Gossip Girl: The Handmaiden's Tale

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9 PM ON THE CW

As much as I've said this show is at best a guilty pleasure (and I'm still sticking to my guns about that one), tonight's episode was slightly more quality than I have given it credit for in the past. I think a few things contributed to this. First, as I pointed out a few times already the Dan and Serena relationship is the foundation of the show. These two actors have done an amazing job together and have that rare chemistry we don't often see between actors and it's only gotten better with each passing episode. Moreover, the writing for these two seems to be significantly better than for the other characters and that's contributed to the draw of this couple. Second, the addition of Vanessa to the cast creating a sort of love triangle between Dan, Serena, and Vanessa is an interesting and intelligent twist. It would be too easy for Dan and Serena to become friends without any bumps in the road. Plus, it gives us a chance to see a different side to Dan now that he'll have a friend around to chill with. Lastly, the creation of the Jenny-Blaire dynamic has surprised me. I didn't see this one coming but I'm actually enjoy the power struggle between the queen and the princess. I still think Jenny should rethink her aspirations but if she's going to go for this life at least its been interesting for us to watch.

Tonight everyone attended the Masquerede Ball, albeit not everyone with invitations. If you watched the episode you pretty much know what happened but I would like to talk about Dan. He finally gets Serena and they basically established a relationship last week and the guy has to go off and test its stability right off the bat. There's nothing wrong with having a girl friend (yes, those two words are separate as I'm referring to Vanessa) and there's nothing wrong with having a past with that friend, so long as it's in the past. So why he had to lie to Serena on the phone made no sense to me. There's no way it would have jeopardized his chances of Serena asking him to the Ball. This resulted in all the confusion, lies, and hurt feelings throughout the rest of the episode. Thankfully, Dan told Serena and Vanessa the truth when it came down to it and they both forgave him. However, don't be too quick to think everything's all cheery and calm just yet. There's no way this triangle is done and I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of jealousy as Dan tries to balance his friendship and his girlfriend. What would be interesting would be if Serena and Vanessa became friends too...

I don't want to talk too much about Jenny yet except to repeat what I said above. I think he choice of lifestyle isn't the best and to emulate Blair is probably not the healthiest hobby. If she's going to do it though I don't mind as long as it stays as interesting as it has been the last couple episodes. As for Blair, she keeps preaching that she loves Nate yet she's so self-involved that she can't see he's struggling when it's staring her in the face. He's still a drag on the acting and pleasure of this show (as is Chuck for that matter) except his storyline is at least important to some other aspects of the show now that he's somewhat tolerable. I have a feeling that Nate's parents may send him to rehab before his father admits the drugs are his. This could end up being the end of the Blair-Nate relationship especially since he can't help going after Serena.

One last thing - I'm really starting to enjoy the Rufus and Lily relationship. They're actually pretty funny together. At first, I thought they were annoying and the situation was generic but it's actually turning out to be an interesting aspect of the show. Although, in the end I have to admit I'm rooting against them because it would be very weird to see Dan and Serena dating while their parents are dating at the same time. I don't know how much fun that would be.

So I guess I won't be seeing you again until the show comes back with a new episode on November 7th so leave some comments on what you think November Sweeps is going to bring for "Gossip Girl." With a full season pick up announced a couple weeks ago we can all sit back and enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and famous Upper East Sider's for the rest of the year. Until then, enjoy the review.