Wicked Wench

Episode 19 Recap: The Grandfather (Gossip Girl Season 2)

xybil — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:11:23 +0000

Recap of episode 19, The Grandfather, courtesy of Buddy TV:

I’m still stuffed but not satisfied from all the flat-out filler we got last week on Gossip Girl, but we’ve been promised lots of actual secrets and scandal tonight during tonight’s episode, “The Grandfather,” so let’s get to it!

Vanessa tells Dan how excited she is for summer Europe trip with Nate, when they’ll travel the whole continent, just the two of them. Vanessa and Dan are heading over to Nate’s to watch college basketball, and they run into him outside with his cousin, Tripp. Tripp invites Nate to make an appearance at the Vanderbilt family reunion at their estate that weekend, saying their grandfather wants to see him. He also tells Nate that he just got engaged. Nate doesn’t want to attend the reunion, saying he won’t pretend to bond with the people who shut him out when dad got busted. Tripp leaves, and V encourages him to reconnect with his family, who seem to be finally making an effort, and he shouldn’t pretend he doesn’t care.

Meanwhile, Chuck tells Serena that Blair isn’t answering his calls, and when he went by last week she never came home that night. He knows something bad is going on. Serena tells Chuck that Blair got rejected from Yale, and he manages to make even that information about him: “The only thing she wanted more than me.” They decide to work together to help her.

Over at the van der Woodsen home, Lily, while wearing some hipster white eyeglasses that I’m pretty sure don’t have lenses in them, learns that her art dealer and Rufus used to date. The art dealer is all, “He told you, right?” and Lily is all, “Of course! BTW, I’m a horrible liar.” Lily goes over and tells Rufus how humiliated she was, and that of course leads her to decide that they should each make lists of everyone they’ve ever kissed, because they’re adults and that’s what adults do. There’s no way this can end badly for the woman who has macked on so many random guys that she’s getting her own spin-off to tell about it.

Nate drives up to his grandfather’s mansion, bringing along Dan and Vanessa, his middle-class support system. When he gets there, he learns that his grandfather wasn’t the one who thought he should come. But when ol’ granddad lands in his private helicopter, he’s delighted to see Nate, and welcomes him with a hug. Everyone claps, because that’s what families do when other family members hug. They clap. Well, dude’s got a helicopter. I’d probably clap, too. (And now I see where the episode title came from! The Godfather. Brilliant.)

Back in the city, Chuck goes to see Blair, and… what is she wearing?! Is that a slutty dress, not-so-slutty-lingerie, or a 1950s bathing suit? Whatever it is, it’s not study wear. And she’s drinking scotch? Oh, Blair. Chuck is shocked to see her this way, when half-dressed-Carter walks up behind and kisses her cheek. Chuck tells her to stay away from Carter, but Blair brushes him off, saying he couldn’t be any worse than Chuck. Bizarro Blair is having the time of her life, and Chuck leaves in disgust.

Over at the estate, Grandfather Vanderbilt shows his guests the distinguished Vanderbilt portrait gallery and brags about his family’s important roots. He and Nate end up having a heart-to-heart, and he tells Nate that he was proud of him for standing by his mother and compelling his father to turn himself in. Tripp interrupts to offer some touch football.

After showering the Baizen off of her, Blair meets S for some shopping. Blair explains that being the anxious over-achiever was leading her to an early grave, and she’s decided to throw all caution to the wind, and do everything she never would have done before. She starts by shoplifting a pair of sunglasses. Blair walks out, and Serena calls Chuck, blaming Carter for the change. Chuck says he is trying to track dirt on Baizen, but hasn’t found anything. She tells him to set up a meeting with Carter and she’ll do the rest.

On her way to blackmail Carter, Serena sees Lily’s Santa-esque list of bad decisions, and tells her it’s a bad idea to show that to her current boyfriend, because DUH. Lily says she “already agreed” to the list-thing, which is apparently code for: it was entirely her idea, and she bullied Rufus into it. Serena says that if she’s going to do it, which she shouldn’t, she should at least edit it down to be on par with Rufus’s list. The man was once married for 18 years, so… we can guess what that list looks like.

Over at the Vanderbilt estate, Vanessa watches as Tripp and Nate get their expensive sweaters muddy playing touch football. Tripp’s fiancée, Maureen, comes up to Vanessa and tells her not to “fret.” In more evidence that she is some sort of terrifying ghost from the 1930’s, Maureen tells Vanessa that Grandfather has planned out Tripp’s entire life, and will groom Nate similarly into a life of politics and public service. And like Maureen, Vanessa can become a Vanderbilt arm-trophy! Isn’t life grand?

Chuck meets with Carter, who rubs all Blair’s indiscretions in his face, and calls it a game. Serena walks in, and she blackmails Carter, threatening to tell the cops about whatever happened between them in Santorini if he doesn’t leave town ASAP. Her plan works, but Carter warns that he’s not to blame for Blair’s unraveling. Getting rid of him won’t get their friend back.

Lily and Rufus meet for their dinner date, and Rufus hands over his index card with about a dozen names on it. Lily, clearly screwed, reaches into her bag and hands over half her list. Rufus says he’s relieved that they’re in the same ballpark. Later, looking through Lily’s purse for some take-out money, Rufus finds the other half of the list and confronts her with it. She gets mad at him for being relieved when he saw her condensed version, and he gets mad that she lied (and is also a floozy) and leaves. He later returns with a new list of everything he knows Lily loves—the only list he needs to know. They make up. And that’s how our mature grown-ups on Gossip Girl spent their week.

Back to the real story. Dan and Vanessa come home from the estate, and Vanessa worries that Nate will have his life laid out for him, but she doesn’t want to say anything to keep him from reconnecting with his family. Dan tells her to just tell him.

Meanwhile, Blair sneaks off to an unknown house, and Serena and Chuck go to Blair’s and convince Dorota to tell them where she is. They think she’s at some dangerous party.

Vanessa tells Nate about her concerns, and he comforts her with thoughts of their impending Europe adventure. Tripp calls to invite Nate out with the family, and Vanessa tells him to go. He resists leaving her at first, but then leaves.

Chuck and Serena go to find Blair at the mysterious house, and they find out that Blair’s gone to beg admission to Sarah Lawrence from the college’s dean. He insists that he can’t do anything for her because of the hazing incident, and Blair leaves in tears. Doubly embarrassed to have debased herself for a lesser school and had an audience, Blair tells them to leave her alone, and vows that the old Blair is dead.

Everyone meets up at Nate’s family reunion part 2. Chuck and Serena are there to find Blair. Blair is there to ruin her reputation by insulting every high-powered socialite in the room. She also tells Serena that Dan slept with Rachel in the costume closet. Dan and Vanessa show up to support Nate. (Why must Lonely Boy wear plaid with everything, even his suit?)

Tripp comes over to give Vanessa an awkward side-hug and to intentionally let it slip that Grandfather hooked up Nate with an internship at the Mayor’s office. V didn’t know, and says there must be a misunderstanding. She confronts Nate, who admits that it’s an amazing opportunity, and will probably set him up for a future better than their Euro-pierogi tour would. He’s torn between Vanessa and his Grandfather, and who each of them wants him to be.

B walks up to a group of uppercrusts and calls out each of their infidelities and substance abuses. Chuck grabs her and takes her around the corner, asking what she’s doing. Blair tries to seduce him, telling him to take her now. He says it’s not the real her, but she says it’s the same real her that he saw give a striptease at Vitrola. Chuck says she’s not the Blair he wants, and she says she never will be again, and leaves.

Nate finds Blair alone in an abandoned room, and he sits next to her. Blair is upset that nothing turned out the way she imagined when they were young. They both feel lost. Nate reminds her of how when they first started dating, she used to make him watch the same movies over and over because she liked to know how things would end. He tells her that he’s finally realizing that you can’t fight who you are, and she’s Blair Waldorf, which will never change. Blair is impressed with Nate’s new direction, and she seems to feel better after reminiscing with him. He gets up and goes back inside.

Back in the party, Serena slaps Dan for sleeping with her ment-whore not 20 feet away during the play. He says he deserves that. She ends up smiling from the “invigorating” physical abuse. She apologizes and they go to get him some ice.

Vanessa tells Nate that she believes in him, too—right before his grandfather pulls him up for a speech. Nate accepts the internship in the mayor’s office that summer. Vanessa leaves, crying.

Serena asks Chuck what happened with Blair. He says he’s losing her, and Serena compels him to fight for her. She’s lost, and he needs to make her feel safe. Encouraged by her pep talk, he goes over to her house again to tell her how he feels.

Vanessa gets some comfort in the form of pizza and her best girlfriends (Jenny and Dan). She’s not sure if she and Nate just broke up, but it was bad, whatever it was. The Humphreys tell her to just give him space and he’ll come around.

Chuck goes to Blair’s again, very late. Dorota tells him to leave, and she’ll deliver the message that he stopped by. Chuck then sees Nate’s jacket in the foyer. Upstairs, Nate was just seeing Blair home safe, but as he leaves, she grabs his hand and asks him to stay. Chuck gazes up the stairs with a look of ultimate disgust.

Episode 18 Recap: The Age of Dissonance (Gossip Girl Season 2)

xybil — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:21:19 +0000

Here’s the recap for the 18th episode of Gossip Girl season 2, The Age of Dissonance, courtesy of Buddy TV once again. Enjoy!

It’s been a long and lonely winter without new Gossip Girl to keep warm the cockles of our wicked hearts–but tonight’s the night! It’s finally back—everyone’s favorite fictional snobs, snakes, and celebutantes are back tonight. Let’s refresh what last we saw on the Upper East Side: Dan Hump-rhey and Serena’s ment-whore were hooking up, Chuck was on a hunt to find his mysterious escort dream-girl, and Blair got herself in and out of trouble with Miss Carr, but in the end her acceptance to Yale appeared safe.

Tonight, Gossip Girl welcomes us with some Shakespeare: ‘All the world’s a stage’ on the Upper East Side, she says, and this week it’s quite literal, since the seniors are putting on their (mandatory) class play, “The Age of Innocence”. The sly Chuck Bass (of course) managed to bribe a doctor into diagnosing him with “acute stagefright,” so he’ll be off on his own dramatic adventures tonight.

Blair is playing Lady Oleska, the “stronger, more emotionally complex” female lead (her description), while Serena will grace the stage as “pretty” (but clearly simple-headed) May. Before rehearsal, Blair and Serena chat about Dan and Serena’s new crush on their director Julien. In the background, Dorota sees how she’d look with some curly extensions (Fierce, Dorota!). Blair reminds Serena for us that she should be sick of brooding artists by now, but S is clearly addicted. Then bad news strikes: it seems Nelly Yuki got direct word from the Dean she’s been accepted early to Yale. But only one Constance girl per year gets that spot, and it was Blair. Which means…

Oh yeah, and Penelope is the maid in the play, and she gets caught standing next to Dorota backstage in her matching apron. Hilarious!

Out front, Jenny complains about volunteering to do costumes, and Dan sees Miss Carr walk into the theater. The other teachers gossip like “grown up Mean Girls” (Jenny’s words) as she walks by. We then find out that Vanessa is filming a “documentary” about the production of the play with her camcorder. She explains to Nate how awesome her film is going to be because of the irony and bad acting, and they make out. Blah blah.

Meanwhile, Chuck, who apparently doesn’t go to class anymore ever, walks into a restaurant and sees his father’s friend Mr. Campbell, who apologizes for missing the funeral. He then sees, at a different table, Carter Baizen (Ooh, Sebastian Stan, how I love your wicked ways! Any Stan-fans out there, be sure to catch him on Kings!) is back in town, and who else would be sitting with him, but Elle, the mystery masked woman Chuck thinks he is in love with. Oops, Miss Horrible Actress says, she’s not Elle, she’s Hailey. Chuck’s not buying it (duh), and she excuses herself to the ladies’ room, but actually ducks out the kitchen. Carter explains to Chuck that he’s been in Singapore and picked her up when he landed back in America. As soon as Carter leaves, Campbell gets up and follows.

Cut back to Dan studying his lines as Archer, May’s fiancé. But he’s distracted thinking about poor Miss Carr being shunned by her co-workers, and he asks Jenny to deliver a note to Rachel. Jenny’s worried about Queller finding out, but Dan insists, and Little J manages to slyly drop off the correspondence. Dan writes that he wants to see her. The ment-whore writes back, gives it to Jenny, and then gets up and leaves.

Blair finds Headmistress Queller, who was on her way to tell Blair that Yale rescinded her acceptance because an anonymous caller told Yale why Blair received detention. The Dean called Queller to confirm the details, and even though HM Q explained that Blair made amends, Yale still apparently considers it a serious offense when you bad-mouth a teacher and get her fired (even if it’s true). “It’s over, you will not be attending Yale,” Queller says. Blair is in shock, but has to go on stage. She enters on cue, still clearly stunned and furious.

S and D are playing a couple on stage, which is both hilarious and awkward. Rufus enters rehearsal and sits next to Jenny, and as soon as he does, he finds the note meant for Dan. Inside there’s a key to Carr’s apartment (Ooh, girl!) and it tells Dan to meet at her place that night. But before that message can fully shock us, here comes Nelly Yuki in a fat suit, and Blair accusing Nelly of ratting her out to Yale out of jealousy. Nelly gets two wins in one day when she finally tells Blair, “People aren’t jealous of you. They hate you!” She didn’t rat out Blair, but a thousand people could have. Everyone then gets a text from GG dragging up that whole fiasco with the Lord and his cougar mother shacking up while he was with Blair (and… she knew). It’s such old news, but it still stings, and Blair realizes that someone is out to get her. She knows it’s Vanessa, since she’s the only one who knew about the Lord and his mother dearest’s secret love.

Vanessa interviews Serena about her role, but Serena is more focused on director Julien. She hatches a plan, asking Julien to tell Vanessa his insights about the play over dinner (with Nate and Serena in tow). Blair walks up to them and threatens Vanessa’s life, but V finally gets the right idea and just walks away, shaking her head. Blair asks for Serena’s support, but S takes Vanessa’s side, and Blair threatens to take down Serena as “collateral damage” if need be.

Chuck enters his room to find Elle there, and she asks for his help. Figures. She’s “on the run” from the league of powerful, rich men who will kill her for…what was the reason again? Oh yeah, because she boned the wrong Bass at a party. Anyway, she admits that she “felt a connection” between them (I think she felt more than that), and she was only with Carter because he’s rich and she thought he could help. She needs to leave the country and start over with a new identity, because apparently this club is like the mob. Chuck says he can help with the new identity. She kisses him. (This whole plot is absurd. Even for Gossip Girl.) “One question,” he says. “How do you feel about Brazil?” They make out some more. Gross.

At dinner: Julien and Vanessa gab about obscure classic theater and movies and books, and Serena weakly tries to contribute. She fails. Nate decides to cut his losses and get out of the most obnoxious dinner party ever, but Vanessa stays to hear about the play. On second thought, Julien decides Nate had the right idea, and he goes to get the check. While he’s gone, Vanessa tells Serena that Julien is annoying, pompous, and self-absorbed (which is why they have so much in common). But S still wants to hit that, so she hatches a “Cyrano”-esque plan, and asks Julien for some extra character-coaching the next day.

Dan asks Jenny about the note from Rachel, and Jenny breaks the news that Rufus found it. Cut to Rachel lighting candles, waiting for her high school lover to show up. Instead she gets the older Humphrey, who gives her the stone-cold treatment, hands back her key, and leaves. The teacher just got schooled.

Rufus then tells Dan that it’s over between him and teacher, but Dan pulls the “I’m 18 and I can do what I want!” speech. Rufus calls him shortsighted. I still call him a big fat hypocrite.

Serena and Julien are practicing her lines, and he attempts to engage a high school girl in a conversation about the film adaptation of the Great Gatsby. Luckily, Serena’s got a Bluetooth with Vanessa on the other end, which keeps her head above water in the conversation. But as Vanessa is giving Serena flirty intellectualisms, Nate walks in behind her and thinks she’s actually nerding it on with Julien over the phone. He gets all Charlie Brown and shuffles away. Just then, S gets a text from Gossip Girl, who now leaks that S only got into Yale because she’s a celebutante with a press release opportunity. The saboteur is out for S, too!

Elle and Chuck confront Carter by his car. Chuck wants Carter’s help getting Elle a passport. Elle gets into the car with Carter to go see his “passport guy,” but Carter flashes his club-insignia-tattoo, says, “We’ll take care of her,” and drives off. This is getting more ridiculous by the minute. Chuck Bass deserves better than this storyline.

It’s opening night, and Blair is still humiliated over the Yale fiasco. Dorota tells her to pour it into the role. Just then, S pops in and blames Blair for the GG blast about Yale (Did you catch how she’s doing exactly the same thing B just did to Vanessa?). “Betrayal is in your nature,” S tells B, but B didn’t do it. S leaves, and Blair tracks it all back to Dan.

Dan and Rachel meet in the hallway, and they run into the costume closet where they won’t be seen. Dan’s emotions get the best of him (what else is new?) and he pounces on the cougar. She resists for about 0.5 seconds. And then they’re doing it in the costume closet. Classy.

The play goes on, and tensions between Blair, Serena, and Dan are quite obvious.

Chuck meets with Mr. Campbell, whom he saw following Carter, but Campbell claims he has no idea what Chuck is talking about and leaves. Chuck gets a text that says “Eastview Hotel 10:30 PM.”

After Act One, Julien gives his actors a pep talk telling them to give birth to their characters while standing on a cliff (or something that equally makes no sense). He then threatens to murder anyone who embarrasses him in front of the critic who’s in the audience. Nate is snubbing Vanessa, and Julien patronizes Nate for his poor Act One performance, calling him empty. Nate storms off, and Julien tells V to put her camera on a tripod and watch the play from the front.

Dan and Blair act out a flirty scene on stage together when she starts whispering about getting revenge. Her non-subtle threats ruin the scene, but Dan realizes what’s going on, and traces the texts back to Rachel.

B and S are frigid with each other on stage, when Nate enters, sees Vanessa and Julien sitting together in the front row, and loses it. He goes on a rant: “ I hate these clothes, I hate this play, and I hate pretentious asshats who try to steal other guys’ girlfriends!” He storms off stage. Nate gets +10 for calling the director an “asshat,” and he opens a can of worms, as Blair pipes in and starts ad libbing about her own problems, with Serena and Nelly following suit. Nate comes back on stage and yells some more about Julien giving him a hard time for not understanding poor people. (He lost EVERYTHING, remember audience?) The play is ruined. Jenny closes the curtain. ‘All’s well that ends well,’ Gossip Girl says… But ‘sometimes, it just ends.’

Julien is embarrassed by his “travesty” of a play, but then the snobby theater critic walks up and commends him on his “deconstruction of the second act” in which he “melded” the kids’ aggressive emotions (and other nonsense), and Julien takes credit for “harnessing the raw emotion.” Vanessa calls him out for being a fake and runs to find Nate. Serena says she doesn’t know why she ever had a crush on him, and Julien looks at her pityingly: “Serena. I’m gay.”

Vanessa finds Nate and they discover the phone misunderstanding. But that doesn’t change the facts, Nate says, that they have nothing in common. Vanessa wants him to try harder to like the things that she does, and then he wouldn’t be so insecure. He storms off.

Chuck finds Elle at the hotel, and finds out she is all set to get out of the country to Brazil. He wants to meet up with her there, but she doesn’t want him involved in the plan. She thanks him for the money, and he realizes she was just using him. She tells him that he has a good heart, and should find someone who cares. (Evil woman!!! Get on that plane and out of here!) Thankfully, she does exactly that. Bye, Elle. We won’t miss you.

Dan takes the revolving blame game to Rachel, accusing her of sending the GG blasts about Yale. She doesn’t deny it. Dan’s ideals are crushed by the realization that a teacher who sleeps with her student might be less than honorable. He asks her to fix things with Blair, and she refuses. Dan storms off, and as he does, he sees Blair, tells her whose fault this whole mess is, and that he had sex with Rachel in the costume closet—giving her leave to use the information as she will. Blair confronts the ment-whore, and wonders how to properly punish her. Rachel is reeling, and says she doesn’t know what she’s become. She apologizes. In that moment, Blair sees herself in Rachel, and tells her that the punishment is to live with it. “I should know. It’s not easy,” Blair says.

Dan tells Serena that he’s responsible for the blast, because Rachel sent it. He told her because he was trying to explain to her that Serena isn’t like other girls at Constance. (Huh, Mr. Humphrey?) Before he can elaborate, a very hurt Serena cuts him off and leaves.

Vanessa goes to see Nate and says she’s sorry. She wants to cuddle with snacks and watch ESPN. Nate was busy watching the movie she lent to him. They both discover how wonderful it is to try new things, and that makes them want to make out.

Dan goes home to find Rufus eating ice cream alone. (No mention of how sad that is.) Dan apologizes, because Rachel wasn’t who he thought she was. Rufus also says sorry, but D asks for space to make his own mistakes (like he hasn’t made enough already). Rufus says that he can make all the mistakes he wants at Yale.

Cut to Blair nursing a martini at the world’s least-crowded bar. Serena finds her and apologizes for not believing her. Blair understands why she didn’t—“betrayal is in my nature,” she says. She calls all of this karma for her evil deeds. She brushes off Serena’s attempts at comfort, and asks her to leave. “You’re still my best friend,” Serena says, leaving.

Dan goes into his room and Jenny brings him a note that was left by the door. He opens it—the note is from Rachel, and says she’s going back to Iowa.

Meanwhile, Chuck goes to see Blair, but she’s out. He wants to wait at her house until she gets there. (YAY!) However, while his timing is wrong, Carter’s isn’t… he finds Blair, and greets her with a “Hello beautiful.” He offers to buy her a drink. And we all know what Blair does when she’s drunk and down in the dumps…

Episode 19 Stills: The Grandfather (Gossip Girl Season 2)…Plus Spoilers And Speculations For The Other Episodes

xybil — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:42:18 +0000

The synopsis for episode 19 of Gossip Girl season 2, “The Grandfather”, is as follows:

“BLAIR WALDORF EXPLORES HER DARK SIDE Devastated by the recent plot twist in her life, Blair (Leighton Meester) turns her back on her predictable Waldorf existence in favor of a more wild and unpredictable lifestyle, causing Serena (Blake Lively) and Chuck (Ed Westwick) to have serious concerns about their friend. Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) convinces Nate (Chace Crawford) that it may be time to forgive and forget when it comes to his mother’s Kennedyesque family, The Vanderbilts, who abandoned Nate and his mother when they needed them most. In a misguided effort to be completely honest with each other, Lily (Kelly Rutherford) and Rufus (Matthew Settle) agree to share lists of their past lovers. Penn Badgley and Taylor Momsen also star.”

The episode will be aired on March 23. Gossip Girl will resume this coming Monday, March 16, with the 17th episode, “The Age of Dissonance”. By the way, there’s a slight revision of the 17th episode’s synopsis. Here’s the official synopsis form CW:

“THE SENIORS PUT ON A PRODUCTION OF “THE AGE OF INNOCENCE”/SEBASTIAN STAN (“KINGS”) RETURNS AS CARTER BAIZEN — The Constance Billard and St. Jude seniors put on a production of “The Age of Innocence” and find their personal lives mirroring conflicts in the play. Serena (Blake Lively) develops a crush on the play’s director, Julian (guest star Harmon Walsh), and enlists Vanessa’s (Jessica Szohr) knowledge of theater to help her get the otherwise uninterested guy’s attention. Blair (Leighton Meester) receives devastating news about her future that leads her on a witch-hunt for the person responsible. Dan (Penn Badgley) and Rachel (guest star Laura Breckenridge) agree to stay away from each other in the aftermath of being discovered as more than teacher and student, but find it impossible to keep that promise. Chuck (Ed Westwick) enlists help from an unlikely source, his nemesis Carter Baizen (guest star Sebastian Stan). Chace Crawford, Taylor Momsen and Matthew Settle also star. “

******************************************

Anyway, this is People‘s take regarding the return of Georgina Sparks:

Spotted: Georgina Sparks talking to Chuck Bass!

Michelle Trachtenberg, who plays the deliciously evil Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl, is returning to the show beginning April 27 for the final four episodes of season 2.

This photo, shot on Feb. 24 with Ed Westwick (who plays bad boy Chuck Bass), was taken on location on New York’s Staten Island.

No word on what exactly this duo are up to, but we bet Georgina has something up her designer sleeve. When we last saw her, she had been shipped off to reform school after drugging and blackmailing her former best friend Serena and trying to steal her boyfriend Dan.

And executive producer Stephanie Savage offered a clue, telling PEOPLE during the show’s summer hiatus, “I don’t think there’s any boot camp in Idaho or anywhere else that will hold Georgina Sparks for long … I don’t think she was very happy with Blair. They have some unfinished business.”

And now she’s with troublemaker Chuck! The Upper East Side’s Queen B better watch out.

*****************************

To Blair-Chuck shippers, let us rejoice! TV Guide and Michael Ausiello of EW tackled what’s in store for our favorite couple on the show. Here’s TV Guide‘s article on Chair:

Supposedly in the next issue of TV guide the following quote by Stephanie Savage

Love, Lust or BustChuck and Blair…

How they met…Poor little rich boy Chuck (Ed Westwick) and his best bud’s ex, Blair (Leighton Meester), bonded over a shared desire to destroy Dan Humphrey before hooking up in the back of a limo- and horrifying their friends.

What’s next…With Chuck consumed by his dead dad’s um, affairs, and Blair obsessed with Yale, the pair are off again. But, not for long. “Chuck realizes what and who is important to him, ” says exec producer Stephanie Savage. ” And, that starts with B and rhymes with eclairs”.

The Verdict… Love, lust and maybe- marriage! But, it’s a marathon not a sprint, warns matchmaker Patti Stanger. “They should keep that love/hate dynamic hot but do some growing up, too. They’ll reconnect after college”.

From the Ausiello Files:

For Girl’s final eight episodes, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) is a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. ”She’s realizing that life is not turning out how she wanted,” says executive producer Stephanie Savage. Blair will seek solace in her old flame Nate (Chace Crawford). Meanwhile, Blair’s frenemy Serena (Blake Lively) will once again hit a rough patch after falling under the spell of a dubious tobacco heir (hints Savage: ”Let’s just say Serena gets a mug shot”). All this, plus college acceptances, prom, and the Constance Billard school play. Adds executive producer Josh Schwartz, ”You have not lived until you’ve seen Nelly Yuki in a fat suit in The Age of Innocence.” No, we have not.
Plot Twists: Romance, Shocking Secret

Last but not least, Leighton, Ed, Chace and Sebastian were spotted watching a Knicks vs Bobcats game in New York. Leighton and her real-life beau (Gossip Girl’s Sebastian Stan) engaged in some mild PDA. In my opinion, I think they’re such a cute couple. I don’t mind them together off-screen, hehe, but never on-screen!

I think Ed Westwick’s shaking hands with SNL alum/30 Rock actor Tracy Morgan:

A fan candid…I just find this pic weird though. I thought the GG actors were sitting at the front…Anyway, it’s still eye-candy. Have a great week ahead everyone!

Finally, a Chuck and Blair Kiss!!!

xybil — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:35:38 +0000

Yesssss! There is a light after all at the end of the tunnel. I guess most of you have probably seen those pictures of Nate and Blair sucking face, leaving us Chair (Chuck-Blair) fans depressed, in denial and angry! Well, Spoiler TV featured a series of clips from future Gossip Girl episodes and the first video featured Chuck and Blair kissing. Squee! Instead of posting the said video, please click on this link instead:

http://spoilertv.blogspot.com/2009/02/gossip-girl-photo-from-new-promo.html

I’ve read through the comments and a fan said that Blair said something like this to Chuck before they kissed: “Do you like the first time you saw the real me? Take me now!”

Woo, I can’t wait to see that episode! Thanks to Spoiler TV yet again, they posted stills of the KISS:

Even though I’m kinda confused right now with the pics of Blair and Nate kissing and in some video sneak peeks of Blair and Carter Baizen hanging out in a bedroom, this Chuck and Blair “sighting” really made my day!

Anyway, here are the recent pics from the set of Gossip Girl. I’m secretly wishing that in these Nate and Chuck pics, they were actually discussing about Blair. Hehe…

Serena and her new beau, Gabriel Serrano (played by Armie Hammer) kissing:

B and S hugging it out:

Lastly, B and her love affair with limos. LOL

Episode 18 Stills: The Age of Dissonance (Gossip Girl Season 2)

xybil — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:39:43 +0000

The title for episode 18 of Gossip Girl season 2 is “The Age of Dissonance” and not “Blair Waldorf’s Day-Off” as previously mentioned. Here’s the poster for the episode that will be aired on March 16:

In case you missed the synopsis for the said episode, here it is again. The stills follow:

Chuck is having trouble dealing with the mystery of the person his father was and how he spent his spare time. Meanwhile, Nate catches Vanessa flirting with another guy, and in a moment of desperation, reluctantly turns to Blair for help which turns out not as he expected. Dan purposely ignores Serena’s calls and tells Miss Carr that things are beyond a little complicated between the two of them right now. Miss Carr chooses not to take her job back and spends most of her time in an empty apartment with her new fling, who doesn’t seem to be quite grieving from his recent break-up from Serena. At the same time, Lily and Rufus question where their relationship is going and talk very casually about merging their households, Chuck however, is strongly against the idea, and does everything in his power to stop it.

The titles for episodes 19-22 are as follows, as well as their air date:

Episode 2.19 – 23 Mar 2009 – The Grandfather
Episode 2.20 – 30 Mar 2009 – Remains of the J
Episode 2.21 – 20 Apr 2009 – Seder Anything
Episode 2.22 – 27 Apr 2009 – Loose Ends

So far, there’s no air date yet for the last 3 episodes of season 2 (episodes 23-25)… I was looking through some of the forums and a fan provided a link to Wikipedia and there are short descriptions for some of the episodes. This is not official since Wikipedia contains user-generated content but the “synopsis” is pretty interesting. Anyway, here are the brief descriptions for some of the episodes mentioned above, as well as for some of the untitled episodes:

Episode 19: The Grandfather

Carter Baizen will return and instantly causes trouble for Chuck and further angers him when he tries his moves on Blair. Meanwhile Vanessa receives an offer from Nate’s Grandfather that is difficult to refuse.

Episode 20: Remains of the J

Jenny starts worrying abut the future.

Episode 22: Loose Ends

Blair and Chuck tie up some loose ends and reach a surprising agreement to their recent arguments and continuing relationship.

Episode 23: No title yet

Introduces the miscreant lovechild of Lilly and Rufus, who returns to his parents and ends up needing to finish his Senior Year at high school.

Episode 24: No title yet

Introduces backdoor pilot for Gossip Girl spinoff series about Lilly and Rufus in their teens.

Moving on…Here are some pics of the cast attending various shows during the New York Fashion Week:

Leighton Meester looked adorable in bangs.

Chace Crawford’s seatmates were Kanye West and Jared Leto.

Blake Lively was a seat away from the devil who wore Prada, American Vogue editor Anna Wintour (in shades):

Jessica Szohr and Taylor Momsen out and about in New York during fashion week:

Blair And Nate Kiss (Part Two), Scoops and Spoilers

xybil — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 09:10:04 +0000

As a die-hard Chuck and Blair fan, these pics make me nauseous. Aargh! Where the hell is Chuck? And what the eff is he doing to allow this? Credit to Gossip Girl Insider for the pics.

Moving on…I won’t let these pics dampen my mood on Valentine’s Day, hehe! Here’s Ed Westwick for a sexy photo spread with supermodel Helena Christensen. Their pics are featured on the March issue of Harper’s Bazaar featuring Sarah Jessica Parker on the cover:

Here’s E! Online’s Kristin’s take on Serena’s future boyfriend:

“Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) is getting a new squeeze! And this one doesn’t share a half sibling with her. Hurrah!

Sources reveal to me exclusively that Armie Hammer—who’s also set to play the Devil’s son, Morgan, on Reaper—will join the cast of Gossip Girl at the end of the season to play Serena’s new beau.

The CW just confirmed this casting to us.

Want the details on his steamy little affair with Serena?

As I reported before, Gabriel Serrano is a European socialite, who is not like any man Serena has dated before. Hammer will join the cast for three episodes toward the end of the season as a part of the Anne Hathaway-esque storyline.

As reported by my frenemy this morning, Gabriel will be dating Serena’s friend, Poppy Lifton (Tamara Feldman), before he moves on to her. I can already smell trouble with this guy, which is exactly why he’ll fit in just fine on the Upper East Side.”

TV Guide also gives us this scoop on two new guest stars on the show:

“Remember when Nate was poor and huddling under a tartan sleeping bag trying to keep warm in the basement of his family’s seized Upper East Side townhouse on Gossip Girl? Well, don’t worry, he isn’t poor anymore because… well, something happened, I’m a little unclear actually.

But maybe these two have something to do with it. TVGuide.com has learned exclusively that Aaron Tveit and Holley Fain have been cast as Nate’s very wealthy cousin Tripp Vanderbilt (nice name, chief!) and his fiancée, Maureen, who is a girl and therefore does not need a last name of her own. Tveit appeared in the Broadway productions of Wicked and Hairspray and the film Ghost Town. Fain most recently appeared on episodes of Lipstick Jungle and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

The posh pair will appear in two upcoming episodes, in which Poor Little Match Boy Nate reconciles with his mother’s powerful family mdash; which, thank God, because this show does not do poor well at all. “

Episode 18: The Age Of Dissonance (Gossip Girl Season 2)

xybil — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:36:59 +0000

Episode 18 of Gossip Girl season 2, Blair Waldorf’s Day Off The Age of Dissonance, will be aired either on March 2 or March 9. So I guess it will be a long wait for us fans. Anyway, here’s the synopsis for the said episode:

Chuck Bass is having trouble dealing with the mystery that was his father and the way in which his spare time was managed.

Nate Archibald catches Vanessa flirting with another guy, and at a moment of desperation, reluctantly turns to Blair for help.

Dan Humphrey purposely ignores Serena’s calls and tells Miss Carr that things are beyond complicated between the two of them.

Meanwhile, Miss Carr chooses not to take her job back at Constance and spends most of her time in an empty apartment with her new fling, who doesn’t seem to be quite grieving from his recent break-up.

At the same time, Lily and Rufus question where their relationship is going and talk casually about merging their households. Chuck however, is against the idea, and does everything in his power to stop it.

Here are some spoilers by the way from Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly:

“Forget that ho-hum Oscar nomination. Now Anne Hathaway has something even cooler to brag about: her very own Gossip Girl plot!

Sources confirm to me exclusively that the show is planning a season-ending story line loosely inspired by the actress’ infamous (and fizzled) romance with Italian grifter Raffaello Follieri, who was convicted last October on 14 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. In the world of Gossip Girl, Blake Lively’s Serena will play the unsuspecting ingenue who falls for a handsome European socialite — in this case a hunk named Giorgio (casting is under way).

Though she won’t confirm or deny the story’s Hathaway-esque twists, executive producer Stephanie Savage reveals that Serena’s beau is “very well-traveled, part of the global elite. He’s not a brooding artist like Dan or Aaron rose. He’s definitely a grown-up, and that’s something Serena is very attracted to.”

Word is that GG’s version of the story will take a turn that is so much darker than the Hathaway saga that it ultimately puts Serena’s life in danger. Moreover, it triggers the return of Michelle Trachtenberg’s Georgina Sparks and casts our heroine’s sworn frenemy in the unlikely role of savior.”

As for the controversial kiss between Blair and Nate, here are this is what Michael Ausiello have to say:

Question: I recently saw a photo of Nate and Blair kissing in an upcoming episode of Gossip Girl. What the hell?! We waited all season for Blair to get together with Chuck! Please say it won’t last. — Clare

Ausiello: Let’s ask exec producer Stephanie Savage about that incriminating photo: “I think they look really cute together kissing in the snow.” Um, let me take a different approach. What does the rekindled N and B romance mean for C and B? “Tell those Chuck and Blair fans to hang in there.” That’s better.

Please tell me this Blair and Nate thing won’t last. -Karolina
Take comfort, it’ll be but a blip in the Gossip Girl timeline.

Anyway, the title for the succeeding episodes are as follows:

“The Age of Dissonance”

“The Grandfather”

“Remains of the J”

“Seder Anything”

Moving on…Here are the latest pics from the set:

Leighton Meester appears on the March cover of Seventeen Magazine. She was photographed by Kenneth Willardt:

Leighton’s spread for Rolling Stone magazine:

Leighton for Nylon Mexico and attending the launch party:

Ed Westwick’s Teen Vogue magazine scans:

Ed’s K-Swiss ad campaign has been finally revealed:

Happy weekend everyone! XOXO

Spotted: Blair and Nate Kissing! Pffft…

xybil — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:59:12 +0000

Ugh, I don’t get why the Gossip Girl writers insist on recycling the Blair and Nate storyline. I know that Chace Crawford is gorgeous but the guy can’t simply act so I don’t sense any chemistry between him and Leighton. Anyway, here’s the latest scoop from Kristin of E! Online and the pictures are courtesy of Spoiler TV:

“It’s true. As we teased in last week’s Spoiler Chat, a core couple is reuniting on Gossip Girl. The just-released location photo above means that hot little kitty is debagged, and my sources confirm what your eyes are seeing: Gossip Girl’s newest (old) hookup is Blair (Leighton Meester) and Nate (Chace Crawford). Gasp!

What does this mean for the epic romance that is Blair and Chuck (Ed Westwick)? And why the frak are Nate and Blair back to nooky anyway? I’ve got the exclusive scoop…

Sources tell me that unlike Blair and Chuck’s deep adversarial passion, the renewed Blair and Nate coupling is about familiarity and comfort.

According to one insider, “Blair and Nate are both at a crossroads. Blair has to accept she isn’t going to Yale. Nate is being sucked into his family’s expectations, and they are both there for each other and enjoy the familiarity. At first it’s platonic, but, of course, that doesn’t last long.”

Blate. Blah.

Still, don’t worry, Bluck fans. Even though Nate and Blair are playing tonsil hockey for the time being, I have it on good authority that Blair and Chuck have not been forgotten. For that matter, Gossip Girl boss Josh Schwartz just told the Chicago Tribune’s wonderful Mo Ryan, “We get that that [relationship] works for people.”

So in the grand tradition of the Derena merry-go-round (“Dan Serena Dan Serena whoo!”), Chuck and Blair’s time will come around again. But can you stand the wait? Will you watch between now and then?”

Sigh…Anyway, in real life, Ed Westwick and Jessica Szohr are dating. They were recently spotted kissing at the New York Knicks vs Los Angeles Lakers game at Madison Square. The pics are from Ed-Westwick.Org:

Here are more pics of the two:

Recent pics from the Gossip Girl set:

Blake, Penn and Chace at DirecTV’s 3rd annual Celebrity Beach Bowl game at Progress Energy Park in St. Petersburg, Fla.:

Episode 17 Recap: Carrnal Knowledge (Gossip Girl Season 2)

xybil — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:17:12 +0000

Here’s the full recap for episode 17 of Gossip Girl season 2 entitled Carrnal Knowledge. Thanks to Buddy TV as usual:

Spotted: The girl who has everything finally gets something she’s never had before: Detention. And she’s not taking her community service lying down.

This week on Gossip Girl, Blair complains to Serena about her punishment, while forcing Dorota to do the dirty work in the park. Pa Waldorf comes to meet his daughter with a picnic basket, and commends her on taking her punishment so maturely. Dorota, hands still sore from the manual labor, tells Blair that her “martyr act” stinks like the garbage she’s got Dorota picking up.
Serena goes to surprise her teacher, Rachel Carr, at her favorite breakfast spot, but finds Dan there already, bonding with Carr about being poor and lonely. Serena was going to show Carr her King Lear essay, but Miss Carr’s creepy adoration for Dan’s Cordelia shout-out in a short story (awkward literary reference #1) makes S think better of it, and she bails.

Meanwhile on the bourgeois side of town, Chuck Bass wakes up with vague memories of masked women. There’s an insignia on his wrist; a stamp rather than a tattoo, we hope. Chuck calls Nate and asks him to meet at a strange address.

Blair runs into Carr outside school, where Miss Carr tries to relate Blair’s litter pick-up to Henry David Thoreau’s On Walden Pond (that’s #2). Blair approaches the Plastics and demands their help taking down the “Commie Corn Husker,” but they refuse to help, afraid of getting their own trash duty. Blair gets all Gladiator General Maximus on them, giving a rousing little speech about how their petty manipulation will “echo through eternity.” The Headbands aren’t buying it… until Head Mistress Queller forgets she has an intercom system, and takes to the front steps to tell the students there’s a new rule at school: no cell phones during school hours. Blair’s lackeys see Miss Carr happily confiscating Blackberries, and sign on for take-down.

The Plastics meet in the women’s bathroom, where Blair has Dorota meet her with a designer bag full of new cell phones for her friends. Harmony wants to check Gossip Girl, and Nelly wants to check the Dow, but Blair insists: all texting efforts go toward finding dirt on Miss Carr.

Back to the Basstard: he’s investigating “the Chuck Bass version of Narnia” back at the with Nate and Vanessa. Only it’s not a wardrobe, but a big, fancy (and deserted) Manhattan mansion. Mr. Bass received an invitation in the mail to the “ultimate private gentleman’s club,” where he met the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen (even in a mask) and did naughty things to her. But he doesn’t remember much, and woke up alone in a hotel room. Now he wants to figure out where he was, and with whom.

The Headbands are having a hard time lassoing up any dirt on the Midwestern Mother Theresa, so Blair tells them to make something up. Before they can get their tiny brains warmed up, she sees Dan and Miss Carr talking in the hallway… or the Dan Humphrey version of talking to a woman, anyway, which involves fumbling over compliments and stuttering uncontrollably. Carr seems to encourage his awkward half-flirting. Before you can say “Cougar,” Blair’s got her new phone out (in the middle of the hallway—bold, B!) and texts Gossip Girl a Mary Kay Letourneau alert on Miss Carr.

Dan immediately starts getting high fives from his fellow dudes, and can’t figure out why. Jenny finally clues him in that there’s a rumor on the web that he’s hot for teacher. Dan denounces the rumor to Jenny, and then to Serena, and they figure out that Blair must be behind it.

Nate and Vanessa make puppy eyes at the piano while Chuck tries to jump-start his memory in the mansion. Chuck points out a framed photo of his masked maven holding a newborn. Must be the family’s mother, Vanessa astutely observes. They find a realtor’s card for place, and Chuck calls her up.

Dan sneaks up on Blair in the Constance ladies room. Blair makes a snide remark about Dan having lady parts, and denies any knowledge of the rumor. Meanwhile, Serena tells Miss Carr about her writing insecurities, brings her up to speed about the rumor, and gives her a Wikipedia-style lesson on Gossip Girl: “It’s a website where a girl posts gossip. Or at least we think it’s a girl.”

Chuck convinces the realtor to let him see the mansion owner’s file. He calls and asks who the woman was, and finds out he met a nanny named Elle who nurses in Connecticut. Chuck leaves his number and hopes she’ll call back.

Blair is called into Queller’s office, where Miss Carr awaits. The judgment is swift and harsh: on her way to Yale, Nelly Yuki threw Blair under the bus. Blair gets expelled for putting the school’s rep in jeopardy.
Blair retreats to her bed, where she laments the imminent revocation of her Yale acceptance. Pa Waldorf wants to know if Blair posted the rumor. She says yes, but that it wasn’t a lie. He promises to talk to his lawyer and that she won’t be punished for telling the truth. Back in Brooklyn, Vanessa calls Dan Templeton (from Charlotte’s Web, and literary call-out #3) for “ratting out” Blair to Miss Carr. Dan says she brought it on herself. Rufus interrogates Dan about the truth to the gossip, as Vanessa receives a mask and a message in the mail.

Serena meets Rachel in the park, where she asks for clemency on Blair’s behalf. Miss Carr doesn’t budge on the punishment, and leaves for a “meeting,” but also leaves her planner on the park bench. Serena finds the address of the meeting and follows her. S calls B and breaks the bad news. B tells Dorota to give Handsome to a homeless man, because she doesn’t deserve her cuddly Yale present.

Rufus and Lily walk into an emergency parents’ meeting about imminent Online Honor Codes (look out, Facebook), and Harold and Rufus exchange a few defensive dad words before going in.

Miss Carr’s “meeting” is actually with Dan for coffee, because she wants to thank him for being her friend. (Yeah, because meeting the student you’re accused of having an affair with at a romantically-lit dinner establishment is a GREAT idea.) They have a veiled conversation about how they both have crushes on each other, with Rachel telling Dan he can call her in five years. S approaches the window of the restaurant just as Dan strokes Miss Carr’s hair back and goes in for a hug. She catches the moment on her phone and walks away just as Carr rejects the hug, and finally catches the “maybe this is inappropriate” train on her way out.

Meanwhile, Chuck continues his Eyes Wide Shut mystery, and meets Elle. She informs him that the invite wasn’t for him, but for his dad (RIP Big Bass), who was a member of an elite group of classy lechers. Elle is a nanny by day, club escort by night, and when she found out that she’d hooked the wrong Bass, she drugged his drink and left him in a hotel room hoping he wouldn’t remember her. She’s scared the group will do something drastic if they found out she brought in an outsider, and asks him not to contact her again.

Vanessa puts on her mask and heads to Nate’s. Turns out he sent it to her, and they head into his house for some kinky masked monkey love, while I fall asleep from the pure boredom that is their relationship.

S goes to B, says she was right about Miss Carr, and shows her the proof. Blair sweeps off to the parents’ meeting with the photo, and tells Dorota to get her dog back from the homeless guy.

Back at the meeting: the Constance parents debate slander issues, when Blair rushes in and asks Queller to check her email. She pulls up the photo on the projector, and Rufus and Lily look on in shock. B asks Q to check her email, and the head mistress pulls up the photo of Dan and Rachel at their candlelit coffee date. Outside the meeting, Serena confronts D, who explains he was just being “friendly.” The meeting gets out: Miss Carr got fired, Rufus thinks Dan is a perv, and Blair is back in at Constance. Serena admits that she wanted to believe the worst about Dan because deep-down she wants to break up. They hug it out and let their relationship go (again).

Dan tells Rufus that Miss Carr shouldn’t have been fired, when he was the one who screwed up. Rufus reminds Dan that meeting a student whom she didn’t even teach, off hours, away from school, was not only improper, but idiotic of Miss Carr. Rufus voted to get her fired to protect Dan’s reputation. Dan storms out. Serena goes to Rachel’s house to give back the planner, and apologize for giving Blair the photo. Miss Carr hands back Serena’s essay, which she apparently read after being fired, and then asks S to leave.

Blair’s happily hanging with Handsome again, when her dad walks in: he heard her admit that she sent in a lie, and lied to him, and he’s disappointed that she’s not as mature as he thought. She justifies her actions, saying that Yale was on the line. Yale doesn’t matter; he wants her to be a good person. Pa Waldorf takes Handsome (apparently Eleanor doesn’t want a bulldog) and heads back to Paris, brokenhearted.

Gossip Girl gives us a physics lesson about equal and opposite reactions as Chuck receives a call from Elle’s employers saying she’s gone missing and asking for his help. Dan goes to Miss Carr’s house and starts to apologize for everything until she kisses him and pulls him into her apartment, telling him, “I don’t teach at Constance anymore.”

But not so fast: now HM Queller is saying that she needs to give Rachel her job back to avoid a wrongful termination suit. They don’t have enough proof, and she believes Dan’s story. Q is on her way to tell Carr, but wanted to tell the head of the Parents’ Committee (Lily) first. But Miss Carr misses her phone call, busy getting it on in the dark with Dan.

Episode 17 Stills: Carrnal Knowledge (Gossip Girl Season 2)

xybil — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 04:56:33 +0000

Stills for episode 17, Carrnal Knowledge, of Gossip Girl season 2 are already up. The said episode will air on February 2, Monday and not this coming Monday, January 26. If you missed my previous post regarding the synopsis, here it is again: (UPDATE: Recap is over here)

BLAIR IS IN THE MOOD FOR A LITTLE REVENGE – In
retaliation for not playing by the unspoken rules of Constance Billard,
Blair (Leighton Meester) hatches a plan to bring down her teacher,
Rachel (guest star Laura Breckenridge), and it’s going to be good.
After Chuck (Ed Westwick) wakes up in a hotel and only has a minor
recollection of what happened the previous evening and who he spent the
evening with, Nate (Chace Crawford) and Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) try to
help him fill in the missing pieces of what is turning out to be an
increasingly intriguing mystery.

Anyway, Carter Baizen is coming back! The actor playing him, Sebastian Stan, is actually Leighton Meester’s (a.k.a Blair Waldorf) real-life boyfriend. The two were recently spotted on the Gossip Girl set.

We always see Leighton and Blake Liveley (a.k.a Serena van der Woodsen) carrying their pet pooch. For a change, here’s Jessica Szohr (Vanessa Abrams) with her canine best friend.

Last but not least, the rest of the cast on the set. Happy weekend everyone!