Episode no. Season 2
Episode 04 Written by Robby Hull | Directed by Jim McKay Production code 204 | |
Original air date September 22, 2008 (The CW) | ||
"The Ex Files" is the 22nd episode of the CW television series, Gossip Girl. It was also the fourth episode of the show's second season. The episode was written by Robby Hull and directed by Jim McKay. It originally aired on Monday, September 22, 2008 on the CW.
Reception
The episode has an 8.1 rating out of 10 from TV.com,, a 4.6 out of 5 star rating on TV Fanatic, and an 8.0 out of 10 star rating on IMDB.
The episode received generally favorable reviews from critics. Most of the critics praised Blake Lively's performances in this episode. Isabelle Carreau, from TV Squad, continued to compare Serena and Dan's relationship to Rachel and Ross from Friends and also said that "Blake Lively delivered it with the right amount of attitude and bitchiness" in her final lines in the episode. Jennifer Sankowski, from TV Guide, had said that she was surprised to see that Amanda was working for Chuck all time long, and that the reason why she loves the show is because of the many twists between the episodes. Michelle Graham, from Film School Rejects, had said that "overall, this episode really kick started the season, with Chuck’s manipulations felt right the way through, but his hand mostly unseen until the end".
Nevertheless, Carlos Delgado of If Magazine gave the episode a negative rating of D+ and said that the show "is poised to take bad television to a whole new level".