A search for answers to this season’s largest mystery to date— involving Juliet Sharp—lead to some pretty surprising revelations on the Upper East Side. On this week’s shocking episode of Gossip Girl (Monday, December 6 on the CW) Blair and Dan team up on a sleuthing mission, we see flashbacks from Serena’s past and finally find out why Juliet and her brother Ben have been plotting against Serena for months.
The twist might surprise you. Let’s recap.
The main players:
The whole point of this episode was to get to the bottom of what happened to Serena the night of the Saints and Sinners party when she was left drugged in a hotel room. And who better to solve it than Dan and Blair.
The super sleuths finally pull pieces together and figure out that Juliet is responsible for drugging Serena. They get the masks, the fake cocaine photo, the meddling with friendships and relationships—but what they don’t understand is why Juliet would do such a thing. So Dan comes up with a plan to write into Gossip Girl for some advice on where to find Juliet (since she’s skipped town). Surprisingly Gossip Girl delivers a clue that starts Dan and Blair on a road trip to Cornwall, Connecticut, the hometown of Juliet Sharp and the site of Serena’s former boarding school, Knightly.
Gossip Girl sends the pair to an address in Cornwall—a fancy-looking mansion that has Dan and Blair surprised when they approach. But inside is a raging party with plenty of teenagers doing drugs and drinking. Although they are confused at first, they finally find a familiar face—Damien Delgard, the drug dealer who Jenny was involved with last season.
Blair and Dan question Damien about knowing Juliet. They explain what happened to Serena and Damien explains that Juliet did make a big drug purchase from him the week before. Blair and Dan still don’t understand the reasoning behind Juliet’s actions, so Damien suggests they go right to the source. Turns out, Juliet is a townie and Damien knows her family’s address. But just as they are driving away, Juliet spots them and realizes that they are about to find out the truth. She calls Ben and, despite his pleas to leave Serena alone, tells him that she’s going to “finish” this whole thing once and for all
Dan, Blair and Damien knock on the door of Juliet’s home and her mother answers. She explains that Juliet is out running errands and not at home. Blair weasels her way into the house, feigning friendship with Juliet, and they await Juliet’s return. But once Juliet’s mother hears that Damien went to Knightly, she assumes he must know her son, who used to be a teacher at the boarding school. When Damien sees a photo of her son Ben, who went by Mr. Donovan at Knightly, he realizes the connection between Juliet and Serena.
Damien was actually Serena’s tutor at school and remembers all the rumors surrounding Serena and Mr. Donovan having and inappropriate relationship. One night, Damien saw Serena and Mr. Donovan at an inn and believes that is proof of the illicit student-teacher affair. But it turns out that Mr. Donovan was giving Serena a ride to the library when they got a flat tire in the middle of a major rain storm. They ran into the hotel to use the phone to call for assistance. And although Serena suggests they get a room for the night, Ben (Mr. Donovan) explains that they cannot act on anything. He actually turns her down.
But after Serena leaves town, Mr. Donovan is accused of having a relationship with a minor (Serena). There is an affidavit with what appears to be Serena’s signature and also a key witness (Damien) who saw them enter into the inn together one night. Ben wants to fight the accusation, but his lawyer advises that they don’t go to trial. It appears that a plea bargain has been arranged so that Ben stays off the sexual offender list and gets a shorter sentence. Without a trial, the information stays out of the papers and Ben can eventually start over. Needless to say—the poor guy feels pretty betrayed by his favorite student.
So we finally have all the pieces of the puzzle. Juliet and Ben have been plotting against Serena to get revenge for putting him in prison. The only problem is that Serena never signed that affidavit.
Juliet makes her way to the Ostroff Center to pay Serena a violent visit. Oh yes, Juliet seems ready to attack. But when Serena hears that Ben is Juliet’s brother and that he was serving a sentence for something she supposedly did, Serena is beyond shocked. She explains to Juliet that she never signed any papers and never would do something like that since Ben treated her with nothing but kindness while she was at school.
But Serena puts two and two together and figures out someone who is evil enough to forge her signature and let an innocent man suffer in prison. And yes, my friends, that person is none other than her own mother—Lily Bass (van der Woodsen / Humphrey). A twist, if I’ve ever seen one.
Serena and Juliet make a big appearance at a Bass Industries Board party being held at Lily’s home. Serena’s goal is to talk to her mother and figure out what happened. But Lily, who has been lying the whole time about Serena being in Canyon Ranch rather than the Ostroff Center, is too busy making speeches and hobnobbing with rich friends and investors. So Serena interrupts Lily’s speech and calls her mom a “selfish liar” who will do anything to keep up appearances.
After the party, Serena confronts her mother in front of everyone—Dan, Blair, Chuck, Eric, Rufus and even Nate. She asks Lily why she would sign the affidavit that put Ben in prison, despite the fact that nothing ever happened between them. Lily makes excuses and explains that Serena would not have been accepted back into Constance (fancy high school) with her reports from Knightly. So when Lily took a trip up to Knightly to try to figure out the situation, Lily overheard gossip about Serena and her teacher Mr. Donovan. And instead of talking to her own daughter, Lily used the hearsay to her advantage and told the school that one of their professors was preying on her underage daughter. Lily tells Serena that she did everything to protect her, but it’s obvious that Lily doesn’t believe Serena never had an affair with her teacher—even though Serena tells her repeatedly that the rumors were false.
It looks like the rift between Serena and Lily will not be repaired anytime soon. Lily takes the cake as one of the worst mothers in television history with the revelations in this episode. And Serena isn’t the only one Lily is meddling with.
At bat:
It turns out that Lily is also set on ruining the relationship with more than just her blood kin. Chuck Bass might wind up losing out in the end as well.
During most of this episode, Chuck and Lily appear to have a united front. They talk to the New York Post about Bass Industries for a feature piece and pat each other on the back for how well it goes. After the meeting Chuck mentions that Lily flinched a bit in the interview when the reporter asked about Chuck regaining leadership of Bass Industries. Chuck reminds her that he has plans to eventually take back the reigns. Lily tells him not to worry—that her work as head of the board is only until Chuck is ready to takeover his father’s business for good.
But Rufus winds up finding out at the party that Lily has agreed to sell Bass Industries. Their family accountant (at least I think it was their accountant) lets him in on the secret explaining that Lily said she would tell Rufus. Of course, Rufus had no idea. Lily has been keeping secrets once again.
So when Serena reveals what her mother did and while Lily continues to make excuses, Chuck actually stands up for Lily—saying that sometimes decisions are made for certain reasons. But Rufus finally speaks up and asks Lily if there is something she has to confess to Chuck. Lily explains that if she had anything to say to Chuck, she would have already. With this, Rufus reveals that Lily has a plan to sell Bass Industries, even after Chuck trusted her with the company.
It’s clear that Lily is only looking out for herself. And she has apparently lost the trust of everyone close to her—by her own deeds and doing.
So what will Chuck do to try to save his father’s company from being sold? It looks like he will be taking a trip to New Zealand—which, Blair points out, is coincidently close to Australia. Jack Bass resides in Australia.
Will Chuck actually crawl to his evil Uncle for help battling Lily? The plot thickens.
Warming up:
Nate has been the go-between in his parent’s relationship for quite some time. Last episode he was able to get his mother to give his imprisoned father a chance—only to find out that his father might have ulterior motives.
In this episode, Nate finds out that his father spoke with someone about leasing a house outside of the city when he gets out of jail. This information wasn’t communicated to either Nate or his mother. So when Nate explains this to his mom, Anne concludes that her husband hasn’t changed and decides to go along with the divorce proceedings.
When Nate talks to his Dad about what happened, his father explains that the house was where he and Anne had vacationed and it was Nate’s mother’s “dream house.” He thought that they could use it as a vacation home to reconnect after he was let out of prison. Nate feels awful and says he will talk to his mom and explain the situation, but the Captain realizes that it won’t work out. That Anne never did believe he had changed for the better.
Nate’s father says that when he get’s out, he will live in a halfway house and get back on his feet.
Nate tries to reason with his mother, but she agrees that the divorce is what’s best. She said that they were just fooling themselves and she knows that it wouldn’t work out. She needs time away from his father.
But Nate refuses to let his father stay at a halfway house. It looks like Mr. Archibald will be moving into The Empire with Nate. We can only imagine how this will go.
On the bench:
Dammit, Rufus! DO SOMETHIING. Yes, Rufus ended up exposing Lily’s secret to Chuck and even gave her the cold shoulder afterwards. But once you find out that your life has been lying and scheming and hurting people for years and years—has been keeping secrets from you and your family—has been manipulating everyone—wouldn’t you be just a tiny bit more enraged?
I’m surprised (although not really) that Rufus didn’t bash her to death with his guitar. He is much to quiet right now. And maybe it is just that he’d dealing with the realization that the woman he loved and married isn’t really the woman he thought she was. But I want the man to show some anger. Some emotion would be nice.
Best plays of the night:
- Blair and Dan roadtripping up to Connecticut is awesome. I love their back-and-forth banter and their blossoming friendship.
- Dan to Blair: “So that’s your plan? Disguises and accents?” Blair: “I never said anything about accents. Can you do any?”
- The contrast of crazy Juliet being from such a quaint town is perfect.
- You have to love the Serena flashbacks. Part of me wishes she was still a crazy party girl. She was much more entertaining that way.
- The return of Damien was interesting…especially finding out that he was once Serena’s nerdy tutor before he turned drug dealer.
- Seriously, the Lily twist was good. Can anyone think of a worse television mother? Accepting nominations in the comments below.
- Chuck: “Goodbye friends. Dan.” I love that Chuck still hasn’t jumped on the Dan-Humphrey bandwagon. It’s good to have a hold-out.
Reminder: The next new episode will not be until January 24. It’s a long wait, but we’re sure it will be worth it. Until then, follow along with our blog for your daily Gossip Girl fix.
As an avid enthusiast with a profound understanding of the intricate world of Gossip Girl, allow me to dissect the article and shed light on the various concepts embedded in this captivating narrative.
First and foremost, the article revolves around a mysterious plotline featuring Juliet Sharp, a character shrouded in secrecy. The intricate web of deception and suspense unfolds as Blair and Dan, the protagonists, embark on a collaborative mission to unravel the enigma surrounding Serena's drugging at the Saints and Sinners party. The narrative employs elements such as flashbacks, sleuthing, and unexpected revelations to captivate the audience.
The characters, Blair and Dan, function as super sleuths, piecing together clues, including masks, a fake cocaine photo, and manipulations in relationships. To decipher Juliet's motives, they resort to unconventional methods, such as seeking advice from the omnipresent Gossip Girl. The plot then takes an unexpected turn as Gossip Girl leads them on a road trip to Cornwall, Connecticut, Juliet's hometown.
In Cornwall, they encounter Damien Delgard, a drug dealer linked to Juliet's machinations. The story delves into the past, revealing that Damien was Serena's tutor and witnessed events that fueled rumors of an inappropriate relationship between Serena and her teacher, Ben (Mr. Donovan). However, it unfolds that these accusations were based on false information, and Ben was falsely accused, leading to his imprisonment.
The central twist lies in Juliet's vendetta against Serena, orchestrated to avenge her brother Ben's unjust incarceration. Serena, in turn, discovers that her own mother, Lily Bass, played a sinister role by forging an affidavit that led to Ben's imprisonment. The revelation sparks a public confrontation between Serena and Lily, adding layers of complexity to the narrative.
The article also explores subplots involving Chuck Bass and his tumultuous relationship with Lily, who plans to sell Bass Industries without his knowledge. Nate Archibald grapples with his parents' failing marriage, and Rufus Humphrey, though aware of Lily's deceit, struggles with his emotional response.
The intricate storytelling weaves together themes of betrayal, revenge, family dynamics, and the repercussions of hidden truths. As the characters navigate a web of lies, the article captures the essence of Gossip Girl's dramatic storytelling, ensuring a riveting experience for fans eagerly anticipating the next twist in the narrative.
