3.18 – The Unblairable Lightness of Being

This recap is by Shari at www.teendramawhore.com:

You know there’s nothing The Powers That Be like better than centering an episode around one event, allowing all the characters to have collisions or near-collisions. This time Dorota and Vanya had the honor of being the episode’s supposed focus. When Dorota finds out her parents are coming to town, she panics–they can’t find her pregnant and unwed. (Apparently being engaged will not suffice.) Cyrus–yes, Cyrus–offers to throw Dorota and Vanya a wedding, setting the episode’s plot in motion.

Things actually begin with a depressed Blair and Chuck both devastated by their split. Chuck won’t tell Nate and Serena what he did wrong but says he’s already apologized and Blair has asked to be left alone. This somehow conveys to N and S that they should see Blair themselves, so Nate pays her a visit. Blair tells him what went down–Chuck sacrificed her to Jack all in the name of getting his precious hotel back–and Nate is stunned. Chuck shows up, flowers in hand, ready to apologize and woo her again. Before he can, he learns of Dorota’s need to get married ASAP and offers his help. Dorota takes him up on his offer–and then some: in accordance with Polish tradition, she needs a “happy couple” to give her away and she asks Chuck and Blair to do the honors. Blair agrees for Dorota’s sake, letting Chuck know afterward that this doesn’t mean all is forgiven. Nate and Chuck exchange words as well, taking their bromance from hot to very, very icy. Chuck shows up later with a necklace for Blair, which she accepts, pointing out that they’re both horrible people and therefore they deserve each other. Chuck, however, says he doesn’t want her to “settle” and doesn’t want to be her “consolation” prize. Blair, perhaps realizing this too, breaks down before the wedding, confessing to Dorota that she and Chuck are far from being a happy couple. Dorota says all she really cares about is Blair being happy and we say “aw” and then Dorota and Vanya say “I do.” Chuck decides to flirt with a seemingly random girl at the reception while Blair–believe it or not–finds some comfort in hanging out with Dan. Is this the Upper East Side or an alternate universe? You decide.

Why did Serena send Nate to Blair’s alone earlier in the episode? So she could have brunch with the Humphreys. Or so she said. She was actually meeting with her ex, Carter, who apparently is back in town. Nate finds this out when Carter approaches him on the street. Nate warns Carter to stay away from his girlfriend but Carter insists Serena is coming to him for something Nate can’t give her. To prove his point, he gives Nate an envelope to pass on to Serena. Nate confronts Serena–and also clues Jenny in a bit–and S swears all they did was have coffee and she remains committed to their relationship. Jenny prods Nate to find out what it is that Carter has for Serena. Nate is reluctant so Jenny swipes the envelope and opens it. Inside is a key, presumably to Carter’s hotel room. Nate again confronts Serena, upon which she confesses that Carter is helping her find her dad and she was too embarrassed to tell him she was still looking for him (since a few weeks ago declaring she was done). Nate isn’t too sympathetic and demands she stop seeing Carter. That’s difficult when Carter shows up, telling Serena she pinned down where her dad is and he has plane tickets ready for them. She says she needs to say goodbye first but Carter whisks her away, saying she can call from the car. Of course Little J sees and spills to Nate. While in the car, Serena realizes her plane ticket was booked a week ago–a clue that Carter was planning this and his intentions weren’t as pure as she thought. She demands that he get out of the car. She calls Nate as she continues her journey to the airport and conveniently (or inconveniently, depending on your point of view) reaches Jenny. She asks J to pass on her message of love to Nate, which Jenny, of course, doesn’t. Instead, she asks Nate to dance and he happily agrees.

The episode isn’t without drama for Rufus and Eric, as well, though things end quite a bit better for Eric. He hasn’t seen or heard from Elliott, the guy he met last week, but hopes that he’ll attend Dorota’s wedding. He does…with his girlfriend. Eric is definitely bummed until Elliott approaches him solo later on, explaining that his girlfriend left frustrated because he’s a bit obsessed with the guy he met last week, hint hint. Turns out Elliott likes girls…AND boys. Rufus, meanwhile, is trying to reach Lily as Dan convinced him to have Lily come back to be his date for the wedding. When the spa she’s supposedly at has no record of her, Rufus gets a hold of CeCe. She tells Rufus that he’s right that Lily isn’t with her but she won’t say more as it’s not her place. So where is Lily? Serena finds out when she knocks on a hotel door in Palm Beach. It’s not her dad who answers but her mom.