What I’m Watching: Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives: Season 7, Episode 3 “Truly Content” (B+)

Though I’m inclined to say that I don’t approve of some of the arcs in this episode, the show did manage to surprise and ultimately entertain me. Lynette manipulating Tom into thinking he was smoking pot when he was really just getting high on oregano seemed like a poor idea, but it seems to have found him happiness in the end, and avoiding too much time spent on silly shots of him acting stoned earns points with me. Susan’s seductive cleaning could also have gone down the drain as a storyline but for the introduction of Rebecca Creskoff’s Stacy Strauss. I love the “Hung” actress, even though her accent here was less than consistent. Susan actually is one of the fiercest housewives, whose clumsiness is her fiercest weapon (see: Edie’s burnt down house). Speaking of fierce women and feuds, pitting Bree and Renee against each other is a marvelous idea, and planting the newly single Keith smack in the middle of their tug-of-war is great. Bree has been saddled with unhappiness and Orson for a while, so it’s good to see her try to reclaim some of the fun in her life. The dramatic acting from Eva Longoria in the mediation scene didn’t impress me as much as it has in the past, but the follow-up with her clandestine meeting with Bob and Carlos’ furious response to her betrayal was better. I’m intrigued, as always, by Paul’s evil plotting, and it’s interesting to see that subtly proceed forward while the housewives go about their own lives.