(S02E04) "This is your year to rule." - Chuck to Serena

Bye bye The Hamptons. Hello Upper East Side. Senior year doesn't only bring back high school uniform fashion but also the high school hierarchy system. Who knew, besides Chuck and spoilers addicts, that there would be a change of power at school and that Serena would take back duties as Queen Bee? This plot line not only adds drama to the show (oh, how will dethroned Blair cope with her new place in the food chain?) but also offers those of us who never read the Gossip Girl books a taste of what "old" Serena was all about.

Okay, we did get a taste of who Serena used to be last season when Georgina resurfaced but it's not the same as seeing Serena follow Dan's advice and really embrace who she really is. Queen Serena may not have done much this week but the vibe I got from her makes me think we ain't seen nothing yet. It wouldn't surprise me if she does things that are as evil as those Blair did. Place your bets now: Will Serena be the evilest queen of them all?

And speaking of Blair, what will she do next? With The Lord gone, the field is wide open for a Chuck and Blair reunion. The hook up might not happen next week since Chuck did hint to Blair that he knew exactly how Serena got back on top, but Blair will need someone to confide in and to plot her revenge with and, let's face it, Chuck is probably her best option. Maybe it's even part of his plan: he hires Amanda to flirt with Dan in order to make Serena jealous so her bitchy side would get out and lead her back to Queen status; then, he steps in to console Blair and to help her out so to get closer to her and eventually hook back up. No matter if Chuck helps her or not, you can bet that Blair will not go down without a fight. I sense a big rift between friends Serena and Blair coming up!

Even if I'm glad to see Nate free of Catherine's grip, I'm sad to see Madchen Amick gone. Yep, this week's episode marked The Duchess' final episode on the series. Amick gave a very good performance as manipulating Catherine and was a great nemesis for Blair. The storylines involving Catherine and Marcus created a lot of waves in the lives of our favorite characters and offered us some very interesting and explosive face offs.

Other tidbits of interest:

• "We were never really friends." That line, said by Vanessa and Nate at different times, made my heart sink a bit. As I've said last week, Vanessa is growing on me and I enjoy seeing her be a good friend to Nate. She did try her best to help him this week even if it backfired... Let's hope they patch things up.
• Lily totally deserved Rufus telling her that he couldn't be her safety net anymore because she chose to be Mrs. Bass. I like Lily but she can't have the wealth of her new husband and Rufus' time all at once. She made her choice and must face the consequences. It was about time that Rufus stood up for himself and told Lily that things were over.
  
• Another sign that Serena and Dan are the Ross and Rachel of Gossip Girl: "We were broken up!" Quite reminisent of Rachel's reaction when she learned Ross slept with another woman while they were on a break.
• "From now on, everything goes through me." That line from Serena still resonates in my brain as I type this line. Blake Lively delivered it with the right amount of attitude and bitchiness. It was chilling to hear.