TV Recap:’Gossip Girl,’ “The Grandfather, Part II”

Politics. I’m sure you hate them just about as much as I do. Luckily for us, Gossip Girl takes out all the serious, deep thinking and focuses on what we really want to hear about–scandal.

This week’s episode is centered completely around Trip Van Der Bilt’s possible inevitable election. This may seem like it’s coming out of nowhere to some of you, but the seeds were planted a while ago. (Primarily in a story about Nate and Serena playing poker to get back a slanderous photo of Trip. However, that story was so dry, I couldn’t be bothered to talk about it.)

But before we get down to business there were a few other stories going on this week.

Dan and Olivia are still going strong, that is until she makes a public appearance she must hide from him. Apparently, Olivia was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and said something about Dan. Really this story was slightly pointless. It was obvious that  Dan would find out he was being called, “Bathroom boy.”

What I didn’t realize though–that Olivia’s comment would be so mild. She simply reminisced about the couple’s first date in which Dan returned to the dinner table wearing his shirt inside out. This led to laughter in the audience and speculation about what Mr. Humphrey must have been up to. Of course Dan finally finds out and doesn’t even care. He’s actually glad to have seen it and been reminded of their one month anniversary.

Crisis avoided.

But speaking of crises, Blair and Serena are still feuding. Blair refuses to apologize for what happened at the club opening, and Serena won’t take no for an answer. The two remain at odds, leaving Blair to realize that she’s got no real friends. Of course that’s quickly resolved when a fashionable blond girl walks into the coffee shop. Immediately Blair takes it upon herself to make friends with this, no doubt, high class peer.

On the campaign trail, Vanessa and Nate are at Trip’s side for this day of the election. Vanessa is documenting the race for an eventual film about Trip’s win.

While the three are out walking along the river–talking about politics–a man falls into the river and begins drowning. This of course is prime time for Trip to step up and be the hero. Luckily, Vanessa was recording an interview with a local as the entire scene went down. Soon Vanessa has agreed to sell the tape to a local news organization, which will then no doubt dub Trip a savior.

Not surprisingly, the drowning ends up being a hoax. Vanessa reviews the tape and realizes the man simply jumped into the river and pretended to drown. She warns Nate about it, and although he’d like her to conceal it, she has already agreed to sell the tape and has plans to meet with an editor over dinner later.

At the election party, I’m actually shocked to announce that not every single GG character was in attendance, just about half really. Blair and Serena both attend the party, but not with each other of course. Serena is with her fake boyfriend Patrick, on the behest of her PR boss. Blair has brought along her new odd moniker friend, Brandice.

To make a long story short, both Patrick and Brandice are major embarrassments. Patrick gets so drunk that he pees in the shrubbery, and Brandice is a working girl–using her charm on the party guests. Blair actually helps Serena out by having Patrick put up in a hotel room. Serena on the other hand has the prostitute removed. Blair doesn’t believe Serena’s insight on Brandice and fires back calling Serena the hooker–dating Patrick for money and all. I was very surprised by Serena’s reaction though–pushing Blair face first into a cake. Then again, I guess all revenge can’t be so sneaky.

Just in time for the election results, Vanessa arrives to the party to find out that she was set up with a fake news editor. However, after confronting Nate about his set up, Vanessa still manages to get the tape into the right hands and onto the nightly news. The video is shown after the polls have closed, but perhaps Trip is still in trouble.

Grandpa Van Der Bilt, vehemently denies ever arranging the hoax, so to save the entire night, Nate steps up and takes the fall. He admits to arranging the hoax, leaving Trip still the hero. (We later find out it’s actually Trip’s wife who has arranged the entire thing, but knows that everyone will believe it was Granda. Smart move.)

I must now take this time to say that this entire story was hilarious. I know that our characters are growing up, but to believe that a 26 year old would ever become a congressman is just a bit of a stretch. This would never happen. Ever.**

Chuck finally steps in to attempt to fix Blair and Serena, telling Serena to give in and talk it out. The two have some strange chat though. Blair begins talking about how her life is changing and she has her own things to attend to. The entire speech is far too dramatic and I felt a bit lost as to the real reasons behind it all.

To be honest, I think that Blair has reached the point that many do. Young people start growing up and realizing that while they want all those adult things, like a career and a solid relationship–it means they must leave things of the past behind. So my conclusion is that Blair is either morning the loss of her youth, or that she is becoming frustrated with her routine. Perhaps she is even jealous of Serena’s freedom. (I’m betting on the latter.)

What do you think about Blair and Serena? Is this really the beginning of the end? What will Serena do now that she’s quit her PR job? How does Olivia manage to score two Fallon appearances in one week?

You know you love me.

**Feel free to prove me wrong with some solid research.