Serena and Dan are confused because they thought that Dan was the likeable and relatable person. Bless.

Serena: "He'll appeal to everyone! He starts off as an innocent from Brooklyn..."
Ladies: "--Who quotes Hawthorne and screens Fellini films? I don't think so."

ibid.: "A tragic backstory would give him more to overcome. Maybe he's an orphan?"
ibid.: "Wait, now another thought that occurred to me was to Glee this up."

For some reason this is the part that sends Dan around the bend. Not the part where he's a pretentious, privileged douchebag and they just said that to his face like eight times, no. So Dan.

WALDORF

Ugh. They have to fix these dresses on these mannequins while she yells at them, and Dorota is there doing her Dorota shit, and it's so fucking dumb.

n-1

Nate runs into a twitchy, sassy little twink that works for Keith Gessen, and in short order learns that Gessen's going to be Diana's date to Diana's party, and they've been dating for two months.

Sample dialogue, as he shows him Vulture: "Hello! I thought you worked in media?"

DUMBO

Serena shows up and tells Dan to waive his right to write the script, and because this is about actual development business, not writing, she explains the only thing this show has ever said that's even half right about it: If Dan writes it, it'll go draft, notes, recrimination, draft, notes, buzz dying the whole time, "And you'll never give them what they want, because you're too close to it, and that's not even the point: You should be focusing on your next best seller." Then, the funniest thing in the entire episode:

Serena: "Let us hire an A-list writer, like an Akiva Goldsman, somebody who Jane can't bully, somebody who gets great movies made and who will honor your book faithfully."
Dan: "You really think you could get someone like him to write it?"

I mean, that's either some slicing fucking satire about what is actually valued in Hollywood, or written from inside the Matrix -- as in, this show is written by people with those fucked up artistic values -- and I have no idea which, but if it's the latter that makes this season make a lot more sense.

Points against that being a joke, because they are relatively well-received despite being maybe tacky in some very Hollywood ways: Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind, The Client, A Time to Kill.