"Hi, Society" presented the embodiment of secrets and gin. That's right Gossip Girl season 1 episode 10 was the introduction of Serena's famed grandmother Cece Rhodes.

If people thought Lily Van Der Woodsen was bad, a quick chat with Celia Rhodes would (as Dan said) make Lily look like Gandhi.

The debutante ball was a marked event in the lives of our favorite Upper East Siders. It is so hard to narrow down the best episodes in Gossip Girl season 1, because they were seriously all so fantastic. It's what made the little CW show the talk of the town (and the Parents Television Council.)

I always found that the episodes with a big event or party happened to be extremely well executed in bringing storylines together and "Hi, Society" was probably the pinnacle of that. You've got Serena and Blair on good terms, Blair hooking up with Chuck in secret, Nate wanting Blair back, Dan and Serena fighting her snotty relatives, and Jenny just desperate to be included in it all.

Even the adults got in on the action with Lily as the chair, Cece's first episode, Rufus realizing that Lily never left him for William, and Alison feeling extremely abandoned by her kids at her art show. This episode softened me to Lily and showed us why she was the way she was. Serena and Lily's confrontation that led to Lily going to pick up Dan in Brooklyn was one of my favorite moments.

Watch Gossip Girl Season 1 Episode 10 Online

It was a delicious mix of sexiness and scandal, sprinkled with some fun guest stars. Carter Baizen was back as Serena's escort, this time not donning that "i've turned my back on my trust fund and am living free" hideous baja hoodie. Nate worried his pretty little head and caught the scent of Blair finding happy with another guy. He enlists Chuck to find that guy, because of course Nate would never realize it was Chuck himself. Carter was a good scapegoat.

Can I just say how much I adore carefree Blair? She wore jeans to Nate's fitting (jeans!) and basically ignored him while giggling and smiling. See what getting laid and not worrying about your boyfriend being in love with your best friend can do for a girl's complexion? Too bad old Blair had to come back and deem Chuck too wild and unpredictable. Though I can think of almost a billion things that suck more than having to film a love scene with Chace Crawford.

Other Notes:

- Blair's red tights, amazing. Inspired my 2008 Halloween costume.

- Serena and that gold dress. Goddess!!!

- One Republic's "Apologize" as the closing montage music.

- The first dance at the Deb Ball was to "Secrets", also the Pretty Little Liars theme song.

- Nate's reference to Blair sewing her heart pendant into his sweater, a reference to the books.

- The irony of Gossip Girl saying "our money's on Brooklyn for the win" when it was Dan vs. Cece. You know because Gossip Girl ended up being none other than Brooklyn himself!

- Remember: you can watch Gossip Girl online now!

Gossip Girl: This just in - we hear there's a cold war brewing between Lonely Boy and a certain blue blood. We never thought we'd say this ourselves...
Serena: There you are. What's going on?
Dan: I'll tell you what's going on. I just became your escort to the ball.
Gossip Girl: ... But our money's on Brooklyn for the win!

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