Gossip Girl

So what was the best part of Blair Waldorf's 17th-birthday party? The fun Asian theme? No. The Guitar Hero smackdown between Serena and Vanessa? Not quite. Any scene between Blair and Chuck? Most definitely yes. As cute as Dan and Serena are, Blair and Chuck are my new favorite couple. And they're not even officially a couple... yet. Or possibly ever.

Now we know for certain what some of you suspected last week: Chuck likes Blair. As in, really likes her. To the point where he can't sleep, he can't stop thinking about her, and for the first time he feels this unfamiliar "fluttering" feeling in his stomach. It was surprising how vulnerable he let himself be in front of her. I loved Blair's reaction to that, when she was finally waking up to the fact that Chuck was acting like a "jealous boyfriend" and she explained, "You know that I adore all of God's creatures and the metaphors that they inspire, but butterflies have got to be murdered." Aww, Blair was showing her sweet side. Their scene on the balcony kept swinging back and forth between mean to adorable Ð'- well, as adorable as possible for people like Blair and Chuck. But I still think there's something irresistibly cute about them. If Dan and Serena are all soft and cuddly like Dan's oft-mentioned Cabbage Patch Kid, then Blair and Chuck are more like a couple of Sour Patch Kids Ð'-- both sweet and tart.

I'm glad this show didn't simply transform Chuck into a good guy overnight Ð'- that wouldn't have been believable. He's a newly lovesick teen, but he's still a jerk. When Blair didn't say she felt butterflies too, he defensively told her the sex wasn't that good. And after giving her some good "face reality" advice regarding Nate, he proposed a wager in which Blair would have to spend the night with him again if she lost. Typical Chuck. Yet Blair and Chuck are pretty much on a level playing ground, and it seems like she may be the only girl who can really handle him Ð'- and manhandle him, like when she grabbed his head. One question remains, though: Does Blair have feelings for Chuck, or is she just using him because he's there? I can't be sure yet. But that last scene where he gave her the diamond necklace she wanted Ð'- wow! He really knows how to surprise and impress her. As for their makeout session afterwards Ð'- Blair was very vulnerable at that moment, having finally realized her breakup with Nate was real, and Chuck may have been taking advantage of that. But he was also sweetening up what had been a pretty sucky birthday for her up until that point.

As for missing birthday guest Nate, he too had a piece of jewelry for Blair: the family heirloom ring. But he never gave it to her, despite his parents' relentless prodding. Good for him. I like Nate best when he's standing up to his parents, because those two are just ridiculous. Nate was the only one making sense in the family's conversation with the lawyer, and his mom dismissed him by telling him, "This is a conversation for adults." Adults who think banking their financial well-being on their teenage son's future engagement is a solid plan. It was a great scene when he threw the ring on the table and told the captain, "You better hope for your sake that they don't call your son to the stand." No doubt Chuck's advice ("If you're done with Blair, be done. Don't cave to your parents' wishes if their not your desires") helped Nate make this bold decision. (And there's no doubt that Chuck's advice, while good, was also a bit self-serving.)

Nate was not the only kid dealing with his parents' problems last night. His new late-night walking buddy Jenny took it upon herself to help patch up her parents' crumbling marriage. After learning of her mother's affair last week, she brought her mom home, so we finally

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