The Treasure of Serena Madre
Original Air Date: Nov 30, 2009
Farrah Kaye – Associate Staff Writer
Farrah@thetwocentscorp.com
Although a bit late, the gang is celebrating Thanksgiving. Dan still has his post-threesome awkwardness, someone may be pregnant, Serena made out with Trip despite Nate telling her he loved her, Eric and Jenny are fighting non-stop and Blair and Chuck are, well being Blair and Chuck. Don’t forget Lily hiding the letter from Serena’s father. With all that going on, I can only imagine what this Thanksgiving will bring (normal final scene with the Van Der Woodsen clan eating fries?).
Rufus is handing out recipes but Lily wants to order in a turkey dinner since half the family can’t make it. Rufus gives in to Lily’s suggestion. When Lily says her mother can’t make it, Rufus suggests inviting her via webcam so they set up a trial run of a webchat. Jenny suggests Eric invite Jonathan but they’ve broken up but since Jenny and him haven’t been talking, she had no clue. She secretly texts him to invite him to dinner. Serena goes to talk to Trip and he tells her Maureen is coming to New York to announce their divorce and she says she can’t see him until the divorce is final. They decide to spend Thanksgiving together, in hiding in her hotel room. Blair’s mother is flying in to take her back to Paris to tell her something. Blair and Chuck run in to Serena as she goes into the hotel to find Nate. Inside his room, Nate is on the phone with Dan, still discussing the threesome and Olivia’s theory about “the look” Dan gave Vanessa. Seriously, I love the brosome these guys have! Nate is heading up to his grandfather’s estate for Thanksgiving to get away from everything, including his feelings for Serena. Vanessa lands on Dan’s doorstep because she needs a place to stay and he’s making “the face” at her and he refers to it as his “surprise happy” face. During the video chat with Cece, Rufus and Eric discover there is nothing wrong her and she is going to surprise Lily for Thanksgiving. Dorota is unhappy with her boyfriend (who is SUPER hot, by the way – HELLO!). Eleanor shows up, but not before a big package from her estate attorney arrives and Blair freaks out. Serena admits to Nate she kissed Trip once and doesn’t plan on repeating the mistake again. While they’re talking, Trip calls – of course. He cancels the plans for the next day and Serena hangs up on him. Serena, in turn, invites Nate for Thanksgiving dinner. Anyone else foresee half of NYC being at this dinner? Lily is walking around the city and runs into a woman wearing her coat and it happens to be Maureen. Lily asks her why Trip is making Serena work so much and Maureen gets this look on her face like she’s figuring something out. To get her daughter home for Thanksgiving, Lily invites Maureen and Trip for dinner. See, I saw it coming. This show … just …. needs new stories.
Dan is cooking while Vanessa complains about her mom and then brings up Olivia. Awkward much? Dan gives her “the face” again and Dan stammers for what kind of face it is. There’s a knock at the door and it’s Vanessa’s mom. Dan is trying to make the peace between the two. Trip catches Serena in the elevator and tells her he and Maureen are coming to dinner and they both agree it’s hard being around each other and Serena pulls the alarm and they start making out in the elevator. Smart idea. By the way, if anyone has forgotten, Chuck owns the hotel Serena is staying at. Blair still can’t get a hold of the big package from the estate her mother is hiding. Blair is trying to keep her mother as close to her as possible and not go to Paris and she throws out the idea to go to Lily’s for dinner. After coming back from running errands, Dorota is holding a bag of secret items Eleanor asked her to get and right on top is a pregnancy test. Blair assumes that is why her mom is changing the will. Chuck tells Nate about Trip’s make-out session with Serena in the elevator. Nate has decided he needs to be the one to get through to her before she gets hurt. He calls security. I assume he’s going to do something with the video.
As Lily and team prepare the dinner table, Rufus brings in her mother and she does not look happy. Gabriella (Vanessa’s mom), Vanessa and Dan come in and Gabriella is going on one of her rants about … something being politically incorrect. Cece makes a comment to Lily that she obviously has a lot to tell Rufus. Trip and Maureen show up …. awkward! Blair is in super crazy mode. Chuck tells Trip and Serena to never play “grab ass” in his elevators again. Priceless. Jenny asks Blair what happened between Eric and Jonathan and Blair tells her about Eric’s plan to bring down Little J at cotillion and Jonathan being against it. At the dinner table, Cece tells Rufus she’s been in remission since August but Lily didn’t come home until October. Blair confronts her mother about being pregnant and Maureen confronts Trip and Serena about their romp in the elevator, and she now has the video which she is showing them, with Lily looking over her shoulder. One by one, each guest is upset and leaves the table.
Before I continue, can we talk about the travesty that is Serena’s one-piece partially see-through velvet jumpsuit? Yucko. Lily tells Serena to walk away from Trip and until she does, she can’t stay in her house. Eric and Jenny discuss their friendship/sibling rivalry and why Jonathan left him. Eric just wanted things to go back to how they used to be and Jenny agrees. But in the end, they just decide to fight more. So what is this now, Little J versus Little E? Sorry, the world already has a Little E and he’s MUCH cooler than Eric Van Der Woodsen. Eleanor tells Blair she’s not pregnant but rather she’s moving to Paris. When Vanya comes to talk to them, they figure out it’s Dorota! I think it’s super cute that Dorota has become such a central character. Serena tells Maureen, in front of Chuck, Nate and Trip, that she’ll never see Trip again. Yah, right!
Despite their fighting, Blair decides to be Serena’s friend. It’s nice to see these two being best friends again, for the moment any way. Blair invites Serena to come to Paris with her. I’d love it if my best friend and I could go to Paris for the weekend to feel better. If you’re reading this, that’s what I want for my birthday, k? Just kidding. Rufus confronts Lily about why she stayed longer with Cece and lying about it. She says she wanted to stay and enjoy the loving person Cece became after she was in remission and anyone with half a brain can see it’s a lie. Lily and Cece talk about some “trip” Lily took but we don’t know why or to where. Lily wants it to stay a secret. Eleanor and Blair confront Dorota to go to Vanya. She is just so cute! Gabriella is packed and ready to leave when Dan talks to her about the similarities her and Vanessa have. Dan gives “the look” to Gabriella who has figured out Dan is in love with Vanessa, who denies it. Trip is mad at Nate for giving Maureen the video and Nate is okay with what he did. Okay seriously, can someone PLEASE dub over Ed Westwick’s voice? He obviously needs more American accent training or something because he is trying way too hard. When Serena is getting her passport, Trip comes and pretty much professes his love for her, saying he doesn’t care what he loses for her, even his career. Blair tells her to go after him. When Serena goes to put her passport back in the safe, she finds a letter to her from her father postmarked a few weeks before and it’s already been opened. Oooohhh. She reads it but we don’t get to see what’s in it. Serena tells Lily she is leaving with Trip and Lily starts lecturing her and Serena gives her the letter, telling her she’s not allowed to judge her. Oh man, what the heck is in that letter?!
Gabriella thanks Dan for making her and Vanessa talk and they are going to stay somewhere else for the remainder for the holiday. Then she offers up some great advice: if he isn’t 100% sure about his feelings for her, don’t do anything about it because if their friendship is ruined, it would be horrible. As Serena goes to get in Trip’s car, Nate comes and professes his love and begs her not to go. What’s with all his professing of things and love? Seriously, Serena is NOT that great of a catch. As Vanessa and Gabriella leave, Vanessa tells Dan she likes his “new face.” Oh this is not going to end well. Vanya is super excited about Dorota and the baby. Aw how cute! Eric texts someone (Jonathan maybe?) that “Jenny knows” and it’s “time to strike.” Lily is reading the letter when Rufus asks her to get their wedding album for Cece to see when she crumples the letter and throws it in the pocket of her jacket. Chuck, Blair and Eleanor come out to find Nate sitting alone on a bench – obviously having been rejected by Serena – and Chuck, ever the best friend, offers to take him to get drunk. Maureen is putting on her coat to leave and when she reaches in her pocket she pulls out Lily’s letter (remember, they have the same jacket – GASP!). So now Maureen knows Lily’s big secret. You know she’s going to use it to get Trip back and screw over Serena.
Next week, Maureen confronts Serena with the letter, Nate punches someone (I’ll assume it’s Trip) and Trip and Serena get into a car accident.
I have to say, I actually (O.M.G.) enjoyed this episode. The Thanksgiving dinner scene at the table was great Gossip Girl moment after moment. And the music selection was great, too. I can’t wait to find out what’s in that letter and how far Maureen will take things. She seems super vicious! What are your two cents? Leave them below! XOXO
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