Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Desperate Housewives - Flash of Genius

The Gun Song - Ep. 416
Free - Ep. 417
- Season Finale

I know I'm a bit late on this but how great was the season finale for Desperate Housewives? And that's even before we get to the twist ending!

It was funny and dramatic and horrifying and hilarious and sweet and touching and emotional and shocking. It's everything Desperate Housewives was supposed to be, and hadn't been since Season 1! Every storyline weaved in and out of each other, with the housewives finally coming together at the end to save the day, and to induct Katherine officially as one of their own. Plus some great old traditional slapstick pratfalls, nice comedic moments, and the quotable lines are popping up throughout the episode!

Plus, there's another gay commitment ceremony on ABC on Sunday night!

There's a gruesome kidnapping of Adam Mayfair by Wayne. Katherine is in a panic when she knows she and Dylan are being threatened by her psycho cop ex-husband.

Lynette gets accused of abuse by the demon child Kayla and is taken away, but in a finally good-for-Lynette twist of fate, Tom sends Kayla away when Lynette comes back, and in haste, Kayla confesses to her lies.

Bree hilariously takes over the commitment ceremony arrangement for Bob and Lee, who seem to have their own marital problems. Orson tries to reconcile with Bree to little success.

Gabrielle saves Ellie (Justine Batemen) from the cops (one that she hilariously has a fake affair with to throw Ellie off in the sting) after they make an emotional connection, but then fights her off when she discovers Ellie's stash of money.


And Susan and Mike fight over the name of their new son, but Maynard, Mike's choice, wins out. Loved Gabrielle's rant about names determining your life. It's so true. While my real name isn't Vance (and honestly, I have no idea where that really came out so don't ask), my real name does solidify my status as cute forever. I know this. I'll never be sexy like Gaby or Francesca, I'll remain cute and adorable and a little bit square and nerdy.

Bob and Lee fight over ice sculptures. Really. Ice sculptures. And not some hidden frustration over who is dominant over one another. Okay, it's a veiled attempt at that on primetime TV. No? Anyways, back to ice sculptures. One that Bree has to cart in a baby carriage after her car blows a tire.

And then there's the TWIST! Cop out? Maybe since it basically helps reboot the series and bring a brand new slate for the writers to work with, but that doesn't mean it is any less genius!

After Wayne kills Ellie who comes into the Mayfair's house while hiding out from Gaby and the cops, Bree comes a calling on Katherine who had ditched her to plan Bob and Lee's commitment ceremony on her own, one that was falling apart after Tom's meddling advice that showed his true love for Lynette (yay! Finally something good to happen to her!). Bree joins Katherine and is taken hostage by Wayne who had already beaten Adam and left for near death, but Adam (yay! Nathan Fillion!) saves the day (yay! Nathan Fillion!) but Katherine still kills Wayne (the perfectly creepy Gary Cole) but the housewives quickly come together to keep the stories straight to convince the cops that one of their own was actually psycho and Katherine is set free.

Oh yeah, and the big secret Katherine was hiding? That her real baby with Wayne had accidentally died after a night Wayne had tracked her down, so she went to Romania to adopt a baby to replace Dylan knowing that Wayne would eventually track them down and no one would believe her for their baby's accidental death. Huh? Okay, I had a feeling it was something like that, that Dylan was some sort of unknowing double, but while the explanation felt a bit rushed, I can't fault the episode since everything else in the 2 hour finale worked perfectly in balance.

So in the end, everything is alright on Wisteria Lane...

and taking a page from fellow ABC show Lost (or One Tree Hill in the only smart thing that show ever did), we flash forward FIVE YEARS... (here's the video clip in case you missed it)



Where Katherine is okay and Dylan is getting engaged in Paris.

Where Lynette and Tom are dealing with cops again over Porter and Preston's delinquent teenage ways.

Where Gaby has gained a few pounds and chasing after two girls wearing mommies makeup and Vera Wang dresses.

Where Bree, still married to Orson, seems to be running a successful business with Andrew all done up nicely and assisting with the hectic schedule.

Where Susan returns home to Gale Harold (Queer as Folk). EXCUSE ME???

Can't wait for them to explain all THIS!

Some were expected as you KNEW they were going to throw a family at Gaby, and you KNEW those Scavo boys were going to be trouble (can't WAIT to see who they cast for THAT!) and I've heard rumours that Andrew will be with Bob or Lee meaning that they broke up, but Susan's man switcheroo was partially expected, just not with the ultimate queer as folk Gale Harold, who DOES seem perfect for the show though.

Still, can't wait! The show has already been on the ultimate upswing (along with fellow ABC show Grey's Anatomy) with a superb ending to a great season that I was almost about to drop after almost writing off the show last year.

2 comments:

Ray said...

Granted I haven't yet seen this finale (being on the other side of the planet) my interest in DH has been dropping. Anyway, the twist has already been done very well on One Tree Hill.

Esther said...

I never saw One Tree Hill, so this was a new plot twist to me. And I agree that it'll give the writers some fresh material to work with. The show was getting a little stale, and the flash forwards were hilarious.