Every now and then, Desperate Housewives will surprise me with some really great moments whether they be comical or heartbreaking, and this week we got a couple of really heartfelt moments. There was some silliness too and just a bit of overwrought drama as Carlos and Gaby got carjacked with Gaby’s doll in a car seat and Gaby flipping out about losing her baby. It won’t be long before she’s in a padded room, really working for that Emmy nomination. There was also a bit of unpleasantness as Bree discovered Keith has an ex-girlfriend and a son that he doesn’t know about, offered to break the news to him, then chickened out after his less than enthusiastic reaction to her questions about his desire to be a father. I doubt the ex will just take the check Bree offered her and leave town quietly.
There was a twist in the Paul Young story that’s blown my theory a bit. Beth really had no idea about the gun found at Bree’s, so I’m still certain Paul’s estranged son planted it when he delivered the flowers. Paul was quite startled when the police showed him the gun and I’m thinking that he recognized it as the same gun Mary Alice used to kill herself, thereby implicating his son and getting Beth off the hook … lucky for her because she was this close to becoming another casualty of Paul Young’s wrath.
One of the two good parts of this week’s episode involved Lynette’s mom Stella showing up out of the blue to announce her impending wedding. Lynette insists on meeting the man, Frank, and finds him to be a terrible person. When Stella says she’s only marrying him for his money, Lynette tells Tom that she can’t let her go through with it, but Stella finally admits to Lynette that she’s marrying him to feel needed. It was a nice moment that Polly Bergen played beautifully and instead of the moment devolving into pure sap, Frank burst in and made another inappropriate comment. It was great to see Larry Hagman back on TV and his presence, coupled with some terrific writing, made what could have been an unpleasant character very entertaining.
Another guest star, Gregory Itzin, elevated Susan’s dialysis plotline from pure pathos to a genuinely real and raw moment. As Susan met Dick, he made it clear to her that he did not want to be friends with her. He was there for one thing, but when Susan successfully befriended a young man, she decided to try again with Dick. Having had enough of her sunny disposition, Dick brought some reality to the situation by laying bare the facts as to what they were all waiting for — they were waiting for someone to die so they could live. Great writing combined with Itzin’s and Teri Hatcher‘s performances had tears welling up in my eyes, especially when he told her that he didn’t want her to try to make him feel good and her response was that she wasn’t trying to make him feel good. The look on his face when he realized she was trying to keep herself from falling apart said more than words ever could. When a beeper went off and it turned out to be for the younger man, the final moment of Susan putting her hand over Dick’s and him reciprocating elevated the entire episode. The episode wasn’t a complete home run, but it was solid.
“You know, Dick, sometimes when I meet people they say, ‘You don’t seem like a Susan.’ But you…” – Susan to Dick, a fellow dialysis patient
“Oh my gosh, what happened to your foot?” – Lynette
“Oh, I broke it. A month ago. Thanks for checking in.” – Stella
“I want to meet him.” – Lynette, referring to Stella’s fiancé Frank
“Alright, come by tomorrow and we’ll squeeze you in between nothing to do and waiting for death.” – Stella
“And at this time I’d like to point out that dreaming of an old girlfriend is not cheating.” – Keith
“He’s abrasive, obnoxious, borderline racist … no, he crossed the border of Racist. He lives in Racist.” – Lynette, referring to Frank
“You can be happy, Paul. You just have to identify the negative in your life and get rid of it.” – Beth, nearly digging her own grave
“That sounds like a plan.” – Paul, planning where to bury the body
“How can I put this delicately? Today, your mother has money. Someday, soon, she will die. The day after that, Tom and Lynette will have money.” – Tom
“My daughter doesn’t think you’re good enough for me.” – Stella, after being sidelined at the wedding
“She’s right. Now hurry it up. This church is in one of those ethnic neighborhoods and I’m worried about the car.” – Frank
“I will go tell our daughter that if she needs anything, she can count on her old auntie Renee.” – Lee, after asking Renee to be a female presence in his adopted daughter’s life
“And if she ever calls me old auntie, I will kick her.” – Renee
“Trust me, Beth, I think you dodged a bullet here.” – Paul after telling Beth their trip to the cabin was canceled after the police showed him the gun
Clacked by Chuck Duncan 
on Jan 17, 2011 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
