"You don't have to say, I know it's him." Oh, my poor sweet Charlie Trout, reconstructing the hopelessly deconstructed as usual. Since Rufus hasn't replaced Bart in any way, and Uncle Jack wasn't even around to rape your brain, let's see if an old crony can clap you on the back and tell ya you did good and then you'll be a man. (That's so Blair, isn't it? Having them apart is giving great insight into them together.) Still not occurring to him that he's a man either way, for the same reasons S doesn't know what the hell she's doing, and Blair is getting more china shop-bullish than ever, and Jenny blew this popstand altogether.

Lily doesn't agree or disagree, just says in her Rhodes Woman way that obviously means total disagreement, "The important thing is that you believe me when I tell you I don't want your father's legacy to die. I'm trying to save what's left of it. In 24 hours, you'll see. And hopefully Serena will see some things too."

Which is where the whole episode starts unwinding around itself, because all you needed to hear was that line to know how all of this would play out: Once again, Lily is the Bad Fairy doing Good Things and refusing to explain it, because once a spy always a spy, and she cannot but vainly hope to live a normal life outside the Guild of Assassins where she was raised.

"Yes, Penelope. You will stand in the cold and hail me a cab. Call me when it's curbside. And show some leg if you have to, I'm already late for Indra." Blair laughs in Serena's face when she shows up looking for Dan almost a half-hour late, and S almost feels bad about fucking him over again, and suddenly it's Reality Check Time. Number one, why are you so obsessed with stupid Ben that you would hurt your best friend besides me; number two, you have no idea who Ben is now after all his time in the big house -- "They're all good men before something happens to them, S" -- and number three, essentially, you are the bad thing that happens to them usually, which number four, why are you being such a bitch to Dan.

Serena's head joggles from side to side with that one, which is stated only very obliquely, but it's nice because she responds to the implications and not the words: "I thought you hated Dan." Blair nods awesomely: "I do. So very much. But whatever it is that you see in him, he seems to see in you as well. I know you want to focus on Ben, but maybe you're avoiding your future, not fixing your past."