Gossip Girl - Season 6 Episode 3 - Recap and Review - Dirty Rotten Scandals

Gossip Girl seems to be recycling some old scandals this season, but I have a feeling there could be a reason behind this. In "Dirty Rotten Scandals," we witnessed yet another fashion show explosion (remember when Jenny Humphrey staged a guerrilla show for her line?), but some of these characters we've grown to love and love to hate are starting to show a little maturity. Key word there, some. The scandals seem to fall to the wayside, to the high schoolers watching the Upper East Side elite, as the twenty-somethings we follow make their way in the world. Then again, Serena (Blake Lively) still annoyed me and I never thought I'd say this, but I think I might prefer Bart (Robert John Burke) to Rufus (Matthew Settle) at this point.

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The episode opened as Blair's (Leighton Meester) fashion show deadline began to draw to an end. As it seemed, Blair had been working overtime in an attempt to finish a new line in ten days and she did a pretty damn good job. Her staff seemed to be working like a well-oiled machine, with Dorota (Zuzanna Szadkowski) as the fuel, of course. Blair decided to use It-girls as opposed to actual models, playing to a Manhattanite audience who idolize the fashion tastes of Serena Van Der Woodsen as opposed to, say, Heidi Klum. As one It-girl dropped out, Blair had no choice but to call in Serena for backup. I would say something along the lines of, "poor B, she just doesn't get it," but Blair's on another level of maturity than Serena at this point, if you ask me. Serena's nasty attempts at cutting her out of her life seem to be futile. Really Serena? Sage (Sophia Black D'Elia) is your new family?! Blair continues to eye-roll Serena, as do I writing this. In other news, this is the final season of the show. They're making up, everyone.

Sage continued to be Hell on heels this week, as her ploy to ruin Serena (I'm not the #1 Serena fan, but come on, Sage.) came to a stale head. Sage had been acting out in typical high schooler fashion i.e. cutting class, dropping out of school clubs. You're so bad, Sage. Serena offered to hang out with her in an attempt to bond and save her relationship. Serena knows what it's like to be off the rails. Remember the train scene from last season's finale, everyone? Serena grew all the way up in a summer. She must be the best! The best!

Sage ditched Serena pretty quickly but not prior to catching wind that Blair was looking for an It-girl to walk in her show. The wild goose chase that followed was childish, of course. Serena ended up picking up the girl's lunch tab before running to Nate's (Chace Crawford) office. Nate, if you remember, is dating Sage. Sage is seventeen, and Nate wants to be taken seriously as the owner of The Spectator? Keep that in mind. Nate was basically zipping up his pants as Serena strolled in, only to find that she had "just missed Sage" yet again. Come on, Nate. Call Sage! By the way, Nate gives pretty good advice!

Sage ended up being back at her father's place. She just wanted to toy with Serena, and Stephen (Barry Watson) seemed to buy it. Matt from 7th Heaven was led to believe that Serena and Sage had a great afternoon together, and that Serena helped Sage find her calling as an It-girl/ model. Serena had to play into this and thus, was forced to beg for Blair's forgiveness later on.

Who believes Jenny would really have sent her blessing to Rufus that quickly, especially before talking to Dan (Penn Badgley)? Dan's first post was published in The Spectator this week. Nate advised him to warn the target prior to posting, as it seemed professional. Oddly, Nate does seem to be coming off as the voice of reason this season. Funny, considering all of the jokes surrounding his stupidity. I like Nate, though.

As it turned out, Dan's first targets were Rufus and Ivy (Kaylee DeFer). Ivy is on the warpath this season. Once news broke of her relationship with Rufus, (And yes, folks, they're in a relationship now) Ivy saw an opportunity to strike. Rufus felt more or less embarrassed, but Ivy suggested legal action. Using Gossip Girl, Ivy sent a blast warning Dan and Nate that they were about to get sued. Nate wet his pants. Well, almost. Dan wasn't sweating it. It didn't seem like something Rufus would get behind.

All that running around without eating or sleeping caused Blair to suffer a dizzy spell. A doctor was called and prescribed bed-rest. Meaning, Blair would have to organize her fashion show via Skype. After catching a glimpse of Nelly Yuki skulking around her office again, Blair knew she needed someone she trusted, someone who thought like her, as her substitute. Dorota was one step ahead of her and called in Mr. Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick). I didn't appreciate the dig Blair took at Dan after a whole season or so of dating him, and prior to that, building a great friendship. "Tasks are for minions and Dan Humphrey" was a little much.

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CW "Gossip Girl"

That right there is Serena Van Der Woodsen sucking up.

Chuck put together one hell of a fashion show, though. It was Blair's dream come true, for a flash of a second. We all knew Sage was coming in any moment to shred everything to pieces. After a little pouting and stomping, Serena stuck her Louboutin in her mouth and begged Blair for help with Sage. Blair gave in, under the condition that Serena praise her line because, for whatever reason, people care what Serena has to say. People still care! She's an adult! The fashion show seemed to be going well, although Blair took a little swipe at Serena by seating her manfriend away from her. That was all Blair had up her sleeve, though. Why would Serena think Blair would sabotage her own show to piss her off? It was Sage who was looking to ruin everything. In an attempt to embarrass Serena, Sage stripped to her undies on stage and started talk of exploitation and child porn. We've been down the child porn route already, right? (Diana Payne and the secret recorded footage of her and a younger guy).

Serena stormed out, after blaming Blair, and took the crowd with her. Even Alexa Chung went running. Blair's show was ruined, and we hate Sage for it. A butting of heads between the two former besties took place outside, just before Sage showed up to claim credit. Lucky for Serena, Stephen wasn't buying Sage's ridiculous ploy for attention. Doesn't strutting around in your underwear in the middle of a high-brow fashion show humiliate you more than anyone else? Anderson Cooper was there! By the way, the "congratulate Anderson on old news becoming new news" gag was about a month late.

After sassing Sage a bit behind Stephen's back, and promising to fight to stick around, Serena and Stephen had tea because that's what grown-ups do. Also, Stephen's talk with Serena at the end reminded me so much of Rufus that I got a little weirded out. I still don't feel any chemistry from this duo.

CW "Gossip Girl"

CW "Gossip Girl"

Dorota is proud of Blair no matter what, and you know, so am I! I have hope that Blair will get her act together by the season's end. (*Mini spoiler* Jenny is returning for the finale. Jenny was a great designer, remember.) Chuck showed up with a bottle of champagne to celebrate Blair's talent and beauty. Also, Chuck vented to Blair about his new discovery. Using the photo Amira left him, he managed to track a former employee of Bart's whom he paid off for another connection. He paid the man off by buying him a gym, by the way! In the end, Blair and Chuck decided to change their agreement; no relationship yet, but a mutual helping of one another in their quests. Mind, Body, Scheme!

Dan met with Rufus to talk things over and advise against dating Ivy, a known con-artist. Dan is used to seeing his father as a moral compass and a stand-up kind of guy. Dan left upset and disappointed in his father. Rufus didn't blame Dan for publishing the piece, but Ivy certainly did. She swore she was only trying to scare Dan with the Gossip Girl blast, and that's probably the truth. Still, Ivy is so dark this season!

Lastly, Dan drank some whiskey all alone at some bar. Nate showed up infuriated, having just heard during Blair's event that Dan was switching his publisher to Vanity Fair. He blamed Nate's reaction to the lawsuit threat, but Nate wasn't buying it. He also claimed money was a big incentive, so Nate would probably have done the same. One thing I know for sure it that Nate would not have done Dan dirty like that. Nate kicked Dan out of the Empire, where he'd been crashing, and left him to sulk. Nelly Yuki showed up, fresh from writing a bad review for Blair, and attempted a little flirting with Dan. For a moment, I thought it would make perfect sense. She did give him the advice to make his own rules, and he took it. She invited him to crash at her place. Then a bombshell walked in, and Dan couldn't even be bothered to say goodbye. I was more angry with Dan for knowing he would scrap his deal with Nate ten minutes after his piece posted. Nate doesn't deserve this.

What did you all think of the episode? Are you enjoying the final season? Where do you think all of this is going?

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