Character Growth
4x07 vs. 4x18
“Something I noticed, in 4.07 remember when Dan is conspiring against CB and he came to see Chuck at the Empire and Blair was there, they were sitting in front of him and being kind of ugly to him about his “status” and Jenny, and he was seething when they walked away. Blair was smirking at what Chuck said. Now fast forward to this ep and Chuck is conspiring against DB and he comes to confront them and again is ugly about Dans “status” and this time Blair is not having it” - Moon River @ TWOP
Both of these episodes are by Jessica Queller, and I think the parallel is also visually striking. Chuck and Dan are seated across from each other in 4x07. Blair sits on Chuck’s right wearing a crown headband for the first time since S3. At the end of the scene, they stand side by side and tower over Dan. It's kind of like they're the king and queen, and Dan's the ~prole they just put in his place.
It's reversed in 4x18. Blair and Dan stand side by side with Chuck standing opposite and dressed like royalty. But this time Blair defends Dan, and she refuses to wear the Princess Diana dress or be in the Modern Royalty photo.