The Witches of Bushwick is the 9th episode of the fourth season and 74th episode overall.
On the Upper East Side the possibilities are endless. Dom or Krug, Winston or Cartier, Tory or Stella, eventually even the people with everything have to choose.
-Gossip Girl
Summary[]
To put their love triangle to rest for the last time, Dan and Nate give Serena an ultimatum. Jenny returns to town and joins forces with Juliet and Vanessa to take down Serena. Meanwhile, Blair sets her sights on becoming the new face of Anne Archibald's Foundation for Girls and Chuck needs to build business back up at The Empire, but their relationship might be the only thing standing in the way of success.
Recap[]
The episode begins with Serena arriving at the VDW's to take Eric and Eliot to lunch, but find they've already eaten and are making venn diagrams on Dan vs. Nate. Serena admits that she did choose when she called Dan, but then Nate said things she couldn't ignore, she ran to her room and haven't spoken to either since. Lily comes downstairs, and angrily reads a New York Post article on Serena and Colin to Serena, then tells her that Dean Reuther is asking to see them in her office. At the loft, Dan has also seen the paper and leaves Serena an awkward voicemail that he's there if she needs someone to talk to. Nate arrives, and Vanessa announces she brought them together because she knows they miss each other. At the Waldorf's, Chuck and Blair are getting dressed to restart their day after hooking up. They express their support for the other's endeavors that day: Chuck getting attention for his hotel and Blair winning Anne Archibald over to be the face of Girls, Inc. Blair wishes that she could have gotten a reservation at The Lion, and Chuck offers to use his business dinner reservation to go with her instead. Blair agrees, and they make plans to meet at eight. Chuck leaves, and Blair tells Dorota to prepare a collection of clothes so she can choose what to wear out with Chuck, then tells her not to think about it and just do it. Outside, Chuck calls the manager of the restaurant to get a reservation; revealing he never had a reservation but lied to get Blair to go with him.
At Columbia, Lily offers to make a donation to the school but Dean Reuther replies that the only thing she's interested in is getting Serena out, and that she's happy to facilitate a transfer. Lily argues that Serena chose Columbia and that she is the victim. She threatens to have an article on Colin exploiting her, and Dean Reuther backtracks telling them to consider the option. At the loft, Dan and Nate decide to each ask Serena on a date and whoever she says yes to, is the one she wants. At the VDW's, Serena and Lily arrive home to find Jenny there. She tells Lily that a girl named Juliet contacted her looking for ways to take Serena down, including leaking a story to Page Six. Lily tells her that she'll take it from here, and Jenny leaves to go catch up with Alison at MOMA. When Lily and Rufus go upstairs, Jenny calls Juliet to tell her everything is in place on her end, and Juliet shares that Vanessa has the boys in place too. At the Waldorf's, Blair and Anne are meeting. Anne mentions that the board is questioning her relationship with Chuck. At The Empire, KC tells Chuck that his Black & White Ball is a bad idea, and the way to drum up business is to let them live the Chuck Bass bad boy image. Both Blair and Chuck promise that their relationship isn't important and that their success is worth more. At Juliet's apartment, she excitedly says that Lily contacted her requesting a meeting. Juliet remarks that the next step is to steal Serena's phone, but Jenny explains that she replaced Serena's SIM card so they can get all her incoming calls and texts but don't have to worry about her thinking she lost her phone.
Meanwhile, Blair and Chuck are both having pedicures at their respective apartments and call each other. Blair tells him that she read that the restaurant's portions are small and the crowds are big. Chuck agrees and Blair replies that she was lying to get out of dinner to distance herself from him to get Girls, Inc. Chuck explains that KC thinks she's too good for his bad boy reputation and it's hurting business. Serena arrives home, and tells Blair that neither of them can have secret relationship. She confesses to Blair that she's only going to hurt herself and lose the opportunity with Anne, but Blair promises she won't so long as she keeps things with Chuck on the downlow. Blair suggests she find mediation, and Serena decides to go shopping to clear her head. In Brooklyn, Nate and Dan confirm the details for their deal and send the texts. At Juliet's, Jenny and Vanessa reply to both texts promising to be at each date. At the Waldorf's, Chuck and Blair think up new ways for success. Blair suggests Chuck throw a Saints & Sinners party, and he gives the word to set it up. He suggests she have a tasteful dinner for Anne and the board, and she agrees. They begin to make out and in the heat of the moment, Chuck tells her he loves her. She pauses, then they continue. At the VDW's, Lily meets with Juliet and tells her to leave Serena alone. Juliet mentions that Colin isn't the only teacher Serena had an inappropriate relationship with, and reminds her of what happened when Serena was at boarding school as a minor. She threatens to tell Dean Reuther, and Lily offers to pay her off. Meanwhile, Serena is shopping with Eric and Eliot. They get a GG blast telling them about Chuck's party changing themes, and bored of shopping, they boys leave. Once they're gone, Juliet tracks Serena down and tells her that Lily is paying her not to reveal her other secret, then leaves.
Meanwhile, Dan calls Vanessa while at the park wondering if Serena is there. She pretends to be at the loft by telling Dan Serena isn't there, while Jenny sees an incoming text from Nate wondering where she is. Nate calls Chuck, who informs him that Serena isn't at The Empire. While on the line, Chuck asks what to do now that he accidentally told a girl he loved her during sex. Nate advises him not to worry about it, and Chuck debates whether to take the advice. At the Waldorf's, Blair confides in Dorota about Chuck telling her he loved her. Dorota suspects he meant it, and asks why she didn't say she loved him back. Blair replies that she's an empowered woman who doesn't need a man. At the VDW's, Serena confronts Lily about paying Juliet off. She's angry that Lily didn't believe her, but Lily reaffirms that she was protecting her future and keeping her past of bad decision making secret. Back at the Waldorf's, Blair is surprised with a catered dinner from The Lion to serve at her party, courtesy of Chuck. Dorota tells her that it's just like in a romance novel she's reading where the man declares his love for the heroine, and Blair takes off her dress, revealing her slip, and heads to Chuck's party. Outside the building, both Dan and Nate arrive to wait for Serena. They realize she said yes to both of them, then stood them both up. Serena walks up and asks what they're doing there. Dan tells her that she has until midnight to decide between them, and Nate agrees. At Juliet's apartment, all three girls are pleased that their plan is working. Juliet instructs Vanessa to deliver a copy of Serena's resume to a member of the Girls, Inc. board and inform them that Serena would like to be considered for the position. A GG blast comes in telling everyone about the Dan vs. Nate coming to a head, and attached is a video of Serena dressed for the party about to leave. Juliet and Vanessa worry about what next step to take, but Jenny announces she has a new plan.
At the party, both Juliet and Jenny arrive dressed and styled exactly like Serena, and enter under her name. Meanwhile, at the Waldorf's, Vanessa calls Juliet to tell her that she got the resume to Anne. Juliet tells her to get the meeting moved to the party, but Vanessa doesn't know how. Juliet instructs her to tell them that Blair arranged a special surprise there to show her dedication to Girls, Inc. and then tells Vanessa to start showing more initiative. Blair approaches Jenny dressed as Serena but becomes annoyed when she just walks away. At the VDW's, Lily admits to Rufus that Colin wasn't the first teacher Serena was involved with, then explains that she was with someone at boarding school but she found a way to handle it. Back at the party, Juliet approaches Nate and kisses him, then walks away. Meanwhile, Serena, Eric, and Eliot arrive at the party but Serena is stopped, and security tells her that Serena is already inside. She tells Eric to get Chuck or KC to the door for help. Elsewhere, Juliet approaches Dan and kisses him, then walks away. Up on a balcony, Jenny sees Blair and Chuck together. She admits that she heard Chuck say he loved her, and he admits to her that he did mean them. They agree to accept the consequences of being together, only to have Jenny pull the curtain and reveal them to the crowd downstairs. At that moment, Serena and Anne enter the party. Chuck and Blair kiss in front of everyone, and while everyone is watching, a GG blast comes in revealing Serena kissed both Dan and Nate, attached with pictures. After everything, Blair tries to explain what happened to Anne. She tells her that her being with Chuck ruins her image to run the foundation, so they are no longer interested. Also, she asks Blair to tell Serena that they aren't interested in her either. Meanwhile, Juliet puts drugs into Serena's mask while Serena tries to explain what happened and that she didn't kiss them. Both Dan and Nate inform her that they're done, and that they chose for her. Juliet switches masks with Serena without her noticing, and Blair comes to confront Serena. She accuses her of exposing them, and that Anne told her that she also applied for the position. After their conversation, Blair goes to Chuck and KC, who tells them that the party and the scene are only going to be food for business. After KC is gone, Blair sadly tells Chuck that she can't have everything unlike him.
Outside, Serena has put her mask on and begins stumbling around. Juliet puts her into a taxi, and then gets in with her. After the cab is gone, Chuck and Blair talk. Blair tells her that they can't be together until she achieves her own success first, and they agree that if they're meant to be, they will be eventually. Elsewhere, Jenny tells Vanessa that she's going back to Hudson before she's caught by Blair or Rufus. Vanessa offers to text Juliet to see if they can meet and celebrate. In another part of the city, Juliet gets the text but ignores it. With Serena passed out beside her, she takes her phone and sends an email from her account to Dean Reuther saying that she's withdrawing from Columbia. At The Empire, Chuck drinks alone and at the Waldorf's, Blair sits alone and reads Dorota's romance novel. Elsewhere, Dan and Nate agree to play a video game and pretend Serena doesn't exist. At the VDW's, Lily gets the call that Serena dropped out of school, and tells Eric, who has just gotten home. Eric replies that alienating everyone and disappearing is Serena behavior, and Lily agrees, saying there isn't anything they can do anymore. In a motel, Juliet leaves Serena alone, passed out on the bed.
Starring[]
Main Cast[]
- Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen
- Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf
- Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey
- Chace Crawford as Nate Archibald
- Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass
- Jessica Szohr as Vanessa Abrams
- Taylor Momsen as Jenny Humphrey
- Kelly Rutherford as Lily van der Woodsen
- Matthew Settle as Rufus Humphrey
Recurring/Guest Cast[]
- Zuzanna Szadkowski as Dorota Kishlovsky
- Katie Cassidy as Juliet Sharp
- Connor Paolo as Eric van der Woodsen
- Francie Swift as Anne Archibald
- Luke Kleintank as Eliot Garfield
- Jayne Atkinson as Dean Reuther
- Deanna Russo as KC Cunningham
- John DeLucie as Himself
Soundtrack[]
- An Old Photo Of Your New Lover by The One AM Radio
- Devils by Say Hi
- Fast Enough by Infernal Devices
- We Live Underground by Lights On
- Lightning (UTNG Version) by Birds & Batteries
- Make Me Wanna Die by The Pretty Reckless
- Hot Sahara by Fans of Jimmy Century
- I Saw The Light by Spoon
Memorable Quotes[]
Dan (on missing Nate): Don't think this means I've been calling out your name in my sleep.
Nate: It's not like I've been writing Mrs. Nate Humphrey in my notebook.
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Serena: B, you and Chuck have way too much history to interact in a casual way.
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Chuck: I love public.
Blair: I love condemnation.
Chuck: I love you.
Blair: ...Of course, no one does black like Dior.
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Eric: Dan vs. Nate was hard enough, I am not touching Good vs. Bad Serena.
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Nate (to Chuck on revealing his feelings): Relax, man. Girls know that when a guy says that during sex it doesn't mean I love you, it means I love having sex with you!
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Dorota: Where are you going?
Blair: Straight to hell with all the other sinners.
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Blair (to Jenny dressed as Serena): I know that you think my being with Chuck is a bad idea, but you have bad ideas all the time!
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Chuck (on saying I love you): I meant it, Blair. With all my heart.
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Chuck (to Blair): Let's go up in flames together.
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Blair: As long as I'm with you, I'm Hillary in the White House, and I want to be Hillary, Secretary of State, but with better hair.
Chuck: Then you'll find another way to show the world you're a force to be reckoned with. We'll build our futures together.
Blair: I followed my heart all last year and it led me nowhere. Now I have to follow my head.
Chuck: You don't need to choose between them. Look at Brad and Angelina, they take turns on top!
Blair: Yeah, but she won an Oscar first. I'm sorry, but I have to be Blair Waldorf before I can be Chuck Bass' girlfriend.
Chuck: I love you.
Blair: I love you too. I don't expect you to wait..
Chuck: If two people are meant to be together, eventually they'll find their way back.
Blair: Do you really believe that?
Chuck: I do.
Blair: So do I.
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Dan: I don't want to sound like a high school cheerleader, but I'm glad we were in this together.
Nate: You're not hot enough to be a high school cheerleader.
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Trivia[]
- The episode title is based off the movie The Witches of Eastwick.
- On Eric and Eliot's list, Dan lost a point for being from Brooklyn, but gained five points for being smart, sexy, and a recent friend. It was also noted that he is almost related to Serena. Meanwhile, Nate gained four points from being from the UES, being athletic, preppy, and sexy. He lost a point for having no siblings.
- In their venn diagram, Dan's side noted that Serena has known him since Constance, they're almost related, is from Brooklyn, is easy to talk to and take her out of her element, is an excellent writer who writes sincere poetry, but has Jenny as a sibling. Nate's side pins him as athletic and good at lacrosse, lives on the UES, grew up with Serena, is loyal, closer to her in location, has a great smile, but dated Juliet. Their intersecting sides labeled them both as 6 feet tall and an ex. Serena's section notes her as a dreamer, smarter than she thinks, has great style and hair, and is the center of attention.
- When Jenny tells Juliet that it isn't her first masquerade party, she's referring to the ball in season one's The Handmaiden's Tale.
- Taylor Momsen's song Make Me Wanna Die plays in the episode at Chuck's party.
