Hey, Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl here, and I have the biggest news ever…
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, even though I’m not the Gossip Girl, I can still use the power of a keyboard and an Internet connection to discover all the crazy ways Blair, Serena, Nate, Dan, Jenny, and others celebrated the holiday. Believe it or not, amid all the drama, the series also managed to get a few wholesome moments into the mix.
Here’s where you’ll find all the Thanksgiving-centric ones Gossip Girl episode to rewatch ahead of the holidays. And for those unfamiliar with the show’s fictional NYC socialites, spoilers ahead.
Season 1, Episode 9: “Blair Waldorf Must Pie”
This episode switches back and forth between Thanksgiving’s past and present. In the latter (i.e., 2007), Dan invites the van der Woodsens to spend Thanksgiving with the Humphreys, but Dan, Jenny and Serena are unaware that their parents have a romantic history. The fact that Lily van der Woodsen was Rufus Humphrey’s ‘first great love’ comes to light in the middle of dinner – and as if that weren’t awkward enough, there is a romantic revelation before dessert.
Flashback to Thanksgiving a year earlier, and we see Blair, Nate, and a drunken Serena enjoying a fun holiday filled with water fights, pumpkin pie with tires, and more. The episode ends with a montage of beautiful moments, backed by classic soft-girl rock.
Season 2, Episode 11: “The Magnificent Archibalds”
HBO’s TLDR description for this episode, “It’s Thanksgiving and everyone is fighting,” undermines the drama. Jenny Humphrey, who is trying to emancipate herself from her family, is not so secretly staying with Eric. The FBI is pursuing Nate’s father for more than just fraud or embezzlement; Those in power also believe that the senior Archibald has extortion and kidnapping on his mind. Elsewhere, Serena tries (but fails) to hide her past from new boyfriend Aaron, and Lily discovers that Bart has been keeping files on her and the kids.
Interestingly, Blair’s problems are the least chaotic. She struggles to come to terms with Cyrus’s existence, a problem that only gets worse when she learns that he and her mother are engaged — and that they’ve been keeping it from her. “This is the worst Thanksgiving of all time, and if we have to wander the Upper East Side like outcasts in a Jane Austen novel, so be it,” she tells her devoted housekeeper, Dorota, as they flee the apartment. Dramatic? Maybe. But thankfully the holidays end with tearful reunions and a picnic basket full of cake.
Season 3, Episode 11: “Serena Madre’s Treasure”
The Van der Woodsens’ Thanksgiving dinner is getting bigger and messier. Unaware of Serena and Tripp’s affair, Lily invites him and his (soon to be estranged) wife Maureen to dinner. Meanwhile, Vanessa shows up at Dan’s hoping to stay over for the holidays, and accidentally she and her mother are invited to dinner. And Blair, refusing to let her mother leave without whatever secret she’s keeping, convinces Eleanor to stay over, too.
