What I’m Watching: Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives: Season 7, Episode 16 “Searching” (C+)

Sometimes this show feels horribly uneven because you have a part of the plot that’s charging along so dramatically (and often, quite subtly and surprisingly), while some of the other storylines are just meandering along unseriously at a devastatingly slow, pointless, and repetitive pace. To start with the bad, we have another case of Gaby demonstrating her extraordinary, and possibly unparalleled, selfishness, only to suddenly and rather startlingly realize that she’s not the only person in the world. More so than any other housewife, with the possible exception of Lynette, it seems like it always has to be about petty competition with Gaby, which just gets to be annoying. Besides the humorous image of Renee bringing a baby to her date and pawning her off on the waitress, the whole Renee-hates-babies plot was a waste of time, and yet another indicator that Vanessa Williams is not being used properly here. On to the good, it was amusing to see Mike call a Civil War re-enactor a douche, and it was nice to see Mike and Susan having a heartfelt, serious conversation about what’s going on with her. Beth and Bree’s conversation was very moving, and I’ll cite that final scene in the hospital as an instance of the main reason I still watch this show. Beth stressing that this is the most important thing she’s ever done, followed by exasperated acceptance on the part of the nurse and her shocking suicide, was a very powerful arc to a character who was always fascinating and never quite got the time of day she deserved from anyone. The scene earlier in the episode with Paul readily admitting that he killed Martha was also strong, and while it’s possible that Beth may yet live on, I think this would be a fitting goodbye to this season’s hands-down best character.