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S4E13 - "Damien Darko"
Episode 13 • 1st December 2025 • Non Judging Breakfast Pod • Mithril Chain Network
00:00:00 01:02:26

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In this episode of The Non-Judging Breakfast Pod, Leif and Steve tackle Gossip Girl Season 4, Episode 13 — “Damien Darko.” As the holiday season rolls in, the drama heats up on the Upper East Side. Serena's life gets tangled with the return of Ben, while Eric grapples with his own choices and friendships. Meanwhile, Blair and Dan's rivalry takes an unexpected turn as they navigate their internships at W Magazine.

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Produced by Leif Capicola and Steve Marchion. 

Edited and mixed by Leif Capicola.

The Gossip Girl Theme Performed By Steve Marchion.

Transcripts

Steve:

And Ben just go away. And also everybody, we do

Steve:

remember that Ben started the plot to ruin

Steve:

Serena's life. I know that Serena is cool with

Steve:

that, but can everyone else, like, fucking

Steve:

remember that this guy in jail was not a good

Steve:

person? I met some bad people in jail, but now I'm

Steve:

out.

Leif:

Hey, Upper east siders, and all you scandal loving

Leif:

listeners out there, you just tuned into the non

Leif:

judging breakfast pod where the coffee is strong,

Leif:

the waffles are fresh, and the gossip is hotter

Leif:

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

Leif:

Gossip Girl veteran.

Steve:

And I'm Steve, the newbie, the greenhorn, the

Steve:

rookie, the. What are we calling me now in season

Steve:

four, Leaf?

Leif:

I don't know, but I think I'd rather live in a

Leif:

halfway house than with someone who only halfway

Leif:

trusts me.

Steve:

Easy thing to say from your $2,000 suit. So here's

Steve:

the deal, folks.

Leif:

The guy, $6,000 suit. Michael.

Steve:

So here's the deal, folks. Leaf's been watching

Steve:

Gossip Girl since the very beginning, and I'm

Steve:

tuning in for the first time. And together, we are

Steve:

your dynamic duo, bringing you all the drama,

Steve:

romance, and sometimes questionable fashion

Steve:

choices of this iconic 2007 series.

Leif:

Bring your magnifying glasses, because each week

Leif:

we're dissecting every juicy detail of the show

Leif:

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

Leif:

uncover those sneaky little Easter eggs, and of

Leif:

course, serves up some piping hot behind the

Leif:

scenes tea. And expect some iconic fandom moments

Leif:

too, because what's a deep dive without a little

Leif:

drama?

Steve:

And since we are all about inclusivity here at the

Steve:

non judging breakfast pod, there is always a seat

Steve:

for you and at the non judging breakfast table. So

Steve:

go ahead and grab your mimosa or a cup of coffee

Steve:

or roll something that you stole from Nate and

Steve:

Chuck. And let's go ahead and get into this.

Leif:

Let's get into this. And happy, Thanksgiving to

Leif:

those of you who have celebrated it. And welcome

Leif:

to the holiday season. Is December 1st when you're

Leif:

listening to this.

Steve:

Okay. Yes. My birthday's tomorrow then. yeah.

Steve:

Welcome. And we are. Yeah, like you said, in the

Steve:

holiday season now. Yep.

Leif:

And they are. It's a winner on the show as well.

Steve:

Yes. January.

Leif:

Yes, Almost February.

Steve:

Yes.

Leif:

We are here, of course, to Talk about Season 4,

Leif:

Episode 13, Damien Darko original, air date was

Leif:

January 31, 2011 and of course was based on the

Leif:

movie Donnie Darko, directed by Richard Kelly,

Leif:

starring Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Steve:

Oh, okay.

Leif:

Came out in 2001 I didn't.

Steve:

Yeah, I forgot that Maggie Gyllenhaal was in that

Steve:

too. I remember Jake Gyllenhaal because that was

Steve:

like, one of his first movies too.

Leif:

I think, pretty early on. Yeah.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

This episode was written by Laila Gerstein, who's

Leif:

back. She did in season two or first episode,

Leif:

Southern, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. And then in

Leif:

season three, she did Rufus getting Married, the

Leif:

Last Days of the Disco stick, and the 16 year old

Leif:

virgin.

Steve:

They aren't getting better. They are not getting

Steve:

any better as.

Leif:

Ah. Episode was directed by Jeremiah. Check. This

Leif:

is his third and final episode directing Gossip

Leif:

Girl.

Steve:

Not. I'm not upset about that either.

Leif:

Previously did It's a dad, dad, dad, dad World,

Leif:

and Goodbye, Columbia.

Steve:

I did love dad, dad, dad, dad World.

Leif:

That's good.

Steve:

Yeah. Goodbye Columbia. Was. Was that the key

Steve:

party or was that the one after it?

Leif:

That was a couple. After. That was the one after

Leif:

Eva leaves and Chuck's super pissed off at Blair

Leif:

and he's like. He's like, stop her. Every stop.

Steve:

Right. Yeah, that one had some funny moments, but

Steve:

was overall not a great.

Leif:

Why don't you give us that vulture recap?

Steve:

Here we go. In its fourth season, Gossip Girl has

Steve:

developed an almost Shakespearean rhythm. There

Steve:

are certain constants. There will be double

Steve:

entendres from Chuck, reference heavy barbs from

Steve:

Blair in jokes about the Brooklyn milieu. And each

Steve:

scene like clockwork, Serena van der Woodsen's

Steve:

breasts will appear draped in different outfits,

Steve:

as regular as the law and order. As far as plot,

Steve:

we know by now that there will always be a

Steve:

misunderstanding or a misreading of motives, that

Steve:

someone will be betrayed and that everyone will

Steve:

come together at a fancy dress party at which much

Steve:

is revealed. And we've learned that as soon as

Steve:

someone demands someone disappear, as Ben told

Steve:

Damian in last night's episode, we're definitely

Steve:

going to see more of them. But despite all of the

Steve:

melodrama, Gossip Girl often contains important

Steve:

nuggets of truth about New York and life.

Leif:

Indeed.

Steve:

Sure.

Leif:

Very Shakespearean.

Steve:

Very. Although Shakespearean is always written in

Steve:

five acts, whereas they tend to write in three in

Steve:

an epilogue. So it's actually much more of a

Steve:

traditional theater. American, theater. I think

Steve:

that's American theater.

Leif:

Well, we get into Act 1 with a gossip Girl

Leif:

monologue. Brrr. Upper East Siders, it's cold

Leif:

outside. As February approaches, we need to find

Leif:

ways to fight frostbite. Some keep warm the old

Leif:

fashioned way. Some seek comfort of loved ones.

Leif:

And some try to keep away the gloom by painting

Leif:

Things bright. Chuck and Rainer are waking up and

Leif:

agree to keep it clean in business and dirty in

Leif:

between the sheets.

Steve:

Yep. And it's funny because already it's like,

Steve:

well, we know where this is going. We know that we

Steve:

know where this is going. Like Vulture said, we

Steve:

see where there's going to be a misunderstanding

Steve:

here.

Leif:

Yeah. Eric texts Serena, inviting her to lunch,

Leif:

but she leaves him on reading.

Steve:

yeah, of course. We're Eric.

Leif:

Yeah. Serena is much more concerned with

Leif:

discussing her breakfast with Ben. Blair is too

Leif:

happy to judge right now because she is starting a

Leif:

new mystery internship.

Steve:

Why won't you tell Serena? Interesting. But

Steve:

obviously, plot wise, you can't tell her because

Steve:

she'll know where Dan is going. But, yeah, okay, I

Steve:

should just say now I hated this episode, that I

Steve:

absolutely. I usually say it earlier or I wait,

Steve:

but I fucking hated this episode. Okay, I got it

Steve:

out.

Leif:

Dan calls Lily to thank her for getting him an

Leif:

internship. She invites him to a celebratory

Leif:

breakfast. Dan declines because just like Blair,

Leif:

he is going into the office early.

Steve:

I know, I see it all the time on this show, but

Steve:

when they took that shot, when they had the shot

Steve:

of Lily and Rufus at the table eating, and the

Steve:

table was like, in a different location than it

Steve:

usually is, I felt, because it was closer to the

Steve:

windows, it seemed maybe the.

Leif:

Caterers brought through a table.

Steve:

Right. Well, I was sitting there just thinking,

Steve:

like, you have two people, a, ah, whole cake, like

Steve:

four bagels and whatever else they were actively

Steve:

eating. The amount of food waste that the Van der

Steve:

Woodsens produce alone could feed half of New

Steve:

York. Like their brunches that they have, when

Steve:

it'll be like three people and it'll be an entire

Steve:

spread.

Leif:

Yeah, indeed. They waste a lot of food.

Steve:

Yes.

Leif:

Lily and Rufus are having breakfast. And Lily

Leif:

bemoans Erica. Serena still not talking to her

Leif:

even after she got Ben out on parole. Rufus points

Leif:

out that he will still have a criminal record.

Steve:

I think Rufus is really interesting right now

Steve:

where he's like, okay, I love Lily. I love my wife

Steve:

and she's fucking nuts and she's not a great

Steve:

person. And so I need to find ways to rectify my

Steve:

conscience and maybe get her to hear some of what

Steve:

I'm saying to her. It's like, you did ruin the

Steve:

man's life, sweetie.

Leif:

But, it does actually answer our question from

Leif:

last week. That it is parole.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, that he's out on parole.

Leif:

Ben and Serena are having breakfast at a cafe. Ben

Leif:

announces that he got a job offer up in Ithaca.

Leif:

Serena Was hoping to spend some time with Ben, but

Leif:

he is leaving tomorrow. Serena hopes that they can

Leif:

keep in touch, but I'm pretty sure Ben is planning

Leif:

to ghost her. However, as Ben is leaving the

Leif:

diner, he sees a help wanted sign in the window

Leif:

and has second thoughts. Serena calls Rufus for a

Leif:

favorite Ben.

Steve:

First of all, let her buy you breakfast. When he's

Steve:

like, oh, no, no, I got this time. You got last

Steve:

time. at the very beginning of the scene, it's

Steve:

like, Ben, she doesn't even know that things are

Steve:

paid for.

Leif:

It's dead all over again.

Steve:

Yeah, it really is. And also, this, like, I'm

Steve:

going to Ithaca, but I'm going to look at this

Steve:

help wanted sign. So clearly I'm not going to

Steve:

Ithaca. I'm just trying to ghost you.

Leif:

But what is Serena's plan? He supposedly is

Leif:

getting a job to work on a farm. So her way to

Leif:

dissuade that is to allow him to garden at this

Leif:

community garden.

Steve:

Oh, he wants to farm. I know how he can farm here

Steve:

in New York. It's like, okay, Serena, my stepdad

Steve:

can help you. Vocal farm.

Leif:

it turns out Dan and Blair were both fibbing about

Leif:

going to the office early because they were

Leif:

actually going to meet up for coffee and movie

Leif:

chat. They debate on which exhibit they should go

Leif:

to together, but neither reveals to the other what

Leif:

internship they got.

Steve:

I thought this was cute. It was one of my. One of

Steve:

the highlights of this episode. The two of them,

Steve:

who now have established these movie dates, who

Steve:

are now arguing over what movie to see, but they

Steve:

still have their passive aggressive banter, but

Steve:

now it is so much more friendly and about

Steve:

something that they both love. So I just found

Steve:

this to be a great new step in their friendship.

Leif:

Yeah. Damien sees Serena on the street and tries

Leif:

to apologize for his part in her getting drugged,

Leif:

but Serena basically tells him to fuck off.

Steve:

Yeah, I didn't know when she. When I sold someone

Steve:

ether that they were going to use it to knock

Steve:

someone out. Like, that's what ether's for. Why

Steve:

are you selling people ethereum? Why are you

Steve:

getting either? Where are you getting ether from?

Steve:

Who still has access to ether?

Leif:

But in all fairness, Sarita is perfectly willing

Leif:

to forgive Ben and Juliet, who are, like, way more

Leif:

directly involved. Yes.

Steve:

The people that actually drugged her and actually,

Steve:

like, tried to ruin her life. And she's like, but,

Steve:

Damien, your profession hurts people. It's like,

Steve:

yeah, ridiculous. And I'll also say, once again,

Steve:

most of this episode, Damian isn't the bad guy

Steve:

here.

Leif:

He's just doing his job, he's.

Steve:

Yeah. I mean, he sold some shit to somebody who

Steve:

used it to try to hurt Serena, and that was

Steve:

shitty, and he feels bad that that happened. But

Steve:

he's a drug dealer, and I'm not mad at people

Steve:

being drug dealers. Make them legal and people

Steve:

wouldn't have to be drug dealers. Regulate the

Steve:

market and people wouldn't have to do it.

Leif:

Let's regulate the market on ether, folks.

Steve:

Just regulate that ether market. I'm talking more

Steve:

about the recreational drugs that he sells. I'm

Steve:

definitely not advocating for. For less regulated

Steve:

ether. Let's make that clear.

Leif:

Blair is meeting with her new boss at W magazine.

Leif:

Blair thinks that she is a, special little

Leif:

snowflake. But Epperly introduces her to Blair

Leif:

Waldorfs of Princeton, Yale, Penn, and Parsons.

Leif:

Oh, and also the Blair Waldorf of nyu, AKA Dan on

Leif:

Prix.

Steve:

Yes, I did like this scene. I liked most of the

Steve:

Dan Blair stuff relative to the rest of the

Steve:

episode. I found the other.

Leif:

Yeah, it's the wet bright spot.

Steve:

Yeah. The other three plot lines were dumb and. Or

Steve:

boring. This. This one, even though this one, I

Steve:

was annoyed by the end of it, too. This one, I did

Steve:

like Dan walking into this internship. I like the

Steve:

whole, like, you know, I see who you think you

Steve:

are, but all of these people are the Blair

Steve:

Waldorfs from their school. So you are not the

Steve:

only one. and what's funny is one of them, I think

Steve:

is from Yale, right?

Leif:

Yes. Yeah. Princeton, Penn and Parsons.

Steve:

Right. So that should have been you, Blair, if you

Steve:

didn't fuck up going to Yale, so. Or it would have

Steve:

been you from the NYU one. If you didn't transfer

Steve:

out of nyu, you probably would have gotten that

Steve:

over Dan. but I did like this. Also, the actor who

Steve:

plays Everly Epperly was in a recent show called

Steve:

We Were Liars. I think that's what it's called.

Steve:

Which. Good show. Check it out. It's like kind of

Steve:

a teen. It's also like a teen drama.

Leif:

And Gossip Girl takes us to the first act break

Leif:

with, nothing says January like a brand new cold

Leif:

war. And we move into Act 2. Jonathan comes by the

Leif:

penthouse to drop off a book Eric left at school.

Leif:

Lily learns that Elliot broke up with Eric and

Leif:

that he didn't tell her about it. This really gets

Leif:

her worried because she thought Eric had stayed

Leif:

over at Elliot's house last night. The audience

Leif:

then finds out that Eric is at Damien's place.

Steve:

You know, where'd this come from?

Leif:

You know, like the last, time they Interacted.

Leif:

Eric was like, totally hated him.

Steve:

Yeah. Then he. Yeah. Left him. And so now Jonathan

Steve:

is coming to. Stopped by to check on him. But also

Steve:

the whole like, Elliot breakup thing, like, to me

Steve:

it just says that Elliot got another job on

Steve:

another show because, like, why are we now

Steve:

forcing. Why are we forcing plot shit on Eric, who

Steve:

is.

Leif:

Well, because you're down to characters.

Steve:

He's usually so much more plot proof than this.

Steve:

And I like when Eric. When Eric is not plot proof,

Steve:

Eric is no longer the adult. And Eric has served

Steve:

this role on the show as being the only fucking

Steve:

adult, period. okay, I'll Eleanor Waldorf and

Steve:

Cyrus, but I'm talking about the Van der Woodsen

Steve:

Humphries. Eric is the most grown up person on

Steve:

this show. So when you start giving him, even in

Steve:

this episode where he's the one doing something

Steve:

wrong and he comes back, he's like, ah, yeah, but

Steve:

I, you know, this is why. And I see the error of

Steve:

the ways, you know, So I didn't like dragging him

Steve:

into.

Leif:

Yeah, I guess someone else. The C plot.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

You don't have Jenny. You don't have Vanessa.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Would you rather have Vanessa?

Steve:

We did have Vanessa mentioned.

Leif:

Yes, we did. We did. She had dissed.

Steve:

Yeah, she did get dissed. So we have that. We'll

Steve:

always have that. We'll always have Vanessa

Steve:

sucking. But no, you're right. Give it, give it to

Steve:

Connor.

Leif:

Serena, brings a bag of what looks like cleaning

Leif:

tools, but I'm guessing it's supposed to be

Leif:

gardening tools, to Ben's halfway house. What was

Leif:

in that bag?

Steve:

That's the thing is that I didn't really know. But

Steve:

it's really funny that you point that out that

Steve:

like, because it would be like, what tools do I

Steve:

bring to somebody who gardens? Like, here's a mop

Steve:

and here's, plunger.

Leif:

And then you get the guy out front that I don't

Leif:

know if he's supposed to be, creepy or helpful.

Steve:

Yeah. How he approaches and he's like, can I help

Steve:

you? Oh, your buddy's in a halfway house. If he

Steve:

lives here. Yeah, this is a halfway house.

Steve:

Anything else I can do for you, ma'?

Leif:

Am?

Steve:

So weird.

Steve:

Like, the directing here is just all over the

Steve:

place.

Leif:

In the middle of a meeting, Dan and Blair are

Leif:

bickering over which one of them should quit. When

Leif:

Blair tries to make Dan look bad, it backfires and

Leif:

gets him praise and network opportunities from

Leif:

Upperly.

Steve:

Was it established at some point here that only

Steve:

one of these interns is going to Remain?

Leif:

Yeah. Why can't they just work together?

Steve:

Yeah. I never got the impression that this was a

Steve:

competition, that someone had to remain. And I get

Steve:

that Blair is just always going to treat

Steve:

everything like a competition, but why? Why are

Steve:

you sabotaging people?

Leif:

Why? Blair had this image of her being the only

Leif:

intern, right?

Steve:

Yes. But Dan could also just sit here and shoot

Steve:

that shit down because Blair does listen to him.

Steve:

So if. If Dan was just like, hey, look, we both

Steve:

got this internship and we both can be here and do

Steve:

it because there's room.

Leif:

But Dan is also just as competitive as.

Steve:

Yeah, he is. He is. And especially against an

Steve:

Upper East Sider, Especially when he wants to have

Steve:

that Brooklyn bride.

Leif:

Eric is surprised to find Lily and Jonathan

Leif:

waiting for him. When he gets home, Eric will only

Leif:

reveal that he stayed with a friend and tells Lily

Leif:

that she is the reason why he keeps secrets. After

Leif:

Louie walks away, Jonathan asks Eric to be his

Leif:

date to the party tonight. Yeah.

Steve:

Jonathan, like, invites himself to be Eric's date,

Steve:

which I thought was really weird too. It felt to

Steve:

me, I know that it's not what it was going for. I

Steve:

know that it was like a sweet Jonathan is trying

Steve:

to make up with Eric thing, but it really felt

Steve:

like Jonathan wanted to go to this party and Eric

Steve:

was his in, you know? Oh, but I hear you're going

Steve:

to a party tonight. Maybe you need support.

Leif:

Back at W. Blair is successfully sabotaging all

Leif:

the other interns, all except for Dan, who knows

Leif:

all about her games by this point. Dan continues

Leif:

to outshine her at every turn. Although Blair does

Leif:

win the battle of strength when she rips the

Leif:

stapler out of his hand.

Steve:

What's that over there? It's Georgina's baby. That

Steve:

was funny. and. And I did, you know, I liked the

Steve:

Dan walking in with the cappuccino from. Decorated

Steve:

perfectly from the coffee shop. How he was just

Steve:

like, yep, Blair's gonna do shit. Dan just stepped

Steve:

right in when. When she did.

Leif:

How he strolls into Chuck and Nate's suite wearing

Leif:

a $2,000 suit to tell Nate that he got a job at

Leif:

Thorf Enterprises. Like the most natural thing in

Leif:

the world. He breezes past Chuck on his way out

Leif:

the door, and Nate and Chuck clearly believe

Leif:

Thorpe hired Howie for more than his shitty

Leif:

investment skills.

Steve:

And Howie's like, I'm really good at what I do.

Steve:

And it's like, are you? Because the last time you

Steve:

did it, you wound up in jail. How good are you at

Steve:

what you do?

Leif:

Howie, Dan and Blair are on the floor Packing gift

Leif:

bags and still bickering. When they hear that Lynn

Leif:

Hirschberg dropped out, they agree to a fair

Leif:

competition on who can book the best replacement

Leif:

author. And the loser walks.

Steve:

Is that the same author that we saw a few seasons

Steve:

ago from Dan?

Leif:

Yes.

Steve:

Jeremiah Harris. Jeremiah Harris is like a

Steve:

recurring, character now. Like, in that sense. I

Steve:

thought so.

Leif:

And he's played by the real life author, James

Leif:

McIlrony.

Steve:

Yeah, because I remember, the first guy they had.

Steve:

He's the first guy, and then they.

Leif:

Replaced him with an actual generic actor.

Steve:

With an actor who the guy's like, you're going to

Steve:

write for the New Yorker and do a spin piece on

Steve:

Bart Bass. Or a smear campaign on Bart Bass,

Steve:

intern in high school.

Leif:

I, like the other scene. So how was your first

Leif:

day? Serena shows up at the penthouse to take Eric

Leif:

to lunch and hands Lily an envelope that was

Leif:

waiting for her out front. Lily clearly doesn't

Leif:

want to open the envelope in front of Serena and

Leif:

Rufus, but Serena forces the issue. Looks like

Leif:

Lily tried to pay Ben to stay away from Serena,

Leif:

but he returned it.

Steve:

I love this. This was like, well, we don't need to

Steve:

open this now. Why not? Mom? Nothing. I'm sure

Steve:

there's nothing. I don't even know what's in here.

Steve:

And she just grabs it and opens it. And I love

Steve:

how, like, Rufus is.

Leif:

Like, I thought you were gonna get him a place to

Leif:

say. Well, $30,000 can get you a place to say.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, 30. Yeah. 30 grand is not gonna ruin

Steve:

his life, especially in. In 2010. Like, that would

Steve:

have gone a lot further. But I also love how Rufus

Steve:

is like, I gotta go for a walk. I've got to get

Steve:

some. I've got to go reconcile some more. I've got

Steve:

to go appease my conscience somehow.

Leif:

And Gossip Girl takes us to the next act break.

Leif:

Seems Serena's getting frosty with her mother over

Leif:

an envelope of cold, hard cash. Looks like not

Leif:

everything or everyone's on sale this January. We

Leif:

move it to Act 3. Lily tries to explain herself.

Leif:

But first Rufus, then Serena, then Eric all leave.

Leif:

Frustrated with Lily's machinations. Eric text an

Leif:

unlabeled number, presumably Damon asking to meet.

Steve:

Yeah, I already mentioned that about. Yeah, I

Steve:

already mentioned about Rufus storming. I forgot

Steve:

that that was a cut.

Leif:

At W. Dan and Blair brag about the accomplishments

Leif:

of their respective authors.

Steve:

Another cute Blair Dan scene. I really like their

Steve:

chemistry at all times.

Leif:

Chuck goes to confront Reyna, who assumes he's

Leif:

come by for some afternoon delight. However, he

Leif:

was really there to talk about Thorpe Enterprises

Leif:

hiring Howie and the potential conflict of

Leif:

interest. Reina denies everything. Chuck asks

Leif:

Raina to fire Howie as a favor before segueing

Leif:

into seduction. However, their request quest

Leif:

clearly put Reina out of the mood.

Steve:

Yeah, Chuck, you're literally mixing business and

Steve:

pleasure right here. Like that's the whole thing

Steve:

you're not supposed to do. And also, what a dick.

Steve:

Can you fire my best friend's dad? Are you going

Steve:

to hire him? No. He could easily get his dad a job

Steve:

at Bass Industries to try to help save it if that

Steve:

were the case.

Leif:

Serena and Blair on the phone. They briefly touch

Leif:

on the latest Ben developments, but quickly move

Leif:

over to discussing Dan and how he is her biggest

Leif:

competition among the interns. Blair is tempted to

Leif:

get schemy, but Serena urges her to play fair.

Steve:

I love that. Because there's also earlier on the

Steve:

Dan and Blair when they're like, no schemes, fair

Steve:

fight.

Leif:

Yep.

Steve:

And now Serena and you. You hear. I hear it in

Steve:

your voice, B. I know what you're doing. This

Steve:

isn't just some other enemy. This is Dan. And I'm

Steve:

not going to take it easy on him just because you

Steve:

sometimes fall in love with him. There's also.

Steve:

There's. There's also that bit that I think we

Steve:

bast over that when he's supposed to find the

Steve:

shoes. Did that happen? That are, That didn't

Steve:

happen yet, did it? Yeah, yeah, that happened

Steve:

earlier, right?

Leif:

Yeah. Ah,

Steve:

Yeah. When? When he's. When I didn't.

Leif:

When.

Steve:

When she says when he's in there for the yellow Le

Steve:

Bon Louboutins. Louboutins. And she. And she hands

Steve:

him the mustard Mark Jac. And he calls. I didn't

Steve:

date Serena Vander Woodsen for two years. You

Steve:

didn't date Serena Vander Woodsen for two years?

Steve:

But not to know that that was.

Leif:

On and off for two years.

Steve:

Yeah, I get it.

Leif:

But then Dan stops by and delivers Blair some

Leif:

lunch that is more to her refined palate. This act

Leif:

of kindness convinces Blair not to sabotage Dan.

Steve:

And it was sweet because Dan comes up and is like,

Steve:

I know you won't eat here. I know you won't eat

Steve:

here. You're my friend and I want to win this

Steve:

fairly. Eat. He's thoughtful. Dan has always been

Steve:

super thoughtful, though. Like he'll always just

Steve:

show up with a gift like that.

Leif:

And he also is aware of her issues.

Steve:

That's true too.

Leif:

Ben is filling out an application at the diner,

Leif:

but hesitates when he gets to the question about

Leif:

felonies. Damian spots Ben and then walks over for

Leif:

a little reunion. After a little repartee, Dan

Leif:

accuses Damian of being the witness that spotted

Leif:

him with Serena at the bnb. Damian points out that

Leif:

he only told the truth and that he's with Serena's

Leif:

brother, and it might be a bit awkward to

Leif:

introduce him.

Steve:

I like Damian here. I don't always hate Damien. I

Steve:

feel like they keep putting Damien and they. They

Steve:

keep making him a fairly true neutral character,

Steve:

and then they'll just do something to make him

Steve:

shitty every now and then. But, like, here, where

Steve:

he's like, yeah, I told them what I saw. Yeah, I'm

Steve:

not mad at Damian. I've never blamed Damian. Like,

Steve:

yeah, I think that it came from a place of being

Steve:

in love with Serena or at least being infatuated

Steve:

with Serena. He shouldn't have been across state

Steve:

lines with a minor. So I'm not mad at Damian for

Steve:

turning him in. Ben might be. I get that. But

Steve:

still, Ben, you're the asshole who's.

Leif:

Driving around with teenagers, and Damian's line

Leif:

is, you say potato, judge says pedophile, and my

Leif:

friend just arrived, and I would introduce you,

Leif:

but you may or may not have statutory raped his

Leif:

sister, and it might be a tad awkward.

Steve:

Yeah, the way that he just stabbed his way out of

Steve:

that conversation was so perfect and, like, no

Steve:

lies. No lies. Right. He probably doesn't want to

Steve:

see you either.

Leif:

Dan is the last intern left at W, and Epperly

Leif:

commends him on his work today. When Epperly

Leif:

mentions Blair's sabotage attempts, Dan defends

Leif:

her. However, Epperly does get in his head a bit,

Leif:

and she, As she walks away, Dan decides to

Leif:

sabotage Blair's author.

Steve:

Daniel, it never, ever works out for you. Other

Steve:

people have schemed and gotten away with it. You

Steve:

have not. It has always blown up in your face

Steve:

because it's not in you. Stop.

Leif:

Also, even if Blair told Epperly that he sabotaged

Leif:

her, why would Epil even care? Yeah, because he

Leif:

got an author anyways. Yeah, he should have just

Leif:

let her told him, and he would. He would have won.

Leif:

It would have been. It would have been Blair

Leif:

Waldorf way. Yeah, but he would have won.

Steve:

Yeah. Oh, yeah. You mean later? Like, why even

Steve:

admit it?

Leif:

Well, no, I don't just let. Let Blair go tell

Leif:

Epperly that he sabotaged her. Oh, yeah. Why would

Leif:

Epil even care?

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Leif:

She got. Because they were an embarrassment at the

Leif:

party.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, true.

Leif:

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

Leif:

careful, D. It's flu season, but nothing's more

Leif:

contagious than mistrust. We go into Act 4. Eric

Leif:

is with Jonathan at the party and he spots Rufus

Leif:

without Lily, who is sulking from earlier. Rufus

Leif:

needed to get out. Eric totally gets it and

Leif:

figures it's a shit on Lily party until Rufus

Leif:

steps in to defend her. Jonathan brings over

Leif:

drinks.

Steve:

Rufus let the kid vent a little more here. And you

Steve:

know, it's shitty too. At the same time, I also

Steve:

get the instinct to when someone talks shit to

Steve:

then come back and be like, well, here's the other

Steve:

side of it. Because Rufus really is trying to

Steve:

maintain a family here. M so I get that too.

Leif:

After Rufus leaves, Eric then ditches Jonathan

Leif:

when he sees Damian at the party with some model

Leif:

types. Yeah, just dealing drugs right out in the

Leif:

ocean.

Steve:

Yep. Going to main parties, dealing some drugs.

Steve:

That has been his M.O. all along. Yeah.

Leif:

Blair is working the door and greets Chuck Bass

Leif:

entering son's guest.

Steve:

It was so cute. And him, the. The, the way that he

Steve:

looked at her with pride and admiration for her

Steve:

working her way through this. And she didn't. And

Steve:

it didn't go unnoticed by her. It was very sweet.

Steve:

And it reminded me of those episodes when they

Steve:

were together, but they didn't have an episode

Steve:

together and they would just kind of cross paths

Steve:

briefly. And I liked how they played this scene.

Steve:

It was very sweet.

Leif:

Ben shows up at the party to let Serena know that

Leif:

he saw Eric with Damian. Serena spots Jonathan and

Leif:

asks him about Eric. Jonathan said he disappeared.

Leif:

We also learned that not even Serena knew about

Leif:

Eric getting dumped.

Steve:

Ben, that could have been a text. Hey, I saw your

Steve:

brother with Damen Dalgard.

Leif:

Does he have a cell phone?

Steve:

I don't know. Did Serena throw it away before?

Steve:

Yeah, I don't know. Maybe he does got out of

Steve:

prison. Yeah, he had 30 GS. He should have gotten

Steve:

a cell phone before he sent that back. Here is

Steve:

29,000 of the 30,000 you sent me. I got an iPhone

Steve:

in 2011. 2010. 2011.

Leif:

Blair is waiting for her author to arrive. Dan,

Leif:

now at the party, walks up and accuses Blair of

Leif:

breaking the treaty. Just then, Jeremiah Harris

Leif:

shows up. Apple is impressed and Blair knows she

Leif:

was betrayed. Omg. I was just poleaxed by a poor

Leif:

person.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Chuck finds Reyna with a date who quickly excuses

Leif:

himself. Reyna is completely over Chuck already.

Leif:

Chuck says it's just business now. And Reina

Leif:

questions even having that anymore.

Steve:

Yeah, Chuck, you came in like an Asshole. And

Steve:

maybe you also shouldn't be dating the person

Steve:

who's trying to take over your company. Yeah, like

Steve:

Howie.

Leif:

When.

Steve:

When.

Leif:

Pretty hot, though.

Steve:

Yeah, like, when Howie's like. Did Howie already

Steve:

confront Nate about it?

Leif:

Nah.

Steve:

Okay. It is pretty hot, though.

Leif:

Ben and Serena spot Eric and Damien, doing what

Leif:

looked like a drug deal. Damon is able to confuse

Leif:

the situation by making it look like he and Eric

Leif:

were hooking up. Damian brushes by Ben and Serena

Leif:

to grab drinks.

Steve:

Well played. Well played, Damian.

Leif:

Surprised they bought it.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Wasn't very convincing to me.

Steve:

No, no. Eric looked shocked.

Leif:

Hey, babe.

Steve:

Yeah, hey, babe. Want me to go get you some

Steve:

drinks?

Leif:

Blair chases Dan down and goes after him for his

Leif:

betrayal. Blair goes to tell Epperly about Dan's

Leif:

sabotage, but Dan grabs her arm and to stop her,

Leif:

the two somehow end up wrestling each other to the

Leif:

ground. In the middle of the party, their boss's

Leif:

boss, Stefano, enters the party and steps over the

Leif:

two and poses for the cameras. Epperly following

Leif:

behind them tells them they are both fired. So

Leif:

silly.

Steve:

Dan goes full Goldberg. He gets the full Joe

Steve:

Goldberg face that whenever he's caught in

Steve:

something and his eyes go wide. I can't divorce it

Steve:

from Joe Goldberg anymore. Whenever he's trying to

Steve:

explain his way out of something because, you

Steve:

know, instead of it being I dismembered my ex

Steve:

wife, it's, you know, I've played a little dirty.

Steve:

Played a little dirty. But it's still that same

Steve:

look in his face. Also, that. That is the actual

Steve:

Stefano. That person is playing himself. The head

Steve:

of W there.

Leif:

Hillary Clinton is one of my role models. I do not

Leif:

break treaties, you ass. Yeah, I don't break

Leif:

treaties, but I do protect borders.

Steve:

Yeah, I do secure borders.

Leif:

And, this is what Gossip Girl has to say about the

Leif:

mess. Spotted dubious friends in definite hot

Leif:

water. Looks like W just left Dan and Blair both

Leif:

out in the cold. We move into Act 5. Howie is back

Leif:

at the Empire sweep because Reyna added Nate and

Leif:

Chuck's attempt to get him fired. How he isn't too

Leif:

happy and says he would have never betrayed Chuck.

Leif:

How he is hurt that Nate doesn't trust him

Leif:

anymore.

Steve:

This episode does have a five act structure,

Steve:

doesn't it? That's interesting. That is

Steve:

Shakespearean.

Leif:

They all do.

Steve:

Do they all? I thought it was usually three acts

Steve:

in an epilogue. am I missing that? It's. It.

Leif:

There's. There's four commercial breaks. So five.

Leif:

So five acts in an epilogue.

Steve:

Oh, okay. I don't know why I was always kind of

Steve:

piecing Them.

Leif:

I mean, it is a three. It is kind of written in

Leif:

the three act structure.

Steve:

Yeah. That it feels like. That's how it kind of

Steve:

feels to me.

Leif:

But our solution is usually is written.

Steve:

In five acts because it's one per commercial

Steve:

break. Right? Yeah. Also with Howie. first of all,

Steve:

Howie. Poor Howie. But I had something I was going

Steve:

to say about this. Well, I'll save it with the

Steve:

postscript if I remember it.

Leif:

Back at W, Dan and M. Blair are packing up their

Leif:

things. Dan learns that Blair got the job based on

Leif:

hard work, as opposed to him who got it through

Leif:

family connections. Dan apologizes, but is still

Leif:

surprised that Blair didn't try to sabotage him.

Leif:

She says she mistakenly thought their fake

Leif:

friendship might be a real one before storming off

Leif:

Dan's face. Says he knows he fucked up.

Steve:

And that's the other thing about Dan is that Dan,

Steve:

when he fucks up, is going to own it.

Steve:

As best he can. And I really like that. And I also

Steve:

did love this turntable.

Leif:

Of, well, the whole episode Dan was acting like

Leif:

Blair and she was being the more honorable one.

Steve:

Yes, exactly. And there were those other. There

Steve:

were like the Marc Jacobs thing. There was a

Steve:

couple of moments where Blair was doing Blair

Steve:

Shit. But you're right. For the most part, Dan was

Steve:

the Nepo baby coming in and owning everything. And

Steve:

Blair was the one working her ass off to stay

Steve:

afloat. So it was. Which that's something about

Steve:

Blair throughout this series too, that these

Steve:

characters have everything and they have

Steve:

everything that they could ever be given. But

Steve:

that's not what Blair wants. Blair has always

Steve:

wanted to work for a powerful position. M. And

Steve:

that is like an admirable thing about her where

Steve:

Serena is just living life. Ability Millionaire

Steve:

Blair wants to be actively doing things.

Leif:

Yeah. At the party, Serena questions Eric about

Leif:

Damien. Eric said he was once again all alone when

Leif:

Serena ran off to chase the judge. And at least

Leif:

Damian was someone to talk to. Ben gives Eric some

Leif:

solid advice and Eric agrees to not see Damian

Leif:

anymore.

Steve:

Who the fuck are you? Like, I loved Eric here. I

Steve:

loved how Eric was like, oh yeah, you're the guy

Steve:

that, may not have slept with my sister, but just

Steve:

got out of jail for it. Right. Like how Eric just

Steve:

wasn't. But also like, Ben, who are you? You are

Steve:

just this guy who's like, hey, I'm gonna now be

Steve:

your mentor that you just met five seconds ago.

Leif:

He's just a natural teacher.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

It's his passion, I think.

Steve:

I hate it because I would be the same guy because

Steve:

that's me without the going to jail for

Steve:

statutorily raping a student. That would never

Steve:

happen.

Leif:

First of all, you just. You couldn't stand. You

Leif:

couldn't drive long enough to get across straight

Leif:

state lines from the back.

Steve:

We need to take too many breaks just to get there.

Leif:

Rufus walks up and is upset that Serena would

Leif:

bring Ben to the party and that he was at least

Leif:

partially responsible for what Julia did, which is

Leif:

valid. Serena defends Ben and goes off to fight

Leif:

him.

Steve:

I had no problem with Rufus here, where he's like,

Steve:

you ever think for a second that the person that

Steve:

did all that shit, that this guy may have been

Steve:

involved in it? And Serena doesn't say, no, he's

Steve:

not. She's like, oh, well, you know, he was so

Steve:

badly wronged. Now I have to go find Damien, who

Steve:

did a lot less to me. But I'm more mad about.

Leif:

She's still mad that Damian turned her down when

Leif:

she was trying to seduce him.

Steve:

Yeah, that's right. I forgot about that when. And

Steve:

he's like, thanks. I'm gonna go see Jenny now.

Leif:

Yep.

Steve:

Because that's Serena's solution to everything.

Steve:

Honeypot.

Leif:

And it usually works.

Steve:

And it usually works.

Leif:

Dan calls Epperly and says that he was 100%

Leif:

responsible for the fight at the party. Yeah, he

Leif:

made up for it.

Steve:

Yeah, he always does.

Leif:

Rufus finds Eric and asked if he was doing drugs.

Leif:

Eric doesn't deny it, but he's done with it now.

Leif:

He once again reiterates that Damian was someone

Leif:

to talk to.

Steve:

Yeah. And here Rufus listens. You know, Rufus

Steve:

doesn't come up and is like. And he's not like,

Steve:

how dare you? What are you doing? He's just. I

Steve:

know you're talking to Damian. I know what Damian

Steve:

does. Are you doing drugs?

Leif:

Yeah. Well, it's not, Jenny.

Steve:

Right. Well, I actually said that when I was

Steve:

watching. I was like, oh, Eric, he'll listen to

Steve:

you. You're not Jenny.

Leif:

Serena finds Ben to apologize and says she still

Leif:

wants to be friends. Ben turns it around and says

Leif:

he recognizes that look in her eyes and he doesn't

Leif:

want none. Yeah.

Steve:

Ah. I'm not here. Yeah, I don't want you now. I

Steve:

didn't want you then. I don't want you now.

Leif:

Lies detected.

Steve:

Lies detected. They're the right things to say.

Steve:

Now leave. Leave and go far away from all of them.

Steve:

Ah.

Leif:

This is what Gossip Girl has to say, though. M

Leif:

sorry, S. Looks like the only thing you'll be

Leif:

snuggling up with this winter are warm memories

Leif:

and we move into the epilogue. Blair and Serena

Leif:

are eating breakfast in bed. Serena is upset that

Leif:

her feelings for Ben were unrequited. Blair is

Leif:

eager for revenge against Dan Humphrey. However,

Leif:

they are interrupted by a call from Epperly, who

Leif:

lets Blair know that Dan's about Dan's confession

Leif:

and that Blair has work to do.

Steve:

And gets, called back into W. Good for Dan. Good

Steve:

for Blair.

Leif:

Rufus is walking with Ben on the street and

Leif:

apologizes for what Lily has done to him and tells

Leif:

him what Sarita told him about how he helped Eric

Leif:

Ruis, then hands him a set of keys to the loft and

Leif:

invites him to move in.

Steve:

Have you talked to Dan about this?

Leif:

No.

Steve:

Oh, hey, here.

Steve:

Hey, guy that just got out of jail. I'm going to

Steve:

give you a, room with my son to go live with him

Steve:

now instead of renting you any other apartment in

Steve:

the whole goddamn city, because we can. I'm gonna

Steve:

rent. I'm gonna have you move in with my kid.

Leif:

Fucking Rufus.

Steve:

And of course Dan would be like, okay, dad. Oh, if

Steve:

this is what you think is best, dad.

Leif:

And then Serena's gonna be over there banging Ben.

Steve:

Exactly. With like, Dan on the other side of the

Steve:

garage door that serves as a wall. and Ben just go

Steve:

away. And also everybody, we do remember that Ben

Steve:

started the plot to ruin Serena's life. I know

Steve:

that Serena is cool with that, but can everyone

Steve:

else, like, fucking remember that this guy in jail

Steve:

was not a good person? Oh, I got. I met some bad

Steve:

people in jail, but now I'm out.

Leif:

Nate tries to call his dad, only to find out that

Leif:

he has checked out of his hotel room.

Steve:

Oh, Howie, you fucking baby.

Leif:

Speaking of Howie, he's meeting with Thorpe, who

Leif:

tells him he still has a job. And it looks like

Leif:

Howie's loyalty to Chuck is no longer an issue.

Leif:

nope, nope, Fair enough.

Steve:

Yep, you can see that coming. Which also, Howie,

Steve:

like your son's best friend, is a fucking kid.

Steve:

You're mad about a 20 year old, you dick.

Leif:

I don't blame Howie.

Steve:

I don't blame Howie, but he's also an asshole. I

Steve:

do blame Howie for being dumb.

Leif:

He is getting m played, but yeah.

Steve:

Yeah, he's dumb and getting played, but.

Leif:

I don't blame him from no longer having loyalty to

Leif:

Chuck. Yeah, he tried to get him fired.

Steve:

Yeah, he did.

Leif:

And Chuck wants to be taken seriously as a

Leif:

businessman, so.

Steve:

Well, yeah, yeah, fuck him. He should have hired

Steve:

Howie.

Leif:

Chuck goes to see Reina and apologizes for asking

Leif:

her to fire Howie. He asked for another chance

Leif:

which, judging by her kiss, seems to have been

Leif:

granted.

Steve:

Yeah. I love how she's like, I've got a man in a

Steve:

towel in the shower right now, so now's not a good

Steve:

time, but we'll talk, gives him the kiss. And I

Steve:

love. Because it's such a Chuck thing, too, to be

Steve:

like, I hear you. Oh, yeah, you're. You've got.

Steve:

You've got one already in the chamber. And I'll,

Steve:

catch you when you're free.

Leif:

Should have went with the threesome.

Steve:

Yeah, yeah, we. Yeah. I mean, the show is so. I

Steve:

mean, they had the one, but. So afraid of the

Steve:

throuple.

Leif:

Blair back at W, stares at Dan's name in her

Leif:

contacts list before telling Epperly that he was

Leif:

never really her friend.

Steve:

And Eberly looks at her like, I know he's your

Steve:

friend. You. You like him.

Leif:

Rufus calls Serena to tell her he offered Ben the

Leif:

apartment.

Steve:

Great. Good job, Rufus.

Leif:

At the diner, good guy. Ben grabs Damian by the

Leif:

throat and pushes him up against the wall and

Leif:

threatens him to stay away from Serena and her

Leif:

family. Damian realizes that Ben does like Serena.

Leif:

After Ben walks away, Damian calls Eric and

Leif:

invites him to hang out.

Steve:

This is the dumbest fucking scene in Gossip Girl

Steve:

so far. I think the way that, you know, Damien's

Steve:

walking down, he, like, accost. Ben's such a good

Steve:

guy. Then he, like, accosts him and grabs him by

Steve:

the throat. You stay away from her, man. It's

Steve:

because you like her. My feelings for her are none

Steve:

of your concern. Like, Ben, go away. Go away. Oh,

Steve:

man, I'm. I'm so over the whole Ben thing, and I

Steve:

just feel like I have to buckle up because he's

Steve:

moving in with Dan now. Like, how long is this

Steve:

gonna go on? And now is it gonna be like, oh,

Steve:

yeah, he was this really good guy, but prison

Steve:

changed him, and now he's, like, on the fence, and

Steve:

he's gonna strangle people. But, fucking hell. Get

Steve:

out of here, Ben. Would I rather Aaron Rose than

Steve:

Ben? I mean, yes, because, like, Aaron, at least

Steve:

we know, is a creepy piece of shit.

Leif:

He's just a douchebag.

Steve:

Yeah, he's just a douchebag, but Ben is just, bad

Steve:

news. Yeah, I'm so over him. Like, Serena, he did

Steve:

try to ruin your life.

Leif:

He's been here since episode one pretty much. I

Leif:

mean, maybe episode two.

Steve:

Ben has. Yeah, that. She. Since she showed up,

Steve:

he's been in jail pretty much. Yeah.

Leif:

But how? like, the longest guest star arc ever.

Steve:

Yeah, I know. Usually it's three and you're done.

Steve:

Oh, you're talking about this season he's been on.

Leif:

Yes.

Steve:

Oh, yeah. This season he's been on ever since the

Steve:

second episode. Yeah. And yes, it is like the

Steve:

long. And so that's my other concern is that is

Steve:

this not a guest stop spot? Is this. Is he now a

Steve:

cast member and is he Jenny's replacement?

Leif:

And he's gonna be a professor at Columbia?

Steve:

Is he gonna be professor at Columbia so he can

Steve:

start dating Serena? and.

Leif:

Ah, this is how Gossip Girl ends the episode. This

Leif:

winner. Even though we bundle up, a cold shoulder

Leif:

can freeze us out. Sometimes a ray of sun shines

Leif:

in and gives us hope. But on the Upper east side,

Leif:

the slippery ice is usually right in front of us.

Leif:

X.O.X.O. gossip Girl. that is our episode of what

Leif:

is coming next.

Steve:

I still foresee a Blair Dan reconciliation of

Steve:

sorts. I feel like that's not over, that they need

Steve:

to have something come back around. There's going

Steve:

to be the whole Dan adjusting to living with Ben,

Steve:

which I could also see. And, meeting Dan ends up

Steve:

starting to stay somewhere else more. I. I could

Steve:

just see that happening maybe with Blair, maybe

Steve:

back.

Leif:

Well, yeah, if Serena's staying at the loft.

Leif:

There's an empty room at Blair's house.

Steve:

Is Serena staying at the loft?

Leif:

No, if she.

Steve:

Oh, if she ends up staying at. Well, yeah, when

Steve:

she starts puppy dogging around, I. How he's going

Steve:

to fuck a lot of stuff up, I figure how he is

Steve:

going to really fuck things up for Chuck, Damien

Steve:

and Eric. It's so dumb because I almost like

Steve:

Damian being friends with Eric. Like, I almost

Steve:

like, like that phone call at the fucking end when

Steve:

he's like, excellent. Like, hey, Eric, you want to

Steve:

just hang out? You and me? No, as friends. Oh,

Steve:

yeah, sure. Excellent. My plan is going as it

Steve:

would be good for Eric to have a friend and

Steve:

Damian. It's just so fucking forced and dumb and I

Steve:

hated it. Yeah, yeah. Something. Something with

Steve:

Damian and erryknown. But maybe Damien goes to

Steve:

jail in the end of this. I don't know.

Leif:

Let's get into segments. this week in fan and we

Leif:

travel on the Wayback Machine to the television

Leif:

Without Pity forums from 2011. Hello there.

Leif:

Peabody here. And this is the Wayback machine for

Leif:

traveling through time. And this is my boy,

Leif:

Sherman.

Steve:

Speak, Sherman. Hello. Good boy.

Leif:

Overall reaction, pretty boring episode outside of

Leif:

Dan and Blair.

Steve:

Yes. It wasn't just boring. It was annoying. Like,

Steve:

there were parts that I was, like, annoyed with

Steve:

the writing and directing I'm like you.

Leif:

They are excited about the prospect of Eric

Leif:

getting his, own storylines.

Steve:

It's not that I don't want Eric getting his own

Steve:

storylines. I don't want Eric losing his

Steve:

character. I don't want Eric losing the sage adult

Steve:

character that he is. But he is a kid, so he

Steve:

deserves some drama.

Leif:

I guess Dan and Blair were the, you know, the few

Leif:

bright spots of the episode. Everyone else seemed

Leif:

to be sleepwalking through the episode.

Steve:

Yes. Yeah. Very much. Very zombie episode.

Leif:

Four movies together, secret morning chats. Are

Leif:

Dan Blair dating?

Steve:

Does sound like it. I don't think they know it.

Leif:

Ben is bad news. What happened to Juliet and their

Leif:

mom? They weren't even there when he got out of

Leif:

jail.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah, no one. His sister that was, like,

Steve:

ready to ditch him anyway. And. Yeah, that's

Steve:

really funny.

Leif:

Chuck is boring.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

Serena is mad at Damien for dealing Juliet drugs,

Leif:

but not at Juliet or Ben for using those drugs on

Leif:

her.

Steve:

Yep, that's. That was interesting.

Leif:

Why is Loey giving Ben a lump sum? Bad. But Rufus

Leif:

giving him a place to live? Good.

Steve:

Yeah. Yeah.

Leif:

It's like the same thing.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

You're still giving him something about monetary

Leif:

value. Rufus.

Steve:

Yes. Yeah.

Leif:

But in fact, it's worse because now you're

Leif:

putting. You're with your own son.

Steve:

You're with your own son, and now you've actually

Steve:

got this guy beheld into you. Like, you actually

Steve:

have power over this guy that you can take back

Steve:

whenever you want, which that's probably worse.

Steve:

Like, Lily could never take back that 30,000 that

Steve:

was going to be gone and spent, but you can now.

Steve:

It went from being here you are, you know, no

Steve:

strings attached to here you are now you are under

Steve:

my felt. So, yeah, much worse.

Leif:

Moving over to episode grades, I went first last

Leif:

time, so it's your time to go first.

Steve:

D minus. I almost failed this episode, but I feel

Steve:

like. I feel like it can get worse. I feel like

Steve:

there are ways this could get worse. But this

Steve:

episode, I hated it. I gave it a D minus. I loved

Steve:

the. The only redeeming factor was the Blair and.

Steve:

And Dan stuff. That probably kept it from failing.

Leif:

Yeah, I wasn't as annoyed with it as you. I just

Leif:

thought it was mostly boring. So it went from a D

Leif:

minus to a C with the Blair Dan stuff.

Steve:

That's fair. That's fair. I just. I feel like I've

Steve:

given better episodes to see, which is why I felt

Steve:

like I couldn't give it a C. Yeah. D minus. This

Steve:

is my le. This is so far My least favorite episode

Steve:

of Gossip Girl.

Leif:

moving over to stock watch. Who do you got going

Leif:

up?

Steve:

Damian is going up. Ben is going up now that he

Steve:

is, you know, giving sage advice and moving in

Steve:

with Dan. Blair's going up, keeping her

Steve:

internship. And the way that's working out, how

Steve:

he's going up because the job is working out, even

Steve:

if he has to find a new place. I'm going to give

Steve:

Rufus an up for being decent toward his kids, you

Steve:

know, towards Eric. Never mind. Never mind.

Leif:

Thank you.

Steve:

Never mind. He gave the apartment, trying to think

Steve:

if there's anyone else that should go up that was

Steve:

in there. Dan lost his job. Yeah, I think that's

Steve:

it. I think that's everyone going up for me.

Leif:

I had Blair going up because she was fun and kept

Leif:

her job. I had Dan going up even though he lost

Leif:

the job. I thought he did the right thing, so I

Leif:

thought he. And he did. He's the one, you know,

Leif:

part of the one enjoyable storyline.

Steve:

Yeah, you know what? I'm gonna give it to Dan on

Steve:

that. I was originally not because he lost his

Steve:

job, but I, I, you're.

Leif:

It was just an internship.

Steve:

Yeah, you, you've convinced me because he did do

Steve:

the right thing.

Leif:

And I had Ben going up because, yeah, he got a

Leif:

place to live. I, had Howie going up because he's

Leif:

got a job still. I had Reyna going up because she

Leif:

had no time for Chuck's bullshit.

Steve:

Yeah, I should have Raina going up too. I knew

Steve:

there was one I was forgetting in that show.

Leif:

And I had Thorpe going up because these seems like

Leif:

he's going a court of land for him.

Steve:

He did get mentioned he had that meeting.

Leif:

He was in it too. Oh, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

Leif:

yeah.

Steve:

I forgot that.

Leif:

Who do you got going down?

Steve:

I'm going to start with Serena for chasing Ben

Steve:

around and then being told, you ain't shit. I'm

Steve:

going to Eric for falling for whatever they're

Steve:

putting him in with Damian now. Lily for lilying

Steve:

things up really badly again. Vanessa for making a

Steve:

stupid shitty scarf and giving it to Dan. I'm not

Steve:

going to send Rufus down because I think he had

Steve:

some redeeming things in here. So I am keeping

Steve:

Rufus at neutral, but I can't think of. Oh, yeah,

Steve:

I'm keeping Chuck neutral. I don't think he's

Steve:

really lost anything yet. Ah. I am going to have

Steve:

Nate go down for his strained relationship with

Steve:

his father, though. And I believe that's it for

Steve:

me.

Leif:

I did have Chuck going down because he got dumped.

Steve:

Yeah, he got dumped. But then he kind of got

Steve:

undumped at the end, so I wasn't.

Leif:

No, he didn't.

Steve:

Well, there's like. Yeah, I get what you're

Steve:

saying.

Leif:

He got dumped and then he got dumped for business

Leif:

too. Lily going down, obviously, because she's

Leif:

doing Lily shit.

Steve:

Yeah.

Leif:

I had Rufus going down because he was shitty to

Leif:

Dan and suddenly trust Ben for some reason. Eric

Leif:

is. Well, he's pretty depressed and he's running

Leif:

with Damien now, which is fine.

Steve:

This might be the first time Eric's stock has gone

Steve:

down. I. I'll need to double check that. But it

Steve:

might be,

Leif:

It's definitely asked before. For me.

Steve:

It has. Not many. Oh, yeah, there was the, the.

Leif:

When he tried. Yeah, when he tried to fight

Leif:

against Jenny.

Steve:

Yeah, when. Yeah, it's rare, though. It is rare

Steve:

for Eric's stock to go down. He might have. I got.

Steve:

I'm gonna check the spreadsheet to see if he

Steve:

actually has the highest stock.

Leif:

And I had Serena going down because she was an

Leif:

idiot all episode. Nate going down because he had

Leif:

a strained relationship with his dad. And finally

Leif:

Vanessa because she had bad fashion sense.

Steve:

Because she got dissed for the scar. But here's

Steve:

the best outfits from the last episode we've seen.

Leif:

Speaking of fashion sense, who do you have for

Leif:

best outfit?

Steve:

This one was tough, but I think I'm giving it to

Steve:

Blair at the W party. It was nothing over the top,

Steve:

but it was a very classic Blair looking outfit. I.

Steve:

I didn't find anything to really. The only other

Steve:

thing that kind of jumped out at all was Serena's

Steve:

and I didn't really like it.

Leif:

So for me, it actually was very easy. It was

Leif:

Raina's slinky black dress and the black pumps.

Leif:

Oh, and then her, like, necklace. Beaded necklace.

Steve:

Yeah, that was. That was a good outfit.

Leif:

That is it. For segments, though. Do you have

Leif:

anything you would like to plug?

Steve:

I will be at the Love Park Christmas Village

Steve:

playing some Christmas and regular music at 6, o'

Steve:

clock on December 9th and 5 o' clock on December

Steve:

11th. Or come on out, catch some music and I'll be

Steve:

playing a little bit December 27th. I have a show

Steve:

at Fat Lady Brewing in Manionk, so also please

Steve:

come to that. If you want details on any of these

Steve:

performances, check out the Discord and I will be

Steve:

happy to give you more information there or on any

Steve:

of my socials like Instagram or TikTok. Steve

Steve:

Marshon m m a r c h I o n you can find me there

Steve:

and I can also give you more details on upcoming

Steve:

gigs and.

Leif:

You can follow me on Instagram and Bluesky

Leif:

hotcapicola. That's H o t C a P I C o L a. You can

Leif:

follow the podcast at, non judging breakfast pod

Leif:

on Instagram, TikTok and Threads. And you can find

Leif:

links to our discord, our patreon and our

Leif:

subreddit on our website

Leif:

nonjudgingbreakfastpod.com and if you'd like.

Steve:

To get in touch with us, we would love to hear

Steve:

what you have to say. Please send us an

Steve:

email@nonjudgingbreakfastpodmail.com we might even

Steve:

have the chance to read your email here on the

Steve:

show and let other people know your thoughts. So

Steve:

please get in touch with us. Also while you are

Steve:

listening, if you could hit that like subscribe or

Steve:

follow button and leave us a comment. Those

Steve:

comments really help our visibility in Spotify and

Steve:

on Apple podcasts. And finally, if you could just

Steve:

make us your water cooler talk. Why don't you go

Steve:

tell your friends what you're listening to get

Steve:

them to restart Gossip Girl from the beginning and

Steve:

take a listen to our podcast. go along as a

Steve:

companion and.

Leif:

We will be back next week to talk about season

Leif:

four, episode 14, panic roommate. The episode

Leif:

description reads, blair enlists Nate's help to

Leif:

win over high strung boss Epperly at, W Magazine.

Leif:

Florence the Machine and the Machine perform an

Leif:

acoustic version of Cosmic Love.

Steve:

I like Epperly getting a longer stint. I liked

Steve:

Epperly. Actually, I'm going to give Epperly an up

Steve:

for coming back on another episode because I did

Steve:

enjoy her character.

Leif:

Well, that won't be until next episode. So you

Leif:

can't get it for sure for this episode.

Steve:

Yeah, okay.

Leif:

All right.

Steve:

but she is one of my.

Leif:

I don't like the implications of that sentence.

Steve:

Of what?

Leif:

Blair enlists Nate's health to win over her high

Leif:

strung boss.

Steve:

Oh.

Leif:

So something flair's gonna pimp Nate out? Yeah, I

Leif:

don't think, honey pot, I think he needs to just

Leif:

pimp him out.

Steve:

Right, right. Yeah, yeah. But I, But I'm just

Steve:

saying that, you know, what else are you gonna do

Steve:

with Nate in the scheme? He's gonna. We got a

Steve:

pretty friend. That's. That's really funny because

Steve:

that is some. That is some Blair shit. Oh, gotta

Steve:

get her. Gotta get her a man to get her. I'm

Steve:

already mad now.

Leif:

Until next time. You know you love us, xoxo.

Steve:

Every time you walk away run away you take a piece

Steve:

of me with you there Every time you walk away run

Steve:

away you take a piece of me with you every time

Steve:

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

Steve:

with you there oh, it seems I'm walking right to

Steve:

your.

Steve:

Door.

Steve:

My heart's still resting I'm looking.

Steve:

For something more.

Steve:

Are you ever gonna see everything you mean to me

Steve:

I'm trying really hard to believe every time you

Steve:

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

Steve:

you there Every time you walk away or run away you

Steve:

take a piece of me with you there Every time you

Steve:

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

Steve:

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

Steve:

my own I left last night and it feels like way too

Steve:

long are you ever gonna see everything you mean to

Steve:

me I'm trying really hard to believe every time

Steve:

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

Steve:

you there Every time you walk away or run away you

Steve:

take a piece of me with you there Every time you

Steve:

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

Steve:

you you there come back to.

Steve:

Me.

Steve:

Smile and you'll make my life complete every time

Steve:

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

Steve:

you there Every time you walk away or run away you

Steve:

take a piece of me with you you there Every time

Steve:

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

Steve:

with you there Every time you walk away or run

Steve:

away take a piece of me with you there Every time

Steve:

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

Steve:

with you there Every time you walk away or run

Steve:

away you take a piece of meat with you there Every

Steve:

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

Steve:

me with you there Every time you walk away or run

Steve:

away you take a piece of me with you there.

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