The Dan/Serena/Nate love triangle should have happened in season 2

I wonder why they waited so long to have this love triangle in the show? After the season 1 finale, I was sure that Serena and Nate would have started dating. It would have made SO much more sense because I felt that thought season 1, they were building up to a Serena/Nate relationship. Tbh, it made no sense to have Serena and Nate date in season 3. By then, they barely interacted and I felt like the chemistry they had in the first season was gone. Considering that Serena and Dan had broken up in season 1 but still had feelings for each other, it would have been interesting to see that dynamic between those three characters.