Hi, Society
Encyclopedia
"Hi, Society" is the tenth episode of the first season of the CW
television series, Gossip Girl
. The episode was written by Joshua Safran and directed by Patrick Norris
. It originally aired on Tuesday, December 5, 2007 on the CW
. The episode received positive reviews from reviewers and critics. The character of CeCe Rhodes received critical praise throughout the episode
Hi, Society focuses mainly on the growing relationship between Dan Humphrey
(Penn Badgley
) and Serena van der Woodsen
(Blake Lively
), the complex love-triangle between Nate Archibald
(Chace Crawford), Chuck Bass
(Ed Westwick
) and Blair Waldorf
(Leighton Meester
), and the slow transformation of Jenny Humphrey
(Taylor Momsen
) from an outsider to a social climber. The episode further delves into the difficult relationship between Rufus Humphrey (Matthew Settle
) and Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford
)and introduces a new recurring guest character to the series, CeCe Rhodes, Lily's mother and Serena's grandmother, portrayed by veteran actress, Caroline Lagerfelt
.
. Blair expresses her relief at moving on from Nate and Serena reminds Blair that she won't be attending. Meanwhile, Nate tells Chuck that he's falling for Blair again. While practicing for Cotillion, CeCe Rhodes (Caroline Lagerfelt
), Lily's mother and Serena's grandmother, arrives with masked disappointment when she receives news that Serena won't be making her debut
and meets Dan, whom she views as responsible for Serena not going. Jenny worriedly ponders her decision on attending her mother's art
exhibition or volunteering at Cotillion. While Blair and Chuck make out in her room, Nate arrives at Blair's loft, waiting for her. Nate proceeds to apologize with the intent to win Blair back and successfully doing so when he shows her a pin that she sewed into his sweater sleeve. Blair accepts his offer to attend to Cotillion with Nate as friends, unaware that Chuck has been listening to their conversation. At the gallery, Jenny and Rufus have an argument over her attending Cotillion instead of her mother's art exhibition. Alison (Susan Misner
) walks in, hoping to surprise Jenny with shoes she bought from a thrift store until Jenny flatly rejects the shoes. As the Rhodes women bond over Serena's boarding school trips and stories, CeCe privately tells Lily of her illness, revealing more of Lily's past when she states that she did not attend her Cotillion when she was younger, and slowly manipulating her into forcing Serena to attend Cotillion. While lying to Lily about her permission to go to Cotillion, Jenny and Lily run into Alison and Lily inadvertently reveals Jenny's lying, leaving immediately. Jenny guiltily sees a pair of shoes that Alison had been intending to purchase for her.
During a luncheon at the Waldorf apartment, CeCe introduces Carter Baizen (Sebastian Stan
) to Serena as her escort. The aura of wealth and affluence eventually makes Dan uncomfortable at the party and CeCe toys with his exclusion from Serena's wealthy world. Her intention is to turn Dan against Serena but instead he tells Serena that he will be her escort. Alison and Jenny have another argument that soon drives Alison into asserting her parental role and demands Jenny's presence at her art exhibit. Chuck however, has other plans when he confronts Blair regarding Nate. Blair coldly dismisses him while she waits for Carter to retrieve the jacket he left but Chuck uses Carter's attendance in Cotillion to toy with Nate. At the gallery, CeCe decides to take matters into her own hands and attempts to bribe Rufus by offering to purchase every painting in the gallery in return for convincing Dan to revoke escorting Serena. Rufus declines the bribe, stating that Dan can't be bought. CeCe callously tells him that Serena can be bribed just like Lily, and reveals that she forced Lily to choose between Rufus and her inheritance. At the Van der Woodsen suite, CeCe expresses her disappointment over Serena's presentation statement and forces Lily to change it while Serena calls for Jenny, revealing that Dan will be her escort while Jenny takes matters into her own hands and goes to Cotillion. Hoping to convince Serena of her grandmother's manipulative nature, Dan reveals to her all of CeCe's actions since her arrival but fails to persuade her.
As Cotillion proceeds, Serena discovers the change in her presentation statement and is angered to discover her mother's involvement in it. Carter messes with her statement and extensively humiliates her mother, her grandmother, and the announcer. While dancing, Chuck tells Nate that Carter just flirted with Blair and Nate accidentally starts a brawl that results in he and Carter being escorted out by security. The brawl damages Blair's dress, and she persuades Jenny to fix the dress in return for forgiveness causing Jenny to miss her mother's art exhibition. Serena later discovers from Carter that CeCe has been manipulating her all along while Lily calls Dan to tell him to fight for Serena. As Chuck offers to dance with Blair, she assumes that Chuck has been planning to ruin her and leaves him. Serena soon confronts her grandmother, ambiguously telling her granddaughter that her illness might be true but the two are surprised to see Dan, waiting for Serena and beginning their first dance.
In pursuit of Blair, Chuck finds her kissing Nate on the hotel stairway, breaking his heart. Jenny arrives at the gallery but finds it empty, with Alison giving her advice to reflect on the person she's becoming. As the night closes, Rufus calls Lily saying that he now knows why she left him, further stating that he wished that he had never let her do so. The ending montage shows Blair and Nate kissing romantically on a bed, and then having sex, Dan carrying Serena out of the hotel lobby, Lily looking on at Dan and Serena, CeCe taking pills (confirming that her illness is genuine), and Chuck leaving Manhattan.
reprises his role as Carter Baizen after his first appearance in the fourth episode of the first season, Bad News Blair.
episode of Gossip Girl, costume designer Eric Daman told New York Magazine,
Eric Daman considers Blair's silver brocade gown as one of his eleven favorite looks from the series during a September interview for New York Magazine, calling it "very beautiful and retro."
The Pierces
were set to perform live during the Debutante Ball, performing two of their songs from their third album Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge
, performing 'Secret' and 'Three Wishes', portraying the band that would play throughout the scene.
praised the writer's direction of the episode, stating "Gossip Girl needs evil like a flower needs the rain." and positively compared "Hi Society" to the previous episode, "Blair Waldorf Must Pie!". "[...] last week’s hideous Thanksgiving episode was an anomaly mostly because of the holiday: Thanksgiving is supposed to be about family and togetherness, after all, so it was the antithesis of the petty manipulation and dysfunction that makes this show purr. The moment it became clear that “Hi, Society” was going to center around a cotillion—that deliciously antiquated ritual left over from the earliest days of New York high society—I had a feeling the show would find itself again." Tobias also assessed the character development of Jenny Humphrey. "The only real complaint I have with this episode is the fairly graceless way Jenny’s descent into snobbery was handled. I think it’s a good idea to have this very young girl poised between two different worlds—one that buys its extravagant shoes from Saks and the one she has the economic misfortune to occupy. Jenny’s flirtation with Blair is a temptation to the dark side that a girl of her age and insecurity would find hard to resist [...] I wish Jenny showed a little of the independent-mindedness that helped her survive Blair’s slumber party ambush several weeks ago. By the end of the episode, it looked like Jenny was unconvinced by her mother’s scolding, which can only be good for a show that’s firmly back in its element. Tobias praised the writers' handling of the Blair/Nate/Chuck love triangle, the Blair-Chuck relationship, and Chuck's development. "I’m not entirely sold on Nate’s about-face with regard to Blair, but it made for some juicy intrigue as Blair continued her dalliance with Chuck while slowly letting Nate back into her life. Chuck goes from the proud, devilish peacock [...] to the spurned, vengeful lover at the end."
The character of CeCe received critical praise throughout the episode. Movieline
listed CeCe Rhodes in their list of The 5 Worst Mothers on Television Today, describing her as cold and manipulative and enumerated her many manipulations during the episode. New York Magazine praised the revived social class tension between Dan and Serena as well as the character of CeCe, stating that "[she] reminded us that even old ladies can be catty bitches." further praised her character attributes, particularly her "nakedly manipulative, as fabulously coiffed, simply as stone-cold awesome" and for expanding the character storyline behind Lily and Rufus' past. Scott Tobias also praised the character of CeCe, declaring "The big star of tonight’s hour was Serena’s beloved Grandma CeCe, a character that would have been perfect for Angela Lansbury
circa The Manchurian Candidate
. So prim, so refined, so wonderfully malevolent, she seems to lurk around every corner and drinks cocktails like rocket fuel, never letting her ice to get too lonely."
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
television series, Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl (TV series)
Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007...
. The episode was written by Joshua Safran and directed by Patrick Norris
Patrick Norris
Patrick R. Norris is an American television director.His directing credits include Chuck, Friday Night Lights, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Hidden Palms, Related, Bones, North Shore, The Division, The O.C., Boston Public, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Twilight Zone, American Dreams, Roswell,...
. It originally aired on Tuesday, December 5, 2007 on the CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
. The episode received positive reviews from reviewers and critics. The character of CeCe Rhodes received critical praise throughout the episode
Hi, Society focuses mainly on the growing relationship between Dan Humphrey
Dan Humphrey
Daniel Randolph "Dan" Humphrey is a fictional character in the best selling Gossip Girl book series. He is the main male character in the television series of the same name and is portrayed by Penn Badgley. Daniel Humphrey is the son of Rufus Humphrey and has a younger sister, Jenny Humphrey. His...
(Penn Badgley
Penn Badgley
Penn Dayton Badgley is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Humphrey on the CW television series Gossip Girl. He has also starred in the movies John Tucker Must Die, The Stepfather, and Easy A....
) and Serena van der Woodsen
Serena van der Woodsen
Serena Celia van der Woodsen is a fictional character in the young adult novel series Gossip Girl and its television adaptation. Serena is featured on the blog of the novel series' mysterious "Gossip Girl" narrator...
(Blake Lively
Blake Lively
Blake Christina Lively is an American actress and model who stars as Serena van der Woodsen in the television teen drama series Gossip Girl...
), the complex love-triangle between Nate Archibald
Nate Archibald (Gossip Girl)
Nathaniel Fitzwilliam "Nate" Archibald is a character in the best selling Gossip Girl book series. He is portrayed by Chace Crawford in the television series of the same name...
(Chace Crawford), Chuck Bass
Chuck Bass
Charles Bartholomew "Chuck" Bass is a fictional character in the Gossip Girl series of teen novels and the television series of the same name. He is portrayed by English actor Ed Westwick. Although he is a secondary, antagonistic character in the original book series, in the television series Chuck...
(Ed Westwick
Ed Westwick
Edward Jack P. "Ed" Westwick is an English actor and musician, best known for his role as Chuck Bass in the main cast on the American television series Gossip Girl.-Early life and career:...
) and Blair Waldorf
Blair Waldorf
Blair Cornelia Waldorf is the main character of Gossip Girl, introduced in the original series of novels and also appearing in their television and manga adaptations. Described as "a girl of extremes" by creator Cecily von Ziegesar, she is a comical overachiever who possesses both snobbish and...
(Leighton Meester
Leighton Meester
Leighton Marissa Meester is an American actress and singer. Meester first garnered attention for playing Blair Waldorf in the CW television series Gossip Girl...
), and the slow transformation of Jenny Humphrey
Jenny Humphrey
Jennifer Tallulah "Jenny" Humphrey is one of the characters in both the Gossip Girl and The It Girl series of novels by Cecily von Ziegesar...
(Taylor Momsen
Taylor Momsen
Taylor Michel Momsen is an American actress, musician and model who portrays the character of Jenny Humphrey on the CW television series Gossip Girl and portrayed the role of Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and fronts the rock band The Pretty Reckless.-Early life and career:Taylor...
) from an outsider to a social climber. The episode further delves into the difficult relationship between Rufus Humphrey (Matthew Settle
Matthew Settle
Jeffrey Matthew Settle is an American actor best known for playing Captain Ronald Speirs on the HBO show Band of Brothers and Rufus Humphrey on Gossip Girl.-Career:...
) and Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford
Kelly Rutherford
Kelly Danne Melissa Rutherford is an American actress known for her roles of Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on Generations, Megan Lewis on Melrose Place from 1996 to 1999 and currently as Lily van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl...
)and introduces a new recurring guest character to the series, CeCe Rhodes, Lily's mother and Serena's grandmother, portrayed by veteran actress, Caroline Lagerfelt
Caroline Lagerfelt
Caroline Eugenie "Carolyn" Lagerfelt is a French-born stage, film, and television actress of Swedish descent, long-based in the United States.-Early life and education:...
.
Plot
The episode opens with Blair and Serena discussing CotillionCotillion
In American usage, a cotillion is a formal ball and social gathering, often the venue for presenting débutantes during the débutante season – usually May through December. Cotillions are also used as classes to teach social etiquette, respect and common morals for the younger ages with the...
. Blair expresses her relief at moving on from Nate and Serena reminds Blair that she won't be attending. Meanwhile, Nate tells Chuck that he's falling for Blair again. While practicing for Cotillion, CeCe Rhodes (Caroline Lagerfelt
Caroline Lagerfelt
Caroline Eugenie "Carolyn" Lagerfelt is a French-born stage, film, and television actress of Swedish descent, long-based in the United States.-Early life and education:...
), Lily's mother and Serena's grandmother, arrives with masked disappointment when she receives news that Serena won't be making her debut
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
and meets Dan, whom she views as responsible for Serena not going. Jenny worriedly ponders her decision on attending her mother's art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
exhibition or volunteering at Cotillion. While Blair and Chuck make out in her room, Nate arrives at Blair's loft, waiting for her. Nate proceeds to apologize with the intent to win Blair back and successfully doing so when he shows her a pin that she sewed into his sweater sleeve. Blair accepts his offer to attend to Cotillion with Nate as friends, unaware that Chuck has been listening to their conversation. At the gallery, Jenny and Rufus have an argument over her attending Cotillion instead of her mother's art exhibition. Alison (Susan Misner
Susan Misner
Susan Misner is an American dancer, television and film actress.-Career:Misner portrayed the doomed Grace Davidson on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live from 12 March 1999 to 17 November 1999...
) walks in, hoping to surprise Jenny with shoes she bought from a thrift store until Jenny flatly rejects the shoes. As the Rhodes women bond over Serena's boarding school trips and stories, CeCe privately tells Lily of her illness, revealing more of Lily's past when she states that she did not attend her Cotillion when she was younger, and slowly manipulating her into forcing Serena to attend Cotillion. While lying to Lily about her permission to go to Cotillion, Jenny and Lily run into Alison and Lily inadvertently reveals Jenny's lying, leaving immediately. Jenny guiltily sees a pair of shoes that Alison had been intending to purchase for her.
During a luncheon at the Waldorf apartment, CeCe introduces Carter Baizen (Sebastian Stan
Sebastian Stan
Sebastian Stan is a Romanian-born American actor. He is best known for playing Prince Jack Benjamin on the television drama Kings and Carter Baizen on Gossip Girl.-Early life:...
) to Serena as her escort. The aura of wealth and affluence eventually makes Dan uncomfortable at the party and CeCe toys with his exclusion from Serena's wealthy world. Her intention is to turn Dan against Serena but instead he tells Serena that he will be her escort. Alison and Jenny have another argument that soon drives Alison into asserting her parental role and demands Jenny's presence at her art exhibit. Chuck however, has other plans when he confronts Blair regarding Nate. Blair coldly dismisses him while she waits for Carter to retrieve the jacket he left but Chuck uses Carter's attendance in Cotillion to toy with Nate. At the gallery, CeCe decides to take matters into her own hands and attempts to bribe Rufus by offering to purchase every painting in the gallery in return for convincing Dan to revoke escorting Serena. Rufus declines the bribe, stating that Dan can't be bought. CeCe callously tells him that Serena can be bribed just like Lily, and reveals that she forced Lily to choose between Rufus and her inheritance. At the Van der Woodsen suite, CeCe expresses her disappointment over Serena's presentation statement and forces Lily to change it while Serena calls for Jenny, revealing that Dan will be her escort while Jenny takes matters into her own hands and goes to Cotillion. Hoping to convince Serena of her grandmother's manipulative nature, Dan reveals to her all of CeCe's actions since her arrival but fails to persuade her.
As Cotillion proceeds, Serena discovers the change in her presentation statement and is angered to discover her mother's involvement in it. Carter messes with her statement and extensively humiliates her mother, her grandmother, and the announcer. While dancing, Chuck tells Nate that Carter just flirted with Blair and Nate accidentally starts a brawl that results in he and Carter being escorted out by security. The brawl damages Blair's dress, and she persuades Jenny to fix the dress in return for forgiveness causing Jenny to miss her mother's art exhibition. Serena later discovers from Carter that CeCe has been manipulating her all along while Lily calls Dan to tell him to fight for Serena. As Chuck offers to dance with Blair, she assumes that Chuck has been planning to ruin her and leaves him. Serena soon confronts her grandmother, ambiguously telling her granddaughter that her illness might be true but the two are surprised to see Dan, waiting for Serena and beginning their first dance.
In pursuit of Blair, Chuck finds her kissing Nate on the hotel stairway, breaking his heart. Jenny arrives at the gallery but finds it empty, with Alison giving her advice to reflect on the person she's becoming. As the night closes, Rufus calls Lily saying that he now knows why she left him, further stating that he wished that he had never let her do so. The ending montage shows Blair and Nate kissing romantically on a bed, and then having sex, Dan carrying Serena out of the hotel lobby, Lily looking on at Dan and Serena, CeCe taking pills (confirming that her illness is genuine), and Chuck leaving Manhattan.
Production
This episode marks the first appearance of Caroline Lagerfelt as CeCe Rhodes. Sebastian StanSebastian Stan
Sebastian Stan is a Romanian-born American actor. He is best known for playing Prince Jack Benjamin on the television drama Kings and Carter Baizen on Gossip Girl.-Early life:...
reprises his role as Carter Baizen after his first appearance in the fourth episode of the first season, Bad News Blair.
Fashion and Music
When asked to design and produce a dress for the CotillionCotillion
In American usage, a cotillion is a formal ball and social gathering, often the venue for presenting débutantes during the débutante season – usually May through December. Cotillions are also used as classes to teach social etiquette, respect and common morals for the younger ages with the...
episode of Gossip Girl, costume designer Eric Daman told New York Magazine,
Eric Daman considers Blair's silver brocade gown as one of his eleven favorite looks from the series during a September interview for New York Magazine, calling it "very beautiful and retro."
The Pierces
The Pierces
The Pierces are an American New York-based band consisting of sisters Allison Pierce and Catherine Pierce .-Childhood:...
were set to perform live during the Debutante Ball, performing two of their songs from their third album Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge
Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge
Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge is the third full-length album by The Pierces.Both "Three Wishes" and "Secret" appeared on the popular TV show Gossip Girl in the episode "Hi, Society", where The Pierces made a cameo appearance as well; the music video for "Boring" appeared on the DVD of season 1...
, performing 'Secret' and 'Three Wishes', portraying the band that would play throughout the scene.
Reception
"Hi, Society" garnered 2.44 million viewers. and positive reviews from critics. Scott Tobias of The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
praised the writer's direction of the episode, stating "Gossip Girl needs evil like a flower needs the rain." and positively compared "Hi Society" to the previous episode, "Blair Waldorf Must Pie!". "[...] last week’s hideous Thanksgiving episode was an anomaly mostly because of the holiday: Thanksgiving is supposed to be about family and togetherness, after all, so it was the antithesis of the petty manipulation and dysfunction that makes this show purr. The moment it became clear that “Hi, Society” was going to center around a cotillion—that deliciously antiquated ritual left over from the earliest days of New York high society—I had a feeling the show would find itself again." Tobias also assessed the character development of Jenny Humphrey. "The only real complaint I have with this episode is the fairly graceless way Jenny’s descent into snobbery was handled. I think it’s a good idea to have this very young girl poised between two different worlds—one that buys its extravagant shoes from Saks and the one she has the economic misfortune to occupy. Jenny’s flirtation with Blair is a temptation to the dark side that a girl of her age and insecurity would find hard to resist [...] I wish Jenny showed a little of the independent-mindedness that helped her survive Blair’s slumber party ambush several weeks ago. By the end of the episode, it looked like Jenny was unconvinced by her mother’s scolding, which can only be good for a show that’s firmly back in its element. Tobias praised the writers' handling of the Blair/Nate/Chuck love triangle, the Blair-Chuck relationship, and Chuck's development. "I’m not entirely sold on Nate’s about-face with regard to Blair, but it made for some juicy intrigue as Blair continued her dalliance with Chuck while slowly letting Nate back into her life. Chuck goes from the proud, devilish peacock [...] to the spurned, vengeful lover at the end."
The character of CeCe received critical praise throughout the episode. Movieline
Movieline
Movieline is a website, formerly a Los Angeles-based film and entertainment magazine, started in 1985 as a local magazine and went national in 1989. Known for its cult status and popularity among film critics, the magazine eventually was retooled and named Movieline's Hollywood Life. The magazine...
listed CeCe Rhodes in their list of The 5 Worst Mothers on Television Today, describing her as cold and manipulative and enumerated her many manipulations during the episode. New York Magazine praised the revived social class tension between Dan and Serena as well as the character of CeCe, stating that "[she] reminded us that even old ladies can be catty bitches." further praised her character attributes, particularly her "nakedly manipulative, as fabulously coiffed, simply as stone-cold awesome" and for expanding the character storyline behind Lily and Rufus' past. Scott Tobias also praised the character of CeCe, declaring "The big star of tonight’s hour was Serena’s beloved Grandma CeCe, a character that would have been perfect for Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
circa The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate , by Richard Condon, is a political thriller novel about the son of a prominent US political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for the Communist Party....
. So prim, so refined, so wonderfully malevolent, she seems to lurk around every corner and drinks cocktails like rocket fuel, never letting her ice to get too lonely."