Now that's more like it.

After a slower episode last week that introduced set some things in motion but offered little in the way of drama, intrigue or humor, tonight offered all of the above.

If you like Gossip Girl, then you probably liked "Petty in Pink." Maybe you don't like some of the characters' decisions, but with the show's standard formula for success - sexiness, spying and scandals - it had all the makings of a solid episode and it delivered.

Dan can't be just friends with Blair.

Despite my disappointment that we didn't SEE the kiss between Dan and Blair (come ON, writers) it did result in a major revelation for the Donut: He LOVES her!

He tried to deny this to others and to himself. He even kissed her as a ruse to aid her romancing another guy. But he's finally come to grips with his true feelings.

I love that Dan acknowledged this. The question is what he does next.

Will he try to get in the middle of the royal courtship Blair is so taken with? Will Blair ever admit her similar connection with Dan, which she continues to repress?

Somehow I predict that Charlie, who's getting the hang of UES life quickly, will try to help him win Blair back, while secretly harboring feelings for Dan herself.

Dan's gotta make a move at some point. While Prince Louis seems like a good-on-paper guy and all, B seems more smitten with the IDEA of him than anything.

The glitz and glamor of dating royalty were evident in that final kissing scene, with the flashbulbs sparkling and our Queen B swooning. But I think it'll fade in time.

I just don't see him as the long-term fit for Blair, and am going to predict that the only Royal Wedding this spring will involve Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Between Dan and Chuck, who was not involved in Blair's story line this week, one of NYC's finest will triumph come May. Will it be the Prince or the Pauper?

While some parts of this saga were obviously hokey - Lucien yanking Louis back to France unless Blair was dating Dan; any of Serena's reasons for meddling; Charlie's intense desire to become a spy - that's par for the course for GG.

In fact, combined with a fancy party, that pretty much IS Gossip Girl.

Lily's floor-length gown conveniently hides her new accessory.

The party in question was an all-pink affair to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, hosted at the VDW penthouse where Lily is now under house arrest.

Wearing an ankle monitor a la Lindsay Lohan, who was hilariously referenced at one point, Lil ultimately pulled the plug on the event after Nate's mom dissed her.

This after Rufus, who actually had a conversation with Dan (there's a first time for everything), went to great lengths to move it to her pad, too. What can you do.

The fact that Lily's simply under house arrest felt anticlimactic, but is probably a realistic punishment, and allowed us to focus on other stories, so I'm cool with it.

While Blair tried to keep a regal romance intact and on the DL, and Lily attempted to stay socially relevant despite a felony conviction, Raina tried to find her mom.

At first, Chuck urged Nate to stop her. Then he accompanied them to New Jersey in search of Avery Thorpe, afraid of what they might learn and what it will mean.

What Chuck knows (or at least strongly believes) is that Raina's mom died in that fire and Bart was responsible, and it's eating away at him more every second.

Beneath the Howard Hughes routine lies a young man coming to grips with his family's legacy, a lucrative but increasingly dark history. What will he find next?

All I know is that Ed Westwick continues to sell it so well. This brooding, tormented shell of Chuck Bass is hard to watch, and at the same time a treat to watch.

Will he try to protect Raina - and his own reputation - from the truth? Will Nate step up and play a role beyond that of supportive boyfriend/sidekick? Stay tuned.

Oh yeah, and we have to talk about V.

Perhaps the best part of the whole episode involved someone else Dan is not capable of being friends with. Watching him SHRED Vanessa at the end was tremendous.

"Just to be clear, we are not friends." OHHH, he went there!

One of my favorite things about coming to work Tuesdays is my colleague Eric (a.k.a. Gossip Guy) eviscerating Vanessa in our Gossip Girl Round Table Q&A discussions.

Having extended the olive branch to his old friend only to learn she was going behind his back all along, it was as if Dan spoke directly for Gossip Guy with that line.

Also great were the one-liners from Charlie that good-naturedly mocked the show and its often convoluted plot lines. "Right ... because that happens." Priceless.

What did you think of this week's Gossip Girl? Discuss!

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