“Summer, Kind of Wonderful” Recap Season 2 Episode 1

// September 2nd, 2008

What did you think about tonight’s episode of Gossip Girl? Was it an exciting start to season 2? Please comment.

Recap below…needless to say, there are plenty of spoilers so stop reading if you really don’t want to know.
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Gossip Girl episode recap for “Summer, Kind of Wonderful”: In the Hamptons, Nate & an older woman are making out in a car. They mention the fact that Serena is pretending she and Nate are an item, which serves as a cover for Nate’s relationship. They decide to go to her place so they don’t get spotted.

Chuck is keeping busy hanging out with topless chicks on the beach, but when he gets a Gossip Girl message that Blair has been spotted at the airport on the way home, he’s very interested.

Serena is at the beach alone. Gossip Girl says Serena and Nate are supposed to be dating, but Serena is always alone and Nate is never seen anywhere.

Dan is making out with a girl at the library; he gets her number. Dan has been working with an important author, they talk about a story that Dan is supposed to finish. Then girl #2 comes up to Dan wondering where he’d been; he’s obviously been seeing her, too.

Jenny is working at Eleanor Waldorf’s studio. She’s interning there and shows her boss, Laurel, a design she made for Laurel to wear to the Hamptons White Party. Laurel is rude, disses Jenny’s work and says there’s no way she’d ever wear it.

Chuck is about to head out of the house with roses. Serena tells him don’t bother to meet Blair at the jitney because she’ll never forgive him. Chuck tells Serena he knows the relationship with Nate is fake.

Chuck shows up to meet Blair with the flowers, but she’s arrived with a cute new guy. She sees Chuck, kisses the new guy, and then looks at Chuck again. She’s obviously pleased with herself - trying to hurt Chuck.

The next day, Blair & Serena catch up, talking about the rumors about S and Nate. S tells B it’s a cover. (The rest of the recap is after the jump.) S mentions a hot lifeguard that asked her out. Chuck walks up to where B & S are talking, and Blair suddenly starts gushing about her new boyfriend James and how he speaks 6 languages and gave her some expensive jewelry. Chuck tells Blair he thinks she’s lying, just trying to get back at him. Blair tells him that waiting for him for days in Tuscany was mildly humiliating, but she got over it (with another guy that she met on the plane - Chuck’s like ‘oh, my Dad’s employee? I had him fired’) and now she’s totally into James. Blair says lets all have dinner tonight, Chuck agrees.

Jenny & her dad (Rufus) talk about the White Party and how she can’t go because she’s just an intern. Rufus says what about the van der Woodsens, maybe you can go with Eric…but Jenny tells him about how terrible she was to Eric.

Dan and the author he’s working for talk again about the story Dan is supposed to have finished and turned in. Dan is just stalling, making excuses. He gets fired.

Jenny calls Eric, who is smart enough to know right away that she must want something. They make up, though, and it looks like she’ll be going to the White Party.

Serena goes out with the lifeguard.

Nate and the older woman, Catherine, are going at it at her place when he husband pulls up - he’s supposed to be out of town. Nate makes a quick escape out the window, running shirtless into the road and a car stops suddenly to avoid hitting him - it’s Serena & the lifeguard. Serena acts like she doesn’t know him, Nate keeps going.

Chuck, Blair, and the new boyfriend James are at dinner with Eric and Serena’s grandmother. Chuck is giving the guy hell, making conversation about how well he knows Blair & wondering how well this new guy knows her. Chuck leaves suddenly because he sees Blair’s pin on the new guy’s sleeve. Blair goes after Chuck. Chuck knows that the pin means a lot to her and he wants to know if she loves James, she says yes but she looks like she’s about to cry. Chuck says see ya at school. Blair is in tears but pulls herself together and goes back to the table. She takes her pin back, telling James it must have gotten caught there by mistake.

S & B walk down the sidewalk, talking about James and Chuck. Blair says she just met James a week ago and basically that she’s using him to make Chuck jealous. She didn’t want to let Chuck know how he ruined her summer standing her up for the Tuscany trip. “Damn that motherchucker,” she says.

Meanwhile, Nate and Chuck are out walking, too. They talk about how Chuck is going back to the city to avoid the White Party because he doesn’t want to see Blair parading around with James. Chuck, Blair, Nate, and Serena cross paths, and B & C argue about where James said he went to school: Princeton or Georgetown. Chuck is thinking something’s not right with this guy.

Dan talks to Rufus about what happened with the story and how he couldn’t finish it because it had to do with Serena, and he hadn’t resolved his feelings about their breakup so he couldn’t write any more. Rufus says, well maybe you should face things.

Eric and Chuck talk about how James isn’t really from Georgetown or Princeton, and Chuck calls in a background check on him. “He’s got a PI on speed dial?”

Blair gets a text from Chuck just as she’s about to dump him. (She was going to dump him because she found out Chuck wouldn’t be at the White Party and she wanted to go stag.) Chuck’s message says see ya there, so instead of dumping James, she of course invites him to the White Party!

Nate wants Serena to go to the White Party with him so he can scope out his lady friend and her husband. S agrees.

Dan is headed out to the Hamptons…he goes to the house where Serena is staying buy she’s already left for the party. Serena’s grandmother tells Dan that he’s the one in Serena’s heart (not Nate) and she wants to take him to the party. She lends him some white clothes.

At the White Party:

Nate sees Catherine, and she whispers to him, ” Are you trying to ruin my marriage?”

Jenny’s mean boss Laurel is stunned to see her at the party. She wonders how Jenny got in because she checked the list and Jenny’s name wasn’t on it. Laurel is just being rude, saying Jenny couldn’t possibly know anyone at the party and disses the dress that Jenny was wearing (the one she made for Laurel)…just then, Eric walks up with a friend of his mom’s, Tinsley Mortimer. Tinsley is super nice to Jenny and totally ignores Laurel, and gives Jenny some serious cred.

At the party, Blair is putting on a show for Chuck, kissing James and giggling just as James is trying to talk about his feelings for Blair. Blair isn’t even listening. Chuck watches. James eventually confronts Blair about how she’s just using him to make Chuck jealous. She tells him he’s kind of boring. James says C & B deserve each other. Blair gets mad at Chuck, saying “You made me use him!” and Chuck is like, hey, I didn’t make you do anything, we’re the same. Blair says she’ll hate herself if she’s ever the same as Chuck.

In front of everyone at the party, Nate and Serena decide to make out so that Catherine will get jealous. Oops, Dan walks up and sees the show. Serena tries to explain to Dan but she can’t tell him because she’s keeping Nate’s relationship secret for him. Dan’s like, same old secrets, I’m sick of it. Two girls walk up to Dan and dump wine on him because they’re the two that he was dating at the same time (some coincidence!). Serena sees that Dan has a few secrets, too.

Nate’s ploy to make Catherine jealous works beautifully and they disappear into a room together.

Dan tells Serena how he missed her; she doesn’t want to talk about it at first but she agrees to leave the party with him.

Blair apologizes to James. he tells her he’s been hiding something - the fact that he’s really a British Lord. He starts speaking with a British accent, telling her how he was pretending to be a common American because most girls are interested in him for his title. He liked the fact that Blair called him boring, because nobody ever says things like that to him. Blair digs his accent.

Later, Chuck and Blair talk as she waits for James to bring the car around. Chuck apologizes for what he did to her, and Blair tells Chuck that if he just says three words to her, she’ll be his. Chuck can’t get the words out…Blair is visibly upset but turns around and puts on a smile to get in the car with James.

Dan writes at night on the beach. Serena walks up to him and he stops writing; they watch the fireworks together.