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TV Review: Gossip Girl 2.7 – Chuck in Real Life

Vanessa uses the scandalous picture of Catherine and Marcus to blackmail Blair into being a nicer person, so Blair seeks revenge by enticing Chuck to seduce Vanessa.
By  · Published on October 22nd, 2008

Gossip Girl, The CW, Airs Monday 8/7c

Episode: “Chuck in Real Life” (Season 2, Episode 7)

Synopsis: Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) uses the scandalous picture of Catherine and Marcus to blackmail Blair (Leighton Meester) into being a nicer person, so Blair seeks revenge by enticing Chuck (Ed Westwick) to seduce Vanessa. Lily (Kelly Rutherford) and Bart (guest star Robert John Burke) throw an extravagant housewarming party and expect their children to make them proud in front of the attending press, but a rebellious Serena (Blake Lively) isn’t ready to play by their rules. Meanwhile, Dan (Penn Badgley) and Jenny (Taylor Momsen) discover a big secret that Nate (Chace Crawford) has been keeping from his friends.

Review: As I said in my review of Chuck this week, I have been a real shit-stain when it comes to reviewing TV. As well, I did tell Michelle that I would take over her Gossip Girl beat for two weeks — and subsequently failed to muster any such thing last week. But know this, I did see the episode known as “New Haven Can Wait,” and I acknowledge the fact that the cat-fight between Serena and Blair was epic. Though, I will admit that I was sad to see it all end so well. As well, I am one of those folks who is constantly rooting for Dan Humphrey, so it was good to see him possibly make a friend in Nate.

That said, this week continued to move that storyline along, with Dan finding out some secrets about Nate’s state of affairs — but thankfully, they didn’t dwell on that. What they did get around to was more of Chuck Bass, played once again to perfection by Ed Westwick. As well, we’ve returned to seeing Blair and Chuck’s back and forth romance/non-romance. And sure, the storyline strayed a bit back to Serena’s home-ward issues, but it all came full circle — back to the devious world of Chuck. From the standpoint of writing, this sort of thing is what makes Gossip Girl a series worth watching, something beyond your average 90210 fodder. The rich and deep character work that they do with Chuck and Blair is remarkable, a factor that gives the show its edge. My personal hope is that it continues, my personal quest is to find out by continuing to watch.

Also, for those like me who root for Dan Humphrey, how about that connection at the end with Serena? Very interesting. And yes, I did just write that.

Up Next Week: Jenny (Taylor Momsen) befriends a young model, Agnes (guest star Willa Holland), who encourages Jenny to not only explore her wild side, but also confront her boss, Eleanor Waldorf (guest star Margaret Colin), who is attempting to “borrow” Jenny’s designs. Serena (Blake Lively) and Dan (Penn Badgley) agree to attend an art opening at Rufus’ (Matthew Settle) gallery as friends, but the outing gets a little uncomfortable after Serena meets an artist, Aaron Rose (guest star John Patrick Amedori), and realizes they have an instant chemistry. Blair (Leighton Meester) attempts to seduce Chuck (Ed Westwick), but it proves tougher than she ever imagined.

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Did you watch Gossip Girl this week? If so, feel free to discuss below.

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Neil Miller is the persistently-bearded Publisher of Film School Rejects, Nonfics, and One Perfect Shot. He's also the Executive Producer of the One Perfect Shot TV show (currently streaming on HBO Max) and the co-host of Trial By Content on The Ringer Podcast Network. He can be found on Twitter here: @rejects (He/Him)