Gossip Girl
Belles de Jour
TV Flash files “Belles de Jour” as a desk essential hour — Gossip Girl (2007–2012) on CW, season 4, episode 1, aired 2010-09-13, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E01: listed hour 66 of 121 in the Gossip Girl guide, first listed hour of season 4. It aired 2010-09-13 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Last Tango, Then Paris” (S03E22). Next is “Double Identity” (S04E02).
Essential hour: “Belles de Jour”. Belles de Jour titles a season-four premiere like a French dare — Gossip Girl still selling cruelty as chic, the ping still the real narrator.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Blair has spent a fabulous summer in Paris without realizing her former love, Chuck Bass, has been shot. As much as Blair tries to distract herself from the pain Chuck caused her, his mysterious appearance in Paris with a beautiful new woman will force both of them to face what happened. Meanwhile, a newly single Serena has been enjoying a Parisian summer of love with boys, Blair and Balenciaga as she tries to avoid the inevitable decision about which of her two long-time beaus, Dan or Nate, she should return to. Back on the Upper East Side, Nate meets an intriguing girl, Juliet, who helps him realize that his summer of sexual conquests with the help of Chuck's little black book was his way of avoiding his unresolved feelings for Serena. Meanwhile, Dan's baby mama drama continues with Georgina. Finally, the van der Woodsen apartment is buzzing with activity as the "Fashion's Night Out" event is planned.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Belles de Jour sit in the Gossip Girl guide?
S04E01 is listed hour 66 of 121 — first listed hour of season 4, season 4 episode 1.
When did Gossip Girl S04E01 air?
Belles de Jour aired 2010-09-13 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I need the von Ziegesar books?
No. The CW series is the XOXO event: anonymous blogger as villain, clothes as plot, Upper East Side cruelty as appointment soap.
In the series
Why this series still plays
XOXO from an anonymous blogger who is the actual villain. Gossip Girl sold Upper East Side cruelty as fashion week — Blake Lively and Leighton Meester turning class, clothes, and betrayal into appointment soap, with the ping of a phone blast as the cold open.
The CW did not invent Upper East Side cruelty. It windowed it. Gossip Girl (2007–2012) dropped an anonymous blogger into the cold open and treated the ping of a phone blast like a Thursday dump six years before every app learned the trick. Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage adapted Cecily von Ziegesar into 121 hours of clothes, class, and betrayal as weekly events: Blake Lively's Serena, Leighton Meester's Blair, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick, Taylor Momsen. XOXO from a narrator who is the actual…
Filed against
- Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen
Blake Lively’s Serena van der Woodsen made Gossip Girl Upper East Side cruelty into fashion week — XOXO from an anonymous blogger who is the actual villain, Leighton Meester as the other half of class, clothes, and betrayal, the ping of a…
- Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf
Leighton Meester's Blair Waldorf made Gossip Girl fashion-week cruelty — XOXO from an anonymous blogger who is the actual villain, Upper East Side class and clothes as appointment soap, a phone blast as the cold open. TV Flash files her…
- Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey
Penn Badgley played Dan Humphrey on Gossip Girl, the 2000s Upper East Side soap where an anonymous blogger is the actual villain. XOXO as a cold open, class and clothes as weekly sport, Blake Lively and Leighton Meester turning betrayal…
- Chace Crawford as Nate Archibald
Chace Crawford played Nate Archibald on Gossip Girl — XOXO from an anonymous blogger who is the actual villain, Upper East Side cruelty as fashion week. Blake Lively and Leighton Meester turning class, clothes, and betrayal into…
- Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass
Ed Westwick made Chuck Bass Upper East Side cruelty you could still watch — Gossip Girl as fashion-week soap, an anonymous blogger as the actual villain, and a bad boy the timeline never fully paroled. TV Flash files him as 2000s…
- Taylor Momsen as Jenny Humphrey
Taylor Momsen schemed Gossip Girl as Jenny Humphrey — Upper East Side cruelty as fashion week, an anonymous blogger as the actual villain, a little sister climbing into the blast. Phone-ping cold opens, class as clothes. TV Flash files…