Say this for "Gossip Girl" -- this show is able to stretch very little activity, coupled with excellent clothes and beautiful young people with fabulous snarls into an hour of pretty fair entertainment. I don't want to live in a place where vengeance is a sacrament, but I don't mind visiting once in a while.

Cons come in all shapes and sizes -- even on the Upper East Side, even with nice manners and a hint of a North Carolina accent and heartwarming stories about companies that fund wireless internet access in Africa. But in the end, it's -- he's -- still a con. And it's a lesson Serena almost learned on tonight's "Gossip Girl."

Several things became apparent in tonight's "Gossip Girl." First, it's never a good idea to stay in Spain with your friend's (now) ex-boyfriend "to keep him company." Second, Blair is a lot less fun when she's flailing about and selling out whatever principles she's clinging to rather than being on the offensive. And third, none of these people should ever be allowed within 10 miles of a Passover Seder again.

Sometimes when we're in a bit of a rut, we feel as though we have to prove something. Or shake things up a bit. And on tonight's "Gossip Girl," both Serena and Blair succumbed to the Mean Reds by completely treading on someone else's wishes. And it got pretty funny.

There's nothing like a good game of touch football and drunken spoiled teenagers hell-bent on self-destructing to provide some serious entertainment. This week on "Gossip Girl," Nate hears a family legacy calling to him, and Blair, disappointed, scared, and lost, is looking to burn down the house. No, she's not an arsonist -- she's just looking to bust out. In her heart, Blair's a good girl, but she wants to be bad. So she thinks.

Our band of merry East Siders is back, and this week on "Gossip Girl," their drama plays out against the backdrop of "The Age of Innocence" -- which should give you a crystal-clear picture of the pretense. But what's really at stake is Blair's collegiate future, a new betrayal, and Nelly Yuki going all Veronica on Blair's Heather Chandler.

 When last we left the spoiled brats of Gossip Girl, college acceptances dominated every conversation, relationships hung in the balance, Chuck was re-ensconced as the head of his father's empire, and Blair's lust for revenge knew no bounds. And it's really not that much different tonight.