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" The episode opens with Dan and Blair walking to the Ostroff Centre together. They chat about what Juliet has been up to and Dan admits that he doesn&amp;#039;t understand why she has gone so far. Blair replies: &amp;quot;As someone well acquainted with the darker human emotions, let me explain.&amp;quot; She suggests that Juliet is being fuelled by the thought of &amp;quot;retribution&amp;quot;. Dan replies: &amp;quot;For what?&amp;quot; The pair enter the Ostroff Centre. Inside, Eric goes to visit Serena and explains that he and Lily are both proud of her. He reveals that Lily and Chuck are currently talking to the New York Post about Bass Industries but Serena suggests that it is just damage control. She admits that she has put her mother in a tough position but asks Eric to make sure Lily is honest about why Serena is at the centre. Eric agrees. At that moment, one of the doctors comes in to ask Serena if she has &amp;quot;made a decision&amp;quot; about something. Downstairs, Blair and Dan are shocked to hear that no visitors are allowed to see Serena. Dan points out that he is Serena&amp;#039;s stepbrother. Blair gets out her phone to call Serena but Eric appears and explains that Serena&amp;#039;s phone is locked away. He adds that the doctors recommended that Serena begin her treatment with no contact with anyone for 72 hours. Dan explains that Juliet is behind everything and Blair adds that they need to talk to Serena about it. However, Eric suggests that Serena is getting help she needed anyway and says that whatever they are up to they will have to do it without Serena. Meanwhile, Nate finds his mother looking through party invitations. She admits that every one is followed by a call asking if her husband will be attending. Nate apologises that everyone is still so mean. He admits that he has something to tell her about his father and reveals that he asked their business manager if his dad had any plans for when he was released from prison. He explains that the business manager said that he plans to lease a house outside the city, but his father had wanted to keep it a surprise. Nate&amp;#039;s mother is disappointed and suggests that he has used their address to get parole and her money to get his own place. Nate admits that he thought his father had changed and his mother agrees. She decides to call in the lawyers but Nate promises to go and talk to his dad himself. Blair and Dan complain that waiting three days to speak to Serena is too long because Juliet could get so far away by then. Dan suggests speaking to Rufus and Lily, as Juliet drugging Serena is against the law. Blair is unimpressed and proposes that they disguise themselves and sneak in to see Serena. However, Dan eventually says that they should just track down Juliet themselves, adding that they could ask Gossip Girl. He reminds Blair that Gossip Girl will be unhappy about being fooled by Juliet&amp;#039;s fake photo of Serena and adds that Serena and Blair are Gossip Girl&amp;#039;s people. Meanwhile, Juliet gets out of a taxi somewhere and is welcomed by a passer-by. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s good to be home,&amp;quot; Juliet replies. Back in New York, Dan receives a message from Gossip Girl which reads: &amp;quot;252 Cornice Avenue. Find the bitch.&amp;quot; They check the address online and discover that it is a street in Cornwall, Connecticut. The pair agree to go on a road trip. Serena is talking to her doctor at the Ostroff Centre. She admits that she doesn&amp;#039;t remember kissing Dan and Nate or snorting cocaine but points out that it wouldn&amp;#039;t be the first time she has done something like that. She flashes back to her previous behaviour, before explaining that she left town for Cornwall to try to start over. Meanwhile, Blair and Dan arrive in Cornwall, as Blair complains about Dan&amp;#039;s driving skills and the small car they are in. Blair complains: &amp;quot;We should almost be there. Let&amp;#039;s consult the GPS - oh wait, that&amp;#039;s me.&amp;quot; She tells Dan that they are almost there. Lily and Chuck finish their interview with the New York Post and, after saying goodbye to the reporter, admit that it was &amp;quot;punishing&amp;quot;. They get themselves drinks to celebrate their performance and Lily claims that she kept her promise to Eric about telling the truth by saying that Serena was &amp;quot;exhausted&amp;quot;. Chuck suggests that the only awkward moment was when the journalist asked when Bass Industries will be handed back to Chuck and claims that Lily was flushed. Lily says that it was none of her business and was off topic. Chuck insists that he will want the company back at some point and Lily promises that her only intention is to be a custodian until Chuck is ready. She decides to get ready for her Bass Industries party that night and Rufus appears. He spots that she is drinking and, suggesting that it is a little early for alcohol, asks if the interview didn&amp;#039;t go well. Lily replies that it was &amp;quot;fine&amp;quot; and Rufus stares after her as she walks off. Blair and Dan pull up at a big house with many expensive cars parked outside. Blair is unsure that it is Juliet&amp;#039;s home, pointing out that no-one would pretend to be poor. Dan points out that they don&amp;#039;t have a plan for when they find Juliet, saying: &amp;quot;Are we just going to march up to her and pull her hair?&amp;quot; Blair replies: &amp;quot;For starters.&amp;quot; They go inside and discover that a number of teenagers are having a party with drugs, alcohol and beer pong. Dan points out that Juliet wouldn&amp;#039;t go to a party like this, let alone host it, so it can&amp;#039;t be her house. Blair replies that Gossip Girl didn&amp;#039;t say it was and says they need to look for clues. She spots Damien and adds: &amp;quot;Or someone who has one.&amp;quot; Nate goes to visit his father, who is surprised that his wife and Nate have changed their minds about him living with them when he is released. Nate explains that they found out he tried to lease a house and his father reveals that he and Nate&amp;#039;s mother spent their first holiday there. He explains that Nate&amp;#039;s mother said it was her &amp;quot;dream house&amp;quot; and he thought it would be a good idea for the two of them to reconnect there. Nate apologises for jumping to conclusions and promises to talk to his mother. However, his father tells him not to bother, pointing out that she obviously assumed he is incapable of doing something nice. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s been over for a long time,&amp;quot; he adds. He explains that if he doesn&amp;#039;t come home to them he will have to stay in a halfway house, but insists that he doesn&amp;#039;t mind. He invites Nate to stay and watch television with him. Blair and Dan chat to Damien and admit that they are not there for a &amp;quot;reunion&amp;quot;. Blair realises that Serena went to Cornwall&amp;#039;s Knightley School, which is where she met Damien. Dan asks if Damien knew Juliet and he admits that he does, but explains that he doesn&amp;#039;t want to get involved. Dan asks if he sold her drugs and Blair reveals that Serena ended up in hospital. Damien admits that Juliet bought a lot of drugs from him and Blair tries to figure things out. &amp;quot;Serena went to boarding school with Damien,&amp;quot; she muses. &amp;quot;Damien sells drugs to Juliet. What&amp;#039;s the connection between Juliet and Serena?&amp;quot; Damien offers to get Juliet&amp;#039;s address, explaining that she is a &amp;quot;townie&amp;quot;. Meanwhile, Juliet is driving but stops to let some drunken young people cross. As she is waiting she is shocked to see Dan, Blair and Damien getting into a car. As they drive past, she hides her face. Meanwhile, Serena flashes back to being at Knightley and taking drugs. As she dances, Damien begins doing her homework for her but decides to aim for a B minus so her improvement isn&amp;#039;t too noticeable. He explains that it needs to look like she is working with a tutor and Serena kisses him. Back in the present, Damien knocks on Juliet&amp;#039;s door and her mother appears. She explains that Juliet is running some errands but Damien, Dan and Blair invite themselves in to wait. Damien explains that he went to Knightley with Juliet and Mrs Sharp asks if he knew her son, Ben. &amp;quot;He was a damn good teacher, no matter what they say,&amp;quot; she adds. Damien admits that he didn&amp;#039;t know a Mr Sharp but Juliet&amp;#039;s mother explains that Ben&amp;#039;s surname is Donovan because he took her first husband&amp;#039;s name. When she goes to get some tea, Damien explains that when Serena went back to New York, Ben was fired for sleeping with a student. He adds that everyone thought it was Serena. Juliet&amp;#039;s mother returns with tea but Blair claims that they can&amp;#039;t stay.  Serena is still talking to her doctor and admits that Mr Donovan was different from the other people at Knightley. In flashback, she remembers buying him coffee and asking him for advice about her English studies. Back in the present, she explains that it felt good to have someone who paid attention to her for positive reasons. Meanwhile, Damien explains that Serena suddenly stopped partying and started staying at home and reading. He insists that he always thought the best about Serena but Blair realises that he thought it was true. Damien explains that he was having dinner with his aunt in an inn in Poughkeepsie when he saw Serena and Ben arrive. In flashback, it emerges that the pair had been visiting a library but had got a flat tyre on the way back. Serena suggests that because it is raining they could stay the night. &amp;quot;You can&amp;#039;t act like you haven&amp;#039;t thought about it,&amp;quot; she adds. Ben points out that thoughts and actions are very different and admits that he cares about her. However, he explains that he is going to brave the weather, fix the tyre and drive her home. Back in the present, Serena tells her doctor: &amp;quot;I think he was the only guy to ever say that to me. I was in love with him, as in love as I&amp;#039;d ever been. I didn&amp;#039;t know how to act around him so we never really talked again.&amp;quot; She adds that now she realises that Ben Donovan was a &amp;quot;pretty great guy&amp;quot;. Juliet calls Ben and explains that Dan and Blair have arrived in Cornwall and are walking around with Damien. Ben complains that he knew Juliet drugging Serena was a step too far and points out that the trio might show up at their mother&amp;#039;s house. Juliet suggests that they already have and are starting to figure things out. &amp;quot;Which is exactly why I&amp;#039;m going to finish this thing once and for all like I should have done in the first place,&amp;quot; she adds. Ben realises that Juliet is back in New York and begs her not to do anything to Serena. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s not like you can stop me,&amp;quot; Juliet replies. She hangs up and Ben yells at the prison guard that he needs to make another call. He shouts that someone has to warn Serena. He spots Nate and begs him to find Serena and make sure she&amp;#039;s OK. Before he can say anything else, a guard leads him away. Nate calls Dan and explains that Ben seemed upset and thinks Serena is in danger. He asks Dan to check on her because he is in Staten Island, but Dan admits that he is in Connecticut. Dan says that Serena is safe in the Ostroff Centre and suggests that they all meet at the Van Der Woodsen home to figure out a way to find Juliet. Meanwhile, at the Ostroff Centre, Serena walks into her room reading. However, she discovers Juliet waiting for her. Blair and Dan begin driving home and Blair suggests that Serena had an affair with Ben and discarded him, before pressing charges when he became a &amp;quot;crazy stalker&amp;quot;. She points out that there are parallels between Ben and Dan, but Dan claims that his relationship with Serena is not one-sided. He points out that Serena went to the Saints and Sinners ball to choose him. Blair sarcastically reminds him that Serena did not want to see him when they visited the Ostroff Centre this morning. She adds that Dan has given a lot up for Serena and asks him when he last wrote something.  Juliet tells Serena about everything she has done and Serena asks why she did it. &amp;quot;Because of Nate or Colin?&amp;quot; she asks. Juliet replies: &amp;quot;No, you stupid bitch. Because you destroyed my brother&amp;#039;s life.&amp;quot; She explains that Ben is her brother and Serena asks what she did to him. In flashback, Juliet remembers going to visit a lawyer with Ben and their mother. The lawyer explains that Ben has been charged with statutory rape and transferring a minor across state lines, and adds that Serena signed an affidavit. Ben is shocked that Serena would do this and resolves to prove his innocence, but the lawyer replies that he would advise against going to trial as a witness saw him and Serena at a bed and breakfast. He adds that Serena&amp;#039;s family doesn&amp;#039;t want this to get into the press so have persuaded officials to offer Ben a plea bargain. &amp;quot;Serena&amp;#039;s from a powerful family,&amp;quot; Ben sighs, as Juliet cries: &amp;quot;And we&amp;#039;re nobodies.&amp;quot; The lawyer explains that the bargain will keep the case out of the papers and Ben&amp;#039;s name off the sex offenders list, but Ben is devastated to learn that he will have to serve time for a crime he didn&amp;#039;t commit. Back in the present, Juliet explains that Ben is currently serving a five-year sentence. Serena insists that she never accused Ben because he was nothing but good to her. She claims that she never signed the affidavit and Juliet replies: &amp;quot;Then who did?&amp;quot; Meanwhile, Lily&amp;#039;s party for Bass Industries is under way. As she talks to one of the guests, she explains that Serena &amp;quot;just needed a breather&amp;quot;, but Eric interrupts and tells the truth. Lily advises him that he needs to learn about decorum and white lies. Elsewhere, Nate finds his mother and explains that his father rented the place for a romantic surprise. He adds that he will have to go to a halfway house if he doesn&amp;#039;t come home. However, his mother admits that the relationship was never going to work and they were fooling themselves. She admits that she needs social engagements more than Nate&amp;#039;s father. Chuck gets up to give a speech and Serena and Juliet arrive. Nate approaches Juliet and asks what she is doing there, but Serena explains that she invited her. She tells Juliet to wait while she speaks to Lily. Lily is giving a speech when she spots Serena approaching her. Serena explains that she needs to talk but Lily suggests that they should take some photos with Chuck first. As they are taking photos, Blair and Dan arrive and ask Eric what&amp;#039;s going on. Suddenly, Serena claims that she can&amp;#039;t take photos anymore and addresses all of the guests. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m Serena, I&amp;#039;m Lily&amp;#039;s daughter,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;I wasn&amp;#039;t going to be able to make it tonight because I was actually at the Ostroff Centre. Though if it were up to my mother, she&amp;#039;d have you believe I&amp;#039;m at Canyon Ranch, because having a daughter in a mental hospital affects her carefully perfected image as the perfect host, the perfect mother and the perfect wife. The truth is she&amp;#039;s a selfish liar who destroys anyone who stands in her way.&amp;quot; She storms off. Later, Lily tells guests that Serena is angry because she refused to lend her the company plane. She finds Eric and tells him to work out what&amp;#039;s going on with Serena. Meanwhile, one of the guests approaches Rufus and explains that he has to get his family under control because it could affect the upcoming sale of Bass Industries. Rufus is shocked but pretends that he knew about the sale.  Nate tells Blair and Dan that Serena brought Juliet here and they spot Juliet following Serena into her bedroom. They rush in after her and Blair tells Juliet to stop. Serena insists that her mother is the problem, not Juliet, but Blair claims Juliet must have drugged her again. Serena refuses to let them call the police, saying: &amp;quot;The Van Der Woodsens are not putting any more of your family members behind bars.&amp;quot; She promises to find a way to get Ben out of prison and tells Juliet that she is free to go. Blair and Dan tell her not to let Juliet go, but Juliet apologises and promises not to hurt anyone again. Serena adds that she will explain everything but needs to speak to her mother first. At the party, Lily is apologising to Chuck and suggests that her children don&amp;#039;t know how to keep their &amp;quot;dirty laundry&amp;quot; out of business. Serena appears and asks her if Ben is just &amp;quot;dirty laundry&amp;quot; to her. She tells Rufus that Lily falsely accused Ben of statutory rape and he is serving time for a crime he didn&amp;#039;t commit. She asks Lily why she did it, and Lily explains: &amp;quot;You wanted to come home and I wanted you here.&amp;quot; She reveals that Constance would not accept Serena because of her record at Knightley so she went to Knightley to talk to the admin staff. She adds that when she was on campus she overheard some girls gossiping about Serena spending the night with one of the teachers in a bed and breakfast and realised she could use it to their advantage. She reveals that she never expected Ben to go to jail, but when she left the school they alerted the authorities and it was too late by the time she was contacted by the DA. She points out that Ben wasn&amp;#039;t guilt-free because he shouldn&amp;#039;t have had an affair with a student, but Serena insists that he never touched her and Lily sent an innocent man to prison. Chuck points out that they have all crossed the line to protect people they care about, but Rufus murmurs: &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s not so easy when you&amp;#039;re the collateral damage.&amp;quot; He asks Lily if there is anything she needs to tell Chuck and she replies: &amp;quot;If I had something I wanted to tell Charles I would have told him.&amp;quot; Rufus reveals that Lily is selling Bass Industries and Chuck is shocked. He announces that he wants the company back immediately but Lily points out that the board won&amp;#039;t give control to someone who went missing for three months. Chuck vows not to let her do this and walks off. Lily turns to Serena and apologises, saying: &amp;quot;Please believe me, you have to.&amp;quot; Serena replies: &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t have to do anything for you ever again.&amp;quot; She leaves, followed by the others. Lily turns to Rufus and explains that she never meant to hurt anyone and thought she was helping. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m sorry, Lily,&amp;quot; Rufus replies. &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t know that I believe that anymore.&amp;quot; One week later, Chuck, Nate, Dan, Serena and Blair get together for a holiday meal together. When they have finished eating, Chuck explains that he is going to New Zealand for a while. Serena&amp;#039;s phone rings and she explains that her mother is trying to get through to her through her grandmother CeCe. Dan explains that Rufus is going to join them but is driving up separately to clear his head. Blair jokes that Humphreys are keen on &amp;quot;road trips&amp;quot; and Serena explains that she is planning one of her own. She reveals that because her mother won&amp;#039;t help get Ben out of jail, she is going to find the judge whose name is on the affidavit. She invites Dan to come with her and explains that she will be back in time for the new semester at Columbia, because the dean has agreed to reinstate her. Chuck begins to leave for New Zealand, and Blair rushes over to him. She suggests that Chuck is really going to see Jack, who is in Australia, and insists that he will never help Chuck. &amp;quot;A shared enemy makes for unlikely friends,&amp;quot; Chuck replies, before saying goodbye. Meanwhile, Serena finds Dan and apologises for springing the road trip on him as she doesn&amp;#039;t even know if he has plans for the holidays. Dan explains that he is planning to get some writing done but Serena suggests that he could do that on the trip. She adds that it would be good for them but Dan asks if it would be good for her. He admits that he would like to go away with her but points out that it might be better for her to do the trip on her own. Serena admits that she was trying to prove that she had changed but doubted herself the most. Dan promises that she will succeed and kisses her. &amp;quot;Be safe,&amp;quot; he adds. Outside, Nate calls his father. He reveals that he has spoken to the parole board and given them the Empire&amp;#039;s address. He adds that he wants his father to come back to a home. &amp;quot;I can&amp;#039;t tell you how much this means to me,&amp;quot; his father replies. Dan and Blair begin the washing up and start chatting. Dan jokes that he is trapped in the city with only Blair Waldorf to talk to, but promises that he will be busy writing. The pair are surprised to discover that they plan on seeing the same film, but joke that they won&amp;#039;t sit next to each other. Dan is shocked to see Blair washing up with shampoo, but she replies: &amp;quot;You can&amp;#039;t wash good wine glasses in common dish soap. Follow my lead, Humphrey - you&amp;#039;re used to doing that.&amp;quot; The episode ends with Ben waiting for a visitor. He asks the guard what is going on as his sister and mother are out of town. However, he is shocked when Serena walks in. She admits that she had to come to see him and he replies that he doesn&amp;#039;t know what to say. Serena tearfully replies: &amp;quot;Neither do I. But I feel like I should start.&amp;quot; What did you think of the episode? Leave your comments below! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/gossip-girl/news/a291814/recap-gossip-girl-the-townie/>