The Freshman (Gossip Girl)

"**The Freshman**"
"The Freshman"
Gossip Girl episode
Episode no.	Season 3; Episode 2
Directed by	Norman Buckley
Written by	Amanda Lasher
Original air date	September 21, 2009
Guest appearances
	Connor Paolo as Eric van der Woodsen; Zuzanna Szadkowski as Dorota Kishlovsky; Michelle Trachtenberg as Georgina Sparks; Sebastian Stan as Carter Baizen; Joanna Garcia as Bree Buckley; Chris Riggi as Scott Rosson; Benita Robledo as Amalia; Elena Hurst as Katie;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Reversals of Fortune"	Next →; "The Lost Boy"
	Gossip Girl season 3
	List of episodes

"The Freshman" is the 45th episode of the

CW

.

"The Freshman" shows

Joanna Garcia

) decide to explore their relationship further, knowing full well it could cause tension between their families who are political rivals.

Plot

Production

Leighton Meester's duet with Cobra Starship "Good Girls Go Bad" was utilized as background music in the hotel rooftop scene. The song had been released earlier in the year.

Leighton Meester on the set of the episode's shooting near the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in July 2009

Reception

"The Freshman" was watched by 1.97 million viewers and received mixed reviews.

Michelle Graham from Film School Rejects reviewed the episode. "Despite a low quality start to the season, this episode certainly went a long way towards redeeming that slip. Blair and Chuck’s move from unstable pair playing games to stay fresh to a couple that support each other through the rough patches was very plausible, showing a strength to the relationship that we’ve seen flashes of up til now." Graham praised Georgina's return, stating that how the character "brought some humour and extra life" to the episode. On reviewing other characters, Graham found Serena and Chuck's storyline "predictable and dull" and was not on par with other story lines in the episode. Graham continued on to negatively reviewing the relationship between Nate and Bree but was surprised by Dan's storyline. "Happily, Dan’s meteoric rise to the top of the college social food chain was unexpected and had some enjoyable results, not to mention shockingly stupid."^[2]

References

^ "Gossip Girl Episode Listings". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
^ Graham, Michelle (2011-05-03). "Recaps: Gossip Girl 3.2 & 3.3 – The Freshman/The Lost Boy". Film School Rejects. Retrieved 2011-06-01.

[1] "Gossip Girl Episode Listings". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved March 20, 2011.

[The_Freshman_and_The_Lost_Boy-2] Graham, Michelle (2011-05-03). "Recaps: Gossip Girl 3.2 & 3.3 – The Freshman/The Lost Boy". Film School Rejects. Retrieved 2011-06-01.

[2]