We're going to go ahead and call this the first official Gossip Girl/Lily crossover event. Present Day Lily is daydreaming about her past as a blazer-wearing, Porshe-driving, teenager growing up in Malibu, CA. Sadly, she's just gotten bounced from her fancy school in Santa Barbara for disreputable behavior. Hmmm. Like Mother, like daughter...
Question: Is Jenny wearing a wig these days?
After having Serena arrested on false charges and letting her sweat it out in jail for a couple hours, Lily stops by to spring her daughter from the joint. Turns out Serena's not so eager to forgive and forget, but instead roles out as many hurtful insults as she can muster ("I'd rather give my kids up for adoption than end up like you...Oh, wait, you did that." Zing!).
Back in Malibu, Andrew McCarthy! It's good to see you! You're looking so much tan and smiley, and less crazy than you did on Lipstick Jungle. We're loving you, as Lily's too-busy-to-parent, Tower Records exec father. Wish we could say the same for Cynthia Watros (aka Libby from Lost) as a shoulder pad-clad, gin guzzling CeCe -- she seems to play the role slightly drunk at all times, which we feel like may be too literal an interpretation of the character. Lily wants to move in with her dad after her parents recent divorce, but A. McCarthy lives life in the fastlane, and can't have a teenager with abandonment issues holding him back.
Despite our dislike of Cynthia Watros, we have to admit that watching the angry scenes from Lily's childhood does bring a formidable chill to the air in the scenes between Lily and her mother in the present. The tension is glorious. Meanwhile, in an effort to prove her maturity to Lily, Serena's decided to remain stubbornly in jail until Lily sees fit to let her make her own decisions. My, how adult of her.
Back in Malibu, Lily's on a quest to find her rebel sister who waits tables at a local diner by day, and frequents underground rock clubs by night. Lily enlists the help of a strapping young busboy (bartender?) named Owen, who it seems knows where to find the rogue sister. Luckily, Carol keeps her entire wardrobe in her locker at the restaurant, so it only takes Lily one outfit change montage to get ready to rock. Owen takes Lily to the club, wherein they find both Carol and No Doubt. Lily tries to tell Carol about her whole boarding school drama, but Carol's distracted by drama of her own.
It's prom night at Constance Billiard. Nate's accusing Chuck of
sabotaging his night with Blair before it even begins, but true to his
word last week, Chuck is trying to let Blair go from his clutches if
not his heart. The mean girls are rigging the prom queen election to crown Nelly Yuki and humiliate Blair. Thank goodness Chuck's moved into guardian angel mode. Dan convinces Serena to abandon jail, don a Jenny Humphrey original prom dress, and come away to the ball.
Lily comes crying to Rufus about Serena. Rufus gives her a pep talk and shows her the door. Back in LA, Carol and Owen convince Lily to break into the party of a music video director, which ultimately results in Lily jumping onto said music video director's back and beating him with her purse. The beatdown earns her the admiration of both Owen and her sister, but also lands her in jail.
Back at the prom, Chuck's unstuffing the ballot box to ensure Blair's win. Sadly, Blair catches him with a fistful of Yuki votes, and assumes he's in cahoots with the mean girls, despite hearing her own name called for queen. Turns out Chuck engineered the whole evening to match the prom scrapbook Blair's secretly kepts since childhood. Blair saves the last dance for Nate, and then follows Chuck into the sunset. Okay, that didn't happen, but it should've. Instead, Blair and Serena end the night on the steps basking in the glow of pseudo-sisterly love, Lily makes nice with Grandma CeCe, and back in 1983, Carol bails Lily out of jail and agrees to let her move in and go to school in LA. And thus, the stage is set for next fall's Lily premiere.
Previously:
Should Brittany Snow Play "Lily" in the Gossip Girl Spinoff?
The Gossip Girl Spinoff Will Be Set In the 80's?
Gossip Girl Spinoff: The Cast of Lily is...Cast
