Season 1 Episode 1
The ‘Pilot’ is the first episode of the popular TV show, Gossip Girl and it all starts with the news on a very popular blogsite about the return of Serena van der Woodsen’s [enacted by Blake Lively] to Manhattan after a very mysterious year-long spell at a boarding school, published by a unknown blogger who writes under the pseudo name “Gossip Girl”. The news of her coming back becomes the buzz of the town, but Blair Waldorf [enacted by Leighton Meester], Serena’s best friend, is not much happy to meet her friend again, mainly because she has planned to lose her virginity to Nate Archibald [enacted by Chace Crawford], her boyfriend, and the she is unable to do so as her friend Serena has suddenly appeared at the “Kiss on the Lips” party.
Serena and Blair have a tête-à-tête, but their refreshed friendship does not last long as Blair’s boyfriend Nate Archibald confesses to her that he and Serena had enjoyed a very romantic evening followed by sex with each other the night before she left for the boarding school .Blair, upset with this revelation forgives her boyfriend, but not her now former best friend.
Blair is definitely focused to get on with Nate, a guy she has been dating since kindergarten, although, the boy doesn’t look very eager to be in this relationship. Howie, Nate’s father, explains him that Blair is the right choice for him as she is rich enough. This strain makes their relationship weak also because Nate was also interested in Serena but who has told him categorically that she didn’t return for him.
Even the highly knowledgeable blogger, ‘Gossip Girl’ does not know the real reason behind Serena’s unexpected homecoming. The truth is that Eric, her younger brother tried to commit suicide, and even though he failed in his attempt he is admitted in a psychiatric institution. Not surprisingly for Eric, the institution is unquestionably the better place to live than the perfect Van Der Woodsen estate. His mother Lillian van der Woodsen, a very status-conscious lady, camouflages the disgraceful news about her son, not at all convinced that it all happened due to her wrong parenting. Serena corners her mother about it, but her icy mother tells her: “So it’s not like you’ve been gone doing God knows what with God knows who.” Her mother still doesn’t understand when Serena exclaims that boarding school was never like that.
Lillian has bought her daughter a new dress for the party, but Serena conveniently picks up the first guy near her, who is Dan, and asks him for a date. Dan, who is quite smitten by Serena since she came back is quite amazed but Serena tells him that a guy she doesn’t know can’t be worse than the ones she already knows.
It appears that Lillian has some connection with Dan’s father too as Lillian stops by Rufus’ so-called art gallery and asks him whether he is using her daughter to get back with her, especially since his own wife has left him. Rufus accuses her back, but she orders him to stay away from her life.
In the “Kiss on the Lips” party, Jenny, Dan’s younger sister is having a great time but Chuck Bass, a well connected person, tries to take sexual advantage of Jenny, who quickly sends a text message to Dan, for help.
Serena and Dan, who are having a nice time together, are interrupted and they rush to the party venue and find Jenny on the roof with Chuck all over her. Dan punches Chuck hard as Serena shouts at him to not to touch Jenny again. But as they are about to leave, a mortified Chuck shouts a caution to Serena, threatening her that he will tell everyone at the school about what happened between Serena and Nate on the night she left for a boarding school. Serena, Dan, and Jenny take a cab and move away from Blair and Chuck’s hateful scrutiny.
The Gossip Girl says, “Spotted Serena making a heroic exit from B’s party. Too bad for her there’s school on Monday.”
