Gossip Girl: Out with a Bang

Oh, Gossip Girl. We hate to say goodbye. You were just getting really good again! It's only been one season, and yet it feels like we've had a long and involved affair, what with that pesky writer's strike and all. But I suppose all good things must come to a summer hiatus, and so, we look forward to seeing you in all your style-y goodness come fall. (And now, we move on to other fashiony things...)

{Update} Even more of my GG fashion-related ramblings on this episode can be found over here.

8:38am: We kick things off with Serena in a gold lame trench coat and enormous shoulder pads! Wow! It's a little '80s resurgence in Central Park! Where are the disco roller people when you need them?

8:41am: Chuck and Blair, asleep in cocktail ensembles and surprisingly totally cute.

8:43am: Ooooh! A Georgina-Dan-Serena-Gold lame coat showdown!

8:45am: A really touching moment between Dan and Serena and The Coat.

8:50am: Georgina gets seriously less cute/more tranny-like with each evil deed.

8:52am: A Lohan-rehab reference! Snap.

8:53am: "Haven't you heard? I'm the crazy bitch around here." Love it! B is back, and her outfits are cuter than ever. (That green print jacket! Over the red floral dress? And the daffodil yellow silk hankie? Glad to have you back, B!)

8:55am: Oh Jenny, please don't go into fashion design. That tulle-tie-dye concoction you've put Vanessa in is *hideous*. With all your ranting and raving and Valentino-stealing, don't you profess to have a good sense of UES style? (Or, do you hate Vanessa? That must be it! There's just no other explanation for that orange hideousness.)

8:56am: Blair in pink floral? We are way over the bubble hem concept, but she looks completely cute.

8:58am: Chuck's bow tie? Love!

8:59am: Oh my god, Serena's chartreuse floral high-necked dress? There's a lot going on for one outfit, but: Gorgeous!

9am: Rufus weirdly jumps through a partially opened door! Creepy. Don't rich people have security?

9:02am: Oh, see, rich people do have security! But Rufus is just too wiley for them.

9:10am: Um, I don't get it. "I didn't sleep with her, but I may as well have."

9:14am: Still pretty much digging Serena's dress.

9:15am: Lily awkwardly ascends the steps in her wedding gown. Um, Eric? A little help?

{Also, did anyone else think that when they started playing the rock music in the background right then, that it might be Rufus and his band playing across the street? Because that would have pretty much killed me with cheesiness.}

9:16am: Also totally digging Serena's smoky, I'm-about-to-cry eye makeup and pouty pink lips.

9:17am: Oh wait. I thought that was the end of the episode. But actually, we're only halfway through! Coffee break time.

9:21am: Augh! Blinded by Vanessa's dress!

9:22am: Did Chuck just admit to being in love with Blair? Awwwww. Kind of sweet.

9:26am: Blair rubs Vanessa's nose in the fact that her dress is seriously ugly. And that Nate loves Serena.

9:28am: "I am the most understanding person in the world." Um, not the most humble though, Dan.

9:29am: All these contrived "summer break" plot developments are getting old. Rufus goes on a surprise last-minute tour? Serena and Dan agree to just see each other back at school?

9:32am: Blair and Chuck, together at last? I'm surprisingly touched.

9:33am: Is this the wedding planner? Because he is way pastel-y and kind of ridiculous.

9:33am: Dan, if you were my boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend, whatever), I would be seriously annoyed by your wishy-washyness. A long slow dance in the ballroom does not scream "I need a break."

9:34am: My favorite part! Mini-dance party to the Sunsilk commercial.

9:35am: Followed by a delightfully colorful SATC commercial! Did you get your tickets yet? Because they're selling out everywhere.

9:36am: Nice "one week later" announcement flashing across the screen. Very subtle.

9:37am: Oh my goodness, Jenny *does* want to be a fashion designer? Obviously the Parsons committee did not see Vanessa's wedding dress.

9:38am: Blair's sailor dress, on the other hand? So cute! But Serena's shimmery shrug? Eck. Also, we continue with these awkwardly contrived "how we will pass the summer" explanations.

9:40am: So what exactly did happen with Nate and Vanessa?

9:41am: Oh, B. The straw hat is a little bit overly Madeline-ish with that sailor dress, no?

9:42am: Chuck's plaid vest is not exactly flattering. In fact, are those man-boobs I see?

9:45am: Oh my god, that is some seriously great primary colored luggage being taken to the helicopter.

9:46am: It's over! Nooooooooooo!