Gossip Girl 2.16 "You've Got Yale" recap

© 2008 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Gossip Girl 2.16

“You’ve Got Yale”

Original airdate: January 19, 2008

It’s the big day for Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) — Yale Day, the day when the university sends out its decision emails to early admissions applicants. Wanting to start her “perfect day” off on the right foot, Blair’s father, his boyfriend and Dorota are sporting Yale shirts to encourage Blair. They’ve even bought her a bulldog puppy named “Handsome Dan,” but Blair changes his name to “Handsome.” Go figure.

Gilmore Girl fans will appreciate that Blair spent the whole night watching old episodes, though she says she’s more fit for Yale than that “Rory.”

Her father and boyfriend hope to celebrate further with Blair later on in the evening at the opera and ask Blair if Chuck will be joining him. Blair says no, that Chuck “is as dead to me as his father is to him.” I guess that is pretty dead. We’ll have to see if things will change over the next couple of episodes. Sadly for Chuck-Blair fans, that’s about all we get in this episode.

Blair’s not the only one excited about Yale Day. Dan (Penn Badgley) stops by to see Serena (Blake Lively), worried he won’t make it in but Serena assures him he will. But Serena is worried that she will make it in and Blair won’t. They agree that this would definitely not be a good thing. Since the Dean already told Blair she was in earlier, Dan thinks they have nothing to worry about. Serena is still worried, but says “Yale is good, we are good, everything will be fine.”

They are only comforted by the fact that their parents Rufus (Matthew Settle) and Lily (Kelly Rutherford) are keeping their relationship on the down-low. Or so they think until the come downstairs together clearly from a night of passion. Serena and Dan both want to throw up it seems. But Lily thinks now that everyone knows, why hide it? She wants him to come to the opera for a charity gala so she can introduce him to her world and he reluctantly agrees. He’s not a fan of opera it seems.

As they continue stealing kisses in the kitchen, Eric (Connor Paolo) come downstairs and says the funniest thing of the whole episode:

“I would say get a room, but your room is right above mine — please try to remember that.”

At the Palace, Chuck (Ed Westwick) is not giving up on getting rid of Uncle Jack (guest star Desmond Harrington), who now is heading Bass Industries due to the morality clause Chuck messed up in the last episode. Chuck is trying to buy some young and unstable girls to get Jack in trouble as Jack walks in, informing him his schemes won’t work on him. Jack tells Chuck he needs to be at the opera as he is the face of the company, but he won’t be in his father’s seats — that’s where Jack plans to be. Chuck is so not used to being outplayed. I would hate to see what would happen if Jack and Georgina were to put their brains together.

At school, Dan wants to know who the new kid is — but it’s actually Serena’s new Shakespeare teacher Rachel — Miss Carr (Laura Breckenridge). Dan can’t believe how young she looks. Dan and her have instant chemistry. She’s from Iowa and doesn’t know much about New York City, so she and Dan both have the outsider vibe going for them.

Queen B is back and she’s having her followers constantly hit “refresh” on their phones so she can get her Yale “yes” e-mail as soon as possible. Nelly doesn’t have Blair’s email up though because she’s waiting on her own response from Yale. Blair tells her to give up because her SAT scores weren’t that awesome.

Nate and Dan have returned to their “bromance” and he gets advice from Dan on how to get Vanessa to the opera.

Chuck makes a surprise visit to Lily, though he’s not really thrilled to see her with the hateful comments he makes to her, while still wanting her to help. She must really want to be on his good side to put up with his remarks. Seeing she’s the only person who can help him with Jack, he has no choice to come to her for help.

Meanwhile back at school, the mean girls hit refresh seeing the dreadful words “waitlisted” before Blair does, right as Serena gets the email that she’s been accepted to Yale. Big surprise. Blair doesn’t believe it at first, saying she can’t read the small print, but Nelly makes a point of reading the message out loud to everyone. Blair is completely destroyed. She tells the girls to get the head mistress immediately. Dan pops up in happy mode as he’s been accepted to Yale and hopes Serena will be by his side. Only she tells him she got waitlisted just like Blair. Dan says that’s okay, because he’s sure she will eventually get in.

Chuck tries to explain to Lily that he can’t seem to get the upper hand with Jack because they are too much alike. He sees everything Chuck does coming. Now that Lily is part of the company (she’s got a 20 percent share), Chuck is hoping that she will help before Jack ruins the company. Lily says she will help, but she is more concerned that Chuck is living by himself. She agrees to help if he moves back in. Chuck says he’s not up for a family reunion and thinks she is just offering over guilt of his dad’s death. Lily bypasses his remarks and says Chuck’s recent moves to hurt Jack are not working. Putting cocaine in Jack’s gym bag, buying him trannies and even attempting to buy anthrax with Jack’s credit card. Damn! I wouldn’t want to be on Chuck’s bad side! Lily tells him making good with the board of directors is his best option. Lily says she will help on that end with hopes that he will reconsider his move back to the apartment.

In Head Mistress Queller’s office, Blair can’t believe she got waitlisted, but the head mistress tells her that she was assured her place would be secure if the other person who got in backs out. Blair automatically things this is Dan, but says it would be impossible to pry his acceptance letter out of his hands, comparing Dan getting into Yale to a cafeteria lady who wins the lottery. (Funny!). Queller tells her it’s actually another Constance student, but she doesn’t tell her who. She tells Blair to keep up her perfect GPA and she won’t have any problems getting in. She nows patience and trust aren’t Blair’s strongest points, but hopes she can rise to the occasion. Beware anyone who gets in Blair’s way of Yale.

Serena confides to the teacher Rachel that she got in Yale, but doesn’t want her to share it with anyone – especially Blair. Rachel tells her it’s her life and her decision but it’s really about whether or not she really wants to go to Yale. This makes Serena wonder if it really is her choice. She tried to get into Yale first because of Blair and then for Dan, and now wonders if Yale wants her for the wrong reason. (Do you think?)

Blair runs up to tell Serena that someone from Constance got in and she’s planning her witch hunt to focus on Nelly when she realizes the teacher is standing there.  Blair tries to recover as the teacher hands Blair her graded paper back that she missed because she went to the meeting with the head mistress instead of attending class.

Serena thinks if she’s planning a witch hunt she can’t be that upset, but Blair says “Witch hunts are my valium, Serena. I’m just trying to stay calm.”

Then she goes one step further, surprised that Yale didn’t take their A-list girl Serena (“Yale has more class than I thought.”) and then jokes that Dan must be pissed. “Now he will be lumped in with all of the rest of the financial “aid-iots” and poets.” She’s freaking hilarious, but I’m surprised Serena didn’t go off on her.  Then Blair finally looks at her paper and totally freaks out.

Serena gets a call from Yale: They want to issue a press release that she will be joining the freshman class, but Serena says she’ll have to call them back.

Lily talks to a member of the Bass Industries board, but it seems Jack as Chuck’s guardian has the right to lead the company at the present. Jack walks in and makes fun of the “minority shareholders meeting.” Alone with Lily, Jack propositions Lily and then she when she denies him the attention, he tells her that why he may not be doing a great job with the company yet, it’s better than having a “woman of her reputation at the helm.” Lily walks off pissed and I’m sure ready to help Chuck bring him down. Jack just smiles an evil smile. How can evil look so good?

Blair chases down her teacher Rachel, informing her how it’s done at Constance. Second-semester seniors are given a free pass because the school wants their students to get into the Ivy League schools. But Rachel doesn’t budge, saying her grades are based on merit. Blair needs to keep her GPA perfect to get into Yale. Serena comes up and comforts her, but runs off to make a phone call to help her.

Meeting with Chuck, Lily says that while Chuck’s attempts to blacken Jack’s reputation by trying to buy anthrax with his credit card and trying to get him on Megan’s list are good, they aren’t going to get rid of him if what they do is illegal. She says he’s untouchable at the moment but is trying to find something from her Australian contacts. Lily tells him she thought she lost him after the funeral, but Chuck quickly changes the subject back to Jack. He says if her plans don’t work they can try No. 26 on his list. Crash Jack in the jet. Lily tells him the plane is very expensive, but with a smirk Chuck says they have insurance. FUNNY!

Everything is just fine between the two until Lily answers a call from Rufus, which sets Chuck off. He can’t understand why she would parade her “mistress” around in public right after his father’s death. He also calls Rufus her “half-price hustler.” “What part of you dating someone else a month after my dad’s death is helping me?” he asks her. He says he should have known he couldn’t trust her and walks off.

Back at school, Serena decides to confess to Blair that she’s the Constance student who got into Yale because she sees Blair plotting revenge on Rachel with the mean girls. But Serena tells her to back down because she’s the student who was accepted but she has declined the invitation. Yale is supposed to call Blair in a couple of hours to tell her the good news. Unfortunately, Dan hears this news and is ticked off. And Blair can’t believe she doesn’t want Yale, telling the mean girls to kill the Nelly Yuko project. I wonder what they were planning to do to her? Serena tells Dan that Yale just wasn’t a good fit for her. Dan walks off.

Nate and Vanessa are strolling down the street as lovebirds. Since Nate got his money back, he’s been taking Vanessa on lots of “Archibaldy” things and she wants to repay him by talking him to the opera. In the nose-bleed seats. Nate doesn’t want to hurt her feelings by telling her he was planning to take her anyway.

Back at the Humphrey residence, Eric is trying to give Rufus a lesson on the opera, only he’s telling him about the wrong one. Rufus is readying a dummy’s guide to opera. FUNNY! He doesn’t want to look like an idiot in front of Lily.

Blair is playing the angel and devil game with the mean girls on whether she should still do something in revenge to the teacher Rachel. Of course, the devil wins. Big surprise. Blair calls Rachel inviting her to the opera and for dinner before that. Only Blair doesn’t plan to show up. She says she’s doing this to make it up to her for her behavior.

Before the opera, Lily and Rufus start discussing the college trips they will be taking to both Brown and Yale, which just puts further distance between Dan and Serena who listen quietly as they make their plans. Dan runs off to save himself, seeing Nate and Vanessa, accidentally mentioning Nate’s opera tickets. Nate tries to save face, but Vanessa figures out he was just being nice by not telling her. His seats are a lot better than hers, but he chooses to still set with her in the nose-bleed area.

Lily and Rufus run into Jack, who asks if Rufus is someone she met at the funeral. They exchange words. Then Rufus realizes he’s not at the right opera, but Lily tells him not to worry.

The family lawyer for Bart approaches Lily, saying he didn’t want to bother her during the funeral, but now that he has run into her, what does she want done with the documents he was working on. A light bulb goes off in her head and she runs off to tell Chuck to give her one more chance.

Meanwhile, it’s not so fun up in the nose-bleed seats as the person sitting next to Vanessa starts hacking — constantly.

Dan approaches Serena telling her it’s okay that she doesn’t want to go to Yale but doesn’t understand why she’s acted like she wanted to go for the last several months. Serena said Brown is a better fit and she just figured that out today. He’s also disappointed that Serena keeps making decisions that affect both of them. They make up for the most part, thinking Rufus and Lily’s relationship won’t last, making that awkwardness go away as well. So they hope… But as Rufus and Lily show more public displays of affection, that is getting harder and harder to believe.

Arriving at the opera with her father and his boyfriend, Blair receives a call from the head mistress who has talked with her teacher and gotten everything straightened out. This makes Blair feel guilty, so she leaves the opera so she can catch the teacher before she messes everything up again.

The family lawyer and Lily approach Chuck, telling him that she and Bart had planned to legally adopt each other’s children in order to be a “real family.” Lily says if she adopts  Chuck, she will be his legal guardian, knocking Jack out of the loop. Of course, Chuck says this doesn’t make them family, just “even.” Jack comes up right at the end of the conversation — as Chuck signs the papers. Jack says he can’t sign anything without his permission. But Chuck tells him he just lost the company and he’s sending him back where he belongs. Jack is a very unhappy camper.

Blair catches the teacher, who is not happy that she was invited to a closed restaurant and told the curtain would rise at 8 p.m., instead of 7 p.m. Blair tells her she was just trying to teach her how things are done, but Rachel reminds her she is the teacher. Blair offers her a ticket to the opera, but Rachel doesn’t bite. Blair then apologizes telling her, “It’s like you not inflating your grades. I can’t not act out against people, but I’m trying, so please forgive me.” Rachel accepts her apology and tells her she will see her Monday.

Nate and Vanessa are now in Nate’s seats, though Vanessa isn’t thrilled she “lost.” But Nate points out the good parts: They can make out when the opera is boring.

While Lily is freshening up in the powder room, Jack walks in and locks the door. She tells him it’s what Bart wanted, but Jack says he’s not so sure. She tells him he’s high and needs to let it go.

Meanwhile, Rufus and Dan start talking opera while they realize Lily is missing. Dan asks Chuck if he’s seen her and he said she was headed to the powder room, but that was a while ago. Chuck notices there’s a line at the powder room and wonders why the door is locked. Inside, Jack attacks Lily trying to kiss her violently and eventually like he’s going to choke her.Chuck barges in punching Jack as he calls him a “stupid kid” just as he falls. Rufus rushes in behind him and retrieves Lily as security takes Jack away. Lily whispers her thanks to Chuck.

The next day, Rufus and Lily are both featured on Page Six, and Rufus complains about how his hair looks. Lily is still shaken by the attack but doing better. As Chuck walks in, Rufus leaves so they can have a few minutes alone, shaking his hand as he leaves (interesting!). Lily says she heard from the board that Jack is on his way back to Australia. He asks if she is going to press charges, but she says she would rather be rid of him. She’s also now the interim head of Bass Industries, which is why she called him to the apartment. She tells Chuck she has faith that when he’s ready that he can lead Bass Industries. So when he’s 18, she will hand over everything to him. All she wants is Chuck to be a part of her family. Chuck seems happy and tells her in so many words that he now realizes that his father’s death was just an accident, basically forgiving her. He also says he would like to move back in, which Lily readily agrees to.

Blair is in Yale bliss, calling Serena who is looking through the Brown catalog. The head mistress has called Blair and she thinks this is a good thing. Looking at a photo that reminds her of Dan, Serena calls him, only he chooses to ignore the call. And guess who shows up in Brooklyn, taking his advice to visit Vanessa’s shop? The teacher Rachel. Dan gladly pours her a cup of coffee. Could there be something else brewing besides the coffee? Could it be over for Dan and Serena for now?

Blair learns that the head mistress called her in for bad news: The teacher Rachel called her and told her what she did. The head mistress is putting her in detention and Yale has been notified. If she completes detentions to her satisfaction, Yale is still possible.

A very stunned Blair exits the office as Dorota and the new puppy await, as Blair declares war on the teacher. But this time, Blair is going for “black opps, off the radar, no accountability.” Poor teacher!

Photos: © 2008 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved