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

Episode: “The Serena Also Rises” (Season 2, Episode 5)

Synopsis: Serena’s (Blake Lively) ascent to Queen of the pack continues, much to Blair’s (Leighton Meester) dismay. Meanwhile, Dan’s (Penn Badgley) efforts to establish himself as a writer lead him to follow Chuck (Ed Westwick) down the rabbit hole and into a jail cell. Little Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) builds her fashion cred at the expense of her relationship with her father, not to mention her school, and Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford) discovers that her husband knows more about her than she realised.

Review: With a friend like Blair, how could anyone need an enemy? Despite her supposed friendship with Serena, Blair’s aim during this episode seems to be to make her life miserable. Sadly for her, karma’s a bitch and no matter how hard she tries, Serena remains untouchable. This whole dynamic feels a lot like season 1, after Blair discovered Serena’s betrayal with Nate. Can their friendship really last through another round of this? Even though we’ve seen it all before, Blair’s inner bitch is always a treat to witness. Poor Little J. gets caught in Blair’s crosshairs but in a real triumph of Tiny Tim, still manages to come out on top. However, will the appearance of her own design on Eleanor Waldorf’s catwalk jeopardize her elevation in the fashion world? Without an education, J’s pretty reliant on her position in Eleanor’s studio, she’d better hope she doesn’t step on the wrong toes.

Over on the testosterone side of the street, Dan’s walk on the wild side and caveman protection of the evil Chuck gave us a glimpse of a truly tormented Bass Jr. Is it possible that Chuck’s deep-seated issues with being even the slightest bit human stems from blaming himself for his mother’s death? This truly gives us a Chuck we can relate to, but do we really want that? This season Chuck has been an endless source of entertainment. An emotional aspect is good, but don’t lose the edge.

This week had nothing to do with Nate, Vanessa or the endless saga of Serena and Dan and boy was it a welcome change. Fashion week is hellish, rivalries are at their peak and this episode showcases that to perfection. Little Jenny’s becoming more interesting by the week as she steps away from her family and out of the schoolgirl role and the absence of Nate and his debacle wasn’t felt or even noticed until after the credits rolled. The in-fighting between B and every person in a 5 mile radius more than made up for whatever lack of romantic melodrama, with interesting resolutions and treaties between previously warring parties. A return to the form of old may await as the Upper East side beehive suddenly discovers itself with two Queens. Everyone knows that never ends well.

Up Next Week: “New Haven Can Wait” – After this week’s open hostilities, Serena goes toe to toe with Blair as she ditches her dream college in favour of visiting Blair’s. Could this be the first direct assault?

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