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*Hey Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl here. And I have the biggest news ever. One of my many sources, Melanie91, sends us this: "Spotted at Grand Central, bags in hand: Serena van der Woodsen." Was it only a year ago our It Girl mysteriously disappeared for "boarding school"? And just as suddenly, she's back. Don't believe me? See for yourselves. - **Gossip Girl***

## Episode Summary

Gossip Girl is busy spreading the news that "it girl" Serena van der Woodsen has returned to Manhattan after a mysterious and self-imposed exile to boarding school. Serena's best friend, Blair Waldorf, has conflicted feelings about her friend's return since she has enjoyed being the Queen Bee during Serena's absence and might not be ready to relinquish her new position on the social ladder, not to mention the fact that she has always suspected there may be unspoken feelings between Serena and her longtime boyfriend, Nate Archibald.

## Episode Plot

In Upper East Side, Manhattan, Serena arrives at the Grand Central Station. Gossip Girl, credits Melanie91 for snapping a picture of Serena's arrival and narrates that she's suddenly back from "Boarding School" after a year. Also at Grand Central are Dan and Jenny Humphrey, coming home after a weekend with their mother. They are welcomed by their father, Rufus Humphrey, who immediately asks if their mother regrets leaving Manhattan. As they leave the station, Dan gazes longingly at Serena.

The news of Serena's arrival quickly spreads around, different people are shown getting notifications about it on their phones. At a party attended by most of Serena's old friends and their families, Nate is being introduced by his father to some of his friends as a future Dartmouth student. Nate mentions that he would like to also consider some colleges on the west coast, but his dad tries to convince him Dartmouth is best. Suddenly, Blair interrupts their conversation, and brings Nate to a bedroom insisting that she's ready to have sex.

While Blair and Nate are in bed, Serena is shown arriving to the party. She is greeted by Blair's mother, Eleanor Waldorf, who immediately calls out to Blair about Serena's arrival. Nate hears that Serena is here, and rushes out of bed to see her, which upsets Blair. Serena then looks for her mother, Lily van der Woodsen, and asks where Eric van der Woodsen is, but her mother doesn't want to talk about it in public. As Nate walks out of Blair's room, he catches Serena's eyes and smiles at her, until Blair gets in the way. Blair greets Serena with a fake smile and hug and insists that she stays for dinner, but Serena says that she doesn't feel well and that she'll see Blair at school. Blair is offended by Serena's abrupt departure, and begins talking to her other friends.

Serena then goes to the hospital to visit her brother Eric and spends the night on the chair next to his bed. The next morning, Eric wakes up Serena and they embrace, while Serena apologises for being a bad sister. Lily arrives and is confronted by Serena about her actions after Eric tried to commit suicide. It's revealed Lily has been telling her friends that Eric is in Miami visiting his Aunt Carol so she won't get a bad reputation. She also indirectly states that she does not fully trust that Serena's been doing good at boarding school, possibly because of her former party-girl image. Meanwhile, at the Humphrey residence in Brooklyn, Rufus tells his children about his former band's fame in the 90's. Jenny finishes her calligraphy for the "Kiss on the Lips" party invitations, which she proudly got invited to by Blair.

At the Palace Hotel, Nate is seen waiting for Serena to arrive. It's revealed that Serena's family are currently staying there while their house is being renovated. He tries to begin a conversation about why Serena was upset last night, but she quickly changes the subject and says she has to get ready for school. When he continues to follow her, she explains that she never came back for him. She states that Blair is her best friend, and that she's in love with him, and that's how things are supposed to be. Nate is then left by himself, looking hurt. Dan is then seen rushing through traffic to catch his bus to school. Chuck Bass and Nate, two of his classmates from St. Jude's School for Boys, are also on the bus too. Chuck comments on how hot Serena looked last night, and teases Nate for not having sex with Blair yet, even though they've practically been dating since kindergarten. As they arrive at school, Chuck notices Dan behind him and asks rudely if he's following them, to which Dan replies saying that they go to the same school, and are wearing the same uniform.

Before school, Jenny delivers the invitations to Blair and her posse, Kati Farkas and Isabel Coates, on the steps of the Met. Serena arrives and introduces herself to Jenny, while noting Blair's invitations for her party. Blair rudely tells Serena that she's not invited. As they go their separate ways, Serena asks Blair if they can meet at The Palace Hotel at 8pm. Blair says that she has a date with Nate, but Serena insists that he can wait.

After school, Dan is seen helping Rufus post flyers for his concert tonight, when he gets an emergency text message from Jenny. It then turns out that Jenny is just trying on dresses for the "Kiss on the Lips Party", hoping to find the perfect one which she can sew when she gets home, since she can't afford to buy one. Serena, who has sneaked her brother out of the hospital to go shopping at the mall, stops by and talks to Jenny, while Dan hides behind the racks of clothes and eventually leaves. In Central Park, Nate and Chuck take a stroll while openly sharing a joint. Nate shares his insights about having a life planned out for him by his parents, while Chuck just advises him to get high and have sex with Blair.

Blair and Serena are seen drinking at The Palace Hotel's Bar. Serena asks how Blair's mother is handling the divorce, and Blair reveals that her dad left her mother for another man. Blair is still resentful that Serena didn't tell her why she went to boarding school in the first place. Serena acknowledges that Blair is the new queen bee at school and says she's not interested in stealing that role from her. Eventually, the tension fades away, and the two exchange a warm hug. However, when Blair leaves for her date with Nate, Serena is seen drinking the rest of Blair's drink. Gossip Girl narrates that Serena may still be hiding a secret.

At the Humphrey residence, Jenny is talking to Dan while sewing a dress for the party. They talk about Dan's crush on Serena, and Jenny tells him that she's probably at The Palace Hotel all alone. Dan suddenly decides to go out and visit Serena. However, before Dan arrives, Chuck approaches Serena at the bar and begins to flirt with her. She's not in the mood as she's been drinking on an empty stomach, so Chuck offers to get her a grilled cheese from the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Nate enters his room to find Blair waiting for him in lingerie. She decorated the room romantically as she is expecting to have sex with Nate for the first time. Blair begins to kiss him, but he doesn't kiss her back as he feels guilty about what happened at the Sheppard wedding. Blair is heartbroken after learning that he had sex with Serena, and tells Nate to get out of the room.

Back in the hotel kitchen, Chuck tells the kitchen staff to leave early. He begins to touch Serena, but she tells him it's not going to happen. Chuck tells Serena he knows what she did at the Sheppard wedding. A flashback shows a drunk Serena dancing on top of a bar, while Nate laughs with her and opens a bottle of champagne. They begin kissing, and eventually end up having sex, this is all witnessed by Chuck. He then attempts to start kissing her again, but she fights against him and runs away. On her way out, she bumps into Dan and her purse gets knocked to the ground. Dan apologises and helps her, but she ignores him and carries on her way out. Dan notices that she left her cellphone behind, but she's already left by the time he finds it.

The next morning, Nate and his dad are running together in the park. Nate tells him that he had a big fight with Blair and they've practically broken up. Nate's father disapproves of this and wants them to get back together, mostly because it would help him advance in business deals with Blair's mother.

At The Palace Hotel, Dan is seen trying to return Serena's cellphone. The concierge calls Serena over to question if she knows Dan, and she recognises him from last night, much to Dan's surprise. Suddenly, Serena's mother arrives with a dress for Serena to wear to the "Kiss on the Lips Party". Serena doesn't want to go anymore as things are awkward with Blair, so she makes up an excuse that she has plans with Dan to see a "Lincoln Hawk" concert at 8pm. When Serena's mother leaves, Dan begins to walk away, but to his surprise Serena actually wants to go to the concert with him in real life.

Later on, Nate and Blair are seen eating sushi together at a restaurant. Nate apologises to Blair, and promises her that he'll never talk to Serena again. Blair is quick to forgive what happened in the past, and says she trusts that he has no feelings for Serena anymore.

At Rufus' art gallery, Lily walks in and questions why her daughter is going to one of Rufus' concerts with his son. Rufus is surprised that Dan scored a date with Serena, and Lily accuses Rufus of using Dan to get to her after Rufus' wife left him. Rufus compares Lily to how she was back in the old days, and he says she moved on from rock stars to billionaires to sustain her rich lifestyle. Lily then tells Rufus to stay out of her life, and she leaves.

Back at the Humphrey residence, Jenny is getting ready for the "Kiss on the Lips Party" and Dan is getting ready for his night out with Serena. At the Waldorf Residence, Blair is seen trying on a dress in front of her mirror. Her mother gives her some advice about her appearance, and tells her that she'll never be as happy or pretty as she is right now.

In the back of the limo, Blair, Nate, Chuck and their friends are seen partying with alcohol. Meanwhile, Dan arrives at The Palace Hotel to pick up Serena for the concert. Once everyone arrives at the party, Chuck introduces himself to Jenny. Meanwhile, Dan and Serena are on their way to the concert when Dan spots his dad, which he introduces to Serena. She questions why he introduced his dad to her on the first date, and Dan only then realises that this is a proper date. Chuck and Jenny are then seen walking up the stairs to the roof, a private place where Chuck wants to talk to her. However, as soon as they reach the top, Chuck tries to kiss her, but she says she wants to talk. After another attempt at kissing her, Chuck apologises and asks if they can start over, he offers her a glass of champagne. Jenny agrees, but texts Dan asking for his help because she doesn't feel safe.

After Dan and Serena have left the concert, he receives the text from Jenny. Serena offers to help him find her, and together they enter the party to find Jenny. Blair is angry that Serena crashed the party without an invite, but before she can kick her out Nate tries to convince her not to. Dan and Serena finally search upstairs and find Chuck forcefully kissing Jenny, while she's being pinned down by him and begging him to stop. Dan, in his rage, punches Chuck in the face, and Serena warns Chuck to never touch her again. As they leave, Chuck threatens Serena by saying that he knows everything. The episode then ends with Dan, Serena and Jenny heading home in a taxi.

## Cast and Characters

* Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen
* Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf
* Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey
* Chace Crawford as Nate Archibald
* Taylor Momsen as Jenny Humphrey
* Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass
* Kelly Rutherford as Lily van der Woodsen
* Matthew Settle as Rufus Humphrey
* Nan Zhangas as Kati Farkas
* Sam Robards as Howard "The Captain" Archibald
* Connor Paolo as Eric van der Woodsen
* Florencia Lozano as Eleanor Waldorf
* Nicole Fiscella as Isabel Coates
* Anthony Stewart-Jones as Concierge
* Jessica Andres as Girl #1
* Jackie Moore as Half-nude Model
* Lindsey Evans as Dominique
* Robert Gordon as Family Guest

## Trivia

* This is the only episode that Nate and Chuck ride a public bus to school.
* This is the only episode where Florencia Lozano acts as Eleanor, the rest of the episodes have a different actress.
* This is the second highest-rated episode in the series.