The Townie

"The Townie" is the 76th episode of the CW television series, Gossip Girl, as well as the eleventh episode of the show's fourth season. The episode was written by Amanda Lasher and Stephanie Savage and directed by Joe Lazarov. It aired on Monday, December 6, 2010 on the CW.
The episode is currently the highest-rated episode of the fourth season. "The Townie" shows Blair Waldorf and Dan Humphrey joining forces to track down Juliet Sharp. An institutionalized Serena van der Woodsen expounds her boarding school experiences to her therapist and discovers the truth behind Juliet's vendetta against her. Chuck Bass faces the prospect of inheriting Bass Industries but faces trouble when Lily Humphrey's family secrets are uncovered.

Production

Although credited, Taylor Momsen and Jessica Szohr do not appear in this episode. Juliet Sharp exits the show in this episode, marking "The Townie" as her eleventh and final episode until the finale. Kevin Zegers returns to the show as Damien Daalgaard, making his first appearance in the fourth season since breaking up with Jenny Humphrey in the fifteenth episode of the show's third season.

Fashion

While filming a flashback scene, Blake Lively was seen dressed in a Boy blazer, a Rag & Bone shirt, Joie shorts, DKNY tights, Rag & Bone shoes, Brooks Brothers tie, Repossi ring, and Be & D bag. The scenes at the Ostroff Center had her wearing a Salvatore Ferragamo top, Vince pants, Roberto del Carlo boots, Oscar de la Renta necklace, and Low Luv rings while Katie Cassidy was filmed wearing an ALC dress, Hue tights, and Manolo Blahnik boots. Leighton Meester wore a Dries van Noten top, Ulla Johnson skirt, Hue tights, Alex Woo necklace for the majority of the episode.

Cultural allusions

A flashback shows Serena discussing Sylvia Plath with her English teacher, Ben Donovan.
A second flashback shows Serena and Ben recovering from a storm. Ben briefly mentions the Mary McCarthy Library at Vassar.
Juliet is seen driving a Mercury on her way home to Connecticut.

Reception

"The Townie" was watched by 2.06 million viewers and achieved a 1.0 Adults 18-49 demo. It is the most watched episode of the fourth season. TV Fanatic praised the episode, stating "Gossip Girl has aired terrific mid-season finales in the past, and "The Townie" was no exception." Judy Berman of the Los Angeles Times commended the episode stating "This week's "Gossip Girl" was easily the best of the season." Berman complimented Serena's consistency in her own self-doubt when mentioning her tryst with Nate during the first season, citing "It's kind of pathetic that Serena has so little confidence in her ability to change -- but it isn't exactly out of character, either." Berman also lauded the show's return to creative form, stating "Whenever I start to think that the show has run out of material -- it unleashes a showstopping hour of sparkly melodrama that reminds me of why I'm still watching."