(S03E12) "I know today is the anniversary of his death." - Blair to Chuck

As Ryan said in comments to last week's post, "The Treasure of Serena Madre" would've been a great last episode of 2009 with all of the drama and excitement it contained, as well as the few cliffhangers. However, The CW decided otherwise and aired one more episode before the show goes on hiatus.

Now that I've seen "The Debarted," I agree with Ryan. The network should have ended 2009 with "The Treasure of Serena Madre" and air this week's installment in January as the sole new episode before the Olympics since it also ended with a few cliffhangers. Don't you agree?

According to The Futon Critic (TFC) website, the next new episode is set to air in March!!! The network has yet to announce when Gossip Girl will return with new episodes, but the fact that the preview for upcoming episodes said "new episodes coming soon" while the preview for One Tree Hill, which aired just before tonight's GG episode, clearly stated that OTH would air new episodes mid-January makes me think TFC may be right ... bummer.

As I've said before, "The Treasure of Serena Madre" should have been the last episode before the Holiday hiatus. The episode ended on a lot of cliffhangers, including the letter and Serena choosing Tripp, which would have made fans eagerly await the return of the show in January.

Then, just before the Olympics break -- it's clear The CW won't air new episodes against the world event -- the network could have aired "The Debarted," which would have been a great way to give fans a few answers while making them long for more while watching athletes compete during the cold month of February.

This week, I found myself entertained by Serena's storyline, mostly thanks to evil Maureen. If you've been reading my reviews, you know Serena is the character that bores me most. I didn't expect Serena and Tripp's romance to be without problems. However, I never expected Tripp to turn to Maureen for help and do exactly what he resents his wife for: lie and manipulate. Tripp's thirst for power provided a nice twist of events, especially when Maureen faced Serena at the cottage and showed the letter. Let's hope Serena doesn't give Tripp a second chance -- and you know it could definitely be an option when we are talking about Serena -- and that she opens her eyes and sees that Nate is whom she should be with.

Going back to the famous letter. Throughout the episode, I hoped that we would see a glimpse of the text on TV so I could do a screen capture for our enjoyment. Sadly, it didn't happen so we will have to wait until Rufus and Lily face off to know the exact details of the letter. One thing is sure, the rift between Lily and Rufus is getting wider, and it'll almost take a Christmas miracle to bring the two close together.

Eric and Jenny patched things up, yay! It's clear this won't last forever since Jenny is once again on a destructive path thanks to the dark and mysterious Damian. Eric will surely try to get her to open her eyes about Damian when he (Eric) discovers the truth. You can bet that this will put Jenny and Eric once again at odds.

I was really looking forward to the Chuck storyline this week since it meant him having to deal with the one year anniversary of his father's death and, since I'm spoiled, because Chuck was set to see someone else at Bart's grave. Chuck having illusions of his dead father didn't add anything to the show that we, and Chuck, didn't know before. If the writers wanted to be more efficient with Chuck remembering what his father thought of his son, flashbacks would have been best, especially if the show had used old footage we could relate to as loyal viewers. However, I enjoyed the new flashbacks of when Bart was in the hospital and about to die. Even if grim, it was nice to see the last moments of Bart's life with Lily, Serena and Chuck at the scene.

As for the woman who was at Bart's grave, it's clear she is Chuck's mother. Not only did she say "Charles" when she saw Chuck, but she also brought the flowers Chuck said his mother loved best.

What did you think of the episode? Do you agree it should have aired in January? Did you enjoy Bart's appearances? Do you think the woman is Chuck's not-so-dead-after-all mother? What do you foresee in Rufus and Lily's future as a couple? Share your theories and comments below.