[S1E12] School Lies
Anyway, we start off the episode at a pool party...inside the school. So, this doesn't really make much sense to me. In most contexts, it probably would with less affluent characters but these kids are rich...do they not have their own pools to play in? I mean, I know it's New York and they all live in apartments but at least one of them must have access to a more private pool than this. I don't know, even with the excitement that probably comes from having "exclusive" access to school property after hours for that adrenaline rush, it would surely be less hassle to have their own in use. But I digress. That all comes to a close when No Name #1 smashes No Name #2's head so hard onto a pillar he starts bleeding, which would probably have happened either way if that's how they treat one another. Really, the school is lucky this happened after hours or they would have had a lawsuit on their hands for allowing this under their care. At the same time, Blair confronts Chuck on what he may or may not have told Nate about their late-night excursion.
[S1E12] School Lies
The focus of this episode isn't on the rich kids, but Dan, who has a legitimate reason to be suspect. These people have made it abundantly clear from the start that they don't care for him or about him, and that he will always be a second rate outsider in their eyes. It's not that unbelievable for Dan to see that they would rat him out, and what would he do in that scenario? A fleet of trust fund babies and millionaire parents accusing him? It would be a short loss for the school, and most of them would forget about Dan the next day, from his perspective. But on the other hand, he would also be hurting Serena's friends if he were the one to go around blindly accusing people. And, it's also how most of them act, by only looking out for themselves and no one else. Even Rufus seems to abandon his principles here to urge Dan to look out for himself and himself alone in this, though I don't think he had a necessarily malicious intent behind it but he did it all the same. It's a genuine and serious dilemma for Dan in this. Either way, he sticks to some kind of principle and abandons another because there is no way for him to come out of this completely morally unscathed because he has to sacrifice something.
Serena. Serena could go wrong. I get some people might disagree with me on this but I HATED Serena for what she did this episode. She directly told her mother that she wasn't allowed to be with the man she loved because of her own High School puppy love, which she even conceded that's what it is. I'm sorry, but how much of a selfish egotist do you have to be to demand that the world bend to your own will and your own mother sacrifices what she wants for your sake. Now, I completely understand where Serena is coming from, I do, because being in a relationship with a step-sibling could not be comfortable, and downright disgusting on quite a few levels...but they don't have to get married. Why is that not an acceptable compromise? They could be together but there's no legality there, so Dan and Serena are still unrelated. Would that be kinda weird and icky? Yeah, probably, but none of them chose that scenario. Lily and Rufus didn't decide to continue loving each other and Serena didn't choose to fall madly in love with Dan, it just happened, it couldn't be helped, but will Serena allow that? Of course not, because if Rufus isn't the most important thing in the world to Lily, then she can't have it. And Serena knew exactly what she was doing when she asked that question because her children are more important to her than any other man. It is devious, manipulative, egotistic, self-centred and all around just fucking selfish. How can her mother's unhappiness be a worthy compromise for her not feeling icky about her high school boyfriend? I don't get how a person reaches that conclusion. Just Fuck Serena.
Serena, Blair, Nate, Chuck and the rest of their friends break into the school swimming pool for a night of fun, but when an accident occurs, the school threatens to expel the person responsible for the break-in. Not wanting to risk his future, Dan clashes with Serena on how to handle the aftermath. While working on a documentary project, Vanessa accidentally captures Blair and Chuck discussing their affair. Meanwhile, Lily tries to tell Rufus how she really feels about him.
At Constance, Serena, Blair, Nate, Chuck, and almost the entire junior class break into the school swimming pool and throw a party. In the water, Nate grabs Blair and tells her that he knows she's avoiding him but that she should remember the night they had after Cotillion. They kiss, which she breaks away from and swims the other way. She emerges from the water to ask Chuck when he's going to give up because she can't ignore Nate forever. He replies that only time will tell when he will stop holding their affair over her head and encourages her to be patient before walking away. He runs into Serena, and reminds her that Bart and Lily are coming home the next day; and might be engaged. Meanwhile at the loft, Vanessa films Dan for a documentary she's making to enter into a contest for grant money. As she films, he gets a call from Serena; who invites him to come to the pool party, and he and Vanessa decide to go. They arrive and Vanessa continues to film as they're greeted by Serena. Across the room, two guys get into a fight, which ends with one of them being shoved into a metal pole and falling unconscious into the water. Blood quickly fills the pool and Nate dives in to save him. He's able to bring the guy out of the water and they begin to administer CPR. Serena calls for an ambulance as everyone retrieves their things to leave quickly. In the rush, Chuck sees the key to the pool on the table and takes it.
The next day at school, Headmaster Prescott introduces the new Headmistress Queller before showing them that they found someone's cell phone that contained photos of the party. Queller says that she expects them all to write ten thousand word essays on how they got into the pool and why they were there doing drugs and drinking. She also explains that she will be conducting one on one interviews until they figure out who initiated it and once she does, the person will be expelled; and if they don't figure out who, they will all face expulsion. Afterwards, Blair, Serena, Nate, Chuck, Dan, Penelope, Kati, Hazel, and Is discuss that they will stay quiet so no one gets into trouble. They all agree despite Dan feeling like it's not a good decision because he can't be expelled. He vents to Serena about it, but she promises that since she got him into the situation, she will get him out of it. Afterwards, Blair is called for her interview. Queller reveals that she reviewed Blair's record, which is pristine. She asks who broke into the pool, but Blair claims that since her participation in the party was way out of character, she would have no idea who. In the courtyard, Chuck finds Nate writing a heartfelt letter to Blair. Chuck reminds him that Blair has been clear about not being into him since they returned from Monaco, but Nate tells him that they kissed at the party. He explains that he thinks she wants him to suffer a little bit but that it will be worth it. Outside the school, Rufus calls Dan to say he knows about the party. Rufus advises him to put himself first and tell Queller anything he might know to keep himself out of trouble. At the gallery, Lily arrives to see Rufus. She informs him that Bart proposed and she is going to say yes. She also adds that she didn't get his voicemail until she was on the plane but found it endearing; but that he's been too hot and cold with her to know what he really wants. He makes a comment on how her current plan will be filled with the comforts of a luxury lifestyle and she leaves, offended.
At The Palace, Rufus goes to see Lily. He asks why she really came to see him, and says he knows she wanted him to stop her from accepting Bart's proposal. They sit down and he admits he's still in love with her and is curious to see what would happen if they were really together. He advises her not to let her mother influence her again and to take control of her own life. At Constance, Nate tells Queller that he broke into the pool.As proof, he gives her they key but is stunned when she asks about a keychain. When she sees his confusion, she shows him a photo of the key on the night of the party attached to a lanyard. Realizing he's trying to protect someone, she asks who. Meanwhile, Blair tells Vanessa that she won't be able to use the footage because she won't sign a release. Vanessa says she doesn't want to distribute it, only use it to enter the film contest. Blair walks away and Chuck hands Vanessa a roll of cash containing $10,000. She initially refuses to take it but then accepts it, and gives him the tape. Elsewhere, Lily and Bart have lunch. He excuses himself to take a phone call and while he's gone, Lily looks around the restaurant before picking up her phone. She calls Rufus and tells him that she's ready to see what they could be. They make plans to meet that night to go away together to explore it. Back at Constance, Queller expels Nate in front of everyone for lying to her about breaking in to the pool. Afterwards, Serena tries to comfort Dan. He tells her to just give up whoever broke in and she admits that it was her. She explains that at the end of freshman year, she dated the swim team captain, who gave her a key that she never gave back. When she was hanging out with Blair, they got bored and decided to go to the pool; but then everyone invited everyone to come. Dan encourages her to tell Queller but Serena says that if she got expelled, no good school would take her because of her past. At that moment, an announcement comes over the intercom asking Dan to go to Queller's office after class. Elsewhere, Nate tells Blair that he took the fall to save her future, since he saw the key in her room. Blair explains that the key wasn't hers and she was hiding it for someone, but that she thinks what he did was romantic. He tells her he loves her but she just says that they can't happen at the moment. He asks why and she replies that she doesn't want to be with him. 041b061a72
