Dirty Sexy Money - The Birthday Present

The Darlings are back! Despite all the behind-the-scenes personnel and casting changes, Dirty Sexy Money appears to be better than ever. As I loyal fan I was rewarded with a major development in last season's murder mystery. Season One feels like it ended ages ago, but "The Birthday Present" was the perfect refresher course in the elements of this gorgeous, twisted world.

Death - Poor Ellen. It isn't easy being married to a Darling, so I have to give her credit for lasting as long as she did. For my part, I enjoyed Bellamy Young's performance as Ellen, as well as the chance to learned about Darling married life. There is still Tripp and Letitia, I suppose, but their marital issues will probably take a backseat to Letitia's surprise arrest for Dutch's murder. I'm thrilled that the show brought me right back to the major unresolved storyline from last season, instead of leaving me hanging for a few episodes. Letitia was one of the prime suspects last year, but I'm beginning to lean more towards Simon as the killer.

Drinking - Alcohol was at the center of several misdeeds this week. Ellen's inebriation didn't do her any favors during her final scene (liquor + rage + wet bathroom floor = trouble, make a note of it), and one too many bottles of wine led to another kiss between Jeremy and Lisa. Despite her half-hearted apology, I agreed with Lisa; the kiss was a symptom of the George's relationship problems. There's no real potential for romance between Lisa and Jeremy, not if Lucy Liu has anything to say about it.

Deception - Who's playing whom in Simon and Karen's face-off? They're both open about their manipulative tendencies, as well as their attraction to each other. I love that even though their intentions are somewhat out in the open, there's still another level of lying going on. Karen proved her loyalty to Simon by returning the vial and playing the "scared by my feelings" card, but delivered the crystal swan to Tripp. Simon professed his love for Karen, but reported back to a mysterious someone about their relationship. I'm certain that Karen is an evil, ditzy genius, and she's definitely her father's daughter. Can the Darlings outsmart Simon and his unseen partner?

Other highlights:

Clark the Driver is back, and he likes to drink with his chauffeur's hat on. I'd love to see a "buddy-cop" episode with Clark and Nick. A lot of their duties overlap, only Clark isn't as morally-conflicted as Nick.

I'm going to use the phrase "alcoholically indisposed" as often as I can.

Brian enjoyed firing some German factory workers during the hiatus. I pray that this moment turns up in the show's outtakes.

I didn't miss Samaire Armstrong (Juliet).