Finally, the reason to watch Monday night TV is back. The trophy for keeping “Gossip’s” first season three episode hot easily - and let’s be honest, unsurprisingly - goes to Chuck and Blair.

Nate’s got another half-baked plot line involving his family feuds, Serena’s up to her old shot-taking, table-dancing antics, Carter’s back and there was plenty of Eric, but if Queen B and her knight in the shining limo weren’t in the scene, then it just wasn’t fire. Here’s a breakdown:

The Good:

• Like everyone else, I was praying that we wouldn’t have to live through another season two disappointment where Chuck and Blair are over before we can watch them begin. No, the trashy TV gods have smiled on us, and not only was the well-heeled pair still smitten, they were keeping the spark alive by throwing girls into the mix. Lots of them.And while I loved their version of a ménage a trios – “threesome-lite,” if you will – watching Chuck and Blair peruse potential toys at a model casting threw me off. It just didn’t seem like what a teenage couple fresh out of high school would be in to. But hey, kids these days, etc.

• The name-dropping. Serena gets colon-cleaning advice from Gwyneth Paltrow’s “Goop” while Chuck has a “thing” for family rival Ivanka Trump. Loved it.

The Bad:

• Dan’s makeover. He looked more like an indie band reject than usual, and I wasn’t feeling his look, his stammering, or his constant prying into Serena’s life. We’re three seasons in now – it’s high time Dan does something besides wonder what Serena’s doing.

• The way it was revealed that Serena’s attention-grabbing antics are the result of her daddy issues. Lame. They could have at least let her crazy last a few episodes so we could see her do something actually shocking.

• The Return of the Rufus and Lily Love Child. He’s creepy and obvious in a soapy, “Days of our Lives” kind of way that just doesn’t fit with the rest of the show.

• And speaking of the creeptastic castaway kid: Can Vanessa PLEASE get a man who isn’t using her? Yes, she is annoying, but I’d bet it’s because she’s a plot device instead of a character.

The ‘Gossip’ Worthy:

• B. is heading off to NYU, and as those spoiler photos predicted, she’ll be rooming with that other “b,” Georgina. Can.Not.Wait. I sincerely hope the writers don’t spoil that gem by tying that plot into a pretty bow all in one episode.