Yikes, “DSM” watchers! Smoke is coming is still coming out of my ears from all the double-crossing going on in last night’s episode.

Let me see if I’ve got it all straight. Nola and Simon teamed up to get Letitia convicted for Dutch’s murder. Letitia and Jeremy set up Nola. Nola blackmailed Patrick. And is Nick playing Karen?

Whew. Between all the misbehavior and the wardrobe department’s obsession with fuschia and lavender, I need to catch my breath.

That was seriously a whip-smart, head-snapping installment, possibly the best “DSM” to date. The show got off to a great start with its premiere, but the following episodes lacked a bit of sparkle. The last few, however, shows that ABC would do well to give this sudsy soap a full season’s run. Lately, the show’s been living up to its title: It’s been dirty, sexy and a whole lot of fun.

So let’s break it down by double-dealing, shall we?

Starting with Nola, Nola, Nola.

I’ve been complaining lately that the character has been going nowhere, considering that the show brought in Lucy Liu to spice things up this season. Nola’s affair with Jeremy was a bit blah, and I’ve been horribly preoccupied by the fact that she seems to have an awful lot of money for someone on the government payroll.

Except now it all makes sense! She’s on Simon’s payroll! I’m assuming he paid her handsomely to target Letitia as Dutch’s killer, even if the evidence didn’t point to her. (Apparently, it means someone else killed him, which no one else seems to realize, but I’m sure they’ll get there eventually.)

But her weak moment with Jeremy meant Letitia went free and Nola had to resign as a prosecutor—and she’s possibly going to be disbarred. So what’s a girl sent to set up the Darlings to do?

Blackmail Patrick into a job, of course. A few so-not-subtle hints about Ellen’s death and his relationship with Carmelita, and bing, bang, boom! She’s the new senator’s chief of staff. Which means Simon’s got a spy installed in the Darlings’ Washington outpost.

Now let’s move on to Jeremy. Boy, for a slacker, he really got around last night.

His secret ownership of Lisa’s gallery—revealed by Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden, no less!—led to a separation for Nick and Lisa. (And boy, is Nick a hypocrite. Lisa’s a liar? Dude, talk about the pot calling the kettle black.)

It also turned out that the plot to set Nola up for misconduct sort of backfired. Letitia got off, but Jeremy’s heart is now breaking because he fell for Nola. And if anyone believed Letitia’s “my poor baby” consolations were genuine, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn you may be interested in.

As for Karen, she doesn’t seem to know what to do about marriage to Simon. One minute she’s tasting wedding cakes, the next she’s considering leaving him for Nick. Again.

But I was happy to see that girlfriend actually stiffened her spine and gave Nick an ultimatum. I seem to recall Nick berating her not so long ago about how she couldn’t use him as her fallback guy. Now that his marriage to Lisa is on the rocks, he seems to be doing the same thing to her.  Except the good guy in Nick seemed to be clawing his way out, because his response to her “what’s it gonna be?” question was a weak hand gesture. He wants Karen, but knows it’s not the right thing for either of them.

And Brian? He continued his “interesting” method of parenting by getting his flu-ridden son all hopped up on Wii.

But the good guy in him came out, too, when he discovered that Andrea has cancer. He insisted that Andrea not return to Brazil, but not just because he wants Brian Jr. to stay in New York. He wants to be able to take care of her.

So what do we think, people?

Did Letitia really kill Dutch? Her conniving streak is being revealed more and more, and she’s on par with Tripp for knowing how to power play.

Will Nick say yes to Karen, even if it’s only to get her to back out of her wedding to Simon?

And here’s to the three best moments of the show:

• Brian to Andrea because the doctor has to check them for parasites: “First you move my son to South America. Now you’ve got me pooping in a cup. Kudos.”

• Jeremy to Nick after being accused of sleeping with Nola: “Easy, Miss Cleo.”

• The hilarious attempt by Brian and Jeremy to sneak off to Karen’s engagement party.

Tripp: “What’s in the box?”

Brian: “A puppy.”

(Jeremy trips, drops the box and kicks it, with no noise coming from inside.)

Brian: “We are so friggin’ dead.”

(Photos courtesy of ABC)