of his

Leif:

comedies have and tragedies have

Leif:

gossip, involved in the fly line.

Leif:

And especially this one. Much m ado

Leif:

about.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Very much.

Leif:

That's like the central theme.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah.

Leif:

But also Othello gossip is a very big part of

Leif:

that. Yeah, it's a lot m to more

Leif:

tragic results.

Steve:

Romeo and Juliet. Yeah. Ah.

Steve:

Also ends in tragedy from

Steve:

gossip. Yeah.

Leif:

So the original air date was May 19

Leif:

in 2008.

Leif:

The television without pity recap

Leif:

reads, finale queen

Leif:

beef deals with the bitch lily

Leif:

shamewalks from Rufus Futon to her wedding

Leif:

day. S finally pulls it the

Leif:

fuck together.

Leif:

speculation recapper hopes

Leif:

v continues to be really cool.

Leif:

Loliboy continues to be completely correct.

Leif:

Sweetheart. Rufus continues to cry

Leif:

and continues to perfectly. To be perfectly

Leif:

awesome. Little J and Eric

Leif:

totally rock out, show up, but

Leif:

just barely CMB make out

Leif:

already. So, all that is right with the world

Leif:

because we are tired of waiting and g gets

Leif:

some kind of effing peace. She deserves

Leif:

most of all.

Steve:

Yeah. Sums it up. Right.

Leif:

M. So we had back from writing this

Leif:

episode, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage,

Leif:

of course, the showrunners, and they wrote the pilot.

Leif:

you gave that one a p. I gave it an a. I will.

Steve:

Get into this more in our recap, but, like, looking

Steve:

back, I think that I should have given more

Steve:

credit to the. To the pilot than I did

Steve:

in a lot of respects. Like,

Steve:

in hindsight, there was so much more

Steve:

that took place in that episode than I realized.

Leif:

They definitely set a lot of stuff up, and there's a lot of

Leif:

parallels between that episode and this episode.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

So they definitely had, they always have an end

Leif:

point and a begin, a beginning and endpoint planned out in the

Leif:

show.

Leif:

They get. They go on a lot of crazy turns and twists

Leif:

wrong way, but they got, they got

Leif:

a, beginning and end plotted out, at least.

Steve:

Yeah. And, and like I said to you before, I

Steve:

felt like they did this episode, though.

Steve:

Did high up this season. Nice.

Leif:

Yes.

Steve:

You know, it almost, I felt like it

Steve:

could have been a one season miniseries

Steve:

and, and, and

Steve:

still have been like.

Steve:

And I would have been satisfied watching that.

Leif:

Yeah. The episode was directed by

Leif:

Norman Buckley. he's back for his third episode this

Leif:

season. He previously did the handmaid's tale, which

Leif:

you gave a b minus. I gave a bde thin line

Leif:

between Chuck and Nate. Which episode 13.

Leif:

Did both a minuses on that one.

Steve:

Yeah, we. Yeah, that was the one where

Steve:

everything was. Everything that the kids did

Steve:

was gold.

Leif:

Yeah. It was the last episode before the strike.

Steve:

Yeah. And everything with Rufus was

Steve:

absolute garbage.

Leif:

Oh, my God.

Steve:

Yeah, that was. That was.

Leif:

The writers were not set.

Steve:

Yeah, there were no writers on set to be like, do we

Steve:

need to name them Becca and

Steve:

bricks or Becca and

Steve:

Beck's breakfast. Breakfast.

Leif:

Breakfast.

Leif:

That's another sexual position, folks. Breakfast.

Leif:

We'll tell you about that on the Patreon feed.

Leif:

Anyways, act one begins

Leif:

with no gossip girl monologue.

Leif:

The first voice we hear is Serena's.

Leif:

Could the it girl be gossip girl?

Leif:

Serena is leaving a message for Dan. Tried

Leif:

to find him in the morning after we ended last. The morning

Leif:

after we ended last episode, she finally decides to

Leif:

just go to Brooklyn.

Steve:

So the first thing with this is that it was really

Steve:

jarring to have gossip girl

Steve:

absent. Had to have no gossip girl monologue

Steve:

to kick off the show.

Leif:

And then once she came in in the middle of the episode, it's like, whoa, whoa.

Steve:

Are. Yeah. What have you been doing? but

Steve:

also, like, Serena, you're just thinking of this

Steve:

now? Like, you. You've been trying to

Steve:

find me around.

Leif:

Manhattan all night for.

Steve:

Yeah, for, like, 12 hours. You're. For eight to

Steve:

12 hours, you're walking around Manhattan looking

Steve:

for Dan, and you don't think to go to the place where

Steve:

he wants to be 90% of the time,

Steve:

like, his loft?

Leif:

It's. It's impolite to, you know, show up

Leif:

unannounced in the middle of the night.

Steve:

You're right. You're right.

Steve:

What was I thinking?

Leif:

So Rufus and Lily wake up in bed together.

Leif:

Rufus gets the call to go on tour. Lily gets a call

Leif:

to go meet Mark. Are, Rufus and

Leif:

Lily not together? Are they together?

Leif:

What. What's going on here? I. Not sure.

Steve:

First of all,

Steve:

he's, opening for the breeders.

Leif:

Yes. Because the luscious Jackson

Leif:

reunion fell through.

Steve:

Yeah. Yes.

Leif:

More name drops.

Steve:

Yeah. But, I did love the breeder's name

Steve:

drop. I mean, that. And that

Steve:

song is such an iconic nineties

Steve:

song, and I'd recently listened to that album.

Steve:

It's a really good album.

Leif:

And I guess, you know, Rufus just,

Leif:

like, likes playing with the ladies.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

He had Lisa Loeb opening for him,

Steve:

and now he's going on tour with the Breeders. I

Steve:

had that thought, too.

Leif:

Chuck and Blair also wake up together.

Leif:

They claim it was an accident. They trade quips before

Leif:

Chuck leaves to get ready for the wedding.

Steve:

Do you think these women bands are like, who's someone

Steve:

that's really dreamy, that won't upstage me?

Steve:

Yeah,

Steve:

I don't know.

Leif:

That he's got that one song.

Steve:

He's got that one song. Someone who's not really.

Steve:

You know, people can tap their feet and sing along, and they'll be

Steve:

happy to see them, but no one's really there to see

Steve:

them, but, like, they look good and

Steve:

they can play 20 minutes.

Leif:

So. Yeah. What do we think of the Chuck and Blair

Leif:

waking up together?

Steve:

The slap is so

Steve:

good. When Blair just wakes up, looks

Steve:

at Chuck, and slaps him in

Steve:

the face. I loved it.

Leif:

And we find out Chuck keeps his scarf on during sex.

Steve:

Yeah, if it's cold.

Leif:

It was just at one time something.

Steve:

You just at one time something you don't have to

Steve:

remove your scarf for.

Leif:

Howie is out of rehab. He and Nate are once

Leif:

again jogging in the park. We get an extremely

Leif:

dated reference to former flash of the pan, Yankees

Leif:

pitcher Justin Jabba Chamberlain.

Leif:

All seems good with the captain until he's

Leif:

once again seen making a shady phone call while Nate is

Leif:

distracted by a floating plastic bag.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, he's gonna. Yeah.

Steve:

American beauty. He got american beauty right

Steve:

there.

Leif:

But did you catch the job? Do you remember Jabba?

Leif:

Yeah, for, like, one season.

Steve:

Yeah. And he was supposed to be like, the it

Steve:

picture, wasn't.

Leif:

He was first rod rap pick.

Steve:

Yeah, I also, when

Steve:

the captain's making excuses for Ann, it's like,

Steve:

well, the bushes look like

Steve:

bears. The basement's

Steve:

flooded.

Leif:

she's washing her hair.

Steve:

She's definitely not planning some shady

Steve:

shit. It

Steve:

again, here's Howard unable to

Steve:

fuck.

Leif:

Up, probably at this point. I didn't think she was playing

Leif:

shady shit. I thought she was basically just dumping him.

Steve:

Yeah, I did, too, actually. Well, and, I mean,

Steve:

I'm just always suspicious of him. Yeah,

Steve:

and him. And that was exactly what I thought,

Steve:

too, is at that point, watching it is.

Leif:

That was like the old I'm watching my hair excuse.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

But apparently, she was in on it all along.

Steve:

But. But again, just like, the. The hindsight

Steve:

is here, we again have the captain, who can't even

Steve:

fuck up properly.

Leif:

Like, captain, captain.

Leif:

Serena arrives at the loft momentarily

Leif:

relieved to find dan slept at home until she sees

Leif:

Georgina coming out of dan's room.

Leif:

Georgina plays dub and makes an exit as Serena

Leif:

freaks out.

Steve:

The eye acting, the

Steve:

Michelle Trachtenberg eye

Steve:

acting and just wide eyed.

Steve:

oh, Serena, you're here. I didn't

Steve:

mean for this to happen.

Steve:

Oh, my God.

Leif:

It's so bad. So bad.

Steve:

It is painful. Like,

Steve:

it is hard to watch the

Steve:

acting man.

Leif:

Yeah. I mean, Georgina's such a fun character. But

Leif:

it's a shame.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

We do a quick, scene cut for. And then

Leif:

it skips to an exp, like, to skip the

Leif:

exposition of Serena explaining the whole Georgina and Pete

Leif:

fairman situation. And then Serena wants to stay

Leif:

together, but dan is about to tell serena

Leif:

something happened with Georgina last night, but Serena cuts him

Leif:

off, and he goes into full denial mode. That

Leif:

would make Blair proud.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, it really. It really would. And

Steve:

there was a part of me that wondered if

Steve:

it was more Serena not

Steve:

wanting Dan to say it, to say what happened for

Steve:

Dan's sake, that. That

Steve:

Dan.

Steve:

That Dan would be the one that felt

Steve:

like he was cheating. And I feel like it

Steve:

wouldn't bother Serena

Steve:

as much if she knew.

Leif:

I did not get that at all. But, I mean, possible.

Steve:

Yeah. I just. I just kind of felt like that she

Steve:

was. Yes. She went into that

Steve:

denial mode and recognized. Yes.

Steve:

Something happened, and I don't want to hear it, but I also felt like

Steve:

it was. I, don't want you to have to say it. I

Steve:

felt like that was in there, too.

Leif:

I mean,

Leif:

I don't know. I think it's just more backed up

Leif:

with denial because the way she was just avoiding the

Leif:

conversation the whole episode.

Steve:

That is true. Like, the later scenes back that

Steve:

up, too. Yeah, but it's also, like, Serena, if you would

Steve:

have just sat and fucking talked about it here.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

I wouldn't have those awkward moments at the wedding,

Leif:

but that would be less drama.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

As Serena leaves, she tells Dan that she is the one who

Leif:

stopped Lily from going away with Rufus in order to

Leif:

protect her relationship with Dan. We end the scene

Leif:

with Dan calling Blair.

Steve:

yeah.

Leif:

So, yeah, so we will come back to that later,

Leif:

apparently.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Next, we quickly shift to Lily meeting with

Leif:

Bart in an empty apartment. Bart keeps this

Leif:

huge, empty apartment in the most expensive city in the

Leif:

country empty with utilities just so you

Leif:

can stay grounded, quote

Leif:

unquote.

Steve:

I actually loved this scene, though.

Leif:

It was a good scene, but, it just. Yeah, I just had to mock part for

Leif:

that.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

I mean, like, the whole concept of it.

Steve:

Well, yeah, but, like, that is also just, like, one

Steve:

of those things that sounds like rich people do,

Steve:

so.

Leif:

Yeah, but so, yeah, so he does. So we

Leif:

should. The purpose of this meeting is Bart's using the

Leif:

apartment as an analogy to Liz relationship with

Leif:

Rufus and letting the past go.

Leif:

And this is the first time we're really seeing

Leif:

a different side of Bart.

Steve:

Yeah, he's.

Leif:

He went dark fast there.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

It's very manipulative, which he hasn't really

Leif:

been so far.

Steve:

Well, honestly, I didn't really. I

Steve:

didn't really see that as

Steve:

manipulative. I saw it as,

Steve:

like, you need to let this guy

Steve:

go. Like, you're. You're running

Steve:

around with this guy, and, like, so what do you

Steve:

think? And it's like, here's this apartment.

Leif:

How does he know about Rufus?

Steve:

Yeah, I mean,

Steve:

she's not subtle. Like, she ran off to

Steve:

see his.

Leif:

Band the night she went to take Serena to see

Leif:

Pete Fairman, and then she dropped him off at the

Leif:

concert. Yeah, and then she

Leif:

just. She didn't come home because she didn't want to see him the night of the day of the

Leif:

wedding, which totally makes sense.

Steve:

Yeah. But honestly, I felt like Bart,

Steve:

because Bart, first of all, Bart

Steve:

saw them kiss. Bart knows that he's in a love

Steve:

triangle because he's known since

Steve:

Eleanor's part, Eleanor's party

Steve:

back in

Steve:

what's episode six,

Steve:

when they kissed then. So Bart knows

Steve:

that Rufus is there. Bart knows that he's in a love

Steve:

triangle. Right.

Leif:

So, like, the last time

Leif:

he saw Rufus was with Allison, wasn't it, at

Leif:

the episode?

Steve:

It may have been, but this isn't the first time

Steve:

that Lily has run off. And then

Steve:

to find Dan. To find

Steve:

Rufus. You know, I don't think that

Steve:

I.

Leif:

How would he. How would he. That he was. She was

Leif:

taking Serena somewhere when he last saw her.

Leif:

Yeah. he's with Serena.

Steve:

I just. How?

Leif:

She was with Serena.

Steve:

I just felt like that whole thing was

Steve:

him knowing about Rufus. I

Steve:

got that feeling that. That Bart was just

Steve:

like, look, I'm letting go of

Steve:

my past. I need you to let go of,

Steve:

that past.

Leif:

Yes. That's absolutely good. But I just. How did

Leif:

he know?

Steve:

I I just figure that he. I mean, he's Bart

Steve:

Bass. He's Chuck Bass's dad. Right.

Leif:

But he seemed like a good guy so far.

Steve:

Yeah. Chuck, he probably also has

Steve:

people watching her.

Leif:

I.

Steve:

So that's not good.

Leif:

So. So you agree he's manipulating

Leif:

her?

Steve:

Yeah, he is.

Leif:

No.

Steve:

No, I said from the start, yes, it's manipulative.

Leif:

That's the whole point. Yeah. He definitely took

Leif:

a dark turn in this episode, I think.

Steve:

Yeah, I didn't really up.

Leif:

at this point, he was fairly a decent guy. He was kind of

Leif:

a cold dad to Chuck, but Chuck's a fucking

Leif:

asshole, so who cares?

Steve:

Well, I've always gotten sort of

Steve:

a, Batman or a Superman villain

Steve:

vibe from him.

Leif:

I mean, he's definitely, like, a businessman.

Steve:

Yeah, I've always gotten that kind of

Steve:

shrewd, powerful,

Steve:

and so.

Leif:

But he's never really done anything that

Leif:

we've seen, Osri and.

Steve:

No, no, no. And even

Steve:

here, we just know that he knows,

Steve:

or we just know that he has a feeling. You

Steve:

know, there is that side of it that, like, he

Steve:

doesn't know, but he.

Leif:

I just felt like the whole conversation was just, like, super

Leif:

shady. Like, just say it out. just get it out in the

Leif:

open. Say what you mean. Yeah,

Leif:

I mean, I just. The way he did it just seemed

Leif:

super weird and shady.

Steve:

I do get what you're saying.

Leif:

that Superman villain vibes.

Steve:

F u l. It does. I mean, it does.

Steve:

And he always. I felt like that was kind

Steve:

of true to character, and, like, barb bass does seem

Steve:

like the kind of guy that would. To me, that would keep

Steve:

an apartment empty in the middle of a housing

Steve:

crisis. That

Steve:

seems to be the kind of, thing, I just. I kind

Steve:

of feel all rich. I thought all rich people

Steve:

of that magnitude did that.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

I, forgot for the previous seed I forgot to mention with

Leif:

Dan, Serena, you actually kind of.

Leif:

They normally do a good job of hiding the height

Leif:

difference, but when Dan has to get up on his

Leif:

tippy toes to kiss around the forehead. Oh,

Leif:

it's definitely noticeable.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Leif:

In Blair's room. And, Dan and Blair

Leif:

elbow to elbow. Blair coaches Dan through his

Leif:

first scheme, taking his precious

Leif:

flower.

Steve:

Don't worry, virgin.

Steve:

also, that scene,

Steve:

and I'm hoping we don't have to talk about her for a

Steve:

long time after this episode, but the

Steve:

reaction, the orgasmic reaction

Steve:

from Michelle Trachtenberg in the back of the car

Steve:

when Dan's like,

Steve:

what was that?

Leif:

I will say that there is consistent writing in

Leif:

that Georgia always, throughout the six seasons,

Leif:

like, as she wants the d from

Leif:

Dan.

Steve:

Man,

Steve:

just the thought of meeting him in the park and.

Steve:

Fucking kidding me.

Leif:

Oh, yeah, that was. And then all it took was

Leif:

her parents.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. Well,

Steve:

and, yeah, I guess that's the next scene, right?

Leif:

Yeah. So, dad. So, yeah, next scene is dad meets Georgina

Leif:

in the park, but Blair jumps out and reveals

Leif:

Georgina's parents. It was, of course, all a

Leif:

setup. Georgina is taken down and sent to boot camp

Leif:

before our first act break. Was that

Leif:

a little too easy, or was the cabo of Dan and Blair just

Leif:

that good? I believe. Ah, some,

Leif:

if not all the misdeeds Blair mentions

Leif:

are things that happen in the books, like sell your

Leif:

show pony for drugs and stuff.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That was, Yeah. I, saw

Steve:

my second watch through well, because the first

Steve:

watch, we actually leave, and I actually watched the

Steve:

episode together for the first time, and.

Steve:

But my second watch, I actually noticed that I

Steve:

didn't because I then,

Leif:

Yeah, we got a book readers

Leif:

listening. write in and let us. Now.

Steve:

Yeah, let us know about that. Also,

Steve:

I really felt like Josh Schwartz

Steve:

was done with Georgina Sparks

Steve:

and just kind of felt like, oh, shit, I can't have her in the middle of

Steve:

this. Like, oh, shit. We can't have her

Steve:

involved in this part of the show. We can't

Steve:

have her in this wedding. Like, that's just too much.

Steve:

So we're just going to pull the ripcord on this whole Georgina

Steve:

spark.

Leif:

I have a feeling it has to do with.

Leif:

They got less episodes than they originally thought they were going to

Leif:

have because of the strike.

Steve:

No, that. So they had to wrap it up right then.

Leif:

And that's also kind of. We got. We got the flash forward as

Leif:

well.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

The one week for it at the end. Yeah, I believe that

Leif:

was. They kind of had to condense, like, a couple stories

Leif:

that would maybe have been three episodes.

Steve:

Yeah. But at the same time, that Georgina thing

Steve:

would have, you know, they would have been coming out of the

Steve:

writers strike knowing that they only have.

Steve:

I would think, yeah, they would have known by then that they only probably.

Leif:

But, yeah, maybe.

Steve:

I mean, I felt like they just kind of.

Leif:

Maybe shash shorts, like, wasn't there at the beginning, like, right

Leif:

when they came out of it. And then, like, he showed up and he's

Leif:

like, this character.

Steve:

Oh, shit.

Leif:

We need. This character's horrible. Get the fuck off my

Leif:

show.

Steve:

Yeah, we are. Yeah. I am not dealing with

Steve:

this well. And because the

Steve:

wedding really was such a pivotal thing that

Steve:

was a focal point for several episodes

Steve:

leading up to it, it's like, she can't fuck that

Steve:

up.

Leif:

We move into act two. Back in Brooklyn,

Leif:

Rufus and Dan are discussing the upcoming tour.

Leif:

Dan notes that Rufus never came home last

Leif:

night before dropping the bomb about Serena

Leif:

asking Lily to stay away.

Steve:

Thanks, Dan.

Leif:

Chad. Damn it, Dan.

Steve:

I don't know what she's talking about, but

Steve:

thanks.

Leif:

Yeah, thanks.

Steve:

Oh, I love you, kid.

Steve:

Love you so much.

Leif:

Next we get Vanessa comes out

Leif:

wearing a Jenny Humphrey original. Jenny,

Leif:

the fashion designer is back

Leif:

and already just.

Steve:

Ew. Ew.

Leif:

It's an ugly dress.

Steve:

I'm not even talking about the dress. I'm talking about the chemistry between Dan

Steve:

and Vanessa that you get that

Steve:

glimpse of, like, oh, fuck. Is this what?

Steve:

Or is this what they're. No and

Steve:

no.

Leif:

time to pretend from MGMT

Leif:

puts the show in a time capsule as the familiar

Leif:

intro plays as we see a time lapse photography

Leif:

of the wedding setup. The song continues in

Leif:

the background as Chuck and Blair make some more

Leif:

quips. Sparks are flying.

Leif:

the directing in this episode is phenomenal.

Steve:

Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. And. And they get

Steve:

just amazing performances out of them.

Leif:

And the acting, too. Yeah, the acting is great. Like, yeah, I

Leif:

didn't mention in that previous scene had Blake were

Leif:

really good in their scene.

Steve:

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Steve:

yeah, yeah.

Leif:

The scene add to the exposition that we skip.

Steve:

Right. Yeah, the one. Yeah, I know. The one you're talking about.

Leif:

and Zachy is really good in this whole episode, actually.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah. Well, and

Steve:

this scene also the one that we're. That we're on

Steve:

now, that chemistry

Steve:

between Blair and Chuck.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

Just ridiculous. And, like, Blair.

Steve:

Blair, you know Chuck better than anyone, being violent

Steve:

like that, like, you're you

Steve:

that's flirting with Chuck.

Leif:

Yeah, he was definitely a little turned on there.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Things are chilly between Chuck and Nate as

Leif:

Chuck greets Nate and his father.

Steve:

Yeah. Captain.

Leif:

Captain.

Steve:

Captain. oh, the

Steve:

captain.

Leif:

She's not worth it.

Leif:

And of course, Chuck lies and says, can agree

Leif:

more.

Steve:

And,

Leif:

Episode off more.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah.

Leif:

so, yeah, they're still. They're still, they're still fighting.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah.

Leif:

And then we get a Blair and Serena have a cute, quiet

Leif:

conversation about their own hypothetical fourth

Leif:

weddings. Then the scene ends a little bit

Leif:

weird where Blair asks about Dan and

Leif:

Serena's relationship status. Like, she.

Leif:

She's about, like, she says, like,

Leif:

what about forgiveness? And Serena's like, I'm working on it. And,

Leif:

like, she's like, what do you have to work on? I was like, oh, yeah, Blair,

Leif:

she. Serena doesn't have to forgive her. Forget

Leif:

Dan. I mean, yeah, I

Leif:

like, yeah. But then, like,

Leif:

she turns around, it's like, oh, yeah,

Leif:

dad needs to forgive you. It's like,

Leif:

yeah, I don't know. It's just a weird scene.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah.

Leif:

I didn't get exactly what she was going for there.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. There was definitely one of those

Steve:

scenes.

Leif:

Like, was she supporting Dan or Serena? I couldn't really

Leif:

tell.

Steve:

Yeah. Well, I felt like it was just.

Leif:

seemed like she was siding with Dan.

Steve:

Yeah, she seemed like she was siding with Dan,

Steve:

and it really ended up.

Leif:

Feeling I wanted her to side with her friend.

Steve:

Right.

Leif:

Against the guy that she supposedly hates.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, I felt like it was. I, felt like

Steve:

it was one of those times when, as. When

Steve:

the writers don't really feel the character. Don't

Steve:

really play to the character

Steve:

again.

Leif:

I think Josh Schwartz took off for most of the season. He

Leif:

came back, he's like, oh, shit.

Steve:

I've got a rapid charge. Yeah,

Steve:

all right, I'm here. I'm going to wrap things up. Show, me what you

Steve:

got. What the fuck is this?

Leif:

Howie is once again making a shady cash

Leif:

deals out in the open. This time, Chuck

Leif:

spots him and puts a tail on the captain.

Steve:

The captain unable to

Steve:

even, like, you're

Steve:

bad at crime, captain. You are bad at

Steve:

crime. Stop.

Steve:

Stop. Just, go to jail.

Leif:

Already got that white privilege,

Leif:

though.

Steve:

Yeah, he's playing that

Steve:

card.

Leif:

I'll be a better father to you in Dominica.

Leif:

Okay, dad. Okay, dad.

Leif:

Lily is sitting alone in her dressing room when

Leif:

Rufus bursts in that, like the Kool aid

Leif:

man. After a quick commercial break,

Leif:

Rufus and Lily are flirty. And Rufus offers a.

Leif:

Offers to stop the wedding if Lily wants him to. Lily kind of

Leif:

loves Bart, who is ready to marry her today, but she

Leif:

really loves Rufus, but he just doesn't want, He just

Leif:

wants to date for a bit, I guess.

Steve:

What the fuck? Rufus, first of all,

Steve:

what the fuck are you doing there? Like,

Steve:

why? You're just gonna show up in her dressing room? I love

Steve:

how she's like, don't I have security?

Leif:

Why?

Steve:

You want them to throw me out? Well, I'd like the option because I'm

Steve:

paying them. Like, why are you

Steve:

bursting into a woman's dressing

Steve:

room at all?

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

And then, you know, they had that nice

Steve:

flirtiness and they leave that scene

Steve:

with a will. They won't they sort

Steve:

of vibe still, like, are they gonna.

Leif:

It's so.

Steve:

It's just,

Leif:

But, like, awkward scene.

Steve:

Yeah, we were already. We were already

Steve:

satisfied with that.

Steve:

He's going on tour. Lily's gonna marry Bart.

Steve:

Like, I was already good there.

Steve:

I didn't need another.

Leif:

But again, like, she. Again, why. Why is she

Leif:

so obsessed with getting married right now?

Steve:

Like, she.

Leif:

Like, he's. What? He wants to date her and she

Leif:

wants to be with him, but only he wants to marry

Leif:

her right away. Yeah, it's like we.

Steve:

It's. It was all weird.

Leif:

I don't know. Yeah. Get a quick shot of Bart

Leif:

waiting at the altar with Chuck and Eric. Bart makes a joke to

Leif:

Eric about lily always being late.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Him and Eric are so goofy. I don't know why that makes

Leif:

me laugh every time I actually have a.

Steve:

Note that I love. I loved seeing Eric and the

Steve:

basses there. And I do

Steve:

love the

Steve:

relationship that. Like, that

Steve:

they have, but, yeah, you're right. They're

Steve:

goofy. Like.

Leif:

You know, I'm sort of making assumptions

Leif:

here, but I'm gonna, My head cannon is that the.

Leif:

The wedding planner was gay, and Eric actually got to talk to another

Leif:

gay person that wasn't calling him a slur.

Steve:

To his face or behind his back.

Leif:

That'd be nice for Eric.

Steve:

It would. Would,

Steve:

because I did.

Leif:

There was, like, a shot, like, of them talking. He was, like, talking to

Leif:

the wedding planner.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, I know, because I had

Steve:

a similar thought of, like, aw.

Leif:

Dan and Vanessa arrive also late. Dan

Leif:

tells Vanessa that he needs to talk to Serena,

Leif:

and then they. But so they break. They. They break.

Leif:

Yeah. So Serena appears as Vanessa goes to look

Leif:

for Nate, and, Serena once again tries to avoid having a

Leif:

conversation, but dan just flirts out. I

Leif:

didn't sleep with her. Serena smiles, but I

Leif:

might well have. Serena's

Leif:

whisked off by a, wedding planner before she can

Leif:

say anything. What?

Steve:

Why? Why are you.

Steve:

Why? Why? Why?

Leif:

Yeah. I mean, dan should just not have, showed up to the wedding.

Steve:

Yeah. Why would you go to a

Steve:

wedding with.

Leif:

I mean, I get, like, they. They left it at that. She. He

Leif:

was coming. But, I mean, if you're just going to go there to tell her that. I

Leif:

mean. Yeah, just. Just wait.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah. right before the wedding, you want to be like, oh, by

Steve:

the way, I didn't sleep with your friend,

Steve:

but enough happened that you should be upset about it.

Steve:

No. Enjoy the wedding.

Leif:

So what. What. What actually happened?

Leif:

Do you think?

Steve:

I'm. Yeah. Yeah. Shannon,

Steve:

last week's guests said that

Steve:

she project. She. She suspected that the men. I think

Steve:

Robin also, I think the both of them said it was a blow job.

Steve:

My idea. I was the one that was, like. I

Steve:

just saw that it was, like, one of those super

Steve:

emotional. Nothing happened, but

Steve:

it might as well happen.

Leif:

Yeah, that. That's what I thought it

Leif:

was. It was because, like, I just don't see

Leif:

Dan, the guy getting a blowjob and just sitting back and getting a

Leif:

blowjob.

Steve:

Yeah, I just don't think that way.

Steve:

I do. I see.

Leif:

He would have to return the favor.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, and. Yeah,

Steve:

and would really be fly. He

Steve:

would still be trying to figure it out by the time Serena showed up.

Leif:

Analysis paralysis.

Steve:

Yeah, I really. I really, because I know that

Steve:

I've felt worse in

Steve:

having that type of conversation.

Steve:

Yeah. I remember, prior

Steve:

to being married to my first

Steve:

wife, I had a friend that the two

Steve:

of us stayed up all night just doing

Steve:

absolutely nothing but talking and really

Steve:

enjoying each other's company to the point

Steve:

that which I felt guilty, you

Steve:

know, that could be.

Leif:

More intimate than sex a lot of times.

Steve:

Yeah. And so really?

Leif:

Especially for a guy.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

From a guy's perspective, that can be more interested in sex

Leif:

very easily.

Steve:

Ah. And it really was. And that was

Steve:

really where my mind went with Dan is that,

Steve:

like, I didn't cheat by having sex.

Steve:

I cheated by

Steve:

straying from this

Steve:

relationship.

Leif:

Yeah, he emotionally cheated.

Steve:

Yeah, that was my impression.

Steve:

That's.

Leif:

You gotta write in and let us know.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah. Let us know. Let us know your

Steve:

thoughts. Wonder how that'll go over on tick tock.

Leif:

But, back to Rufus and Lily. Lily is apparently still

Leif:

marrying Bart, so. Yeah, we get that. Another quick

Leif:

scene of them. They resolve things off camera,

Leif:

apparently, that, yeah, she is gonna marry Bart.

Steve:

And I did like the resolution of

Steve:

I love you, Lily. I love you, too, Rufus.

Steve:

And then they're done like

Steve:

I did. Well, I mean, who knows? But

Steve:

I liked that resolution. I thought that

Steve:

was really cute. And I think it really

Steve:

speaks to the fact that we, as. As a

Steve:

human being, you can love more than one person

Steve:

and you can direct that love to

Steve:

where you want it to be, you know? and Lily

Steve:

was ready to direct it away from Rufus and onto

Steve:

the husband.

Steve:

Yep.

Leif:

Outside, Blair makes a comment about

Leif:

Lily's tardiness. We see lonely boy taking his

Leif:

seat. Serena and the lily walk down the

Leif:

aisle. Blair makes a starky comment about, Vanessa

Leif:

as well.

Steve:

Yeah, I thought that the being late was a Vanessa

Steve:

comment. Yeah, I thought she made that about

Steve:

Vanessa.

Leif:

about both of them. Yeah.

Steve:

Oh, yeah.

Leif:

Carolina liar's beautiful world plays as

Leif:

Lily and Bart join hands at the altar. And we get

Leif:

our first gossip girl monologue.

Leif:

Dan and Serena are both about to cry.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. And like we said earlier, when

Steve:

gossip.

Leif:

Girl chimes in, very jarring.

Steve:

Oh, here you are. yeah.

Steve:

And really interrupts the

Steve:

scene. And I love that you have this wedding

Steve:

going on. And the monologue

Steve:

itself is take this man and

Steve:

this woman or whatever. She says the

Steve:

vows as it zooms in on Dan and

Steve:

Serena thought that was really clever.

Leif:

And they pursued royally screw themselves.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

That's the end of act two. moving into act three.

Leif:

At the reception, Dan tries to get Serena to talk,

Leif:

but she's still in avoidance

Leif:

mode, so. Yeah, more. More avoiding by

Leif:

Serena.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Chuck's henchman whispers something to Chuck,

Leif:

who immediately tries to talk to Nate. Chuck

Leif:

tells Nate what he saw earlier. He also

Leif:

apologized to me and Missy loved Blair.

Steve:

That. I love how. I love

Steve:

that line where, I was in love with Blair, and

Steve:

I'm sorry. Yeah. Like

Steve:

this. It's not about this. I

Steve:

loved how he did that.

Leif:

Yeah, well, because, for Nate, a big part was

Leif:

as he, like, Chuck, betrayed him just for. Just

Leif:

for a random fuck is what he assumes.

Steve:

Yeah, well, and it was Chuck bass being Chuck

Steve:

bass. And now here's Chuck,

Steve:

like, being vulnerable to

Steve:

the one person he loves other than

Steve:

Blair. And so, because

Steve:

I will always go back to that. You know, there are three

Steve:

things that I love. Money, the pleasures

Steve:

money brings me, and Nate Archibald.

Steve:

And I really believe

Steve:

that Chuck has been hurting ever since the

Steve:

breakup.

Leif:

Oh, yeah, definitely seen it.

Steve:

Yeah. And so I really loved that apology.

Steve:

Like, I was in love with her. I'm

Steve:

sorry. And.

Steve:

And, ah, you know, I love how Nate really. That really

Steve:

resonated with Nate, too.

Leif:

Now we get Nate. So after the apology, Nate runs out

Leif:

to confront the captain. How he says he was fleeing the

Leif:

country, not buying drugs. He also admits that

Leif:

he is guilty. He also lets Nate know that

Leif:

Ann was in on it all along.

Leif:

If that wasn't enough, we see Howie is right back

Leif:

to his pilot self, putting all the family pressure on

Leif:

Nate. Nate ends the scene where they

Leif:

punch to Howie's jaw.

Steve:

I thought the punch was unnecessary, but I think

Steve:

it felt good for the character.

Leif:

Again. So this is a seat of parallels.

Leif:

You're paralleling the pilot and then the early episodes

Leif:

with, you know, how he putting the. The pressure on

Leif:

Nate. You know, you're the. All the family pressure is on

Leif:

you.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

You're 17, but you got to do everything for us.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

And then you get the reverse parallel of the, you know, the

Leif:

punch out in the. Was that

Leif:

17 can? No, it's a, victory troll.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

Where. How he punches date.

Steve:

Yeah. And you also

Steve:

have, you know, Nate, this, you know,

Steve:

this great guy from the worst parents.

Steve:

And like you said, where he's putting this pressure on Nate, like,

Steve:

you're going to have to run the family while I'm

Steve:

in the Dominican. Or where is he going?

Leif:

Like, Dominica.

Steve:

Dominica. You know, while I'm on

Steve:

a beach somewhere, you know, I'll be a

Steve:

better dad to you while you take care of all of the

Steve:

responsibility of the family.

Leif:

Now, what I didn't like from Nate was, why do you say

Leif:

this is for mom?

Steve:

Because, yeah, she's an asshole too. Like,

Steve:

you gotta take care of your mom now and then, like, well, this is for

Steve:

mom.

Leif:

She was in on the whole thing.

Steve:

I felt the same way, that, like, your mom

Steve:

is just yourself. Yeah. Yeah. Do

Steve:

that for you.

Leif:

At the reception, Vanessa and blair do some verbal

Leif:

jiu jitsu. Blair drops a sick burn

Leif:

about Vanessa always falling for guys who are in love with

Leif:

Serena, which ends the banter by causing you,

Leif:

Vanessa, to storm off.

Steve:

Brutal.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

I love. I love that. Blair

Steve:

will take a shot knowing that

Steve:

she's catching herself in it. Blair

Steve:

will drop a point blank fireball.

Steve:

Blair will blow herself up, like, she.

Steve:

Because she was. Was, into Nate five minutes

Steve:

ago, you know, and, like, she's a little upset with

Steve:

Vanessa and Nate because of her feelings

Steve:

towards Nate. Yeah. But she's willing to

Steve:

fucking take that

Steve:

shot. Blair will throw a point blank

Steve:

fireball. Yeah.

Leif:

Yep. Chuck and Nate kiss

Leif:

and makeup. They talk about Chuck and Blair.

Leif:

Chuck goes back inside, and Vanessa comes

Leif:

out looking for Nate.

Steve:

I love their makeup. It was

Steve:

m so cute.

Leif:

Then we get Dan finally forces the issue with

Leif:

Serena. Serena still wants to stay together, but Dan

Leif:

wants to break up. Dan with a straight

Leif:

face, says he is the most understanding man in

Leif:

the world.

Steve:

That's got that written down.

Leif:

Yep. It looks like these two are going to

Leif:

take the summer apart. And despite

Leif:

that line, Penn's acting was

Leif:

fucking on point in that scene.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, he's great.

Steve:

he's stupid. Dan is stupid.

Steve:

And that line. That line, it's, you know, I am

Steve:

the most understanding person in the world,

Steve:

but the fact that you just went through some really horrible

Steve:

shit and felt like you couldn't share it, it was

Steve:

so bad that you couldn't share it with me.

Steve:

No, I don't understand that.

Leif:

So, yeah. Chuck, mid best man

Leif:

speech goes off book. He decides to use Bart and

Leif:

Lily as a clear analogy for Blair

Leif:

and him as they stare at each other.

Steve:

I love the use of def cab.

Steve:

I find them to be very appropriately.

Steve:

I I find them to be

Steve:

appropriately chair. I find them to

Steve:

be appropriately. Chuck and Blair.

Leif:

didn't Robin say something? Like, what? Sushi? She heard that. She knew it

Leif:

was not going to happen, though.

Steve:

That might be it.

Leif:

Chuck and Blair dance. Chuck

Leif:

apologies, apologizes, and they begin to make

Leif:

out.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Pretty aggressively.

Steve:

Yeah. Good rhythm.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

Good for them.

Leif:

Sure. To last.

Steve:

Yeah. I mean, I doubt they're all going

Steve:

to just fuck each other. By the end of this series.

Leif:

Serena sees Chuck and Blair and is mildly

Leif:

disgusted as she walks by, and she bumps into

Leif:

the last person she wants to see right now. That's right.

Leif:

It's Danny boy. They are super awkward,

Leif:

but looks like they're about to escape the awkwardness when

Leif:

they gets bumped up to eleven,

Leif:

when the wedding planner once again swoops in and forces

Leif:

them onto the dance floor together.

Leif:

Yay.

Steve:

Yeah, I mean, and it. And it's

Steve:

funny cause, like, I feel like

Steve:

this show and shows in general will sometimes

Steve:

force awkwardness like that.

Steve:

And this one didn't feel that forced. It

Steve:

felt like, yeah, that's the kind of shit that would happen at a wedding,

Steve:

you know? Yeah, you just broke up, but guess what? Like, we got

Steve:

pictures. Your mom wants

Steve:

pictures. So you and your ex boyfriend are

Steve:

gonna smile for another 15 minutes on

Steve:

that dance floor.

Leif:

While Dan and Serena are dancing, Blair and

Leif:

are just trying to Mac right on the dance floor, but Chuck's

Leif:

actually tries to slow it down. He's the romantic this time.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, Chuck. Chuck is showing that he's got

Steve:

feelings.

Leif:

So Dan, Serena share a last dance that

Leif:

seems to last forever. This, of course, is very,

Leif:

very reminiscent of Ryan. Marissa. So Josh george is

Leif:

ripping himself off because, like, in the

Leif:

season one finale, Caleb, and

Leif:

julie get married. Riot has to

Leif:

leave, the OC because his ex

Leif:

girlfriend's pregnant. He may or may not be the father, but

Leif:

he's gonna go and raise the baby anyways.

Leif:

And marissa, shara,

Leif:

last dance at the wedding, it's like. It's mirror

Leif:

images. It's like they're just, like, completely depressed, but they

Leif:

don't want to let go.

Steve:

yeah, I believe I actually saw, because I'm pretty sure I saw the

Steve:

entire first season of the OC when it came out.

Leif:

Yeah, Josh Roch is ripping himself off right

Leif:

there. but that

Leif:

is the end of act three. We move

Leif:

into the epilogue. One week later,

Leif:

Rufus, now on the tour bus, receives a call from

Leif:

Jenny, who got a coveted Parsons

Leif:

internship. However, she's working

Leif:

in Eleanor Waldorf

Leif:

designs. Da da da.

Steve:

Yeah. And, like, it. What's really

Steve:

funny is that she's all like, oh, no about

Steve:

that. And she's never had beef with Eleanor,

Steve:

and Eleanor isn't, you know,

Steve:

hasn't really been involved in Blair's

Steve:

life. I feel enough to know who Jenny

Steve:

is. Yeah.

Leif:

But, Jenny has been specifically avoiding

Leif:

Blair since Charlotte's surrender there a

Leif:

couple episodes.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

And that she knows she's going to have to

Leif:

be. Probably be around her now, at least at some

Leif:

point. And then Serena is helping Blair pack for

Leif:

a trip with Chuck to Europe. Sounds like Serena

Leif:

hasn't spoken to Dan since the wedding and reaffirms they

Leif:

will spend the summer apart.

Steve:

Yep. Yeah, they're.

Steve:

They're done. And spending the summer

Steve:

apart and. Yeah.

Steve:

Oh, I also love how she said, how

Steve:

Serena said to Blair, then why are you driving

Steve:

yourself? Driving yourself?

Steve:

She's taking her own car

Steve:

like she has. It's still a driver driving

Steve:

her. No one's driving themself

Steve:

anywhere. Yeah. Oh. Why isn't he sending a limo

Steve:

to pick you up? Why are you taking

Steve:

one of your own limos?

Leif:

Well, so I think Chuck's the only one actually has a

Leif:

limo. The rest of them have car

Leif:

services.

Steve:

Yeah, but my still, my point being, like,

Steve:

oh, why isn't he picking you up in his limo? Why do you

Steve:

have to take your car service instead?

Leif:

Yeah. Ah, well, they do love limos.

Steve:

They do.

Leif:

Nate and Chuck have a fun conversation about Chuck and Blair's

Leif:

trip. Nate reveals that he and Vanessa broke

Leif:

up.

Steve:

Yeah. Why?

Leif:

Like, out of nowhere, I guess it's kind of implied.

Leif:

It's because of Dan and is now single.

Steve:

Yeah, they. I feel like they really

Steve:

try throughout the rest of this

Steve:

epilogue to set that up. To set up

Steve:

the.

Leif:

Like, did Vanessa just, like, break up with Nate because. Yeah.

Leif:

She wanted to get with Nate or, would go Dan now?

Steve:

Yeah. Who knows?

Leif:

We see Vanessa and Dan and another bro discussing the same

Leif:

breakup. Dan misuses a sports metaphor. Does

Leif:

attempt to avoid talking about the breakup.

Leif:

Did you catch that?

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, he said it backwards.

Steve:

He said the best offense is a good defense.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Sounds like they will be spending the summer together.

Leif:

Yay.

Steve:

Yeah. Let's hope that this clears up

Steve:

quick. I actually. My notice.

Steve:

Let's hope this Vd thing clears up quick.

Leif:

Yeah. Hopefully there's. There's some penicillin for that.

Steve:

Vanessa and Dan.

Leif:

Yeah. Yeah. Serena and Nate bump into each other

Leif:

on the street. Apparently, summer, he turned Serena into

Leif:

a cat with a scratchy post because she gets

Leif:

frisky.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Yo.

Steve:

Yeah. Hey there, Nate.

Leif:

Nate's gotta be a lucky guy, I think.

Steve:

Yeah. I mean, that. That was. That

Steve:

did seem to be implied. Also, a

Steve:

parallel back to a previous episode with the

Steve:

let's be alone together.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

there is a Serena Dan

Steve:

moment where there was a.

Leif:

That was, like, a couple episode running thing, actually.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Blair is waiting for Chuck at the helipad. She meets

Leif:

and oddly flirts with some junior marketing

Leif:

executive from Bass Industries. Yeah, I don't know who this

Leif:

guy is.

Steve:

It's weird.

Leif:

Chuck's, daddy's issues run

Leif:

deep. A few sentences from Bart

Leif:

causes Chuck to blow off Blair in order to

Leif:

seduce the decorator. The decorator is played by

Leif:

Lydia Hurst, a real life New York socialite

Leif:

Chuck.

Steve:

I love that. Like, just the more Bart

Steve:

talked, the more you just, like,

Steve:

he seemed like.

Leif:

Such a robot, like, instructing his robot. Son.

Steve:

Yeah. This is what you must do, son. This, is

Steve:

great for you, son. Now you can have more

Steve:

responsibility and have less fun in your

Steve:

life. Hey, this is the

Steve:

age where you depart from joy.

Leif:

So. Yeah, so the decorator

Leif:

was played by Lydia Hurst, who is the great

Leif:

granddaughter of Randall William

Leif:

Randolph Hearst and the daughter of

Leif:

Patty Hearsthennesse. Oh, so she's a. She's a nepo

Leif:

baby, and she's, a New York socialite. And, yeah,

Leif:

the acting was noticeably bad.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, it was showing up more than

Steve:

acting. Yeah.

Leif:

Well, like, she reacted to Chuck's comments.

Leif:

Like, it's not like the first scene is okay with. Like she. When she

Leif:

got. Closes up with Chuck and she reacts like,

Leif:

it's like, yeah, no, it's not. This is not an actress.

Steve:

Yeah, it's terrible. Yeah.

Leif:

Looks like Blair is flying solo,

Leif:

so she continues to flirt with the rando.

Steve:

Yeah. And so Chuck's just still sending

Steve:

her to Europe.

Leif:

Well, I mean, she was going to visit.

Steve:

Oh, yeah, she was going to visit her dad, too.

Leif:

Chuck was just giving her a ride.

Steve:

Right.

Leif:

On the bass jet.

Steve:

Right.

Leif:

Going to spend summer with her dad.

Steve:

Right. That's right. I remember now.

Leif:

But they were going to take a stop over in Tuscany for, you know, who

Leif:

knows how long that would last.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

And that. That's what bar was saying.

Steve:

Things.

Leif:

Things were going to change.

Steve:

Yep.

Leif:

Hey, we get a series of quick shots setting up the potential

Leif:

storylines for next series along with the sequence.

Leif:

Gossip, gives her final sign off for the season. So we see

Leif:

blair the rand, rufus on the tour

Leif:

bus, Jenny as a fashion designer

Leif:

doing stuff. Fashion stuff. We get Serena, we

Leif:

get Dan and Vanessa. And then the final

Leif:

monologue is, they say a

Leif:

leopard can't change his spots, but some things do

Leif:

change. The path not, taken can become a road

Leif:

trip. Being grounded can lead to something

Leif:

groundbreaking. And whether they're sweating it out on the

Leif:

sultry sidewalks or pulling their heels in the

Leif:

Hamptons, no one does summer like New

Leif:

Yorkers. Grab your shades and your

Leif:

sunblock. This one looks like a

Leif:

scorcher. And that is

Leif:

our season.

Steve:

Season one overdose in the

Steve:

books. Yeah. Dan and Vanessa is so

Steve:

dumb.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

And actually, let me. I want to expand on that,

Steve:

like, as a concept, as, ah, setting those two up.

Steve:

It's a bad idea because they're already

Steve:

the Brooklyn people. Like, there's

Steve:

no.

Leif:

Yeah, it's going to split the show.

Steve:

Yeah, exactly. You just take all.

Steve:

Because then why would Dan be

Steve:

involved with anything anymore? The Dan

Steve:

I've known would never go to another one of those fucking

Steve:

parties. He hated every one of them. So,

Steve:

like, it would just be a spin off of Dan and

Steve:

Vanessa. It's such a dumb

Steve:

idea. Yeah.

Leif:

Not good. Not good.

Leif:

So let's go ahead and get into some

Leif:

segments this week in fan, and we jump

Leif:

into the wayback machine and look at the

Leif:

television without fit. Pity forums from back in

Leif:

2008.

Steve:

Hello, there, Peabody here. And this is

Steve:

the wayback machine for traveling through time. And this

Steve:

is my boy Sherman.

Leif:

Speak, Sherman.

Steve:

Hello. Good boy. You

Steve:

know, I want to also point out that the last

Steve:

line of a cast member in this

Steve:

is. I'm Chuck Bass.

Steve:

That is the last line spoken by

Steve:

a character.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

But, yeah. What the fuck, Chuck?

Leif:

Yep.

Steve:

That.

Leif:

That was the, the biggest thing. And then, the message

Leif:

words, what the fuck, Chuck? Fans

Leif:

are mad that Chuck went off with the other woman, but the fans,

Leif:

unfortunately, body shamed pretty hard.

Leif:

Yes. Like, they're called, like, hatchet face or something like

Leif:

that. Yeah. Yeah. That was

Leif:

not a good look, but that, like, say,

Leif:

why redeem Chuck if you're going to unredeem him

Leif:

five minutes later?

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

It's made no sense.

Steve:

Yeah. I mean, I felt like this whole episode

Steve:

was tying things together only to untie them.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

so I also like. So we'll get into this more in

Leif:

the fashion segment, but I feel like they must have gotten

Leif:

renewed by now, and they got, like, a big budget for

Leif:

this. This episode because, like,

Leif:

so they knew they had a second season at this point, and they got,

Leif:

like, the outfits were great in this episode.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Leif:

I just feel like they must. They got a big budget for that.

Leif:

so they. They had a wrap up, but then they

Leif:

tacked on that thing at the end because they knew they got renewed.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Oh, we got. We got to come up with some new

Leif:

ideas.

Steve:

Yeah. And we need to get people wanting more and show the

Steve:

drama for next year.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Ending two couples that people like to make way for

Leif:

couples that people don't care about doesn't make much sense.

Leif:

Talking about Dan, serena, and Nate and Vanessa break

Leif:

up. It's a partner swap, basically.

Steve:

I mean, and Blair and. And blair and Chuck.

Steve:

It's three couples that they did it to, essentially, you

Steve:

know.

Leif:

Yeah. I think they kind of left things open for them

Leif:

more because, like, with. With Dan, Serena,

Leif:

and native investors, like, they basically swapped because,

Leif:

like, they, like, clearly set up with, like, a serious interest.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Blair was just like. And Chuck were just random people.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

So. Yeah. So we'll see what happens there and

Leif:

then. Speaking of, I don't think anyone wants to

Leif:

see Vanessa.

Steve:

No one.

Leif:

No one. nope.

Steve:

No one.

Leif:

Vanessa, just go back to Vermont.

Steve:

Yes.

Leif:

Bye.

Steve:

Yeah, we've been. We've been asking you to do that for

Steve:

several episodes now, and.

Leif:

Yeah, a lot of comments about the. I'm the most understanding guy in

Leif:

the world.

Steve:

I'm the most understanding guy in the world. But if you're going through

Steve:

shit, I'm not here for you.

Leif:

A few people did seem to like the Dan and Blair

Leif:

interaction. but upset that Georgina was taken down

Leif:

so easily is just one more thing

Leif:

taken away from the illusion that Jordan Georgina is the scary

Leif:

big bad.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

I mean, she just got taken down by her parents, basically.

Steve:

Yeah. And we. As we talked about earlier, that we.

Steve:

That it really was just a, I felt like it was like a. They

Steve:

pulled the ripcord on her to get her gone before

Steve:

she could fuck up anything else. Yeah.

Leif:

A lot of people felt the episode was crowded. I've talked about this

Leif:

before. I, like, I feel like the episode might got cut

Leif:

short somehow because, like. Yeah. They just seem to have to

Leif:

fit too much into one episode.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Like, the name Chuck reconciled. people

Leif:

like that. And I think we like that as

Leif:

well.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. I love that.

Leif:

they let the Dan hate commence from,

Leif:

like, dan was already wavering in fandom, but from this

Leif:

point on, he's just pretty much hated.

Steve:

Yeah, he. I mean, that was. It was so fucking dumb. Like, he

Steve:

was so dumb in this. His acting was

Steve:

phenomenal, but his character was

Steve:

dumb this whole episode.

Leif:

A lot of people were lamenting the writer strike.

Steve:

Yeah. I mean, I think that the

Steve:

writers strike really

Steve:

damaged the set, though. The end of this

Steve:

season. Yeah.

Leif:

Yeah. Well, let's

Leif:

go ahead and move into some episode grades. You went

Leif:

first last time, so I will go first this week.

Leif:

So, like I've been saying this whole

Leif:

time, the writing is what held this episode back,

Leif:

but the directing and the acting

Leif:

was. Was like, they were both a. But

Leif:

the. The writing is going to bring it down. It would be.

Steve:

I'm exactly right with you that

Steve:

the. That. I thought that the acting was

Steve:

fantastic. I thought the directing made some really great

Steve:

choices, and yet the

Steve:

writing was just so bad, so

Steve:

cramped. So

Steve:

there. There. Like you said, it was overcrowded, but there

Steve:

were also scenes that could have been cut, like, the

Steve:

first or, like, the Rufus and Lily.

Leif:

Yeah, there's, like, that could have been one scene instead of three scenes.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. There were so many

Steve:

places that it could have been cut to make

Steve:

room for.

Leif:

And then they still cut things, like, the whole exposition of Serena

Leif:

explaining everything. They still like that? Like, just

Leif:

cut that all the out.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Get past it.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

You know, I would assume that that was on the.

Steve:

Previously on. And that's why that

Steve:

when they were watching it, it's like, previously on. They show that

Steve:

whole thing, and that's why they cut that, so they

Steve:

could make room for Willie and Bart to

Steve:

say goodbye three times.

Leif:

Lillian Rufus.

Steve:

Oh, yeah. Lillian Rufus.

Leif:

Moving on to stock watch for

Leif:

going up. I had Bart because he got

Leif:

married.

Steve:

Yep. I got Bart. Yep.

Leif:

so initially, I was thinking I was not

Leif:

going to have a lot of ups in this, but then it turns out I actually did

Leif:

have quite a few.

Steve:

I had a ton of ups.

Leif:

Vanessa, I had going up because

Leif:

she looks like she's going to get her

Leif:

love. So good for her, I guess.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Blair, I had her going up because she doesn't have

Leif:

to be with Chuck, and she gets to go hang out in France for the

Leif:

summer.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

So good for her. Lily. Ah, she got married

Leif:

because that's what she wanted to do all season, apparently.

Leif:

So. Ah, she goes up. Nate went up because he

Leif:

fucking punched his dad out like a. Like champ.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

And I had Jenny going up as well because

Leif:

she got. She got that killer internship, I

Leif:

believe.

Steve:

One, two, three. I

Steve:

think that you and I pretty much had all

Steve:

of them the same. I also had Chuck going

Steve:

up because Chuck, in the

Steve:

end, was going

Steve:

to go back to being who Chuck wanted to be. Chuck got, and

Steve:

Chuck got Nate back.

Leif:

But, I mean, did he want to go back to that? It

Leif:

seemed like he got manipulated into.

Steve:

Doing that by Bart.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

Oh, you see, I didn't really see Bart. I thought Bart was just being

Steve:

a proud dad. I didn't really feel like, I mean.

Leif:

He was, but, like, that, like, convinced Chuck, like,

Leif:

Chuck was all happy. Like, they had spent, like, a week, like,

Leif:

being all lovey dovey and.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

And then,

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

My other reason for Chuck going up, though, is that he made a

Steve:

book with me.

Leif:

Okay, so you have Chuck, Bart,

Leif:

Vanessa.

Steve:

I have Nate, Chuck, Lily,

Steve:

Bart. Oh, I have Rufus going up

Steve:

because Rufus is going on tour.

Leif:

Yeah. I had Rufus neutral

Leif:

because he's going on tour. But he did lose Lily.

Steve:

Yeah, he did lose Lily.

Leif:

professionally, his life is looking good,

Leif:

but his personal life is kind of looking.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. But I think that this will be good for him.

Leif:

It will be. Yeah.

Steve:

Yeah. So I had Rufus going up, and then I had Jenny, Vanessa,

Steve:

and Blair. yeah. For all the same reasons. You

Steve:

know, you. You pretty much nailed

Steve:

it.

Leif:

And then down. Dan.

Steve:

Dan.

Leif:

Yeah. Serena. Yeah.

Leif:

Stupid Georgina.

Steve:

Yep.

Leif:

Yep. And then Chuck. I'm going

Leif:

docus. He was a fucking idiot. He was just as dumb as

Leif:

Daniel.

Steve:

I mean, that's fair. I mean, yeah, I get where

Steve:

I.

Leif:

Just because he did it cooler doesn't make him any smarter.

Steve:

That's.

Leif:

He made it look better, but.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, and I

Steve:

have those three. I have Dan,

Steve:

Serena, and Georgina, and the

Steve:

captain and Anne as well,

Steve:

because, you know.

Leif:

Yeah, I didn't even think about them, but that does make sense.

Steve:

Yeah. I mean, the captain got punched in the

Steve:

face, and Ann is.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

What, again, sucks as a mom.

Leif:

I want them from me as

Leif:

well.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And. And it's funny

Steve:

because, you know, I touched on Nate having.

Steve:

Being the best guy from the worst parents. And,

Steve:

like, they really are. Like, of all

Steve:

the shit that all the parents pull, those

Steve:

two are the fucking worst.

Leif:

Yeah. and, like, lillian, Eleanor are pretty damn

Leif:

bad at the beginning, but they at least had some positive growth.

Steve:

Yeah. And, like, their parents, that make them. That make

Steve:

mistakes, but, like. But I

Steve:

don't. They don't try

Steve:

to hurt their kids. They just hurt their kids out of their own

Steve:

fucking ignorance. Whereas, like.

Steve:

Yeah. anyway, but here's

Steve:

the best outfits from the last

Steve:

episode we seen.

Leif:

And there was a lot. I'm gonna kind of cheat

Leif:

mention several here.

Steve:

Yeah, that's really fair.

Leif:

It probably would have been Serena's if not for the

Leif:

neckline because she always

Leif:

kills it in yellow. And I do love those black gloves. I

Leif:

know. Robin said she did not. I do love black gloves.

Leif:

I thought they were very sexy.

Steve:

Yeah. I thought they were cool.

Leif:

that. So that didn't win. Because of the neckline, Blair

Leif:

had three outfits that could have won. Her

Leif:

beginning outfit with the green jacket and

Leif:

pattern jacket with the red, heart top.

Leif:

then also her wedding dress, which is. That's

Leif:

ultimately gonna be my winner, which was the

Leif:

Colette Dinnigan. It's, a halter bobble

Leif:

hem dress with, the floral pattern. And then also,

Leif:

I really liked her sailor outfit at the end, too.

Steve:

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

And then also, honorable mentioned to Nate for that. That

Leif:

slick pinstripe with. He also had the shirt. The striped

Leif:

shirt.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. for me,

Steve:

I. And again, like, this was a great, well

Steve:

dressed episode. I also love the matching

Steve:

tuxes of, Eric and Chuck, they weren't really

Steve:

spectacular, but those ties just really pop the way they

Steve:

match. I'm actually giving this one to the

Steve:

bridegest. I really love that wedding

Steve:

dress. I thought she looked spectacular

Steve:

in it with that bow to the side and the strapless

Steve:

dress. And, like, I think that a strapless

Steve:

wedding dress is really hard to pull off,

Steve:

and I just think that she really

Steve:

crushed that dress. And so.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

And, how often wedding dresses.

Steve:

What's that?

Leif:

I'm not a big fan of wedding dresses.

Steve:

That's fair. I love a wedding. Like, I'm a

Steve:

wedding guy.

Leif:

I like dancing it. I just don't like wedding dresses.

Steve:

I know. That's fair.

Leif:

Not a big fan of white dresses in general. That's fair.

Steve:

That. Yeah, that. That's fair.

Steve:

You're going to the wrong weddings.

Leif:

All, right. Anything you want to plug this week?

Steve:

You know, I think this is the first time in a while that I

Steve:

don't have something actually coming up.

Steve:

I've been watching outer range, and that's been pretty cool.

Steve:

Yeah, I don't really have much that I'm plugging

Steve:

for me at the moment.

Leif:

All right, well, I would like to plug a, freaks and

Leif:

creeks podcast. They are a Dawson's

Leif:

Creek rewatch podcast. They are four

Leif:

millennials going through the show for the very first time.

Leif:

it's a, ah, interesting, fresh take, and they're very

Leif:

funny, so check them out.

Steve:

And I'm glad you mentioned that, because I do remember I wanted to

Steve:

give a shout out to the last roundup horror show

Steve:

that I did.

Leif:

A guest spot.

Steve:

Yeah, I did a guest spot on their show, and one of the fellas

Steve:

from their show is going to come on here at some point, I

Steve:

believe.

Leif:

Do you remember what episode you're on?

Steve:

I was on episode 100.

Leif:

There you go. Zero. Zero. Yeah, go check it

Leif:

out, guys.

Steve:

Came out last week, and we reviewed,

Steve:

Suspiria, both the 1977

Steve:

movie and the remake with

Steve:

Dakota Johnson and

Steve:

what is her name? Tilda

Steve:

Swinton. Swinton. Tilda Swinton.

Steve:

Until the Swinton plays three roles in that movie.

Leif:

Yeah, I'm not a big horror fan, but, I know a lot of people like

Leif:

it.

Steve:

Yeah, it was. It was a really good movie.

Leif:

So, anyway, if you want to follow me on social media, you can

Leif:

find me on Instagram at Capicola, you

Leif:

can follow the podcast on Instagram or TikTok

Leif:

on judging Breakfast pod. We're on

Leif:

Twitter,

Leif:

JBpod, and, if you want to find

Leif:

us on Facebook, just search for the non judging breakfast pod.

Leif:

We have a page and a Facebook group where you can take

Leif:

a seat at the non judging breakfast table.

Steve:

And if you have any kind of comments or questions

Steve:

for us or just want, to chime into the show, please

Steve:

send us an

Steve:

email@nonjudgingbreakfastpodmail.com.

Steve:

and let us hear your thoughts. And please,

Steve:

also, when you're taking a listen, give us a, like,

Steve:

a follow, a subscribe, and,

Steve:

you know, up vote. And also, please tell a

Steve:

friend, let them know that you're listening to us and,

Steve:

get them into Gossip girl and get them into the

Steve:

conversation. All right?

Leif:

Yeah. And next, time, we are going to be doing

Leif:

a season one recap. So we're going to kind of

Leif:

recap the entire season. We're going to go through

Leif:

this all our stock watch and see where everyone and

Leif:

ended up at the end of the season, do the

Leif:

gpas for all the episode grades and

Leif:

see. And we'll, go through the. We'll rank them by

Leif:

their GPA and so we'll have some fun. And then

Leif:

after that, we will be back for season

Leif:

two.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Summer kind of wonderful.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Episode one.

Steve:

I'm looking forward to it.

Leif:

Yeah. Yes. They start the season in the

Leif:

hamptons.

Steve:

Nice. I was wondering if we were gonna see some of the

Steve:

summer before it got into it.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

That's cool.

Leif:

There's a couple summer episodes

Leif:

anyway.

Steve:

I did promise it would be a scorcher.

Leif:

Yes. Well, until next time, you know

Leif:

you love us. Xoxo.

Steve:

Take care.

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Non Judging Breakfast Pod
A Gossip Girl Podcast

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