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Gossip Girl Review: Sources of Evil

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Now that's more like it.

After such a mediocre installment last week, "All The Pretty Sources" met all the criteria for a solid Gossip Girl episode. It focused on the core cast members, advanced the storyline, and was entertaining as heck.

Sounds like a simple formula, but the show has been known to deviate from it as we know. Tonight our favorite characters were in rare form, and even the supporting players brought something to the table.

The episode also managed to tie all the storylines together in a way that flowed nicely and didn't feel totally forced, like throwing everyone together at a party out of the blue ... which did sort of happen.

B's shower was where the tension boiled over, but it did so (relatively) believably and scandalously for all. The big winners? Chuck, Nate, Nlair and Serena. The losers? Louis, Ivy, Diana and Gossip Girl.

As for Dan, that's a tough call. Maybe he won't even remember what happened ...

Serena and Blair Conflict

This was a big night for the men of Blair Waldorf. To say Louis did not help his standing is an understatement. In the last three episodes, he's taken two steps back, and last week he did not even appear.

Logistical issues aside - I refuse to believe Louis would know how to make that list of sources live on the Spectator (TV Fanatic CEO Eric Hochberger could, but not me) - one could foresee his meddling.

He's totally self-destructing, and it's amateur hour for Louis when it comes to his scheming. Desperate and jealous, he simply wings it without thinking of the consequences ... or how not to get busted.

How ironic that the one true source of evil in this hour was the man who thinks he's above it all. Even Diana didn't sell out Nate's friends, and Ivy's a huge liar, but just in over her head at this point.

Fortunately, the petulant Prince was exposed and Blair saw him for the ineffective sleaze he really is, while at the same time, the two men she disallowed from the shower stepped up to the plate. Mostly.

Any episode that gives Chuck Bass free rein to be a dick while not having the audience hate him is pure gold. That's what happened this evening, thanks to his budding bromance with Dan. I heart Duck.

Chair and Dair lovers are often divided into respective camps, and the ending of "All the Pretty Sources" will surely prompt some more in-fighting, but Chuck was right. They were both outsiders tonight.

From Chuck's hilarious means of passing the time, to his efforts to get Dan some ass (not make one of out himself) and the way he took care of his drunken comrade at the end, the Basshole was great.

Who knows if they'll continue to have these types of adventures together, but if they do, Duck may have a real shot at winning TV Fanatic's dynamic duo poll. As for their romantic overtures toward B?

After dragging him out of the bridal shower with everyone they knew and a bunch of people they didn't (Dan asking who the peeps in the elevator were was classic), Chuck knew Dan's true intentions.

They're both in love with Blair and they both lost. For now.

It's not over yet, at least for Chuck. Dan's feelings for Blair remain strong, and their connection is deep. But when B realized Chuck had been "good" this whole time, the look on her face said it all.

If Gossip Girl is trying to plant seeds of doubt about B going through with the wedding on the 100th episode spectacular in January, they may be doing too good a job. Is there any chance she will?

We know the wedding will take place, but how much of it is unclear. There's also the matter of the baby, which was a total afterthought tonight, save for Beatrice leaking the paternity test scandal.

It's not looking good for the Prince, that's for sure, and in the ongoing, three-person battle for Blair's affections, the way things are going right now, a redeemed Chuck may have the inside track.

Ivy is Still Around

The reason Louis is on the outs, again, is the list of Gossip Girl sources getting out. Somehow, Nate got Jonathan to hack them off GG's site in like two minutes (he and Diana didn't think of that earlier)?

Eh, whatever. The point is that Nate and Serena, for all their flaws, were not about to drop the bomb, but suddenly computer-savvy Louis was ALL over it. He paid a price, as did Diana in a different way.

Whatever the Grandfather's motives for remaking Nate, installing him as the head of a big website does accomplish that to some degree, even if he's blissfully unaware of how those strings were pulled.

The fact that he never sent a tip to Gossip Girl speaks to his character. We rip on the guy for his lack of brains, and that will certainly come into play again, but he came off smelling like roses here.

Can the Spectator be the new Gossip Girl? Will Nate establish a legitimate career or implode after 2-3 weeks? Will he realize he's a pawn? So many questions. It's hard not to root for the guy, though.

It was a lot of fun to see him doing something for a change, and working with Serena in the process. Their relationship has always been central to the show, even if S and B interact so much more.

Serena and Blair reminiscing over blasts from the past (literally!) was pretty funny, and you had to laugh at S' subterfuge surrounding the shower, playing it off as if it were a casual, ordinary affair.

In the end, S was a terrific maid of honor and gave the bride-to-be the night of her dreams, Louis be damned. It was so sweet, though I bet we haven't seen the last of Diana trying to stir things up.

Why Diana caved to the pressure is uncertain, but at least we know there's a joint secret that could apparently doom both herself and the Grandfather. Speaking of secrets ... Ivy. Oh, sweet Ivy.

It took eight episodes, but her storyline finally picked up as Max continued to stalk her and force her into one lie after another. Then after Max busted her, again, he went completely off the rails.

The girl lies way too easily. It's like she's an actress or something. Even the pros can only impersonate a real person and infiltrate a family for so long, however, and the walls are closing in on her.

What Max intends to do with Serena, who knows, but at least he had the gall to blackmail Ivy for some real money. Fifty grand on the UES is like 10 in Oregon. Girl's got a trust fund. Think BIG!

Diana and Ivy have combined for way too much screen time this fall, but they certainly weren't boring tonight. I'm legitimately intrigued about what will happen with both, which is officially a first.

This was a strong installment overall, with good laughs and better drama. With two more weeks to go before the holiday hiatus, it'll be interesting to see where they leave all this unfinished business.

I turn it over to you. What did you think of tonight's Gossip Girl? Leave a comment and tell us below, and don't forget to take a look at next week's promo and vote in our poll ...

Who is the best fit for Blair on Gossip Girl?



Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 3.8 / 5.0 (307 Votes)


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This episode was better than last week's but, then again, the bar wasn't set all that high! I liked that Nate had a more active role in the storyline but the best aspects of the episode were the Chuck/Dan, Blair/Dan and Chuck/Blair interactions. It's like the writers aren't putting effort in anywhere else. It does make me wish, more than ever, that they had just cut friggin' Louis out of the story all together and went full ahead with a Chuck/Blair/Dan triangle. I mean all three actors work well together and now that Chuck and Dan are pseudo friends, it adds an even more interesting element to them being in love with the same woman. Plus if they did a C/B/D triangle, we'd have to factor in Serena's reaction to it all...God, now that is wasted potential! Louis is seriously boring and he makes Blair unbearable. While I think a triangle with C/B/D could have been interesting (still could), I'm with all the people bored by all the men being in love with Blair. The whole show is focused on the quadrangle, the baby and the wedding and the writers don't even care to develop anything else except for this bs with Diane. Which is a reason why Duck was fun -- we actually got a friendship plot! I would like to rejoice that Diana is gone but I have a feeling it's not for long... Things I liked: -Chuck and Dan at the Empire- Smoking, drinking, eating expensive food and watching the Matrix. hah! Chuck's line about why no one should ever watch A Clockwork Orange while high was awesome and SO true!
-Dan in the elevator- Drunk Dan IS a hilarious Dan. That whole scene was gold.
-Serena's speech- Oh, hey, show, you remembered Serena and Blair are friends. How nice of you!
-Blair realizing Chuck isn't a complete slimeball anymore and her subsequent 5 second scene with Chuck.
-The Chuck and Dan scene on the steps and Chuck tucking in Dan at night- AW!
-Nate being a stand-up dude
-Diana's hopefully long departure (please, let's just have one episode without her! I beg of you.)
-Grandpa Vanderbilt being a client of Bart Bass' prostitution ring (okay, speculation on my part) Things I disliked: -The under utilization of the GG sources going live- All this did was create more friction between Louis and Blair. Boring. They could have used something like this to create drama between all the characters!
-Blair acting like an ungrateful, snotty biatch when she thought Serena was catering the shower from a gyro stand or whatever. Blair really thought Serena "didn't have her best interests" at heart because Serena supposedly went with Greek food and not something from a Michelin starred restaurant? Yea, Blair, your friends are horrible. *eye roll*
-Blair being quick to blame Serena for ruining her shower. So on top of being a snotty biatch, Blair is now flat out dumb? I mean Serena had to point how incongruous it would be for her to ruin the shower she threw!
-The overall continued regression of Blair's character. Now that I've seen how awesome Dan and Chuck can be together and how lame Blair has become this season...I kinda want to just ship Duck. At this point, I think they're better than Blair. I'd totally watch a whole hour of Dan and Chuck getting stoned, trading barbs with one another and screwing hookers. Oh, and they could invite Nate and all three of them could be hot, drunk, bisexual polygamists. Duck for **~endgame~**, yo!


"The girl lies way too easily. It's like she's an actress or something." Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Ivy was an actress. In one of the episodes in season 5 Carol called her a wannabe actress or so, and Max seemed to support her desire to become an actress back in LA (in one of their conversations).
I guess nobody cares, right?


I have to say how much i hate louis!!! I don't know why he came back to the show in the first place, as far as i remember Blair left france without any REAL connection with him, not to mention that he doesn't know her well at all , as opposed to chuck, blair and chuck matured together, and we actually saw how their relationship grew and build up to something intense and interesting to watch. as much as Chuck hurts blair he did a lot of things to make her happy. I don't know what louis did, aside from giving her a bunch of totally random perfumes LOL. and what is wrong with him trying to distant Blair from her friends, he OBVIOUSLY doesn't know her because he doesn't know how much Serena means to her, she is like her sister, and Blair really need her in her life.
Chuck's character is growing on me , and his scenes with dan were amazing
and why isn't ANYONE in college, it's funny how since it doesn't fit with the storyline so they don't mention it :D


@Annicka Blair says "You've been good this whole time, haven't you?" Yeah, I thought the music was too loud too. I had a hard time listening to gossip girl and Blair while also listening to the lyrics. They need to maybe not do that next time.


Damn!Î‘s much as i hate Diana i couldn't help but feel sorry about her in this episode. She actually cares enough about Nate to put her job in the line! Well... It's not like she will leave without a fight... Sooner or later Nate will be once again traumatised after learning that his family has even darker secrets hiding in its past...
Now about Max... Honestly i was kind of shocked. I thought he was a nice guy and he turned out to be worse than Ivy. Let's hope that Serena won't invest emotionally in him.
Of course the best part of the episode was Chair! Chuck was amazing! And fortunately Serena helped Blair realise it! I loved loved loved the last scene where GG says ''... you can try to fight it but you know you love me'' right at the second Blair and Chuck are having their moment!


Could anyone tell me what Blair says last in the episode? As a foreigner I cannot understand it because the music is too loud. Thanks a lot.


@Aria I agree that Chuck/Blair and Dan pretty much made the episode, but I'm confused as to why you're calling Serena selfish. Pretty much everything she did in this episode was rather selfLESS, in fact. She threw Blair a perfect shower, talked Nate into not releasing the GG source list, explained to Blair that Chuck's motives were good... Serena kind of kicked ass this episode. She actually has been most of this season, when they've bothered to give her a storyline. I agree that the the "everyone's in love with Blair" bit has gotten kind of old, and the worst part is that it makes Blair less likable (for the same reason it always made Serena unlikable when she was in that situation). But anyway, long story short- if you really want Dan to be happy? Serena is the only one who's shown she actually gives a crap about him this season. And if you really want Blair to be happy? It's pretty clear she's always going to love Chuck, and the more she sees that he's changed, the harder she's finding it to move on. Ultimately, Blair + Dan doesn't spell happiness for either one of them. Blair deserves to have the guy she really wants, and Dan deserves a girl who actually wants him. And of course, I happen to think Chuck and Serena both deserve some happiness as well. I'm kind of sad that Serena's going to get tangled up in Max's scheme, she's just a little too trusting of people. But I suspect Dan's finally going to realize that Serena's the right girl for him, after he's almost irretrievably screwed it up by crushing all over her best friend.


Too bad that Diane/Elizabeth Hurley is off the show. She was awesome!


Why make Dan be in love with Blair? Does every guy on the show need to be in love with Blair? Just let Blair and Chuck get together.


Blair has always been my favorite, but does she really care about her baby? I know she has alot going on but shouldnt she be excited or talk about it. And kissing Chuck while pregnant with another man's baby, she really needs to grow up or doesnt care about it because its not chuck's