One Tree Hill Season 6 Episode 8 – “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe”

Choices and consequences seem to be the theme of this week’s One Tree Hill.

Nathan has decided to join the Slamball team and the opening scene shows him excelling in practice, but having more trouble at the first game. Most of the cast comes to the first game and Haley’s cringing face as Nathan hits the ground over and over shows the struggle she’s having with him playing the game. Nathan is able to get a basket, but the triumph is overshadowed as Sam says what is running through the rest of our minds – “wasn’t he just in a wheelchair or something?”

While at the game, Lucas gets a call from his agent telling him that a man by the name of Julian Baker is interested in turning his first book into a movie. Lucas is apprehensive about this kind of a step – he’s worried that a movie won’t reflect what he was trying to convey in the book. He does however get positive feedback from his friends, especially Peyton who says she’ll stand by with whatever decision he decides to make.

Brooke has her hands full working on Peyton’s wedding dress and taking care of the rebellious Sam. Fortunately Millie is there for moral support which helps since Brooke is still questioning whether or not giving up her company was the right step. Of course she also must deal with Owen’s reappearance, which she seems to want to ignore as her friends comment on how hot he looked at the Slamball game. During this exchange involving Haley and Millie, Sam and Jamie are horsing around the store having fun together. Jamie asks if he can sleep over Brooke’s that night. Jamie has latched himself onto Sam and Haley gives the sleepover the ok.

Meanwhile, Peyton travels to see her brother, Derek, at a special ceremony for the Marines. He is surprised and happy to see her there and the two are able to spend some time together. Derek is Peyton’s half brother; they share the same father, so the subject of Mick comes up in their conversations. Mick has not been there for Derek either, and without using words, we can see how this has hurt Derek. Peyton commiserates and makes the offer to host a USO concert, something Derek wanted Mick to help him with years ago. He agrees, so it looks like Derek will be seen in Tree Hill again soon.

Mouth and Gigi, who was a high school girlfriend and is now his new intern, are working on a story about Nathan from the accident after high school up to his current comeback. Although Mouth tries to make clear that he has a girlfriend, Gigi continues to address him inappropriately during work saying “Hey Sexy” or “have fun with your ball and chain”. Millie does express some jealous, especially at the Slamball game, but Mouth does not seem to be interested in Gigi – for the moment anyway.

Jamie does stay over at Brooke’s house and initially he and Sam are just playing around the house while Brooke yells at them when necessary. With a knock on the door, Nathan appears, trying to coax Brooke into talking to Owen again. Brooke tells him that if Owen wants to talk he should just come find her and immediately Owen appears at the door. Brooke does invite him in, although she does seem uncertain. During this distraction, Sam tells Jamie about a party that’s happening and invites him to go with her. Jamie doesn’t seem too thrilled about the idea, especially not understanding why they must go out the window to get to the party, but he eventually agrees and the two leave without being noticed. While Owen is trying to tell Brooke he made a mistake by leaving her, another knock on the door brings Millie who says that Brooke’s store has been broken into. The three head to the store immediately to find that the store is the location of the party Sam and Jamie snuck off to. Brooke grabs Jamie and Owen helps her to stop the party. Unfortunately Peyton’s wedding dress is ruined and Brooke is more than a little angry at Sam.

Since Jamie is sleeping at Brooke’s, Haley and Nathan get to spend some quality time together. Haley tries out some of her new music and finally is able to tell Nathan that she’s afraid he’ll get hurt playing Slamball. Nathan assures her that he knows what he’s doing this time and he’ll be careful. Their relationship continues to remain open and honest keeping them in the top spot as One Tree Hill’s best couple.

When Brooke returns home, she finds Sam trying to wash out the stains on Peyton’s wedding dress. Sam is crying and tells Brooke she’ll leave, but to her surprise Brooke only grounds her, telling her to stop thinking that people are always going to give up on her.

After some thought, Lucas decides to meet with Julian Baker to discuss his book. The two meet at Tric where Julian raves about the book, wanting to make the movie happen as soon as possible. Lucas eventually commits and Julian makes the offer to allow Lucas to write the screenplay. The two celebrate with more drinks and a round of pool and Lucas gets the idea to invite Peyton to the bar to celebrate. She does come and when she meets Julian, a look of panic crosses her face – the two know each other. Although it isn’t fully explained in the episode, the viewer can gather the two probably had some sort of relationship in LA. Julian seems happy to see her and the episode ends with some uncertainty – will Julian bring the “Leyton” relationship into troubled waters? Until next week!

Pret-a-Poor-J

Even a Jenny-centric episode can’t overshadow the Blair and Chuck “relationship.” As Jenny’s internship at Eleanor’s crumbled, Blair and Chuck came to an understanding about what those “three words, eight letters” would mean for their relationship.

The show began with another Blair fantasy dream (beginning a trend?). This time she was in the back of the limo making out with a mystery man (most likely Chuck Bass). She’s woken up by her live-in housekeeper, Dorata, who warns Blair about her fantasies. “Don’t forget God always watching Ms. Blair.”

In Brooklyn, Jenny’s running around the house while on the phone trying to make sure Eleanor will be prepared for her meeting with Bloomingdale’s later that morning. Jenny’s doesn’t have time to chat but manages to catch to house-guest Nate coming out the bathroom in his towel. Jenny looked extremely embarrassed but Nate played it very cool.

At work, Jenny’s fitting a young model for Eleanor’s line. The model, Agnes (such an old woman’s name), recognizes Jenny by the top of her head and Jenny replies to recognizes Agnes by her feet. Awkward but the girls form a little bond. Jenny’s excited to see the execs from Bloomingdale’s walk in because Eleanor promised her she could sit in on the meeting. Eleanor puts the brakes on that plan for the moment but Jenny takes the news professionally and goes back to work. Leaving her sketch book at home that morning Nate just happens to find and brings it to her at work. A friendly gesture or does someone really want to see our little J?

Blair strolls to school in the rain under her umbrella. A limo pulls up alongside her and the window rolls down to reveal Chuck. He offers her a ride and after first refusing she decides to accept (with a little nudging by Chuck’s puppy face that I didn’t know existed). It’s still Chuck’s little game though as he won’t let Blair in the car unless she says those three magic words. Blair says no and Chuck drives off.

Fed up with his antics, Blair goes to best friend and step-sister to her nemesis for help to ruin Chuck’s life. Blair interrupts Serena and Dan’s friendly conversation but wanting to make hers and Dan’s new friendship work Serena asks Dan for a man’s point of view on the situation. They first ask Blair if she loves Chuck which she adamantly denies. Dan than gives Blair what she deems good advice: She needs to wear Chuck down by being at his side at all times. Chuck can only take so much admiration.

After her meeting with Bloomingdale’s, Eleanor apologizes to Jenny about keeping her out of the meeting. She informs her that the executives loved Jenny’s dress and Eleanor asks her to create another one just like it to show to Bendel’s and Barney’s tomorrow. Jenny hesitates at creating a new dress in one night but with the promise of being included in the next day’s meetings she’s gung-ho.

New girl, Agnes, has other nightly plans for Jenny and takes her out to a club. Agnes loves the dress Jenny’s wearing (the one Eleanor wants duplicated) and asks if they can trade clothes. They slip into the bathroom and switch dresses. Outside they meet Agnes’ photographer friend Max who, every time was in a scene, couldn’t keep his finger off the shutter button.

Max takes millions of fun photos of the girls dancing in the club but soon Jenny needs to get back to work. Agnes tries to get her to stay out longer but Jenny knows she has to pull an all-nighter to finish the dress for Eleanor by morning. Agnes leaves with Max but the girls forget to switch-back dresses and Jenny’s left on the curb watching Agnes’ cab speed off down the dark city street. As Gossip Girl said, in the real world you can’t bring a note to the principal saying the drunk girl ran off with your homework.

Taking Dan’s advice (for the first time ever!), Blair waits for Chuck by his limo and asks him to go out for a drink, a normal Upper East Side teenager tradition. Chuck calls her bluff but Blair counters by saying he’s scared to have a simple drink. The two drive off to the nearest club and Blair tries to seduce then humiliate the young Bass. After Blair “accidentally” spills her drink in his lap and gets up to leave saying, “I’m bored and you ruined my pants.”

Blair calls Dan at the gallery, a surprise to Vanessa, to tell her his plan failed but Dan says she needs to keep forcing his hand. Later, while Dan and Serena try to have a conversation about Nate, Blair obsessively texts Serena about her plans for Chuck later that night.

In the next scene we see Blair’s plan in action. She’s taken over Serena’s room for the night to lure Chuck in from the hallway. She places candles all over the room and dresses in a small teddy to seduce her man. Her temptations work and Chuck tells her that he doesn’t need to hear those three little words. He takes her into his arms but before they can go any further the phone interrupts them and their plans are put on hold.

The next morning back at Eleanor’s, Agnes finds Jenny frantically working away at her station trying to complete the dress for the meeting in a few hours. Agnes tries to convince Jenny to create her own line and stop Eleanor from using anymore of her designs. Agnes leaves but Jenny looks convinced.

It definitely appears so once Eleanor shows up. Jenny finishes the dress but Eleanor finds the work insufficient for her meeting with the Bendel’s and Barney’s. Eleanor also calls out Jenny on her photo shoot from the night before and lectures her on the responsibilities of a real world job. Jenny’s heard enough. She takes her dresses and walks out. She better be confident in creating her own line because Eleanor did not look pleased as Jenny turned her back and departed the premises.

At the gallery, Serena brings Blair to talk to Dan again as she prances off to flirt with the new artist boy (more on him later). Dan asks Blair if she really loves Chuck. Blair implies a yes answer and Dan urges her to take the risk of actually telling him. He recounts how he told Serena he loved her and it was obvious he still does. Blair again takes Dan’s advice and texts Chuck to meet her that night.

Everyone who’s anyone attends the big art showing at Rufus’ gallery, a surprise to both him and Dan. Serena brings Blair and Blair invites Chuck to meet her later. Vanessa’s not thrilled to see her nemesis, Blair, at the party after the events that took place. It seems Vanessa forgot to tell best friend Dan about that little story and Dan’s not too surprised even after seeing a new side of Blair the past few days.

Blair receives a text from Chuck to meet her on the roof but before making her way upstairs Dan stops her. He tells her to not be so trustful of Chuck. Once on the roof, she keeps Dan’s words in the back of her mind and can’t go through with telling Chuck that she really does love him.

With no job and no school, Jenny finds the time to stop by the gallery. She’s not their long as new friends Agnes and Max intercept her. Agnes tells her about a magazine editor that wants to do a piece on the up-and-coming designer and asks Jenny come with them to meet him. Before walking out the door Nate grabs Jenny to ask her to hang out. Jenny says she has other plans and gets irritated when she thinks Nate becomes too overprotected for not being her father or brother. That’s right Jenny he wants to be your protector.

Nate finds the artist of the night, Aaron, who is friends with Jenny’s friend Max. Aaron warns him about Max and Nate sets out to rescue Jenny. He’s almost too late as he find Jenny and Agnes in only their bras as Max continues to flash photos of the girls. Either there was no editor or they ditched the meeting but Nate drags Jenny out of the apartment building. Jenny wants to know why he cares so much and he answers with a kiss, a long kiss with no fight from Jenny. The living situation just became either extremely interesting or extremely awkward.

Blair and Chuck’s night isn’t over as Chuck shows up at Blair’s house later. He tells her that they may love each other but admitting so would ruin their relationship. He says he may be able to tell her one day but he doesn’t want to mess up what they have (or don’t have at the moment).

As for Serena, she may have found herself a new man and although Dan’s putting on a happy face he doesn’t seem too thrilled. Serena chatted up the young new artist, Aaron, from Rufus’ gallery throughout the episode but when she figured out his riddle for her (it seems Aaron and Serena were “married” at an European summer camp), she was too late. She caught Aaron just in time to see him riding off with another girl on the back of his motorcycle.

Will Aaron and/or Agnes be back? Check the tabloids for those scandalous pictures of Jenny and Agnes and be back next week to find out how long Blair and Chuck’s new journey apart will last.

Chuck in Real Life

Welcome home Papa Bass! Bart finally made his long-awaited arrival back to his new family. Although he and Lilly did spend time together on his last layover (he revealed the “Lilly File” that had one little secret she doesn’t want anyone to know about), he announced at the breakfast table that his return would be for the long haul. With his homecoming, Bart comes bearing gifts for all his children (a suit for Serena, a watch for Eric and money for one of Chuck’s offshore accounts) and new set of guidelines for his family. A 1 a.m. curfew and family dinner every Friday night (reminds me of Friday night dinners at the Gilmore’s) are only a few of the rules in place for the Bart and Lilly’s children. We’ll have to see how long the children apply to their parents’ wishes.

To welcome home Bart, he and Lilly are throwing a dinner party for their friends. The kids can also invite their friends to the event. Keep this in mind.

Over in Brooklyn, Vanessa’s trying to enlist Dan to help her save a historic bar and apply it for landmark status. Dan’s busy with the soccer to team to help out at the moment. That’s right, lonely boy Dan Humphrey has been recruited by new friend Nate to sub in for an injured player. It looks like this friendship is progressing.

After their morning announcements, Serena and Eric ditched the limo ride to walk to school on the beautiful fall day in New York. Serena’s not sure about her mother’s new husband and the control she thinks Bart has over Lilly. Eric’s not convinced and is willing to give their mother a chance. Surprising for Eric since it was Lilly that locked him up in the nut house just two years ago.

Walking through the hallways, Dan and Nate run into Chuck. A quick exchange of unpleasantries before Nate blows off Chuck with Dan in tow. Blair swoops in to kick Chuck when he’s down. He tries to rebound by telling her that she’ll be crawling back to him one of these days. Blair informs him she’ll never sleep with him again. Don’t speak too soon Blair; you never know when you’ll need your partner in crime.

Speaking of crime, Vanessa’s looking for Blair’s services to help her save the historical bar and she has the ammunition to make Blair submit to her wishes. Vanessa still has those pictures of Blair’s ex, Lord Marcus, and his step-mother Duchess to blackmail Blair with. Blair’s posse may know that she broke up with the Lord but no one knows why except for Vanessa. It looks like Vanessa’s taking a page out of Blair’s book.

First night under the Bart Bass establishment and Serena’s choosing to live by the rules by staying in for the night. No surprise, Chuck takes this opportunity to outright defy his father and make a house visit to a female caller. He says the rules don’t apply to him and the family values set forth by Bart and Lilly are only a front for a Mid-West client Bart is shopping right now. Coming from a Mid-West town, I can honestly say we can be just as devious and sinful as the big city folk.

Serena takes Chuck’s advice and puts on a skimpy red dress to hit the town with. Heading to the elevator, she passes Bart who’s shocked to see her apparel and Serena tells him she’s looking to put on a show for the paparazzi. Bart can do nothing but stand there and let his step-daughter walk out the door.

The female caller for Chuck wasn’t looking for a good time but for her partner in crime. Blair invites Chuck over to acquire his services in helping her get rid of her Vanessa problem. She wants Chuck to seduce Vanessa in order for Blair to gain control back from her. The incentive for Chuck is to get back at Vanessa best friend, Dan, for stealing his best friend, Nate. Chuck accepts the offer and takes the flyer for the bar Vanessa’s trying to save. B and C are back in action and on the case.

The next morning, S and B get together for breakfast. Serena tells Blair about how she snuck out after Chuck told her he was leaving the house for the night. At the mention of Chuck’s name, a slight smile comes across the face of Blair and Serena picks up on it. Blair denies it and nothing more is said when Eric shows up with new boyfriend Jonathan. Excited for her little brother, Serena invites the two to join them and to tell her and Blair how they met. I really like the relationship between Serena and Eric. Serena looks after him as much as possible and really cares about him. Both Serena and Dan really look out for their younger siblings.

Speaking of Dan and Jenny, she tries to convince Dan that he’s never really had guy friends (and father Rufus doesn’t count) and his best friends have always been girls (Vanessa and Serena). Dan brushes her off and calls up Nate to play soccer in the park. After a stereotypical male conversation (what’s up bro?), Dan heads to Nate’s.

Finally, we see the historical site that Vanessa is trying to safe. Chuck pulls up in his limo acting like a knight on his high horse coming to save the day. Chuck sees buying the bar as a good business opportunity for Bass Industries. He promises to keep the bar vintage but before he and Vanessa can go over the details, another member trying to save the bar throws coffee in his face. Chuck departs but Vanessa realizes he may be her only hope to save the establishment.

Hearing about her daughter’s rendezvous last night, Lilly sits Serena down to talk about her relationship with Bart. Lilly wants to give her daughter structure and by her behavior, she should have put in place more structure before. Serena replies, “You mean the three husbands before?” Ouch.

When Dan arrives at Nate’s front door he sees a flyer for the seizure of the house. He looks to see locks on the doors but walks down to the stairs to another door to see that lock’s been broken. He enters the door and walks into the house. He flips the light switch to see the power’s off. He finds a mattress lying in the middle of the living room floor and Nate’s clothes scattered around. Young Mr. Archibald looks to be a squatter in his own home.

After facing rejection from Vanessa, Chuck returns to Blair to tell her the deals off. The revenge against Dan Humphrey is not enough for him to continue with Blair’s little scheme. She ups his incentive by offering to sleep with him if completes the deal and puts Vanessa to shame. Chuck, still longing for Blair after their split in the Hamptons, agrees to her terms. He obviously wants Blair back (seeing as he has no real friends right now) but are we seeing a Blair that also misses Chuck Bass?

Chuck goes back to Vanessa to say he’s spoken with his lawyer. All that’s needed is the Bass signature (not sure if that’s Chuck or Bart) and the bar manager’s signature. It may be hard for Vanessa to decline since she really wants to save this building.

A good thing these two made up last week because Serena needs Blair to lean on right now. She’s still not content with her family situation and doesn’t trust Bart’s family friendly system he’s put in place. Blair’s not exactly listening to every word as she’s trying on a new dress, a dress Chuck bought her before their planned trip to Europe. An outfit to tease Chuck perhaps?

Dan meets up with Nate in the park after his stop at the deserted house. Dan doesn’t mention he’s already been to Nate’s home but does question him on his living situation. Nate says his mom’s living in their Hamptons home and he decided to stay in the city. Nate avoids anymore of the question as he runs off to get the two boys a drink.

In the meantime, Chuck goes to the store to meet the manager. Apparently they both know a famous womanizer Joe Kennedy, a man Chuck admires (speaking of womanizer, I loved the music video of Britney Spears’ new song set to scenes of the infamous Chuck Bass). The manager gives Chuck a tour of the place and it appears that Chuck’s actually taking an interest in the place.

Back in the park, Dan calls Jenny and tells her about Nate’s situation. She tells him that Rufus is making his famous chili tonight and that Dan should invite Nate over. Is Humphrey making Nate charity case of the month?

Serena arrives home to see Eric’s boyfriend leaving. She asks if he’ll be attending and he says Eric did not invite him. Serena immediately assumes that Bart had a hand in this and told Eric he didn’t want Jonathan to be invited.

Chuck’s beginning to take a real interest in his new business opportunity. He also looks to be taking an interest in Vanessa and not in the deceiving way he was instructed by Blair to do. Chuck invites her to the Bass dinner part that evening and this could be a genuine invitation or the next step in his revengeful plan.

The dinner party doesn’t appear to be a small gathering of friends and family as a large group of press has gathered inside. Maybe Chuck was right and this is just a front for one of Bart’s business deals. Bart sees Serena enter in the suit he bought her and goes over to complement her. She thanks him but half-heartedly and grills him about not allowing Eric to bring Jonathan. He says she was misinformed and Eric chose not to invite Jonathan on his own.

Chuck’s going to buy the establishment and his courteousness towards Vanessa shows a change of heart from our bad boy. He escorts Vanessa around the party as Blair looks own wondering what her partner’s doing.

Dinner at the Humphrey household is a smaller gathering of Rufus, Jenny, Dan and guest Nate. Rufus asks Nate how he’s holding up after the tough year with his family. Nate tells him his mother’s still living in their Hamptons home (I wondering if that’s really where she is) and he didn’t want to miss any school by leaving the city. Dan tries to change the subject by talking about the soccer tricks Nate’s been teaching Dan. Nate returns to the original conversation so as to not show any signs of weakness for his real situation.

At the Bass dinner party, Bart confronts Chuck about his new business adventure. Bart’s not too fond of his son’s choices and doesn’t want to put his money into the bar. Vanessa spies the confrontation from behind a pillar and sees her and Chuck’s dreams fading quickly.

Cleaning up after their meal, Dan tells Nate he knows about his living situation. Nate immediately goes on the defensive and says he doesn’t want to be the next charity case. He excuses himself leaving Dan wondering if he did the right thing.

Vanessa finds Chuck to discuss what happened with his father. She starts to take pity on him. Chuck senses that but doesn’t exploit it. He does ask for her company. She looks hesitant at first but decides to stay with him.

Serena talks to Eric about Jonathan not being in attendance. Eric confirms Bart’s words that he did tell Eric he could invite Jonathan. Eric chose not to because he didn’t want to come out in front of all the press at the party. Before they can continue their conversation, a reporter interrupts the two and asks them about their favorite family memories. Serena lets loose and her emotions flow over. She tells the reporter about her mother’s many suitors and Lilly rushes over to try and stop her daughter. It’s too late as Serena goes on to talk about German Klaus with a “K” and Danish Claus with a “C”. She gives her Christmas story about a white Christmas with her mother’s coke head boyfriend. Lilly looks devastated but the damage has already been done and Serena walks out of the party.

Blair suddenly has a change of heart and tells Chuck she won’t go through with their deal. She may see Chuck’s relationship with Vanessa (if one exists) as a threat and will try to take down both of them.

Off in a corner away from the press, Lilly sits down with Eric to talk about Serena’s explosion. Although rude, Eric did agree with what Serena had to say and tells Lilly that Serena raised him more than she did. He informs his mother that Bart and she can’t just say they’re a family. They have to take the necessary steps to actually become a family. Eric has become a voice of reason for his mother and sister in this episode. Hopefully, we’ll get to see the story with his boyfriend play out over this season just to see more of Eric.

Dan comes to Rufus about how Nate blew him off. Dan wants to be Nate’s friend and in so doing help his friend out when he’s in trouble. Rufus tells him to not give up on Nate and get him the help he needs. I’m sure it’s hard to go from the billionaire kid to being a teenage squatter.

Vanessa picks up her jacket and purse from coat check but Blair’s already picked up the purse. She got a hold of Vanessa’s cell phone and deleted the blackmail photos. Blair tells her Chuck never really liked her and Vanessa replies that he never hit on her in the first place. Vanessa walks out but Chuck sees the conversation and comes over to confront Blair. He questions Blair’s intentions and she says that she held up her end of the deal meaning he can sleep with her. We know it’s what Chuck’s been after the whole season but now he doesn’t seem to be as eager.

Dan takes his father’s advice and heads to Nate’s. Waiting on the stoop isn’t Nate but Serena, the first time these two have come into contact since she alienated him from the entire student body.

Chuck blows off Blair for the moment and heads back to the bar. He pleads with manager that he wants to save the place but the manager doesn’t accept his offer. When Chuck walks out the door, Vanessa comes out of the shadows.

The Dan and Serena meeting came as a surprise but it was bound to happen sooner or later. The conversation doesn’t take place between the two exactly. Serena came to talk to Nate about her night but Dan tells her to talk to him like he was Nate, only fair after he used Dan’s name last week at Yale. She tells him about her speech to the reporters and confesses she’s not mad at Bart but at her mom. Serena then apologizes to Dan for all the terrible things she’s done to him over the past few weeks and Dan returns with his own apology. Bart pulls up in a limo to fetch Serena back home. It’s nice to see D and S speaking again and to make it more of a causal meeting then a planned event.

When Serena returns home, she sits down with Lilly. Lilly admits she did put the men in her life before her children. Bart and Eric join the two and Serena apologizes to both Lilly and Bart for her actions. The scene ends with a picture perfect family but no Chuck in attendance.

Dan also returns home but with Nate straggling in behind him. He’ll be taking a spot on the couch for the time being. I can only imagine how this we’ll lead to the kiss between him and Jenny that’s suppose to be happening soon.

Where was Chuck while his family was coming together? He went to Blair’s to claim what was his. The two began to kiss (with some strange film freezes) but Chuck suddenly stops. He wants Blair to say the three words, eight letters that he couldn’t say to her earlier in the year. She refuses and says their even but that’s not enough for Chuck. He turns the tables and says he’s done chasing her. Now it’s Blair’s turn.

New Haven Can Wait

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. Yale degree, please?

This week, the young New York socialites traded their stuffy Upper East Side for the collegiate atmosphere of Yale University. Blair woke up excited to visit the Ivy League school she’s dreamed about forever, Yale. Ex-best friend, Serena, woke up excited to visit the Ivy League school she’s dreamed about forever, Brown University. But, how fun is it if they went on two separate college visits? Definitely none, so the girls, along with the three boys, were off to New Haven.

Speaking of the boys, Dan started his day nervous about his interview with the Yale English Department. With a few encouraging words by his father, he took off for the hour train ride north. Chuck and Nate discussed their trip to Yale and the secret societies associated with the school. Chuck’s evaluating his choice of schools based only on the societies while Nate’s really set on going to the University of Southern California. My guess is because he wants to get away from his family’s problems anyway possible.

Before taking off in their separate limos, Serena breaks the week long silence with Blair. Blair wants no part of it. She insults Brown University as not being as worthy of the Ivy League title as the Holy Trinity made up by Harvard, Yale and Princeton. When Blair walks away, Serena decides to accept her Yale invitation she received a few days before and informs her driver of the shorter ride to Connecticut.

While the older kids frolic among the higher educated for the weekend, little Jenny continues her plans of staying with Eleanor’s company and not returning to school. Of course, Rufus is still not accepting his daughter’s choices even after Jenny and Vanessa inform him about the home-schooling option. They make a deal, however, that Rufus will consider her keeping the internship and doing home-schooling after spending the day with her at Eleanor’s. In return, if Rufus doesn’t agree then Jenny must give up the internship and return to school. I see this going either way.

On campus, Dan finds out he needs another reference for his application. The author he interned with over the summer didn’t send a recommendation of the young writer’s talents. Who can blame him after Dan spent most of the summer getting to know the girls coming into the bookstore then perfecting his writing skills? Dan’s mission, to find a Yale English professor to read his work and give him the good word he needs.

Elsewhere, Chuck and Nate scope out the Yale ladies. Nate’s doing most of the looking as Chuck’s waiting to be captured by Yale’s Skull and Bones. Each gets what they’re looking for. Nate picks a young woman to give him a tour around the campus. The Skulls find Chuck, pull a bag over his head and haul him off to their secret hideout.

We find Blair in the Dean of Admissions office waiting for her interview. She’s quite surprised when she sees Serena walking out with the Dean, both laughing. Serena said everyone likes a surprise but I don’t see Blair enjoying this one.

Nate and his female tour guide are talking on a park bench when they overhear the conversation next to them about Nate being on campus. Turns out, Nate’s father ruined many of Yale’s students’ inheritance. When his guide asks for his name, before continuing their day together, he passes himself off as Dan Humphrey. Why pick a name of real person? Joe Smith, always go with the average Joe name.

Chuck finds himself in a dark room where he’s questioned by top members of the Skulls society. He needs to prove his worthiness to be accepted. He offers them a party that lives up to his reputation of sleeping with more Maxim women than John Mayer.

On paper, Blair’s the perfect student to attend the fine institution of Yale. The Dean wants more insight into Blair though. Serena told the Dean of her quick jump into the modeling world. Blair has nothing and she becomes nervous, going on a tangent that appears to be targeted toward Serena. The Dean sees her out, obviously not impressed, but Blair doesn’t notice giving him a small peck on the cheek as she leaves. Awkward. Blair finds Serena outside and confronts her about moving in on her territory. Serena says she’s really likes Yale and the Dean invited her to his dinner party that evening, a dinner Blair was set on attending. Blair ends the conversation with the threat of taking Serena down by the end of the weekend.

Back in New York, Rufus tags along with Jenny to work. As he watches Jenny perform under the pressure, he sneaks back to Eleanor’s office. I still don’t understand their relationship except for her knowing about him and Lilly. Rufus wants Eleanor to fire Jenny but Eleanor won’t consider it. It looks like he’ll have to tell her “No” himself.

After his release from the Skulls dungeon, Chuck runs into step-sister Serena. Attempting to ruin Blair’s life even more, he gives Serena her answer to the Dean’s famous dinner question: What person real or imaginary, living or dead would you most like to have dinner with? The answer: George Sand, a literary woman who wore men’s clothing and apparently the key answer to finding one self’s on the Dean’s short list.

Nate’s tour ends in his tour guide’s room with an afternoon make-out session. Before continuing, his Yale lady wants Nate’s (Dan’s) impression of her favorite author. Knowing nothing about him, he plays it off as if his work was too boring to read. He’s almost saved by a knock on the door until the person behind the door is the real Dan Humphrey, looking for a recommendation. When the young woman realizes what Nate’s pulling she kicks both of the boys to the curb. Nate mad at getting kicked out and Dan mad about not getting a reference have it out on the stairs of the dormitory and part ways.

Blair needs an invitation to the Dean’s dinner party that night. In order to do so, she bribes the Dean’s secretary for an invitation in exchange for antiques the secretary collects. Oh Blair, so sneaky. Now that Blair has invitation, she gives Serena a surprise of her own showing up at the dinner unexpectedly. Serena’s not threatened, though, and tells Blair she’ll still use her answer to the Dean’s infamous question.

Nate finds himself at Mike’s Bar, alone. He calls up Chuck and leaves him a message that he wants to go home. Chuck’s throwing the Skulls a party with three young foreign girls who don’t speak a word of English. The party’s just the first step for Chuck’s initiation. The Skulls are looking for blood, more specifically Nate Archibald’s. Chuck’s instructed to bring Nate to them as soon as possible. The Skulls seem to make a mistake, though, when Dan’s kidnapped instead.

The Dean’s questioning has begun at the dinner party. First up, Serena with the answer of Pete Fairman. Serena stands frozen. Waiting for the Dean to announce George Sand as her answer, she’s shocked to hear the name of the guy she accidentally killed with a drug overdose that night in the hotel with Georgina. This can only be the handy work of Blair Waldorf. Serena pulls herself together and politely explains to the Dean the situation behind Pete. Serena then grabs Blair by the arm and pulls her out to the front porch. Serena’s words for Blair are not enough. As Serena goes to walk back inside, Blair throws her purse at Serena hitting her smack upside the head. Serena swings around, tells her she should not have done that and the two girls get into the first major catfight of Gossip Girl history.

It looks like Jenny’s dream of being a young designer is coming to end. Rufus still wants his little girl to finish school and Jenny, unwillingly, agrees to her part of the deal. They have one last stop to make before heading home for the day, a trip to the Bass household. Rufus has no interest in seeing Mrs. Lilly Bass but Jenny informs him she’s not home. We see Lilly is home trying on Serena’s dress and comes out to find Jenny and Rufus standing in the foyer. Jenny needs to pick up a pair of shoes for the dress and runs upstairs to fetch them, leaving Rufus and Lilly alone. Lilly tells Rufus how talented she thinks Jenny is and how lucky she is to know what she wants to do at such a young age. It looks like her words resonate with Rufus and he might be having second thoughts.

The Skulls come into Mike’s Bar bragging about conquering their nemesis Nate Archibald. Nate overhears the conversation and throws a punch at the bandleader of the group. Nate walks out of the bar and finds Dan on campus tied to a statue in only his boxers. Nate and Dan forget their earlier standoff and Nate attempts to help Dan out of his jam. He can’t untie the tight knot but not to fear, Nate’s tour guide arrives on the scene with the Navy intelligence to release Dan.

Sitting on opposite ends of the porch exhausted from their physical feud, Serena lets Blair know she can’t keep up with their ongoing war. She wants to break off their friendship for good. She calls a cease-fire and the two girls part ways for the night.

The next morning, Jenny wakes up to Rufus and Vanessa having breakfast. Rufus changed his mind (surprise, surprise) and called Vanessa over to tell Jenny about home-schooling. Jenny can also keep her internship at Eleanor’s. Rufus says he and his parents had a rocky relationship after they wouldn’t let him pursue his music career and he didn’t want that relationship with his daughter. Hopefully this won’t cut down on Jenny’s already limited screen time.

As the sun rises over Yale University, Serena’s making her way to the Dean’s office to tell him that Blair really deserves to attend the elite school. Serena runs into Blair on the way and Blair says she already did the same for Serena. The two realize they don’t want to lose their friendship and agree for their feud to be over.

A new friendship is blooming between Dan and Nate. We see the boys spending their last day with their new Yale gal pal. With a recommendation from her, Dan’s dream of Yale has not ended.

Chuck informs the Skulls and Bones that he won’t be attending Yale and any harm they want to bring to him wouldn’t be in their best interest. Chuck’s girls at the party were really spies and have photos of the future CEO’s of America.

Nate meets up with Chuck at the limo. He knows Chuck had the Skulls kidnap Dan instead of him the night before. He declines the ride back to the city and heads to the train station.

Serena’s phone rings with the Dean on the other end. Serena made early admission but Blair will have to wait. Serena won’t accept the offer and is willing to give up her dreams to keep her friendship with Blair. The question is would Blair have done the same?

I have a few questions at the end of this episode. What’s Chuck’s storyline this season except to ruin the lives of everyone around him? The only real moment we’ve had is him trying to tell Blair he loves her and the intimate conversation with Dan in jail about his mother. It looks like he’s featured in next week’s episode but he’s helping Blair ruin Vanessa’s life.

Another question, how long will Dan and Nate’s friendship last? Once the two return to school, will Nate follow suit with the rest of the student body and abandon Dan?

Last question, can Serena and Blair rule the school together? Blair’s been queen since Serena took a year hiatus and now the two are friends again. Who will the posse follow, the overthrow queen or the young, hot socialite or both?

One Tree Hill Season 6 Episode 6 – Choosing my own way of life

Two weeks ago, we were left with the thrilling chase through the cornfield with Nanny Carrie and the climax of Dan shooting her to put a stop to the madness. This week gives much calmer story lines for the characters.

Lucas is off to do a tour for his book which begins in Omaha. Although no one seems to care about his book, including the new promoter which replaced Lindsey, he is able to see his old friend Mouth. If Lucas thought he was going to be popular in Omaha, he is surprised his friend is so well known as a sport’s caster. A fan comes up to Lucas to ask him to take a picture of him and Mouth. A young girl also comes up to Lucas’ table and asks him to sign her book – a gossip girl book. Glad to see that the show supports its fellow CW friends.

Sam, Haley’s student who was caught sleeping in the back of a car last episode, is having a tough time at her foster home and Haley is sympathetic. She approaches Brooke and asks her if she’d be interested in taking Sam in, but Brooke says no because she has so much to do now that she’s decided to start her life over.

Milly, who is back in OTH helping Brooke, comes up with a list of things Brooke can do. Confusion comes across Brooke’s faith as the suggestions range from sky diving to becoming a mom. When Brooke says these things are not good suggestions for starting a new company, Milly simply says they are good suggestions for Brooke to start to heal herself. Brooke embraces Milly and expresses her thanks for such a wonderful friend.

Brooke makes incredible strides this episode by finally admitting to Peyton that she was attacked instead of the fall back excuse she initially used which was falling down the stairs. Peyton and Brooke have a nice heart to heart, pledging to be best friends forever ,and sealing the deal by baking a batch of cookies.

Peyton however has her own troubles with her paternal father, Mick. She finds him sprawled on the pool table drunk, with a one year sober chip lying next to him. His only explanation to her is that he would have made a terrible father. Peyton is upset and tells him she wishes he never came to find her.

Dan has a moment with Nathan in Tree Hill High. Nathan tells his dad “you saved my family, but you killed my uncle, I’m not sure where we stand”. However Nathan does know Jamie loves his grandpa and Dan is allowed in Jamie’s life. Dan picks Jamie up from school. The two get ice cream and spot Deb and Skills sharing an intimate moment. A look of jealousy comes across Dan’s face for a moment, but he conceals it during their conversation. Skills later asks Nathan if there’s a chance Deb and Dan will get back together but Nathan doesn’t want to hear about it, nor does he want to hear about Skills’ relationship with his mom. Dan does still seem interested because Deb receives flowers from him, but Deb throws those out and takes Skills’ flowers instead.

Nathan, still undecided about taking the coaching position, gets another offer from a team to play. The trick is the team is called Slam Ball, which involves the players shooting hoops while jumping on trampolines. Jamie thinks it looks awesome, but Nathan has some fears about his back. Owen, Brooke’s ex boyfriend from last season, plays on a team and suggests to Nathan to give it a try. In the scene, Owen asks Jamie how he likes the game and Jamie says “Sorry Owen, I’m on team Brooke”. Nathan decides to play, but only after he gets Haley’s permission.

After Lucas’ book tour gets a terrible turnout in Omaha, the publisher decides to cancel the rest of his tour. Lucas is angry at first and wishes to speak with Lindsey, but he is rebuffed and decides to go home. Mouth surprises him by showing up at the airport and offering to go with Lucas on a road trip back to Tree Hill since Mouth decides to leave Omaha; being away from Milly is too hard.

Brooke decides to become a foster parent for Sam and brings her home. Although Sam is initially opposed to the idea, when she’s given her own room for the very first time, a smile spreads across her face. On the other side of the door, Brooke has a smile as well.

Peyton’s last scene with her father is an emotional highlight in the episode. He comes to see her and lets her know he’s going to bum off a friend of his while he’s on the last leg of his tour. Despite all the problems, she has tears streaming down her face as he walks away. Right before he walks out the door, she calls him and tells him she’s glad he gave her up so she could have a better life with more responsible parents. Later Peyton calls her adopted father and tells him she loves and misses him.

The only real mention of the Nanny Carrie fiasco comes at the end when Haley is talking to Jamie before bed. He admits to having nightmares and Haley does as well. She suggests she stay with him that night, and Nathan, who is looking on, jumps on the bed with his family and decides to stay too, giving the episode a much happier ending than last week. Till next time!

90210: “Hollywood Forever”

Season 1: Episode 7

October 7, 2008

Doesn’t it seem like in every high school show with awkward sexual tension between a male and female lead that the “baby project” comes out? You know the one, where the boys and girls have to pretend to be married and raise a fake baby (anything from an egg to an actual doll that responds?) That’s what this week is all about, Annie and Ethan get partnered up and their only other friend in the class, Navid, gets stuck in a same-sex partnership with the class ass. Meanwhile, “Sil Vicious” is all alone and getting Kelly to probably kill her while painting one living room wall from pale green to black, and having a half birthday party in a cemetery to watch Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. It seems they all have these big events that everyone goes to, including this one. Even Annie and Dixon’s parents show up. So does Ryan, with a girl he met online who is dumb as a post but needed to save face with the new student in the shared English class with Ryan, who basically makes his life miserable and hits on him in the process.

Grandma Tabitha finally comes back this episode! She has the hands down best lines, including ones in this episode about how she swims nude in the pool, starting a fight with her daughter-in-law.

Annie’s dad and Naomi’s mom dated in high school, eventually making a baby they put up for adoption. Naomi’s mom approaches him about finding the child, mentioning a P.I. When the dad talks to his wife he only wants to put a letter with the adoption agency in case the son ever comes looking for them. Naomi’s mom doesn’t listen (like mother, like daughter) and goes ahead to hire the P.I.

Annie and Adrianna both go for the role from the previous episode. Annie does well all on her own. Adrianna struggles then in a Cruel Intentions moment sniffs some powder and does all better. She eventually gets the role. Meanwhile, she tells Naomi about her problems and even says she will tell her mother that she needs help and to go to rehab. She is met with her mother making her a huge cake for getting the role and “saving” them, saying that they were on the fast track to lose the house.

That new student, she is an undercover cop hired by Principal Harry to sniff out drugs in the school. This happens after a raid, that Adrianna has a lipstick tube full of powder (I assume cocaine). Instead of her getting in trouble when she is freaking out about being expelled, Naomi takes the tube and the heat for the drugs. Adrianna promises to come to her rescue and tell the truth at the lawyer’s office but never does. Annie tells her dad she saw Naomi take the tube, and Naomi calls Adrianna repeatedly, but she never answers. The episode ends with Adrianna passed out and unresponsive on a floor at a party, paramedics over her and trying to revive any of her vital signs. Meanwhile, Naomi is leaving her a message how she is “dead to her.” Will she survive?

90210 : “Model Behavior”

Season 1, Episode 6

September 30, 2008

In the aftermath of the play, Adrianna is upset that Annie took her role and denies that she does drugs. Her little plot with Ty involved at the hotel gets Annie to tell the guy she never wants to see him again. Meanwhile, Annie’s dad wants Adrianna and Annie to stop bickering over the role and just get along, telling Annie to hang out with Adrianna and try to make friends. She does, eventually inviting her to come assist with her mother’s first big photo shoot at a fashion show. Once there, a girlfriend of an agent who was brought to the play by Adrianna’s mother approaches Annie, telling her to audition for a low-budget scary movie she is producing. Annie mentions she only was the under study for Adrianna, getting Adrianna into the audition too. This makes them friends, at least for now.

Meanwhile, Naomi is still desperately trying to get her parents back together. She keeps thinking that if she forces them to the same place at the same time they will just figure out how they miss each other since they went to bed together that one time. Her first attempt is to invite her dad and the other woman to dinner, and then try to sabotage the relationship by saying that he is a workaholic and that her dad slept with her mom. She even gets an extra ticket for her mother to the fashion show, then calling her dad with a 911 emergency to run there, without telling the other one. They both just take it out on her when they realize, and tell her how much they are not getting back together. Ethan tried to warn her real life was not like the Parent Trap, and she chose not to listen.

Brenda (now almost a teacher), Ryan and Kelly are all friends and worried about Adrianna. Ryan still would like to date Kelly, but it seems less and less likely to happen as Dylan calls her at school and wants to see her and Sammy, and tells him he doesn’t want her to wait for him. Ryan and Brenda then go to the fashion show to make sure Adrianna is not doing drugs, making a big scene that eventually makes her think that the principal was using Annie as a narc. Annie and Adrianna weren’t getting along anyway when she told Annie about lying to her about Ty.

Navid feels like a third wheel when Dixon and Silver start dating. Instead, he wants to get set up with someone, first suggesting Annie. Dixon and Silver try to make it less weird for him by bringing him to the fashion show too, and he meets a few girls that like Persians. Silver gets approached by a gross older dude who wants her to do modeling, then tries to hit on her. She basically tells him off and Dixon and the guy get in a fight.

In the end, Naomi and Ethan break up for good, Kelly leaves for two weeks with Sammy to go see Dylan, leaving Silver alone in the house. Annie tells Ty she just wants to be friends, and Adrianna gets into a sketchy car after asking for a guy that “doesn’t work for him anymore” from the guy in the car. She still buys and does drugs on the spot.

The Serena Also Rises

After four weeks of back and forth with Dan and Serena, the two finally parted ways episode to discover who they are without each other. In last week’s episode Serena moved to the top of the class, dethroning Blair as queen of the school and her first action as commander was alienating her ex, Dan, from the rest of the student body.

Fashion Week in New York City brings to the city the best designers, the best models and the best competition. Eleanor gave Blair the privilege to set the seating arrangement for her fashion show. Blair reminded her mother that Serena and she would again be backstage with her at the show, as they have traditionally done in the past. We all know traditions change and with last week’s power shift it wouldn’t be long before they did.

Little Jenny Humphrey played a big role this week as her internship at Eleanor’s would finally pay off during this busy and exciting week for fashionistas. But Jenny makes time for her designer dreams by ditching school and lying to big brother Dan about it.

Seems that Bart Bass is still traveling around the world and leaving his lonely wife, Lilly, to attend to the décor of their new home together. Lilly appears in higher spirits compared to last week when we found her on Rufus’ doorstep trying to restart a friendship that Rufus said ended the day she walked down the aisle with Bart. Lilly will be all right though as long as she has a joyful relationship with her children after last year’s shaky reunion.

At school, Chuck tries to take another path back to Blair’s heart by propositioning her to help make her “Queen B” again. Blair turns him down but she’s going to need some kind of reinforcements as her second row seats to Eleanor’s fashion show don’t beat Serena’s new friendship with young, socialite Poppy.

Dan finds himself in trouble with his writing again when he goes to see his editor. Dan’s trying to find material to send with his application to Yale’s English Department. His editor advises him to reach out of his comfort zone, learn something new and find someone not like him. That look in his eye shows Dan knows just who to ask.

You guessed it – Chuck Bass. Dan tells him he needs a little adventure in his life not revealing the urgency for his new story. It’s time to experience the life of Chuck Bass, hope you’re ready Dan.

With only a few days until the show, Eleanor is running around her studio frantically, making sure all her designs are Waldorf standard. She also has to deal with her daughter’s seating chart not being up to par according to Laurel. “Kirsten Dunst. So 2007. Her rehab stint barely made the radar.” Not to worry, Little J knows some girls with clout – Serena and new friend Poppy.

When Blair gets wind of this seating chart change, it only lends fuel to her fire. Already upset with her posse’s infatuation with Serena and Poppy, Blair jumps into revenge mode when her housekeeper tells her Miss Jenny made the switch to put Serena in the front row. Back from the break, Blair confronts Eleanor about the seating change. Blair explains to her mother that Serena wouldn’t approve but apparently she already agreed via a conversation Eleanor had with Lilly. Looks like that backstage tradition just went down the tubes for S and B.

Just why didn’t Jenny learn from her mistakes of last year? Blair quietly reminds her of the past and B’s got leverage when Eleanor informs her Little J supposedly has an independent study. Blair informs her mother that it’s very strange for a 10^th grader to have an independent study. This point brings me back to reality that Jenny is just a lowly sophomore even though her actions this season and the end of last season make her look 20.

To start the night, Chuck takes Dan to a bar and orders three shots for each of them. Dan, hesitant at first, agrees to the drinks and takes that leap “down the rabbit hole.” Pushing Dan’s limits, Chuck encourages washing down a pill of ecstasy with one of his shots. He takes the pill to go all in.

Serena, still not comfortable with her new title, informs her mother that Poppy’s publicist has the two girls seated front row at Eleanor’s show. She realizes how upset Blair will be if she doesn’t watch the show backstage together but Lilly and Poppy do their best to convince her to take the seats. Poppy talks her into it with passes to the Mark Jacobs’ after party with enough for Blair to tag along. Serena seems comforted by this notion but we all know Blair Waldorf doesn’t tag along.

With her leverage, Blair crosses the bridge to make a pit-stop at the Humphrey household. She informs Rufus that his daughter has missed 10 days of school on account of mono. Rufus sees right pass the charade but does know his daughter’s not sick. Time to check in on Little J.

First, we return to Chuck and Dan in the back of the Bass limo. Dan’s feeling very good in his drunken stupor and Chuck satisfied with his entertainment for the night drops Dan off on hooker’s lane nowhere near Brooklyn. With no shoes for the walk home, Dan does have quite a few story ideas now.

Rufus goes to Eleanor’s studio to find Jenny working late. He drags her out of the studio while Blair watches on. The next morning at breakfast, Jenny tries to convince her father she was keeping up with her homework and that the truancy would only last through fashion week. Certainly not a good enough answer for Rufus. He informs her that he called the headmistress and Jenny now has a meeting with her on Saturday afternoon, the day of the fashion show. The meeting could be Little J’s last shot at not being expelled but only fashion is on the mind of the up-and-coming designer.

Serena comes over to Blair’s home to invite her to the after-party but Blair won’t have any of it. Serena’s fear of leaving Blair backstage alone without consulting her came true. The confrontation broke their friendship further as Serena told Blair she would take those front row seats and enjoy them thoroughly (obviously out of spite at that time).

Dan is one step closer to writing the perfect story for Yale. Only problem, he is going to have to write it from his nemesis’ point of view, Charlie Trout (very creative with the fishy last names). Dan needs to find the humanity in Charlie (Chuck) and that comes with finding his most kept secret. Cutting up this Bass could get messy.

Little J goes to the school for her meeting but Laurel is calling her non-stop to get to the fashion show immediately. Jenny makes a choice and appears to ditch the headmistress for the show. Wait until Rufus finds out.

At the show Serena finds her seats have been moved to the back row. It looks like Blair’s been playing a little musical chairs but Jenny sees the commotion and comes over to the defense of Serena. Eleanor walks up to solve the problem moving Serena’s seats back to the front, shooing Blair backstage and moving Jenny up as her helper for the show. Blair taking a backseat to Miss Jenny with her mother won’t sit well with B.

I think we’ve found the human side of Chuck. He sits alone in the club, on the phone with his father who’s just gotten back into town. He wants to have a drink with his father but Bart isn’t interested, blowing off his son to take another call. Dan shows up just as Chuck hangs up and challenges him to show the true-life of Chuck Bass. Round 2 – DING!

Just before show time, Blair’s planning her next attack on Jenny. She slyly tricks one of Eleanor’s assistants into giving up Jenny’s job orders – shuffling the models up to the runway. What could Blair have in mind?

Back at the club, Dan asks about Chuck’s childhood. Why does he find himself at the bar alone every night and not with spending quality time with dear old dad? Chuck avoids the question and walks up to the bar to pick up, what he thinks is, a hooker. Turns out the girl’s boyfriend was in the bathroom and doesn’t like what Chuck was insinuating by giving his girl cash up-front. Just as the boyfriend is about to punch out Chuck, Dan steps up and clocks the boyfriend.

Rufus returns home to see Jenny’s not there and sees a message on the answering machine. It looks like Jenny did take that meeting but her situation is out of control. He looks down to see the advertisement for Fashion Week and we all know where he’s heading next.

Rufus might have more to worry about as we find Chuck and Dan in jail. Dan knows his chances of getting into Yale probably ended tonight with an arrest on his record. Chuck has a more positive outlook on the situation taking pride in the fact that his father will have to call the lawyers to get Chuck out of this mess. Then the humanity starts to seep out of Chuck’s closed exterior. He reveals to Dan that Bart’s always hated him mainly because he thinks Chuck killed his beloved wife. Chuck’s mother, Bart’s wife, died in childbirth and Bart never got over it. Are Chuck and Dan forming an unlikely friendship?

We find Bart home again, his first appearance this fall, with his new wife welcoming him home. He says he has a gift for her and Lilly thinks it’s a piece of artwork that she was trying to get a hold of. It’s only another piece of fine jewelry but Bart does know where the artwork is. It seems he found it when he had a private investigator look into Lilly’s past. Not a very trusting man.

Emergency! Emergency! The models go missing, no thanks to Blair, and Jenny has to find replacements for Eleanor’s show. Jenny keeps her cool after she finds out Blair sent them home after she told them they had been overbooked (B’s right on one thing, no one said models’ were the brightest in the bunch). Little J walks out to the front of the runway to enlist Serena and her socialite friends to don Eleanor’s designs for the fashion show.

Backstage, Serena again finds a reason to try and back out of a situation that could further deteriorate her relationship with Blair. Poppy tells her that she’s more beautiful than Blair and she needs to stop holding herself back. Well that’s really laying it all out on the table. Serena still doesn’t want to hurt Blair but Poppy assures her Blair will be supportive. I think we all know Blair won’t be supportive and switches the dress Serena’s suppose to wear with Jenny’s after-party dress. Not only will this mess up her mother’s show but also get Jenny in trouble with Eleanor for slipping her own designs into the show.

As Serena struts her stuff down the catwalk (no need for Tyra’s confirmation here), Jenny asks why Blair is still trying to ruin her life and why she just doesn’t take her throne back. Blair tells her she can’t and J realizes this whole setup is about Serena. Another character’s true humanity starting to show, as Jenny tells Blair that she’s earned everything she’s achieved when Serena simply breezes through life.

Collecting his possessions from the officer, Chuck mistakenly gets Dan’s items but doesn’t return them back immediately when he sees Dan’s notes on him. He sees Dan’s been writing down what he thought would be kept in confidence.

Bart turns over the secret file to Lilly. Lilly tells him she’s not ashamed of her past anymore and wants her children to know who she really is. Only one item in the file does seem to shake up Lilly as she questions Bart where he got it.

Eleanor finds Jenny backstage and rips into her about switching the dress. Laurel runs up to tell Eleanor that Jenny’s dress was a smash hit. Jenny tells Eleanor she can take credit for the dress as an apology and although tentative at first, she accepts the offer. In the end, Blair stands up for Jenny telling her mom that it was Jenny who saved the show in the first place.

Jenny finds out a “crazy man” is outside trying to get into see her, says he’s her father. Jenny knows that it is Rufus but tells the woman to send the man away. Jenny’s definitely not getting brownie points at home tonight.

Busy with Jenny (so it appears later), Dan doesn’t call Rufus but his editor to come bail him out of jail. Luckily the charges against Dan were dropped but Dan’s tells the editor he’s not going to use Chuck’s secret. The editor is quite disappointed in the young writer but Dan has another story idea – to write about his nasty and inconsiderate editor.

At the after-party, Eleanor lifts a glass to Jenny for her heroics of the night. Rufus shows up just in time to witness the toast and Jenny sees him out of the corner of her eye.

Blair looks in the back to talk to Serena and apologize for the dirty trick she pulled. Serena’s mad about Blair’s attempted sabotage and admits that she’s been holding herself back to not outshine Blair. Blair’s taken aback and can’t believe the words coming out of S’s mouth. It’s only one more step on Serena taking on full power of her crown.

Rufus pulls Jenny out of the party and updates her on her new life consisting only of bread, water and school. Jenny wants to focus on fashion like Rufus did with his music when he was young. Jenny makes the mistake of almost upstaging her father on their talents and Rufus catches her before she says it a loud. Jenny then tells him that she told the headmistress that not only does she want to focus on design but that she’s not coming back to school at all.

The night closes on Lilly accepting Bart’s necklace, a sign that she’ll submit to his power. Last, we see Blair watching Serena and Poppy pose for the paparazzi before getting into their limo. Two women, used to asserting their independence and power, now find themselves lost among the crowd.

Next week’s a repeat so see you in two weeks.

One Tree Hill – “You’ve Dug Your Own Grave, Now Lie in It”

Suspense and success are common themes on this week’s One Tree Hill.

Lucas has to go to New York to see the final product of his new book and that means coming face to face with his ex-fiancé Lindsey. He hasn’t told her about his engagement to Peyton, but he intends to do that when he sees her in New York. Nathan gets a call from a D league basketball team that is interested in meeting with him. Jamie exclaims “It’s the NBA” and we see a smile come across Nathan’s face that hasn’t really been there since the big Raven’s win in season four. Meanwhile, Nanny Carrie is digging a grave in preparation for Dan’s death and is keen on Jamie’s return.

Haley gets a call from someone who claims Dan is at the hospice and with only hours to live. Haley is torn as to whether or not she should take Jamie to see him. She wants to talk to Nathan about it, but he has left to talk to the D league recruiter so she decides to leave him a voicemail telling him to call her back. Of course we all know Dan is not at a hospice and Nanny Carrie’s plan has been set into motion.

Peyton continues to speak with Mick which makes her happy because he knows about her mother Elle. She wants to hear more about her dad; Mick says her parents fell in love at first sight. When she asks him why he thought her parents didn’t keep her, he noticeably slips by saying “we”. Peyton is now sure that this is her father, although he has still yet to admit it, and invites him over to her house for dinner to talk more about her family. He accepts.

Brooke continues therapy and admits feeling empty since she signed over the company to her mother, as though now she has no purpose in life and she’s “failed”. She feels even more defeated when a group of movers come and start to pack all of the clothes in the shop to bring back to New York. She’s afraid because everyone is moving forward and she feels like she isn’t. The therapist puts it into perspective and tells Brooke she’s a bright, intelligent girl and she’ll figure it out. Meanwhile, Sam, the girl who stole from the store and Brooke gave clothes to, comes into the store just before the movers come and wants to return the clothes. When the movers begin to pack things into boxes, Brooke, who initially would not give her the return, gives the money to her because the company is officially no longer hers.

Nathan meets with the basketball recruiter who ends up telling him that he wants him in a coaching position and isn’t interested in Nathan playing on the team. He tells Nathan that his playing days are over, but he should consider coaching. Nathan is discouraged but tells him he’ll talk to his family and think it over.

Lucas meets Lindsey in New York and as he begins to tell her about the engagement, she tells him she doesn’t want to get into an emotional discussion with him. Later when the two are in a marketing meeting and they’re reviewing Lucas’ book tour dates, he realizes he can’t make the Chicago date. He won’t give the reason specifically in the meeting and Lindsey pulls him into her office to discuss it. It finally comes out that the reason he can’t make the Chicago date is because it’s the day of his wedding to Peyton. Lindsey of course is a bit shocked and quickly just says she’ll get the date switched. She’s short with him and simply says she always knew this is what would happen. Lucas sees her in the bar later and apologizes for how things happened. Lindsey, with tears in her eyes simply says, “I was always pulling for the couple in the book.” She hands Lucas a copy of his book and later Lucas notices on the inside cover she wrote a small message telling him she’d miss him and always love him.

The climactic moment of the episode, and the moment we’ve all been dreading or possibly waiting for, comes as Haley pulls her car up to Nanny Carrie’s house. She tells Jamie to wait in the car and when she goes inside, she discovers Dan. She unties the straps on his wrists, but Nanny Carrie comes from behind and hits her on the head which knocks her out. Nanny Carrie then proceeds to go to the car and tells Jamie to open the door. Jamie won’t do it, “my momma told me not to”, and Nanny Carrie, getting frustrated, brings a sledge hammer to break the window. At this point, Jamie has escaped the car and is running toward a cornfield. A game of cat and mouse ensues as Nanny Carrie pursues Jamie in the cornfield, all the while saying she’s “his momma now.” Somehow Haley is revived and is able to grab Jamie in the cornfield and tells him to be quiet. Unfortunately right at that moment, Nathan calls Haley’s cell phone which helps Nanny Carrie find where they are. Both Jamie and Haley begin to run quickly out of the cornfield. Just as Nanny Carrie is about to catch them, Deb appears out of nowhere and smashes a bottle in her face. Deb found out Haley and Jamie was there because she saw a picture of Nanny Carrie and realized it was a trap. She proudly claims the bottle she hit Nanny Carrie’s head with was the bottle she saved for the day Dan died. As the two talk, Nanny Carrie rises and is about to hit them with the sledge hammer, when Dan appears on the porch and shoots her in the stomach. His only response? “God I hate the woods.” Dan, once the villain, becomes the hero.

Meanwhile, Brooke is eating at a diner and goes to pay when she’s told the check has already been taken care of. She finds Sam and thanks her. Sam says it was Brooke’s money anyway that paid for the meal since she used the money from the returned clothes. The two seem to form a bond. Later a shot shows Sam sleeping in the backseat of a car, suggesting the girl is homeless.

The final scene has Nanny Carrie somehow alive again, lying on the ground, telling Dan she isn’t dead. The speech seems ridiculous, Dan is still holding the gun, and he reminds her of the night in the hotel room when he promised her what he’d do to her if she ever came near his family again. She lays there laughing and Dan rightly shoots her again and the episode ends. Here’s hoping she’s finally dead!