Gossip Girl: Seventeen Candles

Hello, Upper East Siders. Phoebe and Caroline are back on the scene, and this week they’re lighting the match that Season 1, Episode 8 (“Seventeen Candles”) threw straight into Kati's brother's apartment. If you thought birthdays were about cake and candles, think again. This episode proves they’re really about emotional warfare, exposed secrets, and watching Guitar Hero duels meant for the history books.

Blair Waldorf’s perfect birthday? Obliterated. As she reckons with her tryst with Chuck Bass in the back of a limo. Chuck Bass, of course, is thriving, stirring chaos with a smirk while seemingly collecting...