Gossip Girl
Empire of the Son
TV Flash files “Empire of the Son” as hour 82 of 121 in the TV Flash guide — Gossip Girl (2007–2012) on CW, season 4, episode 17, aired 2011-02-28, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E17: listed hour 82 of 121 in the Gossip Girl guide, hour 17 of 22 in season 4. It aired 2011-02-28 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “While You Weren't Sleeping” (S04E16). Next is “The Kids Stay in the Picture” (S04E18).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Ben's mother comes to town, forcing issues to the surface between Ben and Serena. Russell Thorpe is determined to destroy Chuck's family legacy, but he risks alienating his daughter, Raina, in the process.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Empire of the Son sit in the Gossip Girl guide?
S04E17 is listed hour 82 of 121 — hour 17 of 22 in season 4, season 4 episode 17.
When did Gossip Girl S04E17 air?
Empire of the Son aired 2011-02-28 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…