The Kids are not Alright - Recap

Serena arrives back home. She couldn't find the judge on Ben's case, and
when she finally found the court records, his file was sealed because it
involved a minor, aka Serena. Blair doesn't have much to report, she has
three days to win over a woman she wants to intern for next semester,
Indra Nooyi. Serena asks if Blair saw Dan over the break, and Blair asks
what's going on between them. She just wanted to know what's up before
they meet at family brunch. Blair suggests Serena have a little faith
and a lot of mimosas.

Nate and Chuck touch base. New Zealand was a total bust as Jack was out
of the country. He has one last shot. An old ally of his father's,
Russell Thorpe, is in town from Chicago. Chuck hears some background
noise and asks after Nate's dad, who is out on parole and playing Wii
with the help.

Serena finds Dan forwarding Vanessa's mail, since she's moving back into
the dorms. He gives her a welcome home hug, and she asks how his break
was. He's as vague as Blair was. He asks her to come inside so they can
talk out of the cold. When they get inside, they find that Lily is at
the family brunch. Eric wanted to warn Serena, but Lily wouldn't let him.

Blair is fighting to get into Indra's airspace, but so far no joy. Her
mother arrives home, giving somebody grief by cell. Eleanor thinks Blair
should intern with her at Waldorf Designs. Blair loves fashion. She
turns her mother down cold, until she finds out that her mother is
dressing Indra for a party that afternoon.

Chuck asks Thorpe's assistant to pop back upstairs and tell Thorpe he's
here to see him. If it's going to be awhile, he could use a beverage.
She asks what the meeting is regarding, and Chuck says he doesn't share
his business with assistants. She prefers the word secretary. He tells
her she could lose her job, based on the history between Thorpe and his
father. She tells him he can't see Thorpe because his plane hasn't
landed yet. Not only that, but she knows more about the Bass Industries
sale than Chuck does, since it's fast-tracked to close in 24 hours.
She'll see him at the party.

Rufus apologizes to the kids for the ambush, but he feels they all need
to start talking. He begins by asking Dan how the internship search is
coming along. Serena confronts Lily about Ben, and when Lily refuses to
discuss it, Serena gets up and leaves. Dan follows to check on her, and
Eric announces he's not hungry anymore, so he'll see them at home. She
thanks Rufus for trusting her, and as he leaves the table she calls
Judge Stevens and tells him he can return home now, and she'll handle
things from here.

Dan asks Serena why Ben isn't just handling the name clearing thing
himself. She says that if the police get involved, Juliet will be
arrested for kidnapping and drugging Serena. Dan asks Serena if she
wants to go somewhere and talk. Or not talk. A limo pulls up, and Chuck
asks Serena for a moment. She tries to blow him off but he tells her
Lily is going to be selling Bass Industries in 24 hours, and he thinks
he has a plan to get them both what they want. She rain checks Dan so
she can work with Chuck.

Chuck's plan is blackmail. He wants to stop the sale, she wants to get
Ben out of jail. While they were brunching, he checked the safe at the
house. Lily has a safety deposit box, and Chuck has the key.

Nate and his dad go running. He tells his dad of his concerns, but no
worries. Dad has a job interview that afternoon.

Blair thinks Indira has arrived but it's Dan. Blair says it was just one
movie on one lonely holiday break and that's it. Dan sets her straight;
he's there to see Serena. They take bets on each other. She thinks Dan
will miss his interview waiting on Serena, and he thinks Blair's
hair-brained scheme is going to blow up in her face. As usual.

Eleanor arrives, and Blair tells her she's changed her mind. She'll
start right now, with the fittings for the Midwestern Mobile party. She
asks for Indra but Eleanor says no.

Serena dresses to look like Lily, and they go to the bank.

Dan realizes he's going to be late for his appointment, so he attempts
to reschedule. It's the last day, so he has to try to get there.

Serena's pile is boring, but Chuck finds the smoking gun affidavit, with
Serena's forged signature on it. Chuck figures the threat ought to be
enough to get Ben out of jail. chuck wants to know which of them will
make the call, but Serena says neither. Later. In person.

Lily finds Chuck at the house. She claims she's selling Bass Industries
because it's sinking. She tells him there is a private buyer who has
made a very generous offer. The company will stay intact, and bearing
the Bass name. The money from the sale will give chuck the chance to
build a future. who knows. He may even be able to buy it back someday.
But if this deal gets messed up, Bass Industries will go to the highest
bidder. He asks if it's Russell Thorpe, and before Lily can answer Chuck
stops her. He knows it's Thorpe. She tells him that in 24 hours he will
see, and hopefully regain faith in her.

Blair is unamused with Serena for standing up Dan again. She thinks
maybe Serena is avoiding her future, not fixing her past. Chuck calls,
and bring Serena up to speed. He says Lily may be doing right both by
the company, and by Ben. She'll be able to prove it in 24 hours. Serena
doesn't buy it, but gives him the one more day.

Rufus asks who this Thorpe fellow is, and Lily fills him in. She wishes
they didn't have to go to this garish party, and Rufus says it's going
to be a wingding. Lily asks Eric to go put on a tuxedo and help present
a unified family front. He refuses, and she leaves with Rufus. The phone
rings, and it's the concierge at the Palace. Eric takes a message. The
judge left a pair of cuff links behind when he checked out that morning.

Eleanor finally finds out what Blair is up to.

Blair attempts to browbeat her way into Indra's room. She then uses a
fear tactic and when the manager hesitates, she grabs the key card and
lets herself in Indra's room. Nobody is there. there is a dressmaker's
dummy with a note pinned to it, for Blair from Eleanor. She knows what
Blair did.

Serena and Dan talk about him missing his interview, so he's going to go
see James Franco doing a reading. She'll go with him, but Eric
interrupts, and she tells Dan she needs to make a detour.

At Thorpe's party, Serena and Dan show up. Eleanor sees Blair, who
scoots off in the opposite direction. Nate is unamused because he heard
from his dad's parole officer, as he skipped his job interview. Now he's
at the party, flirting with the hired help.

Russell's assistant is actually his daughter, Raina. She didn't lie to
Chuck. She just didn't correct his misconceptions. Just like Lily didn't
when he assumed Thorpe was the buyer. Russell assures him that he's not.
He fills Chuck in on a bit of Bass history. His dad kicked Russell out
of every deal he had going and ran him out of New York. If he'd known
the company was for sale, he would have bought it cheap, dismantled it
for parts, and hosted a fire sale.

Lily is surprised to find Dan at the party. Eric arrives in a tux. He
tells Lily he would have been there sooner, but he couldn't find his
cuff links. So he borrowed the ones that Judge Stevens left at the
Palace. Dan asks what's going on, and Lily tells him to tell Serena to
stop whatever it is she's doing, before she destroys their family.

Eleanor confronts Blair about what she did, using her mother and
jeopardizing her business for an internship. She really hurts her mother.

Chuck and Serena hook up again and he tells her patience is as strained
as Lily's credibility. She misled him; but why. Serena tells him her
side of things. She found out that Lily paid the judge off twice. Once
when it happened, and again recently so he'd disappear, and Serena
couldn't hold him accountable. Chuck aims her at a reporter, and tells
her to aim him at Lily. Dan asks what's going on, and Serena says one
more minute but Dan's done giving her minutes. She tells him it's about
Lily, and how she can't keep getting away with things. He makes Serena
choose. She can walk out the door with him right now, or lose him
forever and go after Lily. She chooses, and Dan leaves alone.

She gives the envelope to the reporter as Lily looks on. Lily catches up
and asks Serena what's in the envelope, and before Serena can answer,
the reporter tells her to tell Dan Humphrey that he doesn't have the
power to hire anyone. Dan switched the envelopes and Lily is off the
hook. Chuck needs a drink, and Rufus is relieved. Lily reiterates that
she is handling it before storming off.

The Captain tells Nate that some of his friends are at this party, and
he needs to start networking again. Nate covered for him missing his job
interview. Captain says he went there, but he's not cut out to be a
janitor. He wants to do business like he used to. He wants to remind
people that he used to be good at what he did. He promises he will make
Nate proud of him.

Blair wonders why Dan is there, as he stormed out ten minutes ago. They
both lost the bet. She confides how she hurt her mom. She doesn't want
to be her mom, but Dan doesn't know why not.

Lily tries to talk to Chuck about her lie of omission. The buyer called
- the deal is off.

Thorpe and his daughter Raina make an announcement. He's going to move
Thorpe Enterprises to New York City, and buy Bass Industries. He makes a
toast to new friends, and inevitable enemies as he looks at Chuck and Lily.

Blair apologizes to Eleanor for using her. She gives her a lot of
compliments, and says she'd like to be like her mom. Using Dan's words,
she tells Eleanor she is a Dictator of Taste. there actually is a job
like that. Fashion magazine editor.

Dan arrives to return the affidavit to Serena. They try to talk about
their relationship. She tests him. If things get too hard, he'll give up
on her. But he never does, and he never will. If they ever jump in
again, it's gonna be sink or swim, they won't get another chance. He
kisses her on the cheek, and leaves.

Nate calls to give his dad more grief about his parole officer. Cap says
he's in an interview right now, and Nate of course doesn't believe him
and ends the call. But his dad is in a meeting, with Thorpe.

As Dan leaves, he tells Blair he's going to a movie. She invites herself
along, and it's a date.

Serena goes to see Ben, but he's no longer a prisoner. Judge Stevens
moved up his parole date.

Rufus and Lily talk about Thorpe. He remembers that she slept with him,
as seen on the lists they exchanged when they first got together.

Raina approaches Chuck in the bar and apologizes for the identity game
she played on him earlier. She also informs him that her dad told the
buyer what was going on to scare him into backing out of the deal, so
Russell could scoop it up. She's going to wait in her car for five
minutes. If she goes home alone, she'll never bring it up again.

Serena finds Ben out front, waiting for the bus. She invites him for coffee.

Share this article with your friends