▲ Trust and Properties ▲
VICTROLA: Chuck’s very first business deal of which Blair seems proud of. She trusts his taste.
Blair: I do believe all your years of underage boozing and womanizing have finally paid off. Truly, I am proud. Chuck: And you are my toughest critic. (1.07)
Also, the Victrola is where Chuck’s love for Blair was born, the place where he sees the ‘true her’ as she reminds him in episode 2.19. The place where he falls in love for the very first time. They christened the deal having sex for the first time, especially Blair has sex for the very first time.
“A burlesque club. A respectable place where people can be transported to another time. Where they can feel free to let loose. No judgment. Pure escape. What happens at Victrola stays at Victrola.” (Chuck, 1.07)
In episode 2.02 Chuck sells Victrola to help Archibald’s family bankruptcy problem.
He buys it again in 2.14 as to remember, this is the only thing his Father approved of him in his entire life, it had quite a personal and affective meaning.
OLD BAR IN BROOKLYN: Chuck’s second attempt at making a business deal. It starts as a deal with Blair who wants him to make Vanessa believe he’ll buy it, but in the end he doesn’t. He seems fascinated by the building and really wants to buy it, but his Father doesn’t think it’s a safe bet. (2.07)
Chuck doesn’t finish this business deal and neither sleeps with Vanessa, but Blair decides she wants to give him his prize, that is herself. This is the second time this season that one of them asks the other to say those ‘three words, eight letters’ (or syllables like Chuck says here).
EMPIRE: Chuck’s third attempt at business gone good. We see him trying to make business deals in 3.02, but nobody actually thinks believes in him, and neither Blair knows about it. In 3.03 he just wants to buy the bar of the Empire, but decides to risk his legacy to buy the entire Hotel. He justifies this choice by saying that he bought it because Blair had believed in him.
Blair: How do you know? Chuck: Because you believe in me. (3.03)
They christen his legacy after that.
In episode 3.15 gullibly signs the Hotel to who’s supposed to be his Mother. He has the Hotel back in episode 3.17 making a deal with Jack. This building is the proof he had attempted and succeed in making another business deal after his Father’s death.
THE GIMLET: I could call this Victrola the 2nd the Revenge, because it has the same purpose, be a place where you can escape from your life and be someone else for a few hours. Uncle Jack gives Chuck a fake liquor license and so they need to close the club, but Chuck is happy anyway because with Blair’s help now the news of this scandal will give him publicity.
CHARLES PLACE: Chuck’s fifth attempt at business. We have no idea if it will have success or not, since the building is yet to be finished. He buys it after he understands that he needs to start over in order to deserve people and especially Blair. 4.20 was the lowest point of his down yard spiral, he decides to buy a Hotel and build it from zero, he needs to prove himself and people that he can actually build something, that life never turns out perfect and that sometimes you need to build what you want with your own hands so that everyone can see you’re not just a ‘name.’ This will be Chuck’s very first and real business deal, because of this.
My Father turned his first profit by the time of 22, I hope to do it by the time I’m 21. (3.02)
Let’s wait for Chuck’s 21st birthday, then. May 2012.
Notes: awesome how all the titles of these episodes refer to Chuck. Victor, Victrola (1.07); Chuck in real life (2.07); The Lost Boy (3.03); How to Succeed in Bassness (3.07); Shattered Bass (4.21). Honorable mentions go to In the Realm of the Basses (2.14) where Chuck buys the Victrola again, and Inglorious Bassterds (3.17) where he has the Empire back.
