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

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'', 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 screenwriter and television producer from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Savage is best known for developing The CW's teen drama series ''Gossip Girl'' (2007) from the novel series, and being an executive producer of t ...

and directed by Joe Lazarov. 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. Describ ...

(

Leighton Meester Leighton Marissa Meester ( ; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is known for her starring role as Blair Waldorf on the CW television series ''Gossip Girl'', which ran from 2007 to 2012. She has also appeared in fi ...

) and

Dan Humphrey Daniel Randolph Humphrey is a fictional character from the ''Gossip Girl'' franchise. He is one of the core male characters in ''Gossip Girl,'' played by American actor Penn Badgley. The character comes from an artistic and musically-inclined ...

(

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

) joining forces to track down Juliet Sharp (

Katie Cassidy Katie Cassidy (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 (2006 film), When a Stranger Calls'' (2006 ...

). An institutionalized

Serena van der Woodsen Serena Celia van der Woodsen Humphrey is a fictional character 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 narrator, "Gossip ...

(

Blake Lively Blake Ellender Brown (born August 25, 1987), known professionally as Blake Lively, is an American actress. A daughter of actor Ernie Lively, she made her professional debut in his directorial project ''Sandman'' (1998). She had her breakthrou ...

) 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 British actor Ed Westwick. Although he is a secondary antagonist in the original book series, the TV se ...

(

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 '' Chi ...

) 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 '' ...

) family secrets are uncovered.

Plot

Production

Although credited,

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

and

Jessica Szohr Jessica Szohr (; born March 31, 1985) 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). S ...

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 Zegers (born September 19, 1984) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Framm in the ''Air Bud'' film series, Toby Osbourne in '' Transamerica'' (2005), Damien Dalgaard in the CW teen drama ''Gossip Girl'', and as rookie ...

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 Rag & Bone (stylized in all lowercase) is an American fashion brand sold in its retail stores and more than 700 shops around the world. Marcus Wainwright and Nathan Bogle co-founded the brand in 2002, and Wainwright stepped down as chief brand o ...

shirt, Joie shorts,

DKNY DKNY is a New York City–based American fashion house for men and women, founded in 1984 by Donna Karan. The company specializes in a wide range of fashion products, including clothing, footwear, accessories and fragrances. A major misconcepti ...

tights, Rag & Bone shoes,

Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers Inc. is an American clothing brand founded in 1818 which is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in the United States. Originally a family business, it is currently owned as a joint venture between Authentic Brands G ...

tie,

Repossi Repossi is an Italian jewelry house founded in 1957 in Turin by Costantino Repossi, a family-owned business now run by the third generation of the Repossi family. The luxury group LVMH is a majority shareholder since 2018. History After studyi ...

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 1930 ...

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 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 Yo ...

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 and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...

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 Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college bec ...

. *Juliet is seen driving a Mercury on her way home to

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

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 of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' 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