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Gossip Girl S2E13 - O Brother Where Bart Thou
Episode 13 • 10th November 2024 • Non Judging Breakfast Pod • Mithril Chain Network
00:00:00 00:59:24

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Summary

In this episode of the Non Judging Breakfast Pod, Leif and Steve break down the emotional rollercoaster that is Season 2, Episode 13 of Gossip Girl, "Oh Brother, Where Bart Thou?" The episode written by Stefanie Savage.

Following the shocking death of Bart Bass, the Upper East Side is left reeling, and tensions run high as secrets threaten to unravel. Our hosts discuss Chuck's spiraling grief and the complex dynamics between Lily, Rufus, and Cece. They also delve into Blair's heartfelt confession to Chuck and the implications of Lily's mysterious past. With their trademark humor and insight, Leif and Steve navigate the highs and lows of this dramatic midseason finale, exploring themes of love, loss, and the ever-present shadow of family secrets.

Episode Written by Stefanie Savage.

Keywords

Gossip Girl, Bart Bass, secrets, love, loss, family drama, podcast, analysis

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

02:30 Listener Reviews and Housekeeping

05:45 Discussing "Oh Brother, Where Bart Thou?"

12:00 Rufus and Lily's Complicated Relationship

20:30 Chuck's Grief and Blair's Confession

30:00 The Mystery of Lily's Past

38:15 Cece's Meddling and Family Secrets

45:00 Episode Highlights and Reflections

52:30 Stock Watch: Characters Rising and Falling

1:00:00 Best Outfits and Fashion Highlights

1:05:00 Predictions and Closing Remarks

Produced by Leif Capicola and Steve Marchion. 


Edited and mixed by Leif Capicola.

The Gossip Girl Theme Performed By Steve Marchion.

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#GossipGirl

Transcripts

Leif:

Rufus continues his psychopathic trend of sitting in

Leif:

the dark. Seriously? The lights were on in

Leif:

the previous scene, so he had to actively turn them off so

Leif:

he could sit in the darkness.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Hey, Upper East Siders and all you scandal loving listeners out

Leif:

there, you just tuned into the non judging breakfast pod

Leif:

where the coffee is strong, the waffles are fresh,

Leif:

and the gossip is hotter than ever. My name is Leif, and

Leif:

I'm your seasoned Gossip Girl veteran.

Steve:

And I'm Steve, your newbie, your

Steve:

greenhorn. You're, I don't know, Leif. What do we call

Steve:

the season two Gossip Girl newbie?

Leif:

I don't know. How much have you had to drink? Do I need to stick my finger down your

Leif:

throat?

Steve:

Well, I could cough up all the gossip that way.

Leif:

Sounds good.

Steve:

So here's the deal, folks. Leave has been

Steve:

watching Gossip Girl since it first aired, and I'm watching

Steve:

for the very first time. And together, we're your dynamic

Steve:

duo, bringing you all the glamour, drama,

Steve:

and sometimes questionable fashion

Steve:

choices of this iconic 2007

Steve:

series.

Leif:

That's right. Each week we're going to take a deep dive

Leif:

one episode at a time. We're going to analyze all the hidden

Leif:

references, parallels, and of course, the

Leif:

couture catastrophes. And along the way, we're going to take a look at

Leif:

some fandom stories and some behind the scenes gossip.

Steve:

And since we're all about inclusivity here at the non

Steve:

judging breakfast pod, there's always a seat for you at the

Steve:

non judging breakfast table. So go ahead and grab your

Steve:

mimosa, your cup of coffee, and some of

Steve:

Nate and Chuck's special medicine and let's go ahead

Steve:

and get this thing started.

Leif:

Okay. A little housekeeping, to take care of.

Leif:

We had another five star Apple review.

Steve:

Oh, fantastic.

Leif:

From.

Steve:

Thank you, Carrie Marie.

Leif:

722.

Steve:

Fantastic.

Leif:

This was a fun podcast. Love the

Leif:

idea for a podcast. And these two bring the fun and the

Leif:

reviews with each episode. Thanks for sharing all

Leif:

these fun topics.

Steve:

Thank you very much. We really appreciate it.

Leif:

We also now have a Patreon.

Steve:

Yes, we do have a Patreon.

Leif:

And so once people start signing up, we can, start having some

Leif:

watch parties. We're going to watch movies from the

Leif:

cast.

Steve:

Yeah, really excited about that.

Leif:

Where you get to join us?

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, we, we'd love to have

Steve:

you also join our discord, but you.

Leif:

Can also get shouted out in the episodes.

Steve:

Yeah, yes, absolutely. I also want to

Steve:

take a second to say happy birthday to Jake,

Steve:

who was our guest a few weeks ago. My son

Steve:

Jacob. Is 19 today. So

Steve:

happy birthday, Jake.

Leif:

Happy birthday, Jake. When's his birthday?

Steve:

Today? Yeah, it's today. Today. Okay, so on

Steve:

the day we're shooting, not on the day this is being released.

Steve:

So November 11th, belated, I guess. Yes.

Steve:

And I also last night a friend of ours, Dave

Steve:

Shields, got married. so congratulations, Shields.

Leif:

Congrats to Shields.

Steve:

Yeah, it was a really fun time and

Steve:

really happy for you, and you and

Steve:

Anna and so really happy for you both.

Leif:

And yeah, so if you do want to go to the patreon, it's just

Leif:

patreon.com nonjudging breakfast

Leif:

podcast.

Steve:

Oh, my bad.

Leif:

And we are, talking about season two,

Leif:

episode 13, oh Brother, where

Leif:

about where Bart thou.

Steve:

Yes, oh brother, where Bart thou.

Leif:

Of course. Based on the Coen brothers.

Steve:

Yeah. Oh brother, where art thou?

Leif:

Of course. Gossip Girl wasn't the first one to

Leif:

parody this title in the exact same way the Simpsons

Leif:

also did it.

Steve:

Simpsons did it back in

Steve:

2000.

Leif:

Oh, actually, no, sorry, this was first.

Steve:

Oh, was it?

Leif:

Yeah. Simpsons did it in 2009, a year later.

Steve:

Oh, yeah. Because this would have been

Steve:

end of 08.

Leif:

This released December 8, 2008. This was the

Leif:

midseason finale.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah.

Leif:

The Vulture recap. Last

Leif:

night's Gossip Girl was equal parts moving and

Leif:

infuriating. We were touched by Cyrus's big

Leif:

hearted love of Blair and by Dan and Serena's endless

Leif:

adolescent struggles with how they feel.

Leif:

And of course, we were especially moved by the ever

Leif:

evolving relationship between Chuck and

Leif:

Blair. Readers will confess to you and

Leif:

only you. When Chuck at last succumbed

Leif:

to Blair's cuddle, tears streaking down

Leif:

his odd funnily shaped face,

Leif:

we were so moved that before we knew it,

Leif:

we were misting up a little and there was snot and we had to get off

Leif:

the treadmill and hobble out of the gym to watch the rest of the

Leif:

show in the privacy of our own homes.

Leif:

Not that it helped much. Everyone at the gym knew what we were

Leif:

talking about. They are watching it on their little screens

Leif:

too. But after we got

Leif:

home, we entered the angry stage because everything seemed to

Leif:

be falling apart. Chuck spurned Blair again,

Leif:

Serena and Dan parted ways again, and

Leif:

Rufus and Lily appeared headed for the

Leif:

skids again. But not before

Leif:

Rufus dropped his giant WTF

Leif:

in the middle of Grand Central

Leif:

Station again.

Leif:

as a reverse parallel last year.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah.

Leif:

This episode was written by Stephanie

Leif:

Savage. Much better episode than her previous effort.

Leif:

She is the co creator of the show, co wrote the pilot and

Leif:

season one finale. But this is her second solo. The first

Leif:

one Was the Never Been Marcus.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. Her first solo was

Steve:

terrible. And this. And this is

Steve:

a, complete reverse. And. And maybe, you

Steve:

know, that Never Been Marcus was a,

Steve:

supposed to be a lighter, more

Steve:

soap opera kind of feel to

Steve:

it that this was such. I wonder if maybe

Steve:

she's just better with serious drama

Steve:

like this, you know?

Leif:

Well, she was very big.

Leif:

She. She pushed for Ed hard.

Steve:

Oh.

Leif:

And I'm pretty sure

Leif:

Stephanie Savage is a twi. Hard.

Steve:

Uh-huh.

Leif:

Because Ed was definitely channeling Edward Cullen.

Steve:

Yeah. Yep. I. Yeah, I mean, I see

Steve:

it 100%.

Leif:

Episode was directed by Joe Lazariv.

Leif:

Lazarev was, a producer of 65 episodes,

Leif:

but this is his first of eight directing credits on the series.

Leif:

Also directed on Art of Dixie and

Leif:

two TV movies about Dolly Parton.

Steve:

Hey, I'm not mad that there's more

Steve:

than one TV movie about Dolly Parton.

Leif:

Hey, he had more to tell after the first one. Yeah.

Steve:

Dolly too.

Leif:

So we move into Act 1.

Leif:

More towers than Trump, more bucks than

Leif:

Bloomberg. Barfast definitely made his mark on

Leif:

Manhattan. The passing of a public figure can

Leif:

shake a whole town. But. But the real story is

Leif:

always the one happening in private, away from the

Leif:

headlines, at home.

Steve:

A reflection of a time before Trump

Steve:

was a politician that, like the mention

Steve:

in the beginning, it was just like, where are they going?

Steve:

Oh, yeah, like that. This is completely

Steve:

unrelated.

Leif:

Yeah. It's been, like, a long running theme that, like, the bass and the

Leif:

Trumps are kind of, like, competing.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Leif:

Which would make sense around this time.

Steve:

Absolutely would. Yeah.

Leif:

The episode opens, and they don't wait long to

Leif:

answer the question of Bart's fate. In the Van Der Woodsen

Leif:

penthouse, Grandma Cece is back in town. Serena and

Leif:

Eric are worried about Lily taking on too much. In the wake of

Leif:

Bart's death, Lily comes out looking more

Leif:

frazzled than we have ever seen her. I'm guessing her guilt over

Leif:

leaving Bart and then him m. Dying are eating her up

Leif:

inside.

Steve:

Yeah. This whole opening scene is

Steve:

fantastic. I love when. And Eric's like, we

Steve:

all know that's gin in your coffee cup. And

Steve:

Serena's face. and, like, she, like, alpha.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. And the way that Cece's

Steve:

like, yeah, we don't change.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

Like, we keep on. We keep on going and.

Steve:

Yep. And owned it. I actually kind of

Steve:

liked Cece in this.

Steve:

Despite her bullshit. I don't think she was

Steve:

necessarily wrong.

Leif:

Yeah. She's absolutely right.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

If they want to be together, this needs to get out.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. And I. And, like,

Steve:

I Thought she was. I. It's funny

Steve:

because Cece has been the villain before.

Steve:

she's been kind of.

Leif:

Not in season two, but she.

Steve:

In season two, she is not. But her first appearance,

Steve:

she. She clearly was. And I felt like there

Steve:

was a lot of this episode that tried to

Steve:

revert back to that evil, but she wasn't

Steve:

necessarily. But she wasn't wrong in any

Steve:

of it, you know, except for maybe following her to the park. But we'll get to

Steve:

that.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

But, my. My bigger point of just

Steve:

this opening and the way that the

Steve:

consistency of all these people. And also when

Steve:

Lily's like, they're talking about Lily not

Steve:

processing and not taking a break, and she makes the

Steve:

comment about the. Oh, I should. Remind me to write a note

Steve:

to write a thank you note to. For the picture.

Leif:

Yeah. The photo editor.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

In another Park Avenue penthouse, Blair is eating breakfast.

Leif:

They also discuss Chuck, once again taking advantage of members

Leif:

of their father's staff and need to act on love while

Leif:

you have a chance.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Chuck. Chuck.

Steve:

It's a scandal.

Leif:

Eleanor also commented on the photo.

Steve:

Yeah, Eleanor. Yes. Eleanor also makes the

Steve:

comment. And that's. And I noticed that my third

Steve:

watch through that. She's like, Lily should send him a thank you

Steve:

note.

Leif:

They're good friends. They know each other.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

It's so funny how, like, makes sense of their friends.

Steve:

Yeah, it really does.

Leif:

And.

Steve:

And it. And that they would know the. Those

Steve:

societal obligations. Obligations.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Dan shows up to check on Serena. They both admit

Leif:

that it just seems natural for them to be together in their time

Leif:

of grief. Before things can get awkward, Aaron shows

Leif:

up. Serena then awkwardly tells them both to

Leif:

leave so she can go to the church with her family.

Steve:

Before it gets awkward. Or it gets awkward

Steve:

when.

Leif:

I guess before it gets steamy more. Right.

Steve:

Yeah, more like before it gets steamy. And

Steve:

Aaron, once again, just

Steve:

instantly creepifies the entire

Steve:

scene. At this point, he just has to walk on,

Steve:

and I'm like.

Leif:

Although, I have to say this is the first time I've actually been entertained

Leif:

by him. just his catty sassiness.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. It's fun.

Leif:

It's funny.

Steve:

Yeah, it is fun.

Leif:

It turns out that Lily's trip to get some air is really an

Leif:

excuse to see Rufus for the first time since the ball.

Leif:

We get a really great fall shot looking down the tunnel

Leif:

at these two as Rufus tells Lily that he will

Leif:

wait as long as it takes. This time, however, Cece

Leif:

sees Rufus leaving the park, and you can just see the wheels

Leif:

start to turn.

Steve:

First of All Rufus is great in the seat.

Steve:

Like, Rufus. Just, like his. When he pours it

Steve:

and when he's like, I'm waiting. It was moving. It

Steve:

was powerful. Flip side, he was

Steve:

so great in that scene. But then when

Steve:

he leaves the park, it's like someone was like, okay,

Steve:

Rufus, walk naturally.

Leif:

I just wonder if in that first part

Leif:

he was channeling some of his real feelings about

Leif:

Kelly and her real life husband.

Steve:

Oh, maybe.

Steve:

Maybe.

Steve:

Hey, did they have a thing?

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

Oh.

Leif:

I'm pretty sure that's why her marriage did not last.

Leif:

Oh. they were basically on and off hooking up on set the

Leif:

whole time.

Steve:

I'm really happy about that. That's hot.

Leif:

I mean, sucks for the kid.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it does. It's really

Steve:

hot.

Leif:

Lily, now alone in the park, listens to

Leif:

the final message from Bart. However, the message

Leif:

is not a declaration of love, but a reveal that Bart

Leif:

knows the truth about Lily's hospital stay when she was

Leif:

19.

Steve:

Bum, bum, bum.

Leif:

Keep dropping clues.

Steve:

Yeah. And also just. Oh, it's this last

Steve:

message from Bart. It's like, yo, motherfucker.

Steve:

Gotcha. Yeah, gotcha. I am coming over there.

Steve:

I'm going to fucking show you. It's like, oh.

Leif:

We get a weird set of transitional shots

Leif:

of the funeral before landing on a shot of Dan and Aaron

Leif:

standing outside the church together. They bicker over

Leif:

who Serena sent a text to first. Must

Leif:

be my service.

Leif:

I have a 414 area code.

Steve:

Aaron is so dumb.

Leif:

First Jenny arrives, then Eric, Cece, Lily, and

Leif:

finally Serena. Aaron

Leif:

possessively pulls Serena to his side, who immediately

Leif:

separates to give Dan a hug. Aaron is trying to

Leif:

stare daggers at Dan, but the actor just isn't selling it.

Steve:

Yeah, it's so. It's so bad. Like,

Steve:

he just like, show me anger.

Steve:

He's just always like, emo

Steve:

puppy.

Leif:

Yeah. Jenny and Eric have a quick

Leif:

conversation. Eric was hoping Jonathan would show

Leif:

up and despite. And having broken up.

Steve:

Yeah, that was, I think, kind of forced.

Steve:

Like, I. I thought that was a weird thing for Jonathan. Why would

Steve:

Jonathan be at Bart's?

Leif:

Well, I mean, I think it makes sense

Leif:

because, I mean, Eric. I mean, not that he would necessarily be there,

Leif:

but I think it would make sense that Eric would be hoping he would

Leif:

be there.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, because it was just more.

Leif:

Leading up to the whole thing with Eric is down lowly again.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah.

Steve:

Oh, my God.

Steve:

We'll get to that.

Leif:

You Fucking Lily.

Steve:

Lily.

Leif:

CeCe confronts Lily about Rufus and

Leif:

tells her that they will talk later.

Steve:

Yeah, again, like, Cece seemed To

Steve:

be really being set up as a villain here. The spying

Steve:

on them at the park, and I feel like

Steve:

the.

Leif:

See, I didn't really. That didn't really bother me. I mean, she's her mom,

Leif:

and she's worried about. Her daughter is going through grief. She's trying

Leif:

to.

Steve:

Yeah, but she's Cece, and she medals.

Leif:

Like, she has a history of medals, but that's just. Yeah.

Steve:

Interesting.

Leif:

That's just. You know, her.

Steve:

That. That is who she is. I'm. I'm saying that,

Steve:

like, it was very reminiscent of season

Steve:

one, Cece, because she does medal. It's just. She

Steve:

doesn't. It's not bad that she meddles.

Steve:

It's not like when she meddled last time.

Leif:

Nate and Blair are dragging and obviously

Leif:

inebriated Chuck from his limo to the church.

Leif:

Blair offers to stick her figure down Chuck's throat and

Leif:

hold his hair back.

Steve:

The teen drama TV Drunk

Steve:

is just so

Steve:

good, so fun.

Leif:

Acting was so bad.

Steve:

It's awful. That's. It's so, like,

Steve:

I'm so drunk.

Leif:

but apparently phantom, disagrees.

Steve:

Well, yeah, because it's Ed. And

Steve:

fandom loves Ed.

Leif:

Yeah. Lily is hugging Dan and thanking

Leif:

him for being such a gentleman. Look out, Dan. Just ask

Leif:

Nate what happens when those cougars get their claws in you.

Leif:

I just see the little too close

Leif:

to me.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

I don't know. I guess that it read

Leif:

weird. Chuck sees Dan in attendance and

Leif:

goes absolutely ballistic. Chuck

Leif:

whispers to Dan that Rufus is the reason Bart is

Leif:

dead. Dan has no idea what Chuck is talking

Leif:

about, but of course, Cece does. Cece

Leif:

comes up and suggests maybe it would be best if Dan left.

Leif:

Serena protests, but Aaron uses this as an

Leif:

opportunity to get between her and Dan. So Serena

Leif:

reluctantly lets Dan leave.

Steve:

Cece's right. It doesn't have to make sense. He's

Steve:

mourning his dad, and Dan sees that, too. Yeah.

Leif:

And he's like, he's fine with it.

Steve:

Yeah. Credit to Dan to being like, hey, this is your

Steve:

dad. I get it. And even Serena being like,

Steve:

I want him here. It's like, it's not your dad.

Leif:

Serena was busy here.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. Serena wants Dan back, is

Steve:

what it is.

Leif:

Lily tries to comfort Chuck and clearly wants

Leif:

him to remain part of the family. However, Chuck is having none

Leif:

of it as he rips his arm from Lily's grass and calls her

Leif:

a whore so that everyone in the funeral can hear.

Leif:

Chuck declares he has no family, while Eric stands

Leif:

behind him with a look of heartbreak on his face.

Steve:

Eric.

Leif:

Poor Eric.

Steve:

I gotta say this too I felt season one Eric.

Steve:

I thought that he struggled as an actor I didn't really like.

Steve:

He just seemed awkward in his acting.

Steve:

And he has grown into his role

Steve:

so much now. It's like, I think.

Steve:

And now I think that he just really

Steve:

has grown as an actor since last

Steve:

season. and I really liked it.

Leif:

I agree.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

If the Lord is our shepherd, looks like one of his

Leif:

lambs has lost its way. Or maybe make that

Leif:

black sheep. We bring nothing into the world and

Leif:

we leave nothing behind. But that doesn't mean we

Leif:

leave a big old mess when we can go.

Leif:

Act two begins.

Steve:

Every time you walk away, run away.

Steve:

You take a piece of me with you

Steve:

there.

Leif:

Back in Brooklyn, Rufus is reliving his career

Leif:

high. Right. As he about to reach his parenting low,

Leif:

Dan comes home and tells Rufus what Chuck said to him.

Leif:

Rufus proceeds to not only play dumb,

Leif:

but fishes for info on Dan Serena because he is worried about

Leif:

it fucking up his love life with Lily. I. I

Leif:

wanted to punch Rufus so bad in the scene.

Steve:

Like, yes, you are right. But it's

Steve:

such, But he's so fucking funny in this

Steve:

scene too. Like, like so obvious. He's. Yeah, I know. He's so,

Steve:

like, oh, how. Yeah, I wouldn't

Steve:

really be good at the funeral. How

Steve:

is Lily? Like,

Steve:

oh my God, it was. But like, I. I was

Steve:

laughing because he. Like you said, he's so

Steve:

obvious, but it's so. Like

Steve:

he can't contain the

Steve:

smile on his face when talking

Steve:

about this fucking funeral.

Leif:

At the wake, Nate and Blair continue to babysit

Leif:

Chuck, who grabs another drink from the waitress

Leif:

before purposely walking up the stairs of the Van Der

Leif:

Woodsen penthouse. Nate compliments

Leif:

Blair on her maternal instinct. Of course, she denies

Leif:

it and claims she is just turning Jewish from hanging out with

Leif:

Cyrus.

Steve:

I did want to make one other note about the previous scene,

Steve:

and that is how much Dan

Steve:

doesn't want to know about his dad's love

Steve:

life. He constantly blocks out this bit

Steve:

about Lily. Like, you know, I totally forgot

Steve:

you guys know each other. Oh, yeah, that's right, you guys. because like, it's been a

Steve:

year since that really came up to affect

Steve:

me, like to be in my orbit.

Steve:

And so it's like almost becoming this

Steve:

willed ignorance because like all. Even by the

Steve:

end, he doesn't recognize it as a big deal.

Steve:

It's just like, oh, yeah, no, they're not together.

Leif:

I don't think it really bothering anywhere though.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah.

Leif:

I think it bothers Sarita more than him.

Steve:

Much more. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah. Then

Steve:

Chuck is on some shit here.

Leif:

Yeah. he's spiraling.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Cyrus and Eleanor are at the buffet, and Cyrus gets

Leif:

himself all worked up over the eulogy. The

Leif:

conversation draws in first Blair and then Jenny,

Leif:

and suddenly Eleanor and Cyrus have plans to get

Leif:

married tomorrow.

Steve:

Yeah. A little tacky, Cyrus. It's

Steve:

a little tacky to plan a wedding at a

Steve:

funeral. A little tacky, but it was

Steve:

also very sweet. It was also

Steve:

romantic and also adorable. Like,

Steve:

Cyrus is just.

Leif:

I think Cyrus kind of is a little tacky. That just kind of is.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's just part of his. You know,

Steve:

it goes back to, like, that. I can get you much bigger

Steve:

flowers for half the.

Leif:

Yeah. You know, he's not as concerned with the core.

Leif:

Unlike the other options.

Steve:

Yeah, exactly.

Leif:

What's that? Fun.

Steve:

And also power move, Jenny.

Steve:

Power move.

Leif:

Nice. Nice move by Jenny.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

In another part of the penthouse, creepy McAraberson,

Leif:

aka Aaron, is inviting Serena to Buenos Aires

Leif:

for Christmas. This is Aaron's presence of Serena and is

Leif:

definitely not because he is worried about Serena and Daniel.

Steve:

Yeah. The. The groomer head

Steve:

games that he's playing with her.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

So gross.

Steve:

Yeah. Just to separate her from Dan. And it's

Steve:

your gift to me. Like,

Steve:

that is you coming with me is your gift to

Steve:

me.

Leif:

Yes.

Steve:

But I got you a book. But, like. Yeah, you're

Steve:

so. It's so fucking creepy and

Steve:

so, like, groomer behavior.

Steve:

Oh, my God. So gross.

Leif:

CeCe tells Lily that she needs to talk

Leif:

to Chuck to find out what he knows about Lily and

Leif:

Rufus. CeCe points out that she

Leif:

saw Chuck going upstairs. CeCe gets an unknown phone call

Leif:

that causes her to leave the wake immediately.

Steve:

Good.

Leif:

advice again.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Go fish for information. See what he knows.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

Wonder what that call was.

Steve:

Yeah. You kind of know right then and there that

Steve:

it's the PI. We haven't

Steve:

seen the PI with Chuck yet, have we?

Leif:

Eric's mood is temporarily lifted when he sees

Leif:

Jonathan has come to the wake. Jonathan admits he

Leif:

has some explaining, and that

Leif:

was.

Steve:

And that is good that Eric at least has, like,

Steve:

somebody here now, because,

Steve:

yeah, his poor fucking Eric right now.

Leif:

Lily finds Chuck ransacking Bart's office

Leif:

looking for the file on Lily. Lily tells

Leif:

him the files are gone. Chuck says his father's blood

Leif:

is on Lily's hand, who reactively slaps

Leif:

Chuck. Chuck storms off, declaring once the will

Leif:

is read and he gets his money, she will never

Leif:

see him again.

Steve:

Yeah, Kelly's fantastic here.

Steve:

She just really pushes

Steve:

those emotions, her ebb and flow

Steve:

of her Temper and just that,

Steve:

control. Beautiful work.

Leif:

Chuck has a conversation with a non judging breakfast

Leif:

club plus Eric. As he is leaving the penthouse,

Leif:

Eric reaches out to Chuck as a brother, only to have Chuck

Leif:

metaphorically slap the hand away.

Steve:

No one talks to Eric that way, Chuck. Oh, that

Steve:

just.

Leif:

That's Eric. Bad for Eric in this episode.

Steve:

I know.

Leif:

They're giving him the Chuck treatment.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

Although it actually works. Eric's a good kid.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Not sleepy with his father's staff.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Cece finds Lily sitting alone. She informs

Leif:

Lily that Andrew Tyler came to Cece for

Leif:

money to kill the story about Lily's time in the hospital from getting

Leif:

out. However, Cece has decided that now is a

Leif:

good time for the secret to get out.

Steve:

So this is the first time that we really

Steve:

see that Lily has zero control of the

Steve:

money. Because if she could control the money,

Steve:

she could pay him off herself.

Steve:

Why? Like, why can't Lily

Steve:

just.

Leif:

I feel like this is bad writing. And just for

Leif:

convenience sake, I kind.

Steve:

Of felt that too, because it really took so

Steve:

much power away from Lily. Yeah.

Leif:

It makes no sense.

Steve:

Yeah. How does. How does Lily have

Steve:

the money to redo the apartment all the time? Is

Steve:

Cece just okay with that? Because that's what

Steve:

people do. And so she, you know, opens the

Steve:

trust for her. But yeah, the fact that she had to

Steve:

beg her mom to pay this guy off, along

Steve:

with the bad writing, I don't think that

Steve:

Lily would have. I. I think that Lily

Steve:

is much more of the. You know what? It. It

Steve:

doesn't. I don't need to have secrets anymore. I.

Steve:

I think that Lily would. Her character until

Steve:

now would be much more of the type

Steve:

to be like, okay, Rufus, we need to get this all on the

Steve:

table.

Leif:

I disagree because this is. They've specifically

Leif:

mentioned. This is the secret. She doesn't want to get out.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, she real.

Leif:

She had the whole thing like, okay, let him. Let him know. And then

Leif:

Bart's like, you really want to know about this?

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Leif:

Gasp. The gasp. Blair chases

Leif:

Chuck down the street. Before she can get into his

Leif:

limo. Before, he can get into his limo, she begs him to

Leif:

say. And even unprompted, tells Chuck those

Leif:

three words, eight letters. However, even that is not

Leif:

enough to get Chuck to stay. As he struggles

Leif:

momentarily before getting in the limo. Pulling

Leif:

away, Blair sheds a single tear.

Leif:

Spotted Chuck Bass fleeing his father's

Leif:

funeral, and Blair Waldorf shedding tears from

Leif:

the dearly departed.

Steve:

In my. In my head, I had that moment of Chuck

Steve:

being like, boom. I

Steve:

got it. aside

Steve:

from that, I think it would take a robot not to get misty

Steve:

at this scene. Blair is

Steve:

fantastic and just

Steve:

heart wrenching. She's.

Leif:

She's laying it out there.

Steve:

Yeah. And this whole. Again, she's throughout the

Steve:

episode. Like her next scene when she goes in with

Steve:

Cyrus too. Like she's just always.

Leif:

Act three begins with Dan and Serena walking the streets

Leif:

of Brooklyn. Serena tells Dan about

Leif:

Aaron's invite. Serena wants Dan to ask her to

Leif:

stay. Dan wants Serena to ask him to ask her to

Leif:

stay. So nothing happens. And the conversation ends as

Leif:

Dan awkwardly decides he wants a different muffin and

Leif:

runs back to the coffee shop to return it. Lucky Dan

Leif:

tried to return an unwrapped food item he took

Leif:

out of the store and handled gross. Even in a pre

Leif:

Covid world, Dan is slowly morphing into an

Leif:

entitled diva so he can be Serena's perfect

Leif:

match.

Steve:

It's, funny because that didn't even occur to me until I saw your note on

Steve:

it and it was like, that's gross. That

Steve:

is so first, of all, it's gross. And second

Steve:

of all, you're only returning that out of

Steve:

spite because you're mad at Serena. So now you're

Steve:

being gross just because you're mad at Serena.

Steve:

And I guarantee you went through with it and went,

Steve:

yeah, and switched it out.

Leif:

And probably blame the poor worker too.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Dan,

Steve:

why are you fucking this up? Like, all you have to do

Steve:

is, like Jenny says in a little bit, play the fucking

Steve:

game. You get the girl.

Leif:

I shed literal tears watching Cyrus's

Leif:

comfort a heartbroken Blair admit that she declared

Leif:

her love for Chuck, who threw it back in her face.

Leif:

Blair even uses Cyrus's catchphrase when the

Leif:

initial hug was not enough. We also get a

Leif:

quick shot of Eleanor seeing them hugging, clearly happy

Leif:

that she chose the right man to be Blair's stepfather.

Steve:

I'm having trouble listening to you read it.

Steve:

That scene. And when she's like, not enough.

Steve:

Oh, it was such.

Steve:

It was so good and so important for the two

Steve:

of them. Such great. Relationship building

Steve:

there. I love them. I love

Steve:

Cyrus.

Leif:

He makes both Blair and Eleanor better characters.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, he really does.

Steve:

It's a shame he raised such a fucking creep.

Steve:

Yeah, like it's a shame. He's

Steve:

terrible father, but

Steve:

great stepdad. Yeah, like Lily.

Steve:

Oh, Lily's a better parent to everyone who's not her

Steve:

kid.

Leif:

Cece returns to Lily after claiming to have paid off

Leif:

Andrew Tyler. Cece prods Lily into

Leif:

admitting that she is in love with Rufus. Of course,

Leif:

Lily broke the cardinal sin of teen dramas by not checking

Leif:

behind any app walls before admitting any big

Leif:

secrets. Because just as she emits her love,

Leif:

Serena enters the apartment.

Steve:

But what's funny is she does look. She does

Steve:

do one of those.

Leif:

She didn't look around the half wall.

Steve:

She didn't look around the half wall.

Steve:

And I knew then she didn't

Steve:

pay. You didn't pay that Cece.

Steve:

She was so elusive. She got like. I don't

Steve:

think she even said the words I paid it. I

Steve:

think it was all elusive

Steve:

talk.

Leif:

Serena and Lily have an interesting mother and daughter

Leif:

conversation about love. Serena says it's Lily's

Leif:

turn and then she should be with Rufus and she's going to try

Leif:

to make it work with Aaron. 17 year old Serena then

Leif:

casually tells her mother that she's going to another country with

Leif:

her 20 something year

Leif:

old boyfriend for the holidays.

Steve:

Yeah, no mom, it's your turn. By the way, I'm

Steve:

going to be sex trafficked for Christmas.

Steve:

Are you okay, dear?

Steve:

Although the chances that Lily knows how old Aaron

Steve:

is because that would really require talking to her

Steve:

kids about.

Leif:

About their boyfriends even regardless of his age.

Leif:

She's 17 and going out of the country alone.

Steve:

yeah, yeah, yeah.

Leif:

With her boyfriend and ah, without even asking. Just,

Leif:

just to clearing it just.

Steve:

Yeah, she does say if that's okay with my mom,

Steve:

but he's taking me to Buenos

Steve:

Aires if that's okay with my mom.

Leif:

At the loft, Dan admits m to Jenny that he still

Leif:

has feelings for Serena and that he should have asked her

Leif:

to stay. Jenny, always quick on her feet, tells Dan that

Leif:

Serena will be at Eleanor's wedding and that he

Leif:

can carry the garment bag.

Steve:

Jenny's awesome. Play the game, Dan. you can

Steve:

carry the garment bag.

Leif:

As we said, she's. She's always been the biggest Dan and Serena

Leif:

shipper.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

She seriously has Rufus

Leif:

a little confused at ah. Why Dan is leaving with Jenny.

Leif:

Rushes past it as he gets a call from Lily.

Leif:

Lily invites Rufus to take a nice little trip to

Leif:

Connecticut with her for the holidays. Dan and

Leif:

Jenny will be with Allison for the holidays. Check.

Leif:

Serena will be with Aaron. Check.

Leif:

Who the fuck will be spending the holidays with the kid who tried

Leif:

to unalive himself out of loneliness in the last year?

Steve:

Who's spending Christmas with Eric? You the

Steve:

fucking asshole. Lily. Like,

Steve:

come on. Oh, Serena's taking care

Steve:

of. You have another kid and

Steve:

you have a step kid who's a fucking

Steve:

spiraling who has no one but

Steve:

you.

Leif:

Kids that are clearly suffering for depression right

Leif:

now, you just go off a little bed and breakfast.

Steve:

The holiday for the most

Steve:

family oriented holiday.

Steve:

Oh, boy.

Leif:

Chuck is once again meeting with Andrew Tyler at a dimly

Leif:

lit bar. It turns out that Cece didn't

Leif:

offer any money and Chuck is the only bidder.

Leif:

Chuck is about to withdraw the bid,

Leif:

but Andrew suckers him back in.

Steve:

Smooth talk. For a satchel. Cash.

Steve:

Just. Okay, here's your satchel of

Steve:

cash.

Steve:

So I loved it. I loved it in the

Steve:

sense of like it was so.

Steve:

It was such a satchel of cash for,

Steve:

for a, for an envelope, like.

Leif:

And then we get a commercial break here, which is kind of

Leif:

unusual this late in the third act. And then

Leif:

at the end of the third act, we don't get a Gossip Girl monologue.

Leif:

I just thought I'd flag that up. I don't. I don't really know what, why they

Leif:

did that, but just noticed it. Serena shows up

Leif:

for the wedding and tells Aaron that she is going to accept

Leif:

his invitation. However, Jenny

Leif:

isn't done playing the matchmaker just yet. And suddenly,

Leif:

Dan and Serena are left alone together.

Steve:

I love the. I carried the garment bag.

Steve:

Like, I carried the garment bag. I really like

Steve:

this scene. I really like pouring it all out and

Steve:

both of them just kind of knowing that, like, they

Steve:

both love each other. But Serena wants to

Steve:

take this step back for her mom now.

Leif:

Dan asks Serena to stay, but she tells Dan

Leif:

the, obvious that their parents never stopped being in love with

Leif:

each other. Serena also tells Dan that they already had

Leif:

two chances and now it was Rufus and Lily's

Leif:

turn. Dan seems to accept this as Blair

Leif:

pulls Serena away to help with the wedding prep.

Steve:

Oh, I got that backwards. But that's what I was just talking

Steve:

about about.

Leif:

Chuck confronts Lily with the envelope from Andrew Tyler

Leif:

and reveals Cece's deceit. In the process,

Leif:

Lily begs Chuck for forgiveness.

Steve:

Yeah, I love the don't turn. I, when she says I

Steve:

beg you, and you think that she's begging for this

Steve:

envelope, she just says, don't turn your backs on

Steve:

the people who love you. just her being like

Steve:

this is not about that. It's about like, we

Steve:

love you. And. And it's great because

Steve:

you do see that that moves him.

Leif:

And then we do move into the epilogue. We get a happy

Leif:

Cyrus and Eleanor scene. Everyone makes cutesy

Leif:

faces. But we do get a quick shot of Dan walking alone

Leif:

on the street. It appears Lily's pleas

Leif:

finally got through to Chuck as we see him burning up the contents

Leif:

of the envelope.

Steve:

Yeah, she moved him.

Leif:

So it seems like Chuck's coming around here.

Steve:

Maybe. Maybe. Yeah, he's

Steve:

definitely taken her words to heart.

Leif:

Lily is packing for a trip when she realizes that it might be a good

Leif:

idea to take off her wedding ring and engagement

Leif:

rings first on a different island. Rufus is

Leif:

also packing.

Steve:

yeah. Getting the guitar for

Steve:

his weekend trip too.

Steve:

I've done it.

Leif:

He's gonna sing naked to him. So.

Steve:

Yeah. Every time you walk away, Run away

Steve:

while she's in the bathtub and he's like naked next to

Steve:

it.

Leif:

Just the card covering his junk.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Piece of me

Steve:

with there. Yep.

Steve:

Come back to me. Yep.

Leif:

Dorota pulls Blair away from the festivities. Chuck

Leif:

has come to see her. They embrace and Chuck

Leif:

sheds a tear.

Steve:

Yeah. The wedding is so

Steve:

pretty and so nice. And then you

Steve:

see Dota just whisper in Blair's ear.

Steve:

And her face, the way her face

Steve:

turns, it's just like,

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Rufus is leaving a note for his children when Cece

Leif:

comes a knock in. It seems like the big secret

Leif:

is going to get out after all.

Steve:

Yeah. And it's so funny because, like, Rufus

Steve:

goes after her immediately.

Steve:

Like, goes hard and is like, you

Steve:

know, you're always in the way. You're all like. Like,

Steve:

I don't need to listen to anything you say. But

Steve:

Cece. Ah, again, like we said, Cece's

Steve:

not wrong. Like, you can't have something

Steve:

this huge kept a

Steve:

secret and be in a relationship. and be in a

Steve:

relationship. Yeah.

Leif:

Serena and Aaron are riding to the airport and have

Leif:

some, I guess, cute couple banter.

Leif:

Looks like they are flying to la so Eren can

Leif:

sign on as a series regular.

Steve:

Oh my God. So gross.

Steve:

This isn't his grossest, is it? No.

Leif:

Like I said, this scene was actually kind of cute.

Steve:

Kind of if it was between two

Steve:

teenagers.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

Yeah. It's the next one that

Steve:

he really grosses me out.

Leif:

Rufus continues his psychopathic trend of

Leif:

sitting in the dark. Seriously, the lights were

Leif:

on in the previous scene, so he had to actively turn them

Leif:

off so he could sit in the darkness. Yeah,

Leif:

I guess we know where Dan and Jenny get their dramatic

Leif:

streaks. Dan arrives home and a bit of

Leif:

Rufus tells Dan that he and Lily will never be

Leif:

together. Yeah, I feel like Tim Curry and Drag

Leif:

here because I really want to know what was in that damn

Leif:

envelope. I shiver

Leif:

with antis. I

Leif:

patient.

Steve:

I, think that is actually when I called what was in the

Steve:

envelope? Okay, I. I said what I believe is

Steve:

accurate, but I. That is when I

Steve:

turned to Robin and I said she had an abortion.

Leif:

Did she though?

Steve:

That was, that was my, that is

Steve:

my current assumption.

Leif:

If she had an abortion, how would she know if it's a boy or a girl?

Steve:

You, it's 20 by 22 weeks. You would know

Steve:

it's a boy or a girl.

Leif:

They usually tell you that if you.

Steve:

Get an abortion, you, some places will and,

Steve:

and, and even then Rufus does, may

Steve:

not. Is Rufus gonna have the medical degree to

Steve:

know that? She wouldn't know.

Leif:

But then why, why did she have to go to an institution in France

Leif:

for several months?

Steve:

My assumption was that she just was shipped off there.

Steve:

Well, I just, I don't know. I, I assumed

Steve:

abortion.

Leif:

I mean all signs don't point to, it definitely does not point

Leif:

to abortion. She was away, she went away for

Leif:

several months and then came back and there was, there was a kid.

Steve:

There's a kid. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I, I

Steve:

didn't think of the several months bit. I just thought yeah,

Steve:

yeah, yeah.

Leif:

Connect back to the previous episodes where they talked about like she went to some

Leif:

institute in France for a while.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I knew you don't.

Leif:

Go to France for an abortion.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah.

Leif:

Dan tries calling Serena who snoozes his

Leif:

call because Aaron drops the falling for you

Leif:

bomb. Dan doesn't leave a message and Serena

Leif:

and Aaron kiss.

Steve:

Yeah, because I think

Steve:

I'm falling in love with you.

Steve:

Oh my God. And there's that part of me that

Steve:

like I was a teenage

Steve:

boy, I've, I've said it

Steve:

but like I, so I know how fucking creepy it is

Steve:

when I said it to other teenagers.

Steve:

So like this is like a,

Steve:

oh.

Leif:

That'S not inherently a creepy phrase. It's just the

Leif:

timing of when he said it is slow

Leif:

obvious. It is try manipulator

Leif:

to not be in love with Dan.

Steve:

Yeah, well, and I'm saying that I know

Steve:

I have in my youth used

Steve:

that phrase manipulatively.

Steve:

I know I've done it and it's not something I'm proud

Steve:

of. It's something that I,

Steve:

I, I, I'm, you know, I, I

Steve:

was a fuck up, you know, and I, I did

Steve:

treat people badly and I

Steve:

know I've done that. And like, but even,

Steve:

even still I think where I'm going with this is

Steve:

like this is an older person,

Steve:

like you said, doing it. Like the

Steve:

manipulation is just out there.

Steve:

It's so

Steve:

groomer manipulative. So. Which

Steve:

is what made it so much more creepy to like

Steve:

a teenager.

Leif:

Like, yeah, I, I know. We harp on the Older stuff

Leif:

a lot. But I think we just kind of have to accept that

Leif:

it's not an issue in the show's world. Just

Leif:

like not turning in the murderer was a good,

Leif:

good moral thing to do.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just.

Leif:

Yeah, in, yeah, in reality,

Leif:

it's super creepy. But the, the

Leif:

show does so ignores the fact that he's seriously older than her.

Leif:

Yeah, but, but I don't think they're ignoring the fact that this is

Leif:

very manipulative. The timing.

Steve:

Yeah, I, I, I, well, I, and that's, I guess.

Leif:

And this whole episode, like, you know, all the grabbing

Leif:

her and inviting her playing, like,

Leif:

I think they are trying to show that he's being manipulative

Leif:

but not necessarily grooming because he's older.

Steve:

Yeah. And, and I get that

Steve:

that like, within the show's morality,

Steve:

it's the same alternate morality

Steve:

that also says that Dan's a great writer. You know,

Steve:

like, not that's a moral thing, but like, we have

Steve:

certain things we need to accept in this universe.

Steve:

And I get that there's

Steve:

also the fact that there are many,

Steve:

references to the royalty.

Steve:

And in royal marriages, age really doesn't

Steve:

matter. You know, you really had like 25 year

Steve:

olds marrying 14 year olds for property. And

Steve:

you know, like.

Leif:

Yeah, that, that's, that's somewhat exaggerated.

Leif:

Usually they didn't actually consumate for several years.

Leif:

I mean, TV and movies have kind of exaggerated

Leif:

that historically.

Steve:

But the marriages were there and the age difference was still

Steve:

there. You know, there were, there were.

Steve:

And you can't tell me that there was an

Steve:

overwhelming amount of concern of the consent

Steve:

from these girls who were married,

Steve:

you know, and so they were their father's property.

Steve:

Exactly. And so there

Steve:

is a matter of, within the context

Steve:

of this show where age is less

Steve:

of a detail in that same kind

Steve:

of vein,

Steve:

again, age aside,

Steve:

he's being creepy and manipulative. Like the

Steve:

whole, the whole show. Like, even if he was the same

Steve:

age, he's creepy and manipulative.

Leif:

And I think the show is acknowledging that.

Steve:

I agree. I really think, I don't think that they've done

Steve:

Aaron any favors on

Steve:

being a, good love

Steve:

interest for Serena from, from, from his

Steve:

beginning. You know, like the first five minutes

Steve:

where she's flirting with him in the art gallery. Like,

Steve:

yeah, like, you see, like something happening

Steve:

here. But he's been a creep ever since. M.

Steve:

Like in every non creep

Steve:

move he's made has been with creepy intention. Oh,

Steve:

no, I just want to see you. You're the only one I want to

Steve:

See, now it's all fucking

Steve:

manipulative.

Leif:

Blair is in bed with Chuck, watching him sleep.

Leif:

short scene, but cute.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

At Grand Central Station, Rufus sees

Leif:

Lily waiting for him. And in a reverse of last year,

Leif:

it's Rufus's turn to show up without

Leif:

bags. However, Rufus doesn't show

Leif:

up empty handed. We finally get the reveal that

Leif:

Lily had a kid out of wedlock and

Leif:

presumably Rufus was the father.

Steve:

Yeah, I got, I, like I said, I thought it was

Steve:

abortion, but now when you're mentioning it like she was away for a long

Steve:

time, so. Okay, it sounds more like. But

Steve:

yeah, yeah, I, I don't think.

Leif:

She would ask if he didn't say was it.

Leif:

He said, is it a boy or a girl?

Leif:

I think.

Steve:

Oh, I thought he said was.

Leif:

maybe. But yeah, I don't think he would have asked if it was an abortion

Leif:

because why does it matter then?

Steve:

Well, to that point I kept

Steve:

thinking, I understand being

Steve:

upset, but I think it was

Steve:

overreacting for something from so

Steve:

long ago, you know, like, wow, you did

Steve:

that. I wish you would have talked to me. That sucks.

Leif:

You know, that kid's still out there.

Steve:

But now if that kid's still out there, that, and now it

Steve:

makes a lot more sense to me for him to be

Steve:

upset about it. And I'm can't help but

Steve:

wonder if it was about an Eric aged kid.

Steve:

Like I can't help wonder,

Steve:

you know, those highlights. Yep.

Leif:

Blair awakes alone with a note from Chuck

Leif:

apologizing and telling her not to come

Leif:

looking for him. we hear Chuck Bass

Leif:

isn't the only one who lost someone he loved this

Leif:

week. Our deepest condolences, Ms.

Leif:

Waldorf. XOXO

Leif:

Gossip Girl. You almost had it

Leif:

there, Chuck. You almost figured it out.

Steve:

Yeah, I'm worried we're not going to see Chuck for a little bit.

Leif:

Well, the show is going on a break.

Steve:

Oh, okay.

Leif:

This is the mid season finale.

Steve:

Okay. So then it picks up again in

Steve:

January or February.

Leif:

Yeah, there's like, there's like another. There's like at least a month before the

Leif:

next episode airs.

Steve:

Okay. Okay.

Leif:

Any predictions?

Steve:

my predictions are kind of thrown now because I was,

Steve:

I really thought it was abortion, not,

Steve:

not baby. And so, because

Steve:

like I think to Cece's

Steve:

point, this had to come out for the relationship to

Steve:

work and Rufus was mad and he's saying,

Steve:

I'm never going to be with Lily. But it's.

Steve:

This is the love of your life. So you're mad at her.

Steve:

But like, I don't think that

Steve:

Rufus is going to hate

Steve:

Lily forever. I feel like this is a bump

Steve:

in their road because they're so fucking close

Steve:

right now.

Leif:

He was also. Yeah, he's definitely being overdramatic there. That. That was the scene

Leif:

where he was sitting in the dark.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah.

Leif:

He's full drama queen mode.

Steve:

Exactly.

Steve:

Yeah.

Steve:

As you pointed out, when you go and you turn

Steve:

out the lights to brood, like. Like, I'm.

Steve:

I'm angry. I sit down. No,

Steve:

I'm making a pit stop at a light switch.

Steve:

I'm so fucking mad that I

Steve:

need it to be dark in case anyone walks in

Steve:

here, they'll know.

Leif:

So that is it for our episode. Let's go ahead

Leif:

and head into some segments.

Steve:

Yes.

Leif:

We hopped into the Wayback Machine to head

Leif:

to the Television Without Pity forums to find

Leif:

out what was going on this week in fandom. hello

Leif:

there, Peabody here. And this is the

Leif:

Wayback Machine for traveling through time. And this is

Leif:

my boy, Sherman. Speak, Sherman.

Steve:

Hello.

Leif:

Good boy, Chuck. Chuck. Chuck,

Leif:

Ed. Ed, Ed. Yeah.

Leif:

Everyone loves. I. Yeah, he did good in

Leif:

the quiet scenes. He did. The quiet scenes were good. But anytime

Leif:

he has to be animated, it's just so bad. Yeah,

Leif:

it's so bad.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

they definitely noticed the, Edward Cullen.

Steve:

Yeah. Oh, for sure. For sure.

Leif:

Serena was annoying. I agree.

Leif:

The whole thing with, wanting Dan to stay at the funeral.

Steve:

Yeah, I wasn't. I get it. I wasn't

Steve:

annoyed by it. I. I got. I. Like, I saw where she

Steve:

was coming from. I also, I wasn't bothered by

Steve:

it. I. I thought she was wrong, but it didn't bother me.

Leif:

That's because you don't care about Chuck.

Steve:

I don't really care about Chuck. I mean, like, I do. Like, poor

Steve:

baby. Like, okay, when player

Steve:

was holding him in the bed

Steve:

and he was crying.

Leif:

His oddly shaped face.

Steve:

It. With his oddly shaped face with his

Steve:

funnel face. No, I. It got

Steve:

me. I said to

Steve:

Robin out loud the words poor baby.

Leif:

Yeah. Like I said, in the quiet scenes, he does a good job.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, he had great. It

Steve:

was. I think that the thing that was really not

Steve:

good was the drunk. Like, it was the.

Steve:

I'm so. And I think the problem is Chuck has

Steve:

been playing drunk this whole show, so now he

Steve:

had to play really drunk.

Leif:

And then, like, just the

Leif:

yelling. But still trying to whisper as you're yelling.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Aaron looks like a ferret a little bit.

Leif:

Yeah, I see it.

Steve:

Yeah, definitely. Definitely rodent

Steve:

esque.

Leif:

Poor Eric. Chuck rejects him. And not

Leif:

only. And I'm not the only one who knows about him being alone for

Leif:

the holidays.

Steve:

Well, at least Lily's not going.

Leif:

Yeah, she'll probably just be crying in a room

Leif:

that. Anyways.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Yeah, they were happy about no Vanessa. And

Leif:

very light on the j.

Steve:

The J. Hate. You know, I love. and. And

Steve:

everything Jenny did in this was fantastic. She was a great

Steve:

friend to Eric. She made a great

Steve:

dress and made amends with

Steve:

Eleanor. Like, and. And even,

Steve:

like, to an extent, had a truce

Steve:

with Blair in all of.

Leif:

That, because Doroda is

Leif:

adorable. Great.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, Doroda. yeah, I loved

Steve:

her.

Leif:

Definitely some frustration that none of the main couples seem to

Leif:

be progressing okay.

Steve:

Yeah. But, from a storytelling standpoint, it

Steve:

feels like they very

Steve:

intentionally shook up all of it.

Leif:

Yeah.

Steve:

You know, and like, they really, this episode

Steve:

specifically took all of these relationships that

Steve:

were kind of starting to come together and

Steve:

put them in a snow globe and just shook them up. And I.

Steve:

I'm not mad at that. I mean, I think that that's

Steve:

interesting storytelling, especially when

Steve:

you're at a halfway point in the season.

Leif:

And then, someone did catch you. A little continuity error.

Leif:

How did Chuck get up to Blair's room when everyone was on standing

Leif:

on the stairs for the wedding?

Steve:

He, like, climbed up through the wall.

Leif:

But that is it for this week in Phantom, so let's go ahead

Leif:

and move into episode grades.

Leif:

You're up first this week, Steve.

Steve:

My. I gave this an A minus. I really

Steve:

liked this episode. The minus was

Steve:

from some slight writing clubs, especially

Steve:

the, the CC having to pay the guy

Steve:

off and the. The.

Steve:

I. You know, it was off a little bit there.

Steve:

other than that, I thought that the directing

Steve:

was great. I thought the acting was through the roof.

Steve:

I. I think that everybody put in a great

Steve:

performance here. I thought, like, Dan, I thought,

Steve:

was, so good from the

Steve:

entire episode. So. Yeah, just a minus

Steve:

on this episode for me. Yeah.

Leif:

like you said, the acting was great other than when Chuck was

Leif:

yelling.

Steve:

Other one. Other than when Chuck was yelling and when.

Leif:

When Aaron was trying to be mad.

Leif:

But, yeah, the writing was really good. This is maybe

Leif:

my favorite Stephanie Savage episode of the series.

Steve:

Yeah, my. My favorite so far.

Leif:

And yeah, it's. It

Leif:

was really good. Very emotional episode. great

Leif:

midseason finale. So I'm going to give it a straight

Leif:

A. Yeah, fair.

Steve:

Fair. Great. It was. It was a really good

Steve:

episode.

Leif:

Moving on over to stock watch. Who you got going up?

Steve:

Okay. Going up. Cyrus.

Steve:

100%. Cyrus goes up. Eleanor goes

Steve:

up. Jenny goes up. It

Steve:

hate. He pains me to say this, Aaron

Steve:

Stock Went up and then, it's.

Leif:

Gonna end the season pretty high.

Steve:

I hate him so much. I had Blair stock

Steve:

going up. Blair lo lost Chuck in the end,

Steve:

but Blair had some real breakthrough stuff, and

Steve:

I felt like she deserves a stock

Steve:

up for going through what she went

Steve:

through.

Leif:

Anyone else?

Steve:

Nope. That is my ups. you might make me think of.

Leif:

Someone, but I actually have exactly the same list for

Leif:

the same reasons.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Blair, Jenny, Aaron, Eleanor and Cyrus.

Steve:

Yep.

Leif:

How about going down?

Steve:

Going down. Chuck. I have

Steve:

Rufus going down. I have Lily going

Steve:

down. I have Dan going down, and I have

Steve:

Serena going down. And I mean

Steve:

that for the stock watch.

Leif:

Anyone else?

Steve:

no. I was thinking about cc, but I'm leaving her in

Steve:

neutral.

Leif:

So I had close to the same list I had Chuck, you know,

Leif:

because obviously he's spiraling.

Leif:

Dan, because he lost Serena.

Leif:

Rufus, because, you know, he's, you know,

Leif:

lost his potential relationship. Safer. Lily,

Leif:

Serena, she's being an idiot.

Leif:

But I also, I felt

Leif:

Eric stock is definitely down. I

Leif:

hate to do it, but he was getting shoot on all

Leif:

episode.

Steve:

I won't do it to him. But you're right. So

Steve:

you can give it to him. One of us has to be the bad

Steve:

guy.

Steve:

But here's the best outfits from the.

Steve:

Last episode we seen.

Leif:

Best outfit. Who you got? Steve?

Steve:

Serena's funeral dress and jacket.

Steve:

Like, she had that really cool jacket. And when it was off,

Steve:

like, yeah.

Leif:

It'S a burberry coat with all the different shaped buttons.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. Super cool outfit

Steve:

for me.

Leif:

I'm gonna go with Chuck's pinstripe with a purple pocket

Leif:

square.

Steve:

I loved that too. I really loved it.

Leif:

I also did, make note of Serena's

Leif:

coat and also Blair's Philip Lim dress from the

Leif:

wedding.

Steve:

Oh, yeah. Blair's wedding dress was also on my

Steve:

list.

Leif:

it's like, it was interesting. I like different things going on.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah. And yeah. And the way that it, like, met in the

Steve:

middle and like, yeah, I thought it was really a really

Steve:

cool dress. I'm glad Eleanor was

Steve:

happy with her wedding dress. I'm glad

Steve:

that's what she wanted for her.

Steve:

Thought was a little over the top,

Steve:

but those little.

Steve:

Little big of a jacket. But. But I mean, hey, it's what she

Steve:

wanted and she loved it.

Leif:

Well, that is it for segments.

Leif:

You got anything to plug this week? I

Leif:

it releasing November 11th.

Steve:

November 11th. On January 8th, I

Steve:

will be the featured act at the Dawson

Steve:

Street Hub open mic. So come on out

Steve:

to the open mic, Bring your instrument and play along.

Steve:

Also, I've started hosting

Steve:

monthly fire pits to

Steve:

play some music in my backyard. I guess that's not really

Steve:

for everybody, but, like, I

Steve:

just. I just announced it, didn't I? Don't tell Robin. She

Steve:

won't watch this.

Leif:

I didn't give the address that.

Steve:

yeah, I didn't give the address. But, like, if you know us and you

Steve:

join the discord and you're in Philly and you're a musician, you

Steve:

want to hang out with us, at least you know, Leif

Steve:

is invited. Leif was gonna make the

Steve:

last one, and then I wasn't feeling so great, so.

Leif:

But I. I still have not got Covid. Knock on

Leif:

wood. And I plan not to.

Steve:

Yeah, it was. It's smart. It's smart.

Steve:

but, yeah, so. But, Lee, for you to know, November

Steve:

5th. Come on down. Bring some percussion.

Leif:

It's in my calendar.

Steve:

Awesome.

Leif:

for me, it's a little late at this point, but

Leif:

I did recently binge watch Nobody

Leif:

Wants this with Adam Brody and Kirsten Bell. Really

Leif:

funny Netflix show. Everyone should watch it.

Steve:

I saw the last three episodes and loved

Steve:

it. But I. I saw the. I was looking

Steve:

for something to watch and saw the premise and was like, oh, this

Steve:

is something I would watch with Robin. I got home

Steve:

from a trip for the weekend, and she

Steve:

was already five, six

Steve:

episodes in.

Leif:

Yeah, I started it, watched seven episodes the first

Leif:

night. I started it, watched two more the

Leif:

next morning. And then the final episode, I got home from work. So

Leif:

less than 24 hours.

Steve:

Yeah. And, yeah, when I got home, she was

Steve:

like, I never do this to you, but I

Steve:

really want the TV for the next couple of hours to finish this.

Steve:

And I was like, what is it? And she told me. I was like, I wanted to

Steve:

watch that. And like I said,

Steve:

I only saw the last three episodes. And they

Steve:

were fun. They were hilarious. They

Steve:

were moving, like, great. Yeah, it

Steve:

was a really good show.

Leif:

And of course, the connections to Gas Girl.

Steve:

Well. Oh, well, yeah, obviously. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ah. From Kristen

Steve:

Bell and Leighton, Mr.

Leif:

Husband.

Steve:

Oh, that's right. It's so funny. Robin pointed that out to me,

Steve:

like, five times too, because Robin and I definitely

Steve:

had, the conversation of couple swapping,

Steve:

of that's a couple that we

Steve:

would. That.

Steve:

Well, you know, we don't really do the list thing so much as the

Steve:

shared list of, like, you know, we, you

Steve:

know, like, the Earth, the Ertzes, you know,

Steve:

like, they're on our list.

Leif:

Okay.

Leif:

Anyways, if you want to follow me on social media, you can

Leif:

follow me on Instagram @hotcapicola. you

Leif:

can follow the podcast on Instagram

Leif:

threads where TikTok at

Leif:

nonjudgingbreakfastpod. We're on

Leif:

Twitter X as

Leif:

at njbpod. You can

Leif:

also find links to our discord and

Leif:

our subreddit on our

Leif:

website@nonjudgingbreakfastpod.com.

Steve:

And if you want to get in touch with us, please feel free to

Steve:

send us an

Steve:

email@nonjudgingbreakfastpodmail.com

Steve:

we'd love to hear your thoughts. We're happy to read what you have

Steve:

to say on air. Also, if you're listening to

Steve:

this, whatever you're listening to it on, give us a

Steve:

follow, a subscribe, a like a

Steve:

rating, a review. All of those things

Steve:

really help with our visibility and really help to get

Steve:

more listeners in. So please, we're also

Steve:

obviously we'll read your reviews on air as well as

Steve:

we have been doing. So please get

Steve:

in touch with us and we would be happy to read

Steve:

what you have to say on air and also please

Steve:

tell a friend what you're listening to.

Leif:

Indeed. And we will be back next

Leif:

week to talk about season two, episode

Leif:

14, in the realm of the

Leif:

Basses. The Max episode

Leif:

description reads Chuck's Uncle

Leif:

Jack arrives.

Steve:

oh, Chuck's uncle Chuck has an uncle now.

Steve:

oh.

Leif:

Oh, we'll have to see what happens.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Until next time, you know, you love us.

Steve:

XOXO Every time every time you walk

Steve:

away, run away you take a piece of me

Steve:

with you there Every

Steve:

time you walk away I run away M you take a piece of

Steve:

me with you there

Steve:

Every time you walk away I run away you take a

Steve:

piece of me with you there

Steve:

oh, it seems I'm walking right to

Steve:

your door

Steve:

my heart's still resting looking for

Steve:

something more

Steve:

are you ever gonna see everything.

Steve:

You mean to me?

Steve:

I'm trying really hard to believe

Steve:

every time you walk away or run away you take a

Steve:

piece of me with you there

Steve:

Every time you walk away or run away you take a

Steve:

piece of me with you there

Steve:

Every time you walk away I run away you take a

Steve:

piece of me with you there

Steve:

Never feels right when I'm out here on

Steve:

my own

Steve:

I left last night and it feels like

Steve:

way too long

Steve:

are you ever gonna see everything you mean

Steve:

to me I'm trying really hard to believe

Steve:

every time you walk away run away you take a piece

Steve:

of me with you there

Steve:

Every time you walk away or run away you take a piece

Steve:

of m me with you there

Steve:

Every time you walk away or run away you take a

Steve:

piece of me with you there?

Steve:

Come back to me,

Steve:

smile and you'll make my life

Steve:

complete?

Steve:

Every time you walk away or run away? You take a piece

Steve:

of me with you there?

Steve:

Every time you walk away or run away? You take a

Steve:

piece of me with you there?

Steve:

Every time you walk away or run away? You take a

Steve:

piece of me with you there?

Steve:

Every time you walk away or run away? You take a piece

Steve:

of me with you there?

Steve:

Every time you walk away or run away? You take a piece

Steve:

of me with you there?

Steve:

Every time you walk away and run away? You take a

Steve:

piece of me with you there?

Steve:

Every time you walk away or run away? You take a

Steve:

piece of me with you there?

Steve:

Every time you walk away or run away? You take a

Steve:

piece of me with you there.

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