Thoughts on the DH Finale

So I watched the Desperate Housewives finale.  

My relationship with this show this season has been a bit of a roller coaster.  I started off cautiously optimistic and quickly descended to furious.  That diverged into a long period of being vaguely depressed and nauseated whenever I read spoilers, and then something amazing happened.  I read the spoiler that Porter was going to impregnate Julie, and it was the straw that broke the camel's back.  Basically, it finally clicked that this show had become so ridiculously stupid that it was not worth wasting any more emotional energy on.

It was freedom.  

I spent the rest of the season still reading spoilers just to keep up with what was going on.  I had already decided that I'd watch the final episode since I no longer really cared.  I won't lie, though, I was definitely happy to hear that Tom finally dumped Jane and that he and Lynette would reunite in the finale.  It remained whatever smidgen of trepidation that might have remained.  

The most interesting thing, I think, is that this is probably the most objective review of this show I'll ever give.  A lack the emotional attachment does great things for removing a bias.  So here we go.


Some very general thoughts:

• I had no trouble following the episode despite the fact that I hadn't seen more than two minutes of the show since episode two.  Granted, I did read spoilers, but also I think we can all read something into how unchanging this show is.
• Other than one brief moment with Lynette, Gaby and Carlos were the only characters to make me laugh out loud.
• The only shocking moment of the whole night was how much Penny has matured over the past year.
• Not seeing Bree for nine months did wonders for my annoyance with her.
• The entire trial was hilariously ridiculous.  The entire time I kept thinking of how Jack McCoy would never have let this kind of BS go on if he was the prosecutor.
• Despite Carlos insisting that Gaby had grown up, she still seemed like the same old Gaby at heart.
• I still don't really care about Renee.
• As usual, this show has the most confusing sense of morality.
• I lied: The whole night I never laughed as hard as I did when they claimed that Bree became an elected official. 

Breaking this down by plot:

Susan

Unlike with Bree, time away from Susan did nothing to curb my dislike of her.  I still found her rather inane and dull throughout the finale, although at least I didn't have to see her in a state of undress at any point.  Bonus points for that, show.

Okay, so I have no idea how this Julie/Porter affair (one night stand, I assume) happened, but of all of the things that happened this season, it might be the one that pissed me off the most.  First of all, while I can buy that Porter might jump at the chance to be with Julie, I absolutely cannot believe that she would sleep with him.  I know that the show wants to pretend that they're the same age, but in truth, Julie is a good eight or nine years older than Porter.  I have a hard time buying the idea that a girl who, last we saw her, was having an affair with a man twice her age, suddenly decided to jump into bed with a kid barely out of his teen years.  Especially if, as Susan said, she is in medical school (or about to go to medical school), and he's just barely moved out of his parents' house.  There is no logic there.  

Additionally, it irked me that none of the Scavos seemed to care at all about this baby.  The complete disinterest, particularly from Lynette, struck me as false.  I'm sure that there were various reactions that I missed earlier in the season, but based on the finale, it genuinely seemed pointless to make Porter the father of this kid.  It did nothing to tie the characters together as family or even give them a lifelong bond (lets be honest: the last five minutes of the show seemed to imply that the girls drifted apart after they moved, but you would think that sharing a grandchild would connect Lynette and Susan forever).  Basically, I don't know why they didn't just have Julie get knocked up by some random stranger instead of creating this strange ellipses in the history of both of these families.

(For future reference, I'm going to be content to pretend that Porter is not the father of this kid.) 


Ignoring the baby daddy drama that irks me so much, I actually enjoyed Julie in the finale.  Her rapport with Susan echoed back to the early episodes, but at the same time, there was a new maturity to it that I enjoyed.  I forgot how much I liked Julie and Susan's interactions back in the day, so it was nice to see that employed again.  (Susan's endless need to find Julie a husband, though, wore thin very quickly.)  I also liked the parallels the show created between where Susan was at the beginning of the show and where Julie is now.


My favorite moment with Susan, though, was when she left the Lane at the end.  It seemed appropriate to me that she would be the one to drive past all of the spirits on the Lane (and kudos to the show for bringing all of those characters back; that was one of the best moments of the night).  In season one, Susan was at the heart of the Mary Alice mystery; solving it was most important to her, and it always resonated with me that Susan might have needed Mary Alice more than any of the other girls did.  Giving her that moment of spirituality rang very true.

Bree

As I mentioned before, that trial was inane, but I was able to view it with an attitude of mild amusement.   I don't think that would have been the case if I had actually watched the season.  I got the impression that Bree's arrest and trial was definitely portrayed as the act of a martyr, and one aspect of this show that always annoyed me was the idea of painting Bree as some kind of saint.  It always bothered me that she was shown as "more moral" or "righteous" than the other characters because so often it made Bree seem like a huge hypocrite.  Lets face it: it was her idea to hide the body; she contrived this coverup.  If I had had to watch her portray some act of being wholly innocent, I think I would have snapped.


Additionally, it was hard for me not to feel disgusted all over again at how DUMB this whole Alejandro murder/coverup was.  It very well might be the most idiotic storyline contrived on this show, and when the characters started talking about confessing that it was self-defense, I was reminded of that all over again.  WHY DIDN'T THEY CONFESS LAST MAY???  Fortunately, time away from the show changed what would have been blood boiling anger over this to weak annoyance.  That greatly aided my enjoyment of this plot.


In the latter half of the show, Bree was starting to get on my nerves.  I did not enjoy the contrived plot to keep her and Trip apart.  It was obvious that they'd end up together, and I spent most of the episode feeling a resurgence of annoyance that Bree, yet again, couldn't get over her own self-righteousness.  By the time they finally explained her character motivation (that she actually thought he was lying and manipulating her), it was too little too late.  I really think they should have made it clearer from the start WHY she was angry with him; I spent most of the time thinking it was Bree's inability to forgive a perceived betrayal of her, not that she legitimately thought that he had used her.  


It was nice to see Bree end up with a decent guy.  She and Scott Bakula had pretty good chemistry, so I'm going to assume watching the development of their relationship was fun.  


But really: Bree won an elected position with her scandalous history?


Thank you so much for that laugh, show.


Gaby


Gaby and Carlos were my favorite part of the episode.  I liked the juxtaposition of their mature conversations and tender moments with the zaniness I've come to expect.  When Gaby put the knife in Carlos' jacket, I did laugh out loud.  Also, has Eva Longoria been bringing it that hard all season, or was last night special?  She hit everything out of the ball park: the emotional moments, the comedy, the family scenes, and, especially, her moments with the girls.  I was really impressed with her.


The latter half of the episode, with the callbacks to season one, were well done.  It was nice to see Gaby find a purpose in life and to hear that Carlos finally got his wish to do something more meaningful with his (which harkens back so far now that it really did feel like the greatest fulfillment of a dream all night).  Their acknowledgement of where they started and how far they've come was lovely.


It's hard to choose a best moment for this couple last night.  Their conversation outside of Mrs. McCluskey's room was awesome.  I really enjoyed the scene where Gaby saw the gardener Carlos had hired.  And that final glimpse of them fighting in the hot tub was a brilliant and satisfying resolution.


Actually, it might have been the two of them dancing with Celia and Juanita at the wedding.  


At the end, I was left feeling that I would miss Carlos and Gaby most of all.


Lynette


I'm just going to break this down chronologically because I have a lot to say (surprise!).


I loved the scene with Lynette and Penny.  Despite the fact that it reminded me of why I hated the Tom dating plot so much to begin with (why would he do that to his kids?), it was fun to see Penny so excited about the idea of her parents getting back together.  And I enjoyed the mirroring of her reaction with Lynette's own childlike joy.


While I enjoyed seeing the Gaby/Lynette dynamic one last time, I could have done without the Tom asking for a divorce fake-out.  I felt like this couple's inability to communicate was still paused from the last time I watched.  It was like there was absolutely no progression all season (which, by the way, was one of my biggest fears).


The scene with Tom and Roy was well done.  Both actors did a great job.  I'm glad it wasn't an occasion where Roy came out and told Tom what to do, but rather that Tom finally had the realization that he needed to fight for Lynette.  This led directly to the best scene of the night: Tom and Lynette's inevitable reconciliation.


Yes, the reunion was well-done, although I have to give 90% of the credit to Doug Savant and Felicity Huffman.  It was their acting that really sold the scene for me, not the writing.  The looks on their faces spoke volumes above what they actually said.  It was undoubtedly the most poignant moment of the night for these characters.


(Expect more detail on this at some later point; I plan to do a post comparing TV reconciliations this year, similarly to the break-up post I did at the beginning.)


The latter half of the episode for these characters did not sit entirely well with me.  I blame it primarily on waiting until the last episode of the season to resolve any of the issues with these characters.  As I've complained before, the resolution to Tom and Lynette's conflicts are always swept up too quickly, and this case was no exception.  At the end, it felt like these characters finally got to the heart of their problem (true happiness vs. perceived happiness), and that was lovely to see, but I don't know why I'm expected to believe that either of them is just going to suddenly be happy because of this realization.  (Aside: am I supposed to believe that Lynette was the only one afflicting this pursuit of an elusive happiness on their marriage?  Because Tom spent about 6/8 seasons bitching about his happiness, so he is absolutely as much to blame for this as she is.)  I think if they had reunited a few episodes ago, and then were actually given screen time to come to these realizations, it would have rang more true to me.  It also would have gotten rid of that undercurrent of fear and bitterness that still seemed present at the end (particularly from Tom).  


It was nice to see Lynette finally achieve that vague career goal she has always had, although, again, I think that her realization about happiness would have been more genuine if she had gotten that earlier and then understood that her family is the one thing that has always brought her the most happiness.  The career is just an added bonus.  


The move to New York felt fairly arbitrary, and I'm not sure I buy it.  Actually, all the moves but Susan's (and maybe Gaby's) felt somewhat forced to fit a theme, but I can appreciate what they were going for.


Karen


The death of Mrs. McCluskey was the most well done plot arc of the episode.  I loved the celebration of her significance, her true self-sacrifice, her demands for her funeral (even if "Wonderful, Wonderful" has horrible connotations for me thanks to The X-Files), and her moments with all of the characters.  As always (because I read more into their relationship than perhaps I should), I do wish she'd had a truly stand out moment with Lynette (or, hell, even the Scavo kids), but I will take the brief scene between them at the beginning.


Also, seeing her reunited with her dead son at the end might have been my favorite moment of the entire night.


Overall Assessment


Overall, I think this was a well-done finale.  It gave equal screen time to the major characters without overshadowing them with too many minor resolutions.  It revisited ideas and themes from throughout the years while showing (a little) growth.  And I really enjoyed the idea of the cyclical nature of the Lane.  


Grade: A-