When most people hear Thanksgiving, they think of fall colors, family and food. For me, the thoughts are different. I obviously think about the food, duh, but Gossip Girl is also one of the first thoughts that pop into my head!
Every Gossip Girl lover knows just how important Thanksgiving is to the characters on the show; particularly my favorite character, Blair Waldorf. Nearly every season has an episode dedicated to Thanksgiving that focuses on family, friends, food and feuds. This year, I’ll be celebrating my favorite holiday by watching my favorite upper-east siders celebrate! I hope I inspire you all to join me with a recap of my all-time favorite GG Thanksgiving episodes below!
Season 1, Episode 9: “Blair Waldorf Must Pie!”
It’s our first Thanksgiving with the Gossip Girl gang! This is probably when I started to truly feel connected with the characters. Through a series of flashbacks, viewers get extremely personal with main female characters Serena and Blair. We’re taken back to Thanksgiving of the past year where Serena struggles with a drinking problem and Blair with her bulimia. In the present day, Serena and Blair bicker over Serena’s past acts of betrayal and Blairs recent fling causing Serena and the rest of the Van der Woodsen’s to be dismissed from dinner at the Waldorf’s. Blair is overwhelmed with the fact that her parents have separated and Thanksgiving as she knows it will never be the same.
Meanwhile, Nate deals with a family divide due to his father’s criminal activities and attempts to bring everyone together again; and the past romantic relationship between Rufus and Lily is revealed to their children, making it super awkward for Dan and Serena who have feelings for one another.
Season 3, Episode 11: “The Treasure of Serena Madre”
It’s two years later; the gang has gotten older and the scandals have gotten wilder! Serena is now having an affair with Nate’s cousin, Trip, whom Lily, unaware of the affair, invites to Thanksgiving dinner at her and Rufus’ home with the rest of the GG gang. Nate is left to secretly deal with his feelings for Serena as he watches her feelings for Trip grow. Blair believes her mother is hiding a pregnancy from her and turns out to be completely wrong. Dan is busy dealing with the repercussions of his threesome with his girlfriend, Olivia, and best friend, Vanessa.
The drama in this holiday episode is what makes it one of my favorites. There are so many twists and turns, secrets reviled and hilarious moments. Check out this episode if you’re here for the theatrics!
Season 6, Episode 8: “It’s Really Complicated”
I love this episode because it’s in the last season, my favorite season of them all! It is in this episode where the drama and excitement of the final season starts. Dan and Serena, now a couple, are throwing their first Thanksgiving together and invite their closest friends who are all dealing with their own issues.
Chuck has left Blair upon the return of his father, Bart, to focus on taking him down. He finally gets Lily to see how dangerous Bart, her current husband, is and she agrees to help. Blair, hurt by the end of her relationship puts her energy into sabotaging Serena’s relationship due to her distaste for Dan. This dislike seems justified as Dan is currently publishing a chapter-by-chapter exposé and releases Serena’s, which sheds her in a bad light, on Thanksgiving Day. Nate physically confronts Dan about the chapter and Serena breaks up with him.
This episode is filled with just as much, maybe even more, drama as the last episode. However, this is only the beginning of a wild and entertaining ending season!
If you weren’t interested in Gossip Girl before, I hope you are now! For those who get time away from school and work, cozy up in bed or on your couch and binge-watch these Thanksgiving episodes to get in the holiday spirit. I’m slowly making it a yearly tradition of mine, maybe you can too. Happy Thanksgiving!
All Gifs courtesy of Giphy.
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