Gossip Girl has aired terrific mid-season finales in the past, and "The Townie" was no exception, redeeming Serena, Juliet and Ben and casting Lily in the worst possible light.

Who would have guessed Chuck's quote used in the promo, "shared enemies make for some unlikely friends," would have referenced his former stepmother and not Juliet?

This isn't to say Serena's decision-making is strong or that Juliet isn't insane, but Lily's role in Ben's plight was a dark twist - as was her clandestine plan to sell the company.

JUST SAY NO: Ironically, Ben may be the only guy who ever did ...

Having pieced together the origin of Juliet’s vendetta against Serena over 10 episodes, last night filled in the remaining blanks via flashbacks from Damien and Serena herself in therapy.

Ben was indeed Serena's teacher at boarding school. They were close, and while no actual statutory rape took place, a real road trip to Vassar (in N.Y. State) sparked that rumor.

A rumor Lily used to her advantage to get Serena back into Constance.

After Lily forged a sworn affidavit, Ben had little choice but to cop a plea, do the time and start over in a few years - and blame S for ruining his existence all the while.

Dan and Blair, who are either being set up as a couple or new BFFs, head to Connecticut to find Juliet and deliver some frontier justice, and the road trip alone made the episode.

When they meet up with Damien Dalgaard at a house party in Cornwall, he admits he sold Juliet the drugs she used to KO Serena and teams up with Dair to get to the bottom of it all.

Driving in her distinctly middle-class Mercury sedan, Juliet sees them and knows the jig is up. She high-tails it back to NYC to "finish this thing." Ben sees Nate in jail (?) and warns him.

Evading the top-notching Ostroff Center security, Juliet waits in Serena's room and confronts her. Only then does S realize how Juliet brought her down, and how her mom is to blame.

What's more amazing than the fact that Lily would do that in the first place was how defiant and unapologetic she was after Serena crashed her party for the board and called her out.

This moment also happens to be when Chuck learns she’s planning to sell Bass Industries, even though she promised to give it back, and she's equally unrepentant about that.

Lily has always been an image-obsessed control freak and a terrible mom, but bogus court documents? Making Juliet Sharp look sympathetic in comparison? That's a new low for L.

And you don't screw over Chuck Bass. It is ON come January.

JAIL BAIT: Oldest, hottest 10th-grader ever.

After an awkward one-week flash forward, the team parts ways for the holidays. Chuck is off to New Zealand, which is close to Australia. Cue the return of Jack. Shared enemies, indeed.

He also left things on a surly note with Blair, the only one to remain in the city aside from Dan, who somehow turned down a road trip full of sex with Serena and sent her off on her own.

Was there flirty energy between these two or is it just us?

Dan turned down Serena's offer to join her on a soul-searching trip in large part because of what B said about him giving up everything about himself. What was her motive there?

We half expected Dan to have his way with B on the kitchen floor the way they were talking at the end, but things were left up in the air for now. How do you feel about Dair hooking up?

In any case, Serena's trip included a stop to see Ben behind bars after all this time. Whether or not the door is open for Juliet's return is unclear, but this story line may not be over yet.

Some random thoughts before your comments:

• Cornwall, Conn., is a real town 105 miles north of Manhattan, with a population of 1,434. The Nightly (Knightley?) School does not exist.
• Damien is the Forrest Gump of Gossip Girl. Dude was everywhere!
• Love the real-life Katie Cassidy high school pictures at the house.
• Using the same mailman in 2010 and the 2007 scenes? Nice, CW!
• Anyone notice all the emails with Dorota in Blair's GMail? LOL.
• Is Nate's dad really going to be crashing with him at the Empire?
• Chuck and Jack on the same side? Now that's gonna be good!
• We knock it sometimes, but how much do you love this show?
• Who else really missed Vanessa this week?
• No, seriously, you can speak up.
• [Crickets]

What did you think of last night's Gossip Girl? Share!

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.