Our favorite frumpy-yet-adorable assistant is back for her third season. Last we saw her, Betty was packing her bags and leaving for the trip of lifetime. But where was she going? We didn't know. Who was she going with? Was it former flame Henry or new boy toy Gio?

The season premiere quickly reveals these answers. We learn (in a fairly unsurprising plot twist) that Betty goes on a cross-country trip by herself. Predictable as this plot turn was, it seemed like the right call. Admittedly, I was originally a big Henry fan, but it was getting hard to argue that the character hadn't run his course. And, as likeable as Gio is, I'd hate to see Betty turn into a serial monogamist at this point. So, at least for this episode, it was nice to see Miss Suarez single and doing her own thing.

The new well-traveled Betty comes back to NYC and lays out a plan for her life: (1) work toward a job promotion, (2) steer clear of distracting romantic drama, and (3) get her own apartment in the city. As a "Betty" viewer of its two previous seasons, the formula feels familiar. Betty develops a plan. Then, nothing goes according to that plan.

Betty returns to her job to find that Daniel is no longer working for Mode magazine (having been ousted by his sister/brother, Alexis, at the prodding of Wilhemina). Daniel has been reappointed as the editor-in-chief of Player - a publication which he cheerfully touts as the third best-selling "no nudie" magazine. The staff is made up of scruffy men who'd look at home at a poker night and of leggy women who conform to the bimbo stereotype. As you'd expect, Betty does not see herself fitting in here. It'll be interesting to see what happens at the new mag, but if I had to place a bet, I'd say Betty and Daniel will be back to Mode soon anyway.

Meanwhile, the Meade family has other dramas brewing. Daniel has his recently discovered son, DJ, to worry about. He wants to be a warm, fun parent, and he isn't quite ready to deliver on the parental boundaries front. In other Meade family news, we find that Wilhelmina still aims to boot Daniel and Alexis' mom, Claire, from the family business. Claire's magazine, Hot Flash, is competing with Mode's marketing budget, and, more importantly, Claire is competing with Wilhelmina for power at Meade Publications. This Wilhelmina-Alexis-Claire dynamic has been playing out for over a year. I'm ready for the jockeying between Wilhemina and Claire (with Alexis as pawn) to evolve. The ep did include a pretty fun Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa cameo that put Kelly in league with Wilhelmina.

In other Betty happenings, our girl finds her perfect apartment in Manhattan - only to have another renter swoop in and take away the dream home. When a real estate agent assures Betty that another unit in the building is available (and it's on a higher floor with "sexier views"), Betty signs a lease sight-unseen. Of course, the apartment she gets is a disaster, complete with dirty crumpled mattress on the ground and dank water leaking from the ceiling. Oh, and the so-called sexy views ? They're provided by the old naked couple across the way. I smiled to see that, despite Betty's apartment being in bad shape, it continued the great television tradition of pretending that Manhattanites enjoy spacious living quarters. Forget the fixer-upper aspect. That apartment was huge! (You could practically hear the collective laughter emanating from midtown Manhattan at the moment this scene was airing. But anywho…)

I was also happy to see Betty's dad finally getting some storyline love. His plots were pretty ho-hum during second half of last season. Always known for his gourmet cooking, Ignacio Suarez now has a job as a fry cook at Flushing Burger! His manager at this fast-food joint is Betty's former high-school bully, Kimmy (Lindsay Lohan, reprising her role after a well-received cameo at the end of last season). In her first scene, we hear Kimmy remark on Betty's successes (working in the city and such), and it's clear that the jealous Kimmy has it in for Betty - or, at least has it in for Ignacio. Tension builds, and Hilda eventually calls Betty down to the Flushing Burger to confront their dad's tyrannical boss. The scene tailspins into a catfight between Kimmy and Betty, and the Suarez girls get their dear old dad fired. But, no worries. When Betty goes back to the Flushing Burger the next morning, she and Kimmy have a heart-to-heart. In a classic Betty move, she makes amends with Kimmy and gets her dad's job back at the same time. I may sound dismissive of this part, but it was actually my favorite scene in the episode. It reminded me of the good ol' days before Lindsay Lohan's tabloid-covered personal life started running amuck. Although her role was relatively small, LiLo turned in a nice performance. In fact, when she rehired Ignacio, it was the emotional highlight of the episode.

All the ep's drama is capped off by Betty's family rallying to her side to help her clean her new apartment. With a little scrubbing, it's looking nicer. Plus, Betty finds that she has an intriguing neighbor across the hall. At first frustrated by his loud music, she softens considerably when she sees that he is a cute young musician. Yup, there goes the "no romantic entanglements" thing!

So what's up for next week? Will Betty and Daniel make it back to Mode? And speaking of Mode, will we get to see more of Mark, Amanda, and the old Mode gang? They popped up here and there in the premiere, but I'm hoping they're back in a more substantive way next week.

Story by Chelsea Fogleman

Starpulse contributing writer