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I think we can all agree that Ed Westwick, a.k.a. Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl, is universally awesome and one of the best young actors on television right now. That being said, his melodramatic turn as the grieving, embittered son of Bart Bass on last night’s episode was a bit much. Not a single line went by when he didn’t cock his head dramatically or sneer like a bull in Pamplona. The whole thing reeked of Acting 101 — as if he were about to unfurl a banner that proclaimed “I AM A THESPIAN! HERE ME ROAR!!!”
I actually don’t blame Westwick as much as I do the director. He should have reined him in, but instead we got a ridiculously over-indulgent mess. Let’s not overlook that Very Dramatic Moment when Chuck lay in Blair’s arms, a solitary tear falling down his cheek. I don’t necessarily have a problem with the waterworks, per se, but the way Chuck lay there so oddly, like a lazy sea lion catching some rays — it was all so deliberate and forced.
Luckily, even though Westwick hit some major acting missteps, the show more than made up for it by a) keeping Vanessa gloriously absent for a full hour, and b) putting Lily front and center for nearly the whole episode. I mean, the writers should have just renamed the show Lilyfest 2008. And yes, that’s a good thing. Kelly Rutherford is also sadly overlooked as an actress, and the truth is that she’s really as close to perfect as can be. Her hostile attack on a tuna tower was worth the price of admission alone.


Sadly, it looks like Lily and Rufufth will not be shacking up after all. Even though it seemed like the two were getting ready to DO IT in a bed & breakfast in Cornwall, NY, the Humphrey paterfamilias had a change of heart when CeCe (who’s back to being bad again) informed him that oh yeah, Lily was preggers with his love child, but uh oh, she went off to France to have a shmish-shmortion. Well, that’s what we assume happened. Everything is still a tad ambiguous. Anyway, this pissed Rufus off to no end — for no real reason, I might add — so it looks like the bang-a-thon will have to wait. It’s probably all for the best. Knowing Rufufth, he’d probably want to DO IT to the sounds of Lincoln Hawk, whose music is now available for purchase (for all you masochists out there).
Of course, the best part of this aborted pork session (no pun intended) was that it totally screwed up Dan’s lame attempt to get back into the glamorous panties of Serena. The two had been growing close again, but thankfully, that awful Aaron guy has kept the dreaded Darena romance from blossoming anew. As you can tell, I don’t care for anemic video artist with the pre-pubescent ‘stache, but as long as he keep stymying Dan, I’m more than happy to have him around. This week, his big bold move was to invite Serena down to Buenos Aires for Christmas (cough, cough, you’re JEWISH, Aaron), but she was a bit hesitant to go along. Was it because she still had feelings for Dan? Or did she merely fear that Aaron would wind up forcing his churrasco down her throat? Either way, don’t cry for her, Argentina, because she decided to go anyway after she discovered that her mom still had feelings for Rufufth. Feeling guilty that last year she had kept the old people separated so that she and Dan could have sex on a cold art gallery floor, Serena decided that now it was her mom’s time for some Humphrey bone-in ribeye action. And so Serena snubbed Dan (who was a bit too slow on the uptake that his dad was in love with Lily), and it was off to the airport in a limo where Aaron attempted to steal the official van der Woodsen neck pillow (to no avail). Of course, if Aaron weren’t so much of an idiot, he’d know that a) JFK most certainly has plenty of those pillows on sale, and b) they’re in far better condition than Serena’s, which was so flat you’d think Dorota had been sitting on it for years on end.
Speaking of Dorota, she was quite excited at the nuptials of Aaron’s father, played by Wallace Shawn (brilliantly, I might add) and Eleanor Waldorf. The two of them together have been pure comic gold, and their wedding was full of joyful, kooky charm. I’m still a bit perplexed as to how Eleanor can be so forgiving to Jenny Humphrey (I really wish the writers would just drop that storyline), and I’m even more perplexed as to how Chuck could sneak into Blair’s room unnoticed, despite the wedding taking place IN THE FOYER, but hey, this is Gossip Girl. Stranger things have happened (you know, like the bizarre subplot between Eric and his LOVAH which resulted in, well, nothing).
Hmmm… did I leave anything out? I guess not. Oh, did anyone else notice Rufufth coming out of the shitter of his apartment? He was in there for an entire scene between Jenny and Dan, popping out only at the end to say a few words. Sounds like somebody needed to drop a deuce before riding the Lily Express.
What did you think of last night’s show? Was Chuck a bit too over the top? And do you think Bart is really dead? And should Rufus care about Lily’s “incident” so much?

19 replies on “And The Award for Greatest Over-Acting Of The Year Goes To…”

  1. When I watched this, I understood that the reason Rufus was pissed is bc she put the kid up for adoption, not had an abortion. . . Though I guess they really didn’t get specific about it. But I thought he said “IS it a boy or a girl?” not “WAS it”. Did I miss something?

  2. I’m on the same page with SF Bruin. I took it that she gave birth, opening up room for a new cast member to join the show. But, since (s)he’ll be related to Dan, Serena, Jenny and Eric, who will (s)he bone?
    I am probably in the minority, but think Rufus would have a right to be pissed if Lily had a shmish-shmortion without telling him.

  3. Bart’s not dead. He faked his own death. The Chuck Bass into Dylan Mckay transformation is now complete.

  4. Any chance that Eric’s Jonathan is the Lily/Rufus love-child? Or would that be way too weird, even for this show. Perhaps the explanation for that bizarre subplot?

  5. I don’t think Chuck was that bad. He was supposed to be drunk/pissed the entire episode.
    And I’m glad Lilly had an abortion, because who wants another Humphrey around. And Dan had no business being at the funeral, he’s such an asshole. Yup, i’m still aboard the Humphrey hate train.
    Why does Aaron button his shirt all the way and not wear a tie or something around his neck, it looks weird. I hate him too.

  6. Just watched the episode, and I have to agree with Firecat about Aaron’s shirt buttoning. It makes him look like a 3rd grader.
    My assumption about the Lily/Rufus love child was that she had the baby — I was also thinking about opening it up for a new character, like Jennifer said.
    I also am really loving Wallace Shawn on the show. The scene between him and Blair was really sweet, sad, and funny. A good combination, I think.

  7. I also thought the baby got put up for adoption. I think/hope Bart faked his own death. We really got no explanation as to what actually happened, and if it WAS a terrible car accident, how was the P.I. completely fine?
    I loved Chuck in this episode! I felt truly sorry for him and thought his scene with Blair was great (although your description of him in that weird sea lion position WAS spot on).
    Aaron and Dan are both god awful. Aaron looks like a rat. Dan looks like his adult teeth never came in. Plus there’s that whole holier-than-thou high horse thing.
    Did anyone else notice they were all pronouncing it “Bonos Ares” or something?

  8. Alli, I agree on the pronouncing bit. I noticed it and it drove me nuts every time they said it.
    I think the baby was put up for adoption based on how Rufus said “Is it a boy or girl.” I can’t wait to see what comes up next.
    Vanessa, how lovely the episode was without her.

  9. WELL I DISAGREE–i thought the blair/chuck scene was the second best moment of the show–aside from all blair bear/wallace shawn moments. it said so much without saying a word, and for that i thought it was the high point.
    as for the baby. ITS SO STUPID. it wouldve been great for a show to acknowledge an abortion–but the fact that theyre might be another child floating around, well its ridiculous only because we are led to think she gave it up IN FRANCE. so you would have a french speaking, 8-week holiday taking, brie eating and bordeaux drinking FRENCH KID (who wears a bouree). so clearly this kid has no real place on the show.
    the fact that they will try and force the kid into the show is a bad bad sign.
    AND I HATE YOUR GODDAMN COMMENT SUBMISSION PLATFORM WHEN IT FAILS

  12. Alli….yes that is IT
    Dan’s teeth are like baby teeth….little kernels of corn. That’s what’s wrong with him
    and Aaron…dude, she’s 17. Youre a molester. Eww
    well, now with the Rufus / Lily love child…..dan and serena’s relationship can almost officially be incestuous, now that they will share a sibling. Yay!!

  13. OMG, thank you! I have been saying this FOR-EVER! Ed Westwick is a good actor for his age and shines reasonably bright on a show like GG but seriously…hes not EMMY worthy! To be honest his character is a caricature at this point so he can do whatever he wants with chuck and its pretty enjoyable. At this point, most of his scenes are “blue steels”, blank stares or angry eye brows…
    The only actor on this show that really stands out to me is Leighton, for the majority of this season she has been handed fillers or comic relief but she makes them work. If anyone deserves critical acclaim on the show, its her. She manages to take cheesy ass lines, or totally ordinary dialogue and turn them into a “waldorf-ism.”
    Despite, all the praise for Ed, Leighton is what really stuck out for me in the last episode, with and without Ed. For Ed, i tend to believe that his best scenes are the ones he has with Leighton.

  14. I think Lily is a subpar actress. Even in that scene in which Blake Lively teared up at the prospect of Serena giving up Dan, Lily was a total block of wood. How can you let Blake Lively out act you? The only thing she is good at is Lilisms, such as dancing during Jenny’s fashion show or agonizing about tuna. Don’t give this woman emotional scenes.
    Ed Westwick seemed to be overperforming for the rest of the cast. Someone just died? Why was it that Chuck and Blair seemed to be the only ones that noticed?
    But, the worst job of the episode goes to Blair’s love confession. The dialogue, the acting, Leighton squeezing out that one tear. Is that what I waited all season for? Damn.
    Oh and I loved them both in the hug at the end. Chuck cried more than one tear and he was unresponsive at the start, but I just about died when Blair started rocking him in her arms and he held onto her hand. I believe that it was positioned that way because Chuck didn’t want Blair to actually see him cry, so he turned his face from her embrace. It made up for the botched confession of love.

  15. I meant to leave a comment DAYS ago, but damn TypeKey was fighting me every step of the way…
    “Sounds like somebody needed to drop a deuce before riding the Lily Express.”
    CACKLE! It WAS a litle odd that Rufus (Rufufth) randomly busted out of the bathroom as Little J & Dan were walking by. And whether or not Chuck overacted, I liked his disheveled/drunken/distraught character this week 🙂

  17. Don’t know if it is the acting or the writing, but Ed Westwick and Leighton Meister are the driving force for this show. (The Seth and Summer of GG). Everyone else is just on a sliding scale of annoying.
    I still heart this line from the Blair and Serena catfight at Yale: “Ow! My Headband!” “I hate your stupid headbands!” (for the non fashionistas, Blair’s character is always noted for her headbands in fashion mags).
    I also hate how Jenny is the forever loser of this show. I honestly don’t see what she’s done that’s so wrong that she deserves everyone lecturing her condescendingly in almost every episode. Nothing people were telling her to do made any sense. And they were all trainwrecks to begin with. No Jenny don’t launch your well received fashion line. No Jenny, your evil because even though Vanessa stole your letter, SHE FELT BAD ABOUT IT! But you, you gave her a dress she was dumb enough to wear without a slip. WHO CARES IF YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THE DRESS! IT DIDN’T EVEN LOOK BAD!
    I’m cutting myself off now. because I can rant forever about the inconsistencies of this show.

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