My first thoughts after this week’s “Gossip Girl” episode: Finally! A plot line that wasn’t completely dropped two episodes later! No more mysterious Santorini arrests or secret liaisons between Blair and Chuck’s uncle! Dan’s mystery phone call to his half-sibling was a nice return to an earlier plot line I thought writers completely forgot about. Maybe this trend will continue and there will be a story line that lasts longer than two episodes. I also felt my anxiety ease to see Jenny looking nothing like a raccoon — a return to her fresh faced prettiness from the first season. Now if only she would gain a few more pounds, I wouldn’t worry about her so much.
But maybe the most unanticipated surprise of this episode: I didn’t mind the new pairings. Vanessa and Chuck? Blair and Nate (again)? The return of Blair and Nate, formerly one of the blandest couplings on the show, was sweet and refreshing. Meeting at the place of their first kiss? Cute. Nate wanting to actually be Blair’s friend and resisting her over-the-top seduction techniques? Well, that certainly is new.
I’ve never been a Vanessa fan. I find her integrity and devotion to her bohemian lifestyle utterly annoying. Yet with Chuck, I see a bad, more manipulative and more fun Vanessa. She’s sleeping around. She’s attempting to manipulate her ex. She is no longer the goody two-shoes we love to hate. Congrats to the show’s writers for finally giving this character some dimension. Now don’t get me wrong — I am still cheering loudly for the Blair-Chuck team, but I can support this hopefully temporary but still exciting detour.
