'Gossip Girl' Season 5, Episode 6 Recap: Top 5 OMG Moments

['Gossip Girl' - 'I Am Number Nine']

After a two week break, 'Gossip Girl' was most assuredly back with a bang last night, bringing all of our favorite Upper East Siders (and their enunciation-challenged significant others) to one scandalous shindig, where sparks began flying before the coats were even checked.

Louis and Eliza's nefarious scheme was revealed, Nate got more than his fair share of action, Serena hit a new career low and Dan became a literary has-been in the space of a week. And that's not even touching on Blair's grueling bridesmaid competition -- Pippa Middleton made it all look so easy!

Join us after the jump for our top five favorite moments from this week's episode.

1. Blair's Bridesmaid Bootcamp
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, but uneasier still lies the head of a princess-to-be's bridesmaid; I don't think Charlie Ivy Chivy has any idea what she's let herself in for. Queen B's last hurrah was a harrowing affair for some of our favorite former minions (too bad Nelly Yuki was AWOL), and the wedding dress scene was undoubtedly one of the show's best ever laugh-out-loud moments. From Blair screeching, "SHE NEEDS TO PEE!" at Penelope to Dorota's convincing paparazzi impersonation, it's a wonder the minions weren't hiding under the train and sobbing from the trauma. Still, I'm a little sad that Penelope tripped at the final hurdle (literally), since I can't imagine Blair being quite as caustic to Chivy as she would be to someone who isn't fake-related to the maid of honor.

2. Louis Demonstrates His Scheme Gene
I knew that Prince Charming routine was too good to be true. After months of Louis seeming more vanilla than soft serve, this week he ably demonstrated that he could plot like any good Upper East Sider by attempting to bribe Chuck's new therapist into turning him back to the dark side, wanting to sour Blair's feelings towards him once and for all. Insecurity is so unbecoming for a future monarch, your highness.

Lucky for Chuck, what Eliza lacked in acting ability, she made up for in guilt, and in the end, she couldn't go through with betraying Chuck -- even if our favorite Basstard thought she already had. He didn't go off the deep end, leaving Louis teetering close to the edge with Blair instead.

At least Louis finally confronted her about the paternity test, which, if I'm interpreting the show's vagaries correctly, means that he truly is Blair's baby-daddy, but that Blair had her doubts enough to need the test, sending Louis into a jealous downward spiral of manipulation and mutilating his intended-to-be-dramatic lines. I know it's like shooting fish in a barrel to mock some of the bizarre accents that appear on 'Gossip Girl,' but I almost developed a stress headache just listening to him fumbling evilly through "naow, itz up to yuh to turn Chuck back into ze monztuh 'ee was for ze furhst 20 years uhf hiz layfe!" Was Hugo Becker really the best French actor they could find? Hopefully, Louis' recent manipulation means that it'll soon be off with his head and off the show!

3. Chuck's Conscience Reappears
While Louis floundered, Chuck finally grew up, returning to Blair with hat in hand to offer a long-overdue apology for all the mistakes he made with her, from not waiting longer for her at the Empire State Building to treating her like property. It was refreshing to see him finally take responsibility for the many heinous things he did to her, but was it all too little, too late? Blair is certainly playing things close to the vest with Chuck this season, and if his heartfelt words rekindled her love for him, she didn't outwardly show it, no matter how many viewers were likely praying for them to reunite with a passionate kiss or another roll on the piano.

We're seeing a maturity and grace in Blair this season that can't even be undermined by her minion-baiting. Her pregnancy and the ups and downs of her relationship with Louis have clearly forced her to see the bigger picture, and as much as she obviously still cares for Chuck, perhaps she feels, either because of the baby or the massive public scrutiny of her impending nuptials, that she's made her bed with Louis and now has to lie in it.

Or perhaps her prince still seems more reliable than Chuck? He's changed for now, but how many times has he seemingly evolved and then reverted right back to his bad boy default setting in the past? I think Blair would be wise to wait and see whether Chuck's newfound sense of honor is here for the long-haul, or whether he'll backslide again. Having said that, I also believe that Chuck and Blair's romance is the show's endgame, and even if Blair is reticent now, we'll get that passionate kiss before the final curtain falls on the show.

4. Serena's Career Suicide
Just when Serena was starting to make strides in her new career, a megalomaniacal boss threatened to derail everything. Last week, we saw Serena and Dan make peace, but the ceasefire was short-lived, after Jane manipulated both Serena and Dan in order to get Dan out of the way for Aaron Sorkin to write the 'Inside' screenplay. While Jane might have actually had a point -- both that Dan was too close to the material to adapt it properly, and that he probably deserves to get Zuckerberged to some degree for ever daring to write about his friends that way -- it was clear that Serena, who has had to deal with a lifetime of having her words twisted and her actions called into question thanks to Gossip Girl, wasn't about to be manipulated and used at work too.

She foolishly made a deal with Diana in order to kill the movie, thinking that Dan would prefer it nixed than adapted badly, but in the process, she might've killed Lonely Boy's literary career right out of the gate. With no movie deal and no spot on the bestseller list, Dan is already yesterday's news. Serena, on the other hand, might be making the news from now on, thanks to her new blog, 'S on S.' But what will Gossip Girl think of the leggy blonde competition?

5. Diana Plays Puppetmaster
Diana was a busy bee this week -- in addition to wrangling Serena onto her staff, she was manipulating Nate, threatening Chivy, scoring "scoop" from Chuck and launching her own media empire; you've got to love a woman on top. For someone her age, her rivalry with Chivy was decidedly childish, but this cougar's got her claws deep into Nate, and apparently, she's feeling possessive (not that I blame her). It looks like Nate's content to be her plaything now that she's actually acknowledged their relationship (and let's face it, it's the most storyline he's had in years), but I'm not certain that Chivy will go down without a fight. I just can't wait to see Diana and Gossip Girl go head to head -- or blog to blog.

'Gossip Girl' airs Mondays at 8PM ET on The CW.

What did you think of Chuck's apology? Will Blair take him back, or do you think she's determined to marry Louis? Share your reactions and predictions below!

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