The Grandfather (23 Mar. 2009)

Devastated by the recent plot twist in her life, Blair turns her back on her predictable Waldorf existence in favor of a wild, unpredictable lifestyle that includes Carter, causing Serena ... See full summary »

Director:

J. Miller Tobin

Writers:

Etan Frankel, Robert Hull

Stars:

Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Blake Lively	...	Serena van der Woodsen
Leighton Meester	...	Blair Waldorf
Penn Badgley	...	Dan Humphrey
Chace Crawford	...	Nate Archibald
Taylor Momsen	...	Jenny Humphrey
Ed Westwick	...	Chuck Bass
Jessica Szohr	...	Vanessa Abrams
Kelly Rutherford	...	Lily van der Woodsen
Matthew Settle	...	Rufus Humphrey
James Naughton	...	William van der Bilt
Sebastian Stan	...	Carter Baizen
Aaron Tveit	...	Trip van der Bilt
Jill Flint	...	Bex
Holley Fain	...	Maureen van der Bilt
Zuzanna Szadkowski	...	Dorota Kishlovsky

Storyline

Devastated by the recent plot twist in her life, Blair turns her back on her predictable Waldorf existence in favor of a wild, unpredictable lifestyle that includes Carter, causing Serena and Chuck to have serious concerns about their friend. Vanessa convinces Nate that it may be time to forgive and forget when it comes to his mother's Kennedyesque family, The Vanderbilts, who abandoned Nate and his mother when they needed them most. Elsewhere, in a misguided effort to be completely honest with each other, Lily and Rufus agree to share lists of their past lovers.

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Plot Keywords:

upper east side manhattan new york city | manhattan new york city | new york city

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2009 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

17th Street Productions, Alloy Entertainment, CBS Paramount Network Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min 55 min 42 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References The Great Gatsby (1974)

User Reviews

A surprising turn for Gossip Girl.

Gossip Girl came out with a different twist in 'The Grandfather' which worked out far better than last week's 'The Age of Dissonance'.

We welcome back Lily and Rufus after a long break. I'd anticipated a bit juicier storyline between them, though there were a bit of funny moments between them.

Lily and Rufus squabble over their past relationships and the fact that Lily's list was a tad longer (okay that's an understatement), but making a list of past lovers only spells disaster.

This was the first time where and episode revolving around a 'Nate and Vanessa' made sense. Nate bonding with his grandfather was trendy, though I often find myself wondering where he was when Nate sunk to the bottom. Probably watching Nate from the distance, hoping he would 'man-up' and take responsibility, like his grandfather stated he was proud of. I smelt something fishy with Nate's cousin after all began to cave in on Vanessa and she realized that the slight shove she gave Nate to reunite with his family, might have led to a tight squeeze and their inability to let him go. Nate got a taste of his grandfather's persuasion and ended up choosing the internship instead of a summer get-away. Still the internship does sound like an interesting way to spend your summer; a couple get-away could be done anytime I don't think Vanessa and Nate should split because of it.

I definitely did not expect a Blair-Nate reconnection. From the moment Blair and Nate got a one-on-one scene together I knew they were going to initiate something between them. When he gave Blair his coat and she gave him back, I actually thought Blair was up to something; probably remembering how happy she used to be with him, her first boyfriend.

The heart of this episode was watching Blair go into the lowest of lows, from welcoming an overnight guest into her home, to degrading herself in public and taking down some others with her. This was a side of Blair we haven't seen before. Degrading her image and lowering her inhibitions so that even an untamed Chuck could take her in his arms; but even that didn't work out as he threw away the opportunity in Blair's weakened state with a "It's not you" liner. Who felt a bit sorry when Blair had to beg her way into another school, let alone in front of Chuck and Serena? Sadly enough they could help her out of her depressing state.

There would be a triangular struggle between Blair, Nate and Chuck next episode Remains of the J and somebody might get hurt in between... or everyone might get what they want, who knows how it would go on Gossip Girl? Let's just hope it uses the same formula and mix it up next week.

Bonus *So Serena finds about Dan and Rachel from a drunken Blair, which ended as quickly as it began. She slaps him and they have a laugh off? not what i expected, it was a bit amusing, sort of pictured hr making a scene though.

*Jenny was way underused here. It was a good thing for Vanessa and Dan otherwise we wouldn't have seen her at all. What happened to her clothing line? All in time I guess.

*I hope they spruce up Lily and Rufus' relationship; I liked them in the earlier stages when things were 'complicated', now they are getting a bit dull.

_______________________________ Three out of Five stars Grade B _______________________________