Following the runway drama of the previous week, the episodes "New Haven Can Wait" and "Chuck In Real Life" reveal another important chapter in the lives of the Manhattan Elite on CW's Gossip Girl.
Queen B Blair Waldorf is frustrated to learn that her BFF Serena van der Woodsen's star is rising after her model display at New York Fashion Week. Waking up in the morning to another photo of Serena on Page Six, the society column of the newspaper, Blair is determined to beat Serena at something they've planned their entire lives for: college. Serena's plan has always been to attend Brown, while Blair's has always been to attend Yale. That all changes, however, after Serena recieves an invitation from the Chancellor of Yale, and Blair inadvertently encourages her to use it by mocking her choice of Brown. The two head off to New Haven, neither knowing of the other one's plans.
Once on campus, the drama between Serena and Blair unfolds rapidly. After a spectacular admissions interview for Serena--and a disasterous one for Blair--the two friends engage in a battle for the heart of Yale's Chancellor. While Serena is formally invited to an important party at his house, Blair bribes his secretary for the same invitation. While rumor of early admissions holds the main motivation for attendance, the appearance of status ultimately drives the pair to sabotage one another.
A secret ballot, in fact, proves more than Blair can handle, and as Serena steals Blair's answer to The Chancellor's question, Blair is compelled to remove Serena's ballot and rewrite it. Replacing an accurate answer with the name of Pete Fairman, the boy that Serena feels she is responsible for killing, Blair and Serena are forced to confront each other. Picking up her shoe, Blair throws it at Serena, and hits her in the head. After a physical brawl, the two decide to walk away from one another, but reconcile in the morning, as each one's guilt prompted an early morning visit to The Chancellor. As it turns out, Serena is guaranteed admissions, but Blair must wait like everyone else to discover if she is accepted. However, Serena's fate is not the result of hard work, but merely a ploy by The Chancellor to include a mix of models and socialites into Yale's student body.
Upon returning back to Manhattan, Blair openly continues to flirt with bad boy Chuck Bass, but chooses to keep him from acting on his desires, physically. She is also approached by Vanessa Abrams, who asks her surprisingly, to gather signatures in the hopes of saving a landmark bar in Brooklyn. When she flagrantly dismisses the idea, Vanessa pulls out her phone, revealing an explicit photo of Blair's ex, Lord Marcus, and his step-mother, Duchess Catherine Beaton. Blair in turn, contacts Chuck for help.
Asking him to put down a fake offer on the building to negate the need for the petition, she also asks that he seduce Vanessa and break her heart. The plan implodes, however, as Chuck finds himself lacking motivation--to which Blair offers an intimate encounter with herself as added payment. However, Chuck finds himself actually thinking of buying the property, and showing slight feelings for Vanessa. Stunned, Blair calls off the deal to pull Chuck off Vanessa, and finally kills the entire arrangement as she deletes the dreaded picture from Vanessa's phone. Blair, who is finally relieved, tells Chuck that he can take his payment, but even that fails as Chuck suddenly wants Blair to tell him that she loves him. Unable to do so, he states that he can no longer chase after her, and he leaves.
In addition to Blair-related worries, Serena is equally troubled by family affairs. In the hopes of creating greater family unity, her mother Lily van der Woodsen and her new step-father Bart Bass team up to create a new set of family rules. Involving a weekend curfew and stricter guidelines on school nights, the rules are the immediate effect of Bart's return to the family. While Serena complains loudly and openly, she eventually decides to temporarily accept them on the advice of her brother Eric van der Woodsen, who is willing to give them a chance. The harmony is short-lived, however, as step-brother Chuck informs Serena that the only reason Bart instituted the rules, was to prevent Serena from ruining the family's reputation, and in turn his business deals.
Serena immediately begins to rebel even harder, choosing to go out in a slinky dress on a school night, and challenging Lily on Bart's authority as a father-figure. The scene finally explodes as Serena is forced to pretend that she is part of a normal, healthy American family for Bart's business clients. Bringing up Lily's several other husbands, Serena talks about drugs and other unsavory topics before storming out the door. Looking for someone to talk to, Serena accidentally finds her ex-boyfriend Dan Humphrey who promises to listen. Explaining the entire situation to him, she calms down, and before long, finds Bart waiting for her in a limo. Arriving back at the house, Lily and Serena make up, and joined by Eric and Bart, the four sit as a family.
Lonely boy Dan, meanwhile, continues to work on his writing, while struggling to earn acceptance to Yale. Speaking to The Chancellor, he is dissapointed to learn that his application is lacking a sufficient written recommendation. Advised to find a Yale professor to look at his work, Dan finds a girl in the English department to help him, but is surprised to find that she is also Nate Archibald's love interest. Furthermore, she knows Nate as Dan Humphrey after Nate becomes fearful of being recognized as Captain Archibald's son.
The day grows even more problematic for Dan, as Chuck decides to participate in an individualized rush for Skull and Bones, Yale's secret society. As the ultimate test of loyalty, Chuck is asked to capture Nate, his best friend. Wanting Nate to avoid such a terrible fate, Chuck involves Dan by declaring him to be Nate, and earning him an almost naked display, tied to a center pole in the middle of the campus. Nate, who ends up finding out later, rescues Dan with the help of his new love interest. When the group finds out that Chuck has lied to them, he blackmails the members with incriminating photos, taken during a session with paid women of Chuck's provision. In addition to being let go, Chuck claims superiority over the legendary group.
Back in Manhattan, Dan finds Nate's personal life concerning. While the two have become fast friends and Dan has even joined the school's soccer team, Nate continues to avoid the subject of his living situation. The problem comes to a head as Dan realizes that Nate's home has been seized, his mother has moved out, and that he is currently squatting in his old home. Discussing that matter with his sister, Jenny Humphrey, Dan eventually confronts Nate with what he knows, and offers to give Nate a place to stay. Rejecting it the first time, a second offer is all it takes, and Nate agrees to move in with Dan.
Meanwhile, Jenny faces a number of difficult challenges as her relationship with Eleanor Waldorf grows. Completing the show successfully, Jenny's passion and talent for the fashion industry is no secret to anyone. It is, however, worrisome for her father, Rufus Humphrey, who sincerely cannot stand the idea of his only daughter dropping out of school at just 15. Bringing in Vanessa as an example, Jenny offers home schooling as an alternative, but Rufus denies that option as well. With little room left to maneuver, Jenny asks Rufus to simply watch her in action, doing what she loves, and he agrees.
Watching her in the workroom, Rufus is impressed, but still cannot come to terms with taking her out of school. Thinking of Eleanor as a possible "out," he asks if she would be willing to fire Jenny, to which she absolutely refuses. With no other alternative, Rufus gives Jenny a "no," which absolutely crushes her. Thinking about his own artistic career, however, gives him reason to pause, and after speaking with his former love interest Lily, Rufus changes his mind. Vanessa helps Jenny start home schooling, while keeping her position for Eleanor.
In next week's episode, "Pret-a-Poor-J," Jenny will make friends with a model who will encourage Jenny to confront Eleanor Waldorf about "borrowing" her designs. Serena, meanwhile, meets an artist and realizes they have instant chemistry, while Blair tries to seduce Chuck. To find out how the lives of The Social Elite unravel,
Stay Tuned and Stay Fashionable,
-- Alaythia
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