‘Desperate Housewives’: Finally a night worth riding

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I’ll be the first to say I loved every minute of this week’s “Desperate Housewives.”

You read that right. This is a major compliment, coming from me of all people. I’ve never been shy with my harsh criticisms of this season – in particular, the Angie Bolen mystery. Although some people might just write me off as a bitter or jaded critic, that’s not the case. As a longtime fan of the show, I’ve developed a tolerance for lackluster plot lines, weak characters and “oh no, that was it” moments. But, I usually throw all of that out of the window toward the end of the season when, magically, the heat is turned up. And though I should have known better, this season is no different.

Another week with more attention given to tying up the loose ends on the Eddie, Sam and Bolen sagas. The timing, however, couldn’t be any better (though a little late), considering the season ends next week. Granted, some viewers may have tuned out by now and for plenty of reasons. This season was, for lack of a better term, a hot mess. Some of you might have called it quits on the show when Katherine went all loony, and others might not have been convinced by her soap-opera-esque girl-on-girl adventure and rode off into the sunset to other network dramas. (I know a few of you have because you wrote in.) Though I, overall, never cared for Katherine, I can admit she got a bit of the Edie treatment with her ending. Although I got a kick out of Bree’s sexual revolution, I couldn’t get behind the plane crash that left Karl dead and Orson injured. And oh yeah, Lynette is still pregnant! Whew, on paper, the season sounds like a crazy ride, but sadly the execution of it all at times was a little less roller coaster than it was Ferris wheel.

The show gained much-needed momentum when it was revealed who the “Fairview strangler” was -- just as viewers had forgotten all about it.

Now that the secret is out to viewers that Eddie is the culprit, it’s only a matter of time before the secret gets around. On the surface, Eddie is very unassuming: nerdy, scrawny and a bit timid. I never had him pegged as a killer, which I admit kinda makes it brilliant. Last week in the Scavo household, he wasn’t adjusting so well; no surprise to anyone, right? After seeing more of what makes him tick, Lynette is really trying to work with him and even takes him to therapy. Sadly, he’s used up his sympathy quota, and Lynette finally puts two and two together – with a little help from the cops (who have discovered his last two victims) and Eddie telling on himself. What a shame too. Judging by the look on his face at the end of the episode, he doesn’t take too well to his “new” mom figuring out he’s killed his real one and, more than likely, Irena. I never connected the dots that it would be Eddie who would play a role in Lynette going into labor -- not sure I like that, but I’ll reserve judgment.

Another mini-plot that has my attention is the ongoing drama with Sam, partly because I’m so frustrated with the hold he has on Bree. Obviously, I watch too many dramas because I’m way past idle threats. This boy needs more than a few pudgy cops to tell him what could hypothetically happen to him if he continues to be a problem. I’m with Andrew; call in some better favors. I’m sure someone on Wisteria Lane could bust his kneecaps or make him disappear forever. Though kudos to Sam for threatening to turn Andrew and Bree in for the car accident that killed Carlos’ mother. Way to bring back a great Season 1. With Sam having some old-fashioned blackmail up his sleeve, how will Bree fire back?

Now this leaves the Bolen drama.

Patrick Logan continues to up the ante, this time demanding Angie construct a bomb to use against some loggers in Oregon, or something uninteresting like that. Again I say I’ve never felt creeped out, or even convinced, by the whole eco-terrorist plot line. There is something that just doesn’t work for me, at all. No matter how hard I try, and goodness knows I’ve tried. I think I genuinely have a hard time with eco-terrorists that like to bomb things – that just screams hypocrisy to me, but what do I know, I rarely recycle (kill me). I’ve been much more interested in seeing Patrick in action, without caring about his motives because they are still a bit laughable to me. Again coming full circle in a well-paced hour, Angie asks for help by stuffing a note in the lasagna Gaby prepared using one of her recipes. Poor Danny, his little cafe buddy turned out to be a raving lunatic, and his real dad.

I’m beginning to think my patience has finally been rewarded, even if the ending next week is predictable -- which it totally is. The last few episodes have been a great ride in a train wreck of a season. Here’s hoping everyone hasn’t jumped off the train just yet.

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy (Follow me on Twitter)

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