TV Review: Gossip Girl 2.2

Posted by Michelle Graham (michelle@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 9, 2008

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

Episode: “Never Been Marcused” (Season 2, Episode 2)

Synopsis: Blair (Leighton Meester) meets Marcus’s step-mother, who happens to be Nate’s (Chace Crawford) older woman. Serena (Blake Lively) and Dan (Penn Badgely) get hot and heavy, repeatedly, and Chuck (Ed Westwick) tries to be a good friend to Nate, who is having family finance issues.

Review: This week, we mostly see Blair’s quest to prove to his Lordship that she’s equal to his social set. Serena and Dan are confused, and both claim that they want to back off & think things through. Of course, with all those hormones & the whole summer apart, resolve slips… Surprisingly though, Serena and Dan are not the ones caught in flagrante. Instead, Nate and Catherine (his bungalow bunny), are caught short by Blair, who is shocked to discover that Nate’s new lady friend is actually Marcus’s step-mother. Of course, being Blair, she quickly turns it to her advantage. No such luck for Chuck though. After discovering that Nate’s familial assets have been frozen due to his father fleeing the country last season, he tries to help them out by selling his club, but Nate rejects the offer of help. Instead, he accepts a large envelope of cash from Catherine. Payment for services rendered, maybe? There could be less Blair obsessing about Marcus (though in an episode called “Never Been Marcused”, what do you expect?), but overall the episode came together well. Although a little slow, a few interesting plot strands are beginning to emerge. Nate’s family troubles look like they’re going to cause quite the stir in his life, & could change his situation quite a bit. It’s nice to see some of the more minor characters again, such as Vanessa and Rufus, & hopefully they will get more screen time next week.

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