Eric and Damien? Didn't see that one coming.

There has always been an element of mystery to that guy, a fact illustrated this week by his absence from any clips or previews from "Damien Darko," an episode bearing his name.

Given Damien's past with Jenny and the small issue of helping Juliet almost kill Serena, you'd think he'd be locked up or at least given the cold shoulder by Eric. But this is Damien.

DAIR AT W: Scene of some of the episode's high points.

Maybe he's just that smooth of an operator even in a city full of them. Maybe it's that Kevin Zegers is so gosh-darn handsome. For whatever reason, nothing sticks to Damien.

His endgame is unclear, but he has no qualms about selling Eric sleeping pills or Adderall, or pretending (is he pretending?) to be gay to get out of a jam or get what he wants.

After Ben, who we'll get to in depth in a moment, set his sights on ridding NYC of Damien, whatever Damien's intentions were shifted. That sound you hear is of it being ON.

Caught in the middle of a brewing feud between Damien and Ben, we worry about Eric. But we also look forward to watching it play out, because it could be quite compelling.

The rest of the episode truly belonged to Dair ... with a cameo by Chair.

Let's be honest. Dan and Blair are fun to watch together. They had some great scenes and watching their clever, conniving back-and-forth at W was vintage Gossip Girl snark.

Let's be honest about this too. The 30 seconds Chuck and Blair shared on screen displayed the rare kind of chemistry Dair will never possess. It could not be more obvious.

While Dair (and the writers) may flirt with the idea of Dair becoming a couple, and there may even be a kiss or 12 some night, we took this as a sign. It can't last, can it?

Moreover, do we want it to? Do we care if it's more than a fling?

It was interesting that the roles were reversed between the W interns. Blair actually cared about the job, while Dan broke their truce and decided to sabotage his adversary.

Of course, being Dan, he later owned up to it and helped Blair reclaim her position, which is part of the reason we love Dan, and displayed a caring side to their relationship.

The frenemies know how to banter, but there are real feelings there. The extent to which they pursue them is a topic of much debate, speculation and concern among fans.

No matter how you feel about their future as a couple or lack thereof, we're eagerly awaiting Dair's next move and the hilarious Gossip Girl quotes that are sure to follow.

BEST OF THE BEST: Will Blair rise to the top of W?

Unfortunately, the rest of "Damien Darko" didn't really sizzle. We know Chuck gets around, but we're not buying his dalliances with Raina. Nor really understanding the intentions.

By sleeping with her he hopes to undermine the sale of Bass Industries? We think? If so, he was thrown for quite the loop by Russell Thorpe's hiring of The Captain as his CFO.

Nate also disapproved of his father, making you wonder why he encouraged this bizarre living arrangement in the first place. In any case, this story is a bit of a snoozer so far.

It just seems beneath Chuck, or at least at a point where he's not unleashing his full potential. With his father's company on the line, we expect more scheming and sabotage.

Maybe we just need to be patient and the Bass-Thorpe rivalry will blow up in the coming weeks into something epic. But for the past two weeks it's just felt forced and tired.

Same goes for everything Lily says or does these days. Oh, and Rufus offering Ben an extra room at his place, as thanks for giving the daddy talk to Eric? Yeah. That happens.

Hopefully next week builds on the good things we saw last night and improves upon the bad. What did you think of last night's Gossip Girl episode? Discuss!

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