At this point, I think we can start measuring Steven's lifespan in seconds -- for both his time remaining on the show and his time remaining, period. He's gone. Showing up at a sober house high and carrying extra heroin was just the period on a very long sentence. Rest in peace, in advance.

I have the most hope for Amber and Rodney -- but he's been in this sort of place before and relapsed, while her habit has the single highest rate of fallback.

Mary seemed stable enough coming in -- at least she didn't show up drunk, unlike Steven coming in elevated with one engine out -- but the season previews have her on the slow train to crashville. *sigh* Thank you for taking away all chances as early as possible, editors. Now no one has to bother with finger crossing.

Shifty -- I think he's already looking for excuses. He just might treat the strike system as 'I can get loaded twice and still be here.' As noted, he'll be pushing the rules as far as possible. I just think they'll break before they bend.

Nikki could go either way: you can almost see her balancing on the line between going forward and falling back. With her, it may all depend on whether she gets enough emotional support to carry through any upcoming crisis -- and I don't know if this is the crew to give it to her.

One thing's for certain: no morale-boosting visits from Simon.