After being virtually non-existent for most of the season it appears tonight’s episode is going to be all about Nate as the episode will probably lead to some confrontation at Nate’s cousin’s Campaign Party. That’s right it’s Election Day on Gossip Girl. But it’s for a campaign that had absolutely no build up beyond one episode a few weeks ago. Serena has to get her actor client Matt into Nate’s uncle’s party. She goes to Blair for help who is still angry with her over the Chuck incident. So it looks like we have the seeds of another Blair/Serena feud.
We finally meet candidate Trip Vanderbilt who dives in to save a man – on Election Day. I have to say the writing on this Campaign thing is just dumb, it feels like its come out of nowhere and it’s ham-handed. Are we really supposed to believe that a Candidate saving someone ON Election Day is going to swing an election? Maybe if this stunt was pulled a few days prior, but on Election Day? Vanessa of course is there to catch the entire thing on camera.
Blair finds a new friend named Brandise. Vanessa discovers the entire event was staged. Nate immediately sets out to kill Vanessa’s scoop. Nate is turning out to be a real sleaze ball this season. Serena and Blair have another juvenile confrontation at the party where Blair shows her Crush for her new hip friend. Blair’s new friend turns out to be a high-class Call Girl. Vanessa confronts Nate about him screwing her over, but she gets the last laugh. Again, this plot is stupid because the report comes out the minute the Polls close so, really who cares? If they are going to do politics on Gossip Girl at least get some writers who actually understand politics, otherwise stay away from the topic.
Trip confronts his Grandfather about the hoax who denies he had anything to do with it. I’m willing to bet the new sleazified Nate probably did it. Vanessa asks him what happened to his moral compass. Mmmm….Chili’s Baby Back Ribs…..With some mash potatoes and that chocolate lava cake…Lava Cake…. Sorry, the Chili’s commercial gets me every time.
Blair calls Serena a Prostitute and of course thems fighting words so the war is officially on. Patrick gets hammered and almost ruins things for Chuck. Nate admits to setting up the hero incident. Chuck tries to save Serena and Blair’s friendship but Blair isn’t having any of it and ends the friendship. In a laughable moment she talks about how she’s growing up, in a real relationship, is in College and Serena is drifting away from everyone with her dead end job. This speech would mean something coming from anyone other than Blair who is still trying to “rule” NYU with her sycophants. Serena quits her job for the 3 or 4th time this season. Trip wins the election and his wife was behind it all. Again who the freak cares since this story had no buildup. Looks like Serena and Trip will probably have an affair.
Episode Comments
I liked this episode well enough but it felt like it came from left field as the only thing we’ve really seen of Nate this season are brief glimpses of his affair with Bree and then an episode where his cousin’s election is mentioned in passing where he tries to do some political maneuvering on his behalf. For this episode to have any meaning it needed to have a build up and the stuff with the fake Hero thing needed to happen a few before the election, not on Election day. The episode also felt really sloppy. For example, when the story breaks that the entire rescue was a fake the reporter clearly says the Polls had closed but then they spend the rest of the night speculating on how the report would affect the voting and changed to the Polls close in a couple of hours. So there was a gaping continuity whole. Tonight feels like a “payoff” episode to a plot line that was planned but never happened.
Episode Grade C
EM Review by
Michelle Alexandria
Originally aired 11.02.09