What I’m Watching: Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives: Season 6, Episode 6 “Don’t Walk on the Grass” (B-)

Marcia Cross is a terrific actress. I guess my disdain for the recent seasons of this show haven’t permitted me to realize just how great she is, and it’s in this episode that I recognized just how much she commands the small screen. She’s capable of displaying such a variety of emotions while still maintaining that token happy face she always puts on. Her ability to talk down to both Kyle MacLachlan and Richard Burgi is admirable, and Bree is currently the strongest character on this show, even if she’s juggling two marriages at once. Susan is reliving past wars over Mike with the deceased Edie with the character who replaced her, and it’s decently entertaining but nothing new. Katherine’s giddy proclamation of “Aren’t you glad I’m not crazy anymore” represents too much of an outright acknowledgment of her zaniness which makes it all seem like an act, though clearly it’s not because the woman just won’t give up. Angie’s expression of disinterest in Katherine’s plan to win Mike back was entertaining, though the redhead is at serious risk of getting too close and exposing Angie’s secrets, therefore putting herself in real danger. Gaby’s attempts to home-school Juanita were obviously going to fail from the start, and the whole storyline was fun only for Gaby’s angry response to the principal’s harsh words and Carlos’ reaction to the incitement of her rage. Lynette doesn’t need another reason to exert her moral superiority over her husband, and Doug’s cheating is yet another Lynette-related arc that just isn’t prepared for at all and doesn’t feel related to any of the show’s other ongoing plotlines.