FugO, FugO, Gossip Girl

I'm not opposed to a good love triangle when it's done right -- why, hello, Brenda/Dylan/Kelly! -- but as fans of the Gossip Girl books know, the TV series has drawn its characters just differently enough that the entrance of dreamy Dan's "best friend" Vanessa has been pretty unwelcome. In the books, she's kind of punky and cool, he's moody and pretentious, and Serena isn't as grounded; in the show, though, Dan and Serena are mostly adorable, and so being asked to swallow a duller incarnation of Vanessa is a bit like washing down your cheesecake with a glass of curdled milk.




And of course, in life, it's kind of hard to follow Blake Lively no matter WHO you are. She's so pretty.

Even when she's evoking a special performance of "You're The One That I Want" as costumed by the late Fred Rogers, Blake makes it all look very cool and comfortable, as if she could as easily wear this out to the video store as to a party. It's not quite my favorite outfit, but by and large it works on her and she elevates it into something more interesting than its component parts.

So the deck was kind of stacked against poor Jessica Szohr, who, in addition to playing second fiddle to Serena on Gossip Girl, on this night was also fifth chair in the clarinet section while Blake nailed her solos. Check it: