9. Rhodes to Perdition

Complete story — includes the ending

CeCe Rhodes arrives back in New York where Lily and Serena are planning to throw her a Studio 54 party in her honor. Serena continues dating Max who begins blackmailing Charlie. Meanwhile, Dan meets with his publicist Alessandra where they create rival "Dan fan" and "Dan hater" accounts on Twitter in order to create online buzz for his book. Blair attempts to figure out how to make Louis more like the "new" Chuck by spending the day with Chuck. She accompanies him to therapy and demands to know how he has improved himself only to find out that he has let her go. Upset, she runs home and later reveals to Chuck that she is afraid that she is the one that brings the dark side out in him and Louis. Chuck assures her that she is "the lightest thing that ever came into my life" and tells her he let her go because she asked him to. He just wants her to be happy. Also, as Nate becomes the new boss of The Spectator, one of his employees finds out that his cousin Tripp's wife, Maureen, might be having an affair. He soon figures out, however, that Maureen is faking an affair in order to create a sympathetic image for Tripp in the public eye before the upcoming election. Serena learns the truth about Ivy and Max and breaks up with him. Carol Rhodes visits to help find a cover story to get "Charlie" her trust fund and to help keep her there where she is loved. In the final confrontation, everyone believes Ivy's false story that she really is Charlie and pretended to be Ivy when she was with Max, even though he calls her a liar and says otherwise. Ivy also finds out that CeCe is sick, but keeps it a secret. The episode ends with Max reaffirming his threats to Ivy to expose her scam, Chuck telling Nate that he still loves Blair, and Blair looking despondent in her bedroom, refusing to talking to Louis who is out of the country. Title reference: The 2002 film Road to Perdition.