No tradition was more anticipated, more drama-filled, and more iconic than Gossip Girl’s annual Thanksgiving episodes. These holiday installments weren’t mere filler; they were must-watch events that perfectly blended festive family gatherings with the season’s most explosive secrets, shocking revelations, and more than a few perfectly timed backstabs.
Penn Badgley, Blake Lively, Taylor Momsen, Leighton Meester, Jessica Szohr, Chace Crawford, and Ed Westwick in Gossip Girl (2007)
For fans, the holidays truly began when the Upper East Siders sat down to carve the turkey, and inevitably, carve up each other. The only season that didn’t have a proper Thanksgiving episode was season 5.
‘Blair Waldorf Must Pie!’ (Season 1, Episode 9)
The first Thanksgiving episode flashes between past and present, revealing how Serena’s troubling pre-boarding-school behavior damaged her friendship with Blair. In the present day, the Waldorf holiday dinner unravels when Blair’s eating disorder resurfaces, forcing her mother to confront long-ignored family issues. Meanwhile, the Humphreys’ warm and chaotic gathering stands in stark contrast, eventually pulling Serena into a more grounded version of the holiday. The episode highlights shifting loyalties and deep-rooted tensions that define the early seasons.
‘The Magnificent Archibalds’ (Season 2, Episode 11)
This installment focuses on a core theme: family loyalty under duress. The Archibald family is in crisis after Nate’s father, the Captain, returns on the run from the law, forcing Nate to make agonizing ethical choices during their holiday meal. The episode successfully balances high-stakes legal trouble with the genuine warmth of Blair and Cyrus’s budding friendship, showing that even in chaos, moments of genuine family are possible, even if that family is chosen.
‘The Treasure of Serena Madre’ (Season 3, Episode 11)
Why it’s a Classic: Widely considered the zenith of Thanksgiving chaos, this episode is pure, unadulterated Gossip Girl. The dinner table becomes a minefield of accusations: Serena confesses her affair with Tripp, Lily admits to covering up a past crime, and Blair gets blindsided by her mother’s plans. The scene is a frantic trainwreck of emotional breakdowns, demonstrating how the holiday pressure cooker forces all major secrets to boil over simultaneously.
‘Gaslit’ (Season 4, Episode 10)
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“Gaslit” is one of the show’s darkest and most dramatic Thanksgiving-adjacent episodes. After Serena is found disoriented and hospitalized from a drugging she didn’t cause, her friends and family initially believe she may have relapsed. Lily, fearing for Serena’s safety, signs her into an inpatient rehab facility—unaware that Serena has been framed. Meanwhile, Juliet, with help from Ben and Vanessa, executes the final stage of her plan to destroy Serena’s reputation, manipulating evidence and orchestrating the events that led to Serena’s collapse. As Blair and Dan start piecing together clues, they realize Serena was targeted, not self-destructive.
‘It’s Really Complicated’ (Season 6, Episode 8)
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The final Thanksgiving for the core characters served as a bittersweet farewell to the cherished tradition. The episode pits Serena and Dan’s attempts at normalcy against the inevitable resurfacing of old habits and secrets. While Blair grapples with a high-stakes professional crisis, Chuck races against Bart Bass to uncover incriminating evidence, perfectly encapsulating the show’s blend of high-stakes drama and enduring, though often fraught, friendships before its ultimate conclusion.
