Gossip Girl: Yale Canto

Gossip Girl:
"You've Got Yale"

There was literally zero Chuck/Blair interaction, but this episode was still fantastic. There were a variety of factors that made this episode enjoyable, namely: Harold showed up(!), Serena and Blair both wore outfits composed of so much plaid it should be illegal, someone finally told Lily off for treating her children and the memory of her dead husband like crap, Blair fired off more zingers than it was possible to copy down, Vanessa got coughed on, the smarmy uncle was sent packing, and Chuck turned out to be a knight in shining armor.

Like I said, Blair was firing on all cylinders all episode long, so it's no surprise that she had the Quote of the Episode, but--in the style of the Beijing Olympic uneven bars event finals judges--I couldn't pick just one:

Blair: "I am so a better fit for Yale than that Rory!"

and

Blair: "Second semester seniors get a free pass, like pregnant ladies and 14-year-old gymnasts!"

I love that Gossip Girl tossed in the 14-year-old gymnast reference. Not only did they have Nastia Liukin on the show, but now it's like they've got her back and are taking up her cause. Very cool.

Quotes, highlights and observations:

• Ha--Harold, Darota, and Roman all dressed up in Yale attire.
• They bought Blair her own Handsome Dan!
• Blair: "I don't know about the name though. We'll just call him Handsome."
• Blair: "He's as dead to me as his dad is to him."
• Look on the bright side, Serena and Dan; going away to Yale will give you the opportunity to get the hell away from your crazy-ass parents.
• Eric: "I would say get a room, but yours is right above mine. Remember that."
• If Chuck's still "the face" of the company, then why wouldn't he be sitting in Bart's seats at the opera?
• Since when is Serena's family in the hotel business? Oh, because Bart was in the hotel business? Do they still count Bart as part of their family?
• Does Yale really send out acceptances via e-mail now?
• Oh, poor B. Wait-listed? After all she did for that annoying chick?
• So, now, is Blair really so a better fit that Rory for Yale? I mean, at least Rory got in.
• Eew, why would Chuck want to move into Lily's house if he has to listen to her and Rufus having sex all the time? Yuck. (Actually, now that I think about it, Chuck might be the one person who would enjoy that...)
• So, only one person from Constance can go to Yale at a time? That seems like Yale is really limiting their talent pull. Why not take two awesome candidates just because they're from the same school?
• Blair: "Witch hunts are my Valium. I'm just trying to stay calm."
• Blair: "Now he'll just be lumped in with all the other Financial Aid-iates and poets."
• Eew, why would the board want Lily to have been left in control of the company? Do they know her? That sounds like a seriously bad idea.
• Even if he's all coked up, Jack at least knows that Lily would be a bad company leader.
• Blair didn't apply anywhere else?! Are you kidding me?! Fancy-butt school Constance doesn't make its students apply to more than one school?! Oy vey!
• Lily: "And you got him on Megan's List?"
  Chuck: "If only his apartment were a little closer to a playground."
• #26 on Chuck's list of how to take down Jack is "Crash Jack in plane." (How very Dirty Sexy Money.)
  
• Chuck calls Rufus Lily's "half-price hustler."
• Chuck: "You say you want to be family, but if you meant it, you wouldn't parade your mistress in public."
• Tell her, Charles!!! It's scary when Chuck Bass is so right about something!
• Blair: "Cancel the Nelly Yuki Project now!"
• Oh, come on, what were Nate and Vanessa really laughing so heartily about? I don't believe for a second that either one of them said something that funny.
• Eric talking about the opera (in German) is adorable. Eric is hysterical. He should only have funny lines and not have to try to sell sappy tales like "I just lost my step-father, I don't want to lose my brother too."
• Izzy and Penelope playing the angel and devil on Blair's shoulders was awesome.
• Serena's dress is gorgeous. (Of course I don't need to see that much of her boobs, but it is Serena, so I'm used to it.)
• Dan: "It went from Family Ties to Faulkner in one cocktail."
• Jack: "Who's your lucky escort? Someone you picked up at the funeral?"
• Rufus: "Ahh, kids, God love them. They do things like misread the opera calendar."
• Hey, I've seen an opera from as far back as Nate and Vanessa are sitting, and it's not that bad. Although the lady coughing all over them is not cool at all. But, I gotta say, I kind of love watching Vanessa get coughed on.
• Apparently the van der Woodsens need to get better soundproofing in their penthouse.
• Dan: "Oh, God, where are the boxes with the lids?"
• Harold: "Blair, turn off your phone. Remember the Kevin Kline incident?"
• Blair's dress is lovely too.
• Bye bye, smarmy uncle.
• It is so much colder in New York than any of these people are dressed for. I mean, look at what the actors have to wear between takes.
• Thank goodness Chuck knows how to take action! Rufus just stands around like a nincompoop. Chuck is such a knight in shining armor. (Swoon. I just love that kid.)
• Chuck's big busting-in-and-punching-out-the-bad-guy thing was rather reminiscent of a Logan Echolls or a Ryan Atwood.
  
• Sweet handshake between Rufus and Chuck.
• Wow, Blair is wearing sooooooooooo much plaid! Plaid blouse, plaid skirt, plaid coat. Holy heck. And I thought the outfit Serena was wearing earlier in the episode was plaid-crazy (which is the sole reason I picked the photo of her to put with this entry).
• Serena (about going to Brown): "Oh, and I ordered a home dreadlocking kit." (That does sound like it's right up Serena's alley.)
• Who took a pic of Serena and Dan making out at cotillion? That's kind of creepy.

(photo: cwtv.com)