Gossip Girl 2.05 "The Serena Also Rises" Recap

“The Serena Also Rises” recap
Gossip Girl, Episode 2.5

It’s Fashion Week and Manhattan’s elite are making plans for all of the fashion shows.Blair (Leighton Meester) has stepped in to do the seating chart for her mother Eleanor Waldorf’s fashion show and is excited to be in the middle of her mother’s world. By tradition, Eleanor (Margaret Colin) is expecting Blair and Serena (Blake Lively) to be backstage with her. Blair happily informs her mom she is planning to let her school friends sit on the second row, which should make them worship her (she needs to get her throne back from S). Everything seems perfect in Blair’s world for the moment.

Dan (Penn Badgley) and Jenny (Taylor Momsen) are heading to school in uniform catching up with each other. Jenny’s been spending a lot of time at Waldorf Designs for her internship, so Dan hasn’t seen her very much lately. Dan is back to being Invisible Boy but says he’s enjoying it — he doesn’t have to worry about what he’s wearing because nobody cares now that he’s not dating Serena. He’s had time to work on his Yale application, which is due Monday. Dan has a new writing advisor to help him with some of his stories he wants to submit. As soon as Dan is out of eyesight, Jenny jumps into a cab headed to Waldorf Designs, instead of school.

Lily (Kelly Rutherford) is decorating the apartment for Bart’s (Robert John Burke) return with lots of art with the help of her art dealer. Serena and her mom briefly converse over her night at a charity event the night before with her new friend socialite Poppy Lifton (Tamara Feldman).

Lily asks her art dealer to secure the next Maplethorpe coming to auction, and Serena asks if Maplethorpe is the guy who does the naked guy art. Lily corrects her that he does art of not only guys but women too, which makes Serena guess out loud that Lily in her past had her portrait done. Lily says now that she and her brother are old enough, that yes, she did pose, but the shot is tasteful. Serena tells her she’s just become the coolest mom on the Upper East Side.

At school, Chuck (Ed Westwick) catches up with Blair offering to help the “besieged queen” regain her throne. He tells her she needs help waging war on Serena and he would be the perfect ally. Blair says there is no war and now that Marcus (Patrick Heusinger) is out of the picture, she can go back to her old life, Serena was just keeping her seat warm, so to speak. She tells Chuck that it’s Fashion Week and she’s the only Constance girl with clout.

Coming up to her pack of followers (or Serena’s depending on the day), Blair hands out second-row tickets to her mom’s fashion show, which thrills the girls. “OMG, these are like movie star seats!” one girl says. Then one of the girls spots a picture of Serena with Poppy Lifton in Women’s Wear Daily and freaks out. She says Serena could “die today and have lived a fulfilled life.” Obviously, it’s a big deal. Blair is not happy, and as Serena approaches and sees the picture, surprised, it just irritates Blair even more. She walks off telling Serena “I’ll leave you to your hands.”

Watching the scene, Chuck tells Blair that “watching her fail spectacularly brings me so much joy.” Blair tells Chuck that all he does is bring misery to everyone and that’s the reason he’s always alone. Chuck says the only reason he’s alone is because Nate (Chace Crawford) is visiting his grandmother. Blair says Nate is only his friend by habit and that the only person with less friends is Dan, and at least his “lame 90s dad” likes him, and that at least Dan is something Chuck will never be — human. Ouch! I think this hits Chuck harder than we think from what we see later. Maybe there’s some truth to watch she says.

Mr. Shapiro, Dan’s writing advisor isn’t impressed with Dan’s stories, though he liked the first one. It seems all of his stories are about the same thing — a sheltered young man with girl troubles who still lives at home with his dad (I wonder who that would be? Ha!). Dan says he is writing what he knows, but Mr. Shapiro tells him to get out of his comfort zone and live dangerously. He doesn’t think what Dan’s writing now is going to impress the Yale English department.

At Waldorf Design, Laurel (Michelle Hord) is freaking out over Blair’s seating chart because there are no “It” girls on the front row. She calls Kirsten Dunst “so 2007.” Eleanor says Blair told her they can’t get the A-listers because their show is the same time as Marc Jacobs’ show. Laurel is worried that without A-listers, there will be no press. Jenny speaks up and tells them that Serena has befriended Poppy Lifton and she could probably get her to come.

So guess who shows up on Chuck’s doorsteps? It’s Dan, wanting to spend a night in Chuck’s world, though he doesn’t tell him why. It’s a pretty funny scene because when he tells him he wants to step out of his comfort zone, Chuck asks him if he’s gay. Dan says no, that would be out of his comfort zone. Luckily, Chuck is bored so he allows Dan to tag along.

This is where Blair has her hissy fit, talking to the maid DeRoda about how ungrateful the girls are at her school. “One snapshot with a socialite, and it’s all Serena, Serena, Serena,” she says. Without her, they wouldn’t even make it in the show, she says. Then she really has a cow when she notices the seating chart she has made has changed – with Serena and Poppy on the front row. OMG! When the maid tells her Jenny suggested it, Blair says she plans to give Jenny a refresher course — because she obviously didn’t learn her lesson last year.

Seeing Eleanor, Blair expresses her dismay over the seating chart changes, but Eleanor says the idea was “inspired.” Blair doesn’t think Poppy will go because she always goes to Marc Jacobs’ show and Serena should be planning to be back stage with her, as always. Eleanor informs Blair that she’s already called Lily who thinks it’s a great idea. B is not happy. As Eleanor goes on about how great Jenny has been, Blair doesn’t see how she’s had time to help with school. Eleanor says she has independent study, which Blair finds hard to believe for a sophomore.

As Jenny walks in with Laurel, Blair tells her “You never learn, do you?” Jenny has no idea what she’s talking about, but Blair tells her thanks for ruining her seating chart. Jenny tells her she didn’t know it was “her” seating chart, trying to apologize. Oh, Jenny, watch out!

Out on the town, Chuck tells Dan to drink up (a whole bunch of shots and one unidentified pill he gives him). “You are either in for the whole ride, or you are out, which one will it be?” he tells Dan.

Lily and Serena have Poppy over for dinner as Serena questions why Lily told Eleanor they would sit on the front row. Serena doesn’t want to upset Blair, but Lily says staying back stage was okay when they were 12, but not now. Poppy suggests they enjoy the show on the front row, and then invite Blair to the Marc Jacobs’ after party to make it up to her.

Lily gets a phone call from her art dealer, who informs her that someone has already bought the Maplethorpe photograph. Lily wants her to find out who bought it before the auction and offer them more money.

Rufus (Matthew Settle) is surprised to find Blair at his door with chicken soup in her hands. She came over to wish Jenny well, a.k.a., let Jenny’s dad know that she’s been skipping school for the past two weeks. She even has the head mistress’ phone number available. How convenient! Rufus doesn’t want to believe it at first, but he’s willing to check it out. It’s hard to believe that his good daughter Jenny would lie to him.

In the limo, Chuck is totally bored as Dan goes on and on about his awesome night on the town in Chuck Bass world. When Dan says his feet are hot, Chuck tells him to take them off (kinda weird, but hey, it’s a limo) and then asks the driver to pull over. Chuck throws Dan out of the car shoeless in the rain telling him he was just his entertainment for the night.

Rufus is ticked and goes to get Jenny from Eleanor’s where she is fixing a hem for the show. She says Eleanor is counting on her, and he says he counts on her to go to school, a school he pays tens of thousands of dollars for her to attend. Jenny tries to explain, but her dad doesn’t want to hear it. Blair watches the whole scene unfold.

At home, there’s still tension between Jenny and her dad. She says it’s not that bad because she’s been having a friend e-mail her the assignments and she’s kept up with her reading. She just needed to get through Fashion Week. She’s really good at what she does, she tells Rufus. He tells her there’s no excuse for skipping school and that she has to meet with the headmistress today to avoid being expelled. It’s a Saturday and the day of the fashion show, Jenny walks off mad.

Serena drops by Blair’s house to talk because Blair has been avoiding her phone calls. Blair says she’s taken the girls at school away from her and abandoned their oldest tradition to go to her mother’s fashion show with a complete stranger. Serena compares the girls at school to hummingbirds, going from flower to flower, and next week, they will follow someone else and then will go back to Blair. Blair also can’t understand why Serena has to sit on the front row. Serena tells her Eleanor asked her and Blair sarcastically remarks that Serena wouldn’t want to disappoint her mother though she doesn’t mind screwing over her best friend. Serena says fine, she won’t go, Poppy won’t go, and Blair can explain why there’s no one on the front row. Oh, but then Blair brings it: “At least I wouldn’t have to watch the next episode of The Serena Show.” Oh no, you didn’t! Serena bites back telling her she came to invite Blair to hang out with them. Blair snaps back about “how generous” Serena is, so Serena tells her she WILL be on the front row and will enjoy every minute of it.

Dan’s writing advisor isn’t crazy about Dan’s new story about how a Brooklyn kid sees a hooker for the first time and encourages Dan to write about the “Charlie Trout” character (Chuck) as he is a complex character. He tells Dan to find out his secrets and what makes him tick and write from his point of view. Find the character’s human entity (good luck Dan!).

Jenny shows up for her meeting with the head mistress but blows it off after getting a text from Laurel that the models are arriving and she needs to get there fast.

Lily’s art dealer tells her Bart anonymously bought the Maplethorpe, which surprises Lily as she’s never mentioned it to him. The art dealer says maybe he’s planning to give it to her as a gift.

Eleanor’s fashion show is getting started, so get ready for some real backstabbing! Serena and Poppy arrive to take their seats only to find Serena’s seat at the back. Blair’s work, of course. Blair says that’s the way it’s supposed to be but Jenny tries to intervene. Jenny tells the assistant that Serena should be on the front row and that it has nothing to do with her (Jenny just wants to please Eleanor). Eleanor walks up and hears what’s going on and puts Blair in her place, telling her to “spare the dramatics.” Serena feels bad for Blair, who she knows is totally embarrassed.

At the bar, Chuck tries to call his dad Bart, who thinks he must be calling because he’s in trouble. Chuck just wants to talk and have a drink with his dad who is just now coming back to town. Dad says he doesn’t have time. Dan overhears the conversation, getting a little insight into Chuck’s real world. He asks Chuck if last night was all he had, but Chuck seems too defeated to argue. Chuck tells him to stick around.

Dan asks him when he started hanging out in bars alone, and Chuck responds, “when I realized hot, desperate women drink in bars.” Hitting the target, Dan asks Chuck about his dad, who he says is “me, older and meaner.” Chuck can’t take anymore of the questions, so he tells Dan he’s going to pursue a more fulfilling past time — women.

Chuck approaches a girl at the bar offering to pay her for sex, just when her boyfriend walks up. The guy asks how he can mistake his girlfriend for a prostitute, and Chuck has the audacity to say it was an honest mistake (then adds she dresses like a high-class call girl). When the guy attempts to punch Chuck, Dan intervenes, knocking the guy out.

Back at the fashion show, Jenny drops off one of her designs to the assistant for the after party. You’ll see why this is important in just a little bit. Blair asks the assistant what Jenny’s job is — getting the models ready. She’s plotting her revenge.

At home, Rufus realizes Jenny is not at home and hears a message from the head mistress who says she talked to Jenny and the situation is out of control. He’s very disappointed and realizes she’s at the fashion show.

Jenny gets a call from her dad, but ignores it. Walking backstage, she confronts Blair when she realizes that models have disappeared. It seems B told the models to go home because they were overbooked. Laurel walks in asking if the models are ready, but Jenny tells her they are gone. Laurel is freaking out again, but Jenny says everything will work out. She wants to use the A-list girls as fill-ins for the models.

Meanwhile, Dan’s heroics have landed he and Chuck in jail. Chuck’s actually impressed that Dan had his back. Dan thinks his father is going to kill him, but Chuck says to consider himself lucky because at least his dad cares. Dan asks if he’s dad has always been like that, and Chuck says since the day he was born. Chuck reveals that his father’s beloved wife died during childbirth delivering him and he’s held it against him ever since. Dan doesn’t understand how a dad could hold a child responsible. Chuck is released and tells Dan he will help him get out without alerting his father.

Bart arrives home with a present for Lily — a necklace, not the Maplethorpe artwork she was waiting for. Disappointed, she asks him about the art piece, but Bart says no one will ever see it. He says that as a powerful man he’s a target and that it could be used against them. Lily asks him how he knew about it, then realizing that he’s had someone check up on her past (big surprise!). She demands to see the Lily file.

Now it’s Eleanor’s time to go off like a rocket over the disappearing models. Laurel tells her Jenny’s plan “Models lost, socialites save the day” will bring in even more press. Eleanor says it’s a good thing society girls are wafer thin! Blair acts innocent.

Poppy is ready for the runway but Serena doesn’t think it’s a good idea to participate. She knows that it will kill Blair. Poppy tells her she had a friend just like Blair who didn’t want her to stand in her spotlight, but it wasn’t fair. Serena shouldn’t have to hide in the shadows because Blair is insecure, she tells her. As she convinces her to do it, Blair comes running up with a dress (it’s actually Jenny’s design, her after party dress, not Eleanor’s — bad, bad Blair!) and tells Serena she doesn’t mind her modeling.

The show is going well with Serena’s design expected for the finale. Jenny realizes Blair switched the dress but can’t stop it in time. Eleanor sees that it’s not her dress, and Jenny admits it’s her design. Jenny tells Blair: “I waved the white flag at school, why don’t you claim your throne and leave me alone.” Blair says she can’t as she watches Serena in the spotlight on the runway. Jenny sees it’s not about her, but about Serena. Jenny tells Blair she might be privileged, but she works for everything she achieves, like her, while Serena just glides through. She tells Blair she wanted to be her friend for a reason last year.

Picking up his personal property at the police station, Chuck gets Dan’s stuff by mistake. Not a good thing, because Dan has notes about Chuck for the story he is writing. Things like “Get his secrets. Find out what makes him tick.” Chuck is not a happy camper.

Bart shows Lily his file including letters she wrote to her college boyfriend. He says, “You mean the college professor you slept with.” Ouch! He says it doesn’t matter but his concern is for his family. She admits that she’s concealed things in her past, but doesn’t want to do it anymore. She wants her children to know their mother. Bart then pulls out a folder, asking if what he has in his hands is something she wants her kids to know. Lily looks at it, and whatever it is, it’s good! He obviously knows a secret on her that is mind-blowing!

In jail, Chuck confronts Dan on the other side of the bar about writing about him. He says no one uses Chuck Bass and for Dan to watch his back (probably a good idea!). Before he leaves, he says the story he told Dan about his mother isn’t true — he says she died in a plane crash in the Andies when he was 6 years old. Hmm. Wonder if he’s telling the truth?

Eleanor approaches Jenny telling her that when she’s through with her that she won’t have a career in fashion. Laurel comes up saying that someone important is raving about Jenny’s design. Jenny says it’s a design she adapted from one of Eleanor’s old patterns and encourages her to take credit for it. Eleanor doesn’t want to take credit for a dress made by a child. Blair steps in as nice girl this time and says Jenny saved the show with the socialites modeling and encourages her to take her bow. Eleanor finally gives in and goes to the runway.

An assistant tells Jenny a man saying he’s her father is acting crazy outside, and she wants to know if she should put him on the list. Jenny says no. OMG! You are going to be in so much trouble, Jenny!

Dan’s writing advisor bails him out of jail and thinks it’s pretty cool how far Dan has gone for his craft. Dan says he’s not going to exploit people to write anymore. The advisor is disappointed and tells Dan he doesn’t have what it takes to make it, and Dan tells him he’s just a washed up writer himself.

After the show, Eleanor thanks Jenny as they raise their glasses of champagne to her, including Blair. Rufus watches in the background until she sees him.

Blair comes up to Serena in the dressing room. Serena knows about the dress change, though Laurel tells her it was an accident. Serena knows Blair did it on purpose. Blair tries to apologize, saying she was hurt by Serena hanging out with Poppy at the fashion show. Serena tells her to get over it, and that no longer will she bend over backwards to protect her feelings. Serena calls her insecure. Blair calls her conceited. Serena is tired of holding herself back so she doesn’t outshine her. “OMG, can you hear the words coming out of your mouth?” Blair asks. For now on, Serena say she’s going to be who she is, and hopes Blair will be supportive and non-competitive, and if not…

On the staircase, Rufus informs Jenny that her privileges now consist of bread, water and school. Jenny tells him he can’t make her quit her job with Eleanor, and he says “watch me.” Jenny says he pursued his music career when he was young but Rufus doesn’t want his kids to repeat his mistakes. She says that if his career had taken off, then maybe he wouldn’t have considered them mistakes and maybe she’s more — (Rufus finishes her sentence — “more talented than me?” He says he hopes she is — but after school. She says maybe that’s not the path she wants. He asks if that’s what she told the head mistress. She says no, she told the head mistress she’s not coming back to school. OMG again!

As Gossip Girl talks about secrets and how they affect everyone, Chuck seethes over Dan’s notes, Jenny happily holds her dress, and Blair watches as Serena and Poppy glow in the spotlight. Don’t worry B, the brightest stars fade the fastest, Gossip Girl says.

Gossip Girls airs at 7 p.m. CST on Mondays on The CW.

Photos courtesy CTV.