I’ve been waiting all summer for the fifth season of Gossip Girl. Someone’s pregnant, Blair’s getting married, Serena’s off to LA, and Vanessa just published Dan’s story. There’s so much stuff going on I can’t even remember it all. But along with a new season comes some new characters. Who’s the English babe getting fresh with Nate?

Can you believe it? Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) is actually taking some responsibility in her life. Working on a film set in LA, she’s actually enjoying herself. On the other side, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) is fighting with her fiance’s mother over what flowers she’ll be carrying down the aisle. Peonies or carnations? Not only is she deciding on the food, the flowers, and the font, she wants Blair to wear her grandmother’s dress and feature it in Vogue Paris. Blair is, you know, Blair. “Hand-me-downs are for charity and second children, not for a bride on her wedding day.”

A bigger disappointment is the consistently screwed-up Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick). He let Blair go to live out her dream, and also he made a noble decision it doesn’t look like he’s recovering very well. This all too extravagant facade is just so fake. But he does reveal a few words of wisdom. “It’s not a substance, it’s a state of mind, a word.” Chuck’s turned into a ‘yes’ man. He causes some raucous on Serena’s film set and has a lot of sex. Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) joins along, but it looks like the girl he hooks up with was waiting for him all along.

The most dramatic moment is when lonely boy Daniel Humphrey (Penn Badgley) approaches the prince asking him to pull the story he wrote about his romance with Blair that Vanessa anonymously pitched to Vanity Fair.  The prince obliges and ditches a very important family gala that he was originally planning to accompany Blair to sending Blair in a cab over to Dan’s place where she asks him to take her to the Hamptons. He grabs the keys, ready to take her away from her fairy-tale when the prince shows up and explains the whole thing. Blair’s affection for Dan completely disappears. “You let me almost walk away from everything tonight but all the while you knew exactly where louis, exactly what he was doing for me. how could you let that happen? Why would you? What possible reason could you have?” Aww, Dan! You’re always the last resort for these crazy women! Although his chemistry with Blair is definitely the most entertaining of them all.

Also, Eleanor confronts Blair about the copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and Doroda interrupts to reveal that baby number two is on the way. So now you know! As Gossip Girl says, “the only thing expanding at the Waldorf residence is the help.” But maybe there’s more than one baby on the way. Blair’s seamstress appears to see another belly bump showing.

XOXO @missamandachen