Gossip Girl: "The Dark Night"

A late summer heat wave and a city-wide blackout bring new drama to the Upper East Side, during "The Dark Night," on CW's Gossip Girl.

With the summer coming to an end, Dan Humphrey and Serena van der Woodsen are faced with the prospect of committing to one another in a long-term relationship, or admitting that their reunion was nothing more than wishful thinking. While Serena seems open to the idea of restarting their relationship--and even excited by the thought of announcing it at BFF Blair Waldorf's Back to School Party, Dan has reservations. Defending Blair against Dan's presumed objections, Serena is disappointed to realize that Dan is right, and that Blair is against their reunion. As far as Blair is concerned, she believes they are simply glossing over the real reason they split at the end of last season.

A moment of clarity for Dan and Serena occurs during a meeting with a group of pre-teens armed with old messages from Gossip Girl. Telling Dan at first how much they like him, they quickly turn on Serena, asking him why he would want to go out with her. Following Dan's questions, the girls turn to Serena with rude quandaries about why she'd want to go out with someone who kissed villainess Georgina Sparks. Although the girls are rushed off, Serena appears to be most affected by this show, and initiates the decision to go their own separate ways so she can think about their situation.

The matter finally comes to a climax when the pair, on their way to Blair's Back to School Party, find themselves stuck in the elevator during the blackout. Although Serena and Dan still share feelings for one another, at a certain level, their past drama makes it impossible to start anew. The end of the power outage in turn signals the formal end of Serena's relationship with Dan.

Serena's step-brother, Chuck Bass, meanwhile, faces relationship problems of his own, as his feelings for Queen B, Blair Waldorf have gotten in the way of his activities with other women. Talking to Serena, Chuck is reluctant to admit his issue, but perks at the thought of one last sexual rendezvous with Blair as a way of restoring his drive.

Meantime, Lady in training, Blair becomes increasingly frustrated with her boyfriend, Lord Marcus, as a conversation with Duchess Beaton makes her question whether she and Marcus would ever be able to carry on a passionate physical relationship. As proof, the Duchess uses her own relationship with her husband, or lack their of, as evidence. Adding to the dilemma, a sensual encounter with Chuck makes Blair draw uncomfortable comparisons between her boyfriend and her ex-lover.

 

When the lights go out, Blair seizes the opportunity to settle her own mind, and practically begs Lord Marcus to meet her in her bedroom. Chuck arrives instead with a British accent in tow, but the lights come back on and Lord Marcus finds Chuck and Blair in a passionate lip-lock. He then delivers Chuck a blow to the face (Chuck's third this series) and furiously storms off. But he is stopped by Blair who justifies her actions by telling Marcus that she is "not a delicate flower" and that she needs him physically. As they kiss, Chuck can only stand by and watch.

Nate Archibald, meanwhile, begins to sense his limits with Duchess Catherine Beaton. The money that has gone towards helping his family is gone, and he is dependent on her power and wealth to supply him with the funds to keep his home-life afloat. Magnifying his sense of powerlessness is a growing sense of caring for Vanessa Abrams, whom he begins to juggle alongside his responsibilities as a boy toy. Even this is dangerous, however, as a very public display of affection between Nate and Vanessa is witnessed by Catherine in a nearby car.

 

Blair gets involved as well, and although she does not realize the full scope of the situation, she stirs the waters by knowingly inviting both Vanessa and Catherine to her Back to School Party. While the situation creates a session of do-or-die honesty between Vanessa and Nate, it ends poorly, as Catherine threatens Vanessa by stating that she will expose the location of Nate's father, Captain Archibald, who is hiding from the police, if Nate leaves her. Wanting to protect Nate from having to make the decision, Vanessa tells Nate that Catherine loves him and they belong together, and that she is out of the picture for good.

 

Little Jenny Humphrey continues to struggle in her internship with Waldorf Designs, as her boss Laurel continues to dismiss and belittle her. Everyone in the office is in a tizzy over the imminent return of the company's owner and lead designer, Eleanor Waldorf. But a change of plans has Eleanor return to her showroom instead of her apartment, where she catches Jenny suggesting changes to the design of a dress. Eleanor then fires Jenny on the spot, stating that she needs everyone on her team to be on board.

But as a twist of fate would have it, the blackout strikes just as Jenny is leaving the design studio. Eleanor remarks that she cannot send Jenny out into the dark night, and tells her that she should stay until it is over. She then asks Jenny for her opinion on the very same design that got her fired, and Eleanor realizes that Jenny was right all along, and allows her to keep her internship. Worried, her father, Rufus Humphrey, stops by the showroom to ensure that his daughter is safe. But he is not alone... He is with a date named Claire! While some are fortunate enough to spend the dark night with a love or a friend, some will have to brave it all alone...

Next Monday's episode, "The Ex-Files" finds Dan cozying up to the new girl in school, Amanda. But, Blair and her minions won't have that, and they decide to befriend Amanda, in order to sabotage the budding romance. Meanwhile, Vanessa will uncover a scandalous secret about Catherine, and the newly married Lily van der Woodsen will return to the Upper East Side, only to find herself still drawn to her former love, Rufus.

What new romances will ignite on next week's episode of Gossip Girl, and which old flames will still refuse to be snuffed out... That's a secret you'll have to wait to find out...

Until then, Stay tuned and Stay fashionable,

-- Alaythia   

Comments

[anitaaa]

DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHERE I COULD FIND THE DRESS SERENA IS WEARING WHEN SHE IS IN THE ELEVATOR

[Alaythia Calhoun]

Dear Anita!

Thank you for your great question! I agree, Serena's dress in this episode was absolutely amazing!!

The Honeycomb High Neck Dress was designed by Vena Cava. It is priced at $437 in it's listing here:

http://www.stylehive.com/bookmark/Vena-Cava--Honeycomb-High-Neck-Dress--Sakscom-329710

If you like the pattern, I was also excited to find out that Vena Cava used it in this dress that is priced a lot less at about $118.

http://www.basicboutique.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=784&pdata=Gossip+Girl

Hope this helps!! Thank you for your fantastic question!

xo
Alaythia