When the show opens, and throughout most of Season 1, Merrill is on top of the world thanks to billboards he has put up all over Miami, despite the fact that he was the worst in the graduating class he was part of with Christian Troy and Sean McNamara. He's so famous and wealthy that he almost succeeds in stealing Christian from McNamara/Troy. Later on in the season, he gives Christian a Lamborghini in exchange for his girlfriend, Kimber Henry. He later ends up operating on a dog, getting sued by the owner when the dog dies on the table.