Now that was more like it! After last week's snooze fest, our favorite rich kids were back in fine scandalous form last night. The only one off her game in this episode was Gossip Girl herself, whoever she may be.

The war between Jenny and Blair was back in full swing tonight, with Gossip Girl caught in the middle. The rivals were caught up in a silly game of texting GG ludicrous rumors about each other. Our omniscient narrator soon caught on to the game and put a stop to it by vowing not to publish any more tips that didn't come with solid evidence. But the last juicy headline to make it to the cell phones of the Upper East Side was a whopper: Little J's new boyfriend was spotted kissing someone outside of school. And that someone was wearing a St. Jude's sports jacket instead of a Constance Billard pleated skirt.

Although there were doubters out there, Dan knew Gossip Girl's intel was correct. He'd been the one to spot Asher with his mystery boy. But Dan's attempt to confront Asher and to warn Jenny backfired, when Asher convinced Little J that her big brother was butting in to their relationship. Jenny lashed out at Dan in retaliation, saying he was jealous of Asher's looks, money, and Dartmouth connections. She even went so far as to dis her brother's LL Bean pants! Uncool, Little J. Very uncool. How could you blame Dan for spilling Asher's secret to Gossip Girl after that kind of treatment?

Ever the opportunist, Blair realized this was her chance to bury the pretender to her throne once and for all. When Dan wouldn't help her confirm the rumors about Asher, she dispatched Isabel and Nelly (she's in the inner circle now?) to steal Asher's cell phone. Sure enough, Asher's pix revealed the identity of his mystery man. But when Blair saw who it was, she realized this was a secret she would have to keep. Unfortunately, someone else had witnessed that good morning kiss, and unlike Dan, they'd gotten a full view of both parties. And unlike Blair, they were willing to spill.

That's right, folks. Serena's frenemy, Georgina Sparks, was back this week. And this time, Georgie really earned her bad girl stripes when she outed poor Eric to his shocked mother and sister at the dinner table, a table she had invited herself to, nonetheless. In her shock, Lily was unable to handle the situation with grace, but Serena rushed to her brother's side, promising to stand by him no matter who he was with. But although Eric clearly appreciated his sister's loyalty, their scene was full of subtle implications that Eric didn't need his big sister quite as much as he used to. When Serena came to his rescue after he'd fled the dinner table, he was already on the phone with his new protector/role model, Chuck. Speaking of Chuck, the big disappointment of this episode was his (and Nate's) absence from it! Was I the only one who would've liked to see the Monte Carlo bachelor party he threw his dad?

There were a few boring Rufus-Lily scenes where they bonded over how hard it is to be the parents of spoiled teenagers, and Rufus got sad at the sight of Lily in the dress she'd wear to a wedding where he wouldn't be the groom. I'm a little confused by how much the writers want us to emotionally invest in their star-crossed relationship. Serena and Dan are supposed to be the great love story of the show, so we shouldn't be rooting for their parents to get together and add an icky quasi-incestuous vibe to their relationship, right? On the other hand, Lily clearly has stronger feelings for Rufus, but I'm really intrigued by the slightly softer side of Chuck we're starting to see as he bonds with his would-be step-siblings, Serena and Eric. I'd kind of rather not see true love conquer all in this case.

But another argument for a Humphrey/van der Woodsen family merger is Jenny's need for a mom who sticks around. Both Rufus and Dan are clearly in over their heads when it comes to dealing with her. And Little J proved tonight she could really benefit from an older, wiser female presence in her life. When the rumors about Asher started swirling around, Jenny figured it was up to her to disprove them -- by sleeping with him. But when she made her move, Asher cruelly rejected her. It turned out he really was using her as his "Katie Holmes" as Blair had called her earlier. He'd figured she'd known the truth all along, that a wealthy Upper East side guy like him would never really date a slightly less well-off Brooklyn girl like her without an ulterior motive. She was his beard, and in exchange, he helped raise her social status, and gave her the chance to host her first UES party. And that was enough to convince Little J to continue to play along.

But the game ended at Asher and Jenny's party, when Eric and Blair arrived to turn it into Asher's coming-out party. Eric revealed himself to be the mystery man and gave B the go-ahead to send the photographic evidence to Gossip Girl. Little J was exposed as a liar, and Blair had won the war, once and for all. According to one of Jenny's so-called friends, "Dating a gay guy is an honest mistake, but lying to your girlfriends about sex is unforgivable." Amen, sister.

After the party, Jenny showed up at Blair's penthouse to wave the white flag. And this is where things got interesting. Jenny told Blair she was giving up on becoming Queen Bee, on keeping up with the inner circle, on lying, stealing, and hurting her family. And she meant it. Blair shrugged her off, claiming she'd always known Jenny didn't have what it took to run with her crowd, but the look on her face told a different story. Was Blair jealous of Jenny's ability to walk away from the good life, and hold on to her soul?

Jenny wasn't the only visitor that Blair received that evening. A crying, desperate Serena arrived in the middle of the night, begging Blair for help, but refusing to tell her what was wrong. Earlier in the episode, she'd received another package from Georgina, a videotape that seemed to capture a romantic rendezvous gone wrong between Serena and a "Mr. Shepherd." Georgie later used the tape to blackmail Serena into hanging out with her again and keeping her true identity secret from new "friends" (Dan and Vanessa). Serena couldn't bring herself to tell Dan the truth about Georgina or what was on the tape, but Blair was the one who finally broke her friend's defenses down. Apparently, the tape reveals that Serena killed someone.

Whoa. That's all for this week. But feel free to sound off in the comments section about this episode. Did you miss Chuck and Nate? Are you disappointed there will never be a Jenny/Eric hookup? Is Serena really a murderer? And do you think this show is a hit?

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