If you say there’s no such thing as a Thanksgiving song, you’re simply wrong. “Whatcha Say” by Jason Derulo exists, and do I even need to explain why it deserves the title? Every year, people revisit Gossip Girl’s iconic Thanksgiving episodes, but none compares to the legendary chaos of Season 3, Episode 11. The drama begins with Blair confronting Jenny about Eric, dropping the line: “Oh, by the way, how do you find having a sibling, someone whose sole purpose on earth is to compete for your parents’ love and attention?” And then, perfectly on cue, the music hits.
What follows is peak Thanksgiving dysfunction. As “Whatcha Say” plays, the scene cuts to the entire cast at the dinner table, everyone furious with someone else, and guests storming off one by one. Lily leaves first after her mother, Cece, unexpectedly shows up knowing the secret Lily is hiding from Rufus. Cece takes a seat next to Rufus, taunting her, and immediately begins stirring the pot, telling Vanessa’s mom she wasn’t invited to Lily and Rufus’s wedding. That triggers Vanessa’s mom to jump into the drama, and Vanessa snaps, telling her to stay out of it.
Meanwhile, Vanessa vents to Dan about her mom, and Dan defends her, which annoys Vanessa even more. She calls him out for “making a new face,” (he was looking at her differently because he caught feelings) and then yells across the table, asking Jenny if she’s ever seen someone do that. Jenny fires back, “I don’t know, ask Eric — he’s mastered it too.” Then it cuts to Blair and her mom. Earlier, Blair found pregnancy tests and assumed they were her mother’s, so she tried to push champagne on her. When her mom asks what’s gotten into her, Blair blurts: “What’s gotten into me? Try you, you’re the one who’s pregnant!”
At the same time, Serena and Tripp are sitting across from his wife, trying (and failing) to hide their affair. His wife confronts them with video proof, threatening Serena, while Chuck questions Nate about how he got the footage, since only Chuck’s staff would have had access. Lily walks up behind Serena and sees the video too — and that’s when everything fully implodes.
People give their reasons to leave the table, one after another. The disses are constant, the tension is unreal, and eventually only around four people remain. Cece, completely unfazed by the destruction she helped cause, raises her glass and says, “I’m so glad you invited me, Rufus — cheers,” and the music cuts out with absolute perfection.
This sequence is one of the most brilliantly edited and unforgettable music moments in TV history. The song returns every year in fans’ minds because it has become the unofficial Thanksgiving anthem, thanks to Gossip Girl’s perfect blend of drama, humor, and soundtrack magic.