Gossip Girl: Thanksgiving with a Side of Drama

This episode had us raving (Chuck and Nate reunited! Lily and Rufus reunited!) and ranting (Serena and Aaron ANYTHING, Vanessa's devious ways). Everyone's dealing with their own holiday-induced angst: Nate's dad is back in town and wants to abruptly move the family to the Caribbean, which seems awfully suspicious.
Jenny's been crashing at the van der Woodsen/Bass residence, but Lily's found out and wants her to go back to Casa Humphrey. Jenny's vague about her actual plans, but after she wanders off, Lily finds out exactly what they are when she comes across emancipation papers in Jenny's bag.
Over dinner, Aaron tells Serena he's ready to go steady... but by the way, he doesn't drink because he's sober now, and he hopes that's okay with her. Having apparently learned nothing from her year dating Dan, Serena reassures him that she's a perfect angel and is never tempted by the drink. Yeah, this'll end well...
Bart mentions to Eric that he's spotted Eric's boyfriend getting awfully close with the swim captain. But how does he know this juicy scoop? After a little investigating with Chuck's help, Eric discovers that Bart's been keeping fat files on the entire van der Woodsen family!
Meanwhile, Dorota lets slip that Eleanor and Cyrus are getting engaged, and Blair is not happy. Bad enough that the uncouth midget eats her pie, but now he's stealing her mother for good! Feeling unappreciated, Blair decides to run away, with Dorota in tow.
Dan and Rufus are grocery shopping when they run into Aaron. Depending on how you read the scene, you either think Dan was a stand-up guy or a little TOO honest, but regardless, Aaron isn't happy when Dan alludes to Serena's colorful past. He goes straight to Serena, who's wearing a truly hideous ketchup-and-mustard colored satin getup, and confronts her about it. Serena claims that Dan wasn't really telling the truth.
Vanessa runs into an FBI agent who's looking for Nate -- well, really, for his dad, who, as usual, is up to no good. She calls Chuck (reluctantly) and begs for his help. Together, they sit down with Nate and tell him what's up. Apparently Mr. Archibald is pressuring his in-laws for a huge sum of money so he can run off and start over.
Lily calls Rufus and tells him he'd better come over right now. He and Dan arrive at the van der Woodsens, and Lily tells Rufus about the emancipation papers. Rufus tells Jenny that he'll love her no matter what, and if sending her away is what it'll take to get her to come back, he'll do it. Left with no real argument for emancipation, Jenny still refuses to give in and stalks off.
Meanwhile, Aaron confronts Dan and accuses him of being a liar. At first, Dan wants to defend his honor, but when he sees what Serena's trying to do, he goes along with it. Aaron leaves them alone for a minute, and Dan tries to get Serena to see that she should just be honest.
Nate confronts his father, who lamely tries to deny his sneaky plot. Finally, he sputters that it was supposed to help all of them. Nate tells him that he can either try to run away and lose his son's respect forever, or turn himself in to the FBI officers who are on the way. His call. Mr. Archibald does the right thing for once and turns himself in. He's taken away while Nate and his mom sob in each other's arms.
Eric alerts Lily to the files he's found, and she's livid. She tells Bart that they're leaving -- how could he keep tabs on the children like this? She herds up Eric and Serena for a diner Thanksgiving.
At the diner, Eric reveals that he read Lily's file and saw that she was institutionalized, just like him, at age nineteen. He wishes she'd told him, but she tells him it's hard to talk about. They push fries idly around on their plates until Lily has a brainstorm -- they can go to the Humphreys'.
Blair and Dorota are stomping their way through the Upper East Side when they run into a shivering Jenny. She truly has nowhere to go. Blair and Jenny exchange sob stories about their families, when suddenly Eleanor shows up and demands for Blair to come home so she can share a big surprise. Blair's still mad about the engagement, but all is (just about) forgiven when she discovers the real surprise: her dad has flown in from France to see her and to give his approval of Cyrus for Eleanor! Now that he approves, the engagement is made official, and even Blair seems kind of happy about it.
After the FBI fiasco, Nate shares a private moment with Vanessa. They reveal that the feelings from before are still kind of there, and they agree to hang out soon. Then Vanessa takes off, looking thrilled, and Nate and Chuck are reunited at last! Rather than hug, Chuck suggests they go drink in the limo. It's a classic BFF moment for these two. They've spent way too much time apart!
Dan and Rufus return home to find Jenny sans eye makeup and looking five years younger. The Humphrey family is back together again! Just then, Lily and Eric show up, along with Vanessa, who makes up with Jenny, no doubt feeling charitable since she thinks she has Nate's heart in her back pocket. The group gets cooking, and all seems to be well...
...until Vanessa discovers the letter Nate sent to Jenny. Jenny never received it, of course, since she hasn't been living at home this whole time. Vanessa manages to sneak away with the letter, and she reads it! She's not happy when she sees that it's all about how Nate still wants to be with Jenny. Undeterred, she slips the letter into her purse. Again... that's not going to end well.
What did you think of the episode? Which parental figure is the most appalling? Which girl should Nate go for? Why is Serena's wardrobe getting progressively worse? And how adorable was it when Blair finally got all she really wanted for Thanksgiving? Tell us all in the comments!
Comments
Where's the podcast?
Posted by: kari | November 19, 2008 5:17 PM
Vanessa go away!!!!
NJ is love! they need to be together!
Posted by: bee | November 19, 2008 5:11 PM
Seriously, Nate and Vanessa have no chemisty together, and it's painful to watch them try and interact as anything more than friends. Nate and Jenny have great chemistry, and I'm really rooting for them. :)
The most heartwarming moment was hard for me to choose, between Nate and Chuck and when Blair's dad came back, but I picked Nate and Chuck in the end, because Nate just really needed his best friend back.
Posted by: Meagan | November 19, 2008 8:21 AM
I absolutely LOVE Nate and Jenny together! They are amazing and I really really hope we get more of them! Vanessa needs to go away or find a new guy. Ive never liked her and Nate together they came out of nowhere. NJ forever! Hope they dance at the ball and she finds out about his letter! Also cant wait for CB and DS!
Posted by: Ashley | November 19, 2008 12:51 AM
NJ = gross
NV need to be together.
I dont no how anyone can ship NJ - its disgusting eww eww eww.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 18, 2008 9:25 PM
Ugh...... If I have to see Nate and Vanessa together at some point in this season I will stab my fcking eyes out. They have no chemistry at all, watching them is like a fcking death sentence.
Posted by: Lynette | November 18, 2008 7:17 PM
lol props to jackie. what serena was wearing was appalling.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 18, 2008 5:45 PM
NATE & JENNY need to be together!
<3
Vanessa go away!!!
Posted by: JR | November 18, 2008 4:58 PM
I'm just glad the whole "Nate-being -poor" s/l and Jenny's ridiculous s/l are over. I was getting really sick of her whining about absolutely nothing.
Love that C and N are back as friends.
I have to say Blair and Dorota cracked me up. Loved that s/l, but Blair has kind of carried the show for me in the past few episodes.
Eleanor and Cyrus are my fav parent couple for sure...
Don't really like Serena and Aaron- it's really stale.
Loved seeing Eric again!
Posted by: Megan | November 18, 2008 3:49 PM
Seriously, what was up with Serena's skirt length? It just BARELY covered her butt. Is it a budget thing - are they trying to save money by using less material? Oh wait, I've got it .. they had to sell all the mirrors to spend that money on wardrobe!
Posted by: JustDontBendOver | November 18, 2008 1:15 PM
I am getting more and more annoyed by Blair... She used to be one of my favorite characters, but lately I just cannot stand her constant bitching! She gets this nasily whine whenever she talks. Her life is near perection yet she somehow always makes it seem like she is unloved or not cared for. As far as I can tell she has great friends and family. So why is it that every episode we have to hear her bitch and moan about every little thing. She thinks that Serena's life is perfect and she gets everything she wants, big deal get over it.
Okay ranting done lol.
As for next week I am hoping that Nate and Jenny can find a way to be together. I wish Vanessa would just get out of the picture. She is right under Blair on my irritating list. She really did not need nor deserve all the attention she got from Nate and Jenny because they were "sorry for hurting her". Nate and Vanessa were not together and Nate obviously has feelings for Jenny and vice versa, so Vanessa can just stay out of it.
Posted by: Alyssa | November 18, 2008 1:10 PM