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About That ‘Gossip Girl’ Seder

Just because the CW network hit “Gossip Girl” took a two-week break at the beginning of the month, producers were not willing to pass over the opportunity to invite its gorgeous cast to partake in a scandal-ridden Seder. Even though Cyrus (Wallace Shawn) sported a “Schmutz Happens” apron, Elijah’s seat got taken over by dinner-crashers and everyone at the table complained about waiting too long to eat, this CW’s April 20 episode titled “Seder Anything” still wasn’t much different from any other night.

Why you ask?

Lead popular girl Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) came to the party only to procure legal advice from Cyrus for having accidentally gotten married in Spain the weekend prior. Said groom, Gabriel (Armie Hammer, the great-grandson of the Jewish oil tycoon Armand Hammer), showed up as well to reunite with his “bride.” Cyrus’s stepdaughter, Blair, however, ditched the festivities to gallivant with her prestigious boyfriend’s family in an attempt to help secure a spot on a museum board.

Perhaps to foreshadow more holy drama to come, the episode concluded with Blair apologizing to both Cyrus for obnoxiously rejecting his offer to get her into NYU and to boyfriend Nate for accepting a bribe from his grandfather in exchange for a job. “This is why we have Yom Kippur,” Cyrus explained.

The best line of the episode came from Cyrus’s non-Jewish wife: “I’ve never thrown a Seder before. I don’t even know how to say half the words in this book that’s named for Lieberman’s wife,” she says, referring to Senator Joseph Lieberman’s wife, Hadassah — confusing Hadassah with Haggadah.

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