"The Townie" is the 76th episode of the CW

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

'', as well as the eleventh episode of the show's fourth season. The episode was written by Amanda Lasher and

Stephanie Savage Stephanie Savage (born 1969) is a Canadian screenwriter and television producer. Savage is best known for developing The CW's teen drama series ''Gossip Girl (TV series), Gossip Girl'' (2007) from the Gossip Girl (novel series), novel series, and ...

and directed by

Joe Lazarov Joe Lazarov is an American television director and Television producer, producer. He began his professional career working as production assistant on television commercials. In 1987, he worked as a post-production supervisor on the series ''North ...

. It aired on Monday, December 6, 2010 on the CW. The episode is currently the highest-rated episode of the fourth season. ''The Townie'' shows

Blair Waldorf Blair Cornelia Waldorf (married name Bass) is one of the main characters of ''Gossip Girl'', introduced in the original series of novels and also appearing as the lead in the television adaptation; she also appears in the comic adaptation. Descri ...

(

Leighton Meester Leighton Marissa Meester (; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on ''Gossip Girl'' on The CW (2007–2012). She has also appeared in films ...

) and

Dan Humphrey Daniel Randolph Humphrey is a fictional character in the bestselling Gossip Girl (novel series), ''Gossip Girl'' novel series. He is one of the central male characters in ''Gossip Girl'', where he is portrayed by Penn Badgley. Dan Humphrey is th ...

(

Penn Badgley Penn Dayton Badgley (born November 1, 1986) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Dan Humphrey in The CW teen drama series ''Gossip Girl'' (2007–2012) and as Joe Goldberg in the Netflix thriller series ''You'' (2018� ...

) joining forces to track down Juliet Sharp (

Katie Cassidy Katherine Evelyn Anita Cassidy (formerly Rodgers) (born November 25, 1986) is an American actress. Following several minor television roles, she came to attention as a scream queen after starring in the horror films '' When a Stranger Calls'' ...

). An institutionalized

Serena van der Woodsen Serena Celia van der Woodsen is the fictional character and the protagonist in the ''Gossip Girl'' novel series and in its TV adaptation, in which she is portrayed by Blake Lively. Serena is featured on the blog of the series' mysterious narrato ...

(

Blake Lively Blake Ellender Lively ( Brown; born August 25, 1987) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles, Lively is the daughter of actor Ernie Lively, and made her professional debut in his directorial project ''Sandman'' (1998). She starred as Brid ...

) expounds her boarding school experiences to her therapist and discovers the truth behind Juliet's vendetta against her.

Chuck Bass Charles Bartholomew Bass is a fictional character in the novel and television series ''Gossip Girl''. In the TV series, he is portrayed by English actor Ed Westwick. Although he is a secondary antagonist in the original book series, the TV serie ...

(

Ed Westwick Edward Jack Peter Westwick (born 27 June 1987) is an English actor and musician best known for his role as Chuck Bass on The CW's ''Gossip Girl'' as well as Vincent Swan in the TV series ''White Gold''. He made his feature film debut in '' Chil ...

) faces the prospect of inheriting Bass Industries but faces trouble when Lily Humphrey's (

Kelly Rutherford Kelly Rutherford (born November 6, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Generations'' (1989–1991), as Megan Lewis on the Fox primetime soap opera ''Melr ...

) family secrets are uncovered.

Plot

Production

Although credited,

Taylor Momsen Taylor Michel Momsen (born July 26, 1993) is an American musician, singer, model, and former actress. Prior to her retirement from acting, she portrayed the character of Cindy Lou Who in the film ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) and Jen ...

and

Jessica Szohr Jessica Karen Szohr (;) is an American actress. She started her screen career appearing on television shows such as ''My Wife and Kids'' (2003), '' Joan of Arcadia'' (2004), ''What About Brian'' (2007) and ''CSI: Miami'' (2007). She gained recogn ...

do not appear in this episode. Juliet Sharp (

) exits the show in this episode, marking "''The Townie''" as her eleventh and final episode until the finale.

Kevin Zegers Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

returns to the show as Damien Daalgaard, making his first appearance in the fourth season since breaking up with Jenny Humphrey (

) in the fifteenth episode of the show's third season.

Fashion

While filming a flashback scene, Blake Lively was seen dressed in a Boy blazer, a Rag & Bone shirt, Joie shorts, DKNY tights, Rag & Bone shoes, Brooks Brothers tie, Repossi ring, and Be & D bag. The scenes at the Ostroff Center had her wearing a

Salvatore Ferragamo Salvatore Ferragamo (5 June 1898 – 7 August 1960) was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. An innovative shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo established a reputation in the 1930s. ...

top, Vince pants, Roberto del Carlo boots,

Oscar de la Renta Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo (22 July 1932 – 20 October 2014), known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta ...

necklace, and Low Luv rings while Katie Cassidy was filmed wearing an ALC dress, Hue tights, and

Manolo Blahnik Manuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez (; born 27 November 1942) is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the eponymous high-end shoe brand. Biography Blahnik was born in Santa Cruz de la Palma, in the Canary Islands (Spain), to a Czech father ...

boots. Leighton Meester wore a

Dries van Noten Baron Dries Van Noten (born 12 May 1958 in Antwerp) is a Belgian fashion designer and an eponymous fashion brand, which he co-founded with CEO and business partner Christine Mathys. Early life and education Van Noten was born into a family ...

top,

Ulla Johnson Ulla Johnson is an American designer and owner of the eponymous clothing brand. Early life and education Her mother is Serbian and her father Danish; they are both archaeologists who met on a dig in Yugoslavia. Johnson was born and raised in Yor ...

skirt, Hue tights, Alex Woo necklace for the majority of the episode.

Cultural Allusions

*A flashback shows Serena discussing

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, ''The ...

with her English teacher, Ben Donovan. *A second flashback shows Serena and Ben recovering from a storm. Ben briefly mentions the Mary McCarthy Library at Vassar. *Juliet is seen driving a

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

on her way home to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Reception

''The Townie'' was watched by 2.06 million viewers and achieved a 1.0 Adults 18-49 demo. It is the most watched episode of the fourth season. ''TV Fanatic'' praised the episode, stating "Gossip Girl has aired terrific mid-season finales in the past, and "The Townie" was no exception."

Judy Berman Judy is a short form of the name Judith. Judy may refer to: Places * Judy, Kentucky, village in Montgomery County, United States * Judy Woods, woodlands in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom Animals * Judy (dog) (1936–1950) ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' commended the episode stating "This week's "Gossip Girl" was easily the best pisodeof the season." Berman complimented Serena's consistency in her own self-doubt when mentioning her tryst with Nate during the first season, citing "It's kind of pathetic that Serena has so little confidence in her ability to change -- but it isn't exactly out of character, either." Berman also lauded the show's return to creative form, stating "Whenever I start to think that the show has run out of material ..-- it unleashes a showstopping hour of sparkly melodrama that reminds me of why I'm still watching."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Townie, The Gossip Girl (season 4) episodes 2010 American television episodes