'Housewives' rebuilt itself this year
Posted: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under:
TV
(Warning: Possible spoilers for "Desperate Housewives" finale.)
Back in September, I wrote about the new five-year jump on "Desperate Housewives."
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Creepy Dave was a great addition to this season of 'Desperate Housewives.'
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I know that not everyone liked the time jump, but it worked for me right away. And now that the show has just one episode to go this season, I think it's made for one of the best seasons yet -- and possibly rejuvenated the show for upcoming seasons.
First off, the kids have been astonishingly quiet this season. And that's a good thing for a show that's called "Desperate Housewives," not "Desperate Offspring." Lynette's son, Porter, had an affair with a friend's mom and later was arrested for setting her husband's nightclub on fire. Other than that and a few aiming-for-humor plots about Gaby's overweight daughters, the kids have been mercifully quiet.
Speaking of Gaby, her resurgence has also helped the show. Even if you can't relate to her designer-label mania and incredible vanity, she comes off as likable and good-hearted. Her money-grubbing is funny, because she has absolutely no shame and doesn't care who knows it. Her storylines usually wind up with her learning a lesson in the end. Putting her back together with the easygoing Carlos (actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira is possibly the show's most underrated star) and presenting her with two daughters only gave her more plotlines.
I'm also a huge fan of Martha Stewart-wannabe Bree. It's only natural that she'd start a catering empire and it would both find enormous success and cause her personal life numerous trials. I like the affable Orson, despite his weird past, but their divorce was probably inevitable. It's interesting that Bree so condemned Orson's kleptomania, but it didn't take her long to resort to stealing herself, working with divorce lawyer (and Susan's ex) Karl to rob their own house.
The worst decision of the season? Killing off Edie. Like Gaby, she lent a light side to a show that could often be too depressing. (All of Lynette's plots and most of Susan's drag the show's tempo down, in my opinion.) Edie stood out as the one "Housewife" who wasn't really accepted, which gave the show a little depth. The other woman judged Edie, which made them less-than-perfect, and less-than-perfect characters are always more interesting. Plus, Edie's wild side lit up the often-boring suburb, and her unexpected bond with Karen McCluskey was sweet.
But Edie's newest husband, Creepy Dave, was a real find. Neal McDonough somehow manages to look both all-American innocent and like a guy who can't be trusted. The show was smart to not keep his real past hidden too long. Most viewers figured out that the horrible car crash had to come back into the plot eventually, and it would have been frustrating if half the audience knew he was the father of the dead family and half remained clueless. Integrating him deeply into Wisteria Lane by making him Edie's husband helped, too -- he was always around, and had a good reason to know the other block residents.
The preview for the "Housewives" finale looked ultra-promising. Dave's now set his sights on Mike and Susan's son, MJ, to make them experience the loss he felt when his daughter was killed. Orson may turn Bree in to the police for theft, which would be a satisfyingly juicy turn of events. And just to resurrect a plot we kind of forgot about, Lynette's cancer may have returned. That's murder, revenge, and illness, all swirling around in one show finale. It promises to be a satisfying end to what's been a satisfying season.
