(S02E03) "This party just went over to the dark side." - Gossip Girl

Welcome to the dark side! Actually, when Gossip Girl is concerned, we should probably talk about the darker side. Let's face it, most of the characters are already in the dark side zone. This week's power outage, along with Catherine's evil manipulations, only made said side much darker. Let's review how much darker GG got this week, shall we?

"I can't change who I am," Dan admitted to Serena near the end of the episode. Fans of Serena and Dan as a couple must not have liked hearing those words coming from dad because it led to the two of them officially breaking up. As I hinted in my other reviews, the couple has a bumpy road ahead and will look more and more like Friends' Ross and Rachel, who were together, apart, friends, together, apart, together, friends, etc. This week's episode finally (!) offered an opportunity for Dan and Serena to really think and talk about their relationship thanks to the Gossip Girl blog revealing that the couple was back together, the teens who told Dan and Serena why the other didn't deserve them, and the power outage, which forced the two to have a heart to heart.

The Serena and Dan scenes this week felt a little flat for my taste. There was so much build up these past two weeks that I expected more from their break up scene, maybe not a big blow out, but something juicier than what we were offered. The way things ended between the two, I wouldn't be surprised if they stay friends and hang out together as soon as next week.

Blair, who can't stop talking about The Lord (dear writers, please make her stop), is ready to take her relationship with him to the next step but not the latter. Chuck is still not over Blair and actually can't perform because he hasn't gotten her out of his system and discovers that the only way he can solve his problem is to be with Blair at least once. As you know, I love the Blair and Chuck relationship or lack thereof, and Chuck is my favorite character. However, I have to side with Serena when she tells him "You are not using Blair as sexual Drano." It was low of him to pretend to be Marcus in the bedroom in order to get his mojo back. Yes, Blair got out of this encounter what she needed too, but I'm sure Chuck could have won her back eventually... Then again, maybe it would have been too late for Chuck's mojo...

Even if TV Squad readers said that Blair is the definite Most Evil Queen in our last poll, we saw this week that Catherine is worthy of the title as well. Not only does she ask Blair for info on Vanessa but she also conspires with the Most Evil Queen to have Nate, who is trying to distance himself from The Duchess, bring Vanessa to the party so she can have a one-on-one with the other woman. The plan almost didn't work but, thanks to Rufus' suggestion, Vanessa made it to the party in time to discover that she is part of a love triangle with Nate and someone's mother.

I'm glad that, contrary to how most characters on GG react, Vanessa didn't scream, throw things, and pull hair when telling Nate how disappointed in him she is. Vanessa is not my favorite character, but she is slowly growing on me because of the calmness and maturity she can show. You can see that Vanessa is also a great friend as not only does she not want Nate to suffer by having Catherine tell the police about his father's whereabouts but Vanessa also tells him to stay with Catherine in a nice, even if untrue, way ("She truly loves you."). You can bet that Vanessa will be there to support Nate as much as she can.

"Now, interns have opinions," said Eleanor to Jenny. Little Miss J often puts her foot where her mouth is, but this time, she was right, that dress was not a pretty one. Luckily for her, Eleanor came around and worked with Jenny to improve the dress. I'm sure that this newfound bond will not sit well with Laurel. The latter loved to boss Jenny around and now that Miss J is friends with the big bad boss, Laurel will become second fiddle.

"The Dark Night" was an enjoyable episode filled with twists and turns and loads of backstabbing. The episode also moved forward most of the characters' storylines, including Rufus' who is now dating.