Monsters of Television

“Goodbye, Little J. I look forward to never seeing you again.”

Was anyone, character or audience, actually glad to see the return of Jenny Humphrey? While she may not be my favorite character I was certainly excited by her return. She always managed to screw Chuck stuff up as a regular presence and so her sudden return to the Upper East Side was sure to be rife with drama.

And it was.

Blair has blamed Jenny for her series of unfortunate events lately but it seems that her worst enemy is herself. “Easy J” explores how we’re often the harbingers of our own doom, a lesson that Serena, Juliet and even Chuck would have to learn.

You all know my feelings on Serena so let’s begin with her idiocy. The “sleeping with a teacher” storyline had been used previously  by Dan back in season 2, but it was only a matter of time before Serena gave it up to a professor. Granted she didn’t know he was a professor at the time so that part isn’t her fault. The decisions she made once learning this information on the other hand…

It came down to staying in his class and behaving as a typical student and teacher would or drop his class and bang him on the reg. It seemed for a moment she was going to choose class (although, as even Colin pointed out, her assertion was far less than convincing) but seeing as she has none, she opted for the boy…man…whatever. Teacher. So this is nothing new for Serena. It wasn’t until Lily became involved that she actually seemed to display a human emotion: shame.

Lily was so proud to learn Serena was taking such a difficult class as Psychology of Business (the class Colin taught) and really dicing into her books instead of diving into bed with some boy. The look on her face was priceless when she learned that she was hot for the teacher. And he was hot right back. Serena just can’t win. She was given the opportunity to better herself and she threw it away. But sometimes even the stupid can stand up and make a good decision. In the end Serena and Colin agree that the class is important for the both of them (no duh, Professor Dumbshit) and agree to behave themselves for the duration of the semester and see what happens afterward. Don’t expect this sudden change to good decision making to last. Not only is it Serena we’re talking about but the promos for next episode already promise a lot of sexual tension. And not just between Serena and Colin.

Chuck and Blair turn out to be their own worst enemies as well. Jenny’s return was all orchestrated by Chuck in an attempt to use her to destroy Blair. Genius. However, once it backfires, Chuck and Blair realize that they only have themselves to blame. Jenny is not the root of Blair’s unhappiness, and even if she is, focusing on that isn’t helping anyone. So a truce comes into play, one that will surely lead back down the road toward a Blair and Chuck sexytime reunion.

Jenny seems to have moved on from the Serena van der Woodsen School of Bitches and grown up a bit. She does reveal to the world (wide web) that the reason for her exile was sleeping with Chuck. She soon realizes that that move makes her no better than Blair and Chuck, whether she wins or loses against them. So she pulls a Serena and leaves again, determined to escape the poisonous atmosphere and those who thrive in it.

Jenny wasn’t as dumb or obnoxious as she normally is. She came back, stirred the pot, grew up a bit, and imparted knowledge on others as she exited. It was nice to see her in her element again as well. Even though Blair did (gloriously) screw up her interview with Tim Gunn, we still got to see her portfolio and remember that she does have a great talent. Although she is gone once again, Taylor Momsen is still a regular so she’ll be back. In what capacity? I don’t know. The may run with her rise in the fashion world (the best, long-running story she’s had) or perhaps something new.

SPOILERS: No seriously, these are actual spoilers. Go away if you don’t wanna know. Word on the street is Jenny’s next return will see her getting involved with Juliet’s plan to take down Serena. This excites the hell out of me.

Juliet (slowly become a favorite character) shot herself in the foot this episode. She admits to brother Ben that she’s fallen for Nate and she doesn’t want to lie to him anymore. Good thing Ben understands. Oh wait, no he doesn’t. He gets his Shawshank buddies to beat up Nate’s dad who had recently been moved to the same facility. Juliet gets the message, she can’t stay with Nate. So heartbroken, she breaks it off.

But she had no time to mourn over her failed relationship cause she had more evil planning to do. With Colin. That’s right, the Mr. Fitz to Serena’s Aria is in on the scheme. How do I join this Upper East Side version of Akatsuki? A group dedicated to taking down Serena van der Woodesn? My dues are in the mail.

This season keeps getting more and more interesting.

Final Thoughts:

• So Dramatic. You should be a writer.” Burn of the century.
• Tim Gunn was such a great (and long overdue) guest star.