Gossip Girl season 2 episode 5 recap & review: Games, Trains, and Automobiles

In the fifth episode of the second season of ‘Gossip Girl’, Obie tries to mend his relationship with his mother but instead finds out the secrets that she has been hiding. The episode is now streaming on HBO Max.

Recap

Julien has been having an affair with Graham despite feeling guilty constantly. Julien and Zoya have not been home ever since they found out that Nick lied to them.

Max, Aki, and Obie are going on a boys’ trip; Aki and Max ask for Audrey’s permission to sleep together on the trip.

Obie finds Heidi at his house, and she tells him that their mother is in Southampton. Obie is upset because no one even bothered to inform him.

Kate and Jordan assume that Mike’s partner has to be one of the rich parents. The two need to find out the identity of the person.

Julien interviews Audrey’s mother, Katherine, for her social media account. Her mother reveals how she lost her husband and her assistant.

Shan asks Zoya to go to Philadelphia with her for a rave party. Initially, Zoya is against the idea, but when Julien brings Nick to talk to Zoya, she tells Julien that she is just like her father. An angry Zoya decides to go to Philadelphia.

Obie is talking to Julien again, and she advises him to just apologize to his mother and smooth things over. When Obie decides to go to Southampton, to meet his mother instead of going on the boys’ trip, Max and Aki follow him to offer support.

Jordan and Kate break into Mike’s computer, but he catches Kate in the act. Kate accuses him of being Gossip Girl, and he accuses her of the same.

Jordan posts something from Gossip Girl’s account to make Mike believe that Kate is not her. No longer suspicious of her, Mike lets his guard down and tells her that he has to catch Gossip Girl because he is being blackmailed by someone.

He wanted to borrow money from someone whom he considered a friend, but that person betrayed him by taking control of his account and is now threatening him to uncover Gossip Girl’s true identity.

Harris warns Audrey that soon she will be kicked out of the relationship and it will be just Max and Aki, which makes her insecure.

Obie resolves his differences with his mother. She then calls Aki to speak with her. After their meeting, Aki tells Obie that he suspects that Obie’s mother is hiding something from him.

Obie eavesdrops on her conversation and discovers that his mother is indeed keeping secrets.

Audrey gets more and more insecure about her place in the relationship when Aki and Max do not pick up her phone. After talking to her mom and Gideon about signs of cheating, she decides to crash Max and Aki’s trip.

Julien meets Graham to put an end to their affair as she does not want to be like her father. Audrey catches them together and discovers that Julien has been lying to her about not having contact with Graham.

She asks Graham to drive her to Southampton to Obie’s mother’s house. She further asks him for more details about his relationship with his wife throughout the drive when Julien is in the car with them.

Obie breaks into his mother’s office to find out the truth. Shan and Zoya introduce themselves as Sabrina and Monet at the party. A paranoid Audrey sneaks into Obie’s mother’s house to catch Max and Aki. Jordan goes to Mike’s parents’ house to find out who is blackmailing Mike.

Shan leaves Zoya at the party with her friend Cory, while Cory’s brother takes Zoya out to eat and they have fun together. However, the next morning, when Zoya tries to talk to him, he brushes her off, upsetting her.

Audrey catches Aki and Max, who had been trying to maintain a certain distance for Audrey’s sake, in a compromising position, assuming the worst. They discuss Audrey’s insecurities, and the three promise each other to communicate more.

Julien catches Obie hiding in his mother’s office. When Audrey makes a scene, his mother realizes that Obie has been up to something. He confronts her about the lawsuits, the faulty constructions, and her suspicious plans with Daniela.

His mother asks him to leave them alone, and Obie replies that he wants the same. He is later informed that he no longer has access to his family’s building.

Graham tells Julien that he is separating from his wife, and he did not want to tell her sooner because he did not want her to think that it was her doing. Julien feels a lack of stability in her life, but they decide to become a couple.

Zoya returns to her father’s house and tells him that she needs some time to forgive him. Nick agrees to give her space.

Jordan almost gets caught in Mike’s trap that he had set up for Gossip Girl, but is saved by Kate’s warnings. He had correctly assumed that Gossip Girl was a teacher. 

Mike accuses Kate of aiding Gossip Girl, and Kate accuses him of doubting her for no reason. The next day, he comes to see her and hears her talking to Jordan about being at Mike’s house.

He is about to inform his mystery blackmailer that Kate and Jordan run Gossip Girl together, but Jordan takes the full blame. Mike informs the person and tells Jordan that the worse is in store for him. 

Review

• Kate’s morally dubious choices expose her to be a hypocrite and selfish person. She lies to Mike and lets Jordan take the fall for her, despite knowing that he has feelings for her and that he might be in danger because of her. 
• Julien’s urge to interfere in everything and force others to do what she thinks is right makes her look self-righteous most of the time.
• Obie was able to leave an impact on the audience in this episode. His sadness and loneliness were convincing when his efforts to reconcile with his mother failed and made their relationship worse than ever before.  

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Also Read: Gossip Girl season 2 episode 4 recap & review: One Flew Over the Cuck’s Nest