One of GG's one-liners summed up the spinoff's premise perfectly: "If you think we're bad, you should've seen our parents." The series will indeed beef-up the scandal with drug abuse and industry double-crosses, but its most interesting tidbits were the introductions.
First off, the brunette bouffant-bearing boy in the previews didn't turn out to be a young Rufus. His name is actually Owen Campos (Shiloh Fernandez from "Jericho," who kind of looks like the product of a Chuck+Dan+Joaquin Phoenix orgy). That's not that major right? Wrong!! Because as it turns out, according to Lily's mom, he was her first love--the boy she forced her to give up in the Valley. Hmm, wonder if he'll pose a threat in the future...and I wonder if Rufus knows he was his replacement. Honestly, they're practically the same boy: a brunette, music lover with a penchant for blondes.
The second big reveal was a blonde douche who kind of resembled a Ken doll...if Ken were an asshole. His name? Keith van der Woodsen (Matt Barr, the crazed stalker on "One Tree Hill")! So either Lily marries the rich guy who took advantage of her sister Carol and refused to give up the music video he promised her (because her mother forces her to) or he has a much nicer and less threatening brother/cousin waiting in the wings. I'm hoping for the latter. Either way, witnessing the road she goes down to ultimately obtain the surname will be quite interesting...especially because she has to give up Rufus' kid before she can ever have Serena. I can't imagine what redeeming quality Keith could possibly possess to get her to marry him after sleeping with her sister and pretty much insinuating that she'd only get the music video back if she did it again.
Besides the reveals, I was totally feeling the sisterly vibe. GG is normally about female rivalries, so it was refreshing to see less catty behavior. The series setup tells us that Lily got kicked out of school on purpose so she could spend quality time with her workaholic dad, who seems to be hiding something--probably a new wife. When he rejects her attempt to move in and she realizes that her only other option is her shrill mother, she opts to drive all the way to Cali to find her sister with only $9 in her wallet. Even in the '80s that wasn't enough to survive on. Carol moved there to be an actress. We know from GG that Lily was a photographer at rock shows and that's how she met Rufus, who was in a band. We've already seen the inside of the club she'll probably meet all the rockers she'll later photograph and we saw the diner she'll probably get a job at in order to make ends meet. Consider the scene set.
I think as long as it continues with the twists and turns that hint at a future Lily, it just might garner an audience. The best part of launching a spinoff while the original is still on the air is that it entices viewers to watch both, because once you watch a young Lily, you'll want to see what she turned out like, and once you get invested in the older Lily's love life, you'll wonder what led her there. Genius.
Chuck's Fairy Godmother Act
I was pretty certain that Chuck was the one who got Blair the gorgeous black-and-gold dress and screwed up all of her other prom plans. But he swore that he wasn't trying to break them up. However, I'm sure that if it were a by-product of his desire to give her the night of her life, he wouldn't exactly be angry. lol Nate seemed to take it like a man when Blair broke up with him. Although, I'm sure he feels like an ass now cause he totally ditched Vanessa for her. But hopefully this'll open doors for fresh new faces next season cause we all know Nate "the manwhore" Archibald can't go a week without a new girlfriend.
Favorite parts:
• When Blair wanted to see the damage done to her prom dress by the dry cleaners, Derotta says in her best broken English: "This body bag--corpse not pretty."
• When Dan calls Lily to ask if Serena was ignoring his apologetic messages, unaware that she volunteered to stay in jail until her mother agreed to let her live her life, he whines: "I can't leave Serena one more message and still call myself a man...not that it's exactly manly to be calling her mother but..."
• Blair at first objected to the idea of prom queen before being nominated: "We don't do prom queen. That's for suburban schools and the lame teen comedies that are set at them."
• Young Lily taunts Owen with these lines when he sees her uncharacteristically dressed punk chic in her sister's clothes and he later says the exact same lines to her when they lock eyes while dancing: "Is this the moment you fall in love with me? Oh it is isn't it? You're totally falling in love with me right now!"
Next week is going to be insane!! Georgina! Carter Baizen!! And a Gossip Girl take-down!!! And don't get me started on Blair's demand for Chuck to tell her that he loves her again. It's going to be epic.
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