Gossip Girl 2×11 – The Magnificent Archibalds

Thanksgiving is all about the families – the Humphreys hunt down homeless Jenny, the Archibalds reunite with a catch, the Waldorf-Rose families collide with much drama and the Van der Woodsens abandon the Basses, for now at least.

After Little J gets thrown out by Agnes last week, she turns to the stalwart Eric Van der Woodsen for support. Good ol’ E hides her in their house (how big is the house that Serena and other servants don’t notice?) and even accompanies her to the Lawyer’s office to get her emancipation papers.

I’m glad Eric got a much bigger role this episode – I love sensible Eric. Besides helping out Jenny best as he can, he also discovers (with Chuck’s help) that Bart Bass has been monitoring and keeping files on the entire VdW family, to such an extent that Bart even knows that Eric’s new bf Jonathan has been cheating on him! (dump that cheating ass!)

He also reads Lily’s file and finds out that she’s been institutionalized before in her youth, and he’s angry that she didn’t tell her, but fantastically mature in understanding and says he’s all ready to listen when she is. Aww Eric! How can someone cheat on such a sweet boy. “When did you get so mature?” says Lily, in similar awe to me. “Through the sitter of course”, snarks Eric so sweetly it could never be a barb.

I love how Lily just put her foot down with Bart, keeping tabs on her is one thing, but her children too? Bart’s intentions might sound honourable, but really, now you know where Chuck got his spying genes from. I find it hilarious that Chuck picked up the habit of having a PI on retainer from his dad! I wonder if they routinely spy on each other to find out what the other is doing. But I hope Lily knows what she’s dealing with – Bart is a dangerous man, and after he finds out he’s been abandoned for the Humphreys, he’s pulling out all his stops to find out what got Lily into that institution in the first place. Uh-oh Lily, I’d watch your back. Big ‘I-killed-someone-moment’ coming up perhaps?

Serena still has her artist boy twisting, even when he decides to commit himself to dating her exclusively. (love Blair’s SERENA. DOESN’T. SHARE. and Serena’s retort that Blair should learn to.) He tells her he’s sober, and typical Serena, more willing to push every thing under the table if that’s what it takes, tells him she’s quit her partying ways. Obviously, Aaron doesn’t read Page 6 much if he bought that, because wasn’t Serena all in the tabloids from her Poppy Lifton socialite ways just recently?

Well it gets Dan in trouble when he unwittingly spills the beans, but he takes the hit when he covers for Serena to Aaron, but even he tells Serena that some things can’t be stashed in the closet. After the whole PI debacle, she takes her file to Aaron, but he says he doesn’t need to read it (how would he know what if he didn’t read it, huh, huh??) and they’re all lovey dovey again. This is where Serena totally takes after Lily, in that such a strong fantastic woman can be so completely led by their nose by the men they fall in love with. Come on Serena, don’t take Aaron’s nonsense!

Blair meanwhile, is getting used with the invading Rose family, and on learning that Cyrus proposed and her mum didn’t tell her first (as well as eating her precious pumpkin pie), she grabs Dorota and they split the scene. Dorota’s ringtone for Eleanor is Britney’s “I’m a slave for you”, how funny is that!

Well all ends happily for Blair this thanksgiving as Eleanor goes to bring her back, her Father makes an appearance, pumpkin pie and all, but not before she runs into poor sad little J on the streets, and knocks some sense into her to go home.

To recap about Jenny’s story, Lily tries to talk to Jenny about going home, and discovers her emancipation papers. She calls Rufus, and he’s in shock and clearly at his wit’s end, but he gets through to Jenny that he loves her, and Jenny finally comes home without her massively lined eyes. THANK YOU SHOW, the bangs and the raccoon eyes were really crazy – Jenny is so much prettier and sweeter without all that. Was that get up supposed to be her crazy emo get up, and now that it’s gone it means she’s truly come home?

Poor Nate Archibald, somehow has lost all his friends – he’s still angry with Chuck, Dan’s pissed at him about the whole Jenny thing and so is Vanessa. All alone in the world, Nate returns to New York with his mum and discovers that his Dad has returned, and wants to take them away to Dominica with him. First he loses his house and fortune, now he has to give up the only life he’s known? Poor Nate is not a happy camper.

After the FBI approach Vanessa, she calls Chuck and they stage an intervention, telling Nate that his Father only wants to use him to extort money from the Van der bilt side of the family. Poor Nate, always being made use of, one way or another! He’s had enough of it, and emotionally and very tearily, persuades his Dad to do the right thing and turn himself in. He might have lost his family, but at least he’s back with Chuck again, and I am mightily thankful for that.

But Vanessa pulls a stunner when she steals Jenny’s mail from Nate – though both claim they haven’t heard from each other since (and with all their drama, who can blame them) and make up with Vanessa, but we finally get to see what Nate wrote Jenny… a love declaration! Nooooo! Wonder what V’s going to do with that? Whatever it is, you know it can’t be as good as whatever Blair might do.

So just taking a look back at S1’s “Blair Waldorf must Pie!” episode, let’s see how different the thanksgivings have been since then:

The Humphreys and Van der Woodsens end up together again on Thanksgiving, though this time it’s a lot less awkward without Alison around.

Blair and Eleanor get into another holiday tiff, but instead of bullimic relapses, this time it works out happily as her whole family, past and future come together.

Poor Nate has not had very good thanksgivings these past 2 years- the last time after the scandal comes out, his Dad tried to kill himself with sleeping pills, this time around Nate finds out he’s being used for extortion. Thankfully while things were just starting to get crazy the last time, this time he’s able to put an end to things.

Hope everyone out there who celebrated Thanksgiving had a good one, and that yours was less dramatic than our Upper East Siders. XOXO!