This week on Gossip Girl, Jenny turned 16, and she knew exactly what kind of a party she wanted. However, hostess Serena, thinking mainly of herself, had a different kind of party in mind. Guests Blair, Nate, Chuck and Vanessa acted like they were at a swingers party as they played switcheroo.
It was nice to see Jenny off the backburner for the first time in awhile. At a fun breakfast scene (I love the mass chaos, blended family scenes on this show), Serena and Lily made Jenny a wonderful offer to throw her a lovely Sweet 16 party. An underwhelmed Jenny very politely refused, saying that was more of her scene last year, but not this year. She said she would prefer a small gathering with just a few friends and family, some board games and her dad's chili. I can understand their disappointment, but this Jenny's birthday after all, so it should be her choice. And she was very clear about this. So end of story, right?
Not even close. Serena took it upon herself to un-cancel the caterer and put the big bash back on. As an even bigger bash. Why? Because she's selfish. Globe-trotting society gal Poppy Lifton made Serena feel like a mere high-school kid (as Dan later pointed out, that's exactly what she is for a few more months), and she painted Serena as being stuck in a rut. So Serena decided to use Jenny's birthday party to throw an elegant shindig that would put herself back on the map. All the while, she kept trying to convince herself that she was doing this for Jenny.
Jenny, realizing that Serena "hijacked my party" and didn't really "care what I wanted," decided to fight fire with fire: She posted the party on Gossip Girl and soon had Serena lamenting, "You turned my sophisticated soiree into a teenager rager." And so these two buds had their first fight.
I'm gonna side with Jenny on this one. Serena could throw her own party anytime. I know, she wanted to upstage Penelope's party and she wanted Poppy to be there, but what she did to Jenny was horrible. And since Jenny didn't get anywhere by honestly explaining what she wanted in the first place, I can understand why she posted the party. So I was surprised the way no one stuck up for her after Lily and Rufus came home (nice timing on how they got there just as the cops arrived). Dan was all, "I just tried to keep things under control," and Serena and Eric totally turned on the birthday girl, blaming Jenny for causing things to get out of hand.
Then Serena had the nerve to act like she was the one who was wronged. And she split - first she just left the apartment, upset that her mother yelled at her, and then she left town. For Spain. (Again, she's still in high school, but whatever - sure, go run off to Spain for a week.)
Let me back up to the part where I explained that Lily and Rufus returned home - more specifically, they returned to her home, not their home, as they don't live together. Yet. But they were thinking about it. Partly because they thought maybe it was time for that next step in their relationship (after all, Lily's been a widow for nearly four months now), but also as a matter of economic necessity, as Rufus recently found out that Dan doesn't qualify for financial aid from Yale. After refusing to take a handout from Lily, Rufus was more open to the idea of selling the loft and using that money for Yale.
Dan and Jenny, however, were not at all sold on this idea (and I too was hoping this plan would fall through - I would miss that loft set!). Dan, convinced he'll be away at college, expressed his displeasure by mocking Jenny with his rendition of The Jeffersons' theme song (classic Dan, at his best)...
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Gossip Girl Episode Recap: "The Remains of the J"
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