“Desperately Seeking Serena” Gossip Girl episode recap

// May 5th, 2008

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(Sorry for the delay on this recap, GGC has been in turmoil since I had to switch hosting companies last week.)

Everyone is preparing for the SAT’s: Dan is stressing because he’s not a good test taker, Chuck is seen paying someone to take the test for him, etc.

Rufus is trying to keep a short leash on Jenny because he’s disappointed in her for stealing the dress to try to keep up with her friends in the money/clothes department. Rufus has been feeling like he failed and wants to reconnect with Jenny. She’s still grounded.

Blair is obsessing over someone named Nelly Yuki, telling Serena that they both want to go to the same college (Yale) and that the school is unlikely to pick two girls from Constance. She explains why Nelly is her main competition due to her academics and extracurriculars.

Chuck and Serena talk about Georgina, with Chuck telling S to chill because Georgina is in Switzerland and not to worry about her coming back. (more…)

Blair invites the girls to an SAT soiree she’s having, which trumps Jenny’s plans she was trying to make with the girls - Blair will have tutors and a spa-treatment night at her place. J is left out.

Serena apologizes to Dan for being so tied up & overwhelmed with all the family stuff she has going on. They’re starting to lose touch with each other, it seems…

Georgina shows up at school and surprises Serena. S agrees to have a cocktail and catch up with G. “Spotted in the courtyard, S looking like she’s seen the ghost of parties past.”

Jenny decides she needs a boyfriend because it’s the one thing Blair doesn’t have. She and a sidekick go out scoping for guys. They bump into a cute guy walking dogs and Jenny gets his number (he owed her a hot dog because he bumped into her and knocked hers down) but she throws it away later, saying he’s just a dog walker and that she needs a king, not a jester.

Nate drops off some SAT prep stuff for Dan. He talks to Vanessa and she gets a little belligerent, saying she doesn’t need his second hand books. Dan calls her “venomous without provocation” and accepts the books, saying there’s good stuff there he can use. Nate likes Vanessa.

Serena and Georgina do their catching up, we see them at a bar with Serena looking uncomfortable. S is bothered by the “presents” G sent her in last episode, but G says they were supposed to make her laugh. G wants to hang with S and assures her that she won’t get out of control. S is still uncomfortable but G is very persuasive.

The gang shows up at Blair’s but there are not tutors or masseuses to be seen anywhere. B goes into a presentation about Nelly Yuki, explaining why they must “annihilate” her.

G & S are still out drinking, they reminisce and seem to be having fun. Guys approach them and they do funny accents. S answers G’s phone and it’s her drug dealer - S is disgusted and wants out of there. She calls Chuck and explains to him that she was supposed to be studying with Dan but she went out with Georgina and now she needs help, she’s totally wasted, and Chuck says he’ll pick her up. Chuck calls Dan and says Serena has food poisoning; Dan is concerned.

Serena doesn’t want Dan to meet or know about Georgina because she’s that bad.

The next day at school, Dan approaches Chuck and says leave Serena alone. He thinks Chuck is bad for Serena. Dan catches Serena and Chuck in the lie about the food poisoning & is upset. Georgina is already ruining things.

Blair’s crew (without Blair, she’s strategically located to overhear the whole conversation…) try to befriend Nelly Yuki (whose family owns “1/2 of Tribeca”) but she’s really not interested. She’s not into friends. Blair discovers a weakness, however, when Nelly mentions her breakup with her boyfriend Todd at a Flo Rida concert.

Jenny and her sidekick see the dog walker again but this time they think he’s the owner, not just the walker. Jenny decides to talk to him.

Blair walks by Nelly in the hall with a Flo Rida song playing on her phone. Nelly is upset by the song (bad memories of the breakup) and Blair comforts her.

Vanessa and Nate meet at a Greek restaurant. Nate shows up late because he was visiting his dad in rehab a few blocks away. Vanessa had set up this meeting because she wanted to apologize to Nate. She had judged him by his cover, she said, and when she read his SAT practice essay (that was in a book he gave to Dan) she realized she was way wrong about him.

Georgina wants to have dinner with Serena. G says she realizes that S has changed and says she really wants to hang out, catch up, and maybe she can change too. G says they’ll only drink diet Coke, no alcohol. S is supposed to study with Dan but she agrees.

Rufus got Jenny a sewing machine. Jenny wants to meet the dog walker for lunch but she can’t. She’s still grounded, Rufus tells her, and she acts bratty again!

Nelly Yuki and Blair’s crew are at Blair’s place, Nelly is getting a massage. Blair has arranged for Nelly’s ex (Todd) to show up, and he does. He says he wants to talk & Nelly is really happy.

Nate and Vanessa are out walking, talking about punk bands and SAT’s. She says she’s not going to college, her family is made up of artists and none of them go to college. They end up kissing.

G and S are at dinner, not drinking alcohol (as promised) and talking about Serena’s relationship with Dan. Georgina says Serena has changed and that it would take a lot to bring the old S back. S gets up to make a phone call and G spikes her drink.

S wakes up the next day at Georgina’s, late for the SAT and having no idea about how she got there. Georgina describes a wild night that Serena has no memory of. “I guess you haven’t changed as much as you thought,” Georgina says. (Oooh what a bitch!)

Nate surprises Vanessa as she’s walking to work. He wants her to come with him, she says I can’t just ditch work because you show up. He’s hard to resist, telling her this is a one-time offer and opening the limo door. V goes with him. They show up at the SAT test; he encourages her to keep her options open and take the test. She does.

Rufus and Jenny aren’t talking. Jenny is still mad about being grounded. Rufus doesn’t want her hanging out with the Upper East Siders because of her losing her sense of right and wrong (and herself) trying to fit in with them.

Nelly shows up in bad condition to take the SAT’s because Todd and Nelly were up all night talking (accomplishing nothing) and Blair is pleased. Her plan has worked so far, and she gets herself a little insurance by taking the batteries out of Nelly’s calculator. Blair had set out to sabotage Nelly and it looks like she did. Now she owes Todd a favor.

Dan realizes that Serena didn’t show up for the SAT - he looks for her, is worried, and then sees someone signing in as Serena. He goes to find S later at the palace, she says she was sick again. Chuck is there backing her up. Dan says he’s really worried but Serena just wants him to leave, she says let’s talk about it tomorrow. They say “I’m sorry” and “Yeah, I’m sorry, too” and walk away and leave things poorly.

Chuck really wants to know what’s up with Georgina. He says he can understand S not wanting Dan to know, but why not tell him?

Later, Serena goes to Georgina’s place and tells her not to ever contact her again. They get intense talking vaguely about their past, alluding to some bad incident they were involved in. Serena says “If I go down, you go down with me.”

Rufus still won’t let Jenny out so she can’t meet the dog walker (Asher) for lunch. Asher shows up and Rufus likes him because Asher says he wishes his friends had parents who cared enough to ground them. Asher has hot dogs and wants to have lunch with J at her place. Rufus agrees.

Dan meets Georgina at the park; she’s out playing with her dog (she’s obviously set this meeting up) and they talk. She introduces herself as “Sarah” (bitch!!!)…and that’s the end!