Wading Through Spoilers

*The focus of this entry is on Tom and Lynette in a positive way.  I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but please save any flaming on this pairing for another site.  I'm just not in the mood.  Thank you so much.

Spoiler Warning

I've been wading through spoilers because people have been leaving me ominous, vague reviews or emails that state that Tom and Lynette are going to break up before the end of the season.  And while I'm glad that everyone knows what a huge fan of this pairing I am (and generally I really like to be forewarned, particularly of disasters), I hate how insubstantial these thoughts are.  So of course I had to go investigate and see if I could find anything concrete.

And that meant going to the televisionwithoutpity forums.

*Sigh*

Don't get me wrong.  I really like TWoP in general, but I can't stand to read about any shows I actually like on there.  Everything is so negative, and for a show like Desperate Housewives, there's nothing but complaints, bitching, and an emphasis on how horrible the show is.  I'm the type of person who reads something and it sticks with me for years, so I NEVER read the DH recaps on that site, and I rarely go into the forums.  If I do, the negativity and complaints get in my brain and, as ridiculous as it sounds, I just can't let it go.  Even years later, I will not be able to watch a scene without recalling what was written about it.

It's just like the time my cousin mocked (*MOULIN ROUGE SPOILER*) Christian's crying at the end of Moulin Rouge.  Now I can't watch that scene without laughing.  Yeah, I can't watch the death scene without cracking up.  And that's one of my top five favorite movies ever.  So you see my dilemma.

Anyway, I ventured into the forums and trekked through the many, many vehement comments that Tom and Lynette are a horrible couple and should break up and that Marc Cherry is lying when he says "America" loves them.  Whatever.  You can't make a statement that broad without someone disagreeing, but it's just as stupid to make the broad statement that "America" wants them to break up.  I don't.  No one I watch the show with does.  I have talked to quite a few people online who don't.  I'm sure there are people that would love to see Lynette dump Tom and run away somewhere and suddenly become this perfect, unflawed success, completely forgetting all of her kids and everything else in her life.  And that's fine.  Those people are entitled to their opinion.  But I'm also entitled to mine, and I hate those broad generalizations.

So as I perused, trying not to read the really disdainful comments too carefully, I basically discovered squat.  Supposedly a couple on the show is going to break up before the end of the season (so probably Gaby/Carlos or Tom/Lynette; I can't imagine they'll go there with Mike/Susan again [although the Paul/Susan pairing FASCINATES me!]).  I really feel like based on where the show is right now, it could go either way, but I'm not sure which.  I mean, Gaby and Carlos have already broken up once, so that feels repetitive.  On the other hand, it is true that Marc Cherry has always stuck by his statement that Tom and Lynette just won't break up.  I really think it could go either way.

(Also, there is some speculation that Renee and Tom MAY hook up?  It all seemed to be based on flimsy evidence.  And I feel like they've completely abandoned that whole storyline anyway, so why bring it back in the last hour of the season?  It just doesn't make sense).

The other theory is that while Tom and Lynette are away in the B&B, they will realize they're both acting crazy, make up and go off into the sunset together.

Until next year of course.

I HATE both options (this ignores the Renee thing completely, because if they go there I'll probably stab my eyes out, so I refuse to contemplate it).

First of all, why are the Scavos the only couple on the show to ALWAYS get these quickie resolutions?  If the writers are going to keep a couple together for all of these years, they really can take the time to actually have that couple delve into their issues and maybe at SOME POINT resolve some of them.  They never do this with Tom and Lynette.  Time and again, the couple faces some enormous conflict, and time and again, it's never resolved. 

Case in point: the season 4 finale.  After the cancer, the return of Rick, Kayla's turn to pure evil, and sending Kayla away, how did their storyline end?  Tom gave a speech about marriage (which, granted, is one of my favorite speeches on the show), he and Lynette kissed and that was it.  On to other, lamer plots.  

There are a ton of examples of this: the miscarriage, Eddie kidnapping Lynette, Lynette not wanting to have the twins 2.0, the grocery store shooting, the original go-around with Rick, Tom's lies about Atlantic City, the stupid Renee "affair" from this year, Norah's death, Kayla (where she's gone or how she is), Lynette sabotaging Tom's job in season one, etc.  All of these are either resolved with a simple kiss and make up, a fight that is never followed up on, or the plot is just completely dropped.  Now, granted, this happens with other characters on this show too, but it seems to happen every single time Lynette and Tom have any conflict arc that lasts longer than an episode.


Basically what I think it boils down to is that the writers like to drag out the conflict over several episodes (case in point: this new job ridiculousness), but then everything needs to be resolved in five minutes or less.  Why not take more time on the resolution?  Why not let us see them actually work through some of their problems instead of brushing them under the rug?  Then maybe we wouldn't have to watch them have the same argument for the 50,000 time.


Which brings me to my second point.  While I don't want the Scavos to break up (aka: put us through a divorce that will inevitably end up with them back together anyway, *cough Gaby and Carlos cough*), I wouldn't hate if they were separated for awhile.  Maybe they need to take some time apart to come back together.  And no, that doesn't mean I want to endure terrible "dating" episodes (I hate Bree and Susan's single periods more than you can fathom), but it could lead to some new and interesting conflict.  As long as the end game is still Tom/Lynette, I think I could live with it.  I might even be able to someday admit that it was a good idea.


Finally, and perhaps most importantly, hire some writers who actually see the potential in this couple.  I refuse to believe that the fact that they're still a couple makes it impossible to give them a decent storyline.  The writers seem to be stuck in a endless cycle of ridiculous one-up-man-ship over work, Tom bitching about his manhood, and Lynette being an emasculating bitch.  These are not the characters I fell in love with.  

I fell in love with Lynette because she was flawed and conflicted and smart and ballsy and so damn strong.  I fell in love with a character who didn't manipulate her husband over every little thing; I fell in love with a character who could apologize; I fell in love with a character who was passionate and funny.

I fell in love with Tom because he was sweet and lovably clueless and completely in love with his wife and smart and a little goofy.  I fell in love with a character who rarely whined; I fell in love with a character who had some kind of confidence; I fell in love with a character who compromised.

I fell in love with this couple because I liked seeing a marriage that reminded me of something real.  A marriage that had flaws and pain and imperfections, but was also clearly founded on love and communication.  I fell in love with this couple because Felicity Huffman and Doug Savant have fantastic chemistry, they're engaging actors and fun to watch.


I want that back.  I want the writers to remember that you can't guarantee a laugh just because you use the word "emasculate" at least once an episode.  I want the writers to realize that Tom and Lynette have so much more potential than what they give them.  I want the writers to see that they've turned these characters into parodies of themselves.

Be a little creative.

For instance, in twenty minutes, I came up with these ten scenarios:


Ten Tom and Lynette Plotlines

1) Kayla returns

2) One of the kids gets sick and/or dies

3) Lynette decides to do something for herself (write a book or something)

4) Penny actually becomes a teenager and gets a personality (dealing with anything from her losing her virginity to partying too much to lying to joining a band...I don't care).


5) One of Lynette's exes comes back (in 7 years we've never met one).  Maybe he's not such a nice guy?


6) Some kind of follow up with the Eddie storyline.  Maybe his trial or he reaches out to Lynette from prison.


7) The introduction of a family member we haven't met (one of Tom's siblings?) or the return of Lynette's very briefly seen sisters.


8) The return of awkward couple interactions; maybe they befriend a couple with a secret and something goes awry.


9) Tom makes so much money from this job that he and Lynette are both able to retire.  With the sudden luxury of time and fewer kids at home (technically Parker should be off to college after this season), they have to figure out what to do with themselves.


10) Some secret they share together from their early relationship is revealed.  Together they have to decide what to do/how to handle it.


Honestly, my ideas may be total crap, but that isn't the point.  The point is to prove that there are a multitude of other things that the show could be doing with this couple, but they don't because they're boxed in to one idea.  If I could pay the show to never have another episode about Tom feeling emasculated, I would.  Truly.  But I'm not going to hold my breath.


I guess what this all boils down to is my frustration.  My frustration with the repetitiveness. My frustration with lack of resolution.  My frustration with the untapped potential of this couple.  My frustration with where this storyline is going.

Sometimes I think that if the writers would just go back and re-watch season one...

C'est la vie.


So in the end, I never did discover what fate has in store for my favorite couple at the end of the season.  I guess only time will tell.