Admit it: You cried. No? Just me? Fine, I’m a sucker. Bart died. Chuck was despondent. Blair was beautifully supportive and vulnerable to Chuck’s pain and despair. Good stuff!
On the day of the funeral, Lily continues to busy herself with funeral preparations because keeping busy is better than facing her ambivalence. Aside from being cranky, Lily seems to be doing OK, which has the van der Woodsen children concerned. They don’t think she’s dealing with the hurt of Bart’s death. Lily’s mother, CeCe, is in town to give support and unwanted advice, which is always a dangerous combination from a lifelong meddler.
Lily escapes to meet up with Rufus and confesses that she feels guilty more than anything else. She knows that Bart was on his way to see her the night of the accident, and had he arrived safely, she was going to ask for a divorce. Yeah, that would make a person feel kind of bad. CeCe sees Rufus and Lily together. Uh-oh.
No one has seen Chuck lately. He’s really hurting over his father’s death. They all know he’s alive because he has been ordering room service, booze and girls. Over breakfast with Cyrus, Blair shares her concerns about Chuck, who won’t allow visitors and will not return any of Blair’s calls or texts. Chuck does manage to leave his apartment to meet with the PI that has the scandalous info on Lily. The PI wants a ton of cash and makes it clear that he’ll sell the info to the highest bidder.
Dan stops by Serena’s prior to the funeral just to see how she’s holding up. Serena appreciates how sweet Dan is and how caring and thoughtful he has been during this difficult time. I have to admit that they really sell their affection for each other. It’s actually sweet. Of course, Aaron shows up and the awkwardness sucks the oxygen out of the air.
More awkwardness ensues at the church as Dan and Aaron wait for Serena. When she finally arrives, it’s so obvious that she wants Dan by her side for support during all this, but Aaron, for reasons still unclear to this viewer, is her boyfriend.
Chuck shows up to the funeral completely wasted. Blair and Nate are with him, and they try to get him to compose himself out of respect for his father.
Chuck spots Dan and angrily tears after him and accuses Rufus of being the cause of Bart’s death.
Chuck is vehement about Dan leaving, which Dan does. Lily tries to diffuse the situation and tells Chuck that it’s important to be with family, but in a very public disowning Chuck tells all of them that he does not have a family.
Dan asks Rufus what Chuck could have meant by his accusation, and Rufus plays dumb or maybe he’s not playing and really is dumb. Being honest is just not something people do on the Upper East Side. Wait, they’re in Brooklyn!
After the funeral, Lily has a gathering at her house and Chuck arrives with a super-caring and nurturing Blair (who knew!) and Nate, and heads upstairs looking for Lily’s file. CeCe gets all up in Lily’s business and tells her to find out what Chuck knows. A few minutes later, CeCe gets a call from the PI regarding the info.
Apparently, Cyrus got life-is-too-short contemplative at the funeral and now has a sense of urgency to marry Eleanor immediately! Immediately as in the next day. Even Jenny gets caught up in the moment and offers to pull an all-nighter to make a jacket for Eleanor for her special day. Blair’s skittish about the hasty wedding but she seems to have grown fond of Cyrus.
Meanwhile Aaron is off giving Serena a plane ticket to fly to Buenos Aires with him for the holidays. I don’t know about anyone else but I thought it was not only a presumptuous gift but also an inconsiderate one given the circumstances. Am I wrong? Anyway, Serena doesn’t really seem like she wants to go and Aaron doesn’t buy that her reservations about the trip are due to family concerns; he thinks they’re more because of Dan. Ugh. The answer is yes and yes, and that’s why you don’t give a gift like that at this time, Aaron! Jeez.
Lily finds Chuck rifling through his father’s office looking for her file. She tells him the file’s not there. Chuck reiterates his disdain for her and how she disrespected his father and their marriage. Lily expresses frustration that Chuck just couldn’t stay out of it and that, like Bart, Chuck tries to control people and trusts no one, and it all ends up with Lily slapping Chuck’s face. As Chuck leaves the house, he hurtfully tells Eric that they are not brothers and not related.
Blair follows the wounded Chuck outside and in an extremely vulnerable moment tells Chuck that she will stand by him no matter what because she loves him. There, she said it. But Chuck tells her that it’s too bad that she loves him and hops in the limo and flees. She breaks down on Cyrus’ shoulder, but he wisely tells her that Chuck just needs time.
The day of the wedding, Serena talks with Dan about the trip, trying to gauge Dan’s feelings, but Dan decides that he doesn’t want to deal with the uncertainty and coyness and basically tells Serena that if she wants to go with Aaron then she should and if she doesn’t then she shouldn’t. Right when I have an inkling of fondness for the guy, he pulls me right back into my annoyance with him!
Dan goes home and Jenny can see that Dan doesn’t have good sense, and she makes him accompany her to Eleanor’s to drop off the wedding jacket so that he can tell Serena that he doesn’t want her to go.
In the meantime, Serena walks in on a convo between CeCe and Lily and overhears Lily say that, yes, she’s in love with Rufus. This time, though, Serena encourages her mother to follow her heart.
By the time Dan tells Serena that he doesn’t want her to go, she has already told Aaron that she’s going, and she also tells Dan that Lily and Rufus are in love. This is news to poor Dan.
Chuck ends up buying the info from the PI and waits at Lily’s apartment to confront her. Rather than being upset, Lily appeals to the better part of Chuck, encouraging him not to turn away from those that care about him and to be a different man than his father. Later, Chuck burns the documents.
Cyrus and Eleanor’s wedding was great. Dorota and Blair were the maids of honor and seeing both of them excited was adorable!
Chuck comes to the house and slips into Blair’s room and when she walks in to find him he melts in her embrace. They spend most of the night fully clothed and spooned on the bed, but when Blair wakes during the night, Chuck has written her a note apologizing and saying that she deserves better and not to look for him. Sad.
CeCe visits Rufus and tells him the info that Lily has been keeping secret all of these years. CeCe actually wants them together but feels that as long as Rufus doesn’t know the truth the relationship will be doomed. Rufus and Lily planned to go away together for the holidays, but by the time Dan gets home to ask about Lily, Rufus is sitting in the dark and says he will never be with Lily.
Rufus leaves for the rendezvous point and approaches Lily waiting with her bags and simply asks, “Was it a girl or a boy?” Or maybe, “Is it a girl or a boy?” Either way, he and Lily seem to have or had a child together, unbeknownst to him.
Of the two possibilities – having an abortion or placing the baby for adoption – it would be more interesting if there is another child out there somewhere. Oh, and will this show allow any of its couples to actually be a couple or will each couple spend countless episodes fighting through obstacles keeping them apart? Overall, I thought this was a really compelling episode. Other opinions?
