"It girl" Serena van der Woodsen has returned to Manhattan after a mysterious and self-imposed exile to boarding school. Serena's best friend, Blair Waldorf, has conflicted feelings about her friend's return since she has enjoyed being the Queen Bee during Serena's absence and might not be ready to relinquish her new position on the social ladder, not to mention the fact that she has always suspected there may be unspoken feelings between Serena and her longtime boyfriend, Nate.

It's the day right after the Kiss on the Lips party and Serena receives a cold reception from her former best friend Blair. Blair reveals that she knows that Serena and Nate slept together, before Serena mysteriously went to boarding school. Then Serena decides to take Dan to Chuck's fundraiser brunch at The Palace. Meanwhile little Jenny asks Blair for advice, and Blair realizes that she maybe gains something by allowing Jenny into her inner circle.

Dan invites Serena and her family to spend the holiday with his family, creating an uncomfortable situation for Rufus and Lily. The children are unaware of their complicated romantic past. Meanwhile, Blair's freaks out when she learns that her father isn't coming home for Thanksgiving. Nate spends the holiday with his family, but their awkward dinner quickly goes from bad to worse.

In a flashback to the 80s, 17-year-old Lily Rhodes gets kicked out of boarding school and runs away to Los Angeles, reconnecting with her parents, Rick and Cece, and sister, Carol. Back in present day, Blair and Nate attend prom together, but the evening doesn't turn out exactly as planned and Chuck and Serena have a little something to do with that. Serena and Lily don't see eye-to-eye over Serena's recent run-in with the law.

During the first day of school at Constance Billard, Jenny takes her place as the new Queen Bee. However, Blair gets in her way. Lily returns home to find that things are not as they were when she left them with Rufus. At NYU, Olivia Burke, an actress, enrolls and is assigned to be Vanessa's roommate.

Olivia says something she regrets during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s talkshow and tries to keep Dan from finding out. With election day around the corner, Nate suspects his grandfather will stop at nothing to get Trip elected to congress. In the midst of another feud with Serena, Blair befriends a new “it” girl and takes her to an election night party at Chuck’s hotel, hoping to make Serena jealous.

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving on the Upper East Side if there wasn’t a serving or two of some major drama for the holiday. Blair suspects her mom has been keeping a big secret from her, but it turns out to be something else entirely. Vanessa is supposed to spend Thanksgiving with her parents, but has a fight with her mom and shows up on Dan’s doorstep. Rufus learns that Lily has been lying to him about her mother, Cece. Chuck tells Nate that he has some potentially damaging information about one of their friends. Jenny learns that Eric was behind her very public embarrassment at Cotillion and can’t pass up a chance to get even. Serena is put in a very awkward position when her mother invites Trip and Maureen to join them for Thanksgiving dinner.

Blair and Serena spent their summer living it up in the belly of the beast: Paris, France. But where there's Paris there's bound to be boutique, Balenciaga, and of course, boy trouble. Unaware of Chuck's shooting in Prague, Blair struggles to forget him; things take a turn, however, when Chuck mysteriously shows up in Paris with a foreign stunning blonde at his arm. Meanwhile Serena contemplates which of her long-time beaus could be the one for her: Dan or Nate? Even on the Upper East Side drama erupts as Dan figures out the baby mama drama with Georgina, and Nate realizes something about himself when he meets fellow Columbia student, the intriguing Juliet.

Living out a real-life fairytale in Paris, Blair is pursued by a handsome young man, Louis, who she suspects is a member of Monaco's royal family. A very concerned Lily asks Serena to help her find Chuck, who hasn't been heard from or seen in months. Meanwhile, Chuck Bass is as we've never seen him before, adjusting to a fresh start in Paris with a mysterious new woman, Eva, at his side. Juliet offers to help Nate win Serena back, suggesting that reigniting Dan and Vanessa's romance may just be the trick to remove Dan from the Dan-Serena-Nate love triangle.

Serena loves her new job in Hollywood, but makes a costly misstep when she tries to impress her boss. Chuck and Nate arrive in Los Angeles as the last stop of their Lost Summer trip, joining Serena at a glamorous Hollywood Hills party, where Nate meets a sexy older woman. Blair and Louis return from Monaco and begin planning their royal wedding, but when Louis refuses to stand up to his family and support Blair’s choices, his weakness threatens their relationship. A magazine is planning to run an excerpt of Dan’s book until an unlikely ally steps in to help him kill the story.

Nate reconnects unexpectedly with Diana, who offers him an exciting opportunity. Serena forces Charlie to decide which world she wants to embrace. Dan seeks out Chuck’s help to stop the publication of his book, but discovers it is Chuck who needs the help. Blair’s future sister-in-law, Beatrice, arrives from Monaco, but her motives with Blair may be more than just to get acquainted.

The much-anticipated 100th episode will open with a musical dream sequence featuring Serena, Blair and all the men in their lives. Also, while Chuck wrestles with the reality that Blair is about to walk down the aisle with Prince Louis, the return of Georgina Sparks might make the royal affair a royal disaster.

After a brief encounter abroad, Chuck and Blair make a promise to each other about their relationship, which leaves them once again apart. Dan, with some help from an unlikely ally, Georgina, is writing a scathing tell-all book that can only mean trouble. As the sole head of The Spectator, Nate is making his own decisions and is ready to go up against Gossip Girl. As word spreads that Serena is missing, the gang bands together to find her and are shocked by what they find.

In a fashionable farewell to remember, our favorite Upper East Siders join forces for one last soiree, and the shocking identity of Gossip Girl is finally revealed.