S3E01 - The Reversals of Fortune - Non Judging Breakfast Pod

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Leif (00:00):
That reminds me of a, Do you ever watch that show?
Episodes?

Steve (00:04):
No, I've heard of it. That's, the Friends.
Matt Blanc, right?

Leif (00:08):
Yeah. it's like a
fictional version of himself.

Steve (00:12):
Yeah, yeah, I never actually watched it.

Leif (00:14):
But at one point in the show,
he was feeling a bit depressed, so he slept with his
stalker, who was
a young, beautiful woman.

Steve (00:25):
That's hilarious
in a comedic universe. That's
hilarious
in the realm of television. It's sort of
like when I watch a horror movie with, Robin. She's like,
people don't deserve to die. I'm like, no, there are rules to horror
movies, and that person deserves to die

(00:48):
by the law of horror movies, not real
life.

Leif (00:59):
Hey, Upper Eastsiders and all you scandal loving listeners out
there, you just tuned into the non judging breakfast
pod, where the coffee is strong, the
waffles are fresh, and the gossip is hotter than
ever. My name is Leif, and I'm your seasoned
Gossip Girl veteran.

Steve (01:14):
And I'm Steve, your newbie, your greenhorn,
your. I don't know, Leaf. It's season three. How new
am I?

Leif (01:21):
if you don't mind, or even if you do, we have an
episode to record here.

Steve (01:25):
Yeah, I mean, after all, I drove across state
lines to get here, so
let's go ahead and get into it. So here's
the deal, folks. Leaf has been a fan of Gossip Girl since
it first aired, and I'm diving in for the
very first time. And together, we're your dynamic duo, bringing
you all the drama, romance, and sometimes

(01:46):
questionable fashion choices of this comic
2007 series.

Leif (01:50):
That's right. Each week we'll be taking a deep dive into the
show one episode at a time. We analyze the
hidden parallels and obscure references. Plus, we'll also
be touching on all the behind the scenes gossip and some
stories from fandom.

Steve (02:03):
And since we're all about inclusivity here at the non, judging
breakfast pod, there's always room for you at the non judging
breakfast table. So go ahead and grab a
mimosa, some coffee, or maybe some of, Nate and
Chuck's special medicine. And let's get into
this.

Leif (02:17):
Let's do it. We are here at season
three.

Steve (02:21):
Season three. Yeah. I just
realized this morning how close we are to 50 episodes.

Leif (02:27):
Yes, we are. We're getting, pretty close here.

Steve (02:30):
Yeah. Yeah, just a few away, which is really
a milestone for podcasts.

Leif (02:35):
So it's kind of a slow episode,
but I think it set some stuff up.

Steve (02:40):
Yeah. And I know we said this in our Last episode. But once
again, go birds. I was down at the parade.
I just wanted to bring that up, that a, friend of ours
lives right off of Broad street and got to sit there and watch the
parade as it went by, and then saw the
speeches censored on TV so we could hardly hear what
they said.

Leif (02:58):
Yeah. The key was to find the YouTube live
stream.

Steve (03:01):
Yeah, yeah. And we were at a friend's house, and we didn't want
to change the tv, but I've since been looking them
up and finding a lot of them unedited,
because the censorship was so bad on
CBS that it would be right as
they said something. Then you would lose, like, the rest of
their speech. They would block it out for, like, 30

(03:22):
seconds sometimes.

Leif (03:23):
That's because they can only dump so many times and, like,
within a certain amount. Period. Yeah.

Steve (03:28):
and I'm like, I'm familiar with how it works. My big thing
is how we just pay the fines, Howie.
Just pay all the FCC fines. That won't go
against salary cap. You know, we've
got the money's there in the budget. Like,
go ahead, just pay all their fines and let them stay.

Leif (03:45):
Yeah, I don't know if you want to get that
kind of attention on you right now with the current administration.

Steve (03:50):
Yeah, that's true.

Leif (03:52):
And, like I said, if you found the YouTube link, you can watch it
live, uncensored.

Steve (03:57):
Yeah. And I'll remember that for next time because that
was. It was really annoying how
much they dropped just to be safe.
And then you had other networks that were, like,
never on the ball. They'd be like, we're
fucking, Jim. We're very sorry about what you just
heard. And they'd cut out the wrong part.

Leif (04:16):
And then, I know the Fox one, they kept
cutting in to apologize.

Steve (04:21):
Yeah, there was another. I think it
was abc, also did that. There
was, like, you know, you missed it. Just
apologize once at the end.

Leif (04:33):
But we are here to talk about Gossip Girl.
Season 3, Episode 1 Reversals
of Fortune original air date
was September 14, 2009.

Steve (04:46):
That's a late premiere for them, isn't it? Weren't the others
closer to August?

Leif (04:50):
maybe. I'll have to go back and look. Let us
know.

Steve (04:54):
I thought I remembered that
little bit of a lore dump when we first started
that. Because season two
starts before they get back
to New York. So
I thought. I remember that. I could be completely off,
too. So let us know. Folks.

Leif (05:15):
This is before college starts, which usually starts
in August.

Steve (05:19):
Yeah, yeah.

Leif (05:20):
the title is based off of the
movie reversals of fortune as
1990, starring Jeremy Irons and Glenn
Close. Never seen it.

Steve (05:31):
Never saw it. I've heard the title. That's
about it. But I think I've heard the title.

Leif (05:36):
As of short description on IMDb
is wealthy Sonny Von
Bulow, ty's brain dead husband
Klaus guilty of attempted murder, but
he says he's innocent and hires Alan
Dershowitz for his appeal?

Steve (05:53):
Is it a true story?

Leif (05:55):
Possibly.

Steve (05:56):
I mean, isn't Alan Dershowitz a real attorney?

Leif (05:58):
I believe so.

Steve (06:00):
And like, who wasn't famous yet either,
right? Like he got famous from the
O.J. trial. Right? Sure, I
think so. because I think he was on the OJ team.
And that wasn't until 95.
94. 95. Somewhere in there. Yeah,
95. Because I was a freshman in college when he was on trial.

Leif (06:20):
This episode was written by new de facto
showrunner Josh Safran.

Steve (06:26):
Yeah, decent job.

Leif (06:29):
and directed by Back again
J. Miller Tobin. This is his fifth
episode of the series. Previously did Poison
Ivy, Blair, Bitch Project, Summer
Kind of Wonderful, and the grandfather
Funny.

Steve (06:45):
That's a roller coaster, you know, Poison
Ivy, our favorite. And
then I like the grandfather,
the other two. Summer Kind of Wonderful is probably
one of our lowest rated episodes.

Leif (06:58):
I think that was the Caesar
premiere, so we liked that one better than the second
one, which was never been marcused.

Steve (07:06):
Yeah, yeah, it was never been Marcus that. It was probably our
lowest rated so far. Although I did, I,
I. There were. Yeah, this was a
better premiere. I thought this was a better season
premiere than the last one.

Leif (07:20):
Why don't you go ahead and read us the Vulture recap?

Steve (07:22):
All right, here we go. It's a heartbreaking
thing. The end of summer. And yet fall
comes almost as a relief. As the air
turns crisper and invigorating, winds
sweep across the land. We're happy to wave
goodbye to our summer friends, the ones with
whom we've engaged in superficial conversations for
the past few months, and go back to our

(07:44):
real friends, our city friends, to
leave behind that slow minded pool
gossip and partake once again
in rapid reference rich conversation with
smart people who know maybe
who Anis Ninja and
Truffon are. And with the new
season, too, comes a fresh start.

(08:06):
A chance to do something, to be something
different. This is what we felt last night during
the season premiere of Gossip Girl. The greatest show
of our time. Last night's episode
was all about new beginnings, about taking on
new roles or shaking off old ones.
The Humphrey family now conjoined to the Bass

(08:27):
Van Der Woodsens were adjusting to their new
social and economic positions with
varying degrees of success.
Meanwhile, Rufus and Lily's son
Scott had been playing the part of
Vanessa's innocent love interest,
though clearly his sights are set on
something bigger. Nate Archibald was trying

(08:48):
to resist playing the role his family wanted
him to, though he will likely be foiled
in this endeavor, for he is an
imbecile and his grandfather
has a Ferrari. Blair and Chuck
were finding that a little role playing was
helping them come to terms with their new monogamous
selves. And even Carter Basin, appeared to be

(09:10):
in the process of transforming
himself from a cocky, arrogant
asshole into a sensitive, thoughtful young
man. Serena, however, was, ah,
basically the same
facts.

Leif (09:24):
Facts.

Steve (09:26):
Oh, my God. Like that,
that, that. once again, it's a perfect
recap. And if nothing else, for that last line,
like, all of these people are just trying to be their
new self and Serena is just
Serena.

Leif (09:40):
Yeah, Serena was super cringy in the season finale, and
she's super cringy in the season premiere.

Steve (09:46):
She's so cringy. I have stuff to
say, but we'll get to that. And on
that note, I will say now, whenever I talk
to somebody about being on
the non judging breakfast pod, the
first thing I'm asked is if I'm up on the
drama of the Blake Lively

(10:06):
and Justin Baldoni.
Baldoni. Which I
mostly get my intel from Leif
and I. I've read some of
it, but yeah, just. I just keep seeing
Baldoni coming up with receipts.

Leif (10:23):
Yeah, I mean, trial should be
interesting.

Steve (10:26):
Yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm. I'll be
following that along a lot closer. I
hate following that stuff. Like, I hate
celebrity bullshit like that.
However, I feel like this is just part of the job of being on this
podcast at that point, you know.

Leif (10:44):
Act one begins. Welcome
back, Upper East Siders, after a
long, hot summer. Way I see, it didn't take
long for you to dirty up the clean slates I gave
you. My inbox is overflowing,
so let's get to the good stuff, shall we?
Spotted Chuck Bass up to his old
tricks. Poor B. I guess nothing

(11:07):
good lasts forever.
Hot time, summer in the city. Chuck
is flirty with a Serena knockoff at a Manhattan
bar.

Steve (11:16):
First of all, my first response is like, what the fuck,
Chuck? Is this person a.
Is she, is she a cameo? Is she
a person?

Leif (11:26):
So, yes, she is at this time
a cameo. playing herself. Model,
Ashley Henshaw.

Steve (11:33):
Okay.

Leif (11:34):
But after this, she's made
a decent, she's got a decent
CV of acting. Now she's got like, maybe 10 or
12 movies and about, you know, same TV show
appearances.

Steve (11:46):
Okay, all right, so. But at this
point, if I was. If I was a
fashion person in
2009, you might recognize
2008, I might recognize her. Got it. Yeah, that makes sense.

Leif (11:59):
Jenny is sunbathing in the hapta at the
Hamptons house, but Eric tells her the
car is here. It looks like the summer is coming to an
end. It is revealed they are hiding a secret
for Serena. What.

Steve (12:13):
Ah. The fuck are they talking about? Like, it was.
It was so weird. And when we get to
the reveal, it's even dumber because it's all
just. Oh, we're just covering for Serena being
Serena. Like,
what?

Leif (12:27):
Well, I mean, so that. That's considered
bad. Serena, quote, unquote.

Steve (12:33):
Yeah, yeah, I know. It's
just. Yeah, I.
And the way they were talking, it
sounded like she was robbing banks
or, you know, just. But
I do get it. And, I actually, I want to
talk about it more as it unfolds anyway.
Yeah. Because I have. There's a lot that happens along

(12:55):
that line.

Leif (12:56):
Yes. Dan is teasing Rufus
about going back to the real world after living at Cece's
house all summer. However, Rufus points out that
the real world now includes living at Lily's
penthouse.

Steve (13:08):
Yeah. Yeah. Like he.

Leif (13:10):
Rufus.

Steve (13:11):
Yeah.

Leif (13:13):
He was so uptight about it last season.

Steve (13:15):
Yeah. And just the outfit
alone that he's wearing. Like, what the fuck are you wearing? What is that
shirt you're wearing, Rufus? That just
looks like I have so much money and, no one can
comment on what I wear anymore. Like, that's what that
shirt says to me.

Leif (13:31):
Yeah.

Steve (13:32):
And Dan doesn't seem to be hating it
either.

Leif (13:35):
No.

Steve (13:36):
Dan isn't as critical
as maybe he once was. And
that's really as far, like. Okay. I
got so much to say about people.

Leif (13:46):
In this episode, Dan and
Rufus find Jenny and Eric not ready to leave.
Dan claims Serena is doing the Eat Pray
Love thing, but something seems off.
Dan is meeting up with Vanessa, who maybe didn't go to Europe
with Nate after all.

Steve (14:01):
Yeah, that kind of came out of nowhere.
That looked like they were going off together and then they're
not.

Leif (14:08):
But they did, though.

Steve (14:09):
yeah, they went off together, but.

Leif (14:11):
They just came back early or something. I don't know.

Steve (14:13):
Or came back separately.

Leif (14:15):
Yeah. Speaking of Nate, he is
making out with an unknown auburn beauty on a
helicopter. The pair disembark and then
recount their meet.

Steve (14:24):
Cute.

Leif (14:25):
When they part ways, they discover that not Only
have they met before, but their families are bitter
political rivals.

Steve (14:33):
Yeah, we got a little Romeo and Juliet thing coming
on. My first reaction was, who is this
older woman with Nate? Once
again, Nate shows up in episode
one with an older woman, not
as a gentleman.

Leif (14:48):
She's a grad student, which.

Steve (14:50):
Yeah. And then we find out she is a grad student right away. She's
older. Yeah. Yes, she's older, but she's
not a stepmom.

Leif (14:58):
Did you recognize the actress at all?

Steve (15:01):
She seemed familiar. I didn't recognize who it
was.

Leif (15:04):
So that's Joanna Garcia.
and she was. When she was really young,
she was in, like, 20 some episodes of are you
afraid of the dark?

Steve (15:15):
You see, I never watched that. Was just too old for
that.

Leif (15:20):
And then she was on Freaks and Geeks for four
episodes. Oh, she was one of the
cheerleaders. She, was Vicky's
friend. The blonde one with
pigtails.

Steve (15:30):
Yeah. All right.

Leif (15:32):
And so maiden name is Joanna
Garcia, but she now goes by Joanna
Garcia Swisher.

Steve (15:40):
Okay.

Leif (15:42):
Nick Swisher. She is, she's married to
Nick Swisher, former Yankee.

Steve (15:47):
Oh, okay. Okay.
I knew. I thought it sounded like sports. I don't know the
Yankees that well, but, yeah,
that. Now I write.

Leif (15:57):
He was on the team that beat the Phillies in the World Series.

Steve (16:00):
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah. There's a reason I don't remember them.
My God, that fucking World Series,
man. Cliff Lee owned them in
that first. Owned them. They had
nothing. And it looked like it was just going to be a
beautiful, dominant. Oh, Super Bowl. Super
Bowl. Super bowl

(16:23):
domination. Super Bowl.

Leif (16:26):
Chuck and Ashley Hinshaw are about to get hot
and heavy in a quiet hallway when Blair interrupts
and humiliates the blind. It turns out that this
was all a kinky foreplay for
Chuck and Blair.

Steve (16:39):
Yeah, I. I kind
of dug that. That this was their kink
and this is how they're keeping things fresh
and. All right, kids, have fun.

Leif (16:50):
so we do find out that Blair picks her.

Steve (16:53):
Yeah.

Leif (16:53):
Did she deliberately pick her because she looks like
Serena?

Steve (16:57):
I could see that she's a lot shorter than Serena,
obviously, but.

Leif (17:01):
Yeah, I wonder how many of the lot like her.

Steve (17:04):
Yeah, I wonder how many of the.
Of the game that they've
been playing. How many of the participants in this game they've been
playing look like Serena. How many of
them are tall blondes? And how does that get
Blair going, too? Yeah.

Leif (17:21):
Of course, the later one definitely is a tall blonde.

Steve (17:24):
Yeah, yeah. Yep. Is she also
a cameo I thought so.
They. They often treat cameos
like cameos. The way they speak to them. I really
loved Blair's, like, non
takedown takedown of her when she's like, get your
American Girl doll hair and poreless skin

(17:45):
out of here. Like, she's throwing compliments at
this person. She's berating.

Leif (17:50):
You might have an Abercrombie campaign and the key to George
Clooney's castle in Lake Cuomo.

Steve (17:55):
Yeah, I really enjoyed
that.

Leif (17:59):
Back at the penthouse, Rufus is discussing
sleeping arrangements with Jenny, Eric, and Dan.
Dan catches Eric and Jenny trying to hide the
gossip magazines featuring Serena's summer of
fun. Dan, is surprisingly nonplussed at
seeing them. At that moment, Serena's town
car arrives and she is greeted by a sea of
paparazzi. Dan calls Vanessa and

(18:22):
blows her off. We see Vanessa is hanging out with
Scott Rosen.

Steve (18:26):
A couple of things here. Dan being
nonplussed about Serena
really feels like a continuation of
the last episode. That at the end of the
season, he's like, are we still really going to be friends after
this? Like, what's really
happening? Like, And so when he sees all these things,
to him, it's like, yeah, Serena's doing Serena shit.

(18:49):
You know, it doesn't seem like
he's thrown by it. He's just kind
of like, yep, that. That tracks. And that's what I was
getting away from. You know, I kind of got that.

Leif (19:00):
Attitude from him now before when he said that. That was
before Lily Rufus proposed and the
families intermingled. So they are still
going to be connected. And
it was more that, I think, because from the earlier scene,
Dan was doing bad acting, like,
purposeful bad acting,

(19:20):
pretending like he didn't know what was going on.

Steve (19:22):
Right, right. That is true.

Leif (19:25):
Because he is also, as we find out, covering
for Serena.

Steve (19:29):
Yeah. Because Jenny said the things about
blocking him so that he couldn't see stuff.
But he does indicate later, like, yeah, I also saw,
like, this shit is everywhere.

Leif (19:40):
Or he just noticed that she blocked his
filter.

Steve (19:45):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Leif (19:48):
As for Serena Van der Woodsen, you left America
as star, but after your exploits in Europe, you've
come back a supernova, and yet nothing
explodes without a fuse. I wonder what
lit yours.

Steve (20:02):
The other thing about that scene, when Rufus
goes out to save her from the paparazzi, and I did not
catch it the first time, the second time
I watched, she gives that look
that you can see indicates
that she's not mad they're
there. that she gives a little like, okay,

(20:22):
they're still watching me look.
Relief. Almost relief that they're
still watching her.

Leif (20:31):
We get into Act 2. The Humphrey van
der Woodsen's minus Lily are having a brunch at the
penthouse. Rufus announces that Lily bought them
a table at the Vanderbilt charity polo
match.

Steve (20:43):
And here's Rufus being a better parent to someone
who's not his kid than he is to his own kid
with Serena, which he does more so
later. And again, it isn't his kid, but
he does, yeah, yeah.

Leif (20:57):
And I do like Dan's, facial reaction to the polo
match.

Steve (21:01):
Yeah. Yeah. Not
enthused.

Leif (21:05):
No.

Steve (21:06):
And Rufus is being like, well, we're going to this
thing. Yay. And it's
Rufus. You hate that shit too.

Leif (21:14):
Serena leaves to go buy a hat for the polo match
and Dan walks her out. Dan tries to figure out
what's going on with Serena and why she is lying to
everyone. Serena brushes it off,
not a big deal. And everything is fine.

Steve (21:29):
Dan, listen,
no one's going to confide in you.
You tell everyone
everything. You are not a
secret keeper. You're not
the comfort person that you may think you are because you
also immediately judge and then tell.

(21:49):
So you're not really a good person to
confide in.

Leif (21:53):
Chuck and Nate are doing a classic walk and talk and
catching each other up and the audience on their respective
summers. Chuck is content to let Lily
continue to run the bass board so he can branch out on his
own. Nate hasn't talked to his family since
he skipped out on the summer internship
that the grandfather lined up for him. Chuck

(22:13):
advises Nate to take the new girl Bri to the
polo match to get back his family.

Steve (22:19):
Yeah, because dating the enemy
is sleeping with the enemy is hot.

Leif (22:25):
Yeah. He implies that he had an affair with Ivanka
Trump.

Steve (22:28):
Yeah, yeah. He says, why do you think I have the
Ivanka thing? Yeah,
I thought that whole thing was pretty funny.

Leif (22:38):
Serena and Blair are doing a similar walk and talk on a
different Manhattan street. Serena is a bit leery
about Blair's sex games with Chuck.

Steve (22:46):
This whole cut back and forth
scene between Chuck and Nate
and Serena and Blair. I really
liked the best friends all being together again.
You know, I liked seeing them
talking and especially with
all the tension that was there between Chuck and
Nate before, how that's just kind of really

(23:09):
blown over. And it was really nice to see them being the season
one best friends again.

Leif (23:14):
Yeah, we switch back to Nate and
Chuck and Nate seems to share Serena's vanilla outlook
on the sex gains.

Steve (23:21):
And it was really, again Good
best friend advice to best friends on both
sides of it. Even though it seems like they're kind of
shaking things up for them. It was really good best
friend talk.

Leif (23:34):
We shift back to the girls we see. Serena
is now telling Blair that the open relationships invite
chaos. Serena acts like she is annoyed by
the paparazzi, but Blair calls her out on
her shit.

Steve (23:47):
Yeah. I love that Blair does that. I love
that Serena's pretending like, oh, they
just keep following me, and then flips her hair back and
how come.

Leif (23:56):
You blew your got your hair blown out?

Steve (23:58):
Yeah, yeah, I love it. I love that Blair
knows her so well.

Leif (24:03):
And they do mention she, had something going on
with Cristiano, Ronaldo, the
Portuguese soccer player.

Steve (24:10):
Okay. Yeah, I did.

Leif (24:11):
Would have been 24 at this time.

Steve (24:14):
So kind of young for Serena.

Leif (24:18):
Or actually. Or is this. Are we finding out that's, like,
her target age. That's how all
old all our boyfriends are.

Steve (24:25):
Yeah. Yeah.

Leif (24:26):
Except they're all 24. Except for Dan.

Steve (24:29):
Except for Dan.

Leif (24:31):
Dan and Vanessa are having coffee. It turns out Vanessa
has been spending a lot of time with Scott since she got back.
Vanessa, gets very condescending towards Dan
when it's revealed that he has been enjoying Lily's
wealth. Dan lies about taking the subway,
but is immediately caught getting into a limo.

Steve (24:48):
I first have to address Vanessa's hair.
That. What. What was going on with
her head. And it was fixed when she went
outside to give Dan his
glasses. It looked fine.
And then. And Robin was like, well, she didn't get
the glasses to him in time because she sat for a blowout somewhere

(25:09):
in between. But then back when they're.
When we see her later on, her hair
was kind of that again, those, like.

Leif (25:18):
They're extensions.

Steve (25:19):
Yeah, they're extensions, but they're, like. Tried to look
like dreads, but not complete
dreads. And it just
kind of looked like a mess. Yeah.

Leif (25:30):
So it's an unfortunate thing in the TV
industry, not a lot of the
stylists know how to do other types.

Steve (25:38):
Of air, which I was
wondering if that would be a big part of it, because it
looked like.

Leif (25:45):
Yeah. Women of color. I have serious issues
in TV shows.

Steve (25:50):
Especially that scans and
that makes a lot of sense. And.
Yeah, I. I could see that being.
Being a commonality. And very
much because it is. Because it is just in the world,
you know, that's just.

Leif (26:07):
Yeah, you have to know what you're doing. It's. It's different.

Steve (26:09):
Yeah, you have to know what you're doing.

Leif (26:12):
Rufus Gets a call from Vanya letting him know that the
paparazzi are going through their trash. Eric
and Jenny simultaneously give different explanations of
why the paparazzi are so interested in
Serena. Even Rufus is smart enough to realize they're
hiding something.

Steve (26:27):
Yeah, and, like, every one of their answers is
legit, too. So
just. Just sell it better, you
know? But of course, again,
nobody. Everyone's a fucking narc
when it comes to this shit.

Leif (26:43):
Chuck arrives to pick up Blair and to
engage in some more games. It appears
Serena got into Blair's head because he hesitates,
but then reluctantly agrees to go along.

Steve (26:54):
And Chuck feels genuine here when
he's like, if you don't want to, we don't have to.
And so, yeah, I really liked the
dynamic. I liked how Chuck responded to
her.

Leif (27:06):
Yeah. Rufus is going through the gossip
mags featuring Serena. Rufus notices that the
same guy appears in several of the pictures. By the knowing
facial expressions of the three teens, I think
we can probably surmise that the guy is
Carter.

Steve (27:21):
Yeah, I didn't completely get that it was going to be
Carter at first, because I just wasn't thinking back
like that. And then when he showed up in the very next
scene, it was like, oh, obviously.

Leif (27:32):
And the different things. So she was,
topless on Valentino's.

Steve (27:37):
Yacht, which is what you do when you're on
Valentino's yacht and she's dancing.

Leif (27:42):
On tables in Barcelona, which is what.

Steve (27:45):
You do when you're in Barcelona.

Leif (27:46):
And then Prince Harry was doing
body shots off her in Santa Fe.

Steve (27:51):
You do off of, when you're in Central
Bay.

Leif (27:55):
So Harry was also 24 at the time of
this.

Steve (27:59):
That's really funny.

Leif (28:03):
Yeah. Plot twist. She was going the other way. It was actually Carson
wentz,
who was 17 at the time.
For those of you who don't know Carson Wets, look up a photo of him.
He's an NFL player.

Steve (28:18):
Yeah. And looks very
much like, Prince Harry.

Leif (28:23):
Speak of the devil, and the devil doth
appear. Serena is once again being
followed by the paparazzi when Carter shows up.
Serena gives Carter the slip by while slipping off
the straps of her dress and disappearing into the
crowd of photographers.

Steve (28:39):
Oh, no. What's happened to my dress?
Jesus Christ, Serena. You don't know how to get
attention.

Leif (28:47):
And we end the act with a Gossip Girl
narration.
Spotted Serena Vanderwoodsen giving Carter
Basin the slip. We've seen all the
selects, but what happened to them when
TMZ was mia? Something tells
me the truth is out of focus.

Steve (29:07):
Yeah.

Leif (29:09):
Act three begins Nate is calling Chuck
because he is upset that his family bought him a
car in yet another attempt to control
his life.

Steve (29:19):
Just another Nate wanting to throw his
family's money back at them
when they're just giving him nice things.

Leif (29:29):
Vanessa is talking to Scott about Dan lying to
her. Aside from the fact that we know Scott is a creepy
stalker, I really don't like how he is trying to
invalidate Vanessa's feelings, even if she is being
judgmental. Scott then convinces Vanessa to get
them both invited to the polo match so she can
confront Dan.

Steve (29:47):
So, first of all, V. Tone it down a bit. Tone it
down a bit. We know you hate anybody
who's richer than you are
because, again, everyone. Which is
everyone on the show.
She is going to nyu. She does live
in an apartment that her parents pay for in
Brooklyn. She's not

(30:09):
poor. She's just not. She's the
most poor person on the.

Leif (30:14):
Show if we're going based on reality.
But I, feel like these show writers just don't
understand how money works. They think
she's getting by on a barista's salary.

Steve (30:25):
Right? Fair.

Leif (30:27):
Part time. Yeah.

Steve (30:30):
There is some detached writing in here.
Yes. She can't take private cars. She takes
the subway.

Leif (30:41):
Outside a modeling agency, Chuck and Blair are
screening applicants for their sex entrapment game.
Blair is rejecting every one of the models for
farcical reasons. Chuck actually steps up
and sees Blair is feeling insecure about the game and
tells her that he just wants her to be happy and they don't
have to do the game if she doesn't want to. Good on Chuck.

Steve (31:01):
Yeah. Yeah. Good job, Chuck. I really
liked. I really liked Chuck this whole
episode.

Leif (31:07):
Way to take care.

Steve (31:08):
Way to take care of Blair.

Leif (31:10):
Definitely a changed man.

Steve (31:11):
Yeah.

Leif (31:13):
Jenny and Eric go to the loft to pick up some
things. They discuss that Lily is with Cece, who is
once again under treatment. They feel sorry for
Rufus, having been suddenly put in charge of two
kids he didn't raise in a house that he doesn't
own. They also hope that Rufus knowing about
Serena's summer will lead to the reveal of why she

(31:33):
did it.

Steve (31:34):
Of course, Eric, the pragmatic
sage of the show,
laying out this nice piece of
exposition where we see
Rufus being in charge and we see Rufus with the
kids. We don't necessarily have
all of the backstory here. So for Eric

(31:55):
to really lay out, hey, take it easy on your
dad, because these are the things that are happening. That
was a really nice little piece of exposition to
help build that
layer of, relationship that they're now
establishing in those two households.

Leif (32:11):
Serena rise back of the penthouse, and Rufus is
waiting with. With gusts of magazines carefully laid out on
the table, Rufus goes into judgmental dad
boat with an assist from Dan.

Steve (32:22):
I will say I felt once again, Rufus was
a better parent to
Serena than he ever was to
Jenny. And I say that because
he does come in ready to be
judgmental, but is instantly like,
before I get mad, talk
to me. Which is a privilege he

(32:44):
never afforded Jenny,
ever. And when Serena laid it out and was like, hey, I'm
sorry I did these things, and I know what it looks like, and
this is what's going on. I'm sorry. And Rufus
is like, okay, let's put us. Put this behind us.
Which, again, is something he. And now it's not his
kid. He can't really do
much, and I think he recognizes that.

(33:07):
What happens when you punish Serena? She goes
to Spain.

Leif (33:12):
She's got again.

Steve (33:13):
Yeah, she just leaves. So I think he
handled it very well. And the only way you can
really handle it with is, you're disciplining your step
kid. But he's still a better parent to Serena than
he ever was to Jenny.

Leif (33:27):
So Dan mentions that if you look close
enough at some of the pictures, nothing is left to the
imagination.

Steve (33:34):
Yeah.

Leif (33:35):
Being that Dan is a horny teenage boy, what was he doing
all summer with those pictures?

Steve (33:39):
Oh, yeah. I mean, we
didn't hear about Dan dating, did he? Did
we?

Leif (33:47):
After Rufus leaves, Dan confronts Serena about
Carter. Serena panics and tells Dan that Carter is
stalking her. When Serena goes to her room, Dan
immediately calls Blair for help.

Steve (33:58):
Yeah, Serena,
this is a bad look. This is a bad look. Saying
that somebody is stalking you. That is
not stalking you. Yeah,
accusing people of things that you
know they're not doing. That good is
really bad. Now, if they're doing the
thing, by all means, use your voice.

(34:21):
Speak up. Let people know that things
aren't right. But if they're not doing
the thing that you're accusing them of, it
is highly ethically
inappropriate to make
accusations that could get somebody into a
lot of trouble, legally and
financially. Because you're upset

(34:42):
or because you're trying to hide something of your
own.

Leif (34:46):
Serena Scott is
seen calling his mom while holding his birth
certificate and telling her that he's
finally ready to do what he came here to do.

Steve (34:57):
Yeah, he forced his way
in with the person who forces her
way into everything.

Leif (35:07):
They are perfect for each other.

Steve (35:08):
Like it's a pilot fish following a pilot
fish.

Leif (35:12):
Vidette used to bag herself a Humphrey.

Steve (35:15):
Yeah.
Oh, Vanessa.

Leif (35:25):
the act closing Gossip Girl narration was
inter dispersed with both this scene and the previous
one with Dan leaving a message for Blair. And it
goes this just in.
An unlikely alliance is forming on the Upper east
side. Too bad. It may be too late to do
any good.

Steve (35:43):
Yeah. M. I also was very excited
when Dan called Blair because I
always love a Blair. Dan team up at this
point. Yes.

Leif (35:54):
We get into Act 4. Let the
festivities begin. The party of the week has
arrived. Jenny is excited about having
an engraved place card with her name on it.
Rufus offers to bully a photographer, but
Serena declines and says she has to go find
Blair.

Steve (36:12):
Mrs. Jenny Humphrey.

Leif (36:16):
They made her married.

Steve (36:17):
Yeah. When did you get married? I don't know, but it's
engraved.

Leif (36:21):
Yeah. And we get the callback to the white party from last season
premiere.

Steve (36:25):
Yeah. Yeah.

Leif (36:28):
Nate is also on site with his new gal pal,
Bri. Nate surprises Bri by introducing
her to the grandfather. Nate gets pulled away to talk
to someone else before he can explain himself to
Brie.

Steve (36:40):
Yeah, that was shitty. Nate,
if you would have said ahead of time, hey, I want you to
go on a date with me to this family event where my
grandfather's gonna be. But you don't
just put someone in that fucking
awkward ass situation and then immediately ditch them.
And then ditch them and then be like, oh, someone
who has money wants to talk to me. Excuse me, lady.

Leif (37:03):
Chuck and Blair are, at a table dissing the food
and drink. They spot a model,
Alexandra Richards. And even Blair is impressed
this time. Chuck is ogling the model,
but Blair makes it clear that they are done with the
game.

Steve (37:18):
Yeah, you can see that Blair
both liked and disliked the game, that
she liked it, but she's in her head about it from the
talk with Serena. And
Serena's not wrong. This kind of thing.
I, could see Serena's point of it being a slippery slope
and Blair liking it. Until she doesn't
anymore, so.

Leif (37:40):
Or what time she shows up too late.

Steve (37:42):
Or the one time she shows up too late. Exactly.

Leif (37:46):
Scott and Vanessa are also, here.
Yay. Creepy. Scott spots
Dan across the room or, across from the party
and suggests that Vanessa should talk to him.

Steve (37:57):
Fuck all the way off. Vanessa. Vanessa, you're not
even supposed to be here.
And she all throughout this, she pops
into this thing where she's not supposed to be and then is like,
why aren't you spending time with me? It's like, because I didn't
think you'd fucking be here.

Leif (38:16):
Vanessa approaches Dan Things are still prickly
between them. It seems like Vanessa is about to
apologize, but is interrupted by Blair. Dan
apologizes to V but goes off with Blair.

Steve (38:28):
Yeah. And Dan
hasn't done. Dan lied about taking the
subway. Dan isn't
being shitty to Vanessa outside of
that lie. And she's just being such an
asshole.

Leif (38:43):
Yeah.

Steve (38:43):
And when it's like, hey, I need to go do this
thing because I didn't fucking know you'd be here.
And I knew this was happening, I.
Have to do the thing I was already.
I have to do the scheme I set up with Blair.

Leif (38:56):
My new best friend.

Steve (38:58):
Yeah, my new best friend.

Leif (39:01):
Suck it, Vanessa.

Steve (39:03):
Fucking asshole.

Leif (39:05):
Scott introduces himself to Rufus as Scott
Adler, a friend of Vanessa. When Rufus
offers a handshake, Scott is dumbfounded.
Scott pushes Rufus buttons by finally
sputtering out that he is a big fan of Rufus
music.

Steve (39:20):
Which, that was a great cover
and a great way to talk to this person. Because of
course he is. Because he's been stalking them. So of course
he learned his dad's music.
Yeah. I really liked that
moment. And that they really carried that on. That
it's. Oh, no, I'm just a big fan. I thought it was
clever. I was not mad at

(39:43):
Scott. well, Scott's a
stalker and he's creepy. I liked
that moment.

Leif (39:51):
Blair and Dan find Carter, and it looks like this
dynamic duo got a restraining order against
Carter, and from now on, Blair will be by
Serena's side. Serena then shows up, and Carter
denies the stalking, but won't reveal the truth to Dan and
Blair. Serena then gets called off to throw out the first
ball, and Dan and Blair are left alone. Blair
sees Chuck talking with the model from earlier.

Steve (40:13):
Yeah, it's a decent scheme.
It is tv. So they do just hand out restraining
orders. Forward.

Leif (40:20):
You're rich.

Steve (40:21):
Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Leif (40:23):
And yet another cameo here. the
polo player is, Nacho Figueraz,
who, according to his Wikipedia, is the David
Beckham of polo.

Steve (40:33):
Oh, that's awesome. Was he
24 at the time?

Leif (40:39):
Possibly.

Steve (40:40):
I also like that Serena got caught in her
shit. That when, they're
all face to face and they're like, you're stalking her? And he's like, I'm
stalking her.

Leif (40:49):
Really?

Steve (40:50):
Is that what's happening?

Leif (40:51):
Really? Really?
Serena? Scott is telling
Rufus about his collection of Lincolnhaw concert
bootlegs. Rufus Lee Scott holding the
drinks. The festivities are interrupted
by first Serena and then Carter riding off the
out of the party on horses for
Scott.

Steve (41:11):
Yeah, but I did love the
whole, like, oh, you know, I might have that
recorded straight off the board if you want to have it.
And I loved how Rufus just
got so played by. By
the music thing. Because of course he would.
Because. Because, man, I would be like that
if. So I. Of course he's doing that,

(41:33):
you know? Yeah.

Leif (41:36):
Forget about a grand entrance.
Everybody knows it's the exit, though,
remember, Gossip Girl
narrates as we go into Act 5.
Nate finds Brie alone outside the event. It
turns out she is trying to get back in with her family
and doesn't want to be photographed in the enemy
camp. Nate apologized and lets her know

(41:58):
that he's always down for a secret romance.

Steve (42:01):
But you are going to have to pay me,
but I do have a fee for secret
romances. And, it's funny how she
wants to be back with her family, and he's trying to cut himself
off. So obviously,
this is going to play into
more of that family dynamic as they go

(42:22):
through. I'm really interested. I
don't know if she's going to be a cast member or
if she's going to be an arc.
they are going to be at the same school, so I could see
her at least being a recurring character. So I'm kind
of interesting to see how this arc plays out.

Leif (42:39):
Any thoughts on her little backstory that.

Steve (42:42):
She gave the
cousin getting stood up?
I really didn't pay much mind to
it other than, wow, I wasn't there
for my cousin, and now I want to go back and be there for
her. Was there something else?

Leif (42:59):
No. I'll just say, remember that
story?

Steve (43:03):
Okay. Okay.

Leif (43:05):
Carter tracks Serena down. It turns out the big
secret that they
tracked down big Daddy V, and he
has no interest in seeing his little girl.
Carter would have stayed with Serena all summer, but
she ditched him when her father rejected her.
The confession is exactly what Serena wanted to hear.

(43:26):
So she pulls Carter in for the kiss.

Steve (43:29):
Yeah. So
the part earlier where Carter
said it got weird and
Serena said it got weird there
was indication. I forget Carter. Carter didn't
say it got weird, but Carter made a reference
that made it sound like something happened

(43:49):
between them. And
by the time we got to this reveal,
I forgot about the dad stuff. In the beginning of the
episode, I remembered, oh, yeah, she went to Europe to find her dad, but
now she's doing all this other stuff. And so
when Carter says to her about, like,
he. You tried. He didn't
want to see you. He

(44:12):
didn't want that. It was really.
It's, a pretty powerful thing. Right? Like, her
dad doesn't want to see her. And here's
this guy that's like, but I would have been there for you this whole
time anyway.
And then she kisses the guy she accuses of
stalking her.

Leif (44:31):
That reminds me of a, Do you ever watch that
show Episodes?

Steve (44:35):
No. I've heard of it. That's the Friends.
Matt Blanc, right?

Leif (44:40):
Yeah, it's like a, It's like a
fictional version of himself.

Steve (44:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I never actually watched it, but
at.

Leif (44:48):
One point in the show, he was feeling a bit
depressed, so he slept with his stalker.
It was a young, beautiful woman.

Steve (44:57):
That's hilarious.
In a. In a comedic universe. Yes,
hilarious. Like. Like in. In the. In.
In the realm of television, you know, it's sort of like
when I watch a horror movie and, with Robin, she's like,
people don't deserve to die. I'm like, no, there are rules to horror
movies, and that person deserves to die

(45:19):
by the. By the law of horror movies,
not real life.

Leif (45:25):
The grandfather approaches Nate and Brie. Nate
declares that he is not taking the new internship and that he
will find his own way back to the city. The grandfather
tells him, nate, my boy, work where
you want, fuck who you want.

Steve (45:38):
I'll always love you.

Leif (45:39):
Now take this car and get back.

Steve (45:40):
To the city safe.

Leif (45:44):
As soon as Nate and Veree walk away, the grandfather
calls Trip and tells him they now have a
way to take down the Buckleys.

Steve (45:54):
It's so funny how he is
always so deviously
supportive of Nate that he's
always, of course, Nate, you can
just take this car and there's absolutely no strings attached.
You don't have to take the internship.

Leif (46:14):
Blair is back at the match and learns that Chuck left a few
minutes ago, along with a woman fitting
Alexander Richards description.

Steve (46:22):
Yes. Is he back playing the game
again? And kind of.
Kind of. I'd say kind of
a little bit. I wouldn't think that the leaving at
the same time was an
accident for.

Leif (46:38):
Chuck, but,
spotted Malaire Waldorf learning, just because you get
out of the game doesn't mean someone isn't
warming the bench to take your plates.
And we go into the epilogue.
The match is wrapping up, and Vanessa is going home. But

(46:58):
first, she drops a big heaping pile of judgment on
Dan.

Steve (47:02):
Yeah, you're mad at Dan
because you're at a place where he didn't expect to
see you and he doesn't have time for you. And
he's wearing nice clothes that someone else bought for
him for this occasion. When
at any point has Dan not
been Himself at ah, no

(47:22):
point was Dan not doing Dan
shit. He's been judging Serena.
Like that's a Dan thing. He's been putting
up with Vanessa's bullshit. That's a Dan
thing. He's been very
uncomfortable, surrounded by
money. He doesn't like. He, he likes what
he's getting. But there is that level of discomfort

(47:44):
that you see, you know, and he's.

Leif (47:46):
Helping his family and he's helping his family
transition, as he says.

Steve (47:50):
Yes. As he always does, because his
family always has been his priority.
Especially because his family is just his dad and sister.
Like his mom's like fucking gone at
this point.

Leif (48:03):
She's fucking all right.

Steve (48:05):
She's fucking all right.

Leif (48:08):
Oh. Hudson
Carter noticeably. San Serena is
gathering his clothes as two angry looking men are
holding the horses.

Steve (48:22):
I love that she ditched him. I love that she
ditched him again. Like again. Vulture
report. Serena just being fucking Serena
this whole episode.

Leif (48:32):
Did he like pass out for a minute or something?
How'd she pull that off?

Steve (48:38):
I mean, I could see her immediately after, just be like,
I'll be right back. And then vanishing, you
know.

Leif (48:45):
Blair arrives home and starts looking for Alexandra
Richards. It turns out Chuck just had a headache
and Blair didn't get the text because she left her phone on the
table. Blair admits the rush home from
Connecticut was exciting, but Chuck suggests just staying
in.

Steve (49:01):
Yeah, it was really cute. And once again,
Chuck really, really driving
home. The point. I want you to
be happy.
That is what I want. This is super sweet. I loved
it.

Leif (49:14):
Vanessa and Scott are, back in the city. Vanessa
apologizes for talking or taking Scott to the
polo match. Scott tries to take an
optimistic look on the situation. Vanessa
goes in for the kiss. The two of them make out in the middle of
the street. As the episoding heading montage
begins, Gossip Girl narrates.
Growing up means one thing. Independence.

Steve (49:37):
The maybe we're not friends
thing you had an argument over.

Leif (49:42):
Traumatic much? Vanessa?

Steve (49:44):
Yeah. You guys just had an argument over shit that was
entirely your fault. So if
anyone gets to make that call at this point, it's
Dan. Like, you are. You are
the asshole. Go on
Reddit, list out this whole story under the I am
I the asshole line. Guess what they're
gonna say. You're the asshole.

Leif (50:05):
Yes. And then we get Rufus. Jenny and
Eric arrive back at the penthouse with a
photographer and Gossip Girl
continues. We all want it.

Steve (50:15):
Yeah.

Leif (50:17):
Nate and Brie are driving back to the city. They rudely
stop in the middle of traffic to make out and Gossip Girl
narrates sometimes we use other people to try to get
it for ourselves.

Steve (50:27):
I was actually expecting a
paparazzi click at the.

Leif (50:32):
At.

Steve (50:32):
Ah, the light of them kissing. Because
grandfather, whatever grandfather's scheme is,
obviously it has to do with Nate
and Brie. I thought
that it was going to start there, but no, they just made out
at a green light. I'd be so
pissed if I was sitting behind them.

Leif (50:50):
There are definitely people hawking.

Steve (50:52):
Yeah, I would have been laying on that
horn.

Leif (50:56):
Rich people with their Ferrari.

Steve (50:58):
Fucking Ferrari. Get. Stop. making out in your Ferrari
with your hot girlfriend, kid.
Go drive it to whatever hotel you can
find.

Leif (51:08):
Blair and Chuck have found a new way to play games with
just the two of them. Gossip.
Girl narrates. Sometimes we find it
in each other. that was cute little role
playing. Yeah, Chuck is role playing
as a waiter. That's definitely a missed opportunity to let him do a
British accent.

Steve (51:27):
You know, you're right.
It's almost as if there's canon
that Chuck can't do a British
accent, even though he can barely speak in an
American one.

Leif (51:40):
he really whispered his lie in that scene, too.

Steve (51:43):
Yeah, yeah.

Leif (51:46):
Serena leaves a voicemail for presumably her father,
begging his attention.

Steve (51:51):
Serena, let it
go.

Leif (51:55):
He doesn't want you.

Steve (51:56):
Yeah, I know that's tough to hear, kid. And
I'd recommend, instead of this
therapy. Therapy, Serena.
Like, it will do you so much
good, but trust me, this is
not going to be good.
you have his attention.

(52:18):
What do you think doing all of this does
to his desire to give it to
you?

Leif (52:24):
Dan is sitting alone in the loft, and Gossip Girl
continues. Sometimes our independence
comes at a cost of something else, and that cost
can be high.

Steve (52:35):
Yeah. Rufus has gone full Lily,
and instead of parenting at this point,
it's just buying the photos to make sure no one
gets the photos of Serena's stunt
double on a horse.

Leif (52:48):
Which is the next little clip here.
Rufus is using, Lily's emergency money to buy
the photographs of Serena from the polo
match. However, the man says there's one
photographer that couldn't reach. They couldn't
reach Rufus. He just got swindled. What's
the point of buying these photos if there's more
photos of the same event out there?

Steve (53:09):
Yeah, yeah, more photos of Serena's
stunt double on that horse, because
there's no way Blake Lively was riding that horse across
that scene.

Leif (53:19):
And Gossip Girl continues, because
more often than not, in order to gain our
independence, we have to fight. And then
Serena is the final scene.
She's with the photographer and she's making sure
the photos hit the net. And Gossip Girl
says, never give up. Never
surrender.

Steve (53:39):
Yeah, she makes sure that those will be anywhere in Europe
and Asia where her dad
can see them.

Leif (53:47):
And so, yeah, the fourth ending
lines from Gospel Girl is growing up
means one thing. Independence. We all
want it. Sometimes. Sometimes we use other people to try to get it
for ourselves. Sometimes we find it in
each other. Sometimes our independence comes at the cost
of something else. And that cost can be high

(54:07):
because more often than not, in order to gain our
independence, we have to fight.
Never give up. Never surrender.
Exo xo Gossip
Girl. So that
is our season premiere.

Steve (54:24):
Last thing I want to say to Serena is that this really is not the
power play you think it is.
You're.

Leif (54:31):
Yet he doesn't care.

Steve (54:34):
He doesn't care. And that, like, I feel for.
Like, that sucks,
but, like, he doesn't care.

Leif (54:43):
So predictions. Let's do. First do predictions.
Like, what's coming up right away, what's coming in the next few
episodes?

Steve (54:50):
Okay. Grandfather scheme is going to
take place and unfold that is going to,
you know, get in between Nate and
Bri or bring them closer together. Like I said, I don't know if
she's going to be a cast member or
an in and out member. Another big
prediction. I know I never

(55:11):
intentionally look ahead. I never intentionally
see stuff. The
next episode in Max, the
thumbnail shows a picture of
Blair's face, and that face
tells me that she just discovered who her new roommate is.
So I believe that that's coming up in the next episode,
that Blair is going to have a roommate in a

(55:33):
dorm, which I'm surprised Blair is living
in a dorm at a state school. another
prediction is that, Serena is going to continue
to make a fool out of herself for the attention of somebody who doesn't give
a shit. But eventually it's probably going to
work because that's how TV works. So
I think that in the near future, we'll meet Mr.

(55:54):
Van der Woodsen. I kind of
hope Cece gets better because she's been
better on the show. So I hope that
there's not a CC funeral coming up. That would make me a
little sad at this point. Also
feel like Blair and Chuck have this rhythm
now. It can only last for so long before something

(56:15):
interrupts it. I give that
maybe three episodes,
but I don't think it's going to be too long before there's a
shake up there.

Leif (56:25):
Okay, so that's the
micro looking more at the macro
side. We kind of
noticed that the season premieres set
up things that kind of close
out at the end of the season or
near the end of the season. What kind of big
parallels do you think they kind of set up for

(56:47):
beginning this time?

Steve (56:48):
M. first of all, the
secret scandals are there.
Again, the grandfather Nate thing kind of
parallels the
Catherine Nate thing in the sense of here's this
secret relationship that other people
are going to be able to exploit.

Leif (57:07):
But that was resolved pretty quick.

Steve (57:09):
That was. What kind of things were you're talking about, like, throughout.

Leif (57:12):
What do you think was set up in this episode that'll pay off
at the end of the season?

Steve (57:16):
I think that we'll see some payoff with
the Rufus
Van Der Woodsen children, the
relationship there, because however Lily
decides that Rufus handled that, we're going to
see. So I think that we're going to see their
relationship really develop throughout this season
with Rufus really being

(57:37):
dad while Serena
is looking for dad.
So there's definitely this big dad
thing going on here.
So I'm wondering how that's going to play out.
I, think that Blair again.
Blair and Chuck coming in so happy at the
beginning. I feel like that sets

(58:00):
up for again just. There
hasn't been a happy couple throughout a whole season yet,
I guess is what I. What I'm thinking with them.
I. Let me think.

Leif (58:11):
So do you think they're going to break up a couple episodes and get.
Be happy again at the end?

Steve (58:16):
Yeah, I mean, honestly, yes. I think that I see
them.
I see them doing sort of the Dan Serena
thing and getting back together
and apart a couple times or at least
almost breaking up. They're gonna have to have
tension there. So I really
see that. But I think that again, it'll tie up with

(58:36):
them together in the end again. Kind of like
how it started with them apart
together. apart together now. Well, I guess
together apart would make more sense.
So they could end up breaking up in the
end because the other ones, they look like they were getting together
in the end and then didn't. There's a lot of ways this can go.

Leif (58:56):
Any. Any other predictors.

Steve (58:58):
I also predict we're going to
see some kind of
triangle between Dan, Serena
and Carter play out. Carter
really is sort of an in and out character, and I
feel like this episode didn't
resolve his current
stay on the show. So

(59:20):
I feel like that's going to play out a little more until he gets
fired at some point, because I'm pretty sure this
is the season where he gets fired. I Don't remember for sure
though.

Leif (59:30):
All. Ah, right, let's go ahead and get into some segments
this week in fandom. we hopped into the Wayback
Machine to travel to the Television without pity
forums of 2009.
Hello there, Peabody. Here. And this is
the Wayback Machine for traveling through time.

Steve (59:47):
And this is my boy, Sherman. Speak,
Sherman.
Hello.

Leif (59:51):
Good boy. There's a
mixed opinions on the episode.

Steve (59:56):
Overall that I,
I can gather. I, I have mixed opinions on the
episode.

Leif (01:00:03):
Some people liked it, some didn't. Yeah,
Dan might become a fan favorite. He keeps
smacking down Vanessa.

Steve (01:00:13):
That also is very
fair. She needed to be smacked down
a.

Leif (01:00:20):
Lot of hair watching this episode.

Steve (01:00:23):
yes. In fact, when I brought up
Vanessa's hair, I also meant to bring up the fact that, like, a lot of
the other hair looked great. The
Chuck and Nate both had, Dan, Chuck and Nate
all had new hairstyles
and I thought they all looked good.

Leif (01:00:39):
So the forums.
Vanessa's extensions were horrible.

Steve (01:00:44):
They were horrible.

Leif (01:00:45):
They were not a fan of Jenny's hair either.

Steve (01:00:48):
No, no. Jenny's hair also looks like a rat's
nest.

Leif (01:00:51):
And there was mixed reactions to both Nate and Dan's
new hair.

Steve (01:00:55):
Yeah, I like both of their hair.

Leif (01:00:57):
They are very intrigued by Serena and
Carter.

Steve (01:01:01):
They're an intriguing couple. They're kind of a power
couple in a way. So
I'm not mad at them hooking up.

Leif (01:01:10):
So they kept calling Scott pilot
inspector, Inspector with a K, not a
C, because KS are cooler.
but I don't get the reference.

Steve (01:01:21):
Me neither.

Leif (01:01:22):
If anyone gets it, please let us know.
Blair and Chuck were sweet, but something
seemed a bit off.

Steve (01:01:29):
Yeah, I mean, they need more excitement in their
relationship instead of getting it from
within. That's a
red flag, I think.

Leif (01:01:39):
Desperate for an Eric storyline.

Steve (01:01:42):
Yeah. Stop just putting him in.
Stop just making him filler.

Leif (01:01:48):
One fan commented that the actor turned out an offer
to become a regular cast member.

Steve (01:01:53):
Oh, interesting.

Leif (01:01:55):
He wanted the flexibility to get other jobs.

Steve (01:01:59):
It's a shame because I would have liked him to
have a bigger presence on Gossip Girl.

Leif (01:02:05):
And just like you, I've
noticed a growing number of people are starting to
enjoy and look forward to the Dan and Blair team
ups.

Steve (01:02:15):
Yeah. Yep.
They're. First of all, I love when they do
it.

Leif (01:02:21):
They're going to be at college together.

Steve (01:02:23):
Yes, they are. And it's only a matter.
Like it's only a matter of time.
I've always.
Yeah, they're going to bang.

Leif (01:02:33):
It should be interesting quartet at NYU with,
Dan, Georgina, Vanessa and Blair.

Steve (01:02:39):
Yeah. Yeah.
Wow.

Leif (01:02:42):
Dan's going to be like John, Ritter and Three's
Company.
But that is it for this week in fandom. Let's go.
Head over to episode grades.
What do you got, Steve?

Steve (01:03:00):
first, I want to say I don't think I could see Penn Badgley taking
a pratfall like. Like John Ritter,
but other than that, I have
a B. A solid B for this episode.
There were a few minor
writing points that I thought this could have been
hunched up. I

(01:03:21):
overall liked the episode. It
wasn't in one of my top tier episodes.
Those top tier episodes really have to
have a big scheme
kind of unfold or a
big plot reveal or a big
twist. And this had the Serena's dad
thing, but it wasn't quite

(01:03:43):
the big
episode that I want for an A. But it's a
solid B.

Leif (01:03:50):
Well, we are in the hand holding club because I also have
a B. Like you said, it was a bit
slow, but it had a lot of setup. I
think it set up a lot of things right.

Steve (01:04:01):
It was a good season premiere, and
it set up a season. I felt it actually
set up a season better than the last
season premiere. Did the last season premiere set up
arcs, but it didn't set up the
season. Whereas this has. It once
again, takes them out of the city for most of.

(01:04:22):
Puts them in Connecticut for part of it.
So. Yeah, I really like that.

Leif (01:04:29):
Let's head on over to Stockwatch Video. You got going
up.

Steve (01:04:33):
I have Nate.
I have Nate going up because he
doesn't know that he's getting played yet, and he got a girl
and he thinks everything's going his way right now. I
had, I had
Chuck and Blair both going up as
well. They.

(01:04:54):
They're. They seem like they're in a good place right
now. So I had them going up because
they're working things out as a couple.
I had Carter going up because,
I mean, Carter got Serena for a
bit. I had Jenny going up
because she had her nameplate engraved.
I had Scott going up because his

(01:05:16):
scheme worked out for him. I had
Rufus going up because he's going through a tough. Like, he
does have a tough situation, and I think he's handling
it better than I would have
expected anyone else. That is all for
going up.

Leif (01:05:32):
All. Ah, right. For me, I have Dan going up
because he's got that nice suit. He's got a
wallet full of $100 bills, and he
Smackdown. Vanessa.

Steve (01:05:44):
I was just going to say I actually left him neutral
because I liked those things.
I didn't think he really went anywhere
himself in the episode. But I do see what you're saying.

Leif (01:05:55):
He's also got a great tan for once. He's not looking
all pasty.

Steve (01:05:59):
Yeah. Yeah.

Leif (01:06:00):
I also had Jetty and Eric go up because they had the
cute best friends, brother, sister thing going
on. I had Blair and Chuck going up because
they were cute and healthy for
once.

Steve (01:06:12):
Yeah.

Leif (01:06:13):
I had the grandfather going up. Cause he sort of
got Nate wrapped around his finger.

Steve (01:06:20):
Yeah.

Leif (01:06:21):
And I also had Scott go it up cause he was, Yeah, like you
said, his scheme seems to be working.

Steve (01:06:26):
Yeah.

Leif (01:06:27):
who do you got going down?

Steve (01:06:29):
So going down. I have Serena is my first one going
down because. Oh, honey. Oh, honey.
I have Vanessa going down because she's an
asshole. I actually had grandfather
going down, but it's because
he's creepy, devious,
and because he's. He
doesn't quite have the control over Nate that

(01:06:52):
I think he wants to have yet.
I think grandfather stock is about to go up,
But I have him going down for this episode.
And finally, I had Brie getting played
by the. Getting played by the
Vanderbilts. I had her start going
down. I left Eric neutral because I

(01:07:12):
felt like he was a, really great
exposition piece in this episode, But I didn't really see
him projecting one way or another.
Whereas I saw Jenny actually, like, moving up.

Leif (01:07:24):
I just. I mainly gave it to him because he seemed happy.

Steve (01:07:27):
Yeah. Which is always good. Halfway through the episode,
Robin said, has anyone checked in with Eric lately?
Which I was like, we talk about that a lot on the
podcast.

Leif (01:07:38):
For me, going down Serena,
because, yeah, obviously
I got Daddy Vanderwinsen going down
because he's really horrible parent.

Steve (01:07:49):
Oh, yeah. I would like to add
Papa Vander Woodson to my list too. I didn't
really think about him, but, yeah, he's an
asshole.
I can't imagine, honestly,
Rufus, because he's just
oblivious. That's fair.

Leif (01:08:08):
Total hypocrite reversion last
season.

Steve (01:08:12):
Oh, yeah. I think.

Leif (01:08:13):
I think the title is really, like, about him. The reversals of
fortune.

Steve (01:08:17):
Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right. I think you're
right.

Leif (01:08:20):
Vanessa, because she was horrible.
And I also had Ashley Henshaw going
down because she got played.

Steve (01:08:27):
She got played.

Leif (01:08:31):
I had Cece going down, because she might be dying.

Steve (01:08:34):
Oh, yeah.

Leif (01:08:38):
Sorry, Cece.

Steve (01:08:40):
Sorry, Cece. But here's the best
outfits from the last episode
we've seen.

Leif (01:08:49):
Who m Do you have for best outfit?

Steve (01:08:51):
I had Serena's dress at
the polo.

Leif (01:08:55):
The orange one.

Steve (01:08:56):
The orange one. I Don't typically like orange very
much, but I thought that she really carried it. It's
also probably the dress that showed the least amount of
boob on Serena, and I kind of
appreciated that it wasn't
so much. So much boob on a dress of
hers, so I gave it to that
one.

Leif (01:09:17):
I went with Chuck's lavender pinstripe, suit
at the polo match.

Steve (01:09:21):
I have a shout out to that, too. Chuck. Chuck.
This whole episode had outfit
after outfit that was just slick. I really like
Chuck's outfits in this. Dan,
too. Dan's suit at the polo match was also,
I, liked that the no tie. It was very
similar to the grandfather's suit that he wore to the season

(01:09:42):
premiere last year, too. The
tan with no collar. The
one Cece's husband's, suit.

Leif (01:09:50):
Yeah. Well, that is it
for segments. you plug in anything this week.

Steve (01:09:56):
I am going to be
at Dawson street pub on March
15, and I will be playing some
Black Sabbath covers on the ukulele during the
intermission of an entire Black Sabbath
tribute. So come on out to that. It'll be a
fun night. And you can also
go ahead and follow me on Instagram or TikTok

(01:10:18):
at Steve Marshawn. M A R
C H I O N. You can also
find me on bluesky at
the Weed Wizard. Go ahead and follow me there
because I feel like not a lot of people follow me there. Or
Threadsteve Marshawn. And
I think that's all my stuff.

Leif (01:10:38):
All right. For me. Nothing really to plug,
but let me know if you watch the first
couple episodes of Good Cop, Bad Cop. Let me know what you
thought. Yeah, so you should have seen
a couple episodes by now. And if you want to follow
me on Instagram or TikTok or
not a TikTok on, Instagram or on
Bluesky. I'm hotcappicola. H O

(01:11:01):
T C A P I C O
L A and you can follow the podcast
on Instagram TikTok
threads
onnjudgingbreakfastpod. We're also on
Facebook, and if you're interested in our
Patreon or our Discord server, you
can find the information on our website

(01:11:22):
nonjudgingbreakfastpod.com
and if you'd like.

Steve (01:11:26):
To send us an email, we'd love to hear your thoughts and maybe
even read them on air, you can go ahead and send that
to nonjudging
breakfastpodmail.com
and also while you're listening, please give us
a like a subscribe a, follow
a comment would really help boost
our visibility in Apple

(01:11:46):
podcasts and also
tell a friend what you're listening to. Share the
info of the non judging breakfast pod and
make us the water cooler talk every week
and we will.

Leif (01:12:00):
Be back next week to Talk about Season 3
Episode 2 the
Freshman the
Max episode description reads
Georgina has plans for Blair at
nyu.

Steve (01:12:15):
Yes. Wow. I'm so
excited for Georgina after hating her so much in
season one. She just did a 180 in
my fucking heart for this show last
season and I'm I'm ready for it.

Leif (01:12:31):
Well, until next time. You know you love us.

Steve (01:12:34):
XOXO Every time you walk
away run.
Away you take a piece of me m you with you
there Every time you walk
away or run away you take a piece of me
with you there Every
time you walk away or run away m you take a piece of
m me with you there

(01:12:55):
oh it seems I'm walking right to
your.
Door.
My heart's still resting looking for
something more
Are you ever gonna see everything you mean
to me I'm trying really hard to believe
every time you walk away or run away you take a

(01:13:17):
piece of me with you there
Every time you walk away or run away you take a
piece of me you with you there
Never feels right when I'm out here on
my own

(01:13:40):
I left last night and it feels like
way too long
are you ever gonna see everything you mean
to me I'm trying really hard to believe
every time you walk away run away you take a
piece of meat with you there

(01:14:02):
come back to me
smile and you'll make my life.
Complete.

(01:14:25):

(01:14:47):
piece of me you with you there
piece of me with you there Hm

(01:15:09):
piece of me with you there?

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S3E01 - The Reversals of Fortune

Episode Transcript

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}S3E01 - The Reversals of Fortune