(S02E02) "Marcus' mommy is even sicker than you are." – Blair to Chuck

We are once again in The Hamptons and things are still not peachy for our favorite troubled teens and their parents. Blair tries to please The Lord and learn more about him, Chuck continues his search for the piece of information that will have Blair come back to him and ditch Marcus, Serena and Dan think and get busy, and much more. But, as the quote I put at the beginning of this review points at, it's Catherine who wins the crown for most memorable character of the episode. And, as someone who already watched next week's episode, I can say that you ain't seen nothing yet. She is on sick lady.

As I warned you last week and in my "What to expect in season two of Gossip Girl" post, Serena and Dan are going through a rough patch. This week, we've seen the start of it all when both of them agreed they have to think. Since their physical attraction towards one another is pretty strong, the couple has difficulties staying apart in order to really think about their relationship. It's clear that there are unresolved issues between the two that could lead to a break up, especially if they down sit down and chit chat about things. Since they are two busy being with one another, that needed talk will happen at a later time.

On a side note, I know Serena was trying to seduce Dan on the bus ride, but strawberries dipped in chocolate on a bus? Really? Okay, maybe a wrapped sandwich from the bus terminal's vending machine wouldn't have been as seductive.

Every little girl's dream is to become a princess. So it was to be expected that Blair would seize the opportunity even though she was ready to ditch Marcus after he served his purpose in last week's episode and doesn't really love him, at least, not yet. You have to give it to Blair, when she sets her sights on something, she is driven by the goal and does everything and anything to reach it... even if it means throwing a really boring party to impress her royal boyfriend. Of course, even the most boring of parties thrown on the show will get its share of jaw-dropping action, OMG moments, secrets and lies.

One of the good reveals of the episode was when we learned that Catherine is Marcus' step-mother. This means that Blair's ex-boyfriend Nate is dating Blair's new boyfriend's step-mother. This sentence may be confusing but it reflects really well the relationship web the four of them are caught in. Add to that web Chuck who now befriended Marcus, who is still in love with Blair, who is one of Nate's friends, and who is willing to meet with The Duchess to help break Blair and Marcus up.

My favorite scenes this week were definitely those between Catherine and Blair. Both actresses delivered their bitchy lines perfectly. They are believable as evil queens, each in their own way, who want to protect their prize (aka Marcus) and status. Last week, Blair said that she wanted to distance herself from her traits that were reminiscent of Chuck's behavior. It's clearly not working. Case point: Blair using Catherine's infidelities to her advantage. As I've said before Blair is ready to do anything and everything to reach her goal and you know what, even if some of Blair's actions are not really appropriate, I'm entertained by every seconds of it.

Poor Nate. Because his father is hiding, the authorities see it as admitting guilt. Therefore, Nate and his mother may lose everything, especially now that grandpa stopped throwing money at them. It was a nice gesture from Chuck to sell the club in order to help out Nate and his mom. I get that Nate didn't want to take Chuck's money because he wanted to find the money on his own, etc., but is it really better to get money from Catherine? While Chuck would have probably asked Nate to give the money back whenever, Catherine will more than likely make him pay that loan not only in "nature" but also by bossing him around. You could see during the party that she was rather protective and possessive of Nate, so it is to be expected that she'll get worse on both counts now that Nate owes her money. Let's sum Nate's situation with this: He sold his soul to the devil.

If you've read the Gossip Girl posts I've written in the past month, you know that I got a bad vibe from this week's scenes between Vanessa and Rufus. They looked way too friendly for my taste. Now that you've seen the scenes, what's your take on it? Am I reading too much into this or is there something there?