‘Gossip Girl’: Rebel Yale

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You know you said it: ‘No, she didn’t!’

I said it when Blair told Serena that she wasn’t smart enough to get into Yale, and I said it when Serena emerged from the Yale dean’s office after clearly charming him. I said it after Serena stole Blair’s pre-planned answer to the dean’s parlor game (The question: What famous person would you invite to dinner? B’s answer: George Sand, the dean’s favorite author) and then again after Blair changed Serena’s answer to Pete Fairman, the guy she thought she killed last season. I said it once more when Blair threw her purse at Serena’s head and lastly, coupled with an LOL, when S threw down B’s headband yelling ‘I really hate that stupid headband!’

In last night’s showdown, S and B gave their most brilliant performance of back-stabbing, manipulation and bitchery to date. At this point, the two aren’t on speaking terms. Serena is the darling of Page Six while Blair has yet another dream where she’s Audrey Hepburn at her lowest (this time, she’s pre-transformation Eliza Doolittle in ‘My Fair Lady’). The only thing Blair has to look forward to is the visit to her dream school, Yale.

That is, until she arrives at New Haven to find Serena there as well. When S outwits B for the last coveted invitation to the party at the Dean’s house, Blair declares war. Even if you’re on Team Serena, B’s look of both hurt and rage at the thought of S stealing yet another important part of her life was raw enough to make you feel for her.

Of course, one can’t pity Blair Waldorf for too long. She bribes her way into the party and pulls out her own vicious tricks, which inevitably leads to the pulling out of each other’s hair. They had us for a second when they agreed to dissolve their friendship, but only for a second. Everyone knows real friends stab you in the front! S and B make up (how sweet was the whole ‘I can’t not have you in my life’ scene?), at least for now.

Meanwhile, since it seems Yale is the only Ivy League school worth going to, Nate, Chuck and Dan do their own cavorting around campus. After overhearing that his father is now equated with Michael Milken in econ class, Nate pretends to be Dan to escape his family’s infamy and woo a cute coed. Dan, on the other hand, is flailing as usual when he finds he’s one letter of recommendation short of a complete application. The guy just can’t catch a break! His luck gets even worse when a vindictive Chuck sets him up to be humiliated by the Skull and Bone frat guys (I have to admit, Dan tied up to a statue in his boxers was pretty funny). In the end, Dan is rewarded for his mortification by getting the letter and winning over Nate. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Back in New York, Jenny invites Rufus to spend a day at Eleanor Waldorf’s atelier so he can see what valuable experience she’s earning on the job. If after the day, he still wants her to finish high school, she promises she’ll go back. Oh, naive Little J, no parent is going to let a 15-year-old quit school to become the next Vera Wang. But Rufus is a cool TV parent so he agrees to let Jenny be home-schooled while she works. Her designer dreams may be coming true right now, but from the looks of episodes to come, she’ll be longing for the innocent school days of the past.

So what are your thoughts on this episode? Will the S and B peace treaty last? Are Dan and Nate the new dynamic duo?

xoxo

-- Enid Portuguez

(Photo Credit: Giovanni Rufino / The CW)