I remember when news broke that Desperate Housewives would end its epic eight year run in May, and I remember thinking that the date seemed so far in the future. Time flies, doesn’t it? We’re already up to our last episode before the series finale, and I couldn’t be more excited to see where we’re going to end up. Anyone else? (By the way, I apologize for being a bit MIA, as last week I was away on vacation and unable to find time to review. But we’re back, so let’s dive in!)
We find Bree attempting to deal with her arrest and impending trial, while Trip grills the girls and tries to instruct them on the particulars of what they’re going to face when they’re called to the stand. As Trip leaves, he shares a moment with Bree that doesn’t go unnoticed, and while Bree admits that she does like Trip, she also convinces her friends she has the situation under control. Susan, meanwhile, brings Julie to birthing classes but finds herself more focused on Bree’s murder trial than helping her daughter relax. Julie is having her own preoccupied thoughts about Porter who is late for class, and when Porter finally shows up, Julie gets upset at him despite the fact his lateness was due to a work shift (I appreciate Porter being a good father and showing up, but maybe he should’ve stayed at work as he gets about two seconds into the birthing video before he faints.)
Gabrielle helps Bree pick out an outfit for her trial (only Gabrielle can make choosing an outfit for a murder trial hilarious) while Tom sits the kids down to tell them about his Mumbai transfer. Naturally, the kids are more than a little upset. Lynette tries to coyly find out how Jane took the news, and Tom admits that him and Jane aren’t in the best place right now. He then says something Lynette doesn’t expect — that he’ll miss her the most when he leaves. This of course just makes Lynette feel incredibly guilty about the whole situation, knowing what prompted it in the first place.
While Bree is waiting for Trip to finish up his conversation with the judge, she spots a busty blonde that comes over, claiming to work exclusively for Trip. Bree’s inner jealousy rears its ugly head and she drives the woman away before realizing that she’s actually a private investigator. Oops? Back on the Lane, Renee is showing Lynette her bridesmaids dresses much to Lee’s chagrin (seriously, when a gay man expresses reservations about your dress, I think that says something…don’t you?) She admits that Tom told her he’d miss her the most. Julie continues to stress about Porter’s behavior at the birthing center, worrying that he’s not ready and prepared to be a father, and Susan tries to comfort her by telling her how Mike acted when MJ was born. Meanwhile, Lynette goes on another date with Tom’s boss and manages to ask if he can change his mind about sending Tom sway. His boss agrees (a little too quickly) but when he tries to make a move that Lynette doesn’t feel comfortable with, he gets overly upset and storms out.
We come to the night before Bree’s trail, and all of our ladies are having trouble sleeping. A midnight walk between Lynette and Susan is soon interrupted by Gabrielle, and the three try to figure out the best way to help their friend. Susan wants to go to the judge and tell him the truth, something Gabrielle is vehemently against (she later has a moment of clarity about her conscience, however, when she finds her two girls trying to lie about how they broke a family heirloom.) And where exactly is Bree on this night of everyone being unable to sleep? Apparently having a grand old time with Trip, who’s shown up at her house with donuts and Casablanca.
At Bree’s trial, Trip tries his best to defend her while Susan goes to visit Porter at work. I have to admit I kind of laughed a little at Susan yelling out ‘I’m talking to the clown!’when the people behind her at the drive in started to get pissed off. Porter explains how he’s trying to take care of his life, which prompts Susan to make a decision of her own — she tells Julie she’s planning on moving so that she can take care of the baby and so Julie can finish school properly. Honestly, if this is how the Susan Delfino stroryline ends up next week, I’ll take it — it would be a fitting resolution to a character that’s had so many ups and downs in the past eight years.
Tempers are apparently riding high across Wisteria Lane. Gabrielle runs into two neighborhood women at the supermarket who are reading about Bree in the tabloids and loses her cool defending her friend. Meanwhile, Tom’s boss lets it slip that Lynette broke up with him ‘for another guy’and damn, this guy is a real passive aggressive jerk, isn’t he? Despite Tom’s pleas, he keeps going with the insults, prompting Tom to physically attack him which leads him to get fired. Later, an angry Jane tries to figure out why Tom acted the way he did, and calls him out for still being in love with Lynette. Tom finally admits that she’s right, leaving a broken Jane to deal with her feelings. On Lynette’s end, she tries to talk to Lee about Tom and a friendly conversation turns into Lee helping her out of her (ugly) dress. Unfortunately, Tom sees the whole thing and gets the wrong impression. I really can’t tell you how much I’m hoping we can end the series with Tom and Lynette together again (I was never a big fan of their break-up to begin with, no matter how it worked for the story.)
Susan is called to the witness stand, and we proceed to go through a montage of all the women defending Bree. Seems like stress is high for all of the ladies, though they perform well under the pressure. The defense blindsides Bree, however, by presenting her with her suicide note and having her read it out loud. Trip tells Bree that to the jury it looks like she’s hiding something and Bree tells him she can’t betray her friends – which means she can’t tell him the truth. As Trip leaves, he cautions Bree that she should think about the impacts of her decision given how much is on the line, and at the end of the hour Gabrielle shows up and admits to Bree that she’s a better person than she could ever be.
And that’s how the penultimate episode of Desperate Housewives ends — two of our women on a bench outside a courtroom, exchanging hugs, effectively setting the stage for next week’s finale. I have a feeling all emotions will come to a head, and I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait (I also can’t wait to see some returning guest stars, but that’s a given.)
What did you think of the episode?
