This week on The Non-Judging Breakfast Pod, Leif and Steve dive into Gossip Girl Season 4, Episode 16, “While You Weren’t Sleeping.” With nonstop Rolling Stones references, drug-filled tulips, and a chaotic Upper East Side birthday party, this episode packs in classic Gossip Girl excess.

The hosts break down Blair’s unraveling at W, Dan accidentally becoming a drug mule, and Eric’s $100,000 birthday problem. They also unpack Chuck and Lily’s corporate espionage scheme, Nate’s accidental seduction of Raina Thorpe, and Serena once again choosing family over logic.

Plus:

1. A behind-the-scenes shoutout from director Norman Buckley
2. Why Dan & Blair’s chemistry is the emotional core of the episode
3. Damien Dalgaard’s final, audacious play
4. Vanessa’s perfectly timed (and deeply annoying) return
5. Rolling Stones Easter eggs you probably missed
6. Episode grades, Stockwatch, and a trip to the Television Without Pity forums

Is this the episode where Dair truly begins? And is Ben… actually terrifying? Grab a mimosa and settle in.

XO, XO—Non-Judging Breakfast Pod ☕🥐

----------------------------------

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.

📱 Follow us on Threads, IG & X @NonJudgingPod

🧇 Leave a review if you love waffles and wild plot twists

🔗 http://nonjudginbreakfastpod.com

🔗 http://njbpod.captivate.fm/discord

----------------------------------

Produced by Leif Capicola and Steve Marchion. 

Edited and mixed by Leif Capicola.

The Gossip Girl Theme Performed By Steve Marchion.

What?

Michael.

Michael, What?

What does one drug cost? $100,000.

What is. What does one drug cost, Michael?

$100,000. The drugs are in the banana stand.

Hey, Upper East Siders, and all you scandal loving

listeners out there, you just tuned into the Not

Judging breakfast pod where the coffee is strong,

the waffles are fresh, and the gossip is hotter

than ever. My name is Leaf, and I'm your seasoned

Gossip Girl veteran.

And I'm Steve, your newbie. The rookie, the

greenhorn. I don't know, Leif. What am I this year

now that we're in season four?

I'm not sure, but smoking a joint before we record

definitely makes you a better soldier.

Well, I mean, to be fair, smoking a joint before

pretty much anything I do is pretty much how I do

it.

Fair enough.

So here's the deal, folks. Leaf has been lit

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

tuning in for the first time. And together, we're

your dynamic duo, bringing you all the gossip,

romance, and sometimes questionable fashion

choices of this iconic 2007 series.

Bring your magnifying glasses, because each week

we're dissecting every juicy detail of the show

one episode at a time. We'll connect the dots,

uncover, those sneaky little Easter eggs, and of

course, serve up some piping hot behind the scenes

tea. And expect some iconic phantom moments too,

because what's a deep dive without a little drama?

And since we are all about inclusivity here at ah,

the non judging breakfast pod, there is always a

seat for you at our non judging breakfast table.

So go ahead and grab a mimosa, a cup of coffee, or

find something in Nate's robe pocket and we'll go

ahead and get into this.

And we are here today to talk about Season 4,

Episode 16, While youe Weren't Sleeping. The

original air date was February 21, 2011 and based

on the movie titled While youe Were Sleeping. Have

you seen it?

I feel like I either saw it or at least made fun

of. Was something that my mom would have loved,

but I don't know if I watched it.

I have not. It was the 1995 film which a subway

clerk falls for a comatose man's brother. Directed

by John Turtletub and starring Sandra Bullock and

Bill Pullman as well as Peter Gallagher. Once

again.

Oh, interesting. Yeah, I don't think I saw it. And

everything in the description is why? Because I

pretty much hate most of what you just said. I

love Bill Pullman, but I'm not a. No disrespect to

Sandra Bullock, but I don't tend to like the

movies she's in After Speed and just not.

I like some of her movies.

Yeah, I'm just not a huge fan. and beyond that,

this just sounds like everything. Especially in

1995. I would have hated everything about this.

This episode was written by Sarah Goodman, who's

kind of like, sort of like second in charge of the

writings room right now. And her previous episodes

include, in season two, the Wrath of Khan, where

she came in with a bang there. And then season

three kind of some. I don't know how much this is

her fault. And just the stories in the middle of

the season kind of sucks. She did how to Succeed

in Bassness and the Hurt Locket and they. But they

came back with Ex Husbands and Wise, which was

good.

And. Yeah.

And then in season four, she's done Double

Identity, which was co written with Joshua Safran

as well as the Witches.

Of Bushwick, which I believe were both also pretty

good. I mean, I know the beginning of this season

was fantastic. So who knew that Juliet's departure

would be the bellwether, not this episode

excluded. I think, this one definitely stepped it

up again.

And I think that that's kind of about the people

at the hell of. You know, we got Sarah Goodman

writing it and of course, friend of the pod

directing, Norman Buckley.

Yes. And his. He's all over this. You know, you

can really see the. The way that this story is

just brought to life. It was just another

powerhouse episode, so.

And, I did reach out to Mr. Buckley, and he was

kind enough to answer some questions for us. And,

here it goes right now. I'm sorry, I'm just now

seeing this.

I'll just tell you that I was.

A fan of the Dan Blair relationship because I

thought, as you said, they had great timing and

played very well off each other. This made me

very, very unpopular on Twitter with the fans. I

apologize for being late to responding. I've just

been covered over with this show here in Victoria.

Maybe another podcast.

Thank you for that, Darren. Thanks for, taking

some time out of your day.

Yeah, we really appreciate it and we love to hear

your thoughts, so thank you very much.

Why don't you give us that vulture recap?

Here we go. from the narrator's constant and

inexplicable Rolling Stones references, has

someone in the writers room been reading life? To

the discombobulating spectacle of Blair and Dan's

burgeoning chemistry. Last, night's episode of

Gossip Girl made Us feel at times like we were

experiencing a temporary neurological disorder or

having an ether flashback. Considering the

following dizzying piece of dialogue which

occurred upon Blair's arrival at the Van Der Bass

Humphries 18th birthday party for Eric. Blair.

What were you thinking?

That I would arrive at this party and be greeted

appropriately? I know you only admitted you

needed.

So you can make me a drug mule?

That sticky note was meant for Penelope. Frankly,

with her attitude, she could use.

Some time behind bars. So that's it?

There's no I'm sorry I could have gotten you

arrested? Well, you're here, the party's lovely.

Everything obviously turned out fine.

Even if you already knew this conversation was

being conducted because Serena was mad at Blair

for apparently accidentally sending Dan to

retrieve a batch of coke filled tulips that Eric

said he'd retrieve for a drug dealer after said

drug dealer threatened to expose Eric and Serena's

mother for forging an affidavit that put Serena's

ex teacher, who is now her boyfriend, in prison

for three years. The tone, at the very least, is

confusing. Were the writers attempting to make the

audience feel disoriented, on par with sleep

deprived Blair? Or have they lost their minds

entirely by keeping the characters immutable and

the story structure unrelenting and piling story

lines on top of each other? Are they actually

attempting to make this show into a parody of

itself? Only in the fullness of time when

historians and scholars have studied the Gossip

Girl texts will we truly know the answers to these

questions. Something really poignant from that is,

especially last week's episode, that it really was

a caricature of itself. It, almost was a, parody

of earlier that season.

Yeah. And also the Rolling Stones references in

every single Gossip Girl narration of the episode.

Yeah. Yeah. And it's funny, I caught some of them.

I didn't, even realize they were in all of them.

So, like, I just. But I noticed, especially the

first one. But that is really funny that. Yeah.

Well, we move into Act 1 and starting off with the

Rolling Stones references right off the top, Mick,

Keith and their questionably costumed cohorts

said, you can't always get what you want, but that

doesn't mean it's okay for anybody else to have it

either.

Yeah.

Dan emerges out of his bedroom to see Ben and

Serena flirting in the living room. Dan once again

inadvertently blows Serena's attempts to chameleon

with her new partner. Dan leaves to get coffee in

midtown. Ben thinks he's finally getting some

alone time with her, but she asks to go see her

mom about Eric's 18th birthday. Ben refuses to go

to Lily's, even for the party.

Yeah.

Serena once again lying.

Yeah. Yeah.

And Dan inadvertently blowing it up.

Yep. Yep.

Look, it's Aaron all over again.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that. Yeah. Again, a recycled

storyline here. And I do love, that Dan had no

fucks to give about Serena and Ben. The way that

he was just like, I don't want to be around here.

I'm not here to be, like, buddy, buddy and

friendly. You live here. I'm out.

I appreciated that, but could tell he does. He

does still have feelings for Serena.

Yeah, absolutely. yes. And you can tell that his

whole thing is staying out of the apartment all

day before he ever admits it. We can see that as

an audience. I just mean that he's not playing

pretend, you know, he's not pretending to be okay

with this, which I like about Dan, because it's

also disgusting and inappropriate. Yes.

Well, that according to the show, though, right?

The morality of Gossip Girl.

At the penthouse, Eric is pretending to be sick to

avoid a party. However, Rufus and Lily have no

reason to doubt Eric's sincerity. Yeah, they're

being nice to supportive parents.

Right. The end. Eric is seemingly sick, and

they're.

Yeah.

It's more of a setup scene than anything else.

At the Waldorf apartments, Serena comes home to

find Dorota dressing Blair while Blair multitasks.

Serena is still concerned that Blair is working

herself too hard to distract herself from Chuck

and Rena. Blair once again denies, and the

conversation shifts to Ben and Serena struggling

to find some loan time. When Serena leaves, Blair

uses a blast about Reina being up for the position

she got turned down for At Girls.

Inc. We see this competition with Reina brewing a

little bit more. I do like how Serena snapped at

the one point and was like, oh, I guess the good

friend time is now over. But. But also how Blair's

like, I've got 30 seconds to finish this

conversation.

And also. But also, Serena, not only are you rich

and have a trust fund, but your stepbrother owns a

fucking hotel. If you really want to be alone with

Ben, get a fucking hotel room.

Yeah. Yeah, you could. Yeah. What's Ben doing?

Hell, you can afford to rent your own apartment.

Yeah. Yes. Why, why are you struggling to find

alone time?

Plus, we know Blair isn't really at home at night.

She's not sleeping well.

but that's actually what Serena said, is that her

light is always on.

So it's okay if she's asleep because.

Yeah, yeah, it's fine if she's sleeping. Just keep

it down.

At the Empire, Chuck recruits Nate to help win

Brena back.

This is a bad idea, Chuck. Yeah, this is a bad

idea. Have you seen Nate? He's dreamy.

You're telling specifically to be charming.

Yeah. Hey, go charm this woman that I want to have

fall back in love with me. And I mean, he does the

work. Nate puts in the work for Chuck this

episode.

He's super obvious about him, but yes.

Oh, yeah, he's totally obvious. I mean, you can't

ask Nate to do something, and expect subtlety.

At W, Blaire is Skyping with the minions and

assigns them all tasks since she can only be in

one place at a time. After the Skype call ends,

Blair is informed that all her interns transfer to

different departments due to her management style.

Just then, Dan walks in and Blair announces that

our new intern has arrived.

I, couldn't help but wonder if part of the

decision to have the minions at the Waldorfs and

not W was just for that Skype money. If it was

just to throw in the Skype thing, probably. I get

why it also works to have her alone when Dan walks

in, but I just thought I had that thought of, are

we separating them for this Skype call?

It also plays the mini just being dumb as well.

Yeah, well, yes. And especially really sets up for

their screw ups.

Throughout the rest of the thing.

Chuck meets Lily at the bar to try and apologize.

However, when Lily rejects the apology, Chuck

reverts to insults and catches a smack for his

trouble. As Lily walks out, it's revealed that

Russell Thorpe was watching everything from across

the restaurant.

So on the basis of the last two episodes, this

whole scene, Robin and I were like, are you

fucking kidding me? This is ridiculous. What is

like, is this really happening? And we were got.

We were 100% got by this scene because, oh my God,

it would be just like the writers to have Lily be

like, oh, I have feelings for him again. And like,

oh my God, fucking Lily. it was just too on brand

to, like, raise any red flags.

Also, it is kind of ridiculous that Lily forgave

him so fast.

Yes. Yeah. Well, other than the fact that Lily

fought so hard for that relationship from the get

that I feel like when you have something like

that. And I'll also say, just as a parent, that

it's just that unconditional forgiveness that it's

just you said you're sorry. I'm good with it. The

other thing is with Lily in particular, I feel

like Lily, really understands, like, oh, yeah, he

thought it was the right business move and cut me

out. All right, well played, Charles. Like, I also

don't think. I think that this is so much of. This

is sort of almost a game to Lily that it's just,

oh, yeah, I can do anything I want and get away

with anything. Oh, I didn't. Well, I'll find

something else to get away with. So I think that

that's why she forgave him so fast. But I do hear

your point.

Ben finds Serena in the lobby, who tells him that

the party is off, but she still wants to wish Eric

a happy birthday. When the couple are discussing

alternate plans for the day, Eric walks up behind

Serena.

I was concerned that this episode was going to be

a bunch of Eric sneaking around stuff, and it

wasn't. I really liked that Eric went right to

Serena, that he was caught leaving. And the one

person that he can count on, even though he can't

always count on her, he does trust her. And, she

is kind of the only person he trusts. So he goes

to her and gets her help. So I like that. I really

thought this was a great Eric episode too. Yeah, I

really liked the performance. I liked him having a

consequential storyline. It was good.

Chuck gets into a limo with Lily and it's quickly

revealed that their performance at the bar was all

a ruse to lure in Russell.

Like I said, we were had. I really liked this

little makeup. I really liked that. I just, I do

think it is very much like Lily to just. Okay, you

said you're sorry. I'm. I'm over and going along

with it and trying to help Charles again. I liked

it.

And we get another Rolling Stones reference with

the Gossip Girl. Can't get no Satisfaction. Looks

like that's up for debate.

Yeah.

And, ah, we roll into Act 2. Back in the lobby,

Eric is explaining to Ben and Serena the pickle he

is in with Damien. Ben wants Eric to let Lily pay

the price and not risk anyone else. But Serena has

a plan and tells Eric to un. Cancel the party.

Again. I, I liked Connor's performance here. And I

really liked where this was, how he roped Serena

into it, and how they developed a plan together.

And even though I don't necessarily disagree with

Ben here, I do like that for once Serena chose her

family over the guy.

Yes. Yeah, I, I agree with that as well. And

especially because, like, yeah, Ben, her mom

fucked you, like, really bad. She's never not

going to be her Mom.

And he's not even going after Lily. Just doesn't

want other people to risk getting in trouble to

protect her. Yeah.

And like you said, it's not that you really

disagree with him. Like, he's. He's not wrong.

Like, Lily, if anyone deserves anything, here it

is Lily. Yeah, I completely understand Serena

wanting to protect her mom. She did it for her

dad, who is a bigger piece of shit. And as you

know, in the five minutes he was in her life,

fucked up more shit for her. And she was like, oh,

I want you to get away.

although Serena, like, three episodes, was ready

to turn, over a mob to that reporter. But we'll

forget about that.

Yeah, but we always do. But then, so. It's such

the cycle of Gossip Girl, too. And it's such the

cycle of Serena Van Der Woodson, where no matter

who she is, when she's mad, she will try to burn

everything down around you. But the second she's

not mad anymore, or the second you tell her not to

be mad anymore or not to look out for someone, and

then it's like, oh, well, that's my mom. Serena,

maybe your mom deserves it. That's my mom, you

jerk. No.

An overworked Blair wants Dan to work for as an

intern, but Dan will only help as a friend if she

admits she needs his help.

Cute. Really cute. And really great scene work

together. This whole episode, the Blair and Dan

scene work was just.

Yeah.

Wonderful. And like you had asked Norman, like,

that chemistry between Dan and Blair that kind of

paralleled season two in the carriage, only we get

this extended version of this. Of that energy.

Yeah.

Nate purposely bumps into Reina on the street.

Reina's driver is missing, so Nate suggests the

quickest way to her destination is through the

park.

I'd like to think that Nate got rid of the driver.

Not like, got rid of the driver, but I'd like to

think that Nate was like, oh, hey, you can't park

here. Did something to get that driver to move.

Because when he said, like, oh, you know, it was

probably double parked and they ticket for that

and stuff like that just seemed like you. Nate

does not have that quick of a wit. So either he

was sitting on that line for a while, but that

car, he had to have had something to do with it,

which I really like that, too.

Now we get another Ivanka Trump reference.

Yes. Because she was just meeting with Nate's mom.

Yeah.

And is now going to go meet with Ivanka Trump. Oh,

that's right. Because the Girls Inc. Thing.

Yeah.

That's right. Yeah. It's funny because I didn't

entirely put all of that together just because it

was a few episodes ago. But now it's all making

more sense.

At the penthouse, Lily is planning the party and

also trying to figure out how she and Chuck can

get Russell out of the office so Chuck can perform

some corporate espionage. Just then, Russell calls

Lily and the two set up an immediate date at the

Oak Bar.

yeah, I liked that Chuck. You of all people know I

can't call him. Like, you know, he needs to be

pursuing me.

Yeah.

And it's also just creepy. It's kind of creepy,

but I also. It's also so intertwined in the ethos

of the Upper east side. So I thought it was this

really creepy yet meaningful banter between the

two of them that, like, if anything, the reason

that Lily and Chuck work so well together as

they're with their relationship on all levels, is

because they are the two soulless people on the

show. I really think they're the two that have

absolutely no actual soul.

Ah.

And have no. And so everything is just come and

go. So if. If you hurt me. Okay, cool. I'll get

over it. Give me a minute because I don't really

feel anything.

What do we think of Lily's choice of party theme?

Yeah, seems kind of weird for an 18th birthday.

Well, so, okay, I had that thought. But the other

side of it is it's an 18th birthday for a kid who

has no friends. So it's like, it's not really for.

Him, but it's all a bunch of adults there.

That's my point, is that it's like, it really.

It's an, It's a party to celebrate that Eric is an

adult amongst people that are. You know, it is

really just another excuse for Lily to hold a

social gathering.

But do all those adults want to eat Mac and

cheese?

Yeah. I mean, weird high society people. Yeah,

weird. But I think that it's also a matter of, oh,

but it's for my kid. And I'm Lily vanderwoodsen

Bass Humphrey.

Fuck off.

This is the party I'm throwing for Eric. And you

will attend and you will bring him a gift and you

will enjoy this party because he has no friends.

Poor Eric.

Poor Eric. Like the friendliest guy on the fucking

show. Like the one guy who I want to be friends

with on this show.

At W. Blair is still struggling with lack of sleep

and just keeps taking on more and more tasks. Dan

is still trying to help, all while continuing the

snarky banter. Then Serena and Eric enter the

office and need Blair's help with the scheme.

I loved this little clip. We need help with this

scheme. She doesn't have time. Yes, I do like the

whole. The whole layout there. And Dan, he's like.

This has gone from, I forget his first movie

reference, but to Saw two. Oh, it's gone from

Working girl to Saw two. And I'm really not in for

the gore porn. And walks out.

I don't like refreshments with my theater. Reina

is impressed with all the activities of Central

park and admits she hasn't had a lot of time

spending in parks since her mom took off. Nate

convinces her to be late for her meeting to learn

how to skate.

Marina's the most irresponsible person in the

business world. No, I have a meeting.

Who cares?

Let's go skating. Okay, cool. Flash forward.

Smoking weed in the apartment like you have a

meeting.

To be fair, as with Ivanka Trucks, I doubt it was

actually a business meeting. It was more of a

social type.

Okay, that is true. That is true. Probably

something easily canceled.

Planning some event or something stupid like that.

Right. It's just also funny that she. Because it's

not the first time she's blown off business for

dumb shit. And, like, the flip side to that is

that I love that Reina gives no fucks about other

people's schedules and you're on Reina's time

because she is set up as this powerful woman, and.

I really love that.

So I do love that she's like, oh, I've got this

meeting. And Nate's like, let's go ice skating.

And she's like, okay, everyone else's time can

fuck off. But it's also. She's not, She's. She is

kind of irresponsible, but she also. It's because

she just forces everybody on her time. And I love

that she's probably. I don't know if she's becomes

main cast or if she's just a guest arc, like many

of them have been this season. She's my favorite

guest so far, I think. I cannot think of other.

Well, Cecil. No, not Cecil. Cyrus.

Cyrus.

Cyrus. for a second, I was thinking Cyrus was the

Cabbage Patch Kid, but that's Cedric. Cedric. But

Cyrus is my favorite. But Raina is a close second.

She is spic.

She's gacular. And we do get a little bit more

backstory here. It's a Blake if you miss and you

miss it Moma. But, we find out that her mom left.

Yes. Yeah.

That At a very young age.

Yeah. And I thought we had gathered that she left

before, that it wasn't death that she had left.

But this is where we learn how young she was.

Blair finally admits that she needs Dan's help as

a friend and peer and not an underling. As Blair

is summoned out of the office, Dan begins to

tackle Blair's to do pile. But the first item he

goes to is this sticky note intended for Penelope

to pick up the drug flowers.

It was. I loved it. I loved the. I need Dan. I

need the help of Dan Humphrey as a friend and peer

and not a minion.

What was that?

And, you know, just. It's on my desk. Just grab

something and start. And then you get there. And

the most prominent thing is a big sign saying

urgent Y. And a simple grab anything but the sign

that said urgent. And everything is now Penelope's

problem. But she didn't. But it works. I loved the

two of them.

And, this is what Gossip Girl has to say about it.

Painting it black has nothing on the trouble one

piece of purple paper can cause.

Yep. Painting it black. And it's funny because I

remember. I remember hearing that reference and

being like, that seems forced without the thought

of. All of these are Rolling Stone forced. Rolling

Stones references. Yes.

And we move into Act 3. Nate and Reyna had to

return to the Empire because Nate spilled cider on

her. Raina discovered Nate's weed stash and is

curious as she has never tried marijuana. Nate

tries to do a, Chuck essence and attempts to talk

Chuck up to Raina. However, Raina would rather

continue her day of first with Nate.

You know who gets really good weed? She just

pulled a joint out of your pocket. Out of your

robe pocket. And you're like, you know where I can

get better stuff? Chuck. And also Nate. I bet you

get pretty good stuff because I bet you get your

stuff from Joey.

Why would he be getting bad stuff when he could

just get it from his roommate? Anytime you want,

Right?

Yeah. But it was also just the way that, again,

like, Raina being irresponsible. It's just like,

oh, there's a joint in your pocket. You know, I

never tried this. Let's do it. Let's. Let's burn

one down right now. I thought that was an odd

character choice for anyone. I feel like that is

just.

Well, at this point, I think she's already missed

the meeting because they already went skating and

dad cider and came back, got a shower, presumably.

I guess I feel. So. I have two feelings on this,

and the first one is I feel like that's not how

people start smoking weed. Right. That it. That it

isn't typically. Oh, I found this. All right,

let's do it. I've never done this before. Let's do

it. I feel like it's much more of a, You're in an

environment, and people are like, hey, do you want

to try this here? Are you interested? You know, I

can feel like it's. The flip side to it is I think

that there's. Because of a line that he says about

peer pressure. Nate says about peer pressure. I

think that this was also very specifically not to

peer pressure her, not to do the hey, you want to

get high? Hey. Because then that sends this

different message to the people watching.

Also. I just think most people start. Have their

first toke much, younger age.

Yeah. Yeah.

She's already been, like, grad school and

everything. Been helping run her father's company.

So she's like, mid-20s at least.

Yeah, she's. Yeah, she's like. Yeah, like, early

to mid-20s at the latest. So.

Yeah.

That is also true that a lot of people like.

I mean, as she. She was enjoying doing some new

things and found this thing. Yeah. Why not? Why

not? Yeah.

Yeah. Let's keep going. I. I've always told my

kids there's a time and place for everything, and

that's college.

We get interspersing scenes of Russell and Lily's

date and Chuck sneaking into Russell's office to

figure out who is backing him. Lily drags out the

date until Chuck texts her, confirming he got the

info.

Oh, Howie. All of this is on Howie. Howie's

illegal corporate subterfuge. but it was also fun

cloak and dagger stuff. No complaints.

The other weird thing is Chuck had to bribe that

guy, and he scanned the card. So what did Howie

even do? I guess the passwords he got.

Yeah. Yeah.

Back at W. Blair is dressing down the minions when

she realizes that Dan must have gotten the purple

sticky note and went to pick up Damien's drugs.

Yeah, I mean, this was the whole realization. But

that's. Yeah, and a dressing down of the minions,

too, right?

Yeah.

Yeah. Which was also funny.

Dan arrives at the penthouse to deliver the tulips

when he gets a call from Ben letting him know that

Vanessa is at the loft to see him. Dan is still

not ready to forgive or even speak to her. Serena

and Eric are surprised to realize Dan is

delivering the flowers, but quickly also notice

that they are the wrong Ones as there is no hidden

drugs.

Yeah, because Eric's gonna know what coke tastes

like. Oh, it tastes planty. How do you know Coke

doesn't taste planty? Eric, how much. Have you

tasted coke before?

Well, he had that, like, two weeks where he's

hanging out with Damian.

That is true. Here. let's just taste some drugs

just so you know what you're dealing with in the

future. I thought that was pretty funny.

It also just occurred to me, Emily, the new

minion, was here, and Melissa Fumero was not,

which, you know, I have loved Melissa Fumero. Is

she. Is she done or believe so or does she come

back and forth or.

She might be gone at this point.

Oh, bummer.

We do get Jessica to hang around for pretty much

the rest of the series, though.

Yeah, she kind of indicated that when we. When we

met her. But, yeah, because I'm. I'm Emily. She

does not have time for names.

I meant to bring that up earlier.

Gossip Girl has this to say as we go to the break.

poor E, only 18 and already welcoming all the

makings of anyone's 19th nervous breakdown. That

was probably the most secure of the references

there.

Yeah, just read it again.

Poor E, only 18 and already welcoming all the

makings of anyone's 19th nervous breakdown. 19th

nervous breakdown is the name of the song.

19Th nervous breakdown. Okay, I don't know that

one.

Yeah, that's why. That was probably, like, the

deepest cut. They went.

Yeah, that was. That one went over my head.

We move into Act 4. Blair arrives at the party and

is immediately confronted by Dan and Serena, who

are upset she used Dan as an unwitting drug mule.

Because of her lack of sleep. Blair was suffering

from the Stroop effect and wrote purple on the

purple sticky note. Despite meeting pink, Eric

walks up and informs everyone that since there are

no drugs, Damien says Eric now owes him $100,000.

Conveniently, Serena knows that the checkbook for

Eric's trust fund is somewhere amongst the

birthday presents.

It's funny. When we talked about this previously,

I was thinking that Damian was going to be

pressuring Eric specifically for his trust fund,

and it turns out that it's Serena who's like, oh,

a hundred. I love Dan's like, a hundred grand.

Does anybody have that? And they all look at each

other like, yeah. Serena's like, oh, your trust

fund checkbook. This is an easy fix. Like, oh, 100

grand. Why didn't we start there instead of drug

muling for these people? Why didn't we just buy

100 grand worth of coke and sell it ourselves.

Well, like we said, Lily most likely has a slush

fund specifically for blackmail. Yeah, she has

gone there.

Yes, the silence fund. It's. It's the hush fund.

Chuck finds Rufus and Lily and informs them that

Russell's backer is Bradley Kidd and has invited

him to the party as he hasn't seen any of the

data, on keeping Bass Industries intact. When

Chuck walks away, Rufus tells Lily that all this

double agent business gets his engine revving.

Gross.

I thought they were cute.

They were so cute. They were. And it was like the

increasing meaninglessness of Rufus Humphrey on

this show. They were cute. He is just like

supportive husband now. So they were cute. The

flip side of it is, who are you, Rufus?

Who are you?

Who. Where's the rock and roller? Who is. Fuck the

man and, like, who is so anti all of the amorality

of the Upper east side? and now it's, like, landed

my lady. That's all I needed. Souls are overrated.

Nate and Reyna are playing video games and eating

ice cream with potato chips when Nate gets a call

from Chuck looking for Reyna. However, when Chuck

sees Russell arrive at the party, Chuck decides

it's better if Nate continues to distract Reina.

Reyna is no dummy, though, and she realizes that

Nate has been purposely trying to talk Chuck up

all day.

You noticed that? Wait, how did you. How did you

see through me?

Poor Nate.

Poor Nate. Oh, Nate, you are the sweetest Nate.

Just please don't go into finance because you're

destined for your dad's future if you do become a

therapist.

Lily finds Eric opening presents in his bedroom

and calls it Ghosh. She tells him, at least make a

list for thank you notes. And Lily returns to the

party, but is quickly replaced by Blair, who is on

the phone with the florist. Blair storms off to

find Penelope when she realizes she mixed up Eric

and Eleanor's gifts. Serena also leaves when she

gets a text from Ben to meet him downstairs.

Of course, Damien shows up. Of course Serena has

to go downstairs to meet Ben. But again, I also

thought it was funny this Lily. Also, this is

where Lily catches them going through the

presents, too, right?

Yeah.

Yeah. keep a list for thank you cards. But, I

mean, because it is so tacky to walk in and

they're just, like, tearing through all these

gifts.

I was so excited for a new addition to my stock

portfolio.

Yeah, that's right. They lie to her, too. And

they're like, okay, well, just keep going.

As, she's Exiting the party, the Serena rolls her

eyes when Damien gives her a smug a great party.

Damien goes into Eric's bedroom and wishes him, a

happy birthday.

I love Damien. In most of this episode, I loved I

because I the audacity and confidence of a rich

white man that Damien walks around this party

with. Again, the zero fucks ness of his. Like.

Like, yeah, I'm gonna go grab a cocktail. You. So

I know that's later, but just the confidence that

he walks around this party is hilarious.

Well, they apparently have zero security because

Vanessa also just walks right in.

Well, yeah, like I was thinking about that. Also,

when Ben shows up later, it's how anyone can just

at any time walk into the Vander woods and

Humphrey Bass apartment.

Yes. Serena finds Ben in the lobby. Ben is upset

that Serena is risking others to protect Lily, but

Serena is annoyed right back and ditches Ben to go

help Eric again.

Like, I don't think Ben is wrong, but I'm glad

Serena is choosing her family and choosing Eric

especially.

Blair introduces herself to Bryn Harold from the

opera board, who is talking with Lily. Lily then

breaks off to speak with Russell. Russell says he

is there to deliver a gift as an old family

friend, but slips in a compliment about Lily's

looks as well. Rufus walks up and makes a big

scene to scare Russell off.

Loved it. I loved Matt and his peacocking and

ruffling, and I loved it. I also felt like that

was a cameo, the Blair at least. So, yeah, yeah,

that felt like a cameo.

Blair doesn't get the interview she was hoping

for, but instead gets mocked for wearing

mismatched shoes. Brian Howard seems more

interested in meeting Reyna. We see Dan observing

the conversation in.

The background, and it's funny how the shoes are

hardly mismatched. if she was at a party, I

wouldn't have noticed that, I don't think.

But did you recognize the shoe on the left foot?

Was it from wizard of Oz?

No.

Oh, no, then I did not.

Well, there's a reason why she probably did

mismatched shoes. Because the pair is no longer

with Blair. She gave it away earlier this season.

Oh, it's the Roger Vivier buckled pump.

Who did she give her shoes to?

She gave one shoe.

Oh, right. To the prince, Louis. To the prince,

yes.

And the bowl that she got her mom. A Baccarat

bowl. Uh-huh. The first date that Blair and Louis

went on was at the Baccarat Crystal Room.

Yes. So some throwbacks. These types of throwbacks

are often foreshadowing. So, yeah, that's right.

She gave her shoe to the prince as a whole cute

Cinderella come find me in New York thing. So,

okay, that's a really interesting setup there.

As he is leaving the party, Russell sees Brad Kidd

arriving and decides to stay. When Chuck walks up

and thanks Mr. Kidd for accepting his invite.

And Russell, of course, hasn't left yet. So close.

Almost out the door. And then sees him coming in

and decides to stay.

Lily walks in on Eric writing Damian a check for

$100,000 and immediately snatches it before Eric.

Eric can hand it over. The scene cuts with some

narration from Gossip Girl and a commercial break.

I like the snatch. Well, phrasing Steve. I like

the way that Lily snatched the check. I'm not

saying that I liked Nevermind. And now it said

something. This has to come out.

this is what Gossip Girl says as we go to the

break. I hear a storm is threatening someone's

very life today. Let's hope they find some shelter

and it's not behind bars.

So we go into Act 5, and Lily assumes Eric is

buying a hundred thousand dollars worth of drugs.

And Damien excuses himself to grab a cocktail and

some Mac and cheese so they can figure out what to

do.

Yeah, again, I loved Damien's audacity just to be

like, you all have something to work out here.

I'll be in the other room. Let me know when we've

worked out how I'm getting my money. Like, no

fucks about Lily. Like, not worried about that at

all. Which is probably arguably the person that

you should be the most afraid of. Although also,

you can see that Lily probably doesn't necessarily

want to start a war with a duke too. So.

Yeah, she would just pay the $100,000.

Yeah. Which she does. You know, I mean. Yeah.

But yeah. Well, it's like, what M. Michael.

Michael.

What.

What does one drug cost? $100,000.

What is. What is one drug cost Michael? $100,000?

the drugs are in the banana stand.

Going back into the party allows Damian to observe

the confrontation between Russell, Chuck and Mr.

Kid. Russell attempts to paint Chuck as a sad boy

who lost his daddy's company to get Mr. Kidd away

from the party. But Mr. Kidd decides to stay and

hear Chuck out.

I thought that was a nice way to bring that

around, that Chuck's scheme. Chuck's schemes often

blow up in his face, so it was nice for one that

he deserved to win.

To get the win, Dan is chilling at the snow cone

stand when he spots Vanessa and marches over to

tell her off. Vanessa has the Incredulity to turn

Dan's accurate accusations around and walk away

from him. Yeah.

First of all, Vanessa, what Dan said on the phone

to Ben was, I don't want to see you. I'll get in

touch with you when I'm ready, to talk to you

because I don't want to see you. And when she

comes in and has the audacity to. To be like, oh,

so I guess I can't even come back to you either.

And Dan was like, remember that time that my

sister came forward and you threw her under the

bus and then skipped down?

Yeah.

Remember that? So, yeah, you really can't come

back until I say I'm ready for you. And when he's

like, vanessa, I'm not. When he, when she turned

and he's like, vanessa, I was about to be like,

dan, what are you possibly going to say? I'm not

chasing after you. Fuck yeah. Good job. Well, I

wouldn't stop if you said you were chasing after

me. Get the fuck out, Vanessa.

And like, she's bitching about always being an

outsider, but she never wanted to be part of the

Upper East. At least she said she did.

Yeah, she always hated them. She always did

everything she could when Dan went to constance or

to St. Jude. She did everything she could to

separate herself from them. She always wanted to

be with Dan. But like, yeah, Vanessa, to this

crowd you're an outsider because you have set that

up.

Be less of an asshole. These people might want to

hang out.

With you in the bedroom. Eric has just got done

explaining to Lily what he really needed the money

for. Lily apologizes and wishes he had come to her

first and finally admits that forging Serena's

signature was wrong. This allows Sarita and Lily

to reconcile.

It was nice that they kind of got that because

it's been the whole season that they've been

fighting up until now, right? Pretty much.

Pretty much. yeah.

I mean, since the end of last season really. So I

like that they're finally getting a moment of

reconciliation. I like that Lily takes

accountability and says, this is my problem to

handle. I'll pay them off, essentially. Oh, put

your $100,000 away, Eric. I'll pay them off. Is

that all he's asking for? That's adorable.

Dan finds Blair standing alone in Rufus office.

Dan admits that Blair was right about him trying

to avoid Ben and Serena at the loft in an attempt

to get her to open up about her competition

against Reyna. It doesn't work because Blair

continues to be in denial despite Being reminded

of her mismatched shoes, Dan steps out when the

new minion shows up to get the bowl that was

intended for Eleanor. The Minion also lets her

know that Jessica went to the wrong class and

Blair got an F. She also congratulates a surprise

Blair for a great blog post. And through a quick

deductive question, Blair realizes Dan must have

written the blog for her.

Cute. I love the whole scene. there was that weird

camera shot at one point that there was a, ah,

tilt angle from the floor when she hands the bowl

over, which felt like it was.

I didn't really notice that.

Yeah, it was one of those things that it felt like

it was trying to show something, but then nothing

came of it. So it was just an interesting camera.

Angle, but it really shows. I mean, the scene as a

whole encapsulates how well Blair and Dan already

know each other.

Yes. And how well they work together. They can

really complement each other.

Out on the street, Ben grabs and threatens Damien,

and Damien takes the point and hands the check

over to Ben. The camera pulls out to reveal that

Vanessa saw the whole conversation while waiting

for a cab.

Ben, am I to believe that you have contacts that

will just kill someone for free for you?

Apparently you don't have hitman money. We. We've

established this. You do not have hitman money

unless you go through your girlfriend who would

just have her mom do it.

Now this is, this is. I'm taking this more as he's

like a gang leader, essentially.

Well, and I had that. So, okay, so he's in prison

and it's like, these guys only stop beating Howie

because I told them to after 10 minutes. Takes a

lot less time to kill a person. And I do like the

threat of like, of, him, Damien being like, yeah,

whatever, bullshit. And he's like, okay, okay, it

can be bullshit, or you can wait. Wondering every

day the rest of your life walking down the street

if that person behind you is going to kill me. It

is a pretty weighty threat, but I'm just

struggling to believe that you have much authority

outside of prison. And also, like, you're this

mild mannered, super sweet teacher who goes to

prison and becomes a gang boss who starts wielding

that kind of power. Is he part of the Aryan

Nation? And we just don't realize. Does he have,

like, some really offensive tattoos underneath his

shirts? Is there a reason we haven't seen him

shirtless? What power do you have outside of

prison, Ben?

I buy the Aryan Nation thing.

Yeah, I. There's.

But Steve, this is also A warning to you. be

careful about reading too much Shakespeare.

Yeah. Yes, exactly.

And Gossip Girl has this to say about it. Turns

out what Ben did while doing time wasn't on his

side. Now Vanessa has him under his thumb.

I missed that one. I missed that one.

That was a double one.

That was. I missed that. I missed both of those

during the original thing. God damn. This is where

Vanessa sees.

Yeah, I said that. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. So, yeah. and also just fucking

Vanessa.

Fucking always right there.

Yeah. And Vanessa, if you're the reason that this

thing ends, it's like, thank you. But also, you're

such an asshole.

We move into the epilogue. In the lobby, Chuck

hands Mr. Kidd a file photo which presumably shows

the financials behind keeping bass industries

intact. Mr. Kidd thanks him and says he'll be in

touch either way. Chuck calls Nate to tell him

that he's ready for him to bring Reyna over. Nate

says he can't because Reyna figured out his plan

and then lies and says she already left. Reina

appears to have shifted her interest from Chuck to

Nate.

Upgrade.

Who in their right mind is like, I need this

person to remember they love me. I'm going to get

my best looking, most charming, most dreamy friend

who's not.

Going to subterfuge at all.

Yeah. And just. And have them take her on dates

all day to talk about me. Nate is not the wingman

you need here.

No, someone on the forums pointed out like, I

guess they were. They were like an account or

something and said like some accountant had to

stay late that night to fucking prepare that

folder for Chuck to save his daddy's business.

Yeah.

The guests are all gone. Eric, Serena, Rufus, Lily

and Chuck sit down for some cake in the living

room and recount the highlights of the night.

Despite no Reina, Chuck is happy. He got to see

Russell's face when Rufus accused him of sleeping

with Lily. Serena thought she was having ether

flashbacks when she saw Vanessa at the party. Eric

comments on Blair's mismatched shoes. Just then,

Ben walks in and hands Lily the check and lets

everyone know Damian won't be bothering them

anymore.

Sure he won't. I also thought it was really funny

that he walks in and Lily is like, Ben. And

Serena's like, yeah, he's not here, blah, blah,

blah. And then he walks in. Then before he leaves,

when once they have the discussion, what does Lily

call him?

Benjamin.

Benjamin. Okay, you are now on first. You are on

now full name child basis. Because, yeah, if Eric

had a longer name.

Serena pulls Bed aside to thank him for protecting

Lily. But Ben says he did it for Serena because he

doesn't want anything to stand in the way of the

relationship. Sarita nods to Ben, waves goodnight

to Lily, and then leaves with Ben.

Yeah.

Yay. So romantic.

Yeah, that's great, Ben. Now, you can take her

across state lines without getting arrested.

Yes.

So enjoy.

Blair shows up to the loft and tells him his blog

post was well executed, but not enough to save her

job. She admits that he was right about her trying

to speedrun life to get back to Chuck. Out of

jealousy for Reyna, Blair agrees to stay for pizza

as long as it's gorbe.

It was really sweet. I loved the confession and

the I'm. And now I'm here with Dan Humphrey. He

always has to have that stab. And it was just

Brooklyn with Dan Humphrey. Yeah, with Dan

Humphrey. I loved it. And they were just really

fun together.

Russell is alone in his office drinking dark

liquor when his contemplation is interrupted by

Damien. Damien offers to give Russell the

information about the forged affidavit in exchange

for $100,000 and add an amenity.

His price is really not high.

Make a profit off it, dude.

Yeah. Like, yeah, you look. I just need 100 grand.

It's like you could walk in there. Russell Thorpe

could probably give you seven figures for the

information you have.

But that is the last time we see Kevin Ziegers on

the show.

Oh, that Damian is Goodbye. Goodbye. So I was kind

of hoping that this would be the end. And then

because of that, I was like, oh, well, I guess

not. I guess we're. And again, Damian is by far is

far from my least favorite character. I think he

is top five guest stars or, you know, guest roles.

I think he's up there with later Georgina. I think

he's up there with. Not quite with Reina and

Cyrus, but a, really good for the role he played.

Yeah.

But also I feel like his time is done. Yeah. So I

think it's right.

Serena and Ben return to the empty Waldorf

apartment and decide to take the relationship to

the next level. Before we get the fade to black,

the camera pulls out and we see Serena's phone

vibrating with Vanessa on the caller id.

Gross. It was just gross and awkward. Again, like,

this entire season, whenever there is any kind of

sexual encounter, especially once it hits a bed,

everyone just seems to be, like, weird and like,

weirdly either aggressive or no chemistry in any

of it. It's just weird. Weird.

Dan and Blair are, watching the Philadelphia

Story. At the loft, they are laughing and eating

pizza. And then we get a short time skip to see

them curled up on the couch together. Blair

finally getting some sleep as the episode ends.

Fucking adorable.

Great.

Absolutely adorable. I loved them first just kind

of very platonically snuggling on the couch. And

you know, I've been calling for a romance here and

this feels more edging towards that. But their

friendship is also beautiful at this point. I love

the friendship that they have developed too. And

they were sitting. I, had a friend in high school

that my mom used to call us kittens. There was no

kind of romantic sexual anything. But she was one

of my closest friends. And we would curl up and

take naps on the couch all the time. And it really

kind of threw me back to that of them just

cuddling, very platonically, very safe and

friendly. I thought it was adorable.

Now, I forget, have you seen the Philadelphia

Story before?

I don't think so.

So the scene they showed was between Katharine

Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart. I mean, obviously Blair

is the Katherine Hepburn and dad is Jimmy Stewart.

Who's. Those two characters do make each other

better people, but they don't end up together.

That's really interesting.

Chuck is very much the Cary Grant character. Who's

the ex that everyone loves. He's fun, loving,

likes to drink and party. But there's also a third

suitor. Who's the current fiance? George, who's

kind of boring. He's a teetotaler, literally. So

who is going to be the George?

Well, I mean, current cast. There's Nate, who is

an option. You see this stuff with Regina

happening. But he was always Blair's old standby.

But I think it's more likely that something like

the prince would, would come back in and be the,

the third wheel, essentially. that one makes a lot

of sense.

And I will say that it's probably a good idea to

watch the Philadelphia Story before season five,

because the first half of the season is basically

based on the movie.

Oh, no kidding. Just like this one is When Harry.

Met Sally, second half of this season.

Yeah. Yeah, that's interesting. Okay, cool. I'll

have to watch that.

And this is how Gossip Girl ends the episode. When

you do finally get what you want, the problem is

there's always someone who's trying to take it

away. And all that wanting makes us blind to the

fact that things aren't exactly what we think they

are. Maybe it's better sometimes to just get what

you need. Xo, xo, Gossip Girl.

That is our episode. What is coming next?

I think that things are going to take a turn with

Dan and Blair. I feel like they have to any minute

now. I've been saying it for weeks, but I feel

like it's really kind of. This was episode 16. 16.

I think there's 22 this year out of 22.

So there's six episodes left. So I, I think

that'll probably happen by the end of the season.

But I feel like that that might be something that

they want to really lean into next season. I think

that we're going to see, Nate Reyna thing is going

to happen, which also means a blow up between

Chuck and Nate.

again, again, another recycled plot line.

Yep. And then also just this Russell stuff and now

him having info on Lily. We're going to see how

that plays out. I don't anticipate Lily doing any

jail time or making any huge concessions, but he.

She might Chuck. I don't know. She might Chuck

over praising Steve.

Let's get into segments.

this week in Phantom, we traveled in the Wayback

Machine to the Television without pity forums from

2011. Hello there, Peabody here. And this is the

Wayback Machine for traveling through time. And

this is my boy, Sherman.

Speak, Sherman. Hello.

Goodbye. Overall impression? Most continue to be

bored.

Overall, I get it. I was less bored with this

episode than I have been.

I really like the Rufus and Lily stuff. I thought

that they were being cute and funny and I like

when they're just having fun and being parents.

Yeah, I liked this episode a lot more than I've

liked the most recent episodes.

and ah, the Bass industry storyline seems to

finally be going somewhere.

Yeah. Yeah.

Dare continues to be the highlight of the show.

Yes.

Yes, 100%.

They had a lot of hate for Blair's storyline of

trying to speedrun just to get Chuck back. Like it

seemed like they were surprised by her reveal when

it was told right in the Saints and Sitters party

what she was doing.

Yeah.

So, yeah, I agree it's misogynistic story, but why

are you just realizing that now?

Yeah. But yeah, it's not like Gossip Girl to not

have Blair do this. Like, this is very much. Yeah,

I agree. It's very much in character.

Nate and Rainer are cute.

They are.

Several people have mentioned they haven't watched

the show in a while, but came back when they heard

about Dare.

Oh yeah.

Vanessa coming back is lame.

Very lame. I did not miss her. And when she. And

she came in for such a. A nothing part. that she

came in really essentially the whole thing was

just so that she could witness. Yeah. Ben and Ben

and Damien and why did it have to be Vanessa? Why

couldn't anyone have. I don't know.

Because they're still paying her.

Yeah.

As a series regular.

Yeah.

They kill off Chuck. Train is gaining steam.

Wow. Really? They're they, there's some sort.

Of people said they wish those muggers from last

season had better aim.

Yeah. I mean, I feel like they kind of missed the

boat on killing Chuck right now.

Yeah.

I don't think they can it. He's too intertwined in

other stuff. I feel like they could have and kept

a really good show. They would have killed him off

at the end of season three.

Yeah, I agree. Serena sucks. Yeah, pretty much.

Yeah.

Ben is creepy.

Yep. Yep. Yeah.

They also think Lily forgave Chuck too soon.

Yeah, I just, I. I think that Lily is equipped to

move on from things fast. She just does that all

the time. So I think that she just includes Chuck

in that. I think that if she had a soul, she might

feel longer. But yeah.

So a lot of people seem to think Dan already has

romantic feelings for Blair. I totally disagree. I

think he's still pining for Serena and ah, Blair

is more of his Vanessa replacement.

Yes. Yeah. You are 100% accurate that this is the

friend and a friend that is.

That challenges him.

an equal who challenges him who will go to the

movies and do the artsy movie festivals and will

do. Yeah. She's a better Vanessa. Which we've also

talked before about how she and Vanessa kind of

occupy the same roles in other ways. Like that's

why they were competing last year.

It was a shame because they actually, in the books

they had a, friendship run.

Oh, Vanessa and Blair.

Yeah.

Oh, interesting.

That is it for this week in Phantom. let's go

ahead and move into episode grades. You went first

last week, so I'm going to go first this week.

Yeah, I thought this was a much better episode.

They brought in the big guns with, with Sarah

Goodman and Norm Buckley and they, they definitely

pulled this episode up from the previous ones. And

I landed at a B plus.

Yeah, I had the exact same thing that I thought

some of the end was late. Some. You're not going

to get me on board with Ben. I don't know if you

can get to an A while Ben is on the show because

his plot line is just inherently so disgusting.

Outside of that, I feel like they really captured

some classic Gossip Girl stuff with the exception

of also not having everyone meet at the party at

the end because Nate was there when Nate was

there.

Yeah, fate's irrelevant.

All in all, I landed on a B as well. I thought

this was the best episode we've had in a month.

Yeah, we do this weekly, folks, so a month for us

is an actual month.

Moving over to Stockwatch. Going up, I had Dan

because he was great friend all episode. Ben

because he got what he wanted, I guess. So I. I

gotta give him an up even though I don't like him

still. Serena also, same thing. She got what she

wanted. She was also a good brother to Eric.

Sister to Eric.

Yeah, that's right. Lily, because she finally

admitted what she did wrong. She helped out Chuck

and she had some fun with Rufus. I also gave Rufus

up because he was inoffensive and was just having

a good time. I will always give Rufus off when

he's just having a good time.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Chuck going up because he looks like he's turned

the tables on Thorpe a bit. We'll see what happens

with that when the affidavit news gets out. But

at, the moment he's going up, I had Mr. Kid going

up because he found out he was getting kind of

screwed over a little bit.

I had Nate going up because he looks like he's got

to do a romance. And same for Reyna.

Yeah. Yep.

But that is it for going up.

I originally. I actually had all of the same ups.

I originally had Reina going down for blowing off

her meeting, but I'm switching her to an up as

well because she did have a great day and has some

great.

And she blew off my back of truck. So that's all

to back up.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And yeah, exactly. did you give

Eric an up?

I did not.

I'm going to give Eric an up because he got off

out from under Damien's thumb for now, seemingly,

anyway. I'm trying to think of there. I felt like

there was. I was on the fence with Russell because

he got played. He also got information at the end.

But I think I'm going to leave him either neutral

or I might send him down. I. I'll let you know

when it's my turn.

So I actually had Eric and Damien being neutral

because they kind of both started in the. The and

the episode in the same spot. They were.

That's fair. That's fair. yeah. And I definitely

agree that Damian stayed neutral for me too.

But going down, I had Russell because he lost out

on the deal. Who knows what's going to come, how

he's going to use the information he has. He might

blow up in his face. Who knows? Vanessa, because

she's just sucked.

Yep. Yep.

Blair going down because she lost her job. Yes.

And the Minions going down because they were

screwing up all episode.

Yeah. I had all of the same. And I also want to.

Including Russell.

Yeah. Yes. Yeah, I am going to include Russell

because I'm also going to include. Because he was

mentioned Howie, because he is the perennial fuck

up and that is part of why he was mentioned in

his. And so I'm going to give Howie the down as

well, and I believe that will be it. Yeah.

But here's the best outfits from the last episode

we see.

Moving over to best outfit for me, I had Blair's

Millie Collette tweed sheath dress with the black

leggings that she had at the beginning of the

episode.

Oh, nice.

Although I wasn't a huge fan of the silver jacket

she was wearing over at that W. Right, right. Not.

Not a big fan of, shoulder pads.

No. Yeah, they just look, well, you know, you know

how they look. Yeah, they just look weird. I'm

giving it. I very rarely give it door, but I'm

giving it to Serena. Had that, like, polka dot

sort of thing happening underneath that like, sort

of silver Shaw, I want to say. so I'm going to

give it to Serena in this one for. For having a

very tactful dress for her brother's party.

That is it for segments.

Do you have anything you want to plug this week?

I don't think that this is going to come out

before my next gig. So as of right now, it's just.

Check out my TikTok. Steve Marchon. M A R C H I O

N. that's my TikTok. That's my Instagram. Go ahead

and find me there and keep in touch with what I do

have coming up.

And so to this week, this past week of recording

this, Carrie Tagawa, the actor passed away. So I'm

going to go ahead and recommend the 1995 Mortal

Kombat movie. Also fitting that it is the 30th

anniversary.

Yeah, yeah.

But, he was also. So. He played Shang Tsung.

okay.

Even if you haven't seen that movie, I'm sure

you've seen your Son is mine.

Yes. Yeah, I've seen. I've seen the important

clips, but I think it's.

It's actually a pretty decent movie for, you know,

the time it's definitely the best the video game

movies of that era.

Okay. Okay.

It's, it's super campy.

Yeah. And I don't know if I have seen parts of it

or if I've seen it. Really inebriated, I believe,

maybe a little combination of the two.

But, yeah, I mean, Carrie Taga was definitely a

highlight of it. He nailed the role. And

apparently he's a really nice guy. I heard a story

this week about how he agreed to star in some

guy's student film.

Oh, nice.

But he's also been in stuff like, he was in man in

the High Castle. he was in Revenge with Conor

Apollo for eight episodes. he's also in the movie

Johnny Tsunami.

Okay.

Disney Channel movie about surfing.

Okay. Okay. I've heard of it. I think. Was that

from like the 99? Early. Okay. Late 90s. Okay.

But that is it for my plugs. But if you want to

follow me on social media, you can find me on

Instagram and bluesky@hotcapicola. That's H O T C

A P I C O L A. And if you want to follow the

podcast, you can find us on Instagram, TikTok and

Threads at non Judging Breakfast Pod. You can also

find links to our Discord server, our Patreon, and

our subreddit on our website nonjudging breakfast

pod.com and.

If you'd like to get in touch with us, we would

love to hear what you have to say. And when we get

the chance, we'll even read your email here on our

show. Send us that email@,

nonjudgingbreakfastpodmail.com and we'd love to

hear what you have to say. Also while you're

listening, if you could go ahead and hit the like

subscribe that follow button, subscribe and go

ahead and leave us some comments on what you're

thinking when you're hearing this. Those comments

really help our visibility in Spotify and on Apple

podcasts. And finally, go ahead and let your

friends know what you're listening to. Tell the

people at work. Tell the people that you hang out

with, or tell the people that you just kind of

like what you're listening to and make us your new

water.

Cooler talk and we will be back next week to Talk

about Season 4 Episode 17, Empire of the Sun. The

episode description reads, ben's mother comes to

town forcing issues to the service between Ben and

Serena.

Oh Jesus, good. Can they force the issue of this

is really fucking weird and you shouldn't be

dating the person who sent you to jail. Well, the

person who sent you to jail's daughter who sent

you to jail for dating this person, even though

you weren't really dating her, but you kind of

were just not calling it that Grooming. You were.

Sorry. Sorry. You groomed my daughter?

Until, Next time. You know you love us.

XOXO Every time you walk away run away you take a

piece of me with you there Every time you walk

away or run away you take a piece of m me with you

there every time you walk away or run away you

take a piece of m me with you there oh it seems

I'm walking right to your door my heart's still

resting looking for something more Are you ever

gonna see everything you mean to me I'm trying

really hard to believe every time you walk away or

run away you take a piece of me with you there

Every time you walk away or run away you take a

piece of me with you there every time you walk

away or run away you take a piece of me with you

there never feels right when I'm out here on my

own I left last night and it feels like way too

long are you ever gonna see everything you mean to

me I'm trying really hard to believe every time

you walk away run away you take a piece of meat

with you there every time you walk away or run

away you take a piece of m me with you there Every

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

me with you you there come back to me smile and

you'll make my life complete every time you walk

away or run away you take a piece of me with you

there Every time you walk away or run away you

take a piece of me with you you there Every time

you walk away or run away you take a piece of me

with you there Every time you walk away or run

away take a piece of me with you there Every time

you walk away or run away you take a piece of me

with you there every time you walk away or run

away you take a piece of me you with you there

Every time you walk away or run away you take a

piece of me with you there every time you walk

away or run away you take a piece of me with you

there.