Season three of “Gossip Girl” started off strongly Monday night after season two’s stellar finale. The show airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on The CW. (Courtesy of The CW)

After the stellar season two finale in the spring, the delicious “Gossip Girl” has returned for another season of scandal. Season three started on Monday—not quite with a bang, but certainly with at least a muffled boom.

In case you don’t quite remember what happened at the end of last season, here is a quick recap. Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) decided to go to Europe with bad boy Carter Baizen (Sebastian Stan) in search of her father. Serena and Dan Humphrey’s (Penn Badgley) half-brother, Scott, had tracked down Dan and actually transferred to New York University in order to go to school with his half-brother. Dan’s friend Vanessa Abrams (Jessica Szohr) decided to go backpacking across Europe with her ex, Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford). Dan’s little sister, Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen), was named queen of her high school. Dan’s father, Rufus Humphrey (Matthew Settle), and Serena’s mother, Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford), finally got engaged; and most importantly, Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) finally told Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) that he loves her, and the season ended with them kissing on the corner.

As could be expected, the new season started with everything in disarray: Chuck seemed to be cheating on Blair, Jenny and Dan were living the good life in the Hamptons (instead of slumming it in Brooklyn), Nate got off a helicopter with a random redhead, and Serena was apparently partying out of control in Europe. As the episode continued, everything was cleared up and set straight (well, maybe not), providing for some classic “Gossip Girl” moments.

In this episode, Chuck and Blair stole the show, as they usually do. It turns out that Chuck wasn’t actually cheating on Blair, merely luring an unsuspecting girl into their game. In an attempt to spice up their relationship, Chuck pretends to seduce a girl, only to have Blair come home, yell at him and the girl and then “make up” with her boyfriend. When Blair finally decides that she can’t take Chuck seducing other girls, they find other ways to add flavor to their relationship: Chuck dresses up as an incompetent waiter and Blair as the impatient customer. Priceless.

Across the ocean, Serena, as it turns out, partied out of control all across Europe, trying to get the attention of her apparently uncaring father. In fact, when she returns to New York, she continues her antics, even using one paparazzi to spread a photo of her across the world to ensure that her father sees it. While this storyline wasn’t the most interesting, it did lend itself well to some of the best lines of the episode. For example, Blair says to Serena when she returns, “I know what you did last summer. And who.” Meanwhile, “Gossip Girl” wonders aloud about Serena and Carter’s relationship in Europe, “What happened between them when TMZ was M.I.A.?”

Elsewhere in the show, Vanessa seems to be dating Dan’s half-brother Scott, which is just creepy when considering Vanessa and Dan’s past relationship. Jenny has successfully gotten rid of her raccoon makeup but has since inherited some Courtney Love hair. She and the rest of her family now seem to be getting a little too comfortable in their new Upper East Side lifestyle, but nothing can last forever in the world of “Gossip Girl.”

Overall, the episode was great: The writing was as clever as it has ever been, the glamour was up to its usual standards (especially at the Vanderbilt polo match), and the drama was, well, dramatic. The only element that was missing from this series premiere was a punch. There was no big dramatic moment that left us wanting more: no proclamation of love, no confession of murder, no unexpected hookup. Of course, though, we always want more, so look forward to another great season (and this time, in college).

XOXO.