The Townie - Recap

Spotted: Dan and Blair, on a mission. They want to track down Juliet.
The picture of Juliet, posing as Serena doing coke, is the straw that
broke the camel's back. They're trying to put together the 24 hours that
Juliet went nuts on Serena's reputation, and they've got a pretty good
handle on things, thanks to Jenny Humphrey. Dan says they have the
specifics, but they still don't know the "why" of it. Why did Juliet do
all these things to Serena? Blair knows the only thing powerful enough
to fuel a gaslighting like this is retribution. For what? That's what
they don't know.

Eric tells Serena how very proud he is of her. She asks him to be honest
about where she is and what's going on. She doesn't want any subterfuge
attached to her current situation.

Dan and Blair are trying to get past the front desk. He's Serena's
half-brother. Family = in, right? If there's a list, they should be on
it. Blair says she'll call her, but Eric arrives to tell her there is no
list, and Serena's phone is locked away in a drawer somewhere. Dan tells
Eric that they know Juliet was behind everything. He tells them that
whatever they are up to, they need to do it without Serena.

Nate talks to his mom. All of the usual holiday invitations were
followed by cautious calls asking if her husband will be attending. Lily
actually sent her a polite note saying "she hopes I understand." Nate
had hoped that the mean girls outgrew that kind of behavior, but
apparently he was mistaken. She says family is all that matters, and
Nate says yeah, about that. He tells her that he spoke to his father's
business manager, and apparently Nate's dad, Howie, intends to rent a
house outside the city. Anne bristles and asks why she wasn't told.
Apparently Howie begged the business manager not to say anything. It's
supposed to be a surprise. Anne figures that he used their address to
gain parole, and her money to get his own place. Same old Howie. Nate
beats himself up for putting Anne back in a place where Howie could use
her like that. He really believed his dad had changed. He'll understand
if his mom doesn't want to go through with this. Since he got her into
this mess, he'll go to Howie and tell him.

Blair doesn't see how they can wait three days for Serena. Who knows
where Juliet could be by then. Dan thinks maybe they should go to the
police. What Juliet did with those pills is against the law. Blair hopes
they can sneak in to see Serena but Dan has to admit that Eric is right.
They need to leave Serena out of it. What about Colin? Maybe he can
help. Dan has a better idea. Who knows everything about everyone? Gossip
Girl. She's not a Ouija board, Humphrey! You can't just ask her "Where's
Juliet?" and expect her to point you in the right direction. He figures
she must be furious that Juliet sent her that fake photo. Does she even
know that it's fake?

Juliet is home again.

Dan hears back from Gossip Girl. 252 Cornice Avenue. Find the bitch.

Her therapist asks Serena if she's upset about what she did, or because
she can't remember it. She says both and neither. She can't remember
anything, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. She's got some
pretty heavy history.

Blair thinks it's taking a wicked long time to get to Juliet. She could
probably shove her feet through the floorboards and run faster.

Lily and Chuck bid farewell to a woman interested in Bass Industries.
Lily declares that the meeting was 'punishing'. Chuck says his face
hurts from smiling so much. They have a drink in honor of surviving.
They discuss the fact that the day will come when Chuck takes back the
reins. Lily understands, she's only ever intended to be a custodian
until that time arrives. Chuck leaves so Lily can get ready for the
party. Rufus arrives and asks how things went. Lily answers and strolls
right past him.

Why was Juliet pretending to be poor? There's a party at her mansion,
and it's a pretty wild one. Dan assumes they're at the wrong house.
Blair points out that Gossip Girl didn't say this was her house, just
that she could be found here. So look for clues. Or someone who has one.
She points out, and Dan says aloud, "Damian Daalgard."

Nate confronts Howie. He doesn't know why she wants a divorce now. Nate
tells him, and Howie is exasperated. He bought her dream house! He
thought they could spend some time away from the city, away from
everybody; reconnecting. Nate apologizes for jumping to conclusions.
This transition is going to be harder than they thought. He says he'll
talk to Anne, but Howie tells him not to bother. He's not the only one
who leaped to an assumption, here. He admits that his relationship with
his wife had been over with for a very long time. He's going to a
halfway house. It sounds pretty good by comparison to prison.

Damian tells Dan and Blair that the drugs he sold to Juliet were used to
hurt Serena. He even sold her ether, which he refers to as a sort of
"Turn-of-the-century roofie". They still don't know what the connection
is between Juliet and Serena. Damian is going to check his bill of sale
for Juliet's last known address. This is where he first met Juliet.
She's a townie.

As the three of them are leaving, Juliet sees them getting into Dan's
car. Gossip Girl advices Juliet to step on it, because her clean getaway
just got very messy.

Serena is reminiscing about her good old 'bad girl' days. She's got a
nerd doing her homework. He asks if a B- is okay, but she wants an A+.
He's not sure that's such a good idea. It's going to be too obvious,
since her grades are usually not all that great. Her tutor was Damian.

Dan, Blair and Damian arrive to see Juliet, her mom says it's okay for
them to come in and wait for her. Damian says he went to Knightley.
Juliet's mom gets fired up, as her son Ben was there. He was a damn good
teacher, no matter what 'they' say. Damian doesn't remember Ben. Ben
Donovan. He got fired for sleeping with a student. Everybody was sure it
was Serena. Juliet's mom brings the tea out, but Blair says they won't
be able to stay.

Serena's therapist continues talking about how her past may have carried
over to her present. She remembers giving Mr. Donovan coffee. She has
questions about the class, and they sit down to talk. It felt good to
have somebody pay attention to her for a positive reason, and they began
to spend more and more time together. Damian takes over on the
reminiscing. It appeared that Serena was getting her act together.
People thought she was sleeping with the handsome young English teacher,
and Damian was one of them. He was having dinner with his aunt at the
Millbrook Inn at Poughkeepsie. He saw Serena and Mr. Donovan checking in
as they were leaving. Serena suggested they get a room. She knows they
have feelings for each other. He does care about her. And that's why
he's going back out to fix the tire, so he can bring her in and she can
sleep in her own bed tonight. He was the only guy who ever turned her
down. After that, she didn't know how to act around him, so they never
talked again. The therapist asks how she feels about the story, looking
at it from her current age rather than the 16 year-old she was back
then. Serena says that Ben Donovan was a pretty great guy.

Ben calls Juliet, and she's really edgy. She tells him that she ran into
Damian, Dan and Blair. He's concerned that they'll show up at mom's, and
start asking questions. Juliet thinks they've figured it all out, which
is why she's going to end this thing once and for all, like she should
have done in the first place. Ben starts panicking, and tells Juliet
she's done enough. She needs to leave Serena alone. If she touches her -
Serena asks what? It's not like he can stop her. She hangs up on him.

Ben wants to make another call. He needs to warn Serena. He sees Nate
come in and tells him to warn Serena. Juliet is a danger to her. Nate
requests clarification, but one guard leads Ben away while the other
keeps Nate a reasonable distance from the bars.

Nate calls Dan to tell him about the meeting with Ben. Dan tells Nate to
meet them at the van der Woodsens. Serena should be safe where she is.
She's not. Juliet is there.

Blair comes up with her version of the Ben/Serena situation, which
doesn't have one iota of basis in reality. She thinks Ben is Serena's
stalker, which means he has a lot in common with Dan. Dan tells her
stalkers imply one-sided, and Serena went to the Saints and Sinners ball
because she wanted to be with him. Blair presses on. And by the way,
when's the last time Dan wrote anything?

Juliet tells Serena all about how she gaslighted her. Serena is
clueless, even when Juliet tells her about Ben. The official charges
were statutory rape, and transporting a minor across state lines. Ben
says nothing happened, but allegedly Serena signed an affidavit stating
otherwise. He figures he'll go to trial, and it's his word against hers.
He is advised against it, as there was a witness who saw them at the bed
and breakfast. The bit where they drove across state lines? It was to a
library. Ben can't believe this is happening. The girl's family doesn't
want the story getting out, so they pressured the DA into offering a
plea bargain. It will keep the story out of the papers, and keep Ben's
name off the national sex offenders list. He could start over again -
after he serves time for a crime he didn't commit. Serena tells Juliet
she never signed anything, Ben was good to her. So if she didn't sign
it, who did?

Lily and Eric chat a bit angrily at the party. Nate and Anne talk about
the house he bought. She doesn't care. It doesn't change anything, it
was never going to work. They were all just fooling themselves. She
needs society more than she needs his dad.

Chuck calls for everybody's attention and gives honorable mention to
Lily for planning the party. Serena and Juliet arrive there, and Nate is
apprehensive for Serena's safety. Lily is speaking and says she tries to
do what's best for her family. It's the one thing that has always guided
her. Serena joins her and asks for a moment. They take a picture with
Chuck. Eric feels a little sick inside, seeing Damian. Serena takes the
stage and fills everybody in on the truth about her being in a mental
health facility. Rufus is told to get his family under control. With the
upcoming sale of Bass Industries, they don't need any more surprises.

Nate tells Dan and Blair that he doesn't know what's going on, but
Serena brought Juliet here tonight. Everybody winds up in the same room,
and Blair is sure that Juliet has drugged Serena again. She wants Eric
to call the police. Serena announces that nobody is calling the police.
Juliet did a lot of damage, but Serena refuses to let the van der
Woodsens put anymore members of Juliet's family behind bars. She
promises not to hurt Serena, or anyone, ever again. Nate sarcastically
comments that that's reassuring. Serena tells Juliet she is free to go,
and she'll do everything she can to get Ben out of jail.

Blair tells Serena she spent the day, in a car, with Dan Humphrey,
trying to track Juliet down, and Serena is just letting her leave. Eric
just wants to know what's going on. Serena promises to explain
everything to everyone, but she needs to talk to Lily first. Serena
walks in to hear Lily telling Chuck that her biological children don't
seem to understand that when business is at stake, you need to leave
your dirty laundry in the hamper. Serena asks Lily if Ben Donovan
qualifies as "dirty laundry". Rufus asks who Ben Donovan is, and Serena
tells him everything. She then asks Lily why she did it. Lily tells her
that she took the gossip she heard, and used it to their advantage. She
sent Ben to prison so Serena could go to Constance. She didn't realize
what she'd set in motion, and by the time she heard from the DA, it was
too late.

Serena can't believe what she's hearing, and Lily is adamant that she
did it for Serena. For her future. Lily insists that Ben shouldn't have
been having an affair with a student, even in the face of Serena's
denials. She says Serena is trying to protect him. She's not protecting
him. He never touched Serena. Lily sent an innocent man to prison. Chuck
tries to claim Ben is 'collateral damage', so Rufus says yes, well.
Funny you should say that. Lily, is there something you should be
telling Chuck? No. Okay, Rufus will tell him. Lily is selling Bass
Industries. Lily says it's all very complicated. Chuck can't believe
what he's hearing. He wants his company back. He'll go to the board.
Lily starts railing at him about him being gone three months, and his
instability. Chuck tells her he won't let her do this, and leaves.

Lily tells Serena she has to believe her, and Serena says she never has
to do anything for Lily, ever again. She turns on her heel and walks
out. Everybody follows suit, including Rufus.

One week later, the gang is gathered around the table. Chuck says he's
going to New Zealand. Dan figures he should clean up. It's only fitting
since he bought all the groceries, set the table and did most of the
cooking. Serena is going to try to find the judge who signed off on the
affidavit so she can free Ben. She invites Dan to join her. They're all
going in different directions, and will see each other next year. Blair
confronts Chuck. She thinks he's going to find Jack, to try to enlist
his help. He says his farewells. Dan passes on the road trip. She needs
some Serena time. They say their goodbyes, and he tells her to be safe.

Howie calls Nate about where he can go. He should come to the Empire.

Dan's cleaning up, and Blair continues giving him grief. They have a bit
of banter fun.

Ben gets a visitor. Serena. She's going to tell him what Lily did.




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