GIOVANNI RUFINO / THE CWJust when you think Chuck's (Ed Westwick) family drama couldn't get any more complicated.
Gossip Girl finally played a card they were holding close to the vest for a very, very long time: what really happened to Bart Bass (Robert John Burke), Chuck's father. Here's hoping your jaws didn't permanently damage the floor when they hit the ground after the big reveal!
So, who returned from the dead? And who said "I love you" to Blair (Leighton Meester) tonight? Plus, did Chace Crawford give away the CW's plans for the next season of GG?
Bart Bass is Alive! Executive producer Josh Safran, who is reportedly heading to NBC's Smash after the season ends, teased that tonight's episode would feature the "biggest surprise of the year" and he wasn't lying! While viewers were led to believe Chuck's father died in a tragic car crash in season two, turns out he's alive —unless Diana (Elizabeth Hurley) hired the guys behind the Tupac hologram at Coachella—because Chuck walked in on the duo at the very end of tonight's episode.
"We've been waiting months for you to see it!!," the Gossip Girl writers tweeted after the big reveal. "Years, actually." Yes, the writers have had this trick up their sleeve for years. Kudos!
Three Little Words: Yes Dair fans, Dan (Penn Badgley) dropped said those three little, but oh-so-very-important words to Blair. Her response? "I knew that." Yeah, not exactly the most desirable reaction to an "I love you." What led to Dan's love-bomb? Dan was offered a highly sought-after and prestigious summer writing program in Rome, but pulled an L.C. circa-The Hills season one when he turned it down for Blair (and his unwillingness to leave Blair along in the city with a certain dapper, purple-wearing young millionaire). Alas, Dan didn't tell Blair she was the reason he chose to stay in New York; he says the program went with another candidate. Blair's inability to say those three words back to Dan may have something to do with...
Viva La Chair: Unable to crack the code in Diana's day planner (and having Nate, not the brightest crayon in the box, as his research assistant), Chuck turns to the smartest person he knows for help: his ex, Blair. After channeling her inner Diana (and turning Chuck on in the process!), Blair is able to decipher the code thanks to her "cipher slide," which she started using in third grade. After everything these two have been through, it was nice to see them go back to their scheming ways of old, non? (Chuck's "She likes to watch!" line? A+!)
She's Ba-aaack: Gossip Girl finally got her site back, thanks to an assist from Nate and Lola (Ella Rae Peck) who tricked Serena (Blake Lively) into giving up control of the site, much to her chagrin. "Writing is my new outlet," Serena tells Dorota of her laptop obsession. Wow, the girl who claims Gossip Girl ruined her life back in the day now only looks forward to being Gossip Girl these days. How's that for ironic? (But how awesome was it when Serena, Blair, Nate and Chuck all teamed up again, just like old times?)
WHAT'S AHEAD
Good Girls Go Bad! In case you missed the news earlier, Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta, who collaborated with Meester on the band's hit song "Good Girls Go Bad," is set to make his acting debut in the season finale and get this he's not playing himself...or a musician! Hm...could he be one of Serena's possible new love interests?
The Love Triangle Is So On: Blair is clearly back on the Bass train after their day of scheming together (and Blair's obvious jealousy over that lingerie girl putting a move on Chuck), and she will make a choice (How very TVD's Elena of her!) between the two men of her life in the finale, "The Return of the Ring." I think we all know which ring that title is referring to now, don't we? If it isn't obvious yet, Meester and Westwick recently made an appearance at a Harry Winston event. Are you there yet?
Is the End Near? In an interview with Australia's ATV, Chace Crawford might have given away a very big clue about the CW's plans for next year. "We're all contracted for six seasons, so the sixth is coming up and they might do a truncated 13 episodes to really tie a nice bow and ending on it. We've had a good run," he says.
What did you think of tonight's GG outing? Sound off in the comments!