The thing I like about Desperate Housewives is that the writers aren’t ever afraid of shaking up the norm. In practically every episode, we are given the same formula — four concurrent storylines featuring each of the four principal housewives and a mystery arc. I’ve never had a problem with this. However, it is nice when the writers abandon that predictable recipe every now and then. Imagine my delight to have an interesting episode dealing with interesting flashbacks while showcasing the interesting funeral of one of my favorite interesting characters. How interesting!
So, what were we treated to in this particular installment? Let’s dissect it, shall we?
In last week’s juicy episode – you know, the one where Mike was shot in cold blood — it was proven once again that Gabrielle’s selfishness knows no bounds when she forbade Carlos to quit his job. However, during Mike’s funeral, she has a change of heart after a series of flashbacks involving Carlos treating her with respect. It’s fascinating that his kindness to her is shown in these random flashbacks considering I never really see Carlos and Gaby ever really being kind to each other in the here and now. In fact, I’m willing to bet that they argue more than Tom and Lynette. All Carlos ever did was yell at Gaby last season. I’m just sayin’. Still, it was nice to see them doing well, and it was also a treat to see the talented Lupe Ontiveros back as Mama Solis! Now, how’s that for a throwback?
Speaking of throwbacks, we were treated to Lynette and Tom’s second date. Quick question for you diehard Desperate Housewives enthusiasts — was this second date before or after Tom cheated with Renee? Weren’t Lynette and Tom in college when they began dating? The conversation during Lynette’s flashbacks says otherwise. Anyway, it turns out that Mike suggested that Lynette fight for Tom, and after snapping back to reality, it seems Lynette is now reinvigorated in regards to saving her marriage. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this, but considering that I’m not a fan of Jane, I guess I’ll go with it. Did anyone catch that look of venom that Jane gave Lynette when Tom asked if she wanted to ride with them to the funeral? Meow! Kitty’s got claws! Take her to the pound, Lynette!
Having mentioned Jane, I guess it’s fitting to continue on with my tangent of folks that I don’t particularly care for. You know who else I’m not a fan of? Florida governor Rick Scott. I just thought I’d put that out there. I’m also not a fan of Bree’s first husband Rex Van De Kamp — more on that in a second. Bree had an interesting flashback in the police station. We were treated to an vignette of her mother coaching her on the art of hiding her emotions. Ah! So, that’s where the redhead got it from! The second flashback showed classic Bree — remember her? The one that sported pearls, a flip in her hair, and had wonderful morals that prevented her from guzzling liquor and sleeping around? — letting that mask slip in order to tell Rex that she didn’t appreciate a rather flirtatious comment that he gave Gabrielle in front of her. Instead of apologizing, he just laughed. Ugh, Rex! No wonder George poisoned you back in season one! Ah, those were happy times.
It seems that happy times were also on Susan’s mind. We got a chance to see what happened after her first wedding to Mike. He told her, “I love you once, I love you twice. I love you more than beans and rice.” It was heartbreaking when she uttered those same words to his casket towards the end of the episode. It was sad seeing Susan have to plan Mike’s funeral. It was also sad seeing her friends console her at the very end. I’m still not quite sure how I feel about the writers killing off her husband. If anyone had to go, I’d say Carlos. At least then Gaby would be forced to grow up. I feel as though Mike’s death was nothing more than a ratings ploy, an added shock factor that was a slap in the face to the fans — but that’s another talk show. Perhaps Oprah will have me. I need to vent.
In other news, the police uncovered Alejandro’s body, and with Bree’s fingerprints, they are now onto the housewives! Sheesh. You know, I liked the Alejandro plot. I really did. However, I feel as though it may be overstaying its welcome now. Still, without a mystery element, Desperate Housewives does need some drama. I guess we’ll just see how it goes.
There are only four episodes left until the two-hour series finale, and as usual, we’ve been given some questions to ponder over until the next installment. For starters, will Julie keep her baby now that Mike is gone? How is Susan going to cope without having her husband around? What does Lynette have up her sleeve to win Tom back? Boy, I hope it’s good. I can’t stand Jane. Is Carlos really going to quit his job? And when are the police going to take Bree down? I can’t stand the suspense! Oh, and how cool was it hearing Vanessa Williams sing during the funeral? Pretty awesome, right? Feel free to sound off in the comments below!
Clacked by Jaylen Christie 
on Mar 19, 2012 @ 01:36 EST5EDT
Well that was the most we have seen MJ in a few seasons now. I loved all of the flashbacks..
Gaby looked sensational in that wedding dress.You have a point though about if it was Carlos, how would Gaby be..would she have shown some growth. She shows growth in an episode but goes right back to being selfish in the next episode.
I wonder how the ladies will get out of the murder this time?
*POST AUTHOR*
That’s a good question, Toni. I’m not so sure myself…but I would like to see Gabrielle helping Bree. It would certainly make up for her abandoning her when things got out of hand earlier. And yes, that is the most we’ve seen of MJ this season, isn’t it?! Sheesh! The kid has grown! LOL The flashbacks were good, but I could have done without seeing Tom and Lynette’s second date. Plus, a flashback with Renee would have been nice. I’m just sayin’.
There are three scenes I want to talk about. The flashback at the restaurant with Susan, Mike and MJ; Susan’s funeral speech; The Amazing Grace montage burial scene.
These were the three scenes that had me crying. I believe they were also shown in succession. I thought it was so beautiful how Mike explained to MJ what heaven is. It was one of those moments as a fan that helps us come to terms with a major character’s death. Beautiful scene.
Teri Hatcher gave us one of the most emotionally moving performances of all time when she spoke at the service. She told everyone what heaven meant to her, quoting her husband from the flashback scene we saw moments before, and she quoted back the cute poem he’d said to her after their wedding. Heartbreaking. Special. Powerful. Beautiful.
And I found the burial scene to be quite overpowering. Vanessa Williams provided the beautiful soundtrack to the amazing montage scene that showed Mike being lowered into the ground.
The episode as a whole was good. A lot of the flashbacks weren’t great. A lot of them were played a little too much for laughs. Though I loved Tom confusing Lynette’s vice-president of the company ambitions for being vice-president of the United States! That made me laugh more than anything else in the episode.
I felt the scene with young Bree and her mother was rather poor. A ten year old girl does not have the ability to understand what her mother was talking about. I just thought it was too clear what the intentions of the scene were. A little more subtlety would have been nice. It seemed that young Bree understood at the time. Which is ridiculous to assume she could have had the smarts to figure out the coded message of her mother. I would have preferred that she figured it out when she got older. Again, it was too OBVIOUS what the intentions of the storyline were. I wanted more subtlety. Even the scene with Rex (also a character I can’t stand) was far too obvious in it’s intentions. Rex was portrayed as such a tool, as if he cannot work out that Bree is still pissed at him at the end of that flashback. Old Desperate Housewives would have played that scene more carefully, not so in-your-face with intention. And the audience would have had more of an opportunity to take out of it what we wanted, rather than explain in no uncertain terms what we should feel and think.
Also, it takes more than just putting on Bree’s season 1 hair, and her pearls, to transport her back to that character. It was a truth of the way Marcia Cross played her in season 1 that was the real success of the character. When we see her in flashbacks, it just doesn’t work.
Teri Hatcher was the star of the show last night. She was brilliant. And Women And Death was the standout episode of the final season in my view.
*POST AUTHOR*
Three very good scenes, Lachlan! Well chosen. Teri Hatcher does do a pretty good job when it comes to drama. However, I would prefer Susan have humor — especially in the final few episodes. I guess it’s up to Gaby and Renee to keep the comedy going. Speaking of Renee, I was kind of bummed that she didn’t get a flashback. In these kinds of episodes, the fifth housewife always get a flashback or individual segment – Edie had one in the 100th episode, and so did Katherine in ‘Lovely’ and Angie in ‘If.’ Nevertheless, it was a real treat to see Renee sing, and out of all of the housewives, it seems she’s going to have a real happy ending. Go, Renee!
Also, in regards to Bree’s flashback — Lachlan, you better stop hatin’! LOL Marcia Cross can easily revert back to classic Bree at the drop of a hat. Remember, she did help create that character. I didn’t mind it being in-your-face, so to speak. We only had a limited amount of time, you know. And to be honest, I can see Rex treating Bree that way. Heck, it happened all the time back in season one. I actually thought that was my favorite flashback. It was so sad.
Furthermore, I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you in regards to the flashback between Bree and her mother. I thought it was cool to see how Bree learned how to conceal her emotions. Believe it or not, but a ten year old can sense things, Lachy. Children can be very observant, and Bree would strike me as a rather clever young girl. Give the character a bit more credit, man! :-)
I probably was a bit too harsh there when I was talking about the Bree flashback scenes, Jaylen, you called me out on that, and I think you’re right. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy those scenes, I did, but I do feel that there was very little for the audience to get out of them that wasn’t already explained in no uncertain terms. As I said, quite a few times, I would have liked a little more subtlety, I think I’ve used that word ten times LOL! Season 1 Bree was subtle, she was never given such obvious and calculated material. Marcia Cross was the standout performer over the course of the first season, I think she’s amazing, but, I think over the years she may have forgotten how to play season 1 Bree. She hasn’t played her for such a long time that it has become more difficult, it’s no longer second nature to her. Still, I enjoyed those scenes, but as has become more common on the show, less and less is being left up to the audience, instead of being able to interpret scenes ourselves, everything is being clearly explained and processed for us.
You know, it’s funny to me how every time we see Rex in flashbacks, he is such a rude and ignorant person, I never liked him when he was alive! And Marc Cherry swears by him, so, I can’t understand why the writers don’t make an effort to make him somewhat more likable now that he’s dead. Of course, it made sense that he would have been nasty to Bree on Sunday night as it played cleverly into Bree’s storyline. And in the 100th episode when he dressed her down about her cook book. Still, where is nice Rex in flashbacks? Surely they could have had some nice Rex flashback scenes. I never liked him all that much, but occasionally, I thought they were perfect together.
Yeah, it would have been nice to have had some Renee flashbacks on Sunday, but perhaps it wasn’t that important to the storyline. Each of the other characters were able to have their storylines develop with their flashback scenes, Gabrielle had a change of heart (in that she actually got one), Lynette will now do whatever she can to win Tom back, and Bree was able to successfully slither out of a murder charge…momentarily. A Renee flashback may not have provided much insight into her character, or shone any new light on Mike. And, if you think about it, Renee was the only housewife who doesn’t have a BIG decision to make. Lynette is DESPERATE to win Tom back, Gaby finally supported Carlos, Renee is seemingly happy, and so it was right that she never had a flashback. That’s just a very long-winded and pretentious way of me justifying the writers decision not to have any Renee flashbacks, because, of course, I’d have loved some.
However, despite this episodes shortcomings, and there were quite a few, it is my favourite episode from season 8, and will be an episode I will revisit often over the years on DVD. There is always something nice about the flashback episodes. I even loved the Robin episode “Lovely”, which was not technically a great episode, but I enjoyed it immensely. They are the most interesting episodes of the show.
hi jaylen. for starters, I wanted to thank you soooo much for the “special shoutout” you gave me on the board!! ^_^ it is a pleasant moment the one where I sit on my chair, take a break from my studies and comment the current episode; I wouldn’t consider it the highlight of my week, but that’s close enough!! XD
that being said, I liked this one. it was moving and touching, but not exceptional and with a few flaws (if you ask me).
– susan: as much as I disliked (or at least wasn’t impressed by) her scream at the end of last episode, I LOVED (and I’m happy to have found out practically everyone else on the internet did) her acting in this one. she did a GREAT and BRILLIANT job (which I didn’t expect, becasue she’s usually given comic – if not SITCOMISH- material to work with)… BUT I was severely disappointed by the fact that they skipped through the whole “aftermath of the drive-by shooting”, going straight to the funeral.
personally, I was hoping she’d be MUCH MORE angry and vengeful!! I mean, come on, mike didn’t die of a heart attack; he was shot right in the chest by some low-life and she doesn’t even give ben a dirty look?? or maybe she did, but we’ll never know because they skipped through all of this, but… I don’t know… ben is kinda to blame for mike’s death and they barely even showed him in this episode!!! renee was the only one feeling guilty about what’d happened (and even THAT was resolved very quickly, with one lousy statement from bree: “today is about honoring mike; you do not get to make this about your guilt”…”you’re right, bree!” and that was the end of it). I was hoping they’d explore susan/ben relationship more (giving him for once the opportunity to interact with the housewives, instead of those scenes with her alledged significant other, and giving her the opportunity of going all crazy on donny’s ass like she did with danny – donny/danny ahaha- in the beginning of season 6 -.-).
I loved mj in the flashback with his ongoing questions (that kid is the sweetest thing in the world!!! *__*), but mike’s answer was very cliched and really didn’t answer him (cuz he didn’t tell him where people go AFTER THEY DIE, did he?)
so the loan shark was arrested… -.-‘ and they barely even mentioned it!!! bree asked the detective if the interrogation was about mike’s death and he was like “oooh thaaaat… nono, we’ve already made an arrest about that one. what is REALLY IMPORTANT and I REALLY wanted to talk to you about is ramon sanchez’s disappearance”. I got the impression that it wasn’t something very relevant, instead something that should be thrown in the middle and get over with ASAP; had I gone to the bathroom that exact moment, I would’ve missed the resolution to the whole loan shark thing (it being those 2 lousy words from the detective)… I cannot believe this! o.O
so, ben’s financial troubles were only meant to get rid of mike, huh? now we’re sure he’s not hiding anything, the criminal is outta the picture…. and that’s the end of it? mike was not my favorite husband, but it will snow on the hills of hell (do you catch my drift? ;-)) before I ever forgive the writers for doing that to his character!!!!
– lynette: I didn’t like jane very much (up until last episode I had no problems with her… but, as soon as she started monopolizing penny’s party acting all like a picture-whore, I strongly changed my mind), but now I’m hating her!!! I don’t know if it was tom who invited her there or it was her who guilted him or pushed him into it, but… either way, she shouldn’t have been there!! I thought her presence at the funeral was rather inappropriate and, when I heard her saying those sappy and hypocritical words about mike (a man she’d never met or spoken to before, might I add) I was about to puke my guts out!!
that being said, I was SEVERELY disappointed bu the lack of consistency in lynette’s flashabck (when she and tom moved to WL, she didn’t have that much belly already and her hair looked a whole lot different, and you can see that just by rewatching season 2’s finale). man, do I hate it when they mess these things up!! and I’m sick and tired of lynette herself changing her mind every 2 seconds about tom: first she wants him away, then she wants him back and is jealous of his new gf, then she moves on with frank, now she wants him back again??!! this storyline is dragging to me and is becoming more and more cringeworthy every single time: I would like to shake her and scream at her “make up your mind already, bitch!!” -.-‘
– gaby: gosh, did lupe look thinner!!! o.O what was wrong with her? she was so chubby back in 1st season! anyway I didn’t like gaby’s flashbacks at all!! I happened to find carlos very stupid and weak for being manipulated by his wife about the whole dress business, and even his words were very cliched… “when she smiles to me, you can’t put a price on that and I will do everything to keep her happy… because money means nothing and my wife means everything! so who cares if I have to spend billions of dollars? as long as she’s happy, I’m fine with it..” DREADFUL and CHEESY writing IMO!! but I despised her even more when, after hearing what carlos had just said, she guilted him into buying her the diamond earrings!! I was hoping she’d come out and say something like “well, you know, carlos, we can get a cheaper dress: I don’t wanna bleed you dry!”, but no… she manipulated him some more (just to get back at juanita!) and he totally fell for it! she really IS the epitome of selfish!!! -.-‘
even her flashback in rehab and that one at home didn’t do it for me: even in that case I happened to find the dialogue very weak… when carlos said “you know what? relax and get that massage and I’ll take care of the kids!”. so what? is that supposed to be touching? it wasn’t! it was stupid and ordinary!! I WANTED DEEPER FLASHBACKS, if you know what I mean…
– bree: her flashback was not mike-related, that’s why I didn’t like it that much. it was very pleasant to see the actress playing her mother (rebecca something) after her performance on ugly betty in the episode “grin it or bear it”. for some reason (maybe her distinctive accent) I’ve always loved her, so I was very glad to watch her on the other show I love the most (or should I say DID XD)!! ^_^
lachy, I agree about rex being portrayed like such an asshole in flashbacks (EVERYONE here in italy noticed the same thing) and I also second you on the fact that it takes a hell of a lot more than changing bree’s hair or making her wear pearls to morphe her back into what she used to be. I don’t know if it’s marcia’s or the writer’s fault, but her character has changed sooo much (TOO much) since season 5 that the old bree just wasn’t believable to me in this episode.
There are a lot of more things to say about this episode, but I’ve already written too much (maybe I’ll post something else, based on your suggestions, later :-)). to sum it up, the flaws I spotted were: the lack of regret on ben’s part; the loan shark’s too quick arrest; orson’s departure (so what? he’s gone for goood and we’ll not have ANY villain in the finale?).
Great article. I often fall into the trap of self-pity. Im 25 and was diagnosed with a chronic pain illness that has greatly changed my thoughts.
No Lynette and Tom didn’t met in college. Actually a huge dynamic in their relationship was she was a very successful up and comer in the business world already and already 30 ish. Lynette gave that up.