"Gossip Girl" Season Premiere: Summer is Sex, Lies and Scandal’s Busiest Season

OMG, Gossip Girlis finally back! The season’s premiere titled, “Summer Kind of Wonderful,” was kind of okay. The episode delivered on the show’s unspoken promise to punch up the sex factor, which was subtlety communicated via the recent, scandalous ad campaign.

The omnipotent Gossip Girl reminds us that summer is sex, lies and scandal’s busiest season (so is sweeps week). Nate and a mystery blond get hot and heavy in the passenger seat of a car for what seems like hours before it’s revealed that Nate is involved in a wicked affair with an older, married woman. In a scene reminiscent of Desperate Housewives’ John Rowland and Gabrielle Solas, a boxer-clad Nate jumps out a second-story window to avoid being caught by his older lover’s husband. 

Dan is interning for Jeremiah Harris (played by Bright Lights, Big City author, Jay McInerney) and juggling a couple of romantic prospects. Little sister, Jenny, is slaving away at Eleanor Waldorf’s office under the scrutiny of a Devil Wears Prada- type boss, Laurel who steals lines (with the help of the Gossip Girl writing staff, I assume) from Project Runway’s Tim Gunn when she calls one of Jenny’s designs a “Holly Hobbie frock” (Gunn used the term in season 3 to describe one of Angela Keslar’s designs). Laurel and her recycled criticism get on my nerves and maybe that’s the point. She even goes as far as checking the guest list of the “VitaminWater White Party” to figure out how Jenny weaseled her way in. 

Also at the VitaminWater Party is socialite, Tinsley Mortimer, played by herself. Thank goodness the girl’s got money because I don’t see an acting career or a recurring role in her future.

Blair has a new plaything and instrument of revenge on Chuck, who she calls “Mother-Chucker” and “Chuck Bass-tard." Blair’s 30-ish-looking new man admits to Blair he’s not who he says he is. He is not a college student but actually a British Lord named Marcus. That’s not all. More will be revealed about this character in coming episodes.

Seems VitaminWater scored a pretty sweet product placement deal with the show as the “VitaminWater Party” was referred to several times throughout the episode (and now, unfortunately, throughout this blog). In all fairness, the placement is realistic as VitaminWater does sponsor parties in New York and even sponsored the Gossip Girl premiere party last month in the Hamptons. Guests of the real-life party did not have to wear white or eggshell or whatever other incarnations of white that the fictional party invitation dictated. 

Serena’s story remains largely unchanged. After a bad date that Blair insisted she go on, saying, “A hot lifeguard is like Kleenex; use once and throw away. You couldn’t ask for a better rebound,” Serena is on her way to rekindling her romance with Dan as the episode comes to a close.

Next week, Blair throws a party and more is revealed about Marcus.