DSM: Leticia Darling, You Look Fabulous! (oh, and you're wanted for ... muhr-dher)

(My really bitchy alter ego wrote parts of this post.)

Wow, murders and sex and betrayals and replacements for fossil fuels (very progressive, very green) and more sex and drunken confessions and lies and coverups and more sex and corporate intrigue and cops and yachts and helicopters and more cops and Natalie Zea in the beautiful gown at the end ... they have really stepped it up this season.

The Darlings and their friends (and enemies and frenemies) are back. Well, almost. Juliet's, uh, out of town? Samaire Armstrong is as they say, tending to a personal matter.

This current practice of showing us what's gonna happen at the end and then going back X number of hours to see how we got there thing is spreading like a virus all over prime time. We need a new conceit, this one's old. Having said that, though, it's still working, or at least it did here this week.

For me, this show is more about story and getting into all the soapy, sudsy details, but the performance that really stands out is Donald Sutherland. Every time the story turns to Tripp you just naturally pay more attention. Just the gravitas that his voice brings  and that shock of white hair and, tell me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it always look like Tripp is looking down his nose at you? Always?

Very surprised that the accusing eye turned to Leticia, and not even about the death we saw tonight.

Poor Ellen wasn't a murderer though, she was just a lush with murderous intent that was, uh, amplified by alcohol and humiliation.

She was never gonna be able to handle that Carmelita was more woman than she could ever be. She hit the sauce, attacked showering Patrick, my Facebook friend, in the bathroom and died swinging a fireplace poker, such a shame.

Plus she dressed like a poor man's Charlotte York. No animal prints at all? She should have looked at her competition and got with the program. Glam it up a bit, those white leggings (oh, were they your legs, dear?) just didn't make it.

I'm going to miss Brian's kid, he was a rare not overwritten, not too cutiepie kid on TV. But frankly, that storyline was doomed the second the original Andrea, Brooke Smith, decided to go to Grey's Anatomy. She would have been great on this show. I regret that she couldn't do both.

You know, with all this sex and violence, this is a perfect show for Lucy Liu. 

Doesn't Peter Krause look remarkably good in a tuxedo? I just don't have room for more pics, I'm pushing it already.

Natalie Zea is great. If I could have a fabulously rich woman friend it would be Karen Darling, so I could call her Karen, darling.

After the jump, a widget from ABC with some aftershow interview stuff with Natalie and Blair Underwood (yum) and I think I preview for next week if you click the right thing. Or, just go over to ABC's website for more. Though I'd prefer, frankly, if you stayed here.