Gossip Girl’s Iconic Thanksgiving Episodes Are Something to be Thankful For

For six seasons of Gossip Girl, which aired on The CW from 2007 to 2012, we had the pleasure of sitting ‘round the table with these Upper East Siders for many a dramatic, delicious, and unforgettable Thanksgiving. Showcasing the extravagance and luxury of the holiday while being filthy rich, these holiday episodes—more so than their Christmas or other holiday-themed counterparts—hit different notes and touched upon certain elements of the holiday where many other shows have failed. As such, Gossip Girl‘s Thanksgiving episodes are simply iconic, an aspect of the show that helps it live on as the days of flip phones and blogs are completely forgotten. These episodes have become something viewers are arguably more eager to dive into than their own holiday spread.

First and foremost, what obviously makes the Gossip Girl episodes so enjoyable is the delectable drama. The series is never short on juicy material, and that is certainly the case in the many Thanksgiving-themed episodes. It’s during these times that secrets arise and are revealed while in close proximity to family and friends that can no longer be avoided. Stories building for multiple episodes prior come to a climax, as we see with Blair’s (Leighton Meester) eating disorder getting the spotlight in the first season’s “Blair Waldorf Must Pie.” 

Or, burgeoning issues and tensions in relationships, platonic and romantic, bubble to the surface during the incredible, lavish, and intense Thanksgiving dinners, as we see in arguably the series’ most iconic episode and scene in the third season’s “The Treasure of Serena Madre,” with Jason Derulo’s “Whatcha Say” playing throughout a series of (not-so-passive) aggressive remarks and abrupt exits.

The Thanksgiving-set episodes even manage to make otherwise unenjoyable stories worth watching, which is particularly true in the case of the second season’s “The Magnificent Archibalds.” Here, Jenny’s (Taylor Momsen) fashion career and subsequent emancipation storyline comes to a much-needed and refreshing end, using the holiday spirit to charge the familial relationships and put an end to the hostility. Also, Nate (Chace Crawford) reunites with his wanted felon father and they manage to get him to turn himself in, putting an end to Nate’s financial woes, getting him back in league with our other characters, and even allowing this broken family one last holiday together before the Captain’s extended stay in prison.

In addition to the unmatched drama that makes the Gossip Girl Thanksgiving episodes so legendary, like Juliet (Katie Cassidy) drugging Serena as she attempted to take her down (for good) in the fourth season’s “Gaslit,” these are actually some of the series’ most grounded and accessible episodes. They touch upon nearly universal experiences of the holiday that almost everyone, at least in the United States, can relate to in some capacity, even if you aren’t flushed with cash like these Upper East Siders.  

The biggest, of course, is the stress of the holidays. Despite being loaded and often having a staff to help them prepare, the stress over hosting and gathering family and friends in one location to celebrate is palpable. In some cases, we even get a glimpse into our own world, too, like with Rufus (Matthew Settle), Dan (Penn Badgley), and Jenny’s first Thanksgiving. Regardless of the secrets they’re keeping and the bad blood that may exist between a given pair at any moment, Gossip Girl understands how exhausting it tends to be when gathering a group of even your closest loved ones to celebrate.

Other notes make these episodes shine, too. The series perfectly understands and showcases the inevitable awkwardness and discomfort of meshing families together, like when Eleanor (Margaret Colin) and Cyrus (Wallace Shawn) get together and later when Rufus and Lily (Kelly Rutherford) get married. There is also the uneasiness of introducing your new partner to your family, as Serena (Blake Lively) does with Cyrus’ son Aaron (John Patrick Amedori).

Likewise, Gossip Girl shines while depicting the characters trying to make their own traditions for the holiday. This is a major focus of the final Thanksgiving episode, the sixth season’s “It’s Really Complicated,” as Dan and Serena get back together and try to host their first Thanksgiving. It’s delightful to see them creating new traditions throughout the series. They begin to spend the holiday together, creating their own family to gather, excluding the extended family that does nothing but cause them grief. Old traditions are grown out of and lost or have a spin put on them to personalize them.

Additionally, as mentioned before, Blair’s eating disorder comes into the spotlight in the series’ first Thanksgiving episode. While maybe less universal than the aspects above and definitely difficult to watch, even intermixed with flashbacks to Thanksgiving the year before (and Nate and Serena’s ridiculously obvious flirting), there’s no better occasion to spotlight such a topic than on a holiday that revolves around the big dinner. As someone who also struggles with an eating disorder, and acknowledges there are major flaws in the way the series handles Blair’s, the events of this episode hit close to home. The stress from the holiday, her father’s first Thanksgiving after the divorce, and her mother’s passive-aggressive remarks about her beauty all build to Blair binging on a pie before she later decides to seek help once more. It’s heartbreaking, but there’s truly no better (or, rather, worse) time than Thanksgiving for this kind of story to be showcased.

Ultimately, it’s no wonder that the Gossip Girl Thanksgiving episodes have become such beloved, legendary television. They are truly unmatched, completely outshining the series’ many other holiday-themed episodes. It’s just a shame that more shows haven’t taken note of what great stories can be told while utilizing the Thanksgiving holiday as a backdrop. If done correctly, it is a perfect opportunity to go back to basics and focus on the dynamics between the characters in a small, intimate setting. Frankly, it’s a disappointment that many shows don’t seem to see a difference between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but Gossip Girl is the perfect example of how a Thanksgiving episode can really take the cake. And for that, we’ll always be thankful. 

Jay Snow is a freelance writer. He has published many places on the internet. For more of his thoughts on television and to see his other work (or to simply watch him gush again and again over his love for the original Charmed) follow him @snowyjay.

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