TV-Reviewed

Now that the holidays are over Desperate Housewives is back. The episode before the break was a good one that advanced overarching plots and gave us some good moments. With the new year, I was hoping for the momentum to carry on, but unfortunately it seems like Desperate Housewives has indeed hit another bump in the road.

Since this is my first review of the new year, we’ll start off with the bad and end with the good. This week our favorite exaggerator Susan has another problem when Jackson was offered an art position back in his hometown, meaning that she would have to move down their, because remember Jackson doesn’t do long distant relationships well. Susan has a bad history with men and she seems to be in the mindset that she’s getting older, so she might not meet any new men, because she seems set to move out of Wisteria Lane. It’s annoying how many problems Susan has had with Mike and Jackson this season, but to be fair, this whole moving with Jackson thing is because Gale Harold is injured. They’re handling his disappearance well, but it’s not clear if they’re simply going to write him out or just leave him in his hometown if he gets better again. The best choice to go would be to write him off, because we simply can’t have Susan not advancing her life. I’ll admit this wasn’t a horrible story, but that simply bored me.

Susan going out with Bob, getting drunk, and then thinking that she slept with him is something that’s been done in almost every show that I can think of. We had to watch as Susan assumes that she slept with him only to hear at the end that they didn’t sleep together. Why didn’t she just ask Bob from the very beginning? Then we could have avoided all the drama, but that’s what Desperate Housewives does, even if they have to go through unnecessary things to get it.

Eva Longoria Parker as Gabrielle Solis

Another plot that confused us was Dave’s vendetta against Mike. It seemed like the plot had advanced to a point where we were finally going to see Dave start making some interesting moves, but instead we saw more of Dave’s deteriorating mental health, which is fine and dandy, but then they through in him and Edie having problems. Edie has basically been non-essential to the show, but the relationship did sort of work. While Dave was definitely showing signs that he was crazy, it was his honesty that finally got him kicked out of the house. After all of the things Dave has done, it feels sort of dumb for the final straw to be that he didn’t tell Edie that his ex-wife died.

Dave’s plot goes up and down and the days where it doesn’t seem like anything major is happening with it is what really makes us not interested. It feels like the show is trying to stall just long enough to use it for the season finale, but unfortunately we might not be that interested when whatever happens finally happens.

Now that Carlos has his eyesight back, things can go back to normal. Gabby would like for Carlos to get a high paying job like he had before he lost his sight, but Carlos has a new lease on life; appreciating everything from a ladybug to a spider. It’s very believable that after losing your sight for five years, that you would appreciate everything that you can see. When a position opens for Carlos, Gabby tries everything to make sure that Carlos gets the job. Carlos doesn’t want it because he wasn’t a very good husband when he worked, but Gabby wants financial security for the family, even though I’m sure this has something to do with those expensive shoes that she brought. The writers have done a good job in making us feel bad for Carlos and Gabby because on one hand Carlos shouldn’t have to take a job that will make him unhappy, but Gabby has sacrificed a lot since he lost his sight, so it’s hard to blame her for wanting more. Gabby and Carlos have been the best couple this season mostly, because their relationship has been pretty consistent.

Bree, who has finally come to accept Andrew’s new relationship, but now has to deal with the mother-in-law. It was fun to have the Hodge resident back to it’s normal self. Alex’s mother seems set on having the boys to herself, by first wanting to do Christmas at her house and then trying to get Andrew and Alex to move down to where she lives. Bree wasn’t going to have it, especially considering that there’s a good chance she could be a grandmother. While Alex’s mother had the upper hand the whole episode, it was Bree who pulled off the finishing move by buying Alex and Andrew a house on Wisteria Lane. While there was nothing major going on at the Hodge resident, it was pleasant considering some of the earlier darker things that were happening between Bree and Orson. It was cool to see the Bree that is overbearing and wants her children to stay close to her.

Last but not least we had the continuing plot of Lynette trying to find Porter while Preston is taking his place. It’s a bit weird that we see so much of Lynette and almost never see Tom, but it works. It was pretty obvious that Preston knew where Porter and Lynette found this out easily. It was surprising to see Porter staying at Lynette’s mom’s place, it was also unnecessary, because this whole plot has taken on somewhat of a serious tone, so it was annoying when all of a sudden the mood turns comedic when we find out where Porter really is. There was a great moment in this episode though when Lynette proves to Preston that she’d be willing to do anything to protect them. A great scene that might get Felicity Huffman an award nomination. It’s only matter of time until Porter is found, but let’s hope it’s soon.

This was simply another slightly above average episode of Desperate Housewives (this isn’t a compliment). While a slightly above average episode might be good, it’s not as good when you take into consideration how much better it could have been. By slowing down certain plots it’s really taking the audience out of them. I wish Desperate Housewives would get back their momentum and keep going. This was a tolerable episode, but hopefully we’ll get that great episode that we’ve been waiting for.

Rating: 7.4