Episode 7
Gossip Girl S1E07 - Victor, Vitrola
Leif and Steve do a spoiler free afterwatch of the OG Gossip Girl.
This week the guys break down Season 1, episode 7, titled, Vitor, Vitrola.
Serena and Dan finally acknowledge they are crazy about each other; Jenny discovers a secret about her parents; Blair is once again devastated by Nate's actions. – IMdB
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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Questions, comments? Email us at nonjudgingbreakfastpod@gmail.com
Transcript
I think it was a good actually bit of writing by the show because it shows Dan as an unreliable
Speaker:narrator. Because we do know that Kati is actually quite smart, but Dan sees her as being an airhead. I
Speaker:was going to bring that exact thing up, that I really loved that. Hey Upper East Fighters and all
Speaker:you scandal loving listeners out there, you just tuned into the non-judging breakfast pod. Where
Speaker:the coffee is hot, the waffles are fresh, and the gossip is hotter than ever. My name is Leif and I'm
Speaker:your Seasoned Gossip Girl Veteran. And I'm Steve, I'm exploring the glitz and glamour of the Upper
Speaker:East Side for the very first time. I'm your newbie, your greenhorn, your, I don't know, Leif, what do
Speaker:you call the new kid on the block in gossip girl terms? I think they would label you as a project,
Speaker:you know, the girls that have a potential to be a blare. Well then dress me up in an Eleanor Waldorf
Speaker:original and let's get started. Sounds good. So here's the deal folks. Leif is a Seasoned Gossip
Speaker:Girl Veteran watching from when the first show first aired. And I'm watching for the very first
Speaker:time and together we're your dynamic duo dissecting all the drama, dirt and sometimes
Speaker:questionable fashion choices of this iconic 2007 TV show. That's right. Each week we're going to
Speaker:break down all the schemes, secret hookups and cataract catastrophes. And trust me, there are
Speaker:plenty of them. And because we are all about inclusivity here at the non-judging breakfast
Speaker:pod, there is always room for you at the non-judging breakfast table. Whether you are a
Speaker:newbie like me or a seasoned veteran like Leif, go ahead and grab your coffee, a mimosa or some of Nate
Speaker:and Chuck's special medicine if it's that type of morning. And let's dive into it. Today we're going
Speaker:to be talking about Season 1, Episode 7, Victor Vitrola. The original air date was November 7th,
Speaker:2007. Do you get the reference? I, the reference Victor Victoria. I've never actually seen the
Speaker:movie, but I'm aware of it. I know that there's something to do with, I believe, like burlesque
Speaker:drag show, something like that. Yes, I actually just watched this for the first time last night.
Speaker:And it came out in 82, but it was set in 34. And it definitely felt like it was set in 1934. Which, at
Speaker:one hand, some aspects were somewhat progressive. There were several openly gay
Speaker:characters, including the third billed rapper Preston, who was openly gay. So the main character
Speaker:played by Julia Andrews is a woman soprano. She's English, but she is in Paris and she can't find work
Speaker:as a woman. But apparently in the 30s, I guess they equivalent of a drag show, but woman
Speaker:impersonators, they called them. They were the pop all the rage. So this guy, the Robert Preston
Speaker:character, Tati, sees Julia Andrews as Victoria, failing at audition. Because she's a
Speaker:professionally trained opera singer, but apparently that's not what they won in Paris. But
Speaker:he gets the idea, well, because he later sees her at a restaurant, like, planning to dine and ditch,
Speaker:because she's super poor and can't afford it. It's actually really funny. The movie is really funny
Speaker:because it's got that old style comedy. She brings a cockroach in her purse because she's going to put
Speaker:it in her salad at the end of the meal. Right, yeah. So she's got a bang. Yeah, which, yeah, that is such
Speaker:a classic trope, which you also kind of reflect back to that 1930s type of trope, even though it was
Speaker:a male. So the second lead, the male lead is James Gardner. And so she's a woman pretending to be a man
Speaker:impersonating a woman. Like seeing an cabaret. Right, yeah. And James Gardner is like this
Speaker:gangster businessman type. And he starts falling in love with her and questioning his sexuality a
Speaker:little bit. But he thinks from the beginning that there's no way that that's actually a man. Right.
Speaker:And when they do finally kiss, like he says, it doesn't matter if you're a man. But we, as the
Speaker:audience saw earlier in the movie, you know, spoilers, obviously for this movie if you've
Speaker:never seen it, but he sees her in the bathroom because he's spying on her in the bathroom. So he
Speaker:actually knows that she is a woman. Right. Yeah. So they could have been progressive and say like, you
Speaker:know, okay, he's going to fall in love with this person who cares what gender she is. Yeah. But, you
Speaker:know, that's not really what happens. Yeah. And, you know, at that time probably wouldn't have been
Speaker:able, you know, they probably wouldn't have been able to get away with that in the 70s. Well, it came
Speaker:out in the 82. Oh, 82. Well, early 80s still. Definitely. You know, David Bowie area. Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. But still, like his character actually does get like beat up by his gangster business partners
Speaker:because he does start like dating her. Like he dates her while she's still performing as a man.
Speaker:Yeah. And like he's like really conflicted about that. But, you know, he still wants to, you know,
Speaker:fuck this hot woman. Yeah. Yeah. So that's a drag. So there is some, you know, overlaps. There's
Speaker:definitely the cabaret aspect in this episode. Yeah. Yeah. And you do see the one, you know, cross
Speaker:dresser there. Yeah. Yeah, there is. And, you know, just that burlesque, you know, the
Speaker:burlesque show. Yeah. Atmosphere too. The IMD episode description for this episode is Serena
Speaker:and Dan finally acknowledge they are crazy about each other. Jenny discovers a secret about her
Speaker:parents and Blair is once again devastated by Nate's actions. Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot. And
Speaker:it's funny that that doesn't mention anything about the title, the title plotline. No. It
Speaker:doesn't even mention the Chuck story arc. But that's pretty typical for the episode
Speaker:description. So these are the episode descriptions that came out from CW like before the
Speaker:episode came out. Yeah. Yeah. And then we got, it was directed by Tony Wormby, who's done 10
Speaker:episodes of the OC, seven episodes of Gossip Girl, Supernatural Bones, 90210 Reboot, crossing
Speaker:Jordan and the X-Files. But like really for the last like 10 years, he's done strictly NCIS and
Speaker:there are various spinoffs. So he's done 89 episodes. Directed. Yeah. I'm sure he's making
Speaker:good money. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, network TV. I mean, if you never refuse a network TV job. Yeah. I
Speaker:remember when Keifer Sutherland took 24. And I remember thinking, wow, why is he taking this big
Speaker:step from being this Hollywood movie star? Why is he going to TV? And I, then I saw an interview and
Speaker:he's like a steady paycheck for like 24 weeks. Yeah. Like no doubt. Plus if you, if you get a show to
Speaker:100 episodes, you're basically set for life. Yeah. Because you're going to get residuals
Speaker:forever. Yeah. Which is something, you know, something I didn't realize when I was, you know,
Speaker:20-some years old. Episode written by KJ Steinberg, which I think is a woman. Yeah. She did
Speaker:four episodes of Gossip Girl, nine episodes of This Is Us and some various other small things.
Speaker:Nothing too special. And you guys, anything else about that? I wanted to, not about that. I'll wait
Speaker:until you move on into other stuff. I have a note in here for when we move on to other things. We have
Speaker:another entry into the number nine. Well, go ahead. I mean, next thing is going right into the
Speaker:episode. Oh, okay. So we do have Tommy Eaton four from Tik Tok and Tommy Eaton is actually also a
Speaker:friend of mine that I used to teach with out in California. But he had brought up the band The
Speaker:Execs. And I never heard of these guys. I look them up and they have like a few million listens on
Speaker:Spotify. Like they were around in the 90s and I just completely miss these guys. I played the first
Speaker:couple of their, I played the first couple of their singles that showed up. Nothing that I ever heard
Speaker:at all. I feel like timeline switch somewhere or they're just that forgotten. Yeah, I'll have to
Speaker:check them out. I've never heard of them either. Yeah. Yeah. Never heard of them. Well, keep it
Speaker:coming, Tommy. Yeah. Keep it coming. Let's go ahead and get into the episode. We open. Have you
Speaker:heard Upper East Siders? Burlesque is all the rage again. And sometimes a little raging is exactly
Speaker:what you need. You got some girl monologues as the episode opens with a grainy film shot of a
Speaker:burlesque show. The letterbox pulls out and Blair is performing a striptease on the stage as Chuck
Speaker:sits in the audience entranced. Wait, that's Blair? And as always, Chuck is aiming to be ahead of
Speaker:the curse. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Yeah, so and we don't realize it's Blair at the
Speaker:time. I mean, like we know it's Blair. You can't watch that not know it's Blair. But that is the that
Speaker:setup is so great because like, who is that girl? I have no idea. You know, like it just it really
Speaker:worked. Yeah, that we do flashback to the same club two days earlier as Chuck is with Blair explaining
Speaker:his plans to open a nightclub called Fetrola. What do we think of the use of a medius of Raz here? Well,
Speaker:for one, I want to go back to that opening that opening scene where they're dancing and you get
Speaker:that shot of Chuck with that beautiful Fetrola right in the center of it, too. Like that it's eye
Speaker:catching. And it just brings that like that the episode title and the and the title of the club,
Speaker:everything just, you know, kind of comes together already in those first moments when you see that
Speaker:it's such a beautiful piece there, too. Yeah. Medius Ross. Any thoughts of the use? I'm
Speaker:unfamiliar with the term media is right. So it's the concept of starting the story like in the
Speaker:middle. Well, the most famous example is probably Hamlet. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I actually,
Speaker:I love it. I love when we have to kind of I think that a huge writing problem that a lot of people have is
Speaker:starting their story too early. And so for me, somebody who loves short stories, somebody who
Speaker:loves getting right to the point, using as little words as possible to tell a story. I love what I love
Speaker:when that technique is used. Yeah. So as long as it's not overused. Right. Yeah. I think small,
Speaker:they'll got in the later seasons got to the habit like they usually like a lot and like the last three
Speaker:or four seasons. Yeah. Well, and, and I mean, I wasn't really watching much by then, but they use
Speaker:it a lot. I feel like even in earlier years, like, but there are many of those. Oh, here's the big
Speaker:tease. I think like when he learns to fly, I feel like they do that and actually learn to fly. It's
Speaker:not fly when he learns to jump really fucking high. That episode where they teased all summer that he
Speaker:was going to fly and that he just jumped really high. Anyway, I was so mad at that. Like the first
Speaker:time he really jumped high, it was when Lidl and Martha were held hostage at Luther Corp and he he
Speaker:like jumps from the building. There's some time he jumped. I think it may even have been a red
Speaker:kryptonite thing, one of the first ones, but he like when he jumps, it just ripples out from the
Speaker:ground around him. And like all Sears and you're thinking of the season four premiere. Yes.
Speaker:Because all summer, the whole tagline was look up. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So that was not actually for per
Speaker:se. So that was he spent the whole off season summer in like locked in the cave, getting reprogrammed
Speaker:by Jarrell. And yeah, it was some yeah, he was he was call out. Yeah, I just yeah, that's what it was. And
Speaker:I just remember being like you bastards. No tight stuff lights. But anyway, back to gossip. Yes. In
Speaker:this in this scene, it is the first time we've seen Chuck sympathetic, like truly sympathetic,
Speaker:truly nervous, like talking to Blair. He's he's eager for Blair's approval. Yeah. You know, and
Speaker:now he's her opinion. He does. He and he sees her as an eagle. He always has. He's always treated her as
Speaker:an as someone on his level who can play the game on his level. Yeah. And and you can see that her
Speaker:approval really means a lot to him, especially because the only person on earth that can make
Speaker:Chuck nervous is Bart Bass. And he's got to present this to him. Well, and apparently Blair, you know,
Speaker:he is a person. Yeah, he's like that. She's the free approval. Yeah. Yeah. Like if Blair thinks this is
Speaker:a bad idea, it's probably a bad idea. So we move on to Nate's townhouse. His mom tells him he has gone to
Speaker:he has to go to rehab and his rehab of his choice. When and leaves the room, the captain tells Nate
Speaker:that he will make sure he doesn't end up at an institution. Way to go, dad. Yeah, good job. There
Speaker:you go. Way to come through for him. I love that Nate just doesn't he just sees through all the
Speaker:captain's bullshit. But the captain's also like, you know, I landed the Waldorf account and you
Speaker:landed the Waldorf. You didn't land shit. The ring landed the Waldorf account. Yes. Your wife got it.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah, your wife got it. Win her money. One ring to find the malls. The Vanderbilt Diamond.
Speaker:The Vanderbilt Diamond. Yes. We shift to Brooklyn and Jenny is on the phone with Vanessa looking for
Speaker:the bracelet that fell off at the masquerade. Rufus is having an argument with Allison on the
Speaker:phone and we get Rufus irritated response to Jenny's question. Yeah, I think I saw that next to
Speaker:the MPUS vague thing by the non-descript place. Yeah, because, you know, telling you that I lost a
Speaker:shiny fucking diamond is really non-descript because that's so, you know, in place in this
Speaker:house. Way to take your misdirected rage out on your daughter. Yeah. Well, at least I'm sure he
Speaker:won't do that again. Rufus, man. I'm not ready to talk about you yet. I'm not ready to talk about
Speaker:Rufus yet, but we'll talk about Rufus. Yeah. So Dan and Serena are at school facing the same problem
Speaker:that has plagued teenagers since the teenagers were a thing. Finding a comfortable or at least
Speaker:semi-private place to make out. Yeah. Yeah. Join theater. There's always a couch somewhere. Well,
Speaker:I like Dan's comment about the plague of the Manhattan teenager, no cars. Yeah. Yeah. So we go
Speaker:on to Jenny, arrives at school and is confronted in the hallway by Nate. Nate tries to buy Jenny
Speaker:silence for the mix-up at the masquerade. They are interrupted by Blair, who has a missing bracelet.
Speaker:Blair threatens Jenny to not keep secrets. Talk about getting it from both sides. So when Blair
Speaker:sits down, well, first of all, Nate comes in with some strong-arm captain tactics. That was not a
Speaker:good look for Nate. It was not a good look for Nate. I'm going to give you these chocolates to shut up. I
Speaker:bought you some really super fancy chocolates to keep your mouth shut about the way that I fucked up.
Speaker:And as soon as Blair sat down, it's so funny because we've talked about Nate the Himbo, right? But part
Speaker:of that quality is also knowing how to manipulate those situations and the way that he pivots. On a
Speaker:dime, boom, I got you these chocolates. I'm so sorry I messed up, baby. It was like, damn. I feel
Speaker:like I'm on Jenny's face, too. Yeah, she caught it. Oh, because Jenny doesn't miss a thing, right?
Speaker:Jenny doesn't miss a beat. And so, yeah, I was really disappointed in Nate. Things were
Speaker:looking, Nate's stock had been plummeting from the previous couple of weeks. And it looks at this
Speaker:point like it is still in a downfall. At this point in the episode. And up until last week, last week
Speaker:his stock, so it's been plummeting from the beginning, but starting last week and definitely
Speaker:in this week, it's actually been his fault. Like before, it was like just circumstance. Yeah,
Speaker:yeah. He just had a shitty life. Yeah, yeah. Before it was usually the shit that was going, putting the
Speaker:captain up, captain related bullshit. Yeah. And the whole being in love with someone that you're
Speaker:not dating, being with someone that you're not in love with. Being, yeah, all of those things. Yeah.
Speaker:But now, like at the party, trying to say you love you to Serena and now with this. And kissing her.
Speaker:Yeah, and kissing him. And kissing the wrong person. And then going up to the wrong person,
Speaker:calling her that name again to say that you know what you did. And then trying to buy her off with
Speaker:chocolate. She looks so offered that first date, when she first came up to. Bad luck. But at least we
Speaker:know, if there's one thing we know about Jenny, she's great at keeping secrets. Yeah. Yeah, we'll
Speaker:get to that scene. That's a great scene. Yeah. We move on to act two. Bart and Lily have an intimate
Speaker:moment interrupted by Chuck, who is coming to his father to present his business plan for the
Speaker:patrol. They set plans for a meeting. Chuck seems very eager to please his father. Um, couple big
Speaker:things in this scene that really stood out to me. Uh, the first was, I mean, the interaction with
Speaker:Lily was fantastic. And like, I loved her reaction to Chuck. I loved their interaction. I loved all of
Speaker:that. Um, when Chuck re asked, you're serious about this, but you can see that there's that
Speaker:thing, that there's something triggered in Chuck that, and you don't quite see, is he happy? Is he
Speaker:upset about this? But he does have a visual emotional reaction. It's hard to read, but he has
Speaker:one. You know what I mean? Um, another big thing that stood out with, oh, the other line that I loved
Speaker:in this is when Bart sees him walk in with the poltergeist says, what's going on? Are you being a
Speaker:rain for something? Well, because he's wearing a suit. Yeah. He's wearing a suit and had the binder
Speaker:and had the binder. He goes, what's going on? Are you being a rain for something? Uh, yes. Chuck's a
Speaker:bad boy. Blair and Serena are in the courtyard talking about Dan and Serena's intimacy level. A
Speaker:lot of internalized misogyny in this conversation. Um, is it weird if a guy wants to slow
Speaker:things down? Yeah. And after you had, after you had mentioned that, I saw that in your notes about the
Speaker:internalized misogyny and it doesn't end there. I mean, there's a lot of that in this episode from
Speaker:Blair Serena, Vanessa. Um, I feel like the only person who's not, and, and, and the captain's
Speaker:wife, like, there's, there's a lot of that in this episode, um, uh, starting with this scene and then
Speaker:maybe even other scenes that I wouldn't at this point. I mean, it's just in all media pretty much.
Speaker:It really is. It really is. Um, yes. Uh, and that's, so we get that scene. Dan is having a dream about
Speaker:being bad at sex and everyone is judging him. Dan says sex is meaningful like art and you don't rush
Speaker:art. Who's art? Yeah. Coddy responds with an upside down, uh, scorecard. Who's art? Which, um,
Speaker:I think was a good, actually, bit of writing by the show because it shows Dan as an unreliable
Speaker:narrator. Cause we do know that Coddy is actually quite smart, but Dan sees her as being an airhead. I
Speaker:want, I was going to bring that exact thing up. I, that I really loved that. That like, that we know
Speaker:that these two are far smarter than what we, than what they have shown anywhere else. And that we
Speaker:kind of know as we've discussed previously that their involvement in this world and their status
Speaker:as Blair's minions is a vehicle to their own success. You know, they, they, they know what
Speaker:they're doing very much and Dan just sees them as these mindless minions. Yeah. Minions. And, and
Speaker:it really did that unreliable first person narrator is such an amazing tool and, and they used
Speaker:it so great in this scene. Um, and they use it a few times in this episode. Like, yeah. I love the dream
Speaker:sequences. Yes. Um, and then Dan's dream merges with the real world as he wakes up to the sound of
Speaker:Rufus once again, arguing on the phone with his wife. Yeah. Now Dan, who knows Alice's, has to
Speaker:having an affair. Uh, Jenny, Jenny secretly overhears their conversation. That is Dan and
Speaker:Rufus. But when she walks in, neither Humphrey Man want to tell her what they were talking about.
Speaker:Yeah. So first of all, Rufus, first of all, you have a fucking cell phone go outside. And you do say, Oh,
Speaker:Dan, I didn't know you were in there, but check before you go yelling on the phone with your, with
Speaker:your soon to be X or whatever with your whatever ship that you have going on. Yes. And then Dan, that
Speaker:was shitty. That is shitty big brothering Dan Humphrey. Like Jenny knows, she already knows.
Speaker:And now she was just told, No, I cannot rely on any of the men in my life who I after being fucking trying,
Speaker:manipulated by a fucking man who kissed her against her will the week before. So. And once
Speaker:again, we end the scene with Taylor, but I'm just staring daggers into the camera. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:Sometimes, sometimes it feels like Jenny is honestly the only person who really understands
Speaker:what's going on. All right. I want to see where I lost my place. That was 10. I was down here. I said,
Speaker:Nate calls his dad on his way to their meeting, but his father has to cancel for business. Nate looks
Speaker:devastated in case you didn't catch the parallel between Rufus and the captain, both lying to their
Speaker:kids. The narrator points it out for you. Yeah. Yeah. They're all they're all lying to their kids.
Speaker:Yeah. And Rufus, who whose stock has constantly gone up on mostly on his parenting has now just been
Speaker:a been fucking shitty. Yeah. And I'll even go to let him use our personal things and the effect is for
Speaker:their effect is parenting. Yes. That's what I was going with it. Keeping a secret from your kids that
Speaker:is that secret is, you know, your mom's banging someone else. Yeah. You keep that secret. You
Speaker:know, you don't say to your kids, your mom's cheating on me. That's not yours to tell. That's
Speaker:your that's hers to tell. And I can even see telling them if I could see telling them, but like, it's not
Speaker:the right thing to do. Now, when they know and lying to them, and that's a different thing. It's it's
Speaker:the lying that's really shitty. And it's also like you said, letting your own personal shit be more
Speaker:important than your parenting. And I'm not going to say I'm innocent. Like, I've been a dad for 20
Speaker:years and I've fucked up more than I've gotten it right. And especially going through a divorce,
Speaker:especially definitely. Yeah, exactly. At the Vittrola, Chuck is flirting with one of the
Speaker:dancers when Bart arrives. Bart unloads on Chuck. As Bart is leaving, Chuck spots his father getting
Speaker:into a into the limit with a beautiful young woman that is definitely not Lily. Definitely not Lily.
Speaker:And he's handsy with her. He is handsy with her when he escorts her into the car. Not, you know, small
Speaker:thigh, first the thigh, then the small of the back and them's flirting moves. Yeah, right. Like, I, I
Speaker:don't, I don't touch women that way that aren't my wife because that is telling them something that
Speaker:that is sending an indication I don't want to send. Yeah. You know? And then we get at the Waldorf Pan
Speaker:House, Eleanor and Blair are prepping for the archibald dinner tomorrow. More of the parents
Speaker:are trying to force Nair. Yeah. Which is the, was just the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,
Speaker:the, the, the, the, the hair off one hair at a time, don't they? Yes. Or I guess Nair burns the hair off,
Speaker:doesn't it? Either way. Uh, yeah. They, um, Blair's excitement when Eleanor's like Nate,
Speaker:Nate's talking about engagement. Is this? Yeah. It is. Well, actually, I think she did. Yeah. Like
Speaker:she, she was excited about it that because she thought he was like serious. She thought like she,
Speaker:if she thought Nair was taking it seriously for real, she would like that. I mean Eleanor's
Speaker:reaction when she said, when Blair is like Nate said that she's so excited and she's so lit up and
Speaker:she even says later on, like for the first time I, I see that he sees me the same way that I've seen him.
Speaker:She says that to Jenny later, which we'll get to. But when she says Nate said that Eleanor's
Speaker:response is like, yeah, they said it. Yeah. I'm sure that Nate's the one that said it to his, I think
Speaker:it was just like, it was, yeah, that it was very much a, a, a slight sort of nod. Like, like, uh, yeah. And
Speaker:then so the next thing we see Nate, uh, over, he sees his, uh, father buying more drugs. The most
Speaker:privileged drug deal ever. Hey man. Yeah, you want to buy these? Like all, they're all discreet in the
Speaker:thing, but then just so like right out in the open. So that's why they go into the stairwell.
Speaker:Everything goes in the stairwell. Yeah. Like it's like an open stair. It's not like the emergency
Speaker:escape stairwell. It's like the main stair. Oh, the captain. Yeah, captain. But I mean, I'm not
Speaker:really going to judge him for buying Coke, but I'm judging him for buying Coke. I'm judging the drug
Speaker:deal for how it went down in a populated area with no discretion whatsoever. Good for them. Yeah.
Speaker:Being privileged enough to buy drugs in the open. Good for them. I thought this was America. We
Speaker:should enjoy that. All should enjoy that privilege. Well, okay. I can agree. I can agree
Speaker:with to that on some level. Um, back in Brooklyn, uh, Serena and Dan are, are, have the loft to
Speaker:themselves. Things are getting hot and heavy when Vanessa comes through the window. Dan quickly
Speaker:ushers Vanessa out the door and returns to Serena, but Vanessa can't help sneaking another look. Dan
Speaker:and Serena begin to resume their make out when Rufus calls in from the kitchen that he is home. Um,
Speaker:first of all, Dan, you threw wrong girl again. You threw Serena off the bed. But I get maybe you were
Speaker:startled, but you threw her off the bed when Vanessa shows up. Bad look, son. It's a bad look.
Speaker:Vanessa, what the fuck? I can't. Oh, he's, I think he was mainly just startled there. I, yes, I, I
Speaker:completely agree. It's just not a good look. Yeah. I mean, he immediately gets up and pushes Vanessa
Speaker:right out the door. Right. Right. My, my then follow up collects his, uh, his whistle. Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. He's good. He like, like he, it's just, you know, like I said, not a good look, but he does the
Speaker:right thing. But then Vanessa, what the fuck? You stalker. Like you fucking back the door. Yeah. You
Speaker:fucking creeper. Like, what are you? Oh yeah. I'm just going to peek back in to see what they're
Speaker:doing. What the fuck? Vanessa. Yeah. Not, not good for Vanessa. Yeah. Bad look for Vanessa. And I do
Speaker:like the Dan is like, the window is now not how you come in here. Like this is not boundaries. Yeah.
Speaker:Boundaries, you come through the front door now. Let's see, let's see if, uh, Vanessa recognizes
Speaker:those boundaries. Oh yeah, I bet. And then we get at the back of the Walder fan house Blair tells Jenny
Speaker:about the Archbell Diamond Nate plans to give to her. Jenny is feeling guilty. He reveals the
Speaker:masquerade and mix up Blair. Here's forming in her eyes. This is Jenny. We're good. Yes. Did I miss
Speaker:something? What scene is that? Oh, should we just skip some scenes? Didn't we? Yeah, I think so.
Speaker:Okay. Uh, yes. Uh, sorry. Yeah. So Chuck is drunk outside the palace. Yeah. Has a heart to heart with
Speaker:Lily. Lily is a good parent to everyone but her biological children. Yeah. My note here is Lily
Speaker:giving parenting advice question mark. So this is a kind of writing theme that Lily is a great parent
Speaker:to everyone but her biological children. Yeah. And yeah, because I said, what does Lily know about
Speaker:being a good parent? And that's, and is this the first time we're seeing this? Because, yeah.
Speaker:Because she is, she's sweet to Chuck. And she was also like decent. She was good with Nate. She's
Speaker:like real friendly with Nate. Yeah. And she was kind of, she was a little sparring with Dan but I
Speaker:thought it was kind of cute through their interactions. Yeah. And in fact, even to that
Speaker:degree, she did have some level of concern for Dan at that one in the one episode. Yeah. But then, so
Speaker:also Chuck, let's slip about Bart getting into the limo with the other woman. Yeah. And man, Chuck,
Speaker:you had every right to do that. Dimes that out. Yeah. And man, like your dad hosed you. I love Chuck
Speaker:in this whole scene. Again, Chuck is sympathetic in this episode. And when he says, like the line of
Speaker:he started from nothing and now he has everything, I started from everything. If the only way to
Speaker:impress him is for me to start from nothing, why doesn't he take it all away? Like the Chuck glove is
Speaker:definitely in full effect now. Yeah. Yeah. It really is. And like, you know, I'm not forgetting
Speaker:what happened in episode one. And what is happening here, this self-awareness and that
Speaker:moment of like, why not just take it all away? All I want to do is impress him and I can't because I'm
Speaker:already rich. And I'm already rich because of him. Just take it all away. It was very moving. Yeah.
Speaker:Definitely. They're definitely trying to make you feel soft for Chuck. Yeah. Yeah. So at Nate's
Speaker:house, he confronts his mother about his father's problem, but she is in a complete denial. But did
Speaker:Anne know the captain's coat? It was captain's coat from the beginning. Yeah. I mean, she pulls
Speaker:the ripcord pretty quick. You know, it's either she already knew, she at least suspected, you
Speaker:know, but was willing to play along as long as everyone else was. I think for the later scene,
Speaker:it's pretty clear that she did now. Yeah. Yeah. I think so too. And I also feel which is now makes Anne
Speaker:just as bad a parent as the captain pretty much. Yeah. Well, and the other thing that really makes
Speaker:Anne just as bad a parent as the captain is the fact that all of the captain's problems are Nate's
Speaker:fault. Like it's Nate's fault. He doesn't want to go to Dartmouth and that's why the captain's doing
Speaker:coke. Yeah. Because she makes that leap pretty damn quick. Yeah. You know, well, you know, your
Speaker:dad's been going through a lot lately and if you weren't such a pain, then maybe he wouldn't be
Speaker:doing coke. Yes. And then so back in the loft, Vanessa comes into Dan's room without knocking.
Speaker:At least she comes in the door, but she doesn't knock and just lies down in bed with them. They talk
Speaker:about their views on sex. Vanessa slut shames Serena and is overall a judgey, but does give Dan
Speaker:some good advice at the end. Yeah. Vanessa, man, she would. I like once again Dan being like, no, you
Speaker:have to knock when you come in and again, just lays down in the bed. But then the whole thing about slut
Speaker:shaming Serena and like, yeah, that's, you know, that's what girls like her are. But me, if it was me,
Speaker:these are the things I would want. It's like including she mentioned a boarding school
Speaker:professor, which would assume it'd be that's always taking advantage of a 15 year old girl.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So she was raped basically. Yeah. She, yeah. If she was raped by a boarding
Speaker:school professor and then she's going to shame her for that too. And yeah, just I had nothing about
Speaker:Vanessa in this scene felt anything but it, you know, the whole like, well, this is what I would
Speaker:want if it were me. Obviously Serena wouldn't want any of those nice things because she's slept with
Speaker:other people before. Like what the fuck? Yeah. Ridiculous. So then we get back to that. Good
Speaker:advice. Good advice back at me. Good advice sheets. Which, yeah, Rufus also mentioned later.
Speaker:Yeah, exactly. At the Waldorf penthouse Blair tells Jenny about the Archbald Diamond they plans
Speaker:to give her and Jenny is feeling guilty and reveals the masquerade and makes up Blair tears for me in
Speaker:her eyes. This misses Jenny for. You're good. You can keep the secret, right? Jenny is the worst
Speaker:secret keeper. Both Taylor and Layton killed the scene. They killed it. Absolutely. I'm just, I
Speaker:just love. Taylor, Jenny's struggling whether to tell her or not. Yeah. And knowing that, you know,
Speaker:what happened is probably going to happen, but she knows if Blair finds out it would be anti-fans.
Speaker:Yep. Blair made it clear. I don't like secrets. And then she asked, I found the, can you keep a secret
Speaker:because of Jenny's previous proving track record of she can't, you know, it was Eric. Yeah. Nate,
Speaker:Nate, isn't aware of that yet. Right. Yeah. But, well, Blair, because Blair asks Jenny, can you
Speaker:keep a secret in the scene about the ring? Yeah. And then that's when she comes clean. But what you were
Speaker:saying, that's like a little, that's like, you know, a little secret's going to come out, you
Speaker:know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I just, I just love that, that bit in my, at least in my head, anytime anyone
Speaker:asks Jenny to keep a secret, I'm like, oh boy. But in general, the rest of that scene, though, you're
Speaker:dead on, that Taylor Mumson, her acting, the conflict that you see tearing through her when,
Speaker:and Blair's reaction and Blair keeping it strong and fighting back the tears, like Leighton
Speaker:Meester, the two of them, which I would argue they're probably the two best actors on this
Speaker:entire show. So when they have a scene like that, it's, because they also have such a great power
Speaker:dynamic where Blair always has that power, but Jenny always has something in, in her back pocket,
Speaker:you know? It was fantastic. I agree. And that is the end of Act Two. So we get into Act Three. A very
Speaker:reserved Blair enters the dinner party. That shot, that opening shot of Blair with the makeup
Speaker:and this bright, vibrant makeup and this just crushed, defeated sadness in her face. It got me
Speaker:emotional watching it. It's, it's just that juxtaposition. She is stunning and just, it was
Speaker:like looking at a, at a, at a painting. Robin referred to her as an American girl doll. Yeah, she
Speaker:was dead inside. Yeah. There's, yeah. Yeah, she had no life to her. Yeah. And, and, and she, she
Speaker:looks like an American girl doll. It's stunning shot. The, the colors in the background, like
Speaker:everything about that scene just tore my heart, you know? So good. Yes. Uh, another dream this
Speaker:time. It's Serena and Nate hooking up at the shepherd wedding with Dan watching for pointers.
Speaker:The way the shots are cut, at least we believe that Blair is also kind of renevering this, you know,
Speaker:picturing this their head at the same time. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but I'm guessing this was, this shot was
Speaker:kind of awkward to shoot because at this time, Penn and Blake were definitely dating at this point. Oh
Speaker:really? I didn't realize that they, I don't know any of the, well, it's kind of obvious to tell when
Speaker:they're, when like, when they're making out, they are actually making out. Oh, that's, that's
Speaker:really funny. Yeah. Yeah. I had no idea. And they're like, just watch, watch them around. Like
Speaker:they're all, their hands are always like on each other. And they're clearly a couple. Oh wow.
Speaker:That's, that's really funny. But then they have to shoot this scene where, you know, Penn's like
Speaker:standing there watching his girlfriend make out with someone else. Yeah. Well, and which, which of
Speaker:course, but it was a hilarious scene. Yeah. And, and, and wouldn't that be awkward to imagine that,
Speaker:you know, it would feel awkward imagining it. I also, the thing that I love about this scene is that
Speaker:you get to see Chase Crawford be funny. Yeah. You get to see Chase Crawford open up and not be serious
Speaker:Nate all the time, but you get to see. Well, Tom, you get to see the deep a little bit. Yeah. You know?
Speaker:Like, like, you get to see him, him, you know, oh yeah, man, it works every time. Like it's just, I
Speaker:love Chase Crawford. Yeah. And his scene, which again, is that unreliable third person narrator.
Speaker:Like this Dan, it's, you know, your imagination is you projected back on you. Yeah. And it was really
Speaker:Chase Crawford doing Dan Humphrey and it was fucking brilliant. And it was dead on. Yeah. He was
Speaker:great. Yes. I agree. And then so this time Dan wakes up to Rufus coming into the room who sees Dan's
Speaker:laptop open to sexual massage. Rufus gives the same advice as Vanessa about changing the sheets.
Speaker:Yeah. Um, Dan, hide your business. You, you live in a very small lot. Here, how do you say this is a room?
Speaker:Yeah. It's, you know, I just feel like everything he tries, like, you know, reading the commisutra.
Speaker:The, yeah. I guess he just needs to find some easy people need to respect his bad treats and like
Speaker:knock what that is. True. I actually forgot to bring up the commisutra thing that he's reading
Speaker:the commisutra and how that is such a Dan Humphrey like, wow, I need to know how to do this thing. What
Speaker:should I do? Read some books about it. I need to do research before I can enact this. It's so Dan
Speaker:Humphrey. I love it. Yes. Uh, Vanessa and Jenny are talking about Blair and Nate, but also ostensibly
Speaker:about Rufus and Allison. I want to, I want to actually turn back real quick to the, to the
Speaker:conversation with Rufus and Dan that here we do have good Rufus parenting and, and the whole like,
Speaker:do we need to have that talk? No. And Rufus essentially gives the advice I've always given to
Speaker:my children, be safe, be respectful. It's, it's those two things. Respect yourself, respect
Speaker:your, your partner, respect your boundaries, be safe for you, be safe for your partner. You know,
Speaker:it's all about those two things. And Rufus really brings that home. It's really be safe. And, you
Speaker:know, remember to say that both of you are ready to do what you're going to do. Yeah, exactly. It was,
Speaker:it was really good parenting and then laying it down with the football sheets and Cedric is, you
Speaker:know, bringing it on home with like, but also being the cool dad. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Also
Speaker:being the cool dad. Um, so that was actually like the first time Rufus actually came through with
Speaker:some good parenting in this episode. Mm hmm. Um, so yeah. And we're, we had just gone on to. Yeah. The
Speaker:Vanessa and Jenny talking about Blair and me and, but also those densibly Rufus. Yeah. Yeah. And,
Speaker:and Jenny kind of having that like spark. You see the Jenny and Jenny after what happened to her in
Speaker:the past couple of days, you can imagine she needs her mom right now. Yeah. The men have just fucking
Speaker:abandoned her. She has no other women in her life. And yeah. And she has no positive, no, no women in
Speaker:her life. At all. Yeah. Yeah. Except for now Vanessa, I guess. Yeah. Vanessa and sort of Blair
Speaker:who just told her she's cut off, which I, which knowing Blair and knowing Jenny, I can't imagine
Speaker:that is a for good cut off because I can imagine Blair seeing value in Jenny later on, but for, for
Speaker:now that she's cut off. Yeah. Back at the dinner party, the captain is showing all the classic
Speaker:sides of excessive cookies. It's like, let's go through a checklist of, you know, stereotypical
Speaker:rug sniffs. Like, all the cops at least sniffing manic can't stay, you know, running a mile a
Speaker:minute, give her the ring. Just give her the goddamn ring. Let her shine on. Let her shine on.
Speaker:Yeah. Clap his hands. Yeah. Yes. Way to go, captain. Great acting. You are, you are on coke,
Speaker:captain. Yes. And then at the trolley, Chuck is joined by his father and the young woman from
Speaker:before. Apparently it was, Chuck was wrong about the relationship. Yeah. Um, and they were
Speaker:actually talking business. Yeah. And here, Bart Bass shows up and he's coming through. Yeah. You
Speaker:know, he's, hey, I'm going to, this is actually a person who works, she wants to be in finance. She
Speaker:wants to work her way up. She, what is it? I'm tired of writing stories about Titans and I want to be
Speaker:one. Um, is this a new recurring character we're reading here? I know she's one of them. Is the
Speaker:vitrola a new setting? Uh, are you kidding me? Um, but, uh, so I know we're, we're definitely giving
Speaker:each Chuck, Chuck some rightful props in this episode, but I will not take a chance to knock him
Speaker:down a little bit here. Uh, so, you know, Chuck clearly did not tell Lily about far because it was
Speaker:the right thing to do. He was just telling him out of revenge. Oh yeah. It was spiked. Yes. Oh yeah.
Speaker:Clearly spiked. So he was mad. He was mad and spiteful. And at the same time, Chuck reported
Speaker:what he saw. Right. Like, yes, it was spiked full. He didn't say, I saw my dad making out with
Speaker:somebody. He said, I saw him pawing some, I saw him pawing at someone earlier on today. He didn't say
Speaker:any lies. You know, yes. I get the feeling though that far past is just the kind of guy that does that
Speaker:to pretty much every, every woman he meets. Yep. Yeah. He's Governor Cuomo. Yeah. Yeah. I
Speaker:absolutely agree. I'm sure there are many women in his employ who have had a very uncomfortable long
Speaker:hug or kiss on the side of, kiss on the cheek. Well, going back to the second episode, we know that both
Speaker:Bar and Chuck slept with the statue. Yeah, slept with the statue. Oh yeah. The basses are classy.
Speaker:Keeping it classy. Keeping it in the family. Classy bassies. Yeah. Um, but Bart does come
Speaker:through here. Bart, Bart does come through. He does. Yeah. And, and, and yes, we set up the patrol.
Speaker:Yeah, it looks like this is going to be a business opportunity. Yeah. It's such a great, so much
Speaker:could take place in this location. I think it's, it's definitely mentioned a few times, but I'll
Speaker:think they actually ever come back to this location. Such a missed opportunity. Because I
Speaker:mean, it's not a set. It is an actual location. Oh, it is? Yeah. And that is one of the great things
Speaker:about gospel is they do like shoot like all these like weird little tiny bars and stuff, you know,
Speaker:around that. Oh, okay. So yeah, I get that. So yeah, you can't. Yeah. Is it actually the Victrola is or?
Speaker:I am not sure about that. Okay. I'm not sure enough. So I love that Victrola. Like you said. Um, so
Speaker:outside the Waldorf penthouse, Nate confronts his father, whose response is to knock Nate to the
Speaker:ground. Luckily, the cops are right there. Nate tips him off to check the captain's pockets. Then
Speaker:Nate drives the doorman to keep quiet. However, Blair spots everything through the window. Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. Um, Captain decking his son in the middle of the street. Not a good look, but like, and I love
Speaker:Nate just like, yeah, check his pockets. Like Nate, but that also still covers it up at the same
Speaker:time. It was weird. He covers it up to the people upstairs. You know, he doesn't want to blow. He
Speaker:doesn't want to blow the deal. He doesn't want to do that, but he wants his dad to get the like, like,
Speaker:he's not going to come out, but like he. He well, like he matches, like, don't like talk to any
Speaker:reporters or anything. I think he says, oh, I thought he said if anyone asks, yeah, the other
Speaker:went home. But like I, I, I was like, I thought that was like, you know, apply like, yes. So he doesn't
Speaker:want to get out. Yeah. He thinks he can get arrested, but no one will find out because it's
Speaker:just drug. Right. Well, yeah, I don't know. Yeah. Cause he's convinced we'll just go and pay my dad's
Speaker:bail, which we find out. He just needs to teach him a little lesson. Yeah. Yeah. Go and time out, dad.
Speaker:Yeah. You're on a coke time out. Yes. And Chuck and Bart argue about Lily, but Bart will continue with
Speaker:the plans for the patrol. Yeah. Um, Chuck said, and Chuck's defense is great. Like I don't see how any
Speaker:of this is my fault. Yeah. You know, like, like if she believed me, there's a reason. And, and Bart
Speaker:was like, God damn. And he kind of, and then he's like, I'm going to go fix this. Like, I'll fix this.
Speaker:Yeah. Not a big deal. Yeah. But, but like, you know, I, I really liked that Bart also showed that self
Speaker:awareness of like, yeah, I'm pissed that my kid opened up his mouth, but he's right. Yeah. So I'm
Speaker:going to, I'm going to go fix this. And cause he, cause he, his demeanor changes before he leaves.
Speaker:He goes from being angry to, all right, I'm going to go fix this. You know. And then we get Blair
Speaker:confronts Nate about his father. Then Blair reveals that she knows about the Max, Masquerade
Speaker:mix up. They break up again. Is this the end for an air? Blair fucking owns this scene when she's,
Speaker:when she, first of all, she doesn't cry. She, she just looks him dead in the eye. And then she says
Speaker:the, one of my favorite lines we've come across so far, so far when she says, go, he needs you. I don't.
Speaker:It gets into the car. Boom. Like good job. Good job. Good job, Blair. Good Blair. Yep. And then so Dan
Speaker:surprises Serena with the romantic candlelit bedroom. Now it appears that Serena is the one
Speaker:overwhelmed by the moments. Yeah. And they're, and here they actually come together and talk
Speaker:about it. And it really is a very healthy interaction between them. I actually really
Speaker:loved that. So while, yeah, she's, she's had sex before, but she's never really cared about the
Speaker:people she's had sex with. Yeah. And, and, and more importantly, the people that she's had sex with
Speaker:never really showed that they cared about her. You know, they never, they never looked at her that
Speaker:way. Yeah. As she said. And then we get Blair shows up at the patrol in Nate's place and the music is
Speaker:playing and we quickly realized we were back to the opening scene. Robin turned to me and goes,
Speaker:imagine your book to play a show and you're up there singing and someone just walks up there and starts
Speaker:taking off their clothes and singing right alongside you. I'm like, yeah, I'd kick them the
Speaker:fuck up this stage. Who does that? Like they have an act there performing and you're just going to go up
Speaker:there. I mean, granted, the, the, the, I mean, it wasn't for a last show. Yeah. I enjoyed it. Yeah. It
Speaker:was. And yeah, he's going to turn down late and me sir. Yeah, she's going to get, yeah, I mean, I'm not
Speaker:that Valentino slip dress. But yeah, so we get that scene and that is the end of act three. We move into
Speaker:the epilogue. Rufus is cleaning cobwebs at the gallery when Lily shows up, bottle in hand. Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. And first of all, so for one Rufus, you don't need to be a dick. But also Lily, what are you doing?
Speaker:What are you doing when we know what you're doing? Yeah. He was irritated by like he quickly got
Speaker:unirritated. Yeah. Well, then he's like, oh, wait, this is. Don't go, go, go, go, go, go. Yes.
Speaker:Yes. Yeah. Revenge and just, you know, getting back with the old flame. Yeah. But they didn't
Speaker:leave off. Did they leave off with that being ambiguous? No, they, they too, we see, we see
Speaker:another scene with them. Okay, that's what I thought. Yeah. They're in the final montage. Yes.
Speaker:Okay. But we get back at the loft and Serena are building up to the moment. However, Serena,
Speaker:although not a version revealed, she has never had sex while in love. They both decide they are in no
Speaker:rush. And he's got, and the episode kind of like. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I thought that was beautiful.
Speaker:And yeah. And yeah. And real, you know, that kind of, that kind of thing happens and it's real. And
Speaker:especially at that age, when you're not sure. And I feel like that's a real healthy thing for people
Speaker:watching this show to see, you know. And then at, there's, there's also a lot of that internalized
Speaker:misogyny in this scene too. With, you see in Serena with her being like, you know, I, Dan says, wait,
Speaker:you've never, she goes, no, I wish. And it's like, why do you wish? Like you're, you're taught that
Speaker:this is supposed to be something, you know, but, you know, you're not allowed to own your life, you
Speaker:know. Yeah. But back at Nate's house, it turns out the captain is in deeper trouble than just a bag of
Speaker:cocaine. Yeah. Embezzlement, his bail set at a million dollars. I do feel like Anne is a little
Speaker:shocked about the additional charges. Yeah. I don't think she knew about that. Yeah. I don't
Speaker:think she knew that she was under investigation. I think that. But she did know it was his. Yeah. I
Speaker:think at this point we realized like she was thinking it was just going to be a simple go down
Speaker:bail them out thing too. Of course, OC fans watching this back in 2007 were probably
Speaker:immediately familiar with this story like this, basically the same storyline as Jimmy Cooper.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah. I remember us talking about that off air at one point. And then we end the episode with a
Speaker:montage set to some 41s with me. We get first we see Lily and Rufus lying on the floor of the gallery
Speaker:looking up at the art installation on the ceiling. Then we see Jenny knocking on her mother's door. So
Speaker:she's going to see my mom. Then we see this shot of Dan and Serena cuddling in bed. Super cute. And
Speaker:then of course the music kicks up and we see in the limo. Blair Chuck cooking up. And and. Well, the
Speaker:layer finally loses their virginity and Chuck. Oh, a couple of things about that. Actually,
Speaker:there's something that I that I missed in earlier scene, which was when when she got up on stage, she
Speaker:asked Chuck to watch her drink, which to me, the last person I would want watching my drink.
Speaker:Although once again with Blair, she trusts Chuck. She knows that Chuck's not going to cross that
Speaker:boundary with her. And he does ask consent. I very clearly I actually have that note as well that
Speaker:Chuck Bass asked for consent exclamation point in my notes. Yes. So that was definitely a very clear
Speaker:writing choice. Yeah. Yeah. It was and and. But it was also. Yeah. Again, it that glow up. It's the
Speaker:Chuck glow up and it was the but it showed so many other things. Right. We talked earlier in the
Speaker:episode about the mutual respect that he has for Blair. He sees Blair as an equal. You know, he
Speaker:doesn't see her as a conquest. He doesn't see her as as an object the way he has so many other women. He
Speaker:sees her as an equal. And there's that notion of has Chuck always had a thing for Blair. He's always
Speaker:flirting with her, but not the way that he flirts with anybody else. Yeah. You know, it's all there
Speaker:is always a level of innuendo. But it's not as predatory as it is with anyone else. Yeah. It's
Speaker:always it's always. So I was kind of just playing a game like a playful flirty game. Yeah. Like a
Speaker:normal closer to normal flirting. But yeah, exactly. Closer to. And and and and even could be
Speaker:considered normal flirting among certain friends. You know, I definitely have my friends
Speaker:that I would have been able to talk to that way, you know, but he always has shown respect. And maybe
Speaker:has he always been in love with Blair? Has that been there underneath? And we just have, you know, and I
Speaker:hadn't been paying much attention to it. And if we are keeping track, that is, I think the last
Speaker:diversion in a Upper East Side is now gone. Dan. He's not in the Upper East Side. Oh, you're right.
Speaker:You're right. You're right. So yeah, yeah. Yeah, Dan and Jenny and possibly the NASA we don't know.
Speaker:Eric. If you can't, we don't we don't we don't know. OK. Yeah, he could possibly be. Maybe. Who knows?
Speaker:And then so the next episode is called 17 candles. Any predictions? Well, I'm guessing a birthday
Speaker:party. I'm guessing it's a spin off of the 1980s. John Hughes classic 16 candles. Yes. So yeah, the
Speaker:Max episode preview reads, Blair puts on a happy face for her 17th. Yeah, yeah, that. That makes
Speaker:sense. And we want to take a break before we go on segments. Yeah, let's do that. OK. And we are back
Speaker:for some segments. We got a new segment this week. I'm going to talk about this week in fandom. So I've
Speaker:been going back and reading the message boards on from the now defunct television without pity. And
Speaker:if you were familiar with that website at all. No, I never heard of it. So it started out as like a
Speaker:Dawson's Creek recap site. But then, you know, they start recapping other shows and they were
Speaker:very funny. Obviously, the name television without pity. They're pretty merciless on. Yeah,
Speaker:yeah. But then there was there was message boards. And the reason why they're good ones to go look back
Speaker:is they were very strict about their like episode threads. Like they would lock them and like delete
Speaker:anything that was like off topic at all. So I've been going back and just kind of like reading them
Speaker:to kind of see the read the live reactions to the fans. So this week we had definitely a lot of a lot of
Speaker:talk about Chuck and Blair's amazing chemistry. Yeah. Almost universal hatred of Vanessa. Check.
Speaker:And a few Chuck boys are starting to pop up. Are you a Chuck boy yet? No, not a Chuck boy. And yes, that
Speaker:late in me is you're getting a lot of acting praise. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely agree with pretty much
Speaker:everything there, except for the Chuck boy. Yeah. And you know what? I think my son, when when he was
Speaker:watching it, he was saying like, you know, wait until later, wait until later that you're going to
Speaker:change your opinions on some characters. And has he seen the whole thing already? He's I think he's
Speaker:seen through season three, partly through season three. We should have him on as a guest. If he's
Speaker:interested, that's fine. He might be. He might be. That'd be funny. All right. And then so we will go on
Speaker:to episode grades. So this is a odd number. So you go first this week. Yeah, I felt like all in all the
Speaker:episode was an A for me. I really enjoyed the I thought the acting was really good, especially
Speaker:with the powerhouse scene real between Jenny and Leete me and Leete me stirred like that. That scene
Speaker:is so brilliant. I thought that aside from not finding it a very fashionable episode, as opposed
Speaker:to other ones, I found it to be a good episode. I enjoyed it. I gave it an A. Uh, I yeah, I agree
Speaker:completely. It was definitely an A episode. I thought the writing might have been the best
Speaker:writing of the series. We had the the unreliable narrator use each twice. We also had the media
Speaker:sraze beginning. So the right was good. You got great acting all around. You had Taylor and Leete
Speaker:and scene was probably the highlight of the episode. But also you got to see a little bit of
Speaker:Chase Crawford's comedy. And you know, Penn was his usual funny, you know, self. Yeah, his writing
Speaker:is very uneven throughout the series, but he's also, I think on the same level as Taylor and Lane.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah. But he doesn't get as good a storyline as Lane or or Jenny Blair or even Chuck. Chuck is
Speaker:going to start getting a lot of good storylines going forward. Oh, OK. As we already saw, I get
Speaker:sympathy with the dad stuff. Yeah. And it's funny because Bart Bart is just not the terrible parent
Speaker:that all of the other parents are yet he raised. Like which again, of course, if we're I mean, he's
Speaker:pretty bad. He he is very cold. And he is, I guess, all he really gives Chuck is money. Oh, that's
Speaker:fair. That's the only thing he gives him. He gives the yes, he has a very nice place to live. He never
Speaker:wants for anything, but there is zero emotional support. Yeah. Yeah, I can see that. I can and zero,
Speaker:probably zero parenting in general, other than, you know, tell him that to drink before you. Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. That's fair to. Yeah. So speaking of parenting, moving on to Stockwatch, who do you
Speaker:have going up this week? OK. So so I thought Nate was going to tank from the start of this episode, but I
Speaker:feel like he creeped up this episode. I felt like Nate went up because he turned his dad in. He he
Speaker:stood up to his mom. Like he kept, you know, yes, he kept losing those battles. But Nate himself, he's
Speaker:working towards something and he's actually put in a little bit of a fight. He turned his dad in, but
Speaker:it was just turning his dad in. We talked about you. You put his dad on time out. My God, yeah. And he also
Speaker:lost Blair. Yeah, Nate, I didn't go up. Did he? I felt like Nate was going to go up this episode
Speaker:because. You know, you felt like it because I like Nate, but it really didn't did it. No, it didn't.
Speaker:And you look up. I mean, Chuck, Chuck went up to actually Chuck really went up like. So for me, I got
Speaker:Chuck, you know, he got the good story lines, very sympathetic story lines, learn how to ask for
Speaker:consent. Yeah, yeah. A plus bare minimum there. Then we got also Dan and Serena, both, you know,
Speaker:they had a great episode. I thought they were very cute. Yeah, yeah. They talk, they communicated
Speaker:and they they ended up, you know, having a nice little cuddle session. Yeah. And you know, it's
Speaker:funny because I feel like there was so much stock dropping in this that. So yeah, I think that's it
Speaker:for. I will also give Blair stock up. She was sad, but she she became at the end by the end of the
Speaker:episode. She she had her moment with the she took a troll and she she she lost her to any which what
Speaker:that's what she's been wanting to do since the pilot episode pilot. Yeah. And she's been wanting
Speaker:to do that since the pilot. And there's also that question of. Are are there feelings there that
Speaker:were just untapped to begin with between they've had such a flirty relationship already that I can
Speaker:see Blair going up. That that one's tough for me. For me, Dan and Serena definitely I could see them
Speaker:going up. And I. Didn't really pay enough attention to that originally, but I thought, yes,
Speaker:Dan and Serena went up. I think I was really focused on everyone who went down this week. Which God get
Speaker:into. Yeah. Vanessa. What what the fuck, Vanessa? Like everything that every scene with Vanessa was
Speaker:cringe. Every scene with Vanessa just was like, this is not the fun person from last week that I
Speaker:really enjoyed. I. I find her to be creepy and annoying in this episode. Stock dropped. Rufus's
Speaker:stock dropped. Rufus's dogecoin just slipping through his fingers with. With with with with that
Speaker:episode. You know, has has a great parenting moment with Dan, but just shits the bed with Jenny,
Speaker:shits the bed with letting his business out there for the kids. Lying about it, all of that stuff.
Speaker:Rufus tanks captain tanks and tanks. Lily, Lily kind of goes up a little. Lily kind of. Owns her
Speaker:shit. She can shows that she can actually be a parent, even if it's not her kid. I don't know. I'm
Speaker:not going to give it to her, though. Too little too little for her to actually go up. But yeah, I just
Speaker:felt like across the board stock was. Yeah. Yeah. Stocks. Yeah. For me, we got Rufus obviously bad
Speaker:parenting, taking out his anger out on his kids, taking his anger out on Lily initially. Being a bad
Speaker:parent to Jenny. And we also have Nate stock down for me because he was. Yeah, you're right on that. I
Speaker:had him going for standing up to the captain. But the beginning of the episode was so bad. And even
Speaker:that standing up to the captain was just, you know, Yeah. Spiteful. Well, yeah. And but the beginning
Speaker:of the episode with Jenny and trying to drive this younger girl. Yeah. So scummy. And then a media,
Speaker:the media pivot. Yeah. Definitely. Definitely. Yeah. His father's son in that moment. Yeah.
Speaker:Anyone else go to that? So we got so we got Rufus. We got him. Lily was kind of net even. Allison going
Speaker:down off screen because we just found out she's cheating. Well, confirm that she's cheating.
Speaker:Yeah. And also, you know, you have Jenny in the end when she's like, Mom, it's time to come home. And
Speaker:now it's like, wow, where does that? Where does that go? Yeah. And of course, obviously Vanessa,
Speaker:because she is the worst and everyone hates her for a reason. Man, I the writers just do her dirty. I
Speaker:really thought when she came on, I was like, wow, why are people giving her such? Why are there these
Speaker:haters? And damn, is she terrible? They set her up for failure. They did. So Dan and Serena are
Speaker:obviously was that where the plan like main couple of the series from, you know, before they started
Speaker:and they just bring in this interlopers obviously just going to be hated by the fans. Yeah. Yeah. She,
Speaker:yeah, she was done dirty. Yeah. And yeah. And her writing was was awful. Like for all of the
Speaker:different the writing for everybody else in the episode was even the people whose stock went down
Speaker:was good writing. Yeah. She was just she was just the worst. Yeah. Just the worst. Like the worst
Speaker:possible thing she could do. She did it. Yeah. In every situation. Yeah. Creeper. Um, so that is our
Speaker:stock watch. Uh, who do you have for best outfit? Um, I, I'll be honest, I struggled this episode and
Speaker:I even went back after watching it again last night because I'll watch. I watch a second time, take
Speaker:more thorough notes. Last night I even went back again and just started flipping through because
Speaker:the most memorable outfit obviously is Blair's is Blair's outfit. But I didn't love it. I didn't love
Speaker:that dress. I love the look. I love that American doll look that she had. But I think the thing that I
Speaker:liked the most was Chuck's suit when he was trying to propose the idea to to Vart. Yeah. Like that.
Speaker:We're, we're right in the, uh, the same wheelhouse because I picked the same suit. Uh, and it was
Speaker:actually kind of similar to what I wore for, uh, New Year's Eve. Oh, awesome. I did not have the
Speaker:pinstripes. I was just a great tix suit with a purple shirt and I had those silver bow ties that
Speaker:were a regular tie. Yeah. And, and, and Chuck rocks the bow ties. I mean, later in the episode, he has
Speaker:the bow tie and that and purple is also his color. Yeah. Yeah. He's, he is definitely into the royal
Speaker:purple. Yeah. And, and he, and he kills it. And, and it's kind of easy to pick a truck because he is just
Speaker:so well dressed in pretty much every scene. Yeah. Um, except for that athletic ones. Right. Right.
Speaker:Uh, yeah. He can't quite knock down the athletic wear. Yeah. Um, anyways, so that is it for the
Speaker:episode. The segments. Uh, you have anything to plug? Um, at this moment, I don't think so. Uh, I
Speaker:think that this is February, right? Well, yeah, this time this is out. So I don't have anything
Speaker:other than my, my socials and whatnot going on at this moment, which are, which are, you can find me
Speaker:on Instagram, Steve.marshon. That's M-A-R-C-H-I-O-N. Uh, you can also find me at Steve
Speaker:the Weed Wizard on TikTok. Uh, and yeah, those are, and you can find me on Spotify as well, Steve
Speaker:Marshon, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, iHeart, wherever you can find this podcast, you can also
Speaker:find my music. All right. Um, so I actually saw a new show recently that I enjoyed. It was called, uh,
Speaker:Fleishman is in Trouble. Oh, that's a phenomenal show. I love that. Disney plus and Hulu. Um, yes,
Speaker:with a starring Jesse Isenberg and Claire Danes. Yeah. Uh, and then you got Adam Brody and, uh,
Speaker:what's the other one's name? Uh, Lizzie Kaplan as the best friends. Uh, yeah. So, and of course, Adam
Speaker:Brody from the OC. So probably some crossover with our audience. Yeah. And also, um, from how I met
Speaker:your mother, right? Um, was he that? It, what, isn't that the husband? Isn't that her husband?
Speaker:His husband. Um, the best friend. Robin. Yeah. Who's her husband in the show? Barney. No, no, no,
Speaker:no, the, the, in, in Fleishman's in Trouble. No, no, it's not Barney. I'm talking about the, the
Speaker:main guy in, um, can't think of his name. Jesse Isenberg. No, no, the main guy in how I met your
Speaker:mother. Isn't he, uh, husband of the best friend? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's where I was going with it.
Speaker:That's, uh, Josh Radner. Josh Radner, that's it. Yes. Cause he was also, he, he started in that show
Speaker:about the musical that the high school, putting on a musical, um, anyway. So you can follow us on
Speaker:Instagram and TikTok at non-judging breakfast pod. You can also follow us on Twitter at NJB pod.
Speaker:Um, and also you can, uh, find us on Facebook. We have a community there. So you can take a seat at
Speaker:the, uh, non-judging breakfast table. Uh, just search for us at non-judging breakfast pod. And
Speaker:what else, Steve? Please, uh, go ahead and like and upvote and follow us and subscribe wherever you
Speaker:get our podcasts, because it really helps the discover. Yeah. Definitely, uh, leave us some
Speaker:reviews. We want to, we want to get some reviews. Yeah. Talk to us. Uh, and also send us emails. Tell
Speaker:us how we're doing and what you're doing. Non-judging breakfast pod at gmail.com. So we
Speaker:will be back in two weeks to talk about season one episode eight, 17 candles. Yeah. Uh, which I'm
Speaker:assuming is a play on the John Hughes classic 16. Get into that next week. Yeah. Um, yep. Until next
Speaker:time, you know, you love us. XOXO.
