I figured I needed a one week break from Gossip Girl, because surprisingly I found 'The Treasure of Serena Madre' to be big refresher. I really didn't expect much out of this one, so anything that made sense to watch would have easily been a thumbs up in my book.
Even though I might not like the approach they are going with the show, it's good to have an episode that flowed. As for the storyline, I had given up on the Jenny-Eric war and initially I thought the writers decided to make Jenny and Eric friends, but I was happy with the suspense they gave us and I am intrigued into what 'strike' Eric referred to in his text. I found the Vanessa-Dan reconnection to be filled with suspense as well, although I didn't buy that Vanessa's heart was broken beyond repair, when she first expressed her feelings for Dan in Season One. She survived through it.
The only storyline I couldn't really take interest in was Serena's naivety towards Tripp. The whole 'he's married and leaving his wife-but not for me' is a really old cliche on television, but I think I understand where Gossip Girl stands right now so we'll have to make do. As for Lily I am actually curious as to what was in that letter and the secret she's keeping. I do know that Maureen would find some way to use it to get Tripp back.
Jenny and Eric
I was set on disliking the war between them and disputed the writers' approach to Jenny's amateur mean girl attitude. When the show opened with Jenny and Eric apparently on good terms, I figured they let bygones be bygones and I wasn't expecting much, but I liked the suspense they created with Eric and his hate for Jenny. Eric wants things back the way they were and Jenny has lost sight of the person she once was. It also looked like we would be seeing more of Kira, the girl Eric teamed up with in 'They Shoot Humphrey's, Don't They'. I am certainly interested in the strike the have for Jenny.
Dan, Vanessa and her Mother
I like Vanessa's mother and I understood the dispute between them. I knew they were going to lay down the Dan and Vanessa card, but I was happy that they didn't play it. I may have wanted them together in Season one, but now not so much. It was fun for Vanessa's mom to point out Dan being 'in love'. I remember Vanessa's surprise visit to Dan's window in Season One, but she couldn't really expect that Dan would have held a torch for long even if he proclaimed to love her. Their friendship didn't really suffer then, or maybe it was an underline fact. I found Dan's 'face' according to Vanessa, amusing, and Vanessa's innocence towards 'the face' was just to cute.
Tripp, Serena and Maureen
Serena takes up an entire chapter of her own, on how gullible a person she could be. It was laughable enough when Tripp believed a simple incident could mean the end of his marriage, as opposed to admitting to finding any excuse to sleep with Serena, but watching Serena dig her own pit of lies and the naivety that went with it was embarrassing. Looking at Tripp, he looked like an eighteen year old dressed up as someone older and I questioned his ability to run as congressman, let alone have a wife and lead an affair. Given the responsibility Maureen has as a wife, she should know better than to ruin her husband's career in front of his face and believe that things would work out. Her deceptive skills were just as amateur. I did feel sorry for her though, especially when Tripp left her for good and asked Serena to join him. I don't care whether or not he was willing to sink his life in, if he did care about Serena, he would have left well enough alone. At least it looked as though Maureen could use whatever was in that letter, as Blackmail.
Rufus, Lily, Cece and Serena
What a silly place to keep a letter if you are trying to hide it, especially if someone else knows the combination to the hiding place. Whatever Lily is hiding, it has something to do with Serena's father and it also measures up to all the shenanigans Serena committed in her lifetime. It must really be horrible, since Lily can't ever judge Serena again. What could be more obscene than running away with a married-almost divorced man? What happened with Lily's secret trip over the summer? Affairs seem to be popular on Gossip Girl's radar, I hope Lily didn't have one.
It was nice to have Cece be a part of Thanksgiving, but she was oddly over nice when compared to the deceitful character I knew her to be in Season One. Ah I am over it, but I really loved to hate her then and I am loving the suspense we are getting.
Blair, Eleanor and Dorota
This triangle was very entertaining, but the promos placed too much emphasis on the surprise pregnancy. I guess that's the advertisement ploy to through you off guard, so anything else was open to creativity. I almost forgot Dorota's love affair with Vanya, he was pretty excited to be a father. How is that going to work out though?
Everything Else
Blair and Chuck barely had any couple worthwhile moments and originally I shared Blair's resentment towards Serena's lapse in marital judgment. Blair actually showed a sense of maturity this time, she shines better when she's not plotting to take over a kingdom that doesn't exist. I on the other hand, did not support her choice to give Serena the 'go ahead' to run off with Tripp, who was still married. It would have been more Blair if she added a 'make sure he shows you the divorce papers' liner.
Nate and Dan are really cool buddies, it's funny how close they are. Dan is like the buddy that gives you a pat on the back when all fails and Chuck is the one to drown it all down with hard liquor. It's good to know Nate has options and even though he's not the most stable character in the cast, Nate manages to pull off an average okay in his scenes.
Extra
If Lily really wanted to keep her secret safe, she would have burnt that letter.
Did Vanessa really not notice Dan's 'faces', she probably didn't have someone really love her before.
Thumbs up to Vanessa's mom and that heart to heart speech with Dan about Vanessa.
Eric looks really mean when he's playing the 'bad boy'.
Quotes:
Blair: "Oh I didn't know the Empire had hourly rates!"
Serena: "Is Nate home, he's not answering his cell?"
Blair: "One Van Der Belt isn't good enough?"
Blair: "Mother, how could you? I mean, no offense to Cyrus, but do you really think the world needs another Aaron Rose?"
(Sweet, I have to agree with Blair on this one.)
Nate: "I told you it would end badly. Threesomes man, don't believe the hype"
(Talking from experience. You know he turned Dan down for Thanksgiving plans, but not Serena-go figure.)
Chuck: "A little Thanksgiving proclamation; you two ever play grab-ass in my elevator again, and Serena will be staying at an airport Marriott! Happy holidays!"
(Hahahmmm good one.)
I am almost certain the writers took the approach of giving fans back to back hilarity of episodes to convince us of decline in worthy plots, only to have this one pulled out of all the dust. I appreciate this approach and if they continue along this stretch, I would definitely not be disappointed-too much. I have already accepted the approach they are taking, it doesn't mean I like it very much either.
Here's for improvement!
Lexa
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Three Stars
Grade C+
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